Return Ticket

It is just about
4 days now after returning to Doha from India. Was a long vacation for me , of
close to 2 months and I ensure I do that each summer. When I wrote the first
sentence I actually counted with my fingers, friday..saturday...and Tuesday today
is only the 5th day in Doha. But seemed longer. Much longer. And this is
what strikes the difference for us. 

We wait for
summer every year to book out tickets to India. More, more, we want more number
of days there and we click on the return date as delayed as possible. Yet it
happens that these days just whoosh past making a lot of memorable noise and we are all set with Return Ticket
in hand!

Then.....

Few years ago,
my daughter was barely 4 years of age, when I was working, and I had enrolled
her into summer vacation classes in Doha. One morning after talking to Chandrika, my
friend who was leaving to Mumbai for long vacation (I had only 20 days
sanctioned from my office) I casually asked my girl. "You will go to ajjis
house? Alone? Chandrika auntie will take you in big flight and drop you
there."

She instantly answered in affirmative with twinkle in her eyes and
brushing them shyly. And I clearly remember the frock she wore, where she was seated in the living room, and how she seemed so excited after that, humming and talking to her dolls and hopping all round the house.

Then I held her and asked repeatedly. She showed me her
bag and insisted she would go!

I still remember
my informing this  to  Chandrika and my hubby. Both
were surprised and eager. But as the flight departure was soon enough on the
same day, online booking was closed. Chandrika and her husband Dinesh ran down
to air lines office and purchased a ticket for minor while we arranged no
objection letter for minor child to travel with friend. After 2 hours I was
suddenly anxious. She was only 4!. What was the hurry to send her only on the
basis of her excitement? But what put me back right was I was doing all right! My
best friend was taking her. My sister was picking her at Mumbai airport. And my
mother was going to take care of her in India. So what could be wrong. Nothing.
I was convinced.

And yes, she
excitedly packed her pink bag, favourite clothes and left with a happy good
bye.



Even today my family take it up lightly as a moral story for the younger kids who
get cranky even to eat or sleep. "Look at Jui akka, she came to India alone at 4. Played here, ate and slept all by herself without sticking to amma or paapa"! 

That was the
beginning. She is now 15 and younger one 5, and I always ensure my kids have
spent ample time of their holidays in the company of family members in India, seen the
life there, don't cry seeing the lizards and mosquitoes. 

Now, my daughter
who is 15 laughs when my son mentions Manipal as India and then Bengaluru or
Mangalore are called by their respective names. But there was a day she too did just
that. Going to India meant going to granny's place. And that was Manipal.

Ask her now, and
she has cherished memories from those summer vacation times. Small things mused
her. The touch me not plant, the cows at the gate, beggars singing with odd
musical instruments, frogs in monsoon puddles or the centipedes curling up here and there. 

And so as a
ritual, this summer too I was there. In India. Precisely in Manipal. For more
than 3 weeks.  My son is now 5. And it is
enjoyable to notice he too enjoys India the way my daughter did. The same fun
tricks played in monsoons. In fact they are getting better and better. From
not fearing the mosquitoes to not fearing a cobra hardly 1 foot away from them.
Yes. Indeed.

I was taking
kids for a stroll in the afternoon when rain had slowed down with sun showing
its way a bit. It was then my eyes noticed the creepy crawling greenish long
thing. I stopped. I pointed at it and told kids, walk fast. But they stopped.
To have better look. By then I noticed it was yellowish, crawling too slowly and rising its hood, all signs it was a cobra. My daughter confirmed it first.
It is a cobra amma she said.

That's it. My son's proficiency about creatures was alerted (yes,
and he has surprisingly unbelievable knowledge about creatures). It was me who was frightened, of the aesthetics (overgrown weeds with creepy insects over our head) may be for security of the
kids, and asked them to move on. This nagarpanchami while I was unable to visit the temple due to a death in the
family, I almost was lucky to have the darshan of the Nag right where I was. This is what my elders at home told me. Pity, in the anxiety, did not bother to take a picture of  it, though I had my phone right in my pocket. 

 

Now....

