Nandibattalu Hoovu

Nandibattalu Hoovu also called Crape Jasmine and Pinwheel flower grows on a evergreen shrub with thick dark-green glossy leaves. The white flower has a mild fragrance and used in Hindu rituals i.e. its offered to the deities.

.........

PooranChandra of December 2021

 The last full moon of this year...

.........

Tangawala Babu Sheikh

This picture below was first published in March 2009 in the post titled Babu Sheikh's Tanga. As per Babu, about six or seven tangas plied on Dharwad roads. Babu ferried children from their homes to their schools and back home. His tanga would be filled with primary school kids.

I was away from Dharwad between mid-2014 and mid-2021 barring a few short visits. Since 2020 and 2021 were Covid-19 years, schools were closed, I have no idea how Babu Sheikh earned his living. I saw him again, may be August 2021 near Shivaji Circle on Saundatti road during my cycling rides. Apparently he's a regular at one of the eateries.. I would see his tanga parked on the side. I decided to talk to him and get another picture. This picture was shot on December 11 2021.

He seemed to recognize me when I told him about taking his picture near KCD Circle. His cart is the same but the horse is different. Now since the schools have reopened, hoping he's back to ferrying kids. Wishing him good health and good business.

.........

a mesmerizing morning sky

 The dawn sky of December 4th was bearing down with heavy looking clouds. 

The dense clouds slowly dispersed as Sun rose over the horizon.

.........

Home - Kyarkoppa - Mugad - Kelageri - Home bicycle ride

A few days before this ride, I had visited Kyarkoppa and I badly wanted Pushpa to see the place. We decided Sunday we would riding towards Kyarkoppa, Mugad and Kelageri. It would be long ride but we were prepared to do it. We left home at 5-27 AM, headed towards Karnataka University. passed through the campus, entered Choudeshwari Nagar, touched Haliyal road and entered Kyarkoppa road. Weather was cool and it wasn't light yet, we rode in lamps attached to our bike handle bars. Soon Kyarkoppa came into view. The last 100+ meters is an uphill stretch which gets steeper at the top. The last few seconds my legs screamed but I made it to the top riding. So did Pushpa who was riding after a gap of two or three weeks. We rode around the temple- Kyarkoppa Basavanna Gudi -went to the backside and parked our bikes.

The first thing Pushpa did was stand the cycle and lie down. The first 100 meters took her breath away! Herons were taking off in groups from their nesting trees. The groups flew towards east, probably headed towards agricultural fields in search of bengal-gram crops to pick worms.

Pushpa was back on her feet in minutes. We both took turns going inside the temple. Here the morning pooje is performed by an elderly lady, a friendly person.

A canine was hanging around the temple. Good we had biscuits in our bag and the canine was friendly. Our newfound friend was a young fella, very playful. He would jump around a little and eat. Finally when he knew he could trust us, he laid down. We spent half an hour here. Time to leave, we still had most of the ride ahead of us.

Instead of going thro Mugad, we went around it by taking Mugad-Kalakeri road. We missed a turn and overshot by nearly a kilometer. We rode back, found the turn and came down here... plenty of paddy fields, almost ready for harvest.

Instead of going towards Mugad, we rode back towards Kyarkoppa and turned back again. This is the flowing road towards Mugad. Around here we a hare jumped onto the road and hopped ahead of us for 100 meters or so. then it vanished into bushes. Then we saw a very handsome peacock at a distance, it was on a cultivated land, probably looking for insects. I did not bother to shoot with my DSLR lest I disturbed it.

The approach road to Mugad is a long downhill stretch with a school & playground on the left. At the point where the road levels, Mugad tank comes into view. This tank is manmade, road to the village runs on the bund. 

A peaceful sheet of water. I heard plenty of migratory birds nest here during winters.

Road on the bund leading to Mugad village. Both ends of this road have a temple each. One of the temples is dedicated to Durgadevi.

Sun was rising fast and it was getting warm quickly. We had to get going. Our plan was to take Mugad to Goa-Dharwad highway. The road from Mugad to the highway was steep, it felt never ending. Once on the highway, we had both uphill and downhill stretches. After a particularly long uphill stretch we took a five minute break.

