Kintamani - God's poem!!

Ah! If God decides to write a poem, how would it look like? How is he going to publish it?

According to me - it would be -
in the form of a - dancing peacock!
Or a - monsoon evening!
Or the - rushing water!
Or a - peaceful valley!
Or a - vibrant resonance!
Or a - tasty delicacy!
Or an - intertwined story which was heard never before!
Or an - overwhelming notion!
A - bustling crowd!
Or a - euphoric celebration!
Or a - magnificent picture!

Or ...............................

a Kintamani!!

Kintamani - is a beautiful (yet not so famous) destination in Indonesia, is a Balinese village.
It is a hill station that provides generous sights of beauty, pleasant environment, beautiful weather, idyllic lifestyle, cultural traditional and spiritual images, and many more to mention.

As soon as you enter, you are stopped by a police man, with his mouth wide open - in a smiling position and he gives you the direction - if temple, go here; if volcanic mountain go here; stand here and take a picture etc.

The weather hits you the moment you are here. Bali is known for its tropical weather marked by humidity and hot temperatures; but Kintamani is very different.

It is home to one of the volcanic mountains - Mount Batur.  Batur had last erupted in 1999.

Batur is worshiped by the Balinese, they have built a major temple by its base - Pura Batur (Or Pura Ulun Danu Batur) and the deity here is the mountain itself. The imposing structure of this temple is very beautiful to look at, neatly maintained. A strict guideline is marked for every visitor there - dress code, do's & don't's.

People of Kintamani are simple, contently, fun loving. It is very easy to like them! They establish your trust within no time, and start a conversation instantly as if you are one of them!

Kintamani has a lake at the base of Mount Batur, which is the largest crater lake in Bali.

The stay/eat options here are very minimal, but it is opening to the outer world now... Some resorts, tour operations coming up here!

The road to Kintamani itself is so eventful that you would be mesmerized; for the Orange farms, the terrace rice farms, nicely laid empty stretches of road, pleasing weather....

If I must, I will compare it to Madikeri (More popularly, the Coorg) of Karnataka, except for the thin forest cover around Kintamani.

For pictures run the slide show:

Ooty - What is it?

------------------------------------------- details to follow!!

Five years of rambling......

This day..... a few years ago......
A Backbencher thought of rambling sitting in a corner ..............

And......................
After Mumbai was attacked....... after India won a Cricket world cup, after Osama Bin Laden was shot dead...........

After a lot of scams and chaos, after Anna hazare declared his war on corruption...........

After five monsoons, and five summers....... after Obama entered the White House...... and after Benazir Butto was killed..........

After 3 Idiots broke all the India movie records....... and after Avatar changed the way the world watched movies.....

After M F Hussain painfully surrendered the Indian citizenship...... after Sachin scored a double ton in a one day match......... and after Bhimsen Joshi died............

After the Ayodhya land was cut into three pieces by a court.......... and after the Sathya Sai Baba left his mortal body.........

After the Indian flag landed on the Moon........... and after the Chandrayan found water on moon with a NASA equipment.........

After the Oracle gobbled up the Sun Microsystems..... and after the android phones hit the market........... after 2G..... 3G and then the 4G...........

After the stars from Elizabeth Taylor to Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan left us with a void.....

After Star Plus finally stopped the sobbing serials........

After the Dalai Lama desired to resign from exile politics....... and after the LTTE was routed.......

After the Nepal became a confused democracy....... and after the people uprising in the middle-east........

After Mubarak was ousted.......... and after Saddam Hussein got executed.....

After the IPL was launched........... and after Bangalore got its International Airport..........

After the dish tvs protruded the rural Indian homes....... and after Michael Jackson left Neverland and the world in a shocking way..........

After A R Rahman stood up to the world challenge to win two Academy awards...........

After Lee-Hesh went on a rampage, winning all that they played...... and then parted ways..... and then came back together......... And after the facebook became a way of life......

After the island volcano Eyjafjöll awakened to stand the European airspace to a still...... and after a Royal wedding left the British in a frenzy....

After the cheapest car Tata Nano became a reality............. and After the Tsunami destroyed Japan........

After China topped the Olympic medal table........ and After the Midnight's Children became the booker of Bookers.....

And....

After conquering the mighty Himalayas, the wonderful Sahyadris.... and the challenging Nilgiris.....

After a lot of traveling and a lot of new learning....... and after meeting a lot of new people.........

After riding thru from the East Coast to the West Coast......

After changing my marital status on my facebook account.....

Here I am - declaring that the last five years have been phenomenal, in every way possible!!

Thanks for reading me through :)

Anthoo Inthooo....

Hallakke bidda.........

Yaaru??

...............

.......................

..........................

Namma Prashantha (Payaniga)

Yavaga?? Yelli? Yenu??

Yeah! Last Sunday he fell into wedlock with Madame A.

Here's wishing the lovely couple a great married life!

Srik

Mathe Mungaru

I agree. I am at fault – for not coming back to my blog. But you know, it needs a push, a reminder or some event to change the sides and to be back in business.

The title suggests – Monsoon, again! Monsoon is a synonym to good times. And yes. I am back to the good old days, means blogging too!

A change in the personal ‘status’, a little too much work and work and family related travelling has all added up to my inability to put some stories here. I am overcoming all of them, to be back to (another) eternity.

Well… Life has been good all these days. Marriage is a definite eye opener of sorts for a youngster. And very much – IT IS A GREAT FEELING TO BE MARRIED. I really mean it.

Monsoon, again – Mathe Mungaru is incidentally a movie in Kannada which is hitting the screens today. The promos and the story looks to be intriguing, intense, and the songs are awesome, to say the least. I hope the production house, which lead every Kannada speaking creature in getting drenched in that eternal Mungaru Male, is successful in recreating that feel of monsoon, again.

Let me review this album for you.

The music is composed by some Paul Raj. I am sure he will attain the new heights with this album, which has been made with lots of innovative techniques, and melodious tunes.

The singers – the Likes of Asha Bhosle, Hariharan, Chitra, Karthik, Vijay Prakash and Shreya Ghosal have lent their voices to this beautiful album.

The album opens with a tragic solo by Karthik, “KangaLu Kanalive” – This sets the tone for this whole album. Background music for this song is exceptional at places. Though slow paced, the song gets straight in to the soul of the listener. However, the same feel is not kept thru the song, it dilutes in the middle, and catches up again. The song, however, gets its due and succeeds to connect to the listener. Karthik does superb in this song.

