Aavani

Date: 5 May 2018

Total distance: 191 Kilometers

Start Time: 4:30 am

Return Time: 3:00 pm

With: -

Altitude Profile:

Koramangala - Kolar - Aavani - Holali - Kolar - Koramangala

Aavani is a small village in Kolar district, Karnataka. Though it is small there is a big story associated with it. It is a prominent place in the Ramayana as Valmiki's ashram was based here and this is the place where Sita gave birth to the twins Lav and Kush. Well, that was enough of a back story to get me interested in the place. I had seen the board stating Avani while riding on Old Madras Road, however, did not know the significance of the place and had skipped it on the previous occasions.

The plan was simple. Try to leave by 4:00 am since it would give additional time to explore the place. I set the alarm for 3:00 am, overslept and was up by 3:30 am. Got ready and started from home at 4:30 am, 30 minutes after the planned time.

As soon as I started I had an issue with the light. It was undercharged in spite of having charged it the previous day and it was frustrating to switch on the lights after every few seconds since it was getting switched off intermittently. Fortunately for me I was in the city and was able to manage as the streets were well lit and when I crossed the city I was able to manage on the ambient light available till daybreak. With day break came better visibility and I could increase the pace of the ride.

Familiar route, weather was pleasant, however, I was sweating quite a lot as a result of increasing the pace to make up for time lost at the start. The target was to get to Kolar in 2.5 hours. I was able to ride very quickly after Narsapura and sustain the speed in the high 20's and reached Kolar in 2 hours 31 minutes. A minute delay, however, I paid the price for the fast run in as I slowed down after Kolar and the pace dropped. I had to remind myself that the ride was not done and that I had to ride a further 30 kilometers to get to the destination and increased the pace again.

It was 7:50 am when I reached the turn to Aavani from the highway. I was only 6 kilometers from the destination and was expecting to reach Aavani in 15 minutes. However, the road is being re-laid and I had to get past 3 kilometers of bad roads which took time. I enjoyed the view of lakes although they were off the route and I tried in vain to get to them. All this took time and I made it to Aavani at 8:15 am.

Parked the cycle and left it under the guard of a local who came by and volunteered to look after it. There were a lot of inquisitive boys hovering around the cycle, however, I did not have much of a choice if I wanted to see the temple. I locked the cycle and loaded the accessories into the backpack and headed into the temple.

The temple complex houses a lot of temples, all associated with the Ramayana. It is a shiva temple with the main temples being the Ramalingeshwara, Lakshmaneshwara, Bharateshwara and Shatrugneshwara with the Rama and Shatrugna temples being more grand than the Bharat and Lakshman temples. Pooja was carried out only in the Ramalingeshwara temple which houses an idol of Sita as well. I received a brief about the place by the priest who told me about the hillock behind the temple being the place where Sita gave birth to Lav-Kush. I walked around the temple complex and saw that there are other shiva temples as well in the name of Hanuman, Vali and Sugreeva.

I headed out and asked for directions to the hillock. I was guided to a store which was 50 meters away and told that it would be better to park the cycle at the store and hike up the hill. As directed I requested the store owner if I could park the cycle at his store to which he agreed and I parked the cycle outside the store. Again there was a host of kids standing around the cycle and I could only hope that there would be no damage by the time I got back.

I started the hike at 8:40 am. I had been advised to have breakfast before starting since it would take about 2 hours to climb and get down from the hill. It looked like a small hillock and I was confident that I would be done in about 30-45 minutes. I started the hike up the steps and after the initial climb I made it to the Valmiki ashram. There is a temple dedicated to the Pandavas right next to the Valmiki ashram. The Valmiki ashram is where Lav-Kush were born and there is a small room where the event is said to have occurred. Walk around the ashram and there is a room which is said to be the room where Sita stayed with Lav-Kush.

