JOIN USAnother long weekend has arrived and much of Bengaluru is pouring out to vacation spots.
This being the ‘Dasara’ weekend, and with Mysuru just about 150 km away, many are heading there for the grand celebrations. The state road transport corporation has also stepped up to arrange over 300 buses and the railways has two special Secunderabad—Mysuru (via Bengaluru) trains a week this month in honour of this occasion.
Software professional N V R Gupta has a dozen relatives coming down from his hometown Rajahmundry and is planning to take them to Mysuru. “The Mysuru Dasara is quite an experience — the fun and fervour is unparallelled,” says the Bengaluru resident who was there for the celebrations with a bunch of friends four years ago. “They arrive today, so I’m planning to hire a tempo traveller to take us there tomorrow afternoon so that they can explore the city as well.” Vipin Soni, a lawyer by profession, is heading there to capture the festive sights on his camera. “I’ve covered several other events before, but this is the first time I’m going to click pictures of events around the Mysuru ‘Dasara’,” quips the excited shutterbug.
Ramya Rangaswamy, drug safety associate at a pharma services firm, will also spend the next few days in Mysuru. “I’m visiting my parents and plan to catch up with friends,” she says, adding that she and her family aren’t planning to get out for the ‘Vijayadashami’ procession. “We might catch it on TV though.” This is, perhaps, a better way to view the fanfare, says Sneha Alok, who also calls Mysuru home. The former lecturer and now Bengaluru resident started the holidays a week in advance and plans to extend it for another week. “I’m mostly spending the time at home, though we did take the new helicopter ride. The ariel view of the landscapes that surrounded me growing up was quite breathtaking,” she gushes.
Several other Bengalureans are heading to other destinations. Deepa, assistant professor at an engineering college, is also visiting her parents in Mumbai and catching up with a couple of old friends.
“They (her parents) moved from Tumakuru to Mumbai to live with my brother eight months ago,” she says. “My parents had come down to Bengaluru three months ago, but I haven’t seen my brother since he landed a job in Mumbai.” She has never been to the ever-bustling city before, so sightseeing is also on her to-do list. Fashion designer Ramya Anand and her software engineer husband Anand Sawkar are planning to hit the Bengaluru—Sirsi—Karwar route over four days, starting today.
“He recently bought a Royal Enfield, so we’re going to be riding that. As it’s our first biking trip, we’ll take a lot of breaks and click a few pictures on the go,” she says.
The couple is thinking of making stops at Yellapur, Jog Falls and a Tibetan colony near Mundgod, when they pass through North Karnataka. Diganta and Puravee Malakar, both analysts in big firms, go on long drives every weekend. They feel that Bengaluru is located such that it allows you to conveniently explore the southern and western parts of the country. So far, they’ve gone on road trips to Goa, Ooty, Coonoor, Munnar, Pondicherry, Yercaud, Yelagiri, Chitradurga, Jog Falls, Gokarna...and the list goes on.
This time, they’re off to Hampi for four days for “relaxed walks amid the ruins and to enjoy the sunset from atop the Hemakuta Hill”. Diganta adds, “We’ve been there before, but couldn’t really drink in all the natural beauty because of a hectic sightseeing schedule. So, this time, it’s going to be a leisurely break.”
Krity Agarwal, an ETL developer, and her husband are all set to board their bus to Mangaluru. “There, we’ll meet up with two of his cousins, roughly the same age as us, and take a self-drive car to Murudeshwar and Gokarna,” says Kriti. The four have been planning a trip together since Kriti and Pritesh tied the knot in January and it came through this weekend.
Sanketh U K, an HR professional between jobs, and a bunch of his friends are setting off to a homestay at Chikkamagaluru for a bachelor party. “A classmate from college is getting married in a week or so,” he says. “So we’re driving there in another friend’s new car.”But they plan to be back on Sunday night before most other weekenders, he adds.