But then aren’t
holidays about creating memories other than visiting lovely destinations, and
clicking beautiful pictures? I do have vague pictures of the
enchanting paddy fields with lush green shoots, few peacocks and pea hens. At
times when my car is full of kids, mine, those of my siblings, the kids find
pleasure in nothing but a long drive in the rains to the Suvarna river, on the uphill and down hill
roads literally squealing  “wee” and, pointing at random cow pooping on the roads, or a dog
barking at my car. 

Well, I must tell this. Genetics go quite strong.



I told this to my daughter this holiday when she insisted I show her Udupi Krishna Temple, take stroll around, show her my school, without her pesky brother chattering and howling. Why I said, genetics here, is that this was what I loved doing in my growing years. Going to the temple hall, listening to the "Madhva Pravachans" with my bestie Anu, writing scholar exams conducted by the "Mutths".  There is something special about walking around these Mutths when the speakers faintly play spiritual mantras and a group of devotees sitting around singing loud bhajans. And this is exactly what my girl feels too. "I love the vibes" she said, hopping around like a baby.



And overall, I love the "vibes" when, the kids enjoy "my town" the way I do!,  love eating in temples, or the local delicacies, just the way I do!



Most friends in Doha enquire with me about Manipal that they have heard as the International town, or educational town, especially after seeing the pictures of the rural landscape that I post. This is the best blend in my town that the town was originally a forest and just few kilometers crossing the town borders are well spread rural areas. We have temples nestled in paddy fields surrounded scantily by woods where I often take kids to watch peacocks. And my family and friends knows the place by the name "kecop (peacock) jungle" as named by my 5 year old.



Well, all said and done, there is so much life covered in these few days. Neither can words match them, nor any pictures. That is what a holiday in India is for my  NRI kids. Enjoy the monsoons and grab the return ticket back to the sand dunes before the school begins. 😃



A short post after a long time, let me know if you found it interesting.✋💛

The Chipmonk Fort Of Karnataka

Haunting stone fortress; Towering boulders; Vivid shaped screes ; Untamed splendor; Brown land with twisting Rockies; A land so much alive with heritage; Every stone and screes whispering tales of the brave Onake Obavva -The Pestle Lady;  Broken sculptures as if with scars from past; Chitradruaga -"Kallina Kote" surprised me with charming secrets from within; 

HANDSOME HUNK

NUTS SOMEONE ?

FURRY CHIPMONKS OF CHIRADURGA

On today's date, as we enter the "KOTE" (Fort in kannada), we tend to run into local men with lose shirts hanging down the tummy, hands tied at the back, eyes expectantly anticipating an unique reaction from us. Why? It is thankfully due to unemployment. These local men, would want to be your guide. And what would we do by habit is to scoff and shoo them away saying, we have Wikipedia in hands and we do not want people to loot us.

This is worth pondering over. DON'T shoo them way. This occupation can be their bread and butter. We will neither empty our pot nor lose a battle of quiz, but definitely will make a home happy. Take time to think you are talking a new friend along and gifting him something. He will talk non stop. Narrating tales of what he heard from ancestors, what he saw, his growing up amongst these forts, the kind of visitors he sees. He can be a best guide and a company to walk with you and your photographer too.

Being my first visit, I entered the cave with my head swirling 180 degrees without my consent. Not sure which view to stick to, there were broken boulders, parts of the hills, old huge trees. Most of all, the sweet meek squeaks attracted me. Every other hollow in the fort, stone foundation was one of them.  They can be the cutest pets in the world. The squirrels are believed to be Blessed by Lord Rama.

 

The legend says, when Lord Rama was in the process of building the bridge to cross the Indian Ocean to fight back Sita from Sri Lanka who was kidnapped by Lord Ravan, it is believed that hundred of these squirrels became the crusaders and brought in little pebbles joining tiny hands on the job.  we may enjoy terming it mythology but we also enjoy the discovery channel where elephant saves  a lion cub or a some pet that saves a drowning human baby. Am I correct?

 How much ever we dread history lessons, we sure remember few names of freedom fighters, who fought against the british in the times that they ruled us. Or those names that safeguarded their territory in the times of kings and queens from their enemies. Now one of them is the brave lady called Obavva. 

