In this piece of paradise called Coorg, river Cauvery is born. Snaking through the splendid hills and valleys, it enhances the beauty of the land. On the banks of this stunning river, is a forest called Dubare. And on the edge of this forest, I had a unique holiday — interacting with the elephants and exploring the graceful Cauvery in coracles.
Coracle is a small, lightweight, round boat, which is steered with an oar. It moves at a gentle pace, with an inviting melody of water that sounds more like a soft lullaby. Each ride on coracles feels utterly blissful.
On day one, Kusha, the boatman, took me in his coracle; showing many birds during the ride. He is well informed about the flora and fauna of the area. Passing through the densest woods, we reached coffee plantations entering through bushes. On the water route, he also showed me kingfishers’ nests. The river has many islands and close to the water, these birds makes holes in the mud to make perfect round nests.
Next, we went to the ancient Nanjundeshwara temple on the other bank. The temple is 840 years old and looks charmingly aged and ancient with its stone structure and pillars. The outside walls and the gopurams seem freshly whitewashed. The inner sanctum, the huge Shiva linga, and the oil lamps, add to the beautiful ambience, except for a couple of florescent lights that actually ruin its appeal.
Next morning, I went on one more coracle ride, this time with Suresh, a veteran. In fact, he is called Coracle Suri. He taught me how to row the boat. At one point of time I was very scared. What if the boat topples and I fall into 50 ft deep water? And moreover, there was a male crocodile in the river. Leaving aside the worry for a while, I enjoyed the ‘spins’ where the boat twists round and round and make you feel dizzy.
Like the previous day, Suresh also showed me some rare and interesting birds. We went to the Island Rock where the crocodiles bask in the sun. I sat there and posed for photographs, but all the while in trepidation. What if a crocodile suddenly decides to reclaim its favourite seat? But I returned safe.
The day before leaving, I decided to take one more coracle ride early in the morning. These boat rides are addictive. I again wanted to see huge mango trees, laden heavy with bunches of small mangoes, bend onto the river, some of the branches almost touching water. Soft ripples making infinite circles, the cool breeze and the chanting coming faintly from the ancient temple across the river. Beautiful Cauvery in all its loveliness beckoning. To me, nothing can be more enchanting.
Coracle Suri was ready. But before getting into the boat, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t crocodile time. “No… No crocodile here… very far… after four miles.” But can’t crocodiles swim four miles? He reassured again, “More water it will come… now no rains no?” That sounded logical. Anyway, I was so keen on the coracle ride, I decided to ignore the crocodile.
We set out and Suri showed me wagtails, brahmani kite, white-breasted water yam, cormorant, grey heron, purple heron etc. He was reeling out the names of the birds like he was reciting nursery rhymes. So much avian knowledge for an illiterate boatman!
As we were looking at swallows, I asked Suri to show me a swallow’s nest. He obliged and showed me a nest on the mango tree branch that had curved onto the river. It was like a cup attached to the tree. Suri said, “One month no swallow… empty.” Later, Nagendra (naturalist) told me that he had seen the same swallow nest sometime back with the chicks, and they flew away a month ago, leaving the nest empty.
After this trip, I can say — if you love water, boat rides and elephants, then Dubare is the place. You will come back with wonderful experiences of all the three.
The writer is a documentary filmmaker
source: http://www.asianage.com / Home> Life & Style> Travel / by Vijaya Pratap / September 23rd, 2012
