vision of the western ghats in monsoon

FROM WHERE THE MONSOON COMES..

Drink the beauty of nature as much as you want and there will be still so much to taste. Nature is bountiful. Man can never create such a beautiful universe, however much he might progress. He may be proud of being able to clone a cell, but how long will he take to understand this universe which is full of surprises and secrets? Thus the best way to spend one’s holiday is to savour more and more of what nature has in its fold and admire it from a distance, rather than wasting our time in understanding it.

I feel nice that there are still a few left in this fast society to stop, admire and preserve nature. One such good soul in the Forest Department of Karnataka has located a lovely spot in the Western Charmadi Ghats near Kottigehara ( on the way from Kottigehara to Charmadi town). It was his idea to build a cute little guest house at the tip of this hillock, on the corner of the ghat, which takes a sharp turn towards the other side. The Forest Guest House here is romantically named ‘Malaya Marutha’ and appears suddenly in the midst of thick green forests little after Kottigehara, as we are travelling towards Dharmastala from Mudigere. The guest house is just a simple hexagonal shaped building in the pagoda design, with tiled roof. There are just 4 rooms around 3 halls on the ground floor and balconies on the first floor, to view the valley. As suggested by another nature loving scribe, this guest house was not electrified for a long time. Of late, they have installed a few solar lamps.

We have visited this beautiful spot thrice, because we love the absolute silence of the place where we can hear nature, gaze at the stars on clear nights, (which is a luxury these days for city dwellers, living among lakhs of electric lights, which deny us a chance to experience pitch darkness), wander among the forests, observing the hundreds of varieties of birds, insects, reptiles and sometimes animals and simply relax on the banks of small little streams. It is a wonderful experience to be cut off from the maddening world for two to three days -no TV, no newspapers, no brain wrecking traffic and no artificial noise. Except for the sound of the passing traffic once in a way, nature is pristine and undisturbed. Since the guest house has just 4 rooms, not more than about ten people can stay there at a time and we were lucky that whenever we went, we were just the four of us.

A meti (caretaker) appointed by the Forest Department, takes care of the guest house, cooks delicious dishes on firewood stove and serves the inmates in a homely manner. All the requirements like vegetables and provisions have to be purchased from Kottigehara, which is around 3 kilometres away or Banakal town about another 4 Kms away (both towards Mudigere).

The speciality of this spot is that the Westerlies first come and hit this hillock, breaking the South West Monsoons. We were lucky to experience this event once, as we visited Malaya Marutha in the first week of June. The moment we arrived, it started raining heavily and the next three days that we spent there were unforgettable in our lives. The power of nature can never be explained. One has to experience it. Torrential rains lashed the hillock with all force all the twenty four hours. The intensity would reduce just for a few hours in between. Our Toyota Qualis vehicle would be shaking in the rains. Tiles were blown off from the roof. We could hardly view things at one foot distance, as the rains formed thick white screen all around. The roaring sound of the harsh rains swallowed all other sounds and we could not even hear each other. We would wait for hours for the intensity to reduce, when we could get a view of the forests on the opposite hill. That moment would be breathtaking when the screen will unfold a picturesque mountain, with thick green forests fresh after a lovely bath. Then we could faintly hear the sound of the small water-falls around the guest house and view the stream flowing fiercely down the valley. My gutsy husband and children enjoyed long treks along the road in the heavy rains, which could blow people off the cliff if they are not doubly careful. The caretaker said that people in the nearby villages will fish in their fields during these rains. You can guess how much water gets collected! Such rains hit the ghats for nearly three months with very short breaks in between. What an experience!

We were lucky the other time also, when we could stay at Malaya Marutha during summer. My children enjoyed lying down outside the guest house and gazing at the stars on the clear sky, for hours. It was so romantic and peaceful to forget the whole world, all our problems and just be a part of nature. In fact, my children discouraged me from writing this piece because they felt this spot should be left untouched by the teeming millions of tourists, lest it is turned into one more big mess! But I wanted to share my experience anyway. Thus I pray that only nature lovers, who can merge with nature and leave the place unharmed, should visit this place. Only those who have their five senses ready to receive what nature has in store and are sensitive and sensible enough not to grab anything from her or cause her any harm are welcome to this Guest House. In fact, we did not even like the idea of the solar lighting, because it disturbs star-gazing. Remember to leave behind all electronic and electrical gadgets and drive only with a couple of interesting books, a good camera and an open mind ; just listen to the music of flowing water, chirping birds, insects, roaring winds and rains and the silence of nature.

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How to get there:

Drive in your own vehicles for around 25-30 kms from Mudigere (one can reach Mudigere via Sakleshpur OR Belur from Hassan) along the Charmadi Ghats Road to reach Kottigehara check-post (Kottigehara is the junction point of roads from Mudigere & kalasa / Horanadu going towards Dhramasthala via Charmadi). You should book for your stay, in advance, by contacting the Forest Range Officer of Mudigere Range beforehand and confirm your booking at the KottigeharaForest check-post. The Guest House is just 3 kms further away from the check-post, towards Charmadi. The caretaker takes care of food requirements. If you are going to experience rains, go with thick rain coats, sweaters and rubber boots. If you want to take the public transport, there are buses up to Kottigehara. You have to trek a lovely short distance from there, (or hitch-hike!) to reach the guest house.
All this is with reference to Bangalore as the starting point. Other than the guest house, there is no other place to board or lodge.
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