Chennai: My job working as a marketing executive has taken me around South India, with visits to even the smaller towns and villages. Ideally, every time I’m asked to go on a work trip, I try to combine it with the pleasure of visiting a tourist destination too. This practice has left me with a treasure trove of memories and a new found love for photography. One such trip was to the Hogenakkal Falls along the Tamil Nadu border.
It was an impromptu plan, one that I was skeptical of after a trip to the Anekal waterfalls near Bengaluru turned out to be disappointing. We set out by bus to the village of Dharmapuri from where we were told Hogenakkal was only 20 km away. Reaching right on time for breakfast, the idyllic village had a small tea shop that served amazing fare.
The hand ground rice made for some fluffly idlis, served with steaming hot sambhar and some fresh vadas. The tea too was flavoursome: it was the effect of city hotel food having numbed the taste buds with their artificiality and additives perhaps.
We moved on to Hogenakkal by bus, stopping occasionally to greet unexpected intruders: monkeys. They didn’t bother us once they’d got packets of biscuits from us. The bus stopped at the waterfalls. Calling it majestic would be an understatement. We just couldn’t wait to get close to the crystal-clear waters.
Hogenakkal is quite hot, but the water is icy cold, even at noon. The pleasures of dipping one’s feet in the Kaveri that passes by beats the experience of any city spa. Relaxed and rejuvenated, we hopped on to one of coracles — a local must-do. Ours was a six-seater coracle and our oarsmen managed to get two people more on board. The signature move for these rides is to get taken to the middle of the lake and for the boat to be twirled several times for the thrill of it.
Our boat started to rock too much for our liking, considering how my friend and I did not know how to swim. While we prayed for our lives, the others on the boat were more worried about getting their clothes wet. Just when one felt one was about to fall into the water, the oarsman took control and we felt safe once more.
Tens of tiny fish jumped into the coracle, a few managing to even get into a traveller’s pocket. As we rode merrily down the lake, other boats came by, offering refreshments. It was time for lunch — and that was special! We sat along with a local fisherman who caught us two large freshwater fish and took it to one of the many stalls that cook them on the spot for you and serve it simply, paired with boiled white rice and oorgai (pickle). This was heavenly; so too was the nap we took thereafter to the sound of flowing water.
The monkeys made their way back, disturbing our little siesta. A gang of them ambled in, taking away a lady’s shawl, which could not be retrieved. Walking along the river, we found a few spots on the rocks and sat on them for some time till the sun set. Calling it a night, we slept outdoors and woke up to catch the bus to Dharmapuri, where our journey came to an end.
