When green route turned pink!

Its very famous in southern part of india, that too prominently in karnataka as Green route. And rightly so, nobody can question that simile trekkers have bestowed upon edakumeri-gundia railway track which is part of mangalore-bangalore railway route.
But here my effort is to forewarn enthusiastic trekkers who may have to face similar difficulties that i faced few months ago.

The tale begins with one of my close friends Mukund repeatedly asking me to arrange a trek in this route. I too was enthusiastic and we planned the trip in august this year. It was raining moderately, yet we wanted the trek to be a rain drenched one. So with mukund, abhi, his friend kartik, my uncle vasanthkumar perla and sister artha perla we set towards green route.
Took a mangalore-bangalore ksrtc bus early morning at 5.30 from mangalore. We got down at donigal near manjarabad on NH 75. By mistake i had moved forward 2-3 km away, so had to walk back along highway. By then it started raining, so we put on raincoats and hastily reached railway track, luckily rain subsided. 
So once again each of us were keen to track walk. Initially it took some time to adjus

t our walking style to tracks, but soon we were comfortable. We came across few youth from Bangalore who were hesitant to continue, as they did not bring any night camping material.
Both side of the track we could see vast coffee plantations, and scattered forest. Later we entered jungle and the atmosphere was pretty cool and encouraging.
It was a good journey and tunnels, water falls beside track, appearance of goods trains all made our trip memorable.
OUR PLAN

We had planned to camp in Yedakumeri Station. So i had contacted a friend of mine who is working in mysore division railway office. He after some efforts, had confirmed me that there was a waiting room in Yedakumeri station, which can be taken for camping, but he also had clarified amenities are not there. All that we wanted was a roof to rest under, as it was rainy season. So it was our plan. Next day we wanted to descend towards Gundia.
So back to our trip, 
On route, we finished our lunch-Rice Unde(pundi), and proceeded towards destination. It was relaxed walk as we were sure of a safe area of halt. Everybody was clicking photos and watching peaks and valleys both sides of track. It was picturesque!
At last we reached Yedakumeri station, and rain welcomed us! It was already 7 pm. So all were happy to reach after a tiresome trek. So we met the railway station master and all of a sudden we were taken aback!

Station master almost behaved rudely and asked who permitted us to walk on track. I was shocked by his behavior, as my railway friend had confirmed about our stay. My uncle was tired and my friends, sister all were very tense. I told master about this but he was not ready to allow us. He told nobody could stay in station as it was not meant for passengers. Thankfully bsnl mobile range was there, i contacted my railway friend, and told about the incident. He asked me to stay there for a while so that he will contact some officer and permit us(i learnt that master whom my friend contacted had gone home after finishing his duty, the next station master was peculiar and kind of psychic, as told by other staff later!). When i showed my ID card, and told about my contacts in Railway department, after few hours, he told he would let us stay there only when division higher officers call him immediately and also told he cant stay there waiting for call as he was busy :) If they don't call we CANNOT stay there, and have to move out. And he also tried to shake saying that we should not have made a blunder by coming here that too in rainy season, and allowing us to stay there might be risky as there was chance of some thieves loot us.
Coming to station, it was beautiful area, with a huge hill in front of and a deep valley behind. As master told it was not for passengers and no train halts there for passengers. Trains halt there only if some railway staff are there to either get down or climb or they have to supply some material to station.
It was drizzling and the platform was wet, master was not allowing us inside waiting hall. IMAGINE......All were hungry, and shivering in cold, and there was no place to sit. But after watching all the drama, railway workers came to us and talked to us in nice manner. They asked us to wait till the shift changes as we could expect a gentleman station master. 
We unpacked chapatis quickly and started eating, the station master was beaming vicarious smile to us. My contact in Mysore didnot give any telephone call as the landline phone in Edakumeri staion was out of order. Only option left was call in hotline, but the higher officer had already left for home so he could never come back to control room to make hotline calls.
So nobody could help us and we were on our own. But we were confident by the assurances given by railway labourers. 
At last the shift changed at around 10 pm, and my uncle was very tired and badly needed rest. The new station master was really a gentleman and he allowed us inside the waiting room. But he told it was against the rules, but he could understand our position.
Railway labourers also had told us that a train coming from bangalore towards mangalore would stop in the station for few seconds at early morning around 4.30 am, so we needed to be ready. We set our mobile alarm at 4 am, and fell asleep. 
All went well at last and everyone of us had sound sleep, and we were ready at 4am to catch the train. We were expecting a packed train, but to our surprise, it was not crowded, and empty births welcomed us.

SO THE POINT TO BE REMEMBERED IS-DO NOT PLAN YOUR TREK IN THIS ROUTE IN RAINY SEASON, EVEN IF YOU PLAN, NEVER TRY TO STAY IN RAILWAY STATIONS. TRY TO FINISH JOURNEY IN ONE DAY.