The duet ‘Chita pata chita’- by Karthik and Shreya Ghosal is fantastic. The melody, pace, the orchestra, the lyrics and the heavenly vocals of Shreya all are in perfect harmony through out the song. A must listen for any Kannada music enthusiast.

"Summaniruva ee manasali" by Ranjith is smooth and passes off. It is just another seasonal song added now a days by default to a Kannada album. Ranjith is high with energy throught this song. a peppy one.

There is a patriotic song ‘Mera Bharat Mahan’, which is sung by the ‘Jai Ho’ star Vijay Prakash for the most part and though he does well – the music and the lyrics are off synch. It fails to pull any patriotic feeling in the listener. Chitra’s vocals towards the end bring the much needed lift to this song.

“Belagayitu” is a theme song sung by Hariharan. Hariharan’s magical voice is tailor-made for this sort of a song. He performs wonderfully in this song. I felt the lyrics are heavy, though. I am not sure if that had anything do with the actual intensity of the movie. Wonderful folkish music accompanies Hariharan here.

The crown of this wonderful album is “Helade karana” rendered in an emotional tone by the veteran melody queen Asha Bhosle. Beautiful lyrics clubbed with an apt musical blend lift this song to the voice of Asha Bhosle. I appreciate her for having taken this song, and making this a complete album!

In all, this is a complete album, with a perfect mix of singers from north and south – Kannada and otherwise too. Karthik is a revelation in this album. Lyrics are by the director Dwarki Raghava and V Nagendra Prasad.

I give my best rating to this album. I will try and see this movie as well this weekend. Let me see.

Here is a related story that appeared on Rediff today. This movie, as the article states, is based on the true story of some Narayana from coastal Karnataka's life's roller coaster ride.

BTW – Here is a picture taken by me, which has been picked by Rediff to showcase in their monsoon pictures series. Let me know if that was worth it!

The Cherry Blossom!!

Sunday........

Wednesday .............

And...................


Friday .........

Thats SPRING at its best in the Washington D C

The Valley of Flowers - a few visuals

Here are a few snaps from this excitingly beautiful valley. Thanks to my co-traveler Ram for capturing some of these.

A sneak into the valley. Nanda Devi peak in the background

A view from inside the valley, The peak covered with clouds.

River Pushpavati beginning its envious journey.

A lush green clad mountain, from within.

A pathway leading to the paradise, inside the valley of Flowers

A sample of flora grown specifically in this valley

Oher few varieties of flowers carpetting the valley

This breathtaking valley inspires one to make love with peace and simplicity. Hope you enjoyed the journey all along.

The Valley of Flowers - Facts

Some tidbits -
Place - "The Valley of Flowers"
Located in - The Byundar valley of Uttarakhand state of India
Good time to visit - Right from mid-August to October - as variety of flowers bud post monsoon.
Commuting there - One has to trek to undertake this expedition, no other means is there at all!
Food - No food or accomodation available in this land of God, as this is a part of the protected Nanda Devi National Park.

FAQs:
Where exactly is this place?
Inside the Nanda Devi Natioanl Park, nestled high in the West Himalayan range. This is geographically located in the Uttarakhand state of India;
At exactly 276 KMs from the pilgrimage haunt Rishikesh, and is located in the Chamoli district of Gharval region of the state.

So, How do we get to feel the air of here?
1. Reach Haridwar/Rishikesh by train Or Dehradun by flight

2. Take a bus to Joshimath, a 10 hour drive from Haridwar.

3. Stay overnight there. It is a good town and comfortable accomodation and food options are available here.

4. Start early morning to Govindghat - enroute Badrinath Dham. It takes about an hour to reach Govindghat from Joshimath. Govindghat is the closest to the Valley one can reach by road.
5. Start trekking to Govind Dham/Ghangriya, which is at a 13Kms distance from Govindghat.
- A very strenuous trek, which is uphill mostly, would take anywhere between 6 hrs to 9 hrs - depending on the individual strength and capabilities.
- No night trek possible since the forest region this, is a leopard ground!
- Food/refreshments - are available throught the trek route.
- Human traffic can be expected - mostly the Sikh pilgrims doing the Hemkunt Sahib visit.
- Alternatively, ponies or dolkis are available for those who can not walk.

6. Stay at Govind Dham/Ghangriya - hotels are available that provide comfortable accomodation, sometimes food too.
- A Gurudwara gives good food and accomodation to all the pilgrims, free of cost.
- Everything is costly in this part of the world, because of the accessibility issues.
- Electricity is available for only 2 hours a day, for an hour early in the morning and another hour soon after the night fall.
- Telephone networks are a strict no-no, and a few satellite phones available operate on the ration basis, and at a hefty charge. No other option at all!

7. Next morning, leisurely start walking towards "The Valley of Flowers" -
- A leisure trek of 3 KMs amidst a wonderful landscape along the bank of river Pushpavati would land you at the gates of the Valley of Flowers
- The Valley of Flowers is spread over a huge area of 87.5kms.
- Altitude of this valley is roughly 4000 meters above the sea level.
- A well-maintained natural park is this. A decent road way made of stones is laid along the walking path.
- There are huge boulders at regular intervals for one to take a break from walking.
- To experience the paradise - one has to walk at least 4.5KMs inside the valley.
- There are quiet a few water bodies that crosses ones' path, for people to fill their water bottles.
- The whole environment is mostly clean, and there are dust bins provided at some places for the litter dump.
- Unlike the Ghangriya, the Valley is less crowded.
- There is no way a porter or a pony is allowed to carry you inside the park, it is just for the trekkers alone.
- Some venomous shrubs are also existing in the valley, so, the visitors are adviced not to go near the plants nor to pluck the flowers from here.
- Flowers here - There are about 80 different varieties of flowers that enrich the visitors' experience.
- Note: For people from Bangalore/ South India, these flowers might not appall as extravagant, as it might sound at the thought of the Valley of Flowers.
(I mean we get much more colorful and pleasing variety of flowers here. But when you see those wild flowers, spread as carpet - thats something special, and a unique feature of this National Park).
- Pack your lunch form Govinddham/Ghangriya itself, and have it leisurely inside the valley.
- Do not forget to carry back the plastic and other unorganic waste.

8. Walk back to the hotels at Ghangriya well before the sunset. Yes, Sun sets pretty fast here - by 5 PM. So, be home quick.
- Take a good rest - there would be no disturbance here except that of the hooters and the pony rackets.
- No mobile phones can be a blessing in such places!

