This
is going to be my first travelogue, if I dare call it so. In any case, this is
the best you can get from me in that category, a lousy traveler that I am. Under
normal circumstances, a 1-day journey calls for 2 days’ rest in my case and
under sub/super normal circumstances, it can only get worse.
I
have an innate dislike for early rising (refer previous posts on this blog) and
travelling by road. Considering these facts, I consider it remarkable that I
participated in this picnic which called for us to start at an ungodly hour of
7.30 am. Those of you who are sighing and rolling their eyes at this statement
may kindly note that since I am writing this I reserve the rights to call it
godly, ungodly or demonly. You have no choice but to read it.
The
tour coordinator had given us enough prior notification that we would be
starting at 7.30 am IST. He probably didn’t anticipate that there are smart
chappies among us capable of interpreting it as Indian Stretchable Time. After all it’s a day to relax, so let’s as
well start it with some stretching exercises. We finally set
out at 8am. Before leaving Udupi we loaded our vehicle with breakfast and lunch
to be devoured enroute.
We
started from scratch…I mean to say that our first destination was the ruins of
the Tulu dynasty at Barkur. The moment we stepped out of the bus, ‘Tulunadu’
was renamed by a colleague of mine as ‘podinadu’ (land of dust). Some neo-historians
observed that it was the dust that drove the Tulu kings away…or did they vanish
into dust??? Along this dusty road..ehm…I mean path, we walked upto ‘Katthala
basadi” which, I was told, means ‘dark temple’.
This
was nothing like the picture I had in mind about remains of an ancient
dynasty. First of all, it didn’t look ancient with the well-kept compound wall
around it. Secondly, it didn’t look like a dynasty. The locale of the temple
barely measured to an acre and I had gone there carrying mental images of
Harappa and Mohenjodaro.
I
must confess that I am being over-critical here. Actually, for want of time, we
had limited ourselves to just one of the many sites of historical importance.
We had apparently decided to forego an ancient fort and some other spots of
interest. We could read the details of these on a board which also carried the
names of some big shots like Tipu and Hyder Ali. So the story has a lot more to
do than with the Tulu kings. This kathala basadi, as I mentioned earlier, had
the relics of a twin temples datable to the 12th century. It was
called the dark temple as the inner sanctum sanctorum was so designed that no
light enters it especially so when you circumambulate the deity. This was now
open to exploration by the public and we all bravely ventured in to the dark
sanctum emerging bright enough. Though
the interior walls of the temples are adorned with beautiful patterns and
designs, the exterior walls were plane. Well..... not plane anymore, as this was
also the apt plane for some Ravi to manifest his love for some Ramya as could
be well- read from the inscriptions on the temple walls. Nothing
uncharacteristic of the present day youth.
The
spot was perfect for a group of 29 to have their breakfast and that is exactly what
we did. Leaf idlis were served to the eager-to-eat teachers by the eager-to-please
students. Saw the heights of gurupuja, ….must be the sudden influence of
ancient culture.
After
breakfast and a few more photographs, we bade our byes to what was left of the
Tulu kings and resumed our journey. The road trip to Murudeshwar was uneventful
apart for the short tea/pee break. Entering UK (read ‘Uttara Kannada’), we had
Suvarna River and Western Ghats keeping us constant company until Suvarna
joined the Arabian sea.
We reached Murudeshwar at 12 noon. We alighted into the
scorching heat and waged our war on the sun armed with sunshades, caps and
umbrellas.Three
things catch your eye at this place. The beautiful sea which borders the temple
avenue on 3 sides, the 20-storeyed gopuram guarded by statues of 1 elephant
each on either side, and the massive and awe-inspiring statue of Murudeshwar,
that is, Lord Shiva. Now I’ll tell you about these in the reverse order.