Granny’s diary

I had the glimpse of
a few pages
in your book that’s
rotten since ages
never crumbled
through the passage of time…


The pages- where
you penned all your pains,
your gains,
your failures,
your triumphs,
that i could never
imagine in my dreams


you cheer us there,
you care,
with that gentle
smile
You wrote about
The simple pleasures of life-
the sparrows'
chirp, the calf's
call from the
backyard,
and about the murky
kitchen walls
where you spent
your entire life…
Often i wonder,

whether you still live on…
through the magnetic
words in your book…

The ink still fresh,
Through my mind
my memories gush,
unabated,
from this innocent
heart of mine…

ballalarayana durga, kudremukha trek

2009 has not been really great for me...i missed my favourite hiking, my state karnataka suffered because of the heavy rain which resulting floods and huge life, property loss.

So i wanted to start the new year in a good shape, wanted to arrange some trekking to nature's lap. There umpteen number of places in our own western ghats, but whenever i was fixing the dates, rain god was showing his anger, due to which i had to postpone the trek 2 times.

At last! my friend Murali was also arranging some trek, to which i though i could join. I rang him up and asked him to include me in his list.

So i was in! But forgot to ask which were our destinations.

Our destinations were:

DAY 1 - Trek to Ballala Rayana Durga(fort)-

-Night Stay in Kudremukha guest house-

Day 2 - Trek to Kudremukha peak

I had already covered the above destinations, still i feel kudremukha is an evergreen destination to all. So i thought to see those places once again.

Our TT(tempo traveller) started from mangalore and we passed via kottigehara(chikmagalore district) and we reached a place called durgadahalli. A old KalaBhairaveshwara temple lies just below the Durga(Ballalarayana durga). The family of the temple priest was so cooperative that they had prepared some snacks(avalakki) for us. We started our trek at about 12 pm.

The initial hike is through thick jungles and then we step in to the bare mountain neck. One side you will see the steep valley and another side shola forest.And you will have to tread amidst this. Narrow path leads to you towards the fort of Ballala.

Its not at all a hard trek. There were several first timers in our team, but they were very happy and managed to climb up the hillock.

We reached the top at 1.30, wandered around the fort, saw Kotebagilu, a huge entry point to the fort, and then we started to descend.

Nice meals was waiting for us at priest's home when we reached at 4 pm! All were hungry and that made each one forget other things and concentrate in munching. We thanked the priest mr.Dongre for the hospitality and prayed Sri Kalabhairaveshwara, and our journey began towards kudremukha township

We reached kudremukha township, which lies in a place called Malleshwara at 7 pm, we had to take permission for kudremukha trek from the forest office situated at the township. We managed to find the staff after a few minutes of scouting. We took permission letter and identified a guide for us and then went to the guest house.

A few words about this township: Kudremukha Iron Ore Ltd was functioning here till 2005, and following Supreme Court's order, it had to stop its mining operations here. Thus the prestine nature is once again blooming in this area. The vast township of malleshwara consists of a large park, guesthouse, auditorium et al. Now since company cannot function in the national forest area, this infrastructure here lies idle. There is a proposal from state government to use this area as a police training camp.

Now back to our trek. It was very cold out side, and we fell asleep very soon in the night, since we had to start our journey as quickly as possible.

We all were ready by 6am, and bundled up the pack lunch started towards samse. We have to move towards Sringeri road, and deviate towards right to go to kudremukh. The road is in a bad shape, and soon after 2-3 kilo meter journey we thought it was safe to stop our TT there itself. So we took all necessary baggage, and started our hike from there itself. We met our guide in samse, and started the trek to kudremukha peak. When we were moving slowly amidst the coffee estates, a group of youth came in bikes, they too were heading towards the peak. In samse there are a few houses, and they provide all possible support to the needy trekkers. And any vehicle has to stop in that village and the road ends.

Then the real trek starts.

My knee was paining since i had slipped last day. Still managed to trek in the nature. I was all alone and in the last of the group. I was unable to rush like others. The last part of the trek is very tough and steep.

Still we reached the top of kudremukh. Now, the speciality of kudremuka trek is that water will be available abundantly throughtout the year in the trek. Many small springs on the way to kudremukha.

A big stream is flowing 365 days atop the peak, which is very helpful to the trekkersk, where we finished our lunch, and most of us were not bothered to speak, some fell asleep for a few minutes. The other team also reached and started to cook their lunch.

Wait..its still not peak. you are in the shoulder part of kudremukh, from there its about half an hour walk to the head of the horse. My knee was giving me utmost trouble, and i decided to descend as early as possible, and since i had visited kudremukh peak a couple of times, it was not a big disappointment for me. Once again all alone i stepped down very slowly, as i could not bend my right knee.

When i was reaching the village other members also joined me.

