If you're looking to get away from Bangalore for half a day, Ramnagar Hills is the best place for you. Located 45 kilometers away from Bangalore, you can reach Ramnagar within an hour’s journey on the Mysore-Bangalore Highway (State Highway 17). A sighting of bizarre shaped rocky structures all around, welcomes you into this district.
You will find an arched entrance on the highway, leading inside the suburbs of the city. This road eventually ends at the foot of the hills. Here you’ll find a petty shop selling cigarettes and junk food which I’d suggest you to stock up, to relish with the surreal atmosphere while you’re at the top. There’s lot of parking space here and the guard took down our names and vehicle registration numbers for safety reasons.
The Granite monoliths of Ramnagar, which expand beyond the horizon, have been a picturesque location for many film shoots. You might also be trespassing on Gabbar Singh’s lair! (Yes, SHOLAY was shot here!)
The hike begins with a climb of 200 odd steps which lead to the Ramadevara Temple. The rocky terrain in the midst of cacti begins after you've done your warm-up. The village of Ramnagar is scattered with huge rocks but only a few of them are hike-able.
You’re thrust upon an undulating, winding path as you’re entering the rocky wastelands! The gradient hits harder further ahead. It was a gripping experience to mount vertically up to the highest point by means of railings and steps carved into the rocks. There were a few in the group who were apprehensive to climb up this last part. But, with a little motivation and encouragement, we made sure no one fell behind.
The calmness and the cool breeze at the top urges us to lie down and relax, staring at the blue sky! Surrounded by many cactus shrubs, there is a pond formed out of the rain water which adds to the ambiance! Intermittent showers of rain from the moving clouds made the weather more pleasant and also drenched us slightly.
As we're a group of adventurers who have few or more constraints, chiefly we aim only in completing the trek than exploring and trying different routes. Hence, we trekked down the same way, ignoring the rumored alternative route. The overall trek was moderately demanding and must have taken us about an hour and a half, one way. As this was our first big trek, many of us found the downward climb quite strenuous.
A trip to Ramnagar Hills helps you relive those Kannada and Hindi film moments which were shot here! You could also try night-trekking and camping! Bears can be sighted here after dark. The serenity and beauty of Ramnagar Hills undoubtedly calls its trekkers for another visit!
An extraordinary place for you try out moonlight trekking is at the Skandagiri Hills. My friends and I went to Skandagiri Hills on a Friday night! As this was the first Night-Trek for all of us, every one of us had brought with us, our own flashlights to play around in the wilderness!
Skandagiri Hills is located near Chik Ballapur City, 60 kilometers from Bangalore. You will have to take the same route you take, to go to the Bengaluru International Airport to go to Chik Ballapur.
We started our journey at midnight and took around 2.5 hours to reach the place for the reason thatwe had a sticky encounter with the Highway Traffic police. We’d stopped on the highway at a junction to affirm the correct route, and two policemen found it necessary to bother us at 2am in the night for no particular reason. All of us were asked to produce our bike’s documents and our driving licenses. And because one of my friend’s bikes didn’t have a copy of the registration certificate we were forced to part with Rs. 150 as a ‘penalty’! So, don’t stop on the highway too often as you will be giving opportunities for people (perhaps even cops) to cause you trouble!
A road which deviates to the left from NH7 takes you into Chik Ballapur. There are no significant sign boards indicating the deviation to Chik Ballapur, so I’d recommend you to keep track of your Odometer reading. This deviation comes approximately 28 kilometers after the flyover which takes you to the Bengaluru Airport. Once you’ve entered Chik Ballapur city, keep going straight on the same road till you find Sir M. Vishweshwaraiah’s statue on your left hand side, and take a left turn at that junction. The foot of the hills is approximately 6 kilometers from here. Do ask passersby for further directions. The city wore a deserted look at 2am in the night and there was absolutely no one to ask for directions. Luckily, we found two policemen at the statue who directed us correctly. (These were good cops!)
We were told by those policemen that the place opens only after 3am and therefore we waited at the Vishweshwaraiah statue munching on the condiment snacks which we'd carried with us. Going on road trips with many bikes has a high probability for at least one bike in the group to get a flat tyre! And we noticed that one of the scooters (an Activa) had its rear wheel flat! We had no other alternative but to leave this Activa in Chik Ballapur and head to the foot of the hills by riding triples on two other bikes. We attended to the problem next morning after finishing our trek.
