Kabini River Lodge

Take an air-conditioned bus, a whole bunch of families and the right destination and you’ve got yourself a holiday of a lifetime. Spammers have already started singing paeans on the excellent crowd and the fun filled time that ensconced this trip not to mention the inundated server filled with digital photos of all and sundry!!! And for once we all agree on something considering the previous arguments we have had on these mail groups! The bachelor’s party at Jaladhama resorts some time ago had instigated a few discordant murmurs among the familied class which prompted the newly formed eComm folks to explore larger places which could accommodate atleast about 70 people without causing the occupants to have a claustrophobic feel. A 300 million$ company’s India’s operations plus family surely adds up to more than the prescribed number which prompted the organizers to arrange the jaunt in two batches. Hectic preparations thru mailers, extended cafeteria discussions and even board room meetings preceded the D-day. A final Mailer on the (D – 1) day detailed out the pick-up points along with the employee names and their add-ons.

Departure was spot-on at around 7 a.m though some folks had to drive long hours to reach the rendezvous at office. An earnings call irrespective of the company’s extremely good tidings wouldn’t have prompted such punctuality! A few more pick-ups were scheduled on the way. Every new entrant at these meeting points was greeted boisterously adding faith to the adage “The more the merrier”! Breakfast was arranged at the Kamat Lokaruchi restaurant located about an hour’s journey from Bangalore. The well laid out buffet menu was just an example of the culinary delights that awaited us during the weekend. At this juncture a few people swapped buses to balance out the noise levels since one was unfairly packed with folks with highly muscular vocals. Now, this attribute coupled with an inexhaustible recollection of songs in all languages surely led to a game of antakshari which was another opportunity to break the ice between the unknowns in our bus. Sadly even after 4 hours of non-stop singing, there was no clear winner and the contest ended in a stalemate. Not too surprising considering that Bollywood alone produces hundreds of movies each with at least 4 songs and folks like Srevats had a neat file with lyrics for songs!

The Kabini River Lodge at Nagarhole National Park is a hundred year old hunting lodge originally built for the Maharaja of Mysore. Rated among the top five wildlife resorts in the world by a popular British magazine called Tatlers, it is run by Jungle Lodges & Resorts under the tourism department of the Government of Karnataka. Set up in 1980 under the guidance of Colonel John Wakefield, this place has an interesting history. The camp was once the hunting lodge of the erstwhile maharaja of Mysore, Krishna Rajendra Wodeyar, and the epicentre of 'Kheddah' operations – corralling wild elephants for domestication – until it was banned. Old, framed photographs depicting these scenes and those of the maharaja and his British guests adorn the walls of the century old, charming buildings like the bungalows and conference area. New cottages and semi-permanent tents have been added later, on the banks of the river. Scattered elsewhere on the sprawling, 55 acres lodge are quiet nature trails which we never took, tree top watchtowers that couldn’t bear our combined weight and almost gave way, recreational buildings and the quaint, gazebo food court. Located at Karapur, on the fringes of the Nagarahole Wildlife National Park, it is 220 Kms from Bangalore via Mysore. Here was an ideal place for a relaxing day out surrounded by Nature. The whole place was exclusive to our motley crowd except for an odd couple or two who probably couldn’t resist the quaint Victorian settings that weekend. We were greeted by the staff who were dressed in khaki fatigues. Room allocations were probably determined apriori which saved quite some time and off we went in different directions to the bungalows. The bachelors were allotted cottages on the river front while the couples chose the privacy of the bungalows. Some of the adventurous opted for the tents. The lapping waters around the cottages enticed Chidu and Belliappa for a swim though prominent sign boards along the banks warned swimmers about hungry crocodiles waiting for their next meal! The northern bungalow where Chetana and I stayed had 5 rooms in a row with a huge verandah at the front. The rooms were really big with high wooden false ceilings and a separate bath area which was surely bigger than our bedroom back home! Essentials like an umbrella, mosquito repellants, a water kettle and tea bags formed part of the furnishings. A refreshing wash later, we were to assemble at the Gol Ghar(food court) for a small briefing on the locale and the activities thereof. Huge hammocks similar to trampolines are strung all around the trees facing the waterside. I guess these are meant to provide a siesta after the sumptuous lunch served at the food court. There was ample time available before the next activity which gave us enough reason to showcase our acrobatic skills on the hammocks. Rama Sudhir pioneered the concept of vaulting onto the net which was then imitated by a host of other folks. Chetan then went a step further by performing a somersault from a platform atop the tree house. This was wildly cheered by the crowd below and must be the most photographed moment of the whole trip!

