Mekedatu: A Goat’s leap

Overview: Mekedatu is probably the last popular tourist destination on the Cauvery basin on the Karnataka's side. Once the Cauvery crosses Makedatu, it enters Tamil Nadu at Hogenakkal. To reach Mekedatu, we have to first cross Sangama, meaning confluence of rivers. There is a small temple as well at Sangama. We crossed the river by foot which was around knee deep to the other side. It was fun crossing the river as we rarely get a chance to do that.
On reaching the other side of the river, we have some old discarded buses which take us to Makedatu. There are no proper roads to reach Mekedatu. The roads are suited only for a 4X4 vehicle. The condition of the vehicle and the roads combined was a horrific experience. We somehow managed to reach Mekedatu in around 30 minutes. We could hear the Cauvery roaring from a distance. We couldn't wait to reach there and quickly made our way into the rocky boulders.
We have to cross massive rocks which are very light in colour and are in weird shapes as if they have been carved out. They look like volcanic rocks formed out of eruptions many years ago. We reached the sandy land path and finally had a glimpse of Cauvery cutting through a narrow gorge. Mekedatu translates to 'Goat's leap' in Kannada which means there is space for a goat to leap through to the other end of the gorge. We spent some time near the Cauvery hearing its flow and then headed back through the same route.

How to reach: Bus: KSRTC buses ply regularly from Bangalore to Sangama.
By Bike/Car: Take the NH209 to Kanakapura, at Kanakapura, head towards Sangama. Sangama is around 90 kms from Bangalore. From Sangama, cross the river to the other side and board a bus to Mekedatu.
Food/Accommodation: Not many options available for food on the way. Its advisable to carry home food.
References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mekedaatu
Map:

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The forgotten story of a migration: Nacharamma of South India

This is a story of Nacharamma (fictionised by me to some extent), which is not documented in any inscriptions or ancient texts, but has been told by the ancestors of the community, and also been researched by some historians like M Keshavaiah, Dr Pranarthiharan and a few others.

Overview: Around the early 17th century, the Pilgrims set to sail across the Atlantic to become the first settlers of America. Much before this, a small but no less interesting migration took place in the Southern India of a community called the 'Sankethis'.
It was the summer of 1420 CE, in a place called Sengottai, in Tamil Nadu, along the foothills of the Western Ghats bordering Kerala. The place was flourishing with knowledge of the Vedas where Agraharams were set up. One of the prominent communities of learned people was the Sankethi Iyer community, also known as Sangeethi, derived from the name of the place- Sengottai or Shankotta. Another theory says that they were The group followed Adi Shankara…

Clock Towers of Bangalore

Overview: In the middle of the 18th century, when home clocks and watches were not so common, there was the practice of having huge clocks on top of iconic buildings or religious places having visibility from all the corners. Clock towers were in fashion all across the globe in the 18th to 20th centuries, and some of them had bells as well, which used to ring at every hour. Bangalore too, has had its share of clock towers, though the city has never been known for its clock towers. The iconic Clock tower once stood at the Russell Market in Shivajinagar, which no longer stands today as it was brought down sometime during the middle of the 20th century.
A few standing clock towers can be seen at the City Market, Baldwin Boys school, Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic, Central College, Police training grounds, St John's Church, Corporation office and the newly constructed towers at South End circle and Omkar Hills. Most of these clocks have been provided by HMT.

Know your neighbourhood-3: Madivala, Agara, Koramangala, Bellandur

Overview: Now famous for high rises, branded showrooms and startups, the villages of Madivala, Agara, Koramangala and Domlur are the villages which have seen an ancient past.

Madivala village was a flourishing agrahara under the Cholas and Hoysalas. There is an ancient Chola era temple, which was later expanded by the Hoysalas behind the road opposite to the Silk Board. This Someshwara temple is of high historical importance, with Tamil inscriptions all along the outer walls of the temple. The most important being the 1247 CE inscription which talks about the grants of some lands near the big tank of Vengalur (2nd inscription of the city name after the one in Begur). This inscription is by an official Pemmataiyar of Veppur (Begur) for the deity Sembeshwaram (Someshwara) at Tamaraikkirai (Tavarekere).

Agara is situated at the junction of the ORR and Sarjapura Road, and is in existance since the Gangas. A 870 CE Ganga inscription mentions about the fixing of sluices to 2 tanks (Agara Lake…

the light baggage

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