A precious moment in Thattekere Lake

We explorers didn’t want to waste the Ramzan holiday and so we searched for an adventurous tourist spot. I searched for the water bodies in and around Bangalore. Came across the Thatekkere Lake in Wikipedia and also got to know that it is situated in the thick of an Elephant corridor and extreme caution should be exercised while in this area. Thattekere Lake is also a haven for bird watchers and one of the prettiest spots to see in Bangalore. As soon as the information about the elephant spread among us, we were very anxious to take a glimpse of the lake desperately. `

Then along the day of Ramzan, we got ready earlier than anticipated. We began our day with a healthy south Indian breakfast in Filter Coffee restaurant located in Kalyan Nagar. We all had a bite of podi dosa. It was served in banana leaf which reminded us our tradition and culture. The ambience of sitting around the kitchen was great. It was a fun to see our dosa being cooked in front of us and being transferred to our leaf immediately garam garam. The filter coffee, true to the name of the place was not disappointing. The spirit of exploration arouse in our hearts as soon as we finished our breakfast and headed towards the Lake.

We took the Kanakapura road. There were some bumpy roads, narrow lanes, a few uphill climbs. We usually thought it would require a few kilometres to get away from the busy streets of Bangalore until we got across the Ragihalli village which is only 25kms from Bangalore where we were able to have a glimpse of the forest. Most of the pathways fell in the Banneraghatta National Park. My delusion about this national park was that it is a big zoo with bigger crowds hovering inside the park. But I was startled to see the real stretch of the national park around Ragihalli and Thattekere.

Scenic Roads 

A Stretch of National Park

On the way to our surprise we saw sericulture. Ragihalli is a village which has a flourishing seri-culture practice. The silk cocoons in the houses which have adopted seri-culture, is another notable attraction.  Just about 3 to 4 big wooden boards carrying thousands of silk worms each was displayed in the veranda of every household. It was really interesting. People were filling those boards with worms. We thought to converse with them to know more about the silk farming but due to lack of time we had to pass by.

No longer had we come to Thattekere village but we were guided by the Google map to the lake through another road which ended in a spiked check post. Then we took a U-turn and made our way back towards Thattekere village. Along the path we came across many Elephant warning boards. We crossed an Elephant watch tower and the men who were on watch warned us not to stop anywhere nearby as wild Elephants may visit the place anytime.

Elephant warning signboards

Elephant Watchtower

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Soon we came near the vicinity of the Thattekere village. There was a petite shop on the way towards the lake. A boy named Sarath hardly 14-15 years of age was taking care of the shop. Sad to know that child labor still prevails in India. I too discovered that there were no schools nearby. Even a primary school was 3km afar from the village. We had tea and a nice conversation. The tea was so good that we ordered some more cups of tea. Sarath himself made some delicious tea, which we will relish till today. We asked Sarath for the way to Thattekere Lake. Added to our fear he warned us not to go close as there were so many crocodiles in the lake. As soon as we heard this, akka, Preena and Sushi decided not to get down from the car. Not spending much time on Google maps we respected the local guidance and headed off towards the lake.  

Sarath's shop

Tea Time

Finding out a car in their village was new to the native kids so a few stuck to us in their round. Soon we passed a temple at the closing of the road which looked so haunted as if it was not utilized for long time. We parked the car in front of the temple and headed straight towards the lake. Only me, annan and Bezal got down to see the asset of the village. Though Sushi was afraid to get down, we compelled her to come with us and no sooner she was accompanying us with great fear in the heart. We stepped down the mud lane to reach our destination.

Kids of Thattekere

Beautiful Thattekere

The mud lane

There lay the lake, a vast one, its water shimmering in the rays of the sun. It was nearly like a hidden lake, hidden away from the human world. The lake is spread over the woods and looks majestic being situated in the heart of the low hills. The water was not polluted at all. The Lake was bordered on one side with a line up of tall Eucalyptus trees and the forest hills on the other side. The area around the Lake had electric fences and few check posts. There was a stone bench near the Lake. I ran towards the spot and sat on it to admire God’s wonderful creation. Annan clicked just a single photo of mine. Even before we heard the camera go click, we heard a sound of an animal. Oh my God, we concluded that it must be an Elephant’s trumpet, and raced toward the car to save our lives. Even an Olympic athlete would not have run that fast. As soon as we reached the car, we had a good laugh thinking about our fear of Elephants.

Thattekere in its glory

 

Then we planned to continue our trip to Muthyala Maduvu, a small waterfall which is formed only during the rains near Anekal and near the Banneraghatta National Park. It was not a rainy season even then we decided to reach there. The road from Thattekere to Muthyala Maduvu was very bumpy, but our spirit to explore didn’t make it a discomfort. We drove along the path with Eucalyptus trees planted on either side. We even plucked some Eucalyptus leaves which have many medicinal properties.

Towards Pearl Valley

A panorama view of the pathways

We reached the valley at 3:30pm. We were very hungry that we headed straight towards the lone hotel KSTDC. There was a public toilet and an ice-cream parlor too.  The place was populated by monkeys. As I was walking towards the hotel, a big monkey (who looked like a gangster) followed by few small monkeys walked gently towards me. I knew it wanted something which is in my hand. Just jumped up, without touching me a bit, seized the packet from my hand and ran away. But alas it wasn’t something for the monkeys, it was baby wipes. Again, we all had a good laugh and entered the hotel to have a hearty meal. The hotel was fully caged to avoid monkeys. It was the sole spot where humans were inside the cage and monkeys were the visitors.

KSTDC Hotel

View of valley from hotel

Caged Ab kutty

After a hearty meal we decided to accomplish the mission for which we came to that particular location. Even a devotee of God wants to rest after a meal. An old lady who was sitting near the ice cream parlor warned us not to climb down with the kids. So only me and annan were ready to climb down. A narrow stone pathway beside the ice-cream parlor took us into the valley. It seemed as if we were travelling inside a thick forest. We would have stepped down about 200 steps, and then a few tourists who were climbing up asked us not to continue further as there was no water in the falls and it is totally dry. We decided not to waste our energy so started climbing up again. When we were a few steps from the parking area, annan slipped a step. Stopped for a few second, when I observed what was hindering from climbing, fear struck me again. It was a green snake. Oh my God, as soon as it crossed the pathway, we ran again to the car.

Narrow stairways

A green snake

It was a real adventurous trip. Even so, today we will nourish each and every minute of the trip. The memories will be evergreen.