9. It is best adviced that you continue to trek next day to the Hemkunt Saheb Gurudwara.
- At Hemkunt, which can be reached after a tougher trek of 6kms from Ghangriya, there is a modern building having the Gurudwara shrine where Sikhs worship the Guru Grantha Sahib.
- It is also believed that Lord Lakshman, Lord Sri Ram's younger brother, meditated at this spot when he was Vasuki, in his prior life. There is a temple dedicated to Lakshman besides the Gurudwara.
- Main attraction of this place is the lake named Hemkunt popularly or Lakshman Ganga historically.
- Nonetheless, it is revered by both Hindus and Sikhs.
- A dip in the chilling waters of this lake is said to cure all the illnesses, and wash away the sins of 100 lives of a person.
- Temperature here would mostly be around 09 degrees at 10AM on a given summer day. And it would go down to sub zero any point in time. So, no one is allowed to stay here after 2PM.
- Yummy Kichdis - both sweet and spicy variants are provided as prasad to all the pilgrims on behalf of the Gurdwara. A hot tea follows up the kichdi treat as well. One will feel stunningly fresh after this refreshment.
- The seven hills surrounding the lake gives a mystic appearance to the environment. The priest at Lakshman temple puts them as saptha rishis (Seven original eternal monks)
- This whole area closes every winter, after Deepavali. Opens only after April in the next year.
- This is due to the heavy snow fall in the region during winters.

10. If you start from Ghangriya uphill to Hemkunt at 4:30 AM, you would complete the 6kms trek by 8:30AM. If you start back by 10:15 AM, after the prayers and brunch, another three hours would take you back to your hotel in Ghanghriya.

11. From Ghangriya, back to Govindghat is again a strenuous trek of 13 kms down hill. Would take 4-5 hours, by when night would have come!
So, It is advisible to stay back for another night at Ghanghriya. Since this is a boring place for you to spend so much time, you can actually try the pony option which would take around 3-3.5hrs to reach down hill. That would give you enough time to reach Badrinath Dham or Joshimath by road.

12. From Govindghat, Badrinath dham takes an hour by road. You can also go back to Joshimath which is again at an hour's distance from here.

In all, it is a total three day hardship, at the least, which gives you an unlimited joy of experiencing the Valley of Flowers.

Wait for the pictures of this wonderful valley.

A piece of a Heaven - I thought

Just Imagine...

I am walking to the edge of a valley.
On the Left side I see a huge mountain
Which I can't even try thinking of exploring
Because of its magnitude in size
And green carpet like appearance.

High raised cliffs peaking out of
Beds of the clouds made a panormic disguise!

Down at my instant right is a steep valley
Of brittle sand and a shrubby little vegetation.

Down there flows a crystal clear canal of water
That runs in my direction, from heavens up there!
It- making me jealous of its heavenly living.

Beyond the river starts another mountain,
Green on the surface, Red in its strength!
Blue at its top, white in the middle!

From the mountain top on my left, I see a
Milk-thread that grew in size as I turn my eyes down!
As I reach this thread, I hear a hurled voice
Of a growing anxiety from there,
A waterfall of such an authentic style!

Now I move my eyes around the horizon -

I see multiples of such waterfalls from
Every nook and corner of the mountain!
And I see such mountains in huge numbers to my left!!

Similar sights to my right, beyond the river down there...
Hundreds of mountain peaks, arranged in an interesting manenr,
Each peak hosting a few waterfalls in them!!

All these waterfalls culminated in
The river down at the centre.

Both sides of me - all the mountains are
Clad in pure green, with no space left on the plains!

These were plants bearing flowers!
Flowers of all colours - red, white, blue!
Orange, cream, pink - et al.

There was not a single tree down there,
But some only up the mountain.
So, the sight was complete with water,
green bed on plains with added colourful grandeur!

The starlit green bed dally dangled
And a fresh aroma hit my nose!
I close my eyes to feel the air in
My nerves - even the last one,

Breathe - Sigh!

I go down the valley at a suitable joint -
I get to touch the waters, feel the chillness!
I cross a small bead of it at some place and go
Acros to the bed of flowers!

A gay feel crosses and ignites my mind.
I joyfully run my eyes on all the sides
Expecting to gulp in the offer of nature -
As much as I can, in that

One single moment!

I stand there destitute - before these structures of God!
I stand surrendered before the almighty
Who was evident in every piece of that vision!

Now -
Right across my eyes, I see the clouds vanishing!
The sky is clearing up!
The veil of clouds opening up -
A huge mountain, With snow covered peak!
Reminiscent of a recent landslide, huge trees fallen,

Ice formed on the canal of water, and a glacier beneath!

Spectacle of my life time,
I bow my head to the Mother Nature!
She suddenly caresses me with another gush of wind!

A piece of a Heaven - I thought.

Am I not dreaming? Am I feeling it - really?
Am I the lonely explorer of this space?
Am I the Only One?
Am I the Chosen One? Or
Am I the Only Blessed One?
Yes, I am - all of these -
And More!!

Don't believe it to be true - ain't you?
Now look at this picture -

Believe it or not - such a place exists on the face of this earth. And I bet that there are hundreds of such extravagant sites for us to cherish.

Alas! The place I have quoted here is unique in its own style, for its floral bed is not manmade, its totally the Almighty's garden - "The Valley of Flowers".

In the heart of the Himalayan might, Under the Nanda Devi Peak, inside the Nanda Devi National Park, as a UNESCO World Heritage site, on the banks of the river Pushpavati, this scene exists!

With its multitude varety of fauna, the valley stands personified to the benevolence of the creator!

This space finds its place in Indian Mythology too -

As the home of Sanjeevini Parvat (Life giving mountain) containing the Sanjeevini herbs that Hanuman carried to Lanka to rescue Lakshman from a debacle in the great war of Ramayan!
Boy! You can readily believe in the theory of Sanjeevini Parvat here!

A must visit for all those who enjoy the raw beauty of nature.

NOTE: Await the details of reaching there.

Caught the Jog falls....... again :-)

Ah! The wonderful Jog Falls!! Even if it is the nth time you are there, the Jog opens up a new dawn, a compltely renewed energy, a dream!!

It signifies an unlimited energy, signifies the best hope for a great tomorrow and a selfless joy!!

I hope you will enjoy this picture, as much I did when taking it!!

Related links:

1. Sharavathi valley

2. Jog from top

3. Mega trek in the Sharavathi Valley

4. Mungaru Male

Hale and ............. Healthy!!

Yes. I am doing good and I shall be back soon! Meanwhile just wanted to post a 'Hi' with an old photo that was shot in a beautiful landscape.