Each one of us enjoyed the trek, the sign was visible, a tired look outside, and a fresh feeling inside the heart.....

why always a farmer's sacrifice?

It was just another luncheon meeting for the neck-tie wearing stiff businessmen....But for over 50 farmers all who had walked from nearbye bajpe village it was a matter of their existence.
Some offcials from Mangalore Special Economic Zone had come there to present a rosy picture of Mangalore and the surrounding areas, once SEZ was established.
Villagers who had to sacrifice their lands to appease certain businessmen were seen sitting in a tense, pensive mood. When the Kannadiga official started presentation in english, poor farmers asked him to speak the language they understand. Suddenly the president of the association, who organised the progrmme, jumped up from his chair and yelled out at the farmers.
`Nooooo, We have organised the programme, he will speak english only....' The president sitting just below a huge photograph of father of our nation MAHATMA GANDHI was issuing commands to the farmers as if they were pesky objects among trhe fleet of businessmen.
Ultimately an offcial understanding the situation, showed 'mercy' on farmers and agreed to speak in a mixture of kannada-english, which was followed by a thunderous clap from the farmers.

This took place a few months ago and now Mangalore SEZ has become one of the heated subjects of discussion in Mangalore. Officials and some vested interests always were trying to vacate the farmers from their fertile lands which spreads across thousands of acres. According to the 'official' report which has been prepared by one agency by the funding of MRPL, the promoter of Mangalore SEZ, says that almost all land over here is now useless for agriculture! That too according to their satellite surveys!
But for a person, who has little concern over human beings, the large areca gardens, paddy fields, can be found in this area. Even the team from Central Environmental Ministry which had visited the place very recently had a visit to the place, and sipping the cool tender coconut water they understood the real situation existing.

Yes. There are drylands in and around Bajpe, permude, Kalavar, Kateel and some parts of Bala, but these pathces of small hillocks are main areas of cashew cultivation. Even offcials from the Horticulture department agree that the large chunk of raw cashew comes from these areas. But if SEZ is established, not only the remaining green covers, but also these cashew bowls would disappear for ever.
People's representatives and officials always stick to the employment card. They say if SEZ is stopped, people wont get employment. But nobody assures what type of employment one can get, they also cannot specify whether or not the local people be getting priority in the recruitment.
Most agriculturists, if ,not all clarify any approching officials that they are fine in their farmlands when they try to lure them with lucrative rehabilitation package. What they want is not industries in their farms, they want these precious lands to be declared as SPECIAL AGRICULTURE ZONES.
Reason is pretty simple. Once an agriculture land is converted to industries, you can never find the green cover again.

Kusalli falls, a falls with 6 stages

You tread...trek...drink lots of water....finally reach the destination....and there ends....there your mind and body make you relax....

This is what usually almost all trekkers do. But once you reach the ever enchanting KUSALLI Falls near Shirur in udupi district, you must never listen to your mind, in stead try to cross over to the otherside, and you will find the water falls in many stages, with multi dimensional appearance.

This is what makes Kusalli falls special. Many trekkers after tiresome hike, likely to miss this scene simply because, its hard to even imagine that there would be much more to relish upon.

Our journey: We ten people went out last week for this amazing spot called Kusalli. The falls lies beside a small village called Toodalli, so some people call it as Toodalli Falls too. Shirur is 130 KM away from Mangalore. While on the way to Bhatkal in national highway-17, you will reach Shirur and in the town divert in a small road to the right to reach toodalli. We went there by a Cheverlot Tavera, which is very convinient for long distance travel.

We had started early morning from Mangalore, and condition of national highway was worst, which makes any journey a struggle, many of us later realised that the trekking was far easier than the vehicle journey!

We reached toodalli, and there we saw a narrow but concretised road holding on, some passers by asked us to proceed on the road to visit the falls. The road ends in Kallikone a small village. We met a farmer there named Isak. Isak called his servent Krishna and asked him to assist us in reaching the waterfalls.

Krishna uninterestedly took up the sickle from the house, and asked us to follow him. We changed our costumes, so as to face the attack from leaches. Even our cab driver showed interest and started with us.

The trek consists of journey inside thick jungle. A walk of almost 90 minutes takes you near the falls. We had to keep checking our feet for leaches. This path to waterfalls is new one, earlier trekkers had to take the river path and had to jump over the huge rocks. Rakesh Holla who had been to the falls few years ago told us that the journey earlier was very difficult and there was always a risk of skidding over the rocks.

We strolled amidst jungle and the sound of waterfalls was clearly audible, which made us to push up legs in a hurry to have the glimpse of falls as quickly as possible. At last around 11.30 a.m, I heard Abhi and Balakrishna shouting out of joy. Yes, they reached the falls and were thrilled of the scene, others too joined them.

