Monday 1 May 2017

Coracle not for the weak hearted

Coracle is a light weight walnut shaped boat. Besides Wales and Ireland, it is also used in lakes and rivers in India, Vietnam, Iraq and Tibet. Originally used by fishermen, it now attracts tourists as well. Made of interwoven bamboo sticks, the bottom is lined with water proof sheeting. 
As tourists we were pretty excited to ride a coracle in Sanapur Lake near Hampi. Though it is all smiles in the picture, coracle is not for the weak hearted.


The forest department has put up warning signs for crocodiles.

But as always, people ignore such warnings. See the next picture.


By design coracle is an unstable craft because it sits "on" water rather "in" it. Drawing courtesy Wikipedia.


It can easily be lifted by one person. That's why the old Welsh proverb "The load of a man is his coracle"!

A coracle can be easily manoeuvred by one hand and the other hand is free for the fishing net. It can be easily carried by the currents and wind as you will see in a video clip. Enough commentary-- now let us see the pictures of our ride in Sanapur Lake near Hampi.







You can get a feel of coracle ride in a short one-minute video below.





I had earlier seen the coracles in Srisailam, Krishna River in Andhra Pradesh, in Assam and Orissa. But it was the first ride worth Rs 150/- per person for exciting 20 minutes!

There is a Coracle Society in UK. Readers may browse the Wikipedia for further reading.

From coracle boating, Ghumakkad will next take you on a hike to Bali Parvat near Hampi. Not very high mountains on the hike but the rocky trail gave enough exercise! Stay connected and look out for the next link in your mail boxes.

Postscript: Ghumakkad has shared a set of ten stories on Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage SiteYou may browse it by clicking the following links:
Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary

Thanks for browsing,

   -  Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 1st May 2017

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