Two Best Beaches Of Udupi - Bengre The Silent Estuary And The Swarming Malpe

Enjoying the company of camera in Bengre beach

I just can't stop my own rhythm of an endless fathom for the mystery of a SEA. 

There is always something about "Sea", I always say this. And there is a secret I must tell you regarding the beaches of Udupi. Without sketching big agendas, just let yourself there and get carried away by them. Udupi is otherwise the flavoured "cuisine" town and also the "Temple Town" situated a few kilometers away from the sea coast.

I recommend you to reach out to these two beaches for two contrasting reasons. Find complete peace and silence in one and absolute noise food and crowd in the other. 

1 - BENGRE / DELTA / KODI BEACH - The silent paradise, hosting the confluence of "RIVER SUVARNA" meeting the Arabian Sea. 

We do reach out to beaches for various reasons. And this is a perfect place to rejuvenate yourself from a hectic routine in the serene noiseless aura. There is absolutely less number of visitors frequenting this beach. Also, it is way easy on your wallet.  The drive from Udupi city would be about 10 kilometers or little more that will take you past the randomly laid coconut palms that whisper cool winds in your ears. 

The faint lines where the river greets the sea tide

It's something to rest your back on sands watching a river and a sea on either side

The calmer looks of the river make it obvious why one could hide away from the chaotic routines and settle in here. Listening to the whispers of the winds, watching the variety of birds or the boats. The local fisheries are quite a popular thing in here. A big mass of the coastal residents depends on seafood too. The "crow watching" a term I coin here was sheer fun from childhood times. They generally are seen pecking at stuff from trash cans or dried remains of fishes and sometimes get aggressive and give you a chase if you bite your snack in the open. One of us would find it amusing to run after a flock of them settled around the trash, in our childhood days.

Calmer Looks

The Three Idiots 

A local fisherman busy casting his blue fishing net in the river waters.

There is a pattern in chasing the sunset colours or the flights of the birds here. I adore how the birds love to settle on riverbank rocks or smaller trees however fly away over sea tides only when the sun starts fading away. There is a way how we watch the boats that wander away in the river and return back by dusk and side by side you could see a random ship that makes it move past the bigger waves away from the shore. 

The pristine sands so untouched by a huge human crowd poses a varying fresh look. The crawling grumpy crabs are seen scampering at the dusk looking for their homes deep in the sands.  They are the lucky ones to see no traffic jams but only fear of monstrous humans waiting to devour them.

With so much nature, so much of time to rejuvenate your minds, and when eyes are feasting on the myriad colours from the earth till the sky, our fingers automatically make irregular patterns in the sands. Sometimes the pattern could be non- concentric circles or our names. 

One of my favourite sunset view here

When you are not good at making sandcastles with your children this is what you  could carve our in the sands

2 - MALPE the popular port, crowned the best beach of Udupi.

Probably, the most interesting thing about this beach is it the FIRST beach in the country to supposedly get free Wi-Fi as a result of Digital Drive by our government.



After touring the Bengre, one can easily roll up sleeves and get set on the mark for the rapid activity-based beach. Human sea, street vendors selling variety of food especially the fried seafood in open, water sports, paragliding, or the giant wheels on the run.  There is not much time to romance the sea or the waves unless you are determined to ignore the food or the other happening rides. You get to witness the majestic feel of a fair here.



Also, you can rejoice the distant view of the St. Mary's Island. One can visit the island, picking up a boat ride from the port end. They generally close in the monsoon. And also it is safer to trip to bigger groups. 

And here's a local vendor offering the "CHURMURI" 

Catch me if you can, said the red ball and I tried in vain

A distant view of the St. Mary Island

Myself - In the process of vanquishing fear of heights 

Tempt yourselves to feel lost in the vast Konkan beaches. The nearest airport is "Mangaluru" and the best five-star stay would be available in Manipal. 

Exploring Beyond The Skyscrapers. Largest Flower Garden Of The World - Miracle Garden Dubai.

Call Phoolon ki Rani or Phoolan Devi

"The Dubai" that mesmerizes any tourist, sure has reached great heights in creating records one after other. After the  mega tall sky scraper Burj Khalifa now the "Tallest Vertical Flower Garden".  Yes. 

If all we heard about Dubai was, the haunting sky scrapers; never ending extensive  roads; the sand dunes; camels; shawarma falafels and hummus; and the beaches, then definitely we have missed the winter bloom. This breathtaking Flower Garden called "piece of eden" was announced as largest vertical flower garden by the Guinness Book of records. 

 It stuns you more as it is a challenging mega mission created in the land of sand. It is not a easy task maintaining an area of 75,000sqm with 4 km pathways, 1km height flower walls, and over 50 million flowers for a few months off summer. But Dubai has it all. 

It was thrilling to say am going to Dubai to witness the winter bloom.

