Hanagal Another day another festival

Hanagal Another day another festival
The road south from Bellary has been excellent, lightly travelled and the landscape is ever changing. Parts have the distinctive Hampi boulders and other areas are more desert like. There is a road that runs east and then shadows this road south, its rougher but I suspect a magnificent run, ripe for a couple of days Mountain biking or as part of a offroad/ rough road bike trip, well worth investigation.



Arriving in Hanagal I expected of heading a little east to a larger town for lodging, but the locals told me there was an Inspectors Bungalow so I tried my luck. The caretacker wasnt up for letting me stay but these two guys in the picture convinced him for me! The guy whos name I dont know on the right is a Hindu and the guy on the right Mohammed is, yes youve guessed it Muslim. Another town like Savanur where everyone gets on.


I was pesterd quite a bit for currency, the old story of collecting coins of other nationalities. I had no British money, but gave them what Estonian cash I had and they seemed pleased enough.

They invited me to the festival celebrating some God, which can be seen in on of the pictures - a three pronged stone thing covered in flowers, anyway they asked me to come back at 7pm which I did. The kids all went a little nuts, so I headed off for something to eat, which was rather good and then returned for the fire lighting which I promised them I would photograph.
I decided to try filming them with mixed results and it was completely impossible to take unposed pictures as I became the centre of attention.

The young lad in the picture with the glasses and Nike wrist band spoke some English and helped with translations, but it all got a bit much and over excited so with Mohammed's help I escaped to the bar, where I had a beer and he had an under the counter brandy.



The counter had been constructed in such a way that there was a small unobtrusive hatch that the non-drinkers stood infront of to recieve their bottle of brandy which I assume they consume in the privacy of their own home. I paid for Mohammeds and I saw the bottle in his pocket but didnt spot the actual transfer very slickly done.

I was caught by another group sneaking back to the Lodge, but they eventually left me alone when I chased them with a stern expression and the promise of violence, well until 06:45 that is when the lad who I had previously given an Estonian note to was back for more. Its never really wise to waken me before I want to get up, but he really soured the experience by looking for more cash and I impolitely told him and those he had brought with him to "follow the cry of the goaway bird".