Does the name Malgudi Days ring a bell? Those born in the 80s would surely remember the melodious 'tanana tana nana na' music that marked the beginning of one of the best serials ever made for the Indian television – Malgudi Days. Who would not remember Swami and his friends as they bunked school, missed doing homework, scored badly in exams, stood up for friends, feared their father, ran to their grandmother with their requests and played cricket? All the endearing characters – Swami, Rajam, Mani, Somu and Shankar.
I had read Swami and Friends during one summer vacation when I visited my grandparents and it was an instant love. Back then I believed, like so many others do, that Malgudi did exist and I wanted to visit the village. Thanks to google, I finally managed tracing the home used for the shooting of Malgudi days. So, when a long weekend presented itself, we decided to drive to Agumbe, the Cherrapunji of South. Agumbe is known for its rain forest, reptiles and insects. It also houses Dodda Mane, the home where Swami lived 30 years ago when Malgudi was shot.
We started early from Bangalore, now Bengaluru. However, we ended up taking a flyover by mistake which costed us a few extra kilometres and an hour of traffic. Once out of Bangalore, the drive was so scenic. We drove through multiple villages with their small homes and hens, gardens, people walking about slowly, something we never see in the cities. Every few hundred meters, there were shops selling south Indian delicacies like Idli and Dosa. And then there was filter coffee. After driving for a couple of hours, we stopped at a roadside stall to have some local food and coffee, and moved ahead.
I had called up Dodda Mane the previous week to book a room for us and spoke to Akka who owns the place. I was told that we can get accommodation for just a night, it being a long weekend, the rooms were already booked. We decided to go ahead with our plan. We reached the place in the early afternoon.
Tip for travelers:
There are a lot of buses that leave from Bangalore and drop travelers right in front of Dodda Mane. Do book your stay in advance, usually the family tries to accommodate your request but sometimes they are full, and you would not want to miss out on this experience. I didn’t see too many local transport options there, but the locals may be able to help with autos.
Agumbe lived up to its reputation of being Cherrapunji of South. We were greeted by overcast skies. Once we settled in the room, Akka gave us, we were informed of meal timings. She also gave us suggestions of where we could go the next day. Due to monsoons, most waterfalls were sealed off for the public and only one was still accessible.
We stepped out to explore Agumbe viewpoint but were greeted with torrential rains and had to quickly take cover. Shortly after, we returned to the home and settled down in our room watching the rain and sipping on tea. Akka called us for dinner sharp at 8:30pm and it was out of the world.
While we wanted to do a night hike to photograph the insects and reptiles, this was not the season. We plan to go back at a more suitable time for that. The next morning, we had no choice but to leave. However, we were served the best of breakfast I have ever had. Yummy sweet dosa and ghee, followed by sour dosas, the food was so amazing that we couldn't stop stuffing ourselves. We decided to visit the Sirimane Falls and head to Sakhleshpur. The view to the falls was breathtaking.
We next went to the Kundadri Betta in Shimoga district. We visited the Jain temple, but it was the pond which caught my fancy and we spent some time there looking over the surrounding villages.
We then drove to Sakhleshpur, we had booked our stay at the Misty Mountains. The drive itself was the highlight of the trip. Winding roads, pretty parrots, colorful and uncommon flora, coffee estates marked the place. Our room overlooked the green meadows. We spent a lot of time just walking around or sitting on the porch.
The place serves good food and the owner was very helpful. It was a very different experience to walk on greens barefooted. We aimlessly strolled to some other properties as well and were lost amongst such lush green trees.
Next morning, it was time for us to leave the natures lap and head back to our regular lives but with rejuvenated body and soul.