We continued... passed through the upcoming toll gate. This was the first time we rode through a toll gate, though a nonfunctional one.

We passed by Kelageri and took another short break just before Bendre Bhavan. The rest of the ride was on Poona - Bangalore road. We reached home at 8-04 AM. Here's a screenshot of the ride in Zeopoxa.
 

Hoping this post inspires people to take up bicycle riding, or any other form of outdoor physical activity which is much needed for upkeeping personal health.
.........

to honk or not to honk

This post is a part of the series to educate & promote road safety. The first post was on using headlights effectively & safely. This post is on horns - more on when and why not to honk. If you are already a safe driver and familiar with this information, please spread the info by sharing these images.

Some drivers are habitual honkers- such a person involuntarily stress themselves and others too too. Excessive horning dilutes the focus on the primary functions of driving. The habit can be shed by a practicing restrain and learn to drive calmly.

Loud horns and long honking just create noise causing disturbance. Musical horns are the worst, they are illegal and cause irritation. Simply putting it- honking causes sound pollution. 

Think before honking as soon as light turns green. Think before honking at people trying to cross a busy road. There are many situations which can do without sound.

Excessive sounds are distractions. Multiple horns at the same time can disorient people causing confusion.

.........

spectacular afternoon and morning clouds

These clouds were seen on Nov-16th 4-45 to 5-15 pm. Blue, white and grey dominated the skies for some time.

The blue-grey clouds ahead of the white clouds are unusual. It looks like strokes of a paint brush.

A closer look at the strokes.

This scene is from Nov-17th morning. The moment I saw grey clouds with a clear sky in the background, I guessed the clouds were going to be lit up orange-red light.

.........

Night driving safety

This post if the first of series to educate & promote road safety. This post is on safe driving at nights or dark conditions. Many drivers are unaware of simple techniques which makes roads much safer. If you are already a safe driver, and familiar with this information, please help me spread the info by sharing the post link or these images.

High beams at turns will send light outside the road but low beam throws light closer, lighting up the curve or the turn.

During nights, the source of sound is difficult to judge. SO honking at night tends to cause confusion. Instead use lights to communicate. On a slightly different note- even animals/birds get confused by horns in darkness. During dawn, when its still dark, if you see birds on the road, flash light at them, they'll fly away. If you honk, birds tend to fly towards the vehicle. Remember not to honk, instead use lights to signal at nights.

Headlight blinding is a serious hazard especially on two lane roads without median. A driver blinded by high beams needs a second or more to regain bearings and accidents are caused by split second distractions.

.........

artistic Chitli

Chitli is a flat handmade tray made of split bamboo. Chitli is used in Indian kitchens, it serves multiple purposes such as a cooling tray for hot roti or chapati; as a serving tray; and as a utensil cover. 

.........

eve of a dusk

 ..........

Blue Tiger Butterfly

This lovely picture was captured by Pushpa at her work place on a rainy October afternoon. 

.........

Bendre Bhavan

Dr. Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre, popularly known as Da Ra Bendre, is one of the greatest poets of Kannada literature. Da Ra Bendre was born on 31st January 1896 at Dharwad and passed away at Mumbai on 26th October 1981. His contribution to Kannada literature is immeasurable and invaluable. Today is this great poet's 40th death anniversary.

Bendre Bhavan was established as an honor to his contribution. The building houses a library of books, a museum and collection of paintings. Bendre Bhavan is situated right next to Bendre's house in Sadankeri area. The memorial building is open to public on weekdays from 10 AM to 5 PM, not sure about Sundays.

