Bheemeshwari Adventure Camp

I finally found some some time to go on a weekend trip with my college friends to Bheemeshwari, about one hundred kilo meters from Bangalore. We booked a mini bus and started off from Bannerghata Road around 9 AM in the morning.
We reached Bheemeshwari - Jungle Lodges around 11 AM. After a quick welcome drink we started wandering around in the campus.

Bheemeshwari Jungle Lodges

We had taken a package called Adventure Day Visit - Rs 1700 per head. This package included four activities with welcome drinks, lunch and evenings snacks included.
1> Zip-line jumping
२> Burma Walk & Parallel Line
३> Coracle Ride
४> Kayaking

I came to know more details from this website : http://www.thekarnatakatourism.com/eco-resorts/bheemeshwari-fishing-camp.php


First I did the Burma Loop Walk which seemed to be pretty easy. Just a careful walk on a loop make with nylon ropes. The second part was the Parallel line walk which seemed to be slightly more tricky with some better balancing required.
Here are some pictures to give a better feel of what it is like.

The Burma Loop Walk

The Parallel Line Walk

After getting very excited with the walks I attempted the Zip-line which seemed to be a very exciting adrenaline boosting activity.
Once I climbed the tree using the rope ladder I was knotted to the Zip line by the instructor. All I had to do was jump.

Across the Zip Line

After a couple of these I was pretty tired and it was time for lunch. The dining hall is on the banks of the Cauvery river.
A very decent lunch buffet was present with a variety of items for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians.
After lunch , I enjoyed a swing for sometime and then sat down near the river banks to enjoy the winter sun.

Enjoying the Beautiful Winter sun beside Cauvery River in Bheemeshwari

There were a lot of different kinds of birds, chirping merrily. Hopefully next time I will get some good snaps of the birds. There were a lot of monkeys too, monkeying around as usual. One of the monkeys snatched a bottle of Fanta from me.

After a bit of rest we decided to go for a leisurely coracle ride on the river.

After the leisurely coracle ride it was time to learn kayaking. Since the river was calm we really did not have any difficulty. Rather it was another extremely pleasant activity.

Kayaking on the Cauvery

It was almost sunset time and we sat down on the banks of the Cauvery to see the reflections of the setting sun on the river.

Sunset on the Cauvery

It was tea time. After a quick tea and some more photos it was time to return. End of a wonderful day trip.

A Different Journey to Shimoga

Last weekend I had an opportunity to go to Shimoga in my friend's car. Shimoga is a small little town situated at the heart of Karnataka. A few days back my friend came to know about a certain Ayurvedic doctor near to Shimoga who treats cancer patients. The doctor or Vaidya Narayana Murthy as he is popularly known resides in a small village called Narasipura near to Shimoga.

I am not aware of ayurvedic methods of treatment or its success rates compared to allopathic treatment. But it seems that this is a ray of hope for those who have no hope otherwise. My friend has a relative diagnosed with cancer and so he wanted to make a visit.

We came to know that the doctor provides free consultation and medication on two days of the week Tursdays and Sundays. We went there on Sunday. The first phase of our journey was smooth from Bangalore to Shimoga via Tumkur. The roads are excellent till Tumkur and after that its pretty decent if not great.

At Shimoga we checked into a small lodge called Hotel Thirumala which had old dilapidated rooms at very cheap rates ( Double Bedroom at Rs 350) . The rest of the day in Shimoga was spent just walking around the market , the Laughter Club, some Sasta Bazaar ( everything at Rs 35 or Rs 40) .

Next day early morning we started off at 5 AM. The distance from Shimoga to Narasipura is 50 kms on National Highway no 206 towards Jog Falls. This road is also popularly called the Sagar road. A small village will come on the way called Anandapuram. The only identification of Anandapuram is that there is a petrol pump and a big T junction. We took at right turn at this T junction and left NH206 just before the Petrol Pump. Narasipura village is an obscure village around 6 kms on that road. After asking for directions we finally reached the doctors house around 6:30 AM.

There was already a pretty large queue with 100 plus people crowding outside the gates. There was a small shop just outside his house where one can have a quick snack or breakfast.

We came to know that the doctor will start seeing the cases from 8 AM. My friend remained in the queue and I wandered off to get a glimpse of the village. I returned after a couple of hours by which the queue had entered the main compound of the house.

I came to know that the doctor has helpers or associates who may check the case history. My friend stood in the queue for another hour and he finally met someone who asked him the purpose of his visit. Then he provided some medicines and a couple of printed leaflets that contained details of how to take the medicines. The medicines were not fancy , just herbs and natural stuff and everything was for free, no charges or anything for the one month medication. The patient need not be there, anyone can represent the patient. The case histories may be required but it wasn't required in my friend's case. The process was smooth and quick and we were done by 10 Am.

There were helpful people who translated the prescription details of the leaflet which was in Kannada to English, which can anyways be done afterward also.


The return journey to Bangalore was as uneventful as the onward journey. Except that we noticed a few accidents on the road due to rash driving.

Finally here are a few links that helped us
http://hubpages.com/hub/CANCER-TREATMENT-FOR-FREE
http://mylifebygod.blogspot.com/2006/09/ayurveda-art-of-being.html
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/films.php?id=4516

A very nice Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76819p5OIJY

No appointment , nothing is required. One can just walk in. The village is pretty isolated and the mobile phones did not work in the village. It worked only when we reached NH 206.

All that is remaining is now to wait and watch whether the medicine works. There are people who have got good results as I came to know by word of mouth for different kinds of diseases including cancer. A few of the cases are there on blog comments also in the links above. Belief is the only thing that remains.

There is probably not a single person who doesn't have a near or dear one as a victim of cancer. Perhaps it is time we look beyond the modern medicine in search of our roots of traditional ayurvedic medicines. It maybe our lifestyle , our environment that we have corrupted so much that we may have to fall back upon it to save ourselves.


September 2011 Update
I thought it is now time that I should post some update.
I asked my friend how his relative is doing and it seems that his relative is now better. These are the following details
- My friend said his relative continues with all forms of medication [ normal treatment plus this ayurvedic treatment]
- A strict diet is followed just as mentioned by the ayurvedic doctor

The relief obtained is
- ability to lead a normal life with some movement [ earlier the situation was too bad, almost bedridden condition]
- pain or symptoms have subsided quite a bit

However the caveat is that all treatments are being done simultaneously and it cannot be said which one is benefiting.

Language Problem
Language is a problem indeed if you do not know Kannada. There is scope of very little dialogue.
However the people present in that region are extremely helpful and volunteer as interpreters.

January 2012 UpdateThe latest update is that the patient is fine. But the medication had to be discontinued in the last couple of weeks due to some stomach problems. So far there is no effect(good or bad) of stopping the ayurvedic medication. 

May 2012 Update
The patient passed away a few days back. Since it would be too personal to divulge any further details I am not posting any more details on the blog. In case you need some information please drop your query with your email id , so that I can get the answer.
 

Satyabrata Dam : Extreme Climbing

Some great videos from a great mountaineer of modern times.





Some great insights about the summit.