Antaragange-Shatashringa Hills,Kolar

Antaragange is a very much underrated place to visit. It took us a whole day to explore the places around to really appreciate it. It is 75 Kms from Old Airport Road, Bangalore. The stretch between Bangalore and Kolar town is OK with all new construction in farmland properties in the name of development and urbanisation. You can see pockets of vegetable farms and mulberry/rose/niligiri/stone crushers units. The drive itself is better now with the New Madras road taking all the traffic. There is construction going on on NH-4(National Highway-2 laning).

20Kms from Kolar town you can see a yellow flowered tree if you get lucky (Early Feb-March) on the main road next to the Hanuman Temple. Also from here you will be able to make an outline of the rocky terrain that will invite you to explore. Please avoid going to Kolar region in summer unless you want to make omelette's on the rocks.

The directions to the temple are not that obvious and don't expect any signs. Follow the golden rule of asking the townees. Next follow the platinum rule of verifying with another townee.

You must have heard stories or might be expecting a lot of water as in a stream but in the summer months the water that flows out from the basava's (bull/nandi) mouth is a trickle but it adds upto 50k litres of water a day. It is beleived that by drinking this divine water, women have conceived and pregnancy is a sure shot.

Here is a picture of a well on top of the hill for irrigation purpose.There is a constant queue of people trying to fill their 5 Litre cans which they either sell for a price at the entrance or use for their own drinking water.

The temple spring WATER tastes excellent and you can feel a tinge on your teeth when you taste it. It is spring water and you will want to get hold of some before the arduous (for smokers and the like) climb to the top of the hill. The temple is itself partially neglected and I have heard stories of the temple being very cool on the inside. The temple is open for a fixed number of hours everyday and is locked at other times.

Mornings bring the monkeys down from the hills and they can be unruly if not careful. We had seen monkeys snatching bags mainly because the monkeys look undernourished and are always on the lookout for food. There has been news of some robberies too, so it is recommended that you travel at least as a pair. By evening the monkeys go back up to the hills where they rest.

There is a wonderful and worthwhile view which you can attempt from beind the temple. It is a trek with some steps carved out of the stone. It can be easily climbed with occasional rests of the panoramic view of Kolar town. There is a calm and the rustle of the leaves will bring you a sense of tranquility. It is hot during the summer and the water you collect from the bulls mouth will sustain your climb. Not many attempt it except for some youngsters and lovers seeking some quite time. You might need some sun burn cream or a hat.

At the top of the hill you are in for a surprise when you see the electricity poles and a small ground the size of a mini cricket field. There is a large base on the top of the hill and there are 7 villages on top of the hill. This is the best part and we never expected to see so many fields. The villagers grow all kind of vegetables, paddy and you can see coconut trees too.

Some more pictures of the villages and views from atop the hill. A very beautiful girl obliged us by letting us take a photograph of her. She was on her way back home from the fields. This girl will give Jiah a run for her money. If only I was Colgate or Close Up advertising chief.....We tried buying some eggs from a local shop but found that surprisingly the eggs came from Kolar. We did see some country chicken though.

There is a dargha that is very famous among the townees who picnic here on weekends. There is an alternative route to get to the village in case you do not want to climb. You have to climb down from the temple and go back into town and after passing the main roundtana or town circle you can ask the policeman in the circle. In the middle of town you have the resting place of Haider Ali's father

The road itself is new and takes you through a winding path. There are ancient resting places and the very first village has a very old temple. The rustic beauty of the village has not changed much and people still use the traditional water mills and tools.

A nice temple but obviously neglected. You have a shiva temple inside. The temple has a dance stage and cattle are still reared/pegged to temple pillars. In short it is a working temple. The person who commissioned it must have had grand designs for this one. I wonder what he/she would think if they saw it now.

There are proposals for rain water harvesting and local politicians are coming up with some plans. Read the news here:
http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/08/stories/2008080856301000.htm

There are no hotels or restaurants here and the only comfort is there are small shops selling some biscuits,bananas and snacks. So, have a big breakfast and carry some condiments along.

There is however an arts and cultural centre (AADIMA). The centre has a get together every full moon. There is accomodation available in the form of a bed in a hall with a request to the centre.

The place is wonderful as along as it does not get commercialized and retains the fields. Even a construction of a wall defaces the village. I feel this place is special only because it has fields on top of the hill and without it all is lost.

Someday maybe there will be a ropeway between the hills. The view is magnificent.

The proposed dam in lot of ways serves the town people and is required as long as the displaced villagers get adequately compensated.