Waterfalls : Kusalli falls is still pure and not littered, which made us like it very much. We five friends led by Rakesh crossed over to the otherside of the falls and started to mount up to 5th step of the falls. The rocks were very slippery, but we managed to reach the forest once again beside the falls. Within next 30 minutes we were atop 5th step of Kusalli. We filled our hearts with the beautiful scene of the green valley from there. When we turn.....Oh we were stunned. 5th and 1st stages of the falls were roaring.

The place is very open, and filled with boulders of various sizes and water gushing from the sides. We took enough photographs, then crossed the water stream and reached a pond. Holla told us that would be the ideal place for swimming. Within a minute we five were in the pond. The long swim in the icy clean water was mesmerising...believe me you will not be ready to come out of the pond.

Suddenly mobile in my bag over the boulder started ringing, people below calling us for lunch. Mobile network is available in and around that area, which is pretty helpful. We had to return, but Holla told, after November one can try to reach the next 4 stages of the falls, eventhough the attempt would be risky. It will surprises one that in kusalli between 1st and 5th stages, there are still 3 stages, which you can't see unless you go up the 5th stage.

We bid adeu to the gorgeously jumping 1st stage falls of kusalli, took her glimpse to our mind and with a hope to reach her next time, got down to the feet of the 6th stage. Our mates had already finished their lunch and taking a siesta.

Precautions: Never try to play in the rocks as there is always a risk of slipping. Dont try to go up to higher stages if you faint. Take food, dont litter the spot. Enjoy the trek.

A ship museaum called Tannirbavi!

Tannirbavi beach has never been so attractive either to tourists or to Mangaloreans. Even the district administration's efforts to beautify this beach received lukewarm response from the public.

Only a few pairs who never wanted somebody keeping an eye on them dared to be in Tannirbavi.

But thanks to two unfortunate ships MV DenDen[belongs to Eritria] and MV Chang le men[A chinese ship registered in St.Vincent island], the beach has suddenly become a forerunner in attracting tourists, locals among other popular beaches of Mangalore like Panambur, Suratkal and Someshwara.

The potholed road to Tannirbavi is now busy witnessing the mud splashing cars and bikes racing towards the beach, often giving a feeling, good roads are no longer necessary to pull the crowds :)

The beach in Tannirbavi is a notorious one since it took away many lives including the three sailors belonging to DenDen ship and many stubborn persons who tried their chance in sea. Now in a flash has turned out to be a must watch for evey mangalorean.

Ice cream carry vans, chat shops, tea stalls have started to come up. The ship DenDen has fallen along the sea, and chinese vessel Chang le men is standing drifted across the arabean sea. Tannirbavi sea is hiding in its womb another ship Challenger, the tragedy took place a decade ago. The wreck of the ship is still under the sea. Another ship Marediane had been brought to Tannirbavi for ship breaking. But due to certain insurance related problems the ship was abandoned, the wreck is still seen in the waters here.

On last june 23, Denden ship carrying furnace slag capsized in the sea, unable to witstand the ferocious rain and the wind. Three men on board lost their lives while trying to swim to the shore. But 23 sailors were saved by the local fishermen.

The latest addition to the ship museam is Changlemen. The ship carrying 16,100 tonns of iron ore, heading towards china faced imbalance due to ingress of rain water. Then the ship started to tilt, and the captain of the ship had to beach the ship near Tannirbavi. Till today the salvage operation is on, and from last 4 days a team of experts from Holland are carrying this operation. They are hopefull of bringing the ship to sail-worthy condition soon.

But Tannirbavi for good or bad reasons has become either a museam or graveyard of ships!

Now on..no spots for trekkers!

Very soon the the charming western ghats are going to be deathtraps for trekkers and the lovers of nature.
The spread of naxalites to the interiors of dakshina kannada, udupi, chikkmagalore and parts of shimoga has only worsened the situation. Already parts of dakshina kannada like neriya, shishila in belthangady taluk have become strongholds of ganja mafia.
Just few days before a person called chandrashekhar gore in hathyadka near shishila Now these naxalites are creating a kind of fear in this area. This has also effected the very spirit of the trekkers.
There is either a possibility of being shot dead by anti naxal squad misinterpreting a cargo clad, with rucksack on back trekker as a hardcore naxal, or by naxals who may think viceversa.
The famous trekking points like Barhana Abbi, Jogigundi, ArshinaGundi, evergreen Kudremukha peak, a series of peaks like kodekallu, minchukallu, erikallu in charmadi ghat are now on a scanner by police.
So an ardent lover of nature now no longer can enter in to the forest. Mangalore youth hostel secreatary Dinesh Holla too has expressed helplessness on the situation.
The main concern of him is on the possibility of treekers could now be seen in a suspicious eye by the villagers who reside near some of theses spots.
He told a villager near Elaneeru, many a times helped youthhostelites in assisting for Hirimariguppe and Elaneer Falls trekking is nowadays avoiding any calls made to him.
The problem of naxalites seems to be spreading day by day and trekkers losing their loved nature spots, but this pain is nothing against the pain and losses faced by the residents of these areas.

fascinating shinganigudda!