Parking is available for cars and two-wheelers at Rs.25 to Rs. 30 per vehicle. The climb initially begins with tarred road which leads to a temple. Ahead of the temple starts the rocky terrain. The terrain is mediocre but you will have to pass through dense bushes many times during the trek. The trek comprises a fair blend of steep pathways, rock-climbing.
The place is completely dark hence carry flashlights with new batteries as you will need it continuously throughout the climb. There are guides near the temple who will take you up till the peak. Hire a guide as you will have to trek for 2hours in complete darkness. We reached the place and started trekking at 3.30am. The trek gets a little difficult at some parts, but don’t get discouraged! Keep persisting! Throughout the trek, our guide made sure we didn’t lose our enthusiasm by telling us there are shops at the hill top selling hot Maggie Noodles and Omelettes! After taking many breaks, we reached the peak at 5.45am by which time there was partial sunlight.
At the hill top, there are two shops made of tent selling hot tea (the tea wasn’t so great, but you couldn’t expect to get anything better there!) and the repeatedly mentioned noodles and omelettes! The shop guy will even set you up a camp fire for pay.
Due to mist and fog, we couldn’t see the rising sun clearly. The scenery at the top of the Skandagiri Hills is so surreal that it makes you feel the trip was worth it! You also get a distant view of Chik Ballapur and other nearby peaks like the Nandi Hills.
We started trekking down at 7.30am and we were on flat ground within 2 hours. Coming down seemed easier and took much less time than going up. The dampness on the rocks made them slippery and a few of us lost our footing and fell. The steep climb of the Skandagiri Hills which isn’t visible while trekking up could be seen picturesquely while trekking down after sunrise! We were intercepted by a herd of cows which were going up to graze on the mountain early in the morning! Jumping out of the narrow path into the bushes was the only way to avoid a head on collision with them!
At 9.30 on a Sunday morning, the city of Chik Ballapur had come alive buzzing with traffic, pedestrians and many vegetable vendors! The journey back to Bangalore took us another 2 hours.
Trekking to Skandagiri in the night is recommended more because of its scenic sunrise! A Nigh-Trek is definitely very enthralling as you will be curious all the way through to find out what lies ahead!
This is one of the trips which we’d planned in advance and hence we managed to go as a big group! We went to Antharagange on the first Wednesday of November. This place is located very near to Kolar City which is more or less 70 Kilometers from Bangalore. One can simply drive down to Kolar by taking the Old Madras Road – NH4. You'll be passing via Hoskote 20 kilometers from Bangalore. The highway is still not completely laid out and 2-way traffic is merged into a single lane at some stretches. We were fifteen members in our group and we went on 2 Dios, 1 Activa and 5 motorbikes!
Once you’ve reached
Kolar, getting to the foot of the hills isn’t very hard. Just ask for directions to the Kolar city’s main Bus Stand and take a left turn before it. After the left turn, it is one curvaceous road for 6 kilometers which takes you to the entrance Arch of Antharagange. Plenty of parking space is available at this point. Being a group of 15 biking-enthusiasts, we kept stopping enroute to exchange bikes and click pictures. Hence our speed was relatively slow and we took around 3 hours to reach the place.
The lower region of the Antharagange Hills has dense greenery. A flight of steps, giving us good exercise for about 25 minutes takes us halfway up the hill, to the ancient Kashi Viweshwara Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The statue of a bull located beside the temple has mountain water flowing out of its mouth 365 days a year! This place has hordes of monkeys and they’re quite a menace. Therefore put away all polythene bags and food stuff inside your backpacks while going up the steps, otherwise they will definitely try to take away your edibles.
Behind the temple, lies a 2hour trek amidst the scattered boulders and thorny bushes. The mountain water can be seen flowing at only one point while trekking. The peak of the hills gives us a scenic view of the villages lying in the Kolar District. Habitual trekkers should find Antharagange Trek slightly easy. You should find the cave
s of Antharagange Hills once you’re at the peak. We saved the inside tour of the caves for our next visit as we were short of time.
We stopped for lunch at one of the road-side Dhabas on NH4 on our return journey. We were back in Bangalore by dusk.
Trekking in the night is also possible at Antharagange and one can camp out in the caves overnight! A trip to Antharagange should be definitely adventurous and thrilling, and do keep yourself plenty of time to visit all the caves!
Sitting through a boring lecture in my 5th Semester Engineering class, I let my mind wander through the times when I'd bunked college and had set out on a Biking Trip without any planning. And as I started enumerating the places I'd been to in the year 2010, it seemed to me that the details of each bike-trip was slowly fading away from my mind. Before I reach the point where I can only recollect the names of the places and no further details, I thought I'd put them down in my Blog for the benefit of those Bangaloreans, who're looking to get away somewhere for a day! These places should be appropriate for you to resort to on your day off or on a weekend. Also, all these places should definitely be a treat for those who love Trekking!