This was only 25% of the way to the top and I had 75% of the climb remaining. I looked around and could not see the path, however I did see steps in the distance and I made my way towards it. I saw that the place was infested with garden lizards. Every step that I took I would see that there would be some movement in the rocks around me, which was a lizard running, and in some cases they would not move as well which made it difficult for me to go on the route and I would have to think of alternate routes. I made it to within 10 meters of the steps and had to climb a small section through thick vegetation and as expected the place was filled with lizards. Here a lizard did not stay or move away, it came chasing me instead, not wanting to invite a whole lot of lizards I beat a hasty retreat.

I can't stand creepy/crawly things and I was having a horrendous time with the lizards at the place. I made my way back to the Valmiki ashram and was wondering whether I should continue the hike. It was very creepy and it was further enhanced since I was the only person on the hillock. With no one around and a hostile force of lizards to contend with, I decided to go the distance if I was able to find the path to the top rather than trying to take alternate routes.

Fortunately, I did find the path which was in between Valmiki ashram and Sita's house. It was a wide and had stone steps. The plan was simple, keep moving and look straight rather than looking around which would mean that I would spot lizards  and freeze. I walked at a brisk pace and although I could see movement from the side of the eye I kept going forward. It was an uneasy walk and what looked like a small hillock, now looked like a mountain.

I made it to the top and walked around at the top as well. The temple at the peak was closed. I searched for the Urulubande rock where we can go under the rock and exit at the other end. Although I had written off doing it with so many lizards around, it was more to see it rather than going under it. After a 5 minute search, I gave up and started the descent from the hillock.

Same plan and this time it was faster as I was heading downhill. I was relieved when I got past the ashram and was happy to see squirrels running for cover rather than lizards. I got down and headed to the shop and I could not see the cycle. I tried to remain calm and when I got to the shop I saw that the cycle had been shifted inside the shop since the kids had been meddling with it too much. I thanked the shop owner, fixed the accessories onto the cycle and started from Aavani.

I opted to take the interior route rather than heading to the highway directly. I rode about 4 kilometers before getting to Holali. The Palar river is here and I was disappointed with the sight of very little water and headed back to the highway.

The positive about taking the interior route was that the road was in better condition. I also got to see a few agricultural fields which was not possible on the highway. It was a nice sight which made up for the disappointment of seeing a dry Palar river.

When I got onto the highway I was struggling. The hike up the hill and low energy levels were making it a difficult ride. Add the heat and cross wind to the equation to make it a painful ride in which I was reminded about the distance trickling down more often than not.

When I started the day, I had thought that if possible I would avoid a food stop and would try to manage on coconut water and sugarcane juice till I get back home by around 2:00 pm. However, I was struggling a little to ride and thought that the rest stop could be coupled with a break for food as well and stopped at Adiga's restaurant near Tamaka. I had a masala dosa, two lime juices and restarted the ride after 30 minutes.

When I restarted the intensity of the Sun had increased and so had the wind. I had to get back to rhythm and this took a while. It was slow progress till Kolar. I had expected the pace to increase after getting to Kolar, however, I was hampered by a cramp in the abdomen and opted to make slow progress rather than pushing hard and making the cramp worse.

I rode steadily, with the confidence level increasing that the cramp would not hamper me, I increased the pace and just when I thought that I could push the pace, the pain levels increased. I had to back off, take a break, do a little stretching and then restarted the ride.

I took it easy and decided not to push the pace and rather get back home without having to take alternate means of transport. I got past the flyovers near Hoskote and made it to KR Puram and took a break to have Sugarcane Juice. I probably overdid it since I had 3 cups and realised that it was the shade near the store that I enjoyed and should have taken it easy on the juice front. The juice had taken care of the hunger and I was able to resume the ride. I ran into a lot of traffic on and after the KR Puram bridge and the traffic signals forced me to take sufficient breaks for me to get back home. It was 3:00 pm when I got back home.

A mixed ride, in which the early morning session went well, the destination was good, however the lizard experience was not nice at all and will send chills down the spine for some time. The morning and afternoon session was not great since I had a cramp and was struggling with the heat, probably a result of the hike.