I wish I be a 'masakkali' and 'ud' 'purr purr' in the 'Badal ki colony'...... But work assignments not allowing me to do that, as of now....

Yeah... I have a lot to write and share, but that has to wait for some more time!

Love,
Srik :)

Arishinagundi - The Turmeric Pond!

"Arishinagundi jalapaata : The Arishinagundi water falls"

River Souparnika, takes birth in the mountains and in her quest to reach out to sea by paying tributes to Goddess of Kollur, jumps lavishly from a height of around 200-250ft.

This place has come to be called Arishinagundi (lake of turmeric), probably known for the miraculous curing powers of the waters here. Water is pure and refreshingly soothing.

We hardly get to swim in sweet water, and this is one such heavenly carved out place!

Check it out today, if you have not yet done so :-)

Disclaimer: Please forgive me for the human noise in the background. That is something falsely added up in the video, which this divine place is completely void of!!

Mondays' Mirage - 9

Sun, Setting? or Rising?

Have a marvellous week ahead, people! And a wish for super Sankranti to everyone!

Navaratri Namaskara

Hi all, Sorry for being away for so long.... and let me not delay any more....


Here are the wishes for a wonderful Vijayadashami to each and everyone.
Let the divine Mother bless everyone of her sons and daughters with Prosperity and Happiness.


Lets celebrate the Vijaya Dashami here, at this Backbencher's corner with a visit to a stunning temple dedicated to the Holy Mother Saraswati.


To be straight, it is not common to worship Mother Saraswati in her original form. She is being worshipped across the nation in many forms like Sharada, Brahmi, Vagdevi and Maha Mayi. But as Saraswati.... there is no one temple that is dedicated to the Saraswati element of Mother.


In every home, every village Saraswati pooja is celebrated during the Navaratris. It was common for us to conduct Saraswati pooja just before our final exams during our school days. Yet, there is no one 'ancient' temple that is purely a dedicated to her! I had just known about one destroyed Saraswati temple at Hampi.


Wait... that was what I knew until I stumbled upon the name Koothanur while planning a trip to the Navagraha temples. Koothanur has an ancient, wonderful, huge temple dedicated to Mother Saraswati. Goddess here attracts thousands of devotees since this is the only known ancient temple of Saraswati. This temple is none less than a discovery for me!


The Idol has an effervescent smiling face asif the kindness has embodied before us. Amrita Kalasha, Chakra in the upper hands, with lower left hand holding a book and the right showing the Abhaya Chinmudra. The right upper hand holds an Akshamala as well, as a mark of alphabets(from A to KSHA). She has compassion filled eyes, with a Jnana Chakshu situated at Ajnachakra. She sits majestically on a lotus in Padmasana adorned with a white silk saree.

Koothanur or Poonthottam is a small, serene, beautiful village on the banks of Arasalar river. The Goddess here is magnetic in nature and is attributed to many a miracles like dumb people gaining their speech, illustriously ordinary person gaining higher levels of knowledge to become a great poet in Tamil, etc... all by the grace of this divine Mother.


Saraswati idol also holds a veena between her lower hands. This denotes the supremacy she behodls over all the arts. Veena is a divine instrument that represents a human body. One who masters the Veena gets nearer to divinity. Saraswati's veena vadana is supposed to be of the highest order, and the resonance to which causes one to attain divine powers. Many musicians have emerged from this village is an illustration that the whole area is filled with Saraswati's magical powers.


Since Saraswati is the Mother of all knowledge, all arts, in this temple people offer the Mother with sevas in different arts. Every evening there would be musical concerts, every day there would be Vedic chants filling the air with a spiritual vibration. The Dramas, bharata natyam etc are performed occasionally too. Navaratri is the time of annual fest here, Vijayadashami being a grand celebration.


The shops outside the temple sells pes, slates, books etc which can be bought to offer at the feet of Mother Saraswati and take back for personal use after the worship here. It is said that on Vijayadashami day alone 100s of children get initiated with their Aksharabhyasa here. Students offer pens, and books here, and worship the Goddess. Later they carry back the pens to be used in their examinations. It enhances their chances in the exams, it is said.


So, friends, let me make it more clear... This is the only known Saraswati temple that has about more than 1000 years of history. Koothanur is a sleepy village that lies on the banks of Arasalar river on the highway connecting Mayilaudurai and Thiruvarur. It lies in Thiruvarur district of Tamilnadu, at about 20 Kms distance from the district headquarters, Thiruvarur. It is at about 25 KMs distance from the famous Shani Sthala, Thirunallar in Pondicherry.


Though not known to many, this temple stands out with its particular set of visitors and devotees. Hats off to the teple management who have preserved the sanctity of this place to this day so that devotees feel the Love of divine Mother and feel blessed.


Come Lets visit such a divine world, and be blessed by Mother Saraswati.

Rameshwaram - a letter digitised

Yes. I write letters, not e-mails but letters. In one of the letters written to a friend, I had explained my journey to Rameshwaram and the feel of being there. I digitized the same to present here. Read it as follows.

Trip was fantastic :-).

We visited the very tip of India from where Srilanka was at just about 13miles distance. Here, at Dhanushkoti, the actual Ramasetu starts, and also it is here that the Indian Ocean grabs Bay of Bengal in its strife! Another beach we visited, which doesn’t have waves at all. Obviously, this must be the safest beach in India which looked like a river with salty water. The Bay of Bengal is silent only at this place, which is gigantic elsewhere. The sand here is of unique black colour, that you won’t find anywhere else across the globe. This strange phenomenon is attributed to Rama’s anger against the King of Sea who did not help Rama initially, but later he succumbed when Rama threatened to dry him off. Thus the sea became silent and the sand got its colour as a representation of anger of Rama. Quiet mysterious and belief has no bounds. Rameshwaram is a small island connected to Dhanushkoti by land. Initially they had a railway connection between these two villages and a shipyard situated at Dhanushkoti from where local ships used to ply between India and Srilanka! And in 1965, a great cyclone swept the whole village of Dhanushkoti. The rail bearings stand as a testimony to the ‘gata vaibhava’ of this place. At that juncture, people from Dhanushkoti moved to Rameshwaram, I mean whoever survived. Today, a gory town of Dhanushkoti with fallen churches, dharmashalas, railway stations and houses, stands affirm. Half the town is buried in the sand that swept it then. A few fishermen still make a living here, and they are not bothered about the visitors who come there. It is said that the Srilankan refugees and drug peddlers, smugglers from the island nation land in India here, stealthily and without anyone stopping them. Crime starts after it is dark. A jeep ride on the sands is a fantastic thing to experience here! After 1965, people realized they can not rely on the ships to reach Rameshwaram and then they built a railway bridge across the Sea, to Rameshwaram. Eventually, a drivable road was constructed as well. So, the experience of driving on a bridge with water surrounding you is again a uniqueness of Rameshwaram, at least in the Indian context. The railway bridge is named Pamban Bridge, named after a neighbouring village. Specialty of this bridge is, it used to act like a gateway for the ships to cross this part of sea in that era. I mean, the bridge has a gate that used to be opened so as the ships passed thru and closed when the trains would pass! Anyways, now, no ship passes here, so, the bridge is an antique piece that is used only as a train bridge. One can experience this bridge today by taking this fantastic drive from Madurai. The religious Importance of Rameshwaram is visible in every turn and corner of the place. This has a huge temple with the longest corridor in the world. That corridor makes an amazing 1.3KMs walk in total. The temple complex has 22 sacred wells; those get the water generated as much you remove it from. Each pilgrim goes around the temple and bathes in each of these 22 wells. An extraordinary phenomenon that is unique only to Rameshwaram. The water in each of these wells tastes different and most of the times sweet, though these are situated barely 100 meters away from the sea! The main deity, Ramanatha Linga, is made of sand, but that has become rock solid. Each and every day hundreds of pilgrims get Ganges water from Kashi and does the abhisheka to this linga. Tough it is sand made it sustains the abhisheka and stays intact, even after ages of existence! Srik.