Having gone on several biking trips, here are some things which I'd advice to make traveling on bikes less of an ordeal.
Traveling on the Highway on a bike involves a lot of exposure to dust and air, so I'd highly recommend you wear a jacket or at least full sleeved clothes to avoid dust particles from hitting your arms.
Protect your eyes with riding glasses or with the helmet's visor to avoid black muck from collecting around them.
Setting out early and getting back before dusk is strongly advised, as there wont be any spare tyres in case of a flat tyre.
Take a Backpack.
Carry or buy some snacks and a bottle of water.
Travel light! Take as less number of gadgets as possible! Remember, you do not have a car to stash your gadgets while you are enjoying out there!
If you're going on a night-out, then carry a Flashlight.
Going long distances on the Highway in bikes might lead to strenuous usage of your bike. Taking a break for 5 to 10 minutes after long stretches of riding (1.5 to 2 hours) will help prevent overheating of your bike.
Lastly, always wear a Helmet!
Having said all this, I'd encourage you to go on as many Biking Trips as possible!
I shall write about each place in a separate post to make reading convenient.
Mobile Crime in Bangalore City is so rampant! Every one out of five people in this city - including myself – by and large, under mysterious circumstances, have lost a cell phone! One really wonders if all these cases come about, due to opportunistic kleptomaniacs or because of people who’re just lazy enough not to find its rightful owner even if they wanted to!
To mention one such occasion, I was going back home from college on my bike, when I almost lost my phone and by sheer dumb luck, I managed to get it back! Being an avid person at text messaging, I have the habit of texting even at the traffic signal sometimes, when the wait is too long. This was one of the times when I took out my cell phone to text and I failed to notice the signals change! Hurriedly stuffing it back into my pocket I continued my journey when at one point my phone fell off my pocket onto the busy road. Realizing this only after going a few yards ahead, I parked my bike immediately and ran back to retrieve it from where it had fallen. Just when I dolefully turned around concluding that I’ve lost yet another cell phone, a stranger who had been watching my sequence of actions came to me telling, that a truck driver picked up my cell phone and drove off feeling very smug about his catch!
Not giving up my hopes on getting back my cell phone, I decided to chase this truck and try getting back my phone! This stranger even offered to come with me and help me identify the truck which had by now, gone a few blocks ahead from where I was standing. We both just hopped onto my bike, without giving time for second thoughts and waded through the intense traffic managing to catch up with the truck after nearly a kilometer of what I call ‘rash driving’!! On signaling to the truck driver to return my cell phone while still in motion, he simply nodded and handed it over to my pillion, along with its SIM card, which he had already removed from my cell phone!
Feeling really pleased with myself about my successful mission, and exceedingly grateful to this stranger, I offered to drop him at his destination which was out of my way, and then went back home triumphantly!! In retrospect, I still wonder if the truck driver picked up my cell phone, merely because he found it lying in his way unclaimed, or he had no intentions to return it and that’s why he sped off without making any efforts to find me! Similarly, the hundreds of people who lose their cell phones everyday in our city, makes it seem as if some of these cases can be termed LOST rather than STOLEN! And these lost cases can be prevented only if the finder just made a little extra effort to find its owner rather than being lazy! The cell phone crime in Bangalore is not just contributed by the habitual thieves but also by people who are just too lazy to be honest!
Try recollecting when you clicked a photograph! You might have clicked many , but have you really thought about what actually happens inside your camera when you hit the ‘CLICK’ button? Well, it’s as simple as 'Say Cheese'!
You might have been bewildered when the top row people’s foreheads in a group photograph were cut off, despite all your efforts in centering it. Well, here’s the reason why… Your Viewfinder, obviously being located above the lens of the camera, has a different optical path than that of the lens. So, speaking in a very microscopic scale, if you are focusing from your viewfinder on 1, 2, 3, 4… written on a number line, vertically downwards, your lens actually pictures the number line only from 2, 3, 4, 5…! To minimize this difference in the optical path from the viewfinders and lenses, the viewfinders are focused slightly downwards at an angle so that the two paths meet after a considerable distance. This is okay as long as you are taking a distant shot. But a close up shot framed in the viewfinder may not be the same image formed on the lens.