It was a hot summer day few weeks back and youth hostel friends were out with idea of trekking.

I really needed a break from my job and i asked dinesh holla, the organiser of trekking to add my name in the list, there were already 24 names in the list!

Well, our destination was a nice hillock near Shishila called SHINGANI GUDDA. Shishila is a remote village near Dharmasthala. While on the way to Nelyadi in NH 48, a road deviates to Dharmasthala and around 25 kms journey half on smooth wide road while the other half is on a dusty coarse road.

There are few buses from Uppinangady and Mangalore connecting Shishila. Shishila is a small village which is famous for Shishileshwara Temple and mahashir fishes in the lake of that temple.Shishila comprises of mainly marathi speaking brahmins, who also called as chippavans.

Well, we started from mangalore in a cab and reached shishila at 9 pm. Holla had arranged dinner at one Gopu Gokhale's house. Gokhale is a freelance writer and has plenty of knowledge in art and trekking.

We stayed in Shishila school that night, but before that we had a nice bonafire session. The speciality of this session is that each one of the team must open up and exhibit some or the other talent in him. Next day we had breakfast at Gokhale's house and were ready for the outing. The morning was hot and soon after few metres walk the new entrants started gasping. One lady had no knowledge of trekking and she had come on a pair of slippery chappals. And she had to suffer the whole day. But many members helped her by carrying her rucksack.

The route was cool in the thick forest, gigantic trees and slopes, heights were a challenge to the trekkers.

It was two-and-a half hours journey to reach the hill top. The journey was not so tiresome for a habitual trekker. It may create some problem for newcomers.

The top of Shingani gudda has got 2 big rocks which appears as an elephant head. And the lush green grass welcomes us and so as the cold breeze even in the midday.

We can see Ethinabhuja, Amedikallu, udayagiri and a few other hillocks. We returned to Gokhale's house and he welcomed us with delicious lunch, which consisted my favourite jack fruit payasa!

Suryakirans dance over arabian sea

For the first time, mangaloreans got the opportunity to witness an amazing aerobatic show by TEAM SURYAKIRAN of much famed Indian Airforce.

Panambur beach marked the occassion to highest crowd pulling event in the recent past. The show was split in to two session. One was in the early hours of the day at 8.15 and second session was organized at 3.15.

A very large gathering was ready to witness the show even in the lazy warmer sunday. The crowd was expecting a full team of 9 aircrafts but they were in a way disappointed as only 3 kiran aircrafts appeared in the sky. It was just a practice session.
But the second show was appreciated by the crowd, since the full force of 9 planes undertook various skills that an Indian Airforce pilot is capable of. The loops, twists, barrel rolls, turns, star bursts, 5+1 cross, mirror run and such other skills enthralled a delectated crowd.

People cheered, clapped and children danced when the orange-white painted planes flied over their heads. They were dumb struck when two kirans rushed in opposite direction and were about to hit each other, but crowd could breathe easy when they saw the planes just could escape from hitting.
The show lasted for nearly 25 minutes. Surya kiran is an formation aerobatic team of Indian Airforce, which is stationed at Bidar of Karnataka. Kiran MK-II is the plane involved in the show. It can reach a maximum speed of 780 Kilo meters per hour.
More informations on the Surya Kiran enter this site.

being silenced

Pages of a wanderer

Alemari (wanderer)-as he calls himself, Rajesh is also called as waterfalls lover among trekkers of Mangalore and udupi.
He is ardent trekker, but he enjoys exploring waterfalls in the state and neighboring states of kerala and Tamilnadu.
Every weekend he goes out with his bike all alone! Collects information, and finds the way to waterfalls. For mangalore branch of youth hostel, he is a great asset and guide as far as waterfalls are concerned.
One thing we wonder is he has very less gadjets and baggage. When fellow trekkers carry huge rucksacks and everything from sleeping bags to binaculars, rajesh prefers taking a small auto digital camera and a small bag with basic clothings.
Whenever i feel to travel to some remote places, i consult him and he suggests some finest spots of nature.
Have a look in to Rajesh's experiences in nature.

