BENGALURU - HUBLI HIGHWAY
We
travel from Bangalore to Hubli and vice-versa atleast three to four
times a month. The Bangalore - Hubli highway runs through
Neelamangala-Tumkur-Chitradurg-Davangere-Haveri-Hubli. It's
approximately 420 kms (plus or minus a few kms depending on which
part of Bangalore you start from. There are multiple toll gates
along the way. So ensure that you have sufficient change inorder to
make a quick move at the toll booth. The highway is super smooth for
most part of the journey. However, there is portion of the highway
where six lane is underway and the traffic is streamlined to the
corners of the road. This portion is not discomforting for the drive
though, because most the road is pretty much free of potholes. But
this will cut down on the usual highway speed.
About
a 100 kms off of Bangalore, there is a Cafe Coffee Day. We stop for
a cup of coffee to keep us going for the next 5 hours, get a few
snacks for the road and empty bladders if need be :). Most part of
the highway is agricultural land. When I traveled this road for
the first time in April, the endless stretches of land was dark brown
and barren. I hadn't imagined that the earth would transform itself
in the days to come. As months passed, we could see farmers sowing
on these lands, tractors and bullock carts on the sides. And as the
south-west monsoons made it's grand arrival, around June, the endless
stretches of land turned lush green. All sorts of farms from Paddy,
Jowar, Bajra, Chillies, Tomatoes, Onions, Peanuts, Corn and many
others were being grown.
THE
FLAMING ORANGE BED:
One
day, along the way, between the multiple shades of green paddy fields
stretched over hundreds of acres until the eyes met the horizon,
there was a sudden burst of orange – flaming orange. It instantly
caught our attention and we stopped to figure what it was. It looked
like a flower bed but was atleast about 3 kms away. So we couldn't
pinpoint on what it was. We decided to take a detour and drove in
towards the orange bed. As we got closer, we couldn't believe our
eyes. It was a Dahlia farm with hundreds and hundreds of Dahlias.
Bright orange blaze of glory for a city dweller's eyes. As we drove
further, there were many other farms of Dahlia. It was delightful to
see the number of shades of just one kind of flower. There were
lighter shades of orange, some bright orange and some were dark
orange color, rather closer to red. As Ganesh Puja came around, the
flowers were plucked and packed off in truckloads to the adjoining
city markets.
BLACKBUCKS:
Somewhere
between Davengere and Haveri is a place called Rannebennur. This
little town has a Blackbuck Deer Sanctuary. Though we have never been
to the sanctuary, one of the times that we were passing by
Rannebennur, we pulled over to take a break. In a faraway farm it
felt like something moved near a tree. I thought it was a goat since
it was too faraway. I immediately took out the camera so I could zoom
in and see what it was. To my surprise it was a herd of spotted
deers and blackbucks grazing in the field. It is unusual to see
deers so close to the highway unless you were driving through hills.
It was a spectuacular site.
WINDMILLS
OF CHITRADURG:
Chitradurg
is precisely half way between Bangalore and Hubli. It's called the
“City of Forts”. As you approach Chitradurg you will see hills
that are widespread and atop of these hills are a line of windmills,
strangely synchronous, yet not. Not just one or two, but hundereds
of them. It's a serene sight during the day and starry eyed during
the night. The skies are studded with blinking lights almost like
stars. As you get closer, you'll notice these are the center lights
of the windmills running across the hills. And these blink as the fan
blades of the windmills circle. It's a pretty sight. Also, running
along one of the hills is a huge fort wall. Almost looks like the
Great Wall of China from a distance. Yes I've been to China!! :D
POCKET
FUL OF RAINBOWS:
Between
June and September, the southwest moonsoons arrive. During this
period, it rains abundantly and so the fields and farms are full,
healthy, luscious green and is a nature lover's paradise. And
catching a rainbow is almost predictable. It rains when the sun is
shining – well this is anybody's guess. Breathtaking, is when on
one of our drives, we caught a rainbow arching beautifully across
with the highway right at the center. The second time we saw a
rainbow from the balcony of our house and the third time was the best
when saw a double rainbow. One full rainbow and a half rainbow.
Never heard of that? Well, there is nothing like being caught
unaware - colourfully.
