Nice bike ride to my village, rains, books, small pleasures, renewed vigor, contemplation, bigger goals - great 4 days from 29-Apr to 1-May.
I've spent the months of April and May, for the first 18years of my life in my village, a tiny hamlet about 25kms east of Mysore. The sight and sound of Apr/May pre-monsoon showers (gusty winds, lightning and thunderbolts, quick and piercing rains) and ofcourse mangoes always makes me nostalgic and transports me to the village. I normally spend atleast 2-3 days in Apr in the village doing nothing and indulging in some small pleasures.
Small pleasures are fabulous. Always. It includes eating different varities of raw mangoes, Amatekaayi, Nellikaayi, Belada hannu (sorry do not know what they are called in English), all with uppu-khara (salt and chilli-powder). And more importantly plucking them directly from the trees by climbing them or by throwing stones. While I was young, there was an added excitement of "stealing" these stuff from the nearby farms, but now farmers are happy to let me take as much as I can. Other stuff in this season are Sugar Cane, Groundnut, Alasande etc., - all taken and consumed in the farm itself. This time was no different. Feasted on all these. There was a fury of rains and the weather so nice that at times I felt it was monsoon time. Added bonus was the lush green paddy fields where I can sit doing nothing for hours, a quaint Kapila river, the local canal full of water and ofcourse some books. I'd let pictures talk.
The bike ride began an hour late at 3PM under overcast skies. I hate the busy Bangalore-Mysore highway and therefore took the serene NH209 and planned to reach the village via Kanakapura, Malavalli and T.Narasipura.
Around 5:45 and just after Malavalli we (my cousin was with me) hit torrential rains. It is not advisable to stand underneath a tree in such conditions and by the time we got a bus-stand we were almost completely drenched. The fury came down a bit but it was still persistent. I was worried about covering a desolate stretch of about 7-8kms where there hardly is any road. And we decided to start so that we can cover maximum distance when there is still some sunlight. We had to cover only about 30kms or so, but in those rains it took us about an hour and it was a great ride - lighting dancing right above you, thunderbolts going off right next to you with deafening sounds, no humans anywhere to talk to and it was fun or even I'd call it a Zen like solitude (no pics unfortunately as the mobile/cameras were tucked inside the so-called water-proof backpacks).
Next four days were pure bliss. This easy-chair is great to park oneself on (haven't been able to find one more of similar kind) to relax, just listening to chirping of birds, the sound of the wind, observing the busy squirrels and cool buffaloes and cows, seeing sun play hide and seek - almost everything is just perfect (only thing you don't want to hear is the "hissssss" for there are all kinds of snakes including the dreaded black cobra).
The country side is fabulous too. Best part is the lush green paddy field.
Did some running too in this beautiful stretch of about 2kms with paddy fields on either sides.
This is river Kapila. It was much more beautiful before the sand mafia set their eyes.
Magical four days just passed as if it was only a few hours, and almost everything was pleasurable. Small pleasures are great. When was the last time you indulged in small pleasures?
I've spent the months of April and May, for the first 18years of my life in my village, a tiny hamlet about 25kms east of Mysore. The sight and sound of Apr/May pre-monsoon showers (gusty winds, lightning and thunderbolts, quick and piercing rains) and ofcourse mangoes always makes me nostalgic and transports me to the village. I normally spend atleast 2-3 days in Apr in the village doing nothing and indulging in some small pleasures.
Small pleasures are fabulous. Always. It includes eating different varities of raw mangoes, Amatekaayi, Nellikaayi, Belada hannu (sorry do not know what they are called in English), all with uppu-khara (salt and chilli-powder). And more importantly plucking them directly from the trees by climbing them or by throwing stones. While I was young, there was an added excitement of "stealing" these stuff from the nearby farms, but now farmers are happy to let me take as much as I can. Other stuff in this season are Sugar Cane, Groundnut, Alasande etc., - all taken and consumed in the farm itself. This time was no different. Feasted on all these. There was a fury of rains and the weather so nice that at times I felt it was monsoon time. Added bonus was the lush green paddy fields where I can sit doing nothing for hours, a quaint Kapila river, the local canal full of water and ofcourse some books. I'd let pictures talk.The bike ride began an hour late at 3PM under overcast skies. I hate the busy Bangalore-Mysore highway and therefore took the serene NH209 and planned to reach the village via Kanakapura, Malavalli and T.Narasipura.
Next four days were pure bliss. This easy-chair is great to park oneself on (haven't been able to find one more of similar kind) to relax, just listening to chirping of birds, the sound of the wind, observing the busy squirrels and cool buffaloes and cows, seeing sun play hide and seek - almost everything is just perfect (only thing you don't want to hear is the "hissssss" for there are all kinds of snakes including the dreaded black cobra).The country side is fabulous too. Best part is the lush green paddy field.
Did some running too in this beautiful stretch of about 2kms with paddy fields on either sides.
This is river Kapila. It was much more beautiful before the sand mafia set their eyes.
Magical four days just passed as if it was only a few hours, and almost everything was pleasurable. Small pleasures are great. When was the last time you indulged in small pleasures?
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