This 123-ft tall statue is the second largest
of Shiva statue in the world and can be seen from a great distance. In fact,
you get to see it while travelling along the Konkan line as Shivji hanging up
in the sky. The gopuram, a 237 ft high edifice with 20 storeys has 1
life-size elephant (statue) on each side. My personal observation was that only
the size was elephant-like, proportions were not so perfect at least by the
standards of Indian elephants. These seemed to me to be slightly horizontally
enhanced out of proportion. But then, I am no expert at the vital statistics of
elephants. I may as well be wrong.
We
anyway proceeded in the 10m long queue and got the ‘darsan’ of the main deity
and got absolved of all our sins. Now we can open a fresh account. Everyone was
soon taking photographs of the Gopuram trying to fit all the 20 storeys and the
models below into the frame. We found it funny to see a batch of Sabarimala pilgrims
leisurely posing at different spots and clicking snaps. “ At this rate, when
will they ever reach Sabarimala?” wondered someone.
My
apprehensions regarding the not-so-sacred intensions behind the temple were
reinforced at the base of the gopuram where we all got excited knowing that we
could actually go up to the top. Soon, we got to know that we wouldn’t climbing
the stairs (of course that would be a difficult deal), but will be taken up by
means of an elevator. Did I ever imagine going up a temple gopuram in a lift @
Rs. 10/- per head!! Well, my sins in this front remain intact.
But the view
from above ( by the way, we were taken only up to the 18th floor
which is actually a good deal for Rs. 10.) was worth much more than Rs. 10/- spent and I
really enjoyed it. But why do that under the pretext of a gopuram? To lend it an air religious sanctification? I
don’t know and I am not fit to comment either. Maybe it’s all my ignorance
speaking.
Hitting
the earth, next we climbed up about 50 steps (no elevators this time) to get a
closer look at the statue and saw a dog slumbering peacefully on Shivji’s lap, who, by the way, had his mount Nandi and some of the prominet figures among the bhootagana scattered in the vicinity.
We clicked more pics, amassing evidence for our tryst with the Mahadeva. It was
too hot and sunny for any of us to give our best wide-eyed-smiles for the
photos. Sun was showing absolutely no mercy on us and I held fast on to my
umbrella.
Now
comes the best part. We then proceeded to the beach. As we waited for the
remaining few to join us, it was shopping spree for the ladies. Some were
attracted by the fancy ornaments on sale while I got myself a jute bag after a
good share of bargaining, even promising the bag-wallah to bring back more
customers. He was glaring at me later as I passed him without giving him so
much as a glance. The best part of our time at Murudeshwar beach was the slices
of pineapple that we ate seasoned with some magic masala (salt and chilly
powder they say, but I am not so sure….. it tasted much better than that). I
don’t know what did the trick, the juicy pineapple itself or the secret
seasoning or the salty beach air laden with dust or the vendor’s dirty hands.
The result was absolute gastronomic delight…pure bliss!!! ( Sorry, no pics of that part. We were all too busy...you know why !)
Soon,
we embarked on our voyage in the Arabian Sea. We boarded a boat and took a
short trip in the sea. We watched in awe the adventurous lot speeding on water crafters, I heaving a sigh of relief for not having to do that. We circumnavigated the land mass jutting into
the sea on which the temple and the mega Murudeshwar were stationed. In a way,
we were making a ‘pradakshinam’ of Shiva, an incomplete one at that too since
the temple complex had water only on 3 sides. And that’s how it is meant to be
while going around Shiva, as we aren’t supposed to cross the imaginary Ganga
flowing on His left having spurted from his head. Well, for all my maverick
views on religious practices, I was truly charmed by this, especially so, since
it happened inadvertently. On reflection, was the temple and the deity so
designed and installed so that the geography would allow the bhakthjan a
perfect circumambulation by sea? Praiseworthy, I must say.
Having
completed the voyage, it was time to get back to the bus. The only thing that I
missed was having my favourite sugar candy, one pink and one yellow on each hand,
I couldn’t find any of those on the beach. Mmm… maybe better luck next time. It
was 3.30 pm by this time and we soon hurried to the spot we had planned to have
our lunch from. A shady spot overlooking the Someshwar beach was where the
picnic lunch of pulav and kurma was served; again by our most respectful
students. Many were practicing yogic eating. I borrow this phrase from a
colleague for want of a better word to describe deep breathing accompanying the
eating to take in the aroma of fried fish emanating from the lunch basket of
another picnic team. Not that there was anything wrong with our lunch,
especially the gaajar ka halwa.