Is this some fairyland or a dreamland!

Upturned car as fountain amidst floral display

The floral flight of Dubai

Marvelous symmetry 

A few pictures are still the least to describe the beauty of the flower beds. I was absolutely overwhelmed in awe by the petunia beds. If colourful heaven meant this then I wished to be the lost butterfly with a long life. An unimaginable maintenance in the gulf region. Surprisingly one would not exhaust wandering in these green plot!

A Few Key Notes:-

• The Miracle Garden is open only in winter, or to be precise is closed in the peak summer.


• There is a web site where you need to get the information about the opening time and hours. http://www.dubaimiraclegarden.com/


• There are plenty of food stalls inside the garden and also ample seating arrangements around the main gate.


• Children will not get too bored again as there are enough stuff including toys on sale which will keep them occupied.


• Glow garden and butterfly garden are other spots worth seeing.


• There is constant announcement in the loud speakers regarding the public transport facilities to and fro from garden to city. 


• Very well co-ordinated security on stroll inside and ample car parking space in the exterior.

Converses With My Mirror

           

This post is on  Blog Adda for it's Spicy Saturday picks.

http://blog.blogadda.com/2017/04/29/best-blog-posts-from-the-indian-blog-world

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My tiny world of poetry is just a few words minced with my thoughts. 

We all must have talked to our selves, to the mirror, sharing the heap of thoughts that we stir in our minds. We must have taken that time to release the thoughts in front of the picture that formed when we faced the mirror. Apparently we realize the mirror is the path, from our eyes to our soul through the mind and the heart.

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Fighting the battle of,

I know you, or,

hey do  I know you?

eyes started at the mirror,

and shut themselves slowly, in pain.

Fighting the battle of,

am I you, or you resemble me?

the mind  grappled,

with a mountain of emotions,

facing the mirror, in vain.

Fighting the battle of,

you are pretty, or

 is your mind prettier?

vision blurred in the mirror,

with thoughts fading in strain.

Fighting the battle of,

are you living in your past?,

or, are you set for future,?

the strangled will power,

peeked through mirror after a detain.

Dear mirror on the wall

You find the beauty in my soul 

You are not a pretty lying spell

You lift my spirits from cacophonous hell

Just a mirror, you are my dear.

Fifty Shaded Stand Points

Picture Source

I grew up as a shy town girl. I would puff and pant cycling to the corner store picking odd supplies for mom in my school days. Sometimes I'd rather borrow an onion, or two tomatoes from a neighbour for her. Little did I realize that once I have my own child and when I want an onion from a neighbour I would be booed for it. C'mon how can you borrow "an" onion from your neighbour. It's so not nice! 

Those waagle ki duniya times of my childhood are gone. Now I have to put up with daya behen and Tarak Mehta ka ulta chasma. All is well. All is well. It's just evolution dear. I am convincing myself. But there "was" something in the past. Those days were less sophisticated, simple and straight. As you sniff into your memoir you feel that. Don't you?

It perplexes me  much today to basically feel our own existence in this world changes so rapidly. We are open to exotic world tours and talk of learning but we are yet to learn to open our minds to the earth below our feet.

Our rights and wrongs are fixed. Once a right it's always right. My parents balked at boys who pierced one ear and roamed around with glittering stud. I grew up to balk at the women piercing their naval with glittering studs. But it's hilarious my next generation finds it funny when both my ears are glittering gold. I am so not trendy! Err ...I need to be hanging "hoola hoops, tiny buckets or peacock feathers" in my ears and only then I would be fine. I look almost cool when I dress in a skirt but I look like auntie in salwar suit. So what else could one be at 40? Auntie indeed? And so what if one wants to be inspired by Shobha De!

In our own little universe we are so perfect. Our opinions are like fifty shades of grey with rainbow in background. We paint our opinions our way. Half baked or whatever, we are confident we are well in our wells.

We have walked much into the stardom of a high-tech  world that we have different opinions for human element.

It was last week that I was in the supermarket breaking Okhras aka ladies fingers and picking them for the dinner menu. I knew it was a monotonous job and time consuming. So I simultaneously was thinking of another subject. Clearing up few thoughts, wondering how positive thoughts break as easily as the okhras! 

Just then a little child, 5 something, bumped into me. And all my okhras were on the floor. I laughed immediately and wanted to tell her how my little one too is like this. But the mother of the child was so adamant proposing a apology to me from the child. Enough was enough. But my exacting task was fruitless, explaining her let the child be like a child. But you see, it wasn't nice, what the child did! 



Aren't we too far from being nice but super natural human? Cant' we be simple, giggling at silly jokes, fall on the floor with kids and play slide, wee, in the park with your child? Or tickle and prod your friend and laugh loudly? 