A ride thru the enchanting mountains.....and an anticlimax!

l The green valley l Agumbe l Udupi l Malpe l Udyavara l Kasaragodu l Shiradi l

The alarm was harsh and not welcome.

It seemed as if I went to bed just a moment ago; but, there was no scope for more delays since we had to be back in Bangalore before it is night.

We had a few different routes to choose from, and we chose the Shiradi ghat road. We were worried since we didn’t know if they allowed any traffic there since the developmental work was underway according to the newspaper reports. Uncle was sure that the two-wheeler traffic was allowed, but not the bigger ones.

We started by 7 AM, on that pleasant morning, after stuffing ourselves with a good breakfast. It was chilling outside, and as we dented further on the National Highway, the visibility was dimmer! We could hardly see a 50 yard ahead of us. This prompted us to slow down in pace, nevertheless, a wonderful experience to be riding in the morning mist on a National Highway. Traffic was not much at that hour.

Our first stop was on the banks of the Kumaradhara River. The river was flowing with its majestic norm; we had a good break from the chilling environs with the young rays of Sun kissing us.

We started again after some 15 mins, and soon we entered the Shiradi ghat road. There was a deviation for bigger vehicles from there, but for the two-wheelers, there was no stopping. We ventured ahead on that road which seemed highly mysterious.

The Shiradi ghat has been prettily immortalized by the popular Kannada writer Poorna Chandra Tejaswi. His stories depicting the lives here are amazing, and so we had the interest to experience it ourselves.

We next stopped at a small stream that was descending slowly on a boulder. The road condition was bad all thru the ghat, but of course… the contractors were busy building it afresh.

We had tea at a petty shop on the roadside almost at the end of the ghat road. Here, we saw a huge venomous snake that was green in color. He was busy hunting for food, I guess. He took a note of the curious eyes and hid inside the bush! Huh!

We continued our journey and stopped at Sakaleshapura for a quick visit to the temple there. Here, I received a call from my office. The Manager wanted me to rush back to work in the evening when I was expected to demo a part of my project to the clients!!

The call ruined my joy and made our next leg of the journey a run-of-the-mill kind of ride. We stopped at a few places on the way for lunch and gave a break to the butts. But, the thought of office horrified me, and I hated myself for picking the call at that moment!

We managed to reach Bangalore by 4:45 in the evening; pretty fast ride considering our initial plans. We initially thought of stopping at some more places on the way, but for the call!!

As soon as I reached home, Mother gave me coffee, I gulped the whole cup in a moment and virtually ran to take an auto-rickshaw to the office. I didn't want to ride anymore that day!

So, a Four-day long ride turned to be a pleasure ride at the beginning, a tense one in the middle, and a teasing one in the end for a perfect anticlimax.

What I got from this long ride was… an education about taking care of myself, handling any situation with patience and peace of mind.

My aunt’s neighbors warned it seems, “When two riders on different bikes, they tend to overtake each other and that could be dangerous.”

What my answer for it would be, “Prashanth and I complement each other, we don’t run a competition, but work as a team”!

Here ends my epic West Coast Ride story.

Thanks for being with me all thru, and be prepared for more breathtaking stories in the future too :-)

Day I:

Bengalooru -> Nelamangala -> Kunigal -> Chennarayapattana -> Hassana -> Belur -> Yagachi -> Chikkamagalooru -> Balehonnuru -> Sringeri -> Agumbe -> Hebri -> Seethanadi -> Udupi

Day II:

Udupi -> Malpe -> Bengre -> Udupi -> Udyavara -> Kunjarugiri -> Pajaka -> Katapadi -> KuLayi

Day III:

Kulayi -> Mangalooru -> Manjeshwara -> Ananthapura -> Madhur -> Kasaragodu -> Bekal fort -> Kasaragodu -> Manjeshwara -> Someshwara -> Mangalooru -> Kudupu -> Polali -> MRPL -> Ganeshapura -> Kulayi

Day IV:

Kulayi -> Mangalooru -> B C Road -> Uppinangadi -> Dundya Check Post -> Shiradi -> Sakaleshapura -> Hasana -> Chennarayapattana -> Kunigal -> Nelamangala -> Peenya -> NICE Road -> Kengeri -> Bengalooru

l The green valley l Agumbe l Udupi l Malpe l Udyavara l Kasaragodu l Shiradi l

Let’s live with peace, not die in pieces!

Only one?

This was the first question that arose in all minds of Bangalore last Friday. Some sounding relieved some disappointed; some more with disgust, and some with disregard!

The question “Only One?” was the reflection of how much we have grown in the sixty years. The nation that was unshaken with many summer winters passing by is rock solid even in the disaster.

Bangalore was put thru a stringent test of its mental character that day as some terror mongers planted bombs across the city in different parts. With reports of blasts one after another, Bangalore was horrified; Panic spread in no time; Police, Govt., people and businessmen were alerted with the same shock across.

But the initial reaction was temporary since the news reports stated that the intensity of bombs was on the lower side, and not much damage was caused to the property or the lives. Relieved? Happy? Safe? No. Bangalore was still in a sorry state.