hospitality of uttarakannada

Recently i visited the prestine Uttar kannada district. Actually I had to bring a cocanut tree climber from Bhatkal industrial area. But fortunately the machine was not ready and no way i could return empty handed.
Mr G.T.Bhat who accompanied me belongs to Kumta in uttar kannada, and he forced me and Mr.Balakrishna to visit his home nad stay there. His contention was we could visit a few interesting places nearby and next day we could collect the climber and return to mangalore.
We thought and thought, we didn't have any thing not even a bathtowel to stay in anywhere as we had planned to return the same day. But owing to the pressure from Bhat, we had no options but to accept his advise.
So we caught a bus from Bhatkal and went to Kumta and from there to Hegade, where Mr Bhat's home is located. It was a nice journey we could see the ground-nut fields all along in both sides of the national highway-17. The climate is similar to that of Dakshin kannada district, since Kumta is also a coastal town.
The beauty of Uttar kannada is special because, we can spot the lush green paddy fields, large ponds, huge-sturdy buffallows, hardworking people. People are known for hospitality. You go to any home there, i bet they will make you stay and have lunch there even if you are a stranger!
Bhat's house is half home and half temple. Actually its a 'matha', where his forefathers used to offer pooja and lived in the name of God. The house may be some 50 years old. The centre of house is occupied by Lord Ganesha. Even the village people come there to offer pooja.
Bhat is an interesting personality. He was an officer in one of the fertilisers industry in Mangalore. He opted for voluntatry retirement scheme, and settled in his native. He could have settled in posh areas of Mangalore. But he is so simple and humble. His father and wife are no more, his two daughters are abroad. And Bhat stays with an assistant in that remote village.
So we had a fine lunch in his house, which consisted 'hashi' a dish which was made of buttermilk and cucumber, sambar, and rice, a simple menu. We also had a small siesta.
Later in the evening Bhat took is to Aghanashini estuary area. We walked by the waters in one side and the huts of fishermen at another side. Saw the setting sun, crossed aghanashini river to reach the Tadadi fishing jetty and returned by the same boat. And as we went on talking about various issues, Bhat broke in to tears, when he had to untie the bundle of grief of the death of his father and wife. The sea after sunset was roaring, and our eyes were moist.
Then we returned to Hegade. Night was even special in Bhat's house, as his assistant had prepared famous kesaribhat another u.k special sweet.
Next morning we visited apsarkonda near honnavar, which a sea side point. We can find hillock in the shore of sea, which is a fine picnik point.
We then walked towards Idagunji temple, where the main deity is Lord Ganesha, the sculpture of Ganesha is very nice.
Time was to bid good bye to Bhat, we thanked him for his hospitality and came to bhatkal to collect the coconut climber. It was ready and we purchased a unit and returned to mangalore.
To cherish Bhat's hospitality, we had brought a bottle of Kesaribhat with us. Kesaribhat would simbolise the hospitality of whole north kanara!

Good old hotels

Few months back, i had to visit Madhur temple, which is in kasaragod district of Kerala state for some reasons. We 4 friends from Mangalore started early morning.

So it was around 9 am, when we started feeling hunger, obviously all of us were in search of one hotel, which is cheap and best. There were number of hotels in kasargod, but suddenly a hotel(GOKULA) in kumbla(comes in between mangalore and kasargod) came in to my mind, which i used to visit in my childhood days. We just turned our bikes towards Gokula.

The hotel was calm, and without any enquiry the bearer supplied cups of hot water and offered the menu orally. Neeru dose....moode....goli baje....and many more names, which are almost on the verge of extinct in cities.

Each one of us had stomachful of tasty neeru dose (prepared out of thin rice floor).

I like those old but nice hotels, which feels like home. Most of the time, i've seen the most well-liked hotels, the five-stars. But they usually give us all spicy and unhomely food, which i find difficult to digest!

So whenever possible i keep visiting some selected and homely hotels, which are a lot cheaper, simple, warm and intimate. In mangalore, we find Mohini Vilasa, Krishna Bhavana, Taj mahal, Indra Bhavana to name a few.

In countryside, we see some raw hotels and my friend calls them 'thatti bhavana' (thatti in kannda means the a sheet made using woven palm/coconut leaves and bhavana is home). Sometimes i feel should we pay more to get unhealthy stuff?(In some modish hotels).

Well the concern is slowly even in south kanara, the good old hotels are on the verge of closure and their place is either occupied by apartments or modern restaurants. The traditional food habbit is slowly taken over by chinese and european food. But still the major average mangalorean likes idlis and dosas, thats something unique!

Electrifying start to Alva's Virasat

I am stunned and have no words to express....these were the candid words from the tabla mastero Ustad Zakir hussain and these were exactly the same words of everyone who had the opportunity to witness ALVA'S VIRASAT 2007. The huge stage, large gathering, January's cold breeze and in total, the ambience of SHOBHAVANA(a 100 acre botanical garden of Alva's ayurvedic college which consists of many herbs on a small hillock near mudubidre) was befitting for a musical and cultaral event of such stature. Ustad Zakir hussain was presented with VIRASAT award later, while the previous VIRASAT awardee Padmavibhushan Sonal Man singh inagurated the 4 day cultural fest on january 4th. It was astonishing to see music lovers flocking the remote village of mijar (where shobhavana is situated) in the dusk. As sun was setting in the arabian sea, the colorful lights in the bamboo pyramid structures lit up illuminating the entire hill, venue of Alva's festival. Few fire crackers were burst to indicate that VIRASAT of the seson had begun. The wee hours witnessed magical tabla-mridangam-flute jugalbandi of Ustad Zakir Hussain, Satish Kumar and Master Shashank. The whole gathering was electrified with the jadoo of music by these artistes .