Da Ra Bendre's house and memorial building are situated in Sadanakeri locality named after the small waterbody of the same name, situated off Dharwad-Goa highway. Many of Da Ra Bendre's compositions happened in the vicinity of Sadankeri, the place is almost synonymous with Bendre's name.

photo by Sridhar B

Transcription of two quotes on the arch:

ರಸವೇ ಜನನ, ವಿರಸ ಮರಣ. ಸಮರಸವೇ ಜೀವನ 

ವಿಶ್ವದೊಳ ನುಡಿಯಾಗಿ ಕಣ್ಣಾಡಿಸುತಿಹನಲ್ಲ ಅಂಬಿಕಾತನಯನಿವನು 

.........

a dragonfly

A dragonfly perched on a chilly plant. Dragonflies are a sign of oncoming rains, particularly thunderstorms.

 .........

yellow beauties

.........

thunderstorm clouds

 Sept-30-2021, approximately 5-35 pm, heavy clouds gathered on the eastern side of Dharwad. The sound of thunder was heard for a while, then wind scattered the clouds.

.........

Marigold field

 Two acres of orange marigold off Dharwad-Kalghatgi road.

.........

bicycle-ride on a rainy morning

This ride was during the first week of August when the rainy season had set in well. That morning it was cloudy but we didn't expect rains since it rained in the evenings usually. Our ride started around 5-15 AM. First we headed towards Navalur, rode up to the railway overpass and took a U-turn. Then we headed towards Police HQ, from there we went to Chikka Malligwad. Weather here is usually wetter then Dharwad, it was drizzling, yet we continued. I thought of exploring new roads. From Chikka Malligwad, we took the dirt road going towards Mugad which is on Dharwad-Goa highway. On our path were many puddles of rainwater and muddy patches. The MTBs' tires slung mud which often landed on us. At one point, we stopped to check the directions. I thought we could find the way to Mugad.

Rain clouds laden sky, rain was expected anytime. The air was fresh and pleasant, just enjoy while it lasts.

The road to Mugad. Couple minutes from here we went through a railway underpass. Just before the pass, I saw motorbike tracks turn to the left... it looked as though travelers frequented a road on that side.

The deeper the road went, the narrower it got. At point we were at a fork, two roads going downhill. At this point we saw a train go towards Mugad. The road on the rain-hand-side went towards the railway track. I guessed the other road could also lead to the railway track. So we down the road flanked by trees, it was like a tunnel. The narrow path was uneven because of tractor movement and streams of rainwater flowing down the slope. The surface was slippery. I managed to stay on the bike. The 'tunnel' opened up to a flat space, acres of paddy fields, with the dirt road cutting across it. 

Pushpa came down a few minutes late, she got off the bike and walked. We felt we had come into a private property. There should be people in those houses. Pushpa waited, I rode the slushy path towards the houses in search of life. The two men in a hut told me we should've turned left near a farm house up the road. Then the other man told that road is too slushy for riding bikes. He said its better we take the path which runs parallel to the railway track i.e. from the underpass. This place was wilder than we imagined. I thanked them and rejoined Pushpa.

I decided today wouldn't be the day for exploring, better to take known roads. We headed back the way we came. I too didn't risk riding up the slippery steep stretch. Back at the fork we resumed our riding.

A stop to pick guavas from a roadside tree.

My bike was thoroughly bathed in mud. My trousers and tee-shirt were muddy. Even my cap had little mud.

We crossed Chikka Malligwad and reached the underpass below Hubli-Dharwad bypass road. We had one more dirt track to take. The dirt track was a mess... looks like some trucks had plied here during rains. Huge puddles, some a foot deep.

Whichever truck moved here was loaded, it had left deep tracks. Also it seemed it got stuck and an earthmover was brought to pull it out. There's no predicting where the tires would sink. The best way to ride in such conditions is to shift to first gear. I was amazed at how the bike handled, it seemed to move effortlessly, plowing through the slush. Pushpa too rode well except for one scary moment. This was an awesome experience for a MTB owner! 

Back home. We were tired, the wet muddy clothes exaggerated the discomfort. The bikes were too muddy to be left as it is.

To clean them now Vs clean them later means less effort Vs more effort. I chose the former.

A pressure wash cleared the mud except for patches on the tires,

Two sparkling Firefox Firestorms.

The muddy clothes had to be hand washed separately.

A memorable ride :)

.........