 She was the wife of the security guard who guarded the seven hill stranded fort. When Hyder Ali another name from History books we tried to remember, attempted to attack the fort during reign of Madakari Nayaka with his soldiers, using a secret tunnel , it was Obavva who sensed human movement from within secret boulder gaps. She simply tucked her Saree up , took her weapon, Onake (pestle), and treacherously butchered head of every cunning soldier that crawled in from the tunnel. 

 

We were brought up singing some patriotic songs that mentioned her, we were brought up giving speeches in schools on independence day talking about few brave hearts like Onake Obavva. She was worshipped as inspirational figure. 

My guide, whom I hired at the entrance was a vibrant happy man. He talked non stop in his local accented Kannada. Most times neither of us communicated well. We nodded heads in a influencing notion saying I don't know what you say but it's ok. let's go ahead please. I wanted to cry with joy in the helm of the charity I had done by hiring this puppet. I hardly followed the stories in full. Few details in bits.

He sure was cute when he explained the big oil-churning cauldrons used in the past, with his full gestures. Or the strong soldiers and how they marched. his expressions and gestures were full of life. Much better than a few lousy heroes of our Kannada movies.

 Walking past several layers of fort that was generally flat ground and not hilly except for few spots, we come across numerous monuments with tales around them.  The two ponds "Akka Tangi Honda" named after wives of the king who committed self-immolation after Ali's conquering the Fort. Imagine an underground Treasury that's stone layered. The Swiss Bank of the royal families.

Few top hill breathtaking over views especially with the serene temple remains of the times reminded me of how the Bollywood crafted visuals of temples on top of the hills surrounded by boulders.

Apart from the numerous chipmunks, quite a few owls relaxed in the cool stone chambers and the monkeys loitered all around trolling very visitor and the kind of food they carried. They recognize nuts better. 

History revisited. We also tend to remember with vengeance why our history teacher glorified Chacha and baba while there was so much to enrich us with. Chitradurga and Onake Obavva are motivation. We can skip few TedX sessions once we learn about this place and her.

Err, excuse me, is it just me or anybody is actually hooked on to such tourist spots for long hours, basking in the grandeur of the stones , imagining the stories of the past. The stone splendor keeps me hooked on for ever. Just missed kissing one of the chipmunks. They are too fast for me.

Notes:

1) Don't walk with fancy foot wear. Comfortable sportswear are better.

2) Beware of the monkeys. All they want is food.

4)There exists a small canteen that serves beverages, water, snacks and "chai" too.

5) Rock climbing can be disastrous. Security personnel are less. Our safety is our responsibility.

Murughavana - Of Chitradurga

The mention of Chitradurga in  Karnataka state, reminds us of the sprawling fortress straddled with seven hills. It became popular by the name of "Onake Obavva" who single handedly killed the soldiers from Hyder Ali's troop who broke into the fort from secret tunnel in the year 1779.

Chitradurga is a place about 200kilometers from Bangalore and the theme park is about a kilometer away from the Fort.

The best place to relax after wandering in the fort is the "Murughavana Park".  A theme park quiet well planned, well maintained in the rural locale, with stone statues of different taste. Absolutely serene; dotted with huge trees randomly for ample shade; uniquely built stone statues of various freedom fighters, common people, scenes of rural areas and plenty of extinct dinosaurs.  A pleasant park to cool your nerves even on a warmer afternoon. 

This is only a photo based post and all pictures are i-Phone clicks!

YOU CAN NOT AVOID THIS CHIMP'S SWALLOW, AS THIS IS THE MAIN ENTRANCE TO THE PARK 

Part 2 - Avani - Reaching The Zenith Altitude

Continuing
our journey from Temples at foot hills to the trek. Previous post on this blog
featured introduction to Avani and the magnificent temples at the foot hills.

This
breath taking view requires a few extra breaths lost as you huff and puff away
uphill and prepare your lungs for the fresh fill of the mesmerizing breeze. And
also prepare your little hearts to greet few monkey families and tutti -frutti
squirrels up there. It is overwhelming to watch the monkeys  just wait for
the devotees to beak the coconut outside the temple as a part of ritual and
then they could feast on the fruit by chasing the devotee with it's scary
growl. And the few squirrels just wait to feast on the left over pieces of
coconut or any other fruit.

