I wondered how Forest- Brigand Veerappan stayed all the while in the forest!
How about experiencing the forests where he stayed in exile?
The trek route was selected - MM hills via Nagamale to palar.
I called up Mr Anand (9449176905), Forest Range officer of MM Hills Forest Reserve. He gave the details of the Trek, Tariff was Rs 3400/- per Batch of 6.
It included (each one for a batch of 6)
Trekking Fees - Rs 1200/- Entry Fee - Rs 600/- Guide Fees - Rs 300/-
Miscellaneous Charges - Rs 400/- Night Stay - Rs 900/-
This information can be found at www.mysterytrails.com.
He told that Night food and Breakfast in the morning will be included in this amount. Also apart from Night Stay, rest of the amount would go to Forest Development Fund. The Night Stay at the Tribal Settlements would uplift them economically, he said.
A trek team of 13 was formed- Abhijith, Girish,Santosh, Karthik,Vineet, Jagadish,Krishna,Guna, Vivek, Chetan, Sarvesh and myself from Bangalore. My brother Sujai from Chennai also joined us. Date was 6th March-09.
12 of us left Mysore Road Satellite Bus Stand,Bangalore on 6th-March-2009. The KarnatakaSarige Bus took a diversion just after Maddur Bus Stand towards Kollegal. He reached MM Hills at 230 AM on 7th Morning.
The forest Office was near PWD Guest House, we were near the PWD guest house when we saw a Wild Pig chasing a number of Donkeys.
I remembered a dialogue in Superstar Rajnikanths movie 'Sivaji' where he, when cornered by 20 thugs he says "Pigs roam in a group while A Lion proudly walks alone.." and then he fights back--> Kanna Panningadhaan Kootamavarum Singam Singaladhaan varum!)
How contrasting i thought!!!
We were taken aback for a second.
We had a nice sleep till 7AM at the Office doorsteps. We witnessed a beautiful sunrise
We had breakfast at a roadside hotel. We bought some chocolates,Juice and vegetables.
Sujai Joined us at 9:00 AM. He came to MM hills via Mettur from Chennai.
We payed the required fees and filled up the required form's for Mr Anand, at his Office residence. We packed some chapathi's for lunch at Hotel Mahadeshwara.
Mr Veeranna, a forest range official accompanied us with a .303 mm rifle.
We started the trek at 1045 AM right in front of Male Mahadeshwara Temple. We had to walk for almost 2 km on Road till we got a muddy road junction, where we had tea. The muddy road led us to Nagamale.
It was damn hot, and we could see people selling buttermilk on the roadside for Rs 2/- a glass. Occasionally refreshing ourselves we proceeded.
The scenery was more like a peaceful Village with a quiet hilly background. With cows, Buffaloes wandering like free souls. People here knew Kannada and Tamil very well.
There were many pilgrims going to and fro to visit the holy Nagamale temple.
The going is literally ‘uphill’ to the 10 villages of Tulasikere, Indiganatta, K. Kane, Padsalanatta, Mendere, Nedaganane, Nagamale, Kokware, Toukere and Doddane, for there is no road connecting them to the MM Hills.
After about and hour walking beside the countryside we reached Tulasikere.
We refreshed ourselves there and then proceeded. The terrain was becoming a bit steeper, untilwe reached a viewpoint where we clicked a few pictures.
After about another hour we reached Indiganatha village. The village inhabitants welcomed us.. we had trekked about 6km i guess. It was a silent village where the buildings were made of cement and brick. I was wondering how??? then i got the answer when i saw 30-40 donkeys roaming. They had to do a "Donkey's Job"
We had our packed chapathi's and chutney as lunch in a tea shop at Padsalanatta village beside the village well...
After about an hour's rest, by 2:00pm we proceeded towards nagamale. We passed Mendere and Nedaganane villages where we saw Stepped Farming Agricultural Lands. I was happy seeing it, as it refreshed my 10th Std Basics. People used firewood for cooking food. Rarely i saw kerosene stoves as its difficult to transport LPG's here.
However, deep in my heart i was longing that i live in such place where there is peace in abundance. The people were loving in nature and nature loving.
