By Shobha Smilemaker

Sep 1:  Travelling to discover new places is like food for the soul. There is something special about adjusting to different situations, and learning about new aspects that makes life more interesting!

So when I was invited to join a special group of thirteen travellers (not tourists), to an unknown destination, I knew that I was in good company. We were going to explore a hidden waterfall at a remote village called Makki, deep inside the Kuduremukha National park in Karnataka. Here 'unknown' meant that I could not find much information about that place even on Google!

We drove upto a place called Khajoor which is visited by many for its holy Darga. From there our trek started up the hill, past the unheard forest regions called Kukkav or Daihithilu.

The uphill stony path in the midst of the shady trees made me breathless within a few minutes, as I admired a herd of goats grazing effortlessly on the steep slopes of the hill.

After an hour, some of us decided to take the easy way up, by a four wheel drive jeep while the others continued the tough trek. It was time for the five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste or touch to be completely connected with the abundance of unspoilt natural beauty around us!

Our first stop was at a place called Ajji-mane which literally seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. This Ajji or grandmother fascinated me with her frail short figure, her alertness, her sharp twinkling eyes and her adorable smile. She had twelve children, most of whom were staying in nearly homes in the forest land. Her tenth son's wife told me about Ajjis's simple food habits, eating home made stuff from vegetables grown in their own fields. And Ajji raved about the power of eating leftover rice in hot water called 'ganji'. She was a picture of serenity and I calculated that she seemed to be 90+ years of age, though family members claimed that she was 106 years old.

As I played throwball in the hills under the open skies with her grandchildren, I said a small prayer in gratitude for people like ajji who inspired me with the power of being connected with nature.

Our final stop for lunch was at the private home our our guide Praveena Gowda. This was the literally at the end of the road as it was the last house of the village called Parla. I learned the pleasure of spending the day without any internet connectivity, yet with immense connectivity to nature. I decided to lie down flat among the shrubs, plants and trees in total silence, listening to the cacophony of insect sounds around me, admiring the moving white clouds against the backdrop of the hills called Ranijheri and Ballarayadurgakote betta.

And I watched in wonder as the pretty local women cooked fresh vegetables and rice in big vessels placed on burning firewood. This was one of the most simple yet sumptuous meals that we must have had since a long time under the open skies.

Even the fresh running mountain water that we drank directly from the pipe was so refreshingly tasty. The cocks, hens, dogs, puppies, lizards, insects, butterflies etc around us added to the charm of this open air feast.

I remembered Rudyard Kipling as we found time to experience the pleasure of just staring at the mountains for hours as we chatted with friends.

It was more interesting to chat with the locals and try to understand their tough physically demanding workday, and how it is a challenge to fulfill even simple needs when they seem to be literally cut off from civilization during the heavy monsoon rains. Later I learnt that after a major landslide in 2019 in this area, around 22 family houses were destroyed, they had to live off donations given at relief centres set up in nearby schools. The Corona pandemic was even more stressful as they tried to hobble back to their old agriculture based economy on their devastated lands. Besides there was also the danger of wild animals like elephants or Tigers straying in their backyard!

We had a sunny day, so our post lunch trek to the hidden waterfalls was comparatively easy. We had to walk amidst, lush paddy fields and aracnut plantations. Most of the time I waded through the shallow brook waters, to avoid being bitten by leeches. Another breakthrough learning was when I calmly picked up two leeches from the bare skin of my leg and threw them away without any hysterical drama! My friends also had the challenge of seeing red blood stains on their clothes due to intense leech bites.

Besides the slushy mud or slippery rocks on the way made it of paramount importance to concentrate on where we put our next step during this trek. I kept praying for overall protection, because one wrong move and anyone could have got injured.

But we learn to take all these unpredictable risks, because the end result makes it absolutely worth the effort.

As I gingerly made my way, holding the guides hand, through, the uneven big and small rocks, the sight and sound of the gushing waters suddenly uplifted my spirits.

Thanks to the encouragement and physical support of each other, most of us ventured to sit right under the force of the waterfall. As I closed my eyes to to feel the raging abundance of water drops, beating on every nook and corner of my body, I could feel the exit of the negative stress, especially around my neck and shoulder area! It was like a deep cleansing energy treatment as my body, mind and soul seemed to get extremely rejuvenated as I reluctantly got out of the water.

I was told that the waters of this beautiful hidden Makki waterfalls (not to be confused with the bigger Arasinagundi falls elsewhere) continue down the hills to form the Ermayi stream which ultimately joins the Netravati river! Now whenever I look at the huge Netravati river outside my home, I will remember how small streams contributed to its humble beginnings!

In the evening we stopped at the Mithabagilu Government school view point to see the fantastic sight of the sun setting behind the hills. This is rare for us Mangaloreans who always see the sun setting in the Arabian sea waters.

It was a day of immense learning that can only be appreciated by nature lovers like us. I prayed that every tourist who may visit such unspoilt places in future will realize the importance of nurturing nature! Till then it is better that places like Makki Falls remain hidden to the average tourist yet continue to enthrall nature lovers with its natural glory!

Shobha Rao Smilemaker has a vision of living in a world where people use their ability to find and make smiles in any situation. She is a lawyer by qualification, a soft skills trainer by passion, a motivational speaker, a freelance journalist, a bestselling author, an avid traveler and founder of 'Smilemakers Trainings'. She can be contacted at www.shobhasmilemaker.com.