Report On Family Picnic To Horanadu-Kyathanmakhi Hills On January 18 & 19, 2020

19-01-2020

Family Picnic is one of the most eagerly awaited activities of our Association. It helps our members and their families to take a break from the routine of life and relieve themselves of stress by relaxing in the company of other members of the Association. Being the Secretary, I was entrusted with the responsibility of organizing Family Picnic this year also. Mother Nature is the eternal life giver and always provides one with comfort. Members still recall our Picnic of 2016 to picturesque Kudremukh. Hence the idea of Picnic to scenic Hornadu-Kyathanmakki Hills near Kalasa of Chikmagalur District was the popular choice of our Managing Committee. January 18th and 19th were selected for the Picnic outing. The response from Members was very encouraging. Though the tally was over 40 persons, some members dropped out due to their social commitments on those dates. Finally 29 persons participated in the picnic, including 10 ladies, 2 girls, 1 boy and 2 lovely kids. There were Members from Puttur and Karkala too. We engaged a Tempo Traveller for the journey. About 13 persons travelled by Tempo Traveller and the rest in their cars. The picnickers left Mangalore by 3.30 p.m. on 18th January 2020 and reached Nature Valley Resorts, Hornadu at about 6.45 p.m. We were greeted with evening tea and snacks. On the way, picnickers stopped near the Tea Estate/Ganapathy Temple for a Tea break and were swayed by the panoramic view of Tea Estate and the back drop of lush green forest. At about 7:00 p.m. all the picnickers assembled around the Camp Fire over the lawns outside the Nature Valley Resorts. Our President, Sri Kasturi Prabhakar Pai welcomed everyone. After self introductions by all present, Ms Athmika Amin conducted games and entertainment. This was followed by Fellowship and Dinner. The home made food was awesome and all had high appreciation for the tasty delight of Nature Valley. After a pleasant night, picnickers were woken up by the chirping birds on the early morning of 19th January 2020 (Sunday). Some of the picnickers went for an early morning walk in that tiny hamlet. The walk inside the coffee and areca garden was refreshing. After morning tea it was divine calling. Most of the members along with family visited the nearby Sri Annapoorneshwari Temple to have Darshan. Delicious breakfast, which was prepared by Nature Valley owner Mr. Santhosh Hegde, his wife and family was ready at 8.30 a.m. At 9.30 a.m., the picnickers were ready for the trekking expedition to Kyathanmakki Hills. Two Mahindra Pickups were engaged to travel the distance and reach the top of Kyathanmakki Hill near Balige Village. Kachcha Roads to Balige and then the rough terrain to the hill top were breathtaking. When we reached the top, the overwhelmingly beautiful scenery encouraged us to trek some more for about a kilometer to another hill top. Our entourage returned to our Valley abode by 12.45 pm. Some members/guests engaged in rummy and of course some beverages to cool the spirits, while the ladies were busy chatting and recalling the trekking adventure. Tasty vegetarian meals were served at around 1.30pm. After relaxing for some time, at about 4pm, the picnickers had Tea, Bajjis and Snacks. Then they boarded the vehicles and left the picnic spot with a heavy heart and lively thoughts of the picnic, the beautiful Nature and the very wonderful arrangements made. Thanks to Sri K Vilas Kumar, Sri Kasturi Prabhakar Pai, Sri Laxminarayan Nayak, Miss Athmika Amin, Sri Vishwanath Naik of Automark and Sri Santhosh Hedge family of Nature Valley. They took all the care in making the best arrangements. Special thanks to all members who participated in the picnic and made it an enjoyable and memorable one. - K. Vilas Kumar, Secretary