On asked about Veerappan .. Mr. Veeranna replied " he used to frequently visit the people of this village. He was a robin-hood for them. He used to come for Assembly elections campaigning for the local MLA.
Occasionally he used to give money to these poor tribal villagers so that he wins their trust, as he would need their help due to his exiled forest life.
He killed one Police Officer in these forests ... because he was accused of mis-behaving with the tribal women...
Saaaar, he was just a normal person who killed TUSKED elephants and chopped Sandal Trees for a living. Unfortunately, he was dragged into state level politics, which cost him his life"
I was surprised that people viewed him differently here in the forests. But i could not digest the fact that a Forest Officer defended him as a "NORMAL person who killed Tusked Elephants and Smuggled Sandal Tree logs"
Finally, we reached Nagamale village by 5:00 pm. We dumped our trekking bags in the Room the villagers had built for visitors and proceeded to clamber the hill for a temple darshan.
It was a small temple with a good scenic view beside it. We hoped to see a good sunset.. and man man.. we were not disappointed.
We called it a day..clambered down ..and camped in the allotted room..where we slept on the floor. During the night stay ..the whole group members were united in pulling my leg with teasers. Villagers offered us tasty Sambar-Rice and Buttermilk. They had electricity. However the villagers for their basic needs or to Vote had to goto Male Mahadeshwara Hills. They hadtheir own school for their children's basic education though.
Next day morning myself, Jagadish, Sujai and Santosh accompanied by Veeranna's Son went up the hill to view the sun-rise. We again were not disappointed.
Behind the temple, at say 4 km distance we could see River Cauvery goings towards Hogenekal.
We had breakfast of chitranna , had tea and proceeded towards Palar. From Nagamale you cangoto Palar via a wild animals infested route or towards hogenekal falls. We chose the former as we had been to hogenekal earlier.
This route was very beautiful and scenic. The forests were thick. There were huge hills standing majestically. We crossed a serene village called Parasalnatham.
Then Mr Veeranna showed us the cave hideouts of Veerappan and his aides.
He even narrated an incident where he was captured by Veerappan and was let off, after a day as hostage. Probably, thats why he had a soft corner for Veerappan
The path was very beautiful and we crossed a few hills and clambered down the valleys. We were also able to spot a Leopards Foot Mark, which looked fresh.
We made our way though the thick and thorny forests, while i was anxiuosly looking at the tree tops .. looking for a leopard out to pounce at me and hold my throat!
Fate though, gave us another chance.. we could'nt spot it..probably the leopard spotted us and thought "Eating Cholesterol filled homo-sapiens is bad for my health and i must feast on Goats/Rabbits which is healthy"
After a hot mid-day's trek we reached Palar by 1PM. Officially this was the end of the trek.
There was Palar River,which was a small stream of 2 feet depth.
Barring my shorts, I excitedly unclothed myself and jumped into the stream. Water tasted different.. and When i got up, i realised that my whole body had become GREEN in Colour..
"Sheeeesh , what is this .." i wondered aloud
"Its Elephant Dung.. its all over the stream" another guy said.
"Oh goodness, .... anyways, probably it must have some ayurvedic benefits" i thought, trying to be optimistic even though it sounded ridiculous. I had jumped in a place where i think a particular elephant loves to dung regularly.
We found a relatively clean place and took bath.
We travelled by a Jeep to 'Gopinatham' a small village beside which there was a huge hill called Katri Malai. We caught a bus to Mettur. Sujai left for Madurai.
In Mettur we saw that, Stanly Reservoiur was not full. We caught a bus to Dharmapuri. We reached Dharmapuri by 7 . Karthik and Girish left for bangalore, immediately.
Rest of us, had our LUNCH and caught a private bus at 10:00pm and reached bangalore by 2AM.
FAQ.
Q. Now was it a tough trek??
NAAAAH... it was a 5 star trek! ..
Q. Was the scenary good etc?
Ya kind off.. Rainy season would be the best time!!!!!
Q. Any suggestions??
Yeah- One which can be done without a guide. Beginners would thoroughly enjoy it! Chk out google maps.
Q. Any specific thing that you liked a lot in the trek
Yeah..this foto ...
