The Renaissance during Covid times

The Renaissance was a period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth” following the Middle Ages. The Renaissance promoted the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art.

This could be our Renaissance, a period/phase of life where we re-build our life from the thumping setback Covid has caused.

Travel freaks that we are, were confined to home since 5 months now.
As we celebrated our 12th year wedding anniversary, it was our first time that we stayed home for an anniversary. We have etched memories of each anniversary that we celebrate at a new destination, this time was indeed a sober and dull one.

Unable to see our dejection and sad faces, our friends helped me plan a quick trip to Jog, as we always wanted to see the majesty and glory of Jog in these rainy seasons. All other times we have visited Jog so far has been at loss of vigor.

So, it was our first time that we were planning an outing, though only after a gap of 8 months (last one being Angriya Cruise and Goa in Jan 20), felt like 8 yrs!

We gave it a long thought, before finally deciding to go ahead with the plan, with the threat of Corona dangling on our heads and careful considerations.

It felt like our college days where we used to be so scared telling parents about a trip.

Fully aware of the Covid situation and the risks involved, I dialed Neena (Mini and Jone Hospitality) and she was at her usual best, suggesting comparatively safer place to stay near Sagar, and gave us a 2 day itinerary.
Apart from the risk of Covid, heavy rains lashing across Karnataka made it a concern.

Taking all precautions, We packed everything that made us feel safe, Masks, Sanitizers, Disinfectant sprays, bed spreads, umbrellas, jackets.

Excitement of stepping out, back to travelling days, we started our journey towards Chitradurga. We drove on Nidhi's Innova and Ranga's BRV, as we were 8 of us.

Remembered the days when parents used to plan trips eating out was never a choice for them. They used to pack food from home for the journey, thanks to Covid era, many such old healthy practices are back!

Shwetha had prepared Idly, Tea for all, Preeti had prepared Avalakki/Poha and Jyotsna had got us Sandwiches and Bakery stuff.


The happiness of being back on the highways made us take way too many stops.
The pleasant weather through out the drive made the journey happier that put smiles on everyone's faces.
It was cloudy all along, and once We entered the Bhadra & Sharavathi River Basins, the rich paddy fields and the green pastures were a treat to the eyes. We traveled along the path of the Bhadra river path and were amazed and thrilled to see the rich irrigation belt all along.

Daniel (Mini and Jones) ensured he was there to guide us with the route on the phone, he was in touch with me to ensure we reached safe. Even at end of the trip, he promptly took our feedback on the place and noted our concerns we had on the property.

We reached Hakkalalli Heritage Home by lunch time and checked in.
Mr. Gangadhar, the owner of the property was a very friendly host and made is comfortable.

The property was amidst thick forest. The nature, the rawness and humble environment was rustic in nature and had a good vibe about the place.

Sunil who is the co-owner and caretaker over there, took care of our needs extremely well.
Our initial inhibitions and concerns on the safety, fear of the virus quickly faded away as there were no other guests and we were the only group.

After a good homely meal, Sunil took us to the nearby Linganamakki Reservoir Backwaters.

The Backwaters and the natural landscapes around was a spectacular sight.
We were provided with Life Jackets and were taken inside the water...as we walked into the water, the depth kept rising and very soon our feet was struggling to find ground and we found ourselves in 20 Ft deep water, floating with the help of Life Jackets.

Srinidhi, Preeti and Sukruthi panicked and were scared, as Sunil kept dragging us deep in the water.
Preeti and Sukruthi didn't last long and went back to the edge of the water to join Shweta and Jyotsna as they preferred to sit in admiration of the nature's beauty and watch the rest of us have fun in the waters.

While Srinidhi still struggled to stay afloat, Sunil helped Srinidhi learn the tricks to keep swimming and stay afloat.
Ranga and Shravya were at ease and enjoying themselves. I had done this couple of times before in Goa, so I was quite comfortable.

It was a very good time spent swimming in the Backwaters, appreciating the beauty of the nature.

We drove back to the Homestay, as Srinidhi couldn't stop expressing how happy he was, as it was his first deep water swimming experience.

We had a good time back in the Homestay as we sat together, chit-chatting and receiving some good hospitality from the hosts Mr Gangadhar and Sunil, as they kept serving is Coffee, Tea, Snacks followed by dinner.

Though Hakkalalli Home is a Homestay and is not a Resort, few things including Room maintenance, Toilets could be improved and better maintained.
The innocence, hospitality, genuineness, simplicity of the smiling hosts and the nature compensated for some of the irritants with Room and Toilets for the ladies and kids. Though the quality and quantity of the Food served were good, bit of variety could be added.

Shravya and Sukruthi kept themselves busy, listening to music and happy in their own world.

Next day Morning, We woke up to incessant rains. It kept pouring down, as We had our breakfast at leisure, witnessing the enhanced charm of the place.

As it kept raining continuously without a break, we took our own sweet time to get ready, and checked out from the Homestay.

We headed towards Jog, our main agenda of the trip. As suggested by Neena and Sunil as well, we stopped at Charaka Angadi, which had a good collection of Khadi clothes. The women folks had their eyes wide open and ecstatic doing shopping together.

As we were nearing Jog Falls View point, we found at least 2 KMs long queue of Cars lined up in a huge traffic jam.
There was a huge inflow of Visitors probably due to Independence Day, weekend to witness Jog in its full glory as it's raining heavily in the catchment areas.

If long pile up of vehicles trying to get in, was not frustrating enough, many indisciplined drivers getting into wrong lanes making it a complete choke.

Unruly crowds, young men shouting and making irritating noise further discouraged us to try any further to get in.
While some of us thought it was not worth all the pain, as it will get very late to reach Bangalore, few others opined it's not safe to be amidst such huge crowd in these Covid times.
And we decided to return back, we were disappointed but we thought we were better off without the messy crowd.

We started driving back towards Bangalore, and stopped at The Fern Hotel Shivamogga. It was a great relief for the ladies and the kids as they were happy to use good, clean and sparkling floored Toilet.
We had a relaxing and leisurely Lunch and continued our journey. I explored a new route via Bhadravathi, Hosadurga, Hiriyur route (We usually take Chitradurga Route or Channarayapatna Route). It was raining constantly from Sagar till Bangalore and I loved driving Srinidhi's Innova on this lovely Hosadurga two-lane stretch, freshly laid road, less traffic.

We concluded yet another memorable trip.
It was rejuvenating, reviving of life back during these extremely disturbing, unprecedented low times. Much needed energy that we had to refuel our lost balance of life, health, finances and break from the scare and threat from Corona Virus!

We forgot that we were in Covid times, as the scare is only seen on TV News Channels, FB, Whatsapp and in Bangalore. Things looked so normal everywhere else, life seemed to be normal outside Bangalore.

It is good to be careful, cautious and be aware, but surely not psyched and scared with the Covid Virus.
We probably have realized this is the new normal - to use Sanitizers, wear masks and live your life. Covid could only lock me up at home for 5 months, I couldn't stay away from Travelling, touring beyond this point.

Travelling, visiting places could be risky in these Pandemic times, anyone could be a carrier, we also know not all are infected with Virus nor carriers. So striking a balance between being cautious, taking precautions and yet trying to live your life.