Most times I feel we are far from reality. Our fabulous etiquette have unearthed new norms. Your neighbour who rings your door bell without even a prior call is a fool. Whosoever said that is a bigger fool. We have branded ourselves as super human, perfect, new era species, social media expert, thoroughly updated with worlds happenings. We are super experts at flaunting our English language. A fashionista. Fabulous at multi tasks. Super woman and super men. But end of the day, we have had no time to call our folks. 



We are typical much like the "Trivago". So many options in life. We are busy choosing all those to make our life a life which isn't a life without you being yourself. Being yourself is not so difficult. But it's made so, owing to the social evolution. 



But we have our own comfort zones. Getting out of it is presumably the rocket science job. We love to flaunt our ill manners in anonymity. Honk loudly on busy street! Who's recognized you anyway?  But when Bubbly and Bunty visit you you have the best of your manners to flaunt. 


Amuses me for the sobriquet we have earned. "Bloody Indians". We love to be our way. Things have to change. But "NOT ALL". Please. We can only support "Swach Bharath" but I will not stop borrowing a onion or potato from my friendly neighbour. It ain't silly at all.

We are the disconcerted lot. I am concerned  we need to shake ourselves off our flusters regarding the social etiquette and responsibilities and tune up for the fact that it's our attitude that changes the society not the other way. We are all conscientious civilians and model citizens.  Let's live up to it.

Graduating In Social Media

Picture Source

A picture says thousand words. Sometimes a thousand words aren't enough to paint one picture - quoted by myself graduating in Social Media.



Every new year beginning, calls for a unique celebration. This year I completed the ritual by naming our lovely new pair of love birds as "5G and WiFi"!!



We are wading through a trough of an era where we have a life online and another offline. Downloading and uploading pictures, serious tweets, fun and much on FaceBook, share stories on google plus and after all done write a blog and conclude by the WhattsApp ritual. 



From good morning to good night, WhattsApp is the life. Whats happens offline in between is the lie. We have stopped smiling at the camera. Squeamish faces is the new trend. Scrolling your fingers vigorously is the new yoga. Filtering information we want is a important task. World is a bit too small now. We just ping the veggie- whasttsapp guy and fresh spinach is at your door. I google, and research the FB and youtube for best recipe, perform the ritual of "offering to the God Internet" via pictures of my palak paneer on social media and only then can my family devour the dish.I am very convinced posting my charming pictures to the world whom I may hardly meet. Our lives are photo scooped! 

Twitter is a deadly parliament of we people where we have best of our knowledge about our governments policies. Pun and sarcasm is bun and and butter. I am a hero if celebrities and the Prime Minister follow me on twitter. Am a zero if I cant tweet sarcasm. The moment I start tweeting my blog posts surely few followers have muted me. 

Behold! Now that the uncles, aunts, grand mom and her friends are on Facebook there's much to worry about. I just missed an opportunity to post my favorite picture of myself in the beach. 

There is no guide to Facebook but there is one Rule Number One. Love yourself. Put your heart and soul in detailing the world about yourself through the Facebook.  Please do not forget that we are on Facebook to showcase to the world about our life's book. If you don’t have much to say then you are that stalkerl who is always there yet not there. Like the ghosts of the walls, the stalkers of the Facebook. There's always that friend's aunt who knows everything about you but you don't have slightest idea about her identity. 

Look, we have have every opportunity knocking at our door. Please use it wisely and post your best pictures, quotes and more with all the best emoticons. Facebook is a sweetheart. It wishes you Good Morning without anybody having to forward a viral message like the WhattsApp. What a bitch WhattsApp is. You select and forward that Good Morning message, wait for a response and then hide your last seen. Whereas, on FB, you are free to post sly status please. If your friend and her friend and her friend all snake up at your back at the movie ticket counter, watch the movie at the cost of your wallet yet post beautiful selfies at the movie theater on FB, please do not forget to update status with all your emotions "feeling angry"!!!



Why, apps and apps and more are created each day and night to make you understand "who is your best soul mate", who is your inner personality" what is your best picture" and millions more. Some of us have stopped reading books. Reading Facebook is the new.

Utilizing  your "Saans of humour" at best is quick tool to your graduation in social media. Poke fun about Rahul baba, raj babbar or Alok Nath.  Arvind Kejriwal's cough too cant be spared. Nor Akhilesh Yadav's nose or Amma's jewellery. Sonia's Hindi and Modi's speeches are to be religiously ridiculed, else you are not using the social media the fullest. The net result is how well you are doing on social media. We now have parties where we read jokes to each other via WhattsApp.



We just don't understand what addiction is. The moment the addicted soul inside is pinched, we switch windows to the news and other information. Why, the Prime Minister himself is promoting the Internet, social network usage! Go on world. Everyone is watching and we shall all graduate ourselves in social Media. Soon be the masters of the e-universe.



