On our way back to Bangalore after soaking in the beauty of the Brindavan Gardens we diverted to Nanjangud to worship Lord Nanjundeshwara at the temple of the same name. Having eaten a traditional South Indian fare served on banana leaves in the temple itself, we ambled out. An enclosure with a tamed elephant belonging to the temple, its hind legs tethered with a stout chain to hooks fixed into the ground espied us. We stood there watching the tusker taking bunches of banana fruit from a wicker basket and shoving them sprucely into its cavernous mouth. The mahout sitting beside the animal asked us to offer the pachyderm specie and receive its blessings. Accordingly as every one of us offered it coins in turns, the tusker picked them one by one, handed them over to its master and gently touched our pate with its trunk——a gesture generally looked upon as a blessing by Lord Ganesha.
The next spot that attracted our quick attention was a restaurant on the banks of the river, Kabini running within an earshot from us. Taking our place around one of the tables and sipping a cup of steaming coffee we shifted our glance to the few coracles that were ferrying tourists across the river that was running hardly half full.
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As we stood for a while, spotting the tourists enjoying jolly ride in the wicker boats across the river Suresh, our son gasped for a ferry in one of them. Within minutes we neared the riverbank, boarded a medium-sized coracle and asked the ferryman to take us across. The saucer-shaped boat left the bank and started moving swimmingly on the river and drew close to the opposite bank.
The pleasant moments were only transient since water started trickling in by degrees into the bottom of the coracle, keeping us touch and go about our safe return to the jumping off place. Lost for words we were sitting in the coracle with our back to the wall invoking Lord Nanjudeshwara.
In a matter of minutes Lady Luck seemed to smile upon us. Another coracle bigger than ours with scarcely two guys in it was spotted by the ferryman who beckoned his counterpart in it to come to our rescue by raising his hands overhead and waving them from side to side as an SOS signal for immediate help. Tout de suite the coracle came within an ace of ours. When both were cheek by jowl a burly one among them stretched his hands, lifted us one by one very carefully and shifted us into theirs——bristling moments indeed.
As if we were rescued from the jaws of death we heaved an alto-relievo and thanked the Lord. Had it not been for the timely rescue offered by those in the other wicker boat, we would have for sure met with a watery grave.
The perilous experience taught us never to bite at the bait of pleasure until we knew there is no hook beneath it. Thanking our saviours in the other coracle no end, we reached the starting place. Praying Lord Nanjundeshwara once again on our way back we returned to the car park.
