Meenakshi Temple & Bannerghatta Park

It was my friend Mahesh's idea to go on a drive during the weekend. We decided on Meenakshi temple on Bannerghatta road. Sundar joined us. At 11:00 AM, three of us took off on two bikes. 

We reached the temple in just half an hour. The temple is constructed by the same trustee that runs the Madurai Meenakshi temple. Of course, this is a miniature version of the original master piece. But what pleased me the most about this place is its serene atmosphere. I loved the place for the divinity it generated in the midst of busy, hectic Bangalore life.


After spending some time at the temple, both Mahesh and I agreed that the journey had to continue - not back home but to some place further ahead. So we decided to go to Bannerghatta Biological Park. We had to convince Sundar, which wasn’t that difficult. Therefore, we continued our journey. On our way to the park, we got lost by taking a wrong turn that would have led us to Annekalu. But that road (seemed less taken) and was even more exciting. It made me want to flee away on a long journey, to some unknown place, where no one knows me and I know no one. The idea of going on a never ending trip seemed like fun. Sundar was the first to figure out that we were heading in a wrong direction and gave us a call. So we had to return back to the reality of two-day weekend.

Bannerghatta Park was a surprise. We took the Lion-Tiger safari. In a minibus we drove around the Lion and Tiger Parks. Few tigers walked very close to the bus. A white tiger stole the show. Lions were dull, probably sleepy after a good meal.


After Lunch Walk

I am Cool, I am Different

After that, we took a tour of the zoo. We were disappointed by the maintenance there. Crocodiles looked as though they were on diet. Monkeys looked sad; there was a dirty duck pond which probably has not been cleaned for a decade. In spite of the crowd, in spite of fairly reasonable entry fee, if this is the case, then it definitely needs some investigation. I would love to see this place developed as it is truly a treat to have a national park, so close to one of the major cities of our country (Only 22KM South of Bangalore).

Look at my new shoes!

A Drop Of Water Please

All in all, it was a great trip. Bannerghatta road has plenty of nice Dhaba’s. So we treated ourselves with some good food along the way. Well that was a short, unplanned trip, yet for me a special one for various reasons. Every unexpected journey is special for plenty of reasons, for what is seen, heard or felt. At this point, I recall a thought that had once come to me – “It’s not the place where we go or what we see that makes a journey memorable, but it’s how we feel at that particular moment, is what makes it special.”

Weekends Up!

Comments

  1. missing blore
    *howlllllllllll*

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  2. Rao, excellent story down there. Perhaps you should follow suit, and speak up a bit! Not as much as I do, but at least a little :-) .Neat pics of the park... especially the heavy-lunch nap! Also, please tell Mahesh that his two posts were great! I dont have a blogger id; hence could not comment on his blog page. Thanks!

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  3. I need to go to Bannerghatta too!!!! Considering the fact that my office is on Bannerghatta Road, you'd expect me to have been there already :)

    Btw, I went to shivanasamudra this weekend. Awesome place dude. Will post pics soon. Right time to visit now. :)

    I understand what you mean, when you took the back seat on the bike, my rear-end hurts too. :D

    "It’s not the place where we go or what we see, that makes trips memorable, it’s how we feel at that particular moment, is what stays.”
    Agreed. And company that you have while you travel, matters a lot.

    Btw, whats the cost of safari?

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  4. I ve been to the original temple ..Looks the same ..but that temple is so overcrowded and huge, my small cousin was lost for hours !!!!

    unplanned sudden trips are more fun I feel .. :)

    me too want to go to bannerghatta ...have heard a lot about that from various people ...tigers look great ..

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  5. @Bharat - Thanks

    @ Dharmu - Can understand...When are you visiting India next?

    @Sush - Thanks, Well that was writen 2 years back. And from that day to this day things have drastically changed. Do you think I speak less now? Probably you never saw the silent type.

    @ Harsha- Thanks. Yes company too counts, all clubs into what you feel i guess.

    The safari cost us Rs 80...the grand safari cost around Rs 110

    @ Reborn - That should have been an awefull experience to have someone lost in such big crowd.

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  6. Nice pics...! but help me out on some of the vocab, will ya?
    - Pulsar = ?
    - Dhaba = ?

    Ha ha :)

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  7. Great pictures Ajeya. I took the kids to Bannerghatta National park the last time we visited Bangalore. Actually it is not far from my parents' house. I remember going there as a child and wanted my kids to see it too. We too did the lion and tiger safari. We also went on the elephant safari, basically we all got to sit on the elephant and go for a ride. The kids were thrilled. They later got to feed the elephants too. It was fun. Your post brought back so many memories:))
    Also thanks for inquiring about me. Its been a crazy couple of weeks since schools started. We're all slowly getting back into the swing of things. My latest post is up, finally:))

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  8. @Lee - Pulsar is the name of a bike in India.
    Dhaba means a road side restaurant that offers good north Indian food.

    :-) Sorry dint provide the translations...

    @ Travel Plaza- Thanks, I should go back and try the other safari's then. So are you originally from bangalore?

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