A barely perceptible hint of elephant wafted from the fresh lumps of dung that my guide, Anand Sankar, considerately showed me. It was steaming against the fog, which wasn’t dense enough however to send me scurrying back to camp and miss the first rays of the sun atop Bilikalbetta. (Betta means hill in Kannada).
“This is tusker territory. Well, may be with a few leopards,” Sankar said. Gnarled rocks, gleaming with dew, lined the jungle track. A strong wind was blowing curtains of mist against us, and standing on the ledge of the highest rock felt suicidal. Our camp, Basic Halli, was little more than a spot far below.
Just 70km from Bangalore, Basic Halli (‘basic village’) abuts a tiny village called Kadavekere Doddi at the northernmost extension of the Cauvery forest range. Four friends — Anand Sankar, Lionel Prem Lobo, Srinidhi Raghavendra and Sandeep Komarla — set it up less than a year ago as “a weekend getaway that lets you explore the outdoors with a minimalist footprint.” That translates to 11 bamboo and thatch huts, warm blankets, a few bathrooms, a water tank that doubles up as a pool for those who can’t wait for the lake, a 500sqft hammock tied across four coconut trees, bicycles, piping hot local food that makes you go “yum” and the woods.
A nap after lunch wasn’t my idea of an afternoon, but Sankar propped a ladder against one of the coconut trees and persuaded me to climb onto the hammock. It swung on top of the 8ft- deep water tank, its sway was addictive.
Bamboo raft
In a while, Lobo, Sankar and Puttaraju - their assistant at the camp — put together an impromptu raft with a few bamboo sticks and inflated tubes. The lake was less than a kilometre away.
Except for a lone woman washing clothes, it was deserted. The water ‘of course’ wasn’t mouthwash turquoise, but not murky either. “Let’s see if two journalists can accomplish something together,” quipped Sankar, an ex-scribe, who clocked six years in the field before he chose the wild over media. The paddles were just coconut stems, but before I knew it, our raft was actually moving! Paddling was hard work and we were ravenous by the time we returned to camp. Neelamma — responsible for all the delicious meals at Basic Halli — had coffee ready. Vegetable pulav with boiled eggs and curd, and nothing could’ve tasted better.
Larger groups usually get a camp fire going and party, complete with barbecue. “If the skies are clear, many would fall asleep on the hammock,” said Lobo, advising me to stick to my tent this night. “Don’t worry, the wildlife around are just elephant, bear, deer, fox, Indian grey wolf, wild boar, rabbit, bird, and the occasional leopard,” Sankar added. I buttoned the flaps of my tent and scoured the shrubs for movement. It was midnight and I was watching the gaps in the flaps, straining my senses.
I had never heard such quiet.
