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This was another fun road trip. It was a unique experience as this was done by me and my cousins and we had super fun while at it. Mum’s with kids in tow, and not a single male member of the family! Can you imagine it?

Coming back to the trip, Chitradurg is a fort town around 4 hours from Bangalore. As we went over a long weekend, we visited Chitradurg, Davangere and Shimogga. We stayed in Davangere but Chitradurg too have good stay options.

How to reach Chitradurg

By Road- The drive is good and the roads are fantastic! Should be around 3 hours

By Bus – There are enough private and public transport buses  which ply between Bangalore and Chitradurg or go via Chitradurg.

Trains – There is a Bangalore Chirtradurg passenger, but overall I won’t recommend a train journey as it is time consuming.

This was just another summer vacation where me and my cousins and their kids had gathered for a few days. Many of our plans didn’t pan out, and the men of the household were busy or not interested, we took it up as a challenge to go on a short trip! A bunch of hyper active kids can make a mom’s resolve stronger and we were 4 of us!

Chitradurg

We hired a vehicle and reached Chitradurg just before noon. While we did manage to see the whole fort, it is better to go there early evening. The fort and the surrounding areas are bare and mostly made of huge boulders and there is hardly any respite from the sun.

Chitradurg fort is now maintained by ASI and there is a small entry fee involved. There is parking available and hence even that wasn’t a problem. The fort is known for its strong fortification, defense and technology used.

However, what fascinated me about this fort was the story associated with it! The story that made Chitradurg famous is not about some king or his queen it is about the valor of a wife of a simple guard!

Brave Onake Obbava

Obbava, the wife of a guard made history here when almost single-handedly she defeated the forces of Hyder Ali. Chitradurg was considered impregnable but a chance citing of a man entering the fort from a small hole in the boulders, sparked a plan in Hyder Ali’s forces.

This hole was guarded by Obavva’s husband! Her husband had come home for lunch and it was during this time that the soldiers decided to enter the fort. While he was eating, he wanted some water and Obavva went to fetch some water from the pond near the hole. She realized the danger and quickly thought of a plan. She found a pestle ( used to pound paddy) known as Onake in Kannada and went near the hole.

As the hole was really small, only one soldier could enter at one time. This gave her the perfect opportunity and everytime a soldier came out of the hole, she hit them with the pestle and moved their body aside while lying in wait for the next soldier to appear. By the time her husband returned, he found Obavva with a bloody pestle and several bodies of the soldier. He quickly ran to the watch tower to alert the soldiers and the fort was saved for the day!

The valor, strength and presence of mind shown by a simple housewife is astounding and it reinforces the belief of women can do anything!

For many days to come, our kids spoke and acted out Onake Obavva story! With this brave story etched in our minds we proceeded towards Davangere.

Davangere is a small town with a lot of student population. It is also famous for its ‘Benne Dose’ or Butter Dose. When we reached Davangere the only thing on our agenda was to eat Benne Dose to our hearts content! And boy, we did just that! After an overnight stay at Davangere we left for Shimogga.

 Shimogga

Shimogga or Shivamogga is a pretty big town and has the usual hustle-bustle of a big town. It is also well connected with other parts of Karnataka. At Shimogga, our agenda was to explore the Lion-tiger safari at Shimogga.

Lion – Tiger Safari

Lion –Tiger Safari is more like a big zoo, spread across, but it was super fun for the children. There is an entry ticket for the safari. There is also a big play area for children and a separate zoo. The lions and tigers are kept in a large enclosures, and you can see tigers from up close.

We huddled into a safari bus and in a few minutes the children squealed with delight as they saw lots of deer’s. Our guide was over enthusiastic and he opened the door of the bus for children to see better and one of the fawn’s tried to get in!

The tiger’s were lazing around near the water pond and seeing them up close was exciting for the children. One of the guides got down to click a ‘fantastic’ picture of the tiger while I prayed with all my might! I am sure they are the care takers of the tigers, and the tigers too didn’t seem to be bothered by the guide’s presence. Tigers were even responding when their names were called; but the casual approach towards safety sure scared me!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BeKpFWrhnyg/

Next stop was the park where children played to their heart’s content. However do watch out for the monkeys as there are loads of them and they do try and snatch your snacks!

Overall it was a fun outing and we returned home with wonderful memories full of pride, excitement and fun!

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