People there showed their usual tough character and they didn’t let the bombs hinder their activities thru the day.

The famed IT city was terror struck when the whether was damp and rains poured from above. Here the rumours traveled faster than the 24 hour news channel crew. And one woman was killed by one of the bombs. But, the question ruled on all the brains….. ”Only One?”

This speaks about how much we value the lives here. It is a common phenomenon in India that people plant bombs and people die. People die because of accidents and no one takes any action to prevent them; People die of hunger and no one cares a damn about it; People die of lack of medical attention, but the hospitals doesn’t admit for the lack of money and no one has time to look into the matter; People get killed since one wanted to marry another belonging to a different ‘caste’ and it is termed honour killing!

Strangely enough, We, as a nation fail to stand affirm clutching against the terror.

The communal clashes, the community clashes, the regional fights, protests supporting a Govt., protests against a Govt., the Naxal movement, the border disputes, political turmoil, now the terror…. List is endless. An Indian day has all the ingredients of a masala movie flick.

But then, why can’t we stand as a Country, just keeping aside all our differences, keeping aside our individual feeling of faiths, notions, and egos? Why can’t we just have one ‘Indian’ community rather than ‘Hindu’, ‘Muslim’, ‘Christian’, ‘Dalit’, ‘Buddhist’ etc communities? Why don’t we celebrate the living, why do we mess it by calling it names? Why don’t we believe in ‘One for All, All for One’ slogan? Where did our own ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ concept perish? Finally, why should we kill our fellow human beings in whatever name be it?

Atrocious is the fact that it is done in the name of religion, honour and faith. The fact that no religion teaches one to fail the tolerance, is forgotten; the fact that no religion offers to kill innocent people to teach others, that no faith teaches to barbecue the others’ faith, is all forgotten. And hence, we can’t avert the miss deeds of some abolished minds.

I hope and wish soon the sense prevails in all of us to stop behaving in such shameful manner and work towards making our society a free fable for the coming generations. Lets passé at least the remaining phase of our lives with peace.

A little Karnataka in Kerala - Kasaragodu

l The green valley l Agumbe l Udupi l Malpe l Udyavara l Kasaragodu l Shiradi l

A taxi came in front of the house the next day morning exactly at 7:45 so that we leave by 8, as planned. And so we did. Our plan was to experience the Kasaragod district of Kerala.

My aunt was against us riding again that day, and so the taxi program had to be put in. Our bikes had got a nice day’s rest amidst the hectic schedules of run for them, though reluctantly. Aunt and cousin joined us in this expedition.

We drove past the bridges and under-construction flyovers of Mangalooru to reach the Kerala border. And so we entered Kasaragodu, a district in the neighboring state.

Originally, Kasaragodu, Dakshina Kannada, and Udupi were three districts of Tulunadu. But when the states were carved on a linguistic base, Kasaragodu was put under Kerala while the rest two went to Karnataka. Even today, there is a cry to unite these three sister districts.

Kasaragod has given Kannada its first Rashtrakavi. A poet who has written widely appreciated classic poems that could be compared with any of the best in the country would be conferred this title. One such was Manjeshwara Govinda Pai. Such is the legacy of this tiny district. Many laureates, social activists, dramatists, artists, and musicians have emerged from this land over the ages. And even today, Kasaragodu’s destiny with Kannada and its culture is not done with. People there speak Kannada, Tulu and Malayalam alternatively, and cleverly.

So, we never felt that we were out of Karnataka that day, though we were about 100KMs away from the borders.

Our first stop was at Ananthapura, a small village that has a beautiful lake temple of Lord Anantha Padmanabha of strange order. I call it strange because of two reasons. One, the deity’s idol worshipped here is not carved out of stone, as in millions of other Hindu temples, but was being constructed out of 108 varieties of different herbs and natural material like the conch shell, dry fruits, salt, and so on. The second strange thing here is the most popular one, and that is a croc! A lonely crocodile that lives in a small pond is being said to be God’s messenger. This is named Babiya, and when a priest or someone calls fondly ‘Babiya’ it shows up, floating and eating the vegetarian food that is offered to it. It doesn’t harm anyone, nor does it require anything else!! It doesn’t even need a companion. A 20th-century legend says that a British officer had once killed this with his gun, but when the priest called its name the next morning, mostly out of habit, it turned up, as usual!! And since then, it is recognized as God himself or God’s messenger, and it is considered to be a Chiranjeevi, one who lives forever. So, people ask for blessings from her and share their problems with her with the hope that she solves all of them.

Such mysterious visuals before us, and how can not we be left mesmerized, and we did! Let me write about Ananthapura in detail some other time.

We moved on to have the Darshana of another astounding temple of a huge size called Madhur Anantheshwara temple. Madhur is another small but beautiful village on the banks of the Madhuvahini river.

Though Anantheshwara is the main deity here, there are shrines devoted to other Gods and Goddesses too; the most prominent of them all was that of Maha Ganapathi. Ganapathi's statue here was huge in size, and the atmosphere in the temple was very divine. It was around 11:30 by then, too early for a lunch break. So, we moved on towards Bekal fort. Bekal is the biggest fort in Kerala and is spread over 40 acres. The fort is on an elevated hill that has an opening onto the Arabian Sea.

This fort has all the majestic features of a structure like a tank right at its entrance, an underground tunnel, an interior storage house, the highland viewpoint from where one can get a total view of the surrounding area.

This fort was built in 16th Century by the Nayaka rulers. And was put under the rule of different dynasties over the ages like the Wodeyars of Mysore, and lastly under the British.

Today, it is a well-maintained fort that serves the visitor with a scenic visual of the Arabian Sea on one side and the coconut grove on the other, with the town of Bekal. The fort has a temple of Hanuman at the entrance, and a wide area to walk on in its foray.

As we walked from end to end here, though thrilled to be at a popular Bollywood hotspot, we were dehydrated enough by the crouching Sun up above. The mid-day it was, and thus we were running out of energy to face him as well.

A respite from the hot Sun was of course the time spent on the Seashore. The Arabian Sea was in full foray with its wild and menacing waves on the fore. It was fun though. The view from the fort was splendid, and the beach experience, marvelous!

Coming out of here, we drank enough water each one of us to fight the humid heat. And we decided to rush to the Kasaragodu town for our lunch. By then it was around 3PM.

After a lazy lunch at Kasaragodu, we had ample time more to explore this dry Seaside district more. As a part of it, we stopped at Manjeshwar. This has a huge Anantha Padmanabha temple, which is particularly known for its Nagaraadhane (snake worship). Though the temple was closed, we spent some time researching the uniqueness of temples in this part of the country.