The programme received wide applause from the audience. The whole idea behind this VIRASAT to strengthen the rich cultural heritage and legacy of india. And the effort is put forward by a single force called Dr.Mohan Alva, founder president of Alva's education Foundation (AEF).
Its his commitment, that gives opportuny to the students and public to witness international reputed artists. The strength of this man lies in converting dream in to reality.
(pics by R.K.Bhat)

Fragrance of life

Have you been to any old temple?, I am referring to those, whose history can be traced back to a thousand years and more...

If you have then, you might have noticed a kind of redolence, that actually transforms the ambience peaceful and closer to your heart. Mixture of oil, incence sticks, the smoke of aarti etc. all create an unusual kind of smell, which soothens mind and body. But you will not find such smell in those temples run in corporate style. Where a devotee is more treated like a customer!

The fragrances close to our heart are, undoubteldy the smell of first rain, baby's smell, a mango tree when in full bloom, and their likes......

Even now i enjoy the smell of first rain. That smell is enjoyable, since the rain itself comes when we are expecting it for long. When an infant places its tiny arms and hugs you closely, that affection, that warmth and sweet smell emanating from the baby brings peace to mind.

I've also noticed a fragrance in rice mills when they steam the paddy before drying. I dont know whether these kind of smells have positive impact on body. But flowers are used in aromatic treatment, which itself is an indication of the positive impact of fragrances on body. At least these give you mental happiness, which is invaluable.

A new 'heat' companion

Recently i had to bid adieu to my close companion, and a new substitute has come in to my life!

Its my bike!
My old splendor plus, who has been with me always is now with my uncle, who iam sure will take care well. In 2004 February Splendor had stepped in to my life, earlier i had to miss many important situations, occassions while going by bus. And sometimes i had top depend on others' vehicle to move to places while on some beats. But after i got my bike, my work became easy, and its simplicity and a kind of 'no problem' attitude had made me hero honda fan.
I have had tour to madikeri twice(which were long trips), ramachandrapur matth once and during that time there was no fuss in the bike. I had to rush to airport which is quite a bit far away many a times when some or the other VIP landed. In all my journey not even a single time my bike had given any trouble. He was 100 per cent in his duty. But since he belonged to 98 cc category, i could not rush to the spots during emergencey.
Even my uncle needed a second hand HH splendor, so he found my bike as satisfactory.
Now my friend is in my uncle's home, where he wont have to face theiron ore dust nor mud on the road like earlier. I wish a healthy life to him!
Now coming to my new friend, Suzuki Heat. He is a newcomer to the market, 125 cc, more power, good look, and hope he is a nice performer. Great thing is that i can ride in 20 kmph speed even when on 5th gear! Mileage is also good.
So welcome suzuki, bye bye hero honda!

Life saving trek !

You would have heard or read about some of the bravery acts of dogs. But this account is something different.
Recently i had gone on a trek to a beautiful hillock called Ethina Bhuja(means shoulder of ox). No doubt our trek was a successful and relishing one. But a good thing during our journey atop the hillock was that we could save one life!

We a team of 12 people started our journey early morning, and after being bitten by umpteen number of leaches, all were tired and still hurrying to reach the top of hillock. We reached a place where the edge of forest met the green grassland. And some of us sat there just to have a brief relaxation. And we heard a strange voice of crying. 'It must be the voice of some bird', Nagesh, our team member uttered. But our guide, Eshwaranna, person from Shishila village, told it would be dog. He further elaborated that sometimes cattle caretakers from Bhyrapur village(in Chikkamagalur district) come to the hillock, to graze their cattle with their dogs, and sometime dogs get missed out in the jungle. We were still not beleiving his words.
But.....he was true. Very soon we spotted a feeble, pup haplessly crying out, abandoned to no where in the dense forest of western ghats!
'Look there...it is a dog, either came with village people from otherside of the hill, and missed out here or came with cattles, but could not return'. Balakrishna Bhat, took out some poha from his rucksack and offered it to the pup. But it was looking horrified to see group of human beings amidst the forest, and soon ran and disappeared in the jungle.
Then we forgot about the dog, and continued our journey. We reached the base of Ethhina Bhuja, where we had no option but to leave our luggage and climb the steep rocky structure. We reached top, spent sometime there, and we were so hungry that we badly were in search of water spot which was still a kilo meter away. So hurriedly, we descended from the top.
Alas! the pup was smiling at us ! Though weak, and about to fall down, he could manage to reach us. It appeared as if he was thinking us last ray of hope for survival. Some one gave some Semige to the pup, another pored some water. Pup had no energey even to eat it, still he swallowed whatever available.
Suggestions came from all corners about the future of that poor creature. But Eshwaranna had already made up his mind, 'Ill take him home, he is weak now, but will definitely pick up in a week', he told us.
As he told, he got one plastic bag from us, made a hole in it, put the pup inside, and now pup was really had a look of gratitude on its face.
If next time we visit Ethina Bhuja, we have to see Eswaranna's dog, nagesh announced, and we all gave a nod.

