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Published: June 30th 2008
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A trip to India is meaningless to me without a trip to Bangalore, where I have countless beautiful memories. The city welcomed me with its usual warmth. My buddy Ramesh picked us up in his TATA Safari SUV with a great big ‘Welcome to Bangalore’ hug and drove us to his home. Aunty and Bhav welcomed us as enthusiastically as ever. To me, a Bangalore without them is as empty as a chocolate box without chocolates. We celebrated Tamil New Year with aunty’s delicious breakfast and set out with a carload of snacks and soda to Galibore, a jungle resort, where Rams had made bookings for a 2 day package.
The 100 km drive from Bangalore, led us through the villages of Karnataka, beautiful sceneries and jungle terrain. Galibore is a Fishing and Nature camp located on the banks of River Cauvery and tucked away into the middle of wilderness. The nearest town, Sangam is 10 km away. Cell phones don’t work here and the only sounds are from the birds and the river. The camp had tented cottages with cots in them and attached, open to sky bathrooms. Hurricane lamps lit the place at night.
We checked in
and proceeded to a buffet lunch served under a gazebo. The cooks and attendants lived on campus and we were served country style, non-vegetarian food. After lunch, we proceeded to the giant hammocks and lay down under the trees, chatted lazily and dozed away. Niki, restless as usual was swinging away on the rope swings and climbing up the tumbling nets, keeping the numerous monkeys in the area happy. I believe, they thought that she was one of them. We were served tea, coffee and biscuits under the gazebo, while we waited for the Coracle ride and joy fishing that was promised to us. Meanwhile, we enjoyed the melodious Tamil film songs that aunty sang about the River Cauvery, and teased the clever monkeys who were eyeing my camera, waiting for an opportunity to snatch it.
The coracle ride was thrilling with the boatman circling the basket shaped boats around in tune with the current. I was thankful for the life jackets they provided at the camp. Upon reaching the opposite shore, we were free to do joy fishing. Mahseer (big head) fish is the prime catch in this part of the River Cauvery. Since this breed of fish
is endangered, we had to follow the “catch and release” rule. We did catch a lot of Mahseer and were glad to let it go, as the fish was beautiful. There were pink, silver, gold and black Mahseers. Niki caught a Tilapia (we let her), which they let us carry back to the camp for fish fry in the BBQ. We befriended the camp manager who was a graduate from the Eco-tourism college in Orissa (I didn’t know there was such a college in India), and he caught exceptionally big Mahseer. Even the fish knows who the boss is!
At dusk, we went back in the Coracle to the camp, making a stop at a marsh where the boatman showed us crocodiles. A camp fire was lit and preparations for a BBQ were afoot. Our Tilapia looked tempting after it was cooked, but I had watched the fish toss and turn in its struggle to breathe, until it died on the sands, so I refrained from eating it. A delicious buffet dinner was served and we retreated to our rooms. Though we were allotted 3 tents, the girls decided to camp out together in one tent that had 3
beds. Under the light of the hurricane lamps, we chatted and gossiped and fell asleep to the sound of animal cries.
A camp attendant woke us around 6 am and ushered us to get ready for hiking. After all that food in India and having gained 10 pounds, I wasn’t in the mood. So off went the girls and Niki, panting and puffing into the mountains. Somewhere in the woods, they lost my camera and my daughter gave them a hard time until they went back and found it. When they got back, they found me and Rams freshly showered and lounging on the hammocks and were instantly jealous. A very heavy breakfast was served in the gazebo; it was by far, the best meal in the camp. After stuffing ourselves to the brim, we requested the manager and the staff for a group picture and they obliged. We really had a great time and were sad to leave Galibore.
Jungles have always been mysterious to me. I’ve always loved the feel of the jungle and was awestruck by the natural ambience of Galibore, when so much in the city is man-made. The next time, I promised myself
that I would visit a wildlife sanctuary, either Kabini or Bannerghatta, and stay in the same jungle lodges with Rajesh. Until my next eco-friendly holiday in India, Adios Amigos Galibore!
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Birendra Sinha
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Galibore Fishing and Nature camp
Wow ! Next time I am any where close to Bangalore , I will surely make a trip to Galibore Fishing and Nature camp. Looks like you all had a great time. Nikki seems to have enjoyed a lot. Lovely pictures and a very nicely written article. Birendra