Picnic on the banks of the Cauvery

The river Cauvery flows along a route of approximately 760 kilometers. On its meandering path, it carves out gorges, mighty waterfalls and places of mesmerizing scenic beauty. One such place, on its long, winding route to the Bay of Bengal is Mekedaatu. Almost a hundred kilometers from Bangalore, Mekedaatu is a pristine picnic spot frequented by many tourists.

Mekedaatu is a small gorge, so named because the terrain is so rocky and dangerous, that only a goat, or meke in Kannada, can cross over. The area around Mekedaatu, Sangama, is renowned as being the meeting place of the Cauvery and Arkavathi rivers. During summer, the water levels are shallow making the gorge completely visible and not so dangerous. Many tourists frequent the place at this time to get away from the stressful city life and relax on the banks of the river.

For students, this is an ideal place for a picnic. On a weekday, the place is virtually empty, which made it the ideal place for my friends and me to go for a barbecue. After all the plans were made and the necessities bought (read meat and beer) we hopped into a bus and went on what was one of the best ninety minute journey of our lives. Once we left the traffic and chaos of the city, the ride was simply amazing. The view of green fields and hillocks dotting the highway and of villagers relaxing outside their simple thatched huts made us realise how beautiful the simple things in life were.

Once we got there, we scrambled to look for the perfect place to set up our picnic and found it right next to a rock formation a few yards away from the river. We unpacked all our stuff and got the barbecue ready. My special meat patties for the juicy burgers were well received, thank God. Then as few of us were busy working the grill, the rest decided to take a walk to the gorge and also take a dip in the river. As evening approached, there we were, sipping ice cold beer, munching juicy burgers and just soaking the sunset. It was really difficult for us to leave as the stunning beauty of the place seemed to keep us glued to the rocks we were sitting on.

Finally, we had to pack up our stuff again. We put out the fire carefully; making sure that it was completely doused and cleared off the bottles and paper we had littered. And after another inspection to make sure none of our waste was left and after a last look at the place we returned back to the city and back to reality from that really magical place.

A word of advice to all picnickers, please do clear all your waste like papers and bottles before you leave. Do not tarnish the environment there and damage the beauty of the place with litter all around. And for those who wish to try out my meat patties on your next picnic or backyard barbecue, here it is:

For the Patty:

Mince meat (Anything you fancy, but I would recommend chicken or beef) – a kilogram will make 6 to 8 patties

Onions – 2 per kilogram of meat

Garlic paste – 1 teaspoon per kilogram

Egg whites – 2 eggs per kilogram

Salt and pepper

Chilli powder

Mix all these ingredients together in a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and leave for at least two hours.

For the Barbecue Sauce:

Tomato ketchup – 2 cups

Water – 200 ml

Vinegar – half cup

Brown sugar – half cup

English mustard – 2 tablespoons

Onion and garlic powder – 1 tablespoon each

Chilli powder – 2 teaspoons

Over low heat mix all ingredients in a bowl or saucepan for 20 minutes. Stir continuously. After 20 minutes to a half hour, remove from the stove and allow it to cool. Refrigerate overnight.

The sauce can be applied over the patties while cooking on the grill to give it an added tangy flavour. Put the patty into burger buns along with cheese or butter, and that's all there is to it

A view of the gorge

Image Credit: Google Images

Derek Francis

12 COM 6506