Mangalore back in track

AFTER two days bundh, called by Bajrang dal and Sriram sena, 4 days undeclared bundh, i.e curfew imposed by district administration, now Mangalore seems to be normal. The communal riot in Mangalore, Ullal was hyped by our so called national channels, NDTV, Cnn Ibn, Aaj Tak, even when local and regional channels were just showing the reality. But these channels took a partisan step and 'created' the news! We local and regional media persons took a stand that we would not magnify any relatively 'sensitive' issues. Anyway, even after the continuous efforts of some of these media, the 'fact' finding committees to see mangalore burning, people seems to be liking peace and harmony. The wonderful thing to happen now is Ramzan and Deepavali two major festivals have come together. The message from God is clear-we must leave our all hatred, superstition and stay united. The last few days after curfew lifted, were witnessed by many organisation's, party leaders' visit to the sensitive areas of mangalore. One so called Fact(?) finding commitee which comprised leftists, held a press conference only to blame hindus for the communal riot, and another member told media never visited some places. To me, these so called rationalists would never realise the plight of the common men. They just want to spoil the situation or fish in the troubled waters. The reality behind the communal riots as media have understood is that it is the planned plot by some vested interests. Anyway these are all termed as assumptions and yet to be confirmed by COD, and Additional Chief Secretary Mr.Agrawal, who are conducting inquiry in to the matter. Now the only thing we can rejoice is Mangaloreans have atleast forcefully unlearned the bad dreams of curfew. Kids again are playing in the streets, Clocks in the towers have once again started moving!
So all friends and folks you can now without any fear can visit this amazing place KUDLA, i.e mangalore. Have a look at the astonishing temples, beautiful beaches, old churches. Have tasty sea food, drink narial pani(tender cocanut). Mangalore is no more burning.

Mangalore in curfew

Rush in a grossary shop during relax of curfew

My blog has been struck here from last few days, since Mangalore is in a serious situation. Curfew has been imposed for 2 days here. Curfew has been a rare condition here in this coastal city. Mangalore, a city which people call has scope for tourism and industrial expansion, now grappling in bundh, curfew and similar situations. Since Navaratri, vegetable and grossary supply has been cut to this from rest of the districts. Suddenly people started fearing this situation. People without having anything to eat at home, depending upon junk food like chips, maggie etc. The second day of curfew, on sunday curfew was relaxed for 2 hours, during which, people rushed out of home to get necessary items like milk, news paper, grossary. Huge queue was found infront of grossary shops, chicken centresm, milk booths and petrol bunks.
Right now we the journalists here spent 3-4 days night without sleep, with for each hour the situation changing, making us to change our reports. will file about the situation and lot more if get time, in the next post.

Daily dose of yoga

I do not know what others have to say about this, but I must say that I’ve been benefited by daily yoga.

May be, many of you would agree with me that guided yoga is sure to be helpful in maintaining body control, and maintaining the body shape.
Studied in a hostel with distinction, i.e siddhavana gurukula in a way has kindled in me interest fort yoga. Some experts taught us practicing yoga there, and after about 5-6 years, now I have understood the importance of yoga.
A daily bike rider on a potholed highway, should have brought some kind of joint pain or back ache to me. But I feel that my adherence to daily exercise has successfully protected me from these ailments.
I do not practice toughest asanas, but a daily blend of simple asanas, suryanamaskar, and a few athletic exercises, keep me in tact whole day.
Padmasana, vajrasana, dhanurasana, bhujangasana, sarvangasana, veerabhadrasana, parvatasana, navasana, ardhanavasana, and a few moderations in these asanas. I don’t follow all these daily, but alternatively. Few push ups, chin ups, sit ups(for keeping belly in control J), are in my daily menu. It won’t take more than 35 minutes in the morning.
I feel fit in body, and feel the peace in my mind.
Exercise, has almost become my part of life and, my duty requires utmost concentration, and filed work too, which I think i could manage easily, only because of my practice.
Very recently after watching Ramdev’s yoga and pranayam feats, I too have brought his pranayam VCD, and trying to follow them.
If any of you have a mind in doing yoga, please get the guidance of a guru, or follow simplest yogasana. I am sure you would benefit by this.