We have two major types of cameras which are the SLR (Single Lens Reflex) Cameras and the Non-SLR Cameras. The SLR Cameras which record the image on an electronic imaging sensor to produce a digital image are the DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) Cameras. I've restricted myself to only DSLR Cameras.
The DSLR camera, through a series of mirror and prism reflections allows the photographer to see what exactly is being captured by the imaging system. So actually, in these cameras you’re actually seeing the objects literally through the lens and not through a hole made above the lens like in the Non-SLR cameras.
So here’s how it is built. There’s a mechanical mirror fixed behind the camera lens to intercept the light rays emerging from the lens. This mirror reflects the light rays upwards by 90 degrees and sends them into a Five-sided-Prism (Pentaprism). The light rays undergo Total Internal Reflection twice inside the prism and finally comes out as the image in the eyepiece. When an image is taken, the mirror moves upwards allowing the light rays to fall on the focal place shutter, the aperture narrows, the shutter opens, projecting the image on the image sensor, and then photograph is captured. The mirror then snaps back into its position as the shutter closes.
The period of time where the mirror is flipped up is known as the VIEWFINDER BLACKOUT. All of this happens quickly over milliseconds and cameras can do this flipping action of the mirror nearly 8 times in a second.
Just because the word Digital comes in the acronym DSLR, dont mistake it to any other digicam! In digicams, the live view can be seen through the LCD as well as through the viewfinder simultaneously. But in DSLR cameras, you cannot get a live view in the LCD and all the viewing is done only through the optical viewfinder.
But, recent technological developments have enabled the newer DSLR Cameras to use either the optical view finder or the LCD as live view when composing the picture, although using both simultaneously isn’t yet achieved. The LCD Display has a one-up in cases where holding the camera to one’s face to look through the viewfinder is not possible and also in cases of Underwater Photography where the camera is wrapped in a plastic waterproof jacket. OLYMPUS introduced the first DSLR Camera with live preview, back in the year 2000. Canon, Nikon, Sony, Samsung and other models also started releasing models with live previewing as an option recently in the year 2008.
And yeah, DSLR Cameras are mainly popular for their provision of changing the lens for appropriate photography. It also allows you to attach specialized lenses. Usually photographers use lenses of the same brand as that of the camera. But there are some independent lens manufacturers like Vivitar, Sigma Tokina to name a few, which make a variety of lens mounts which are compatible with other brand cameras.
Agreed, DSLR cameras are any day better than the NON-DSLR cameras, but they aren’t low-priced. DSLR cameras range from Rs. 24,000 to 41,000.
Unless you aren’t into professional photography and you just want to catch that hind-stand your dog did or your class reunion’s pictures, a conventional point-and-shoot camera is good enough. A little gauging and practice while taking your snaps will definitely yield surprising results. Do keep those worthy moments CLICKED!
Feel free to post comments. All pictures were downloaded from Google.
A visit to the Spastic Society of Karnataka in Indiranagar, Bangalore makes one wonder who are the ones who are actually challenged! As you enter, what strikes you most is the happy 'family' setup that these talented kids are a part of. The scene is so surreal that you almost fail to notice that these kids are challenged in some ways.
The Spastics Society of Karnataka started off as a branch of the Spastics Society of India in 1982. The Society went on to become autonomous in 1994. This NGO is dedicated to the welfare of persons with Neuro-Muscular Disorders and Developmental Disabilities. Neuro-Muscular Disorders affect the nerves controlling one's voluntary muscles like the ones in the arm's and legs. When the neurons or nerve cells are damaged or killed, the communication with the nervous system and the muscles breaks down, leading to movement disorders and cerebral palsy. The Spastics Society of Karnataka is run under the Directorship of Mrs. Rukmini Krishnaswamy and Mrs. Priya Rao being its Principal. Circumstances prevented us from meeting these two people, who've been like a backbone to this society.
Located on a 5-acre plot donated by the Government of Karntaka, the campus houses a school building, a fully equipped multi-specialty hospital, a canteen, a bakery and a playground. The Multi-specialtyHospital has many services like the DiagnosticResearchCenter, Speech Therapy, Community Based Rehabilitation & Outreach Services, and Clinical Psychology & Educational Unit etc. The school also boasts of its own canteen and bakery where the mouth watering aromas of the plum cakes and the muffins emanate.
The Spastics Society of Bangalore is almost like any other school with similar routines that include the morning assembly, the recess time, etc. The Monday morning assembly held in their quadrangle offers a platform for the students to showcase their talents. The day begins with a ritual morning prayer, news reading, a nursery song, a patriotic song and concludes with the National Anthem.
