Jog Falls trip
Posted on August 10, 2022 • 6 minutes • 1233 words
Fun is an implicit expression of a lab member when the boss is not around. This jog falls trip was a materialization of this fun into a life-long memory. Ezaz took the initiative and asked the lab if they were interested in a trip to Jog falls. On the 25th of July, almost the entire lab has given their consent to join the trip (apart from Chinmay and Jayasree Ma’am). We booked our tickets the very same day. The train would depart from Yeshwanthpur on the 6th of August and reach Talaguppa on the next day. Abodh displayed immense enthusiasm and was also ready to go to Murdheswar temple from Jog falls. On 27th July, Priyanka dropped from the plan and Aditya was possibly elated by knowing this. He got his girlfriend Inchara in place of Priyanka. We booked an A1 homestay for accommodation (that was Ezaz’s department). That guy sent us some scary yet exciting pics and videos on Jog fall. Following this, a few from the lab have gone raincoat shopping. While we had a burgundy raincoat uniform, Varsha was more interested in a multicolour umbrella of Faheem. “Umbrella is a must” she requested, rather commanded Faheem to get it; It did serve its purpose.
The WhatsApp group named Jog falls was created on the 4th of August and little did we know that the highlight of this trip would be another place more exciting. Prakruthi also had to drop and although unhappy, we accepted it. On the day before, we procured some snacks and the Splitwise app was a new introduction. It was indeed helpful but not resourceful. The D-Day, after the lab hours, most of us assembled in the lab at around 9. Well, not exactly. “It’s 10pm” with a frustrated emoji was a message on the WhatsApp group by Ezaz. By 11:10 pm, we were all in the station and boarded the train. Niladri, Ezaz, Aditya, Inchara, Siva were early comers. Chinmay sent us a pic of the VN (as Ganesha?) giving us his blessings for the journey ahead. The train journey was comfortable but was probably made a bit uncomfortable when Ezaz woke up people by 6:30 am. “Don’t allow him to come here too early”, Mourifat told. In fact, all of us were dead by 12. “Everyone’s asleep,” said Aditya to Priyanka who expected us to be high on josh.
We reached by 7:10 am and went to A1 homestay in 2 batches of 2 autos. The rooms were good and the host Sherief bhayya also arranged breakfast. He has also arranged a tempo that took us to the fun and frolic. The tempo had just enough seats (and an extra seat that was to be filled by Vani). The first destination was Honnemaradu where we had to walk about 2 Km from where the tempo left us. Faheem has got his DSLR and the viewpoint was worth it. Ezaz was making his vlog and Varsha had her time with her multicolour umbrella. The love birds had their solo time until a leech attacked Inchara and she bravely pinched it out. None of us got salt despite Jayasree mam’s cautionary advice. The viewpoint was beautiful with a large scape of grassy riverbank along the Charavathi river. We all enjoyed it. “I enjoyed it more than these people”, said Abodh on our way back to the tempo. Was this the reason, he too got bit by a leech?
As we continued our journey, it was raining heavily and we saw something strange yet delightful in Hiremane. It was Vani standing in the middle of the road that was bordered by the fields; luckily captured by Abodh. She joined us for the later part of the journey. We now reached the best part of the trip. The Charavathi Adventure Park. We all have gone Kayaking and trust me, it was great. Niladri and Siva took single boats and the rest teamed up with those who know swimming. We spent almost an hour in the Charavathi river. The view was filled with vast waters and a lush green mountain range on the horizon. It rained occasionally, but we were prepared for it. We changed our clothes for this event. Muzamil and Mourifat went together and Muzamil was instrumental in tripping off the boat they were in. Mourifat cried out for help and looking back, the way he cried was funny. The lifeguard rushed but thanks to the life jackets we were wearing. Without any significant panic, we got back to normalcy. Luckily, Siva got his phone and we had some good pics while kayaking. The entire hour was worth 400/- we spent.
Something less worthy of money is yet to come. It is the lunch that we had. The vegetarian people, with difficulty, had to stuff their fried rice and jeera rice. “We had to discard a lot of food”, said Meghana. However, non-vegetarians were satisfied with their food. Oh! The snacks we took gave us a delight in the tempo. The next stop was Jog falls, the name with which we would remember the trip. It was heavily raining and it looked like a raincoat was a must. Faheem had a tough time protecting his camera. The heavy downpours were sudden and uncertain. I recall Mourifat took the fastest 200m dash to the tempo when it poured instantaneously. Abodh discovered the Dam viewpoint where we spent quality time.
We next went to the back side of Jog falls and the view was a bit closer and lower. The falls had four streams with the names of Raja, Rani, Roarer, and Rocket. Although we could not identify what is what, we knew for sure the stream not going straight must be Rani, the princess. Muzamil went to demand taking Instagram reels. Jog falls gave good reels and the view was very serene with heavy sounds; mostly filled with fog. We then had some snacks that included Chai and Maggie. It was indeed a tiresome and exciting day. Many chose to stay in the tempo and not get down for another viewpoint.
Our next destination was waiting for Abodh to have a bath. It was Nipli falls. “This is a lot of water”, said the driver the moment we entered the place. It was a river stream and the bed was filled with rocks which made tourists sit or lie down on the rock humps‑giving a feel of levitating in the water. While Abodh slept in the water, a few of us stood on the rocks and took some pictures. If not for Abodh’s quick reaction to catch it, Faheem’s fancy umbrella would have been lost in the strong flow of the river stream.
We then reached our inviting rooms and freshened up for our journey home. We immediately ordered food and left for the station where the train was ready for departure. Dinner was satisfying and again, Ezaz woke us up when we reached Yeshwanthpur railway station. “I was awake all the time”, said Aditya who noticed the train was half-n-hour ahead of the schedule. Not to forget to mention the memorable ludo that we played on the train; Faheem played it for the first time and completed it first after Meghana. Overall, it was a lovely trip and we enjoyed it a lot.
PS: Ezaz promises to reduce his belly by the next trip. Let’s see what happens.