We moved on…and reached back Karnataka. We had a good time searching the Someshwara beach. As in any other beach in Mangalore, this also had a temple of Shiva on top of a hill that opens into the Sea in its backyard. Though we didn’t explore the temple, we had a walk on the famed beach at this evening hour.

We could have stayed there for the Sunset, but with a sudden change of plans put into effect, we drove off Mangalore to the other side of it, to Polali.

Polali is a village with a wonderful temple of Sri Rajarajeshwari. Goddess statue is made of sand, and its huge statue is a pleasant experience. One prostrate before the Goddess will ease you off all your worries! The temple here makes you believe that the supreme Mother is watching us, who will relieve us of all the evils, and provide us with anything that we seek at her lotus feet.

This one temple impressed me so much that I sat there for some time, not knowing how much time I spent there! High with spiritual vibrations, this temple is a must-visit for any devotee of the divine Mother.

A post specifically on this temple, some other time.

Moving on, we went past the illuminated MRPL and Bajpe airport to reach back Kulayi. It was 9PM by then.

Before calling it quits, my uncle treated us to a nice dinner at a hotel nearby.

We came back walking past the bus stop where we had met Venu Vinod the previous day. Remembering that meet, tried reaching him. Since he was busy at work, he was working till late that night; we returned home.

Ooops…. I dint tell you about our meeting with this exciting young journalist the previous day. Yeah. Venu, whom we knew by his blog, was before us in real. He was rushing back home from work pretty late at night. And we had a brief meeting with him at a bus stop (!) Thanks to the fact that he stayed in the same locality as my aunt’s place. We had discussed his work, experience in traveling, more on blogging, etc in that little time we got to spend there.

It is a nice feeling when we meet bloggers of all the people. It is like we know them, and we don’t know them. We know their half-real face; but the face behind those words, we get to see only when we end up meeting thus! BTW, Prashanth and I met thru blogs of course!!

Thanks to Rajesh, Srikanth, and Venu for making this trip an amazing one.

To be continued……….

Day I:

Bengalooru -> Nelamangala -> Kunigal -> Chennarayapattana -> Hassana -> Belur -> Yagachi -> Chikkamagalooru -> Balehonnuru -> Sringeri -> Agumbe -> Hebri -> Seethanadi -> Udupi

Day II:

Udupi -> Malpe -> Bengre -> Udupi -> Udyavara -> Kunjarugiri -> Pajaka -> Katapadi -> KuLayi

Day III:

Kulayi -> Mangalooru -> Manjeshwara -> Ananthapura -> Madhur -> Kasaragodu -> Bekal fort -> Kasaragodu -> Manjeshwara -> Someshwara -> Mangalooru -> Kudupu -> Polali -> MRPL -> Ganeshapura -> Kulayi

l The green valley l Agumbe l Udupi l Malpe l Udyavara l Kasaragodu l Shiradi l

Getting beached!

l The green valley l Agumbe l Udupi l Malpe l Udyavara l Kasaragodu l Shiraadi l

With a sumptuous meal stuffed in the stomach on this lazy Sunday afternoon, we thought of continuing with our journey, and no rest whatsoever.

Our next destination was my aunt’s place in Mangalooru (ಮಂಗಳೂರು). But as described earlier, Rajesh had given us route maps to a few exciting places on the way; we, deciding to get beached more, took a right at Udyavara (ಉದ್ಯಾವರ) to reach Pithrody (ಪಿತ್ರೋಡಿ).

@image: the riverside of Udyavara Padukere.

If one enquires about Udyavara beach at locals, no one would actually help. This is because nobody visits Udyavara beach and the beach is on the wrong side of it. Udyavara Padukere (ಪಡುಕೆರೆ) is its actual name. Padu in Kannada means west and kere a water body. In Bangalore, kere means a lake, but what that means here….a Sea!!

We have to cross an overflowing river to reach the majestic beach. How do you cross the river? With a rower, rowed by a kind old man.

@image: Crossing the river in a boat.

The river Udyavara is inhabited by varieties of birds ranging from billed ones to ducks. The thrill is when you see not many people around, but only these chirps and a river. A tar road is nicely laid in between the river and the beach. How good that looks can’t be explained here! The joy of exploring a lonely beach, with the Arabian Sea roaring high, and a river rushing for its holy maté. We heard that the river met see at about 3KMs distance from this place.

The place was joyful, enchanting, exhilarating. The Arabian Sea looked excitingly royal here than at Malpe.

@image: A distant island on the river at Pithrody.

We spent a lot of time on the riverside than on the Seashore. Seashore looked monotonously the same, but the river gives life a new meaning altogether. Rivers are the lifelines of humanity, whereas Seas, meaning for the lives of these rivers! The river was huge in width, it flew surpassing a couple of islands and it rushed pretty fast too.

Maravanthe (ಮರವಂತೆ) is another such place that is located on the National Highway with Sea on one side and the river on the other. People flock there to witness this beauty where a National Highway dissects both the water bodies. A similar scene was available to us that day, though only a country road distinguished the river with its huge partner; the whole visual belonged to us, just the two of us! Our joy found no bounds.

Spending about an hour in this brilliant deafening encounter with nature, we moved ahead. The rower waited for his lonely passengers of mid-day, and we made our inroads into the river again to reach our parking area.

@image: Kunjarugiri Darshana.

We then rode to Kunjarugiri (ಕುಂಜಾರುಗಿರಿ), a small hillock amidst dense forest range, where an age-old temple of Sri. Durga Parameshwari exists. Temple was open for darshan, and we had a good time with monkeys checking on our luggage curiously until we drove them off.

The temple is a simple structure, built in the trademark Dakshina Kannada style, decorated with Mangalore tiles for roofing. Sunset visuals are a treat from here, they said.

@image: Sree Pajaka Kshetra.

We then rode to Pajaka (ಪಾಜಕ), the place where Sri Madhvacharya was born. So, a Vedic school exists at this very place, with a temple-like structure built around the main house. The caretaker took us around the place explaining what happened when and where, when Sri Acharya was studying there. It is a nicely maintained spiritual place, where one can feel the divine vibrations making this place really a special one.

On our way back to the main road, we visited another temple called Parashurama (ಪರಶುರಾಮ) Kshetra, which is on another hillock opposite Kunjarugiri. Though the temple was closed, we felt good at this place and continued with our journey not waiting for the priest to come.