A very proud Mrs. Kairaili Nair – The vice Principal of the Spastics Society – spoke to us Paulites about her school and the various courses and programs it has on offer for its students. The coursework is in accordance with the guidelines set by the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) board which has recently received the Government's approval. In this scheme, the students appearing for the 10th and 12th standard board examinations are allowed to write a minimum of one paper a year and complete the required five papers over five years. The NIOS scheme of education is very student friendly and especially convenient to challenged students. It permits a student to enlist the help of a volunteer-scribe during the examinations and also provides extra time for writing. The NIOS Board caters not just to physically- and mentally-challenged children, but also to economically- and financially-challenged students.
The Medical Diagnostic Research Center houses a team of dedicated doctors and skilled paramedical professionals who provide the children with excellent care and timely medical aid. The Diagnostic Research Center is the entry point to the Spastics Society of Karnataka. When a child is referred to the centre, a social worker attends to the child and builds the file of her medical history. The doctors conduct a series of examinations and evaluations on the child to help them identify the specific individual requirements of the child. The assessments would cover IQ Tests, emotional and behavioral aspects for children and adults between 7 and 21 years of age. Thus, they are able to place the child into the progr
amme best suited for her development. Unfortunately, we were unable to get a guided tour of the Research Center.Mrs. Nair explained that the students' progress is continuously monitored. Every student goes through a monthly examination conducted by the specialized team of doctors at the Medical Development Department. Inspite of all the treatment and therapies, if a student fails to show advances in his academics, he may be shifted to a non-formal method of education. Here, the student is taught simple life skills, social & emotional adjustment, and pre-vocational training for students between the ages 10-14 years.In this institution, teachers interact with their students on a One-To-One basis. The institution also throws open its doors to any person who wishes to volunteer. Volunteers may help individual students with their lessons, along with the Special Educator for that Standard. People who are complete strangers to the students, volunteer to act as their scribes during the board examinations. The Spastics Society also has a Family Support Service wherein they support the families of children with special needs. Emotional support and information is also provided to parents of challenged children.
Karthik, a brilliant 10th-standard student, is one of the gems of the Spastics Society. Although he suffers from cerebral palsy, he is a cheery soul, moving around in a wheel chair, with the help of his classmates. Karthik opted to study the more 'challenging' subjects like Physics and Mathematics all by himself. He is the first to do so! He has already cleared his Physics examination. In fact, this bright lad coolly defeated two Standard-XII Paulites in a game of Hangman!
The school is also proud to have a Standard-XII pass out -- J Krishna Kumar, an excellent painter who is also affected by cerebral palsy. Krishna Kumar has completed a course in Animations and is now awaiting a job placement.The institution has also produced a winner at the International Special Olympics conducted in Shanghai in October 2007. Raghu, who had gone to China with the Indian Contingent, bagged the Bronze medal in Power-lifting. He is also a Gold Medalist in the National Special Olympics.
The school has around 150 students. There are 21 children aged 3-9 years who are part of the Play Group, 7 students in the LKG, 11 students in the UKG, 3 students in the III Standard, 5 students in the IV Standard, 18 in X Standard. There are also 10 students currently in the XII, five of whom are studying Political Science and five, Home Science. There are also several other differently challenged students who are being trained in vocational activities like Tailoring, Baking, Cooking, Creative Arts and Secretarial Training.
The school also has a creative arts section comprising of 17 students under the guidance of Mrs. Shanmora. The creative arts section takes orders for making hand-made boxes, envelopes, earthen lamps, greeting cards and paintings for many multi-national companies like DELL, Mindtree and Sun Microsystems. The society also raises funds by selling their articles in exhibitions.
The Spastics Society of Karnataka has entered into a partnership with PACER Center and IBM India to start the Center for Assistive Technology. Assistive Technology is that which helps the differently abled to communicate and participate in their day-to-day activities more effectively. On this occasion, Mary Pawlenty - First Lady of the state of Minnesota USA, Shanker Annaswamy - Managing Director of IBM India, and Bridget Annes - Coordinator of PACER Center, had visited the school. The Center for Assistive Technology is expected to become functional from early next year.
The Spastics Society of Karnataka has come a great way in the line of helping the challenged. No child in this institution is given a chance to be reminded of their challenges, but in fact is stimulated to participate actively in their environment and help prevent further developmental delays and disabilities! It truly makes one wonder whether these students are still challenged or have they overcome it already!
- Nadig.