Seemed like the avatar of an Hanuman family himself appeared with absolute thirst, to the top of the hill and waited for visitors to pour water to quench his throat to his fill. And there were plenty of them. Remember, they are harmless but definitely defensive. So, never tease them by walking with lot of food in hands.

Now,
as you march over uphill, you pass by more heritage spots, each narrating a
holy story from the Ramayana that can actually calm your nerves spiritually if
you believe in Gods and Goddesses.

A
small door-less entrance takes you inside the place where sage Valmiki lived as
he wrote the Ramayan. The Ashram is now consisting of a neat stone statue of
the sage.

It's a well-known
fact , whether one calls it mythology or one believes in the story, that Sita
Devi after being exiled sought refuge in "Ashram" of Sage Valmiki.
Soon in this stone abode she gave birth to her twin sons. With a mark of
respect by married women, locals have practiced hanging green bangles at the
top of the entrance door of this stone room which has been named "Sita
Nilaya".

A touching glow. An imaginary oil lamp marked with some paints on the rocky pathway outside the "Sita Nilaya" is yet another belief by people from decades ago that it was the spot where the lady placed the lamp after sun set and hence even now the place glows with such tiny remembrances. Really amazing to witness such tiny details from Ramayan coming true and much to some of us who call it mythology it seriously surprises that locals have inherited stories from their ancestors who have supposedly been in the era after the medieval. 

And the popular "DhanushKoti" is supposed to be where Rama's brother Lakshman, who upon learning about the scarcity of water in Sita Nilaya, pulls his bow and arrow "dhaanushkoti" and splits the rock into two, to create a stream of water among the rocks. Again people believe that it never dry, even in perching summer, of today. We simply admired the tiny grey and black fishes in the water that connected us to our childhood rainy endeavors where we gathered tiny fishes in "tea strainers" that were our fish nets, from water streams formed by rain water.

One of the tarn that fascinated me

There definitely is plenty of resting spots on the way to the hill. These tarns are the best. You can not resist picking up oval bubbles, flip them horizontal and throw it spinning in the water. Can you? That's exactly what we did too. The lotus is the proof that it is stagnant water and hence it is not recommended to dip your legs or hands in the water.

Finally as you reach the top of the mountain puffing and panting,  we reach out to  the "Sita Temple" from the side entrance. The landmark where Sita Devi calls for Mother earth to slide open and snare her within her bosom.  This temple is one of the rarest  temples dedicated to Sita Devi in India.  A idol of the Goddess is worshipped every day by priest.



Right behind the temple is where you see two big boulders as mark of spot where Sita devi took her last journey under the mother earth. The picture 2 on the right above is where it is and a tradition of devotees squeezing themselves under the two boulders has been practiced. Call it belief or blind belief, these Hindu praxis leave me as astonished as spiritual.


Whatever is the story about, the nature leaves you in an awe as you fill your lungs with the breeze from the top of the hills watching the splendid bird eye view  of Avani.

The colourful Lingeshwar Temple as seen from the top of the hill

Key - Notes - Remain the same as in part-1 of this post too.

• Avani is an absolutely cute village hosting no restaurants at all. Warning - Carry ample food. Small shady hotels will provide you scrumptious hot meals but the interiors are pretty puking dirty.


• Clean water bottles are however available but make it to pick up your Gatorade if you wish to.


• Don't expect a good connectivity of public transport. Plenty of taxis will be available for hardly an hour and half, drive from Bangalore.

Rock Climbing In The Mystical Avani -PART 1

Myself at the top of the rock mountain of Avani.

AVANI

From the land of gold mines; dotted with varied sized rocks; the Rockies of Karnataka; a reminiscent of Gabbar Singh of the popular Sholay; lotus filled tarns; clusters of compactly packed colourfully painted kutcha houses; mystical primordial stone temples of medival era  in rocky environs. This is a wee bit of what AVANI is.