Is WhattsApp the next big thing that keeps the women hooked on to after the Ektha Kapoor soaps and the men after the Old Monk? Who cares. Stop worrying and enjoy the Wifi and the 5G! 

Happy New Year -2017 everyone.

Kodial Teru, The Mangalore Car Festival As I Saw

PS- Memegenerator.

Translation: Look kids- exams happen all round the year, the teru comes only once in an year

I came, I saw, I loved it!

The wooden chariot with tiny flags, flowers and lights; Priests and their chants; The floating mass of people in high reverence, older generation with folded hands; Complete spirits of  Lord Venkataramana; The gongs, cymbals, drums, conch, the lamps,  flowers of variety; Aroma of authentic temple prasad food; Folks in their ostentatious finery; The visitors with their cameras; Such divinity in a ironical melody of a cacophonous crowd and I was witnessing the Kodial Teru for first time in my life.

The princess city of Western Ghats, Sahyadri Range of Karnataka, popular for beaches, betel nuts, port, hometown of Bollywood shetty's is our own Mangalore. Kudla for the Tulu speaking folks and Kodial for the Konkani speaking folks



"Car festival/Rathothsav/Kodial Teru in konkani" the popular festival of the GSB (Gowda Saraswath Brahmins) community of Mangalore is about a week's festival, falling in mid or end January. Celebrated in the Car street premises of Shri Venkatesha Temple. 

Mangalore is a multicultural potpourri of folks from all parts of India. Though not originally a GSB by origin I have been adopted by my husband and the community so well, I belong there now. A divine affair at the car festival has been my very first experience recently. Only to realize how the community folks flock from other side of hills for this festival.

I call this Mangalore's Times Square. PC - Here

I've coined the term Times Square of our Mangalore. I could even call it Times Now square. The loud noises of drums and the sea of people there automatically makes every body an Arnab there!



Car festival, is that time of the year when we ladies wait to show case the best of our finest yellow ornaments. How heavy are our ears, wrist and neck is how pretty we want to be. Fortunately the January weather cooperates with us as we drape ourselves in our 5 foot best silk saris and huff and puff in front of the mirror till we can faint.  The men dressed in their best will be found walking around in the car street showcasing their fully charged battery performance.

It's an absolute feast time for the sense organs. The genuine perfume of the jasmine flowers the women wear, can outdo the axe deodorant commercial made for men. The entire car street fills up your nostril till your lung with the exotic smell of chats, the sugar cane juice, the green mango pachadi (authentic mangalore salad), the churmuri and much more. The food stalls are the main attraction in the evening hours. Small vendors calling out to buy those lovely coloured balloons or colourful plastic toys make big dashing camouflage of a street. Chants, hymns and bhajans played in the stereophonic background makes the air more spiritual. 



A satisfaction of being my charitable element happened when a little girl came tugging my attire. Not only money but when I offered her food and few balloons, she soon returned with a big gang of hers. Serving each of them at the temple premises left me smiling thoroughly. 

The evening food in temple premises called Samradhana Jevan (Samradhana Food - Is the konkani term for the meal offered as Prasad) is where you get our statistics. And we hate our Prime minister for making us stand in queue in banks today. Trust me, we south Indians take pride in our finger licking etiquette, be it sambar or the sweet dish. I am completely convinced that eating with hands is integral to good eating. It heightens connection of sensory to food and has been scientifically proven too.

Well, to know about the serious affair of this festival, on the first day the religious rituals marks a start with   Morning Prarthana. The priests get busy with formalities and the people lend their hands in all possible arrangements. A flag is hoisted at the "Dhwaj Sthambh" marking the beginning of the festival.

PC -Here 

The next two morning proceedings conclude with the Utsav deity being worshiped in the palanquin. A series of Arti accompanied by vedic recitals, bhajan and Bhojan form the important part. "Hagalutsav" or the "morning utsav" signifies the fourth day proceeding. With the deity in the small chariot, a graceful procession is taken round the surrounding areas.



"BrahmaRathotsav" the big car is completely set for the fifth day. Lord Venkatesha is decorated with jewels and fresh flowers, worshiped in the golden palanquin and later on moved on to the giant car which is rolled round by thousands of people shouting chants and praises of their beloved Lord. A scene much worth pausing and replaying if one could.

"Splash of colours"! Yes, the concluding day holds a unique bust of energy from people of all ages who gather in the temple square premises for the much awaited "Okkuli". The Lord himself is first adorned with pink colour followed by sea of people in spirits of the same holi of colours. People play with colours and water the entire morning. Most local schools are announced closed for the festival on this day.



Last day of the festival is again concluded by the flag hoisting as indication. The week's eat, pray, love and live marks an end. For most houses the kitchen officially opens full time from part time. The  parking areas in surroundings suddenly seem wider and bigger. Roads will heave sigh off the beeline traffic. And one accumulates nostalgic memories as they wistfully await the next January.





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