Our next halt was my aunt’s place at Kulayi (ಕುಳಾಯಿ), a few KMs before Mangalooru. And as we reached her place, it was dark and all were waiting for us there.

They had a different plan for us, to take us to Panambur (ಪಣಂಬೂರು) beach to witness the sunset. But since we reached there after sunset, we missed the chance of getting beached again!

Day I:

Bengalooru -> Nelamangala -> Kunigal -> Chennarayapattana -> Hassana -> Belur -> Yagachi -> Chikkamagalooru -> Balehonnuru -> Sringeri -> Agumbe -> Hebri -> Seethanadi -> Udupi

Day II:

Udupi -> Malpe -> Bengre -> Udupi -> Udyavara -> Kunjarugiri -> Pajaka -> Katapadi -> KuLayi

To be continued……….

l The green valley l Agumbe l Udupi l Malpe l Udyavara l Kasaragodu l Shiradi l

A ride, on a beach!

l The green valley l Agumbe l Udupi l Malpe l Udyavara l Kasaragodu l Shiradi l

Marriage was at around 11 in the morning. So, we had all the day to spend in Udupi. Udupi, a religious town, has innumerable temples in and around it, Krishna temple is the best-known landmark.

Kanakadasa(ಕನಕದಾಸರು), a saint in 11th century AD was not allowed to enter the temple, since he belonged to an untouchable community. The singer saint didn’t leave it at that; he worshipped Lord Krishna from outside the temple when the Lord heard his devotee’s voice. And the idol turned to its back to face Kanakadasa. Untouchability was vanished thus by the Lord himself. The legend says so.

@image: The Majestic chariot for Udupi Krishna, see Kanaka Gopura in the background.

As a testimony to this fact, a Kanaka mandapa stands facing the Krishna idol just outside the temple, and it is said that it was here Kanakadasa got the Divya Darshana of Krishna, the Lord. Kanaka Gopura and Kanakana kindi are two other landmarks of this temple that speak about saint Kanakadasa. It is thru this Kanakana kindi (ಕನಕನ ಕಿಂಡಿ) that one is to take darshan of the Lord even today.

Udupi temple is not only about the legend of Kanakadasa, but also about various other saints and scholars who have stood firm to uphold the Sanathana dharma. Udupi temple was installed by Madhwacharya (ಮಧ್ವಾಚಾರ್ಯ), a scholar who founded a major school of learning in Hinduism called Dvaita (ದ್ವೈತ). Udupi has maintained that holy atmosphere even today.

We had a relaxing visit to the temple early in the morning, and by 8:15 we were out on the streets again! There was a scattered plan in place that we had drawn with the help of Rajesh the other day.

Malpe beach was the first on our list. We rode straight into the Malpe fishing port (ಮಲ್ಪೆ ಮೀನುಗಾರಿಕಾ ಬಂದರು) where the early morning crowd was either busy with unloading the fresh fish stock from the sea or buying them from vendors. We were lost for a while seeing this huge stock of Bhutaya, a seasonal fish variety found in this dry season. I was told that the fishing boats leave the port by 5 in the morning or earlier when they get more fish. Each boat had fish in thousands of numbers that are sold in kilograms just like any other commodity out in the market.

@image: Huge stock of fresh fishes at Malpe.

Bewildered at the site, we ran out to have a beach experience, to Malpe beach. I couldn’t believe that no one stopped us when we rode the bikes straight into the beach, pretty close to the dancing waves! Of course, it was tough to get the bikes on the sand, but fun when riding along the coast with water rushing to chase us off. It is definitely a ride to remember. We rode for about a kilometer on this sand plateau of the Malpe beach. People there stared at us, but they cared very little about our adventures.

@image: The sand ride on Malpe beach.

Later, with the help of locals on the beach, we got our bikes out of the sands, onto the road. Enquiring how to reach Bengre (ಬೆಂಗ್ರೆ), we ventured ahead. Then, it was just 10AM!

@image: River Suvarna - Never tired of running.

Bengre in Tulu (ತುಳು), a language spoken in this part of the world, is a place where a river meets a sea. Such a place is called Alive (ಅಳಿವೆ) in Kannada. Malpe beach has two such Bengres, one on each side. We were now on our way to the one on its left. As we reached Bengre, we got suspicious whether we had come to the right spot, after all. We thought so since there was no noise at all, and the village looked like a normal movie setup of the 1970s. But it had no visitor, no activities around. We confirmed that we were at no wrong place by enquiring a few locals. All the noise here was that of the Arabian Sea(ಅರಬ್ಬೀ ಸಮುದ್ರ) and the river Suvarna(ಸುವರ್ಣ) merging with it forever, none else whatsoever.

It was for the first time that I ever got a chance to witness this pretty natural phenomenon of a river getting absolved into this huge body of water. Astounded with the visuals, I tried getting into the water, exactly where the merger happened. One thing I observed was the Sea had a sloppy appearance and the river had a sudden depth. The enigmatic green look of the place transfixed into the royal blue as my eyes moved away. The seemingly motionless huge water body overflowing to grab a hapless hyperactive river was all we had there. The water, sand, and we two, there was no third human being around!

Slowly the locals came in one by one to enquire whether we were shooting for any film, since Prashanth’s camera on a tripod looked like a filmable camera to them, no surprises at it.

@image: the Arabian Sea at Bengre.

Spending about an hour in this deafeningly silent atmosphere with the Arabian Sea and river Suvarna in the background, we headed back to the town. We then realized that we had not had breakfast that morning. So, had refreshing teas at a petty shop before being back on our bikes again.

We had to reluctantly call off our Barkur (ಬಾರ್ಕೂರು) plans to owe to the time running against us. We had an old Jain temple in Barkur on our list of places to be visited. But since the major reason for this trip was to attend the marriage, we had to return to Udupi, where the marriage was being held.

We had a tasty breakfast at a local Udupi hotel before getting into the marriage hall. The marriage hall was huge and there were too many people too. We found someplace to sit and enjoy the event by making some comments this side, that side, around. We were asked to have lunch before meeting the couple. We did so, and wished the couple a happy long life together, and continued with our mega journey.

Our next project was to reach Mangalooru.

Day I:

Bengalooru -> Nelamangala -> Kunigal -> Chennarayapattana -> Hassana -> Belur -> Yagachi -> Chikkamagalooru -> Balehonnuru -> Sringeri -> Agumbe -> Hebri -> Seethanadi -> Udupi

Day II:

Udupi -> Malpe -> Bengre ->Udupi

To be continued……….

l The green valley l Agumbe l Udupi l Malpe l Udyavara l Kasaragodu l Shiradi l