Nijagal Betta - Experience Unveiled
You know we all have these moments when we feel
that we won’t make it to an event on time, but it turns out wrong? This was one
of those for me. I left home at 6:00 AM. I got a ride to the bus stop from my
father. The sun had decided to wake up late. It was super dark and was just my
watch that supported the fact that it was morning and not late in the night.
Luckily, I got a bus to the Majestic Bus Stand
without waiting for long. I boarded the bus with much enthusiasm, looking
forward for an adventurous climb with a bunch of (hopefully fun) girls. Unlucky
me, the bus driver did not share my enthusiasm. The speed of the bus clearly
indicated that. To add to my agony, I had no knowledge of how to the get to the
Majestic Railway Station. I am a Bangalorean, yes, yet did not know the route
(True story!). The team was scheduled to meet at 7:00 AM, and I knew none would
wait as we were to take the train. I thought “What will I do if I miss the
train?” There was no answer to that. I could not think of anything at all. And
the bus driver made no attempt to make me feel better!
I got off the bus as quickly as possible at
Majestic and made a telephone call for directions. With no courage to take a
glance at my watch, I took the path. When I reached the meeting spot at the
station, I couldn’t find a single girl who even remotely looked like she was
going on a trek. Shocked! What now? Now I had to gather courage to at least see
by how much time I missed the girls. The time was 6:45!
The train started on time—7:45 AM (I was
unaware of the 45-minutes wait period. Actually nobody did, except for the
organizers). We had an extremely dramatic start. Thanks to the ninth and the
last member, (the very romantic) Archana aka Corporation, who climbed onto the running train with (our hero)
Sreemoyee giving her a hand. You can run a DDLJ or Jab We Met scene in your
head. It was exactly like that. The journey was short and extremely talkative
;). All the ladies felt free to introduce themselves to each other. Actually,
we more than introduced ourselves to each other. A lot of talk happened—some
serious, mostly fun, and some seriously fun!
We got off the train at Dobbaspet and once were
done with the hurried-excited group photograph with the moving train, that we
almost missed to capture, took an auto to the foothills of the Nijagal betta. The mountain welcomed us
with a beautiful stone gateway. As we entered, the trail up the mountain was
seen. It was a path made of well-set mud with granular sand all over. This path
was tough to climb, not only because of the sand, but also the steepness. This
led us to a trail that was made of haphazardly arranged small rocks. This
equally challenging path ended at yet another stone gateway. On the other side
of this gateway was a Hanuman temple—the temple of Nijagal betta. The Hanuman
structure was carved onto a huge rock. From the looks of it, one could say that
pujas were conducted frequently. Beyond the temple began the rocky climb. At a
short distance, we arrived at a landing with a large flat surface. This landing
not only was a perfect spot to rest, but also served other purposes. When we
looked down on the left from here, there was a beautiful view. Of the remains
of a temple, of a large pond, and of the village and the roads. The top view of
the temple remains gave us an outline of the temple. A significant portion of
the structure was not there anymore. A small part of the area was occupied by
the inner sanctum with the Shikara (gopura) intact. The remaining portion
had just the walls and the pillars. On the right, above us, were the remains of
the fort walls along the path uphill. Apart from providing us these spectacular
views, the spot was ideal for photography of the walking-talking part of
nature—ourselves! J
We got back on track and began to move upward.
We came across a cave darga that was almost enclosed by three huge rocks one of
which served as the path to the peak. After a short stop at the darga, we
climbed the rock.
I have to elaborate on this rock. This is one
steep path. Looking at it, the last thing I could imagine is the possibility
for someone to climb on it! It was one huge creation that was lying there with
every intention of taking anybody’s life if they just managed to slip. (At
least that’s how I saw it!) I chose to keep my opinion to myself. One by one
the girls began to climb. Very carefully. When it was my turn, my heart beat,
God knows, must have reached 200/min. I didn’t want to stay behind that, I
guess, was the only reason I chose to keep going. I took calculated steps,
stopping each time just to check if I can proceed safely. And finally, when I
reached the other end (alive) there was relief, excitement, a sense of
achievement and a terrific memory to take away! J
Ahead of this spot, we came across a couple of
stone rooms. We guessed that these could be watch-places for soldiers during
wars or other times. On reaching the peak, we were surprised to see that the
peak actually is a cave-like spot with the surrounding huge rocks providing
enough shade and making way for enough light. It was a perfect place to relax.
We got engaged in some lively games. One of them, we played with a bunch of
kids who had come to visit the darga. This was followed by “Chidiya udi.” And
when samosas got fried in blood and chaddi badmaash huyi, we reached another
peak—the peak of fun! ;) (To all those who didn’t get this part—unlucky you!:P)
Archana, Divya, Kulsum, Namratha, Ramya, Shoba,
Sreemoyee, Sushma and I settled down as it was time for refuelling. We had the transformed
rice for lunch—vegetable rice that was packed in the name of tomato rice at the
hotel at the foothills. Since we had a National Karate Champion in our tem, we
had to do some stunts and get them photographed! We captured our muscle power
at the peak before descending.
The downward walk was relatively easy. We
stopped at just one spot. A short detour from our path led us to a darga. This
was a modern-day structure just opposite to the huge pond that we saw earlier from
the landing. On the darga’s right is a temple—Siddeshwara temple. This is a
modern construction too. At a short distance, toward the left of the darga,
lying on a huge rock was yet another ancient temple. This structure was intact as compared to the
remains of the temple seen before. On reaching this piece of architecture, we
found a Shiva linga in one of the two
inner sanctums, covered in layers of sand. The other sanctum was empty. In fact
it had been dug. The stone pillars had many intricate carvings. Such a beauty
it must have been in the 18th century for sure!
Written By : Jeeva Lakshmi
Organized By : Sushma & Sreemoyee
Date of event : 17th Jan, 2015
Place : Dabbaspet
Pictures : BTC FB Page
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