The monsoons are the worst time for animal sightings though it’s Utopia for the animals with abundance in everything. Owing to this, expectations were low which had even prompted me not to get my sophisticated camera and its accessories. How I missed them the next day!!!The rains had converted the last vestiges of what remained of the jeep tracks into slushy pools and the ride in the 4-wheel drive was something to remember. The jeep waltzed and whined but never stopped in its tracks! And with Baskar’s omniscience on jeeps, the drive was made even more fascinating! The jeep once strayed off track but was restored back after a small lift/push by its occupants. A couple of domesticated elephants strode so close to the jeep that we could pat their scruffy trunks. Herds of Chital or the spotted deer were in abundance. A peacock, flocks of jungle fowl and a couple of black langurs comprised our sightings for the day. We should consider ourselves lucky to have glimpsed so much in the monsoons. Our driver decided to take us to a watchtower nearby which was next to a watering hole on the fringes of the core zone. The walk from the jeep to the walk tower was quite an ordeal owing to the slush. Perched atop the watch tower, we could hear the dissonance of the peacock calls coupled with the ducks’ quacking mingling with the other melodious calls whose source we couldn’t trace. We spent about half an hour on the tower before trudging carefully back to the jeep. The track which leads to the watch tower is just one lane and therefore vehicles have to drive off-road to turn back and rejoin the track. A bigger vehicle which had similar plans of visiting the tower got horribly stuck while trying the maneuver the tricky slush. Then started the fun of trying to get it out! Instructions started flying all over with people pushing and pulling and probably even praying together! Vikram’s idea of dragging a branch below the back wheels proved to be the closest solution before another smart Alec spoilt it by asking the poor driver to force the vehicle out in reverse gear. With the vehicle now firmly stuck in all 4 wheels, the only solution was to get a chain from the nearest village and use it to pull with our jeep. The first few attempts saw the chain snap thankfully without hurting any of the curious onlookers. A shortened length of the chain finally saw the huge vehicle tumble out of it’s self-created trench to the cheer of all of us. Night fell fast over the Nagarhole reserve forest as our open jeep with its six occupants wended its way along the twisting dirt track. With visibility down in the gloom of the gathering night- the headlights turned off to avoid dazzling the animals – the driver steered the vehicle expertly around bends and gullies. Late evenings are the best time for animal sightings we had heard and weren’t disappointed. An elephant calf protected by her mother and aunt gazed curiously at us and we reciprocated faithfully. A false charge of a few steps created a slight panic among us and we chose to drive away lest we disturb their privacy. A family of Gaurs sans the bull was spotted too a few hundred meters further down the track. A retreating herd of chital bade us farewell before the safari came to an end.

Back at the lodge we were treated to a beautifully made film on Nagarhole. We gleaned that during the summer months of March to May, when the forest dries up, the animals move to the rivers and watering holes and are thus easier to spot. Unlike other films on national geographic or animal planet, this film aroused a sense of belonging since we could relate to its contents. A bar-counter was set up around the campfire and starters along with a range of liquors formed the prelude to that day’s dinner. The ‘prelude’ though continued almost until midnight thus forcing most of us to not do justice to the wonderful dinner spread. We retired to our cottages for a restful sleep.

I woke up the next morning in gleeful anticipation of another safari. Chetana and I hopped on to a jeep along with Muthu and his kids plus Vishwa and his kids. The dull grey skies coupled with the clammy morning weather dampened all hopes of sighting any animals leave alone the elusive cats. But to our mild surprise we were greeted by a lone tusker grazing nonchalantly just a couple of kilometers from the lodge even before we entered the reserve forest area! He was a bit shy and tried to hide behind a few bamboo shreds which was quite comical considering his huge bulk. Nonetheless he was in full view for all of us for about a minute before we decided to move on. A few minutes later, more surprises were to follow. A leopard in all it’s splendor crossed our road right in front of us! Vishwa at the front seat was the first to alert us and within seconds we were all glued to this majestic sight! After all these years of foraging in the forests, this was my first sighting of a wild cat in India and I should admit Chetana and I were as excited as the kids in our jeep! The cat stood its ground realizing that we posed no harm to him but was disturbed by the screeching tyres of the gypsy behind us which had rushed at break-neck speed to share this rare glimpse. He slowly moved off into the thickets while I replayed the view a million times back in my mind. An elephant ride was next on the cards which excited the kids a lot. For me though, it was a welcome break from the hard open jeep seats to the comfort of the swaying back of the giant animal. We then rode out to the reservoir which is surrounded by the Wynad, Madhumalai and Bandipur forests. We chose the motor boat to the coracle mainly to see more of the reservoir in the limited time we had. This place teems with bird life -- an astounding 200 varieties. You'll find them on the banks or perched on nests precariously poised on bare tree trunks protruding from the water, or in flocks sweeping across the painted sky, or sometimes delicately skimming the water in a timeless motion. We were witness to the mating ritual of a couple of tree frogs too on the banks which now forms my mobile phone wallpaper!

After a quick brunch and some more jumping on the trampoline nets, we had to leave since the next batch of guests had already arrived. Prying on these beasts in their natural habitat offers a glimpse of the truly wild and I felt a curious mix of wonder and elation especially after having experienced the leopard sighting! The wonderful crowd made the experience even more worthwhile. A brief halt at ToNNur kere on the way was another refreshing break before we headed back to Bangalore.

~Sandy