Summer Diaries - The Magic Of Talakauvery!

At 6 in the morning we left for a walk. A cold and foggy weather greeted us. Frankly, we had not expected such cold weather in Coorg in the month of May. I, my cousin and my husband set off, rubbing our palms gleefully and basking in the chill of the morning.

Narrow lanes define Coorg. Narrow lanes, beautiful and cozy cottage-style houses with mini-gardens in front of them, a dog in every house and steeply reclining roads that left is wondering how the natives walk or drive there. We could witness a magnificent sunrise on our walk. The sleepy town of Coorg was just waking up, with few natives out on a walk, some shops opening up to serve coffee and tea and vendors readying their wares for the day.  While returning my cousin had this brilliant idea of relying on GPS for a 'short-cut'. That short-cut cut short my breath as I climbed steep lanes, gasping and panting. It was an exhilarating walk of about an hour but every second was worth it. 

After breakfast we left for Talakauvery, the birth place of the blessed river Kaveri. The route from Coorg to Talakauvery was simply beautiful, with steep s-bends and hair-pin curves. Frankly the ride made all of us slightly nauseous and the first victim was my son who triggered a wave of vomiting. No sooner did he vomit, one of my nieces followed him, followed by another niece. Perhaps most of the family is made of sympathetic pukers, for I, my sister and my cousin also started feeling green. When we saw a small stall selling chocolates and candies, my cousin ran to get some of those. We were secretly hoping that he would buy it in lots. The rest of the ride went by in chewing those candies and appreciating the scenery outside. The mountains in the background, the valleys they created and the cool climate made this one of the most unforgettable rides, not to forget the mass-puking incident that I am sure we will remind our kids about when they grow up and embarrass them heartily.

There is a temple and a holy pond containing the blessed waters of the Kavery river atop a hill. The views of adjoining hills and mountains make this a truly serene and blissful place. My son, husband, cousin and his daughter had a dip in the holy pond while the others just sprinkled some water on ourselves. We spent around two hours here. 

The route back to the town downwards was as exhilarating as the upward drive. Feeling hungry after our rendezvous with the hills, we had a sumptuous lunch and retreated to our hotel.

In the evening we visited Omkareshwar temple, a beautiful temple that has a really large compound. From the looks of it, this temple is quite old and retains the old-world charm of bygone eras with its silent and serene atmosphere. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and has idols of Lord Ganesha and Lord Subramanyam. There's also a temple of Hanumanji near this temple. 

Our dinner needs special mention. Either the restaurant was too crowded, or all the servers were new, for they kept messing our orders. Or probably it was a lucky day for us. We received what we ordered and what we didn't! Servers brought chaat-platters we didn't even know existed. Then they brought Bhel Puri which we hadn't ordered. While we were laughing over the goof-up, another server brought pasta that none of us even mentioned there. This dinner would stay with us for a long time!

Tomorrow we bid adieu to Coorg and will be traveling to Chikmagalur. Coorg has grown on me because of its wonderful locales, superb climate and the simplicity of life here. It is truly a wonderful place to visit and create memories that would last for a lifetime.