At a distance of about 100km from Bangalore City, AVANI is a small village in Kolar district of Karnataka. Apart from housing varied ancient temples, it is also a popular location for rock climbing. It has been a heritage site and a not so popular sightseeing site in Karnataka I would say. Probably because of not so craggy mountains which is a fascination for the trekkers or for the reason that most of us believe in the stories of Ramayana as "mythology". Apparently, I thoroughly enjoyed the rock climbing as well as the spiritual vibes around the heritage spots and temples nestled in the huge boulders with a couple of "serene sounding" tarns.

Twinkling Star of Avani

As you drive inside this village, you recognize the colourfully painted small kutcha houses. My fascination of an Indian Fairy tale. The popular scene of a rural Indian village where in beautiful women and little girls cat-walk with plastic pots carrying water from ponds or lakes.  Small shops selling lovely scented candies, local soda in orange and yellow, "beedi",  sachets of pickles, shampoo, tooth paste or mosquito coils hung in the exteriors, line up the non asphalted dung smelling roads. There is  something in these tiny villages. Guess what? The innocence. The loving smiles immersed in brilliant radiance of friendliness spells a cast of our rich social culture. 

Avani received a prominent place mainly due to the legends associated with it. As per the local belief, sage Valmiki, the author of the epic Ramayana was residing here. This is the land where Goddess Sita sought refuge after being exiled by the Lord Rama and eventually gave birth to her twin children Lava-Kusha. It is also said that the war between Lord Rama and his sons Lava and Kusha took place in this village. 

In the center of the compound stands the Ramalingeshwara Temple

At the bottom of the hill, the first shrine that we come across is the  ancient temple compound known as the Ramalingeshwara, Lakshmaneshwara, Bharateshwara and Shatrugneshwara, built by the Nolamba rulers in 10th century. According to legend, Rama was performing Ashwamedha Yaga when his Horse was tied up by Lava and Kusha. Even after repeated requests by Lakshmana, Bharatha, Shatrugna and others, they did not free the Horse and fight took place between them. When everyone lost to Lava and Kusha, Rama himself turned up and had to fight. Later this was disrupted by Sita. This is a sin since the fight was between father and the sons and other relatives. Sage Valmiki then instructed the brothers to install the Lingas in their names for absolution of the sins.  

The back-view from temple exteriors projects the sight of the uphill route to the Sita Temple

The entire compound comes under the purview of the Archaeological Department and is well maintained. I was overwhelmed to be greeted by a lady police officer, a tourist police and became out best guide for the entire day.

A view of the Epic three boulders 

The local people have been believing that spot as in above picture is the one where in Sita Devi climbed onto to view the scene after Lord Hanuman informed her about the battle challenged by her twin sons on her own husband unknowingly about their identity. It has been neatly marked by arranging three boulders one over the other in memory of the embarrassing event.

Beautiful Lotus Pond at the foothills 

Nature's best gift to a rocky hilly area is a serene pond. Feels so full of life. The brightly coloured lotus just adds onto the peace it spreads onto your spiritual trek you look forward to, en-route the Sita Devi temple on the top of the hills.



As you begin your march of almost an hour , snaking among the rocks, sometimes sneaking onto tipsy cliffs or sometimes a few neatly constructed stone steps, you will come across several historical landmarks on your way. Iam afraid we did have no encounters with creepy reptiles other than little cute squirrels or some chameleons under every warm boulder. Most cacti plants attracted swarm of flies and that's a warning to steer clear your way off those thorny little green monsters.

Translation of the kannada text - Way to Valmiki Ashram

In search of gabbar if any

On top of the mountain far away in the background, we see the "Sita Temple" the landmark where Sita Devi calls for Mother earth to slide open and snare her within her bosom.  This temple is one of the rarest  temples dedicated to Sita Devi in India.  

Maha Shivaratri and Ramalingeshwara rathostava are the famous festivals that are celebrated with great pomp and fervor here. 

More on AVANI will appear as part-2 of this post.

Key - Notes

• Avani is an absolutely cute village hosting no restaurants at all. Warning - Carry ample food. Small shady hotels will provide you scrumptious hot meals but the interiors are pretty puking dirty.


• Clean water bottles are however available but make it to pick up your Gatorade if you wish to.


• Don't expect a good connectivity of public transport. Plenty of taxis will be available for hardly an hour and half, drive from Bangalore.