We sat there under a banyan tree, also known as the Bodhi tree sitting under which Buddha attained enlightenment.Well, it was a moment for enlightenment for me too. This was the day, I got introduced to the fruit of the banyan tree. My first experiment with it was of course to investigate the edibility of the fruit and was dejected at the negative results.
After
the post lunch photo session, we proceeded to the Someshwar beach where the
prime objective of the trip was going to be met. With so many sports
enthusiasts amongst us a cricket match on the beach was nothing unprecedented.
I chose to be the sole cheer girl missing not a moment of the exciting game
catching many a funny glimpse of fast dismissals and run outs and ‘no ball with 6 runs’ , more drops than catches and overthrows....needless to mention, some fantastic batting, bowling and fielding. I even saw the umpire batting in between. Where would you get to see that ! The
match saw the grace, stamina and agility of many being tested and all proving to
be well above the mark.
While
the other female members of the group opted for a leisurely stroll scaling the
coast line studying crabs and collecting shells, I went for the drier option,
giving 1/3rd each of my attention to the cricket, volley ball and frisbee
games going on simultaneously before me. Besides, I had the added
responsibility of guarding all our worldly possessions from a pack of stray
dogs who almost outnumbered us.
The
setting sun looked so elegant, making it hard to believe that it was the same
one baking us earlier in the day. The sunset was spectacular and perfectly
timed by the little daughters of a colleague……6,5,4,3,2,1 and gone was the sun.
I don’t know how they managed it with such millisecond precision. Well done
Girls!! You’re on your way to becoming great rocket scientists.
While
those who had their annual bath long overdue ( it’s December……high time certainly)
went for a semi-skinny dip, I sat staring at the beautiful crescent moon that
replaced the sun. I’ve never had enough of the enigmatic sea or twilight sky
and this day was no different. The hues on the horizon were way beyond the
words of a poet or the strokes of an artist. Although science has done its best
to explain the phenomena of sea breeze, blue sky , tides and red sunset….I
wondered will it ever explain all the marvelous patterns on the sky, the intricate
designs on the sea shells ….all the wonders of nature. For a moment, I felt so
trivial and powerless, being reduced to a trifling point in the infinitum of
eternity.
Time
to head back. We boarded the bus for our return journey. By the way, I am not
going to tell you that I had forgotten my umbrella on the beach which was
fetched by 2 of the most benevolent souls of our team. The trip back home, the
last stretch, saw our students singing and dancing to their favourite bollywood
numbers mashallah, DKBose, Dhoom
machale, crazy kiya re, Sheela ki jawaani and many more. It was nice to see
them shed their inhibitions and having fun, giving in to the overruling
passion. Don’t forget that the bumpy movements of the bus had a lot to
contribute to their rhythmic movements but not entirely. Finally there was a
string dedicated songs for all the students and teachers present in the bus.
Back
home at 9.30pm, I had a mental recap of the episodes of the entire day. Soon it
occurred to me that what we did, had and experienced the entire day was a mini
version, a representative of the Indian life and culture. Starting from the
initial tardiness to dusty roads and ancient culture and armorous messages on
historical monuments ….from shared meals to gurubhakthi, the quality time with
family…..from chai party to religious observations and looted bhakthi,
bargaining with street vendors and eating at street stalls, from enlightenment under the bodhi vriksh to sea bathing
and stray dogs to cricket matches and of course Sheela ki jawani.
What
better version of Indian life on CAMPer’s Day Out !
Photo courtesy:
Dr. Unnikrishnan V.K.
Mr.Ajeetkumar Patil
Ms.Archana Hegde
Dr. Unnikrishnan V.K.
Mr.Ajeetkumar Patil
Ms.Archana Hegde