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Malenaadu

nandanbshetty — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:34:20 +0000

Malenadu (Kannada: ಮಲೆನಾಡು, malenadu), also Malnad,(from either male, ‘hill’ or maļe,

India Briefs: Recent Incidents of Persecution

Particular Kev — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:39:31 +0000

Karnataka, India, November 30 (CDN) — Police on Nov. 24 detained three Christians after Hindu extrem

Recent Incidents of Persecution

Particular Kev — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:35:30 +0000

Chhattisgarh, India, November 17 (CDN) — Police on Nov. 8 detained Christians based on false allegat

Western expedition :Vignettes from my motor cycle diaries

mohashie — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:34:40 +0000

Red road , green field , and blue sky

He looked around 75 , but still enthusiastic, was playing guitar and singing REM .Though singing wasn’t pleasant , he was playing guitar unbelievably awesome.

His name was Vladimir, a Russian , from Leningrad . He had been in Gokarna since last one month , he comes to Gokharna every year. He was one of the many in the world who were addicted to Gokarna Just like every one of them were to Marijuana.

We reached Gokharna around Nine PM . After a long ride , long ride means 600 km of ride . We started from Bangalore at early morning . The sun was just setting up , I was enjoying the sun playing hide and seek in my rear view mirror through the ghosts of recession affected concrete forest.

The only hindrance to my ride was cows and buffalos all over the road , but we had the deal , they just move in their path, I envisage their trajectory and just ride accordingly .But some country buffaloes always braked the rule , they would stop in middle of the road and there goes my plan . One time I could almost touch the tail of one mad buffalo. From Bangalore to Tumkur , Tumkur to Shimoga , Shimoga to Jogfalls . In between shimoga and jog falls , the road turns red suddenly covered with red soil . Both sides blanket of green fields , blue sky touching the green fields at the far end of the road . Red road , green field and blue sky , and the sound of my machine. No words to explain the feeling.

We reached the jog falls before the sun diving to horizon . The two sides of the road were cliff . Jog falls was disappointing , they say jog falls is the longest water fall in india , I would say , it is the longest artificial waterfall in india , because in week ends they open the dam when tourists arrives for watching , but in week days they wont open the dam and you could see two-three narrow falls . I imagined it would have been a fantastic view if fall was in her epitome ,which happens during the monsoon , when they have to open dam .

Initial plan was to stay near to Jog falls , as we had already covered close to 400 kilometres . But we changed the plan to ride to Honnawar which is on the coastal Karnataka . We were already in great western gatts , of course the roads were with lot of curves and hair pins , just like Vayanadu . Thick forest both sides , simply it was risky Journey .One time I lost the control of the bullet after rising from a hidden pothole , flew a little , landed back . I had to land on my right leg on ground . That’s it , two seconds …, after that I was not able to feel my legs . I pushed the button for a long horn to inform varkey. I don’t know why , but suddenly my mind was flashed with videos of football players suddenly breaking the legs in to two ,I thought same thing happened to me ! . I Had to rest some time to understand that I still have a single piece leg , thanks god.

We had to get rid of the spiraling roads before the sun sets .But we were still maintaining seventy km/hour. On the way so many hippy gangs of ten to twenty bikes had been overtaking us like real bullets all the time from Jog falls to Honnawar. I knew what to expect in Gokarna .

The moment you pass the western gatts , the first thing that strikes you will be the similarity between Kerala . The place created by Parashuraman is actually from Gokharna till Kanyakumari. The places you saw till gatts suddenly changes, the people suddenly changes , the landscape changes , everything changes .Karnataka , state of Mysore , till 1973 ,twice the size of Portugal is a world itself. As I move , I experienced how everything changes on the ruler of distance. Western gatt was a fort in Kerala ,against so many invasions , not only the military invasion , but also the cultural invasion , which is the real precious thing it has done , I think.

People always gave a second look , some with some awe , some with curiosity , some with condemnation , whatever it was ,it felt good. A feeling of well-being. The machines were intimidating the people all the way. The more we traveled towards the coastal region , the more we were becoming energetic.

Cows , dogs and ohm beach

After reaching Gokharana , we went ohm beach which is 16 kms from the national highway. When asked for rooms , the guard of rest house told us no rooms were available, but we could park our bikes there , and have to walk through beach for rooms . Engine was overloaded for the day already , after cruising six hundred kilomeres . Unloaded the bags and started walking through beach ,some couples sitting here and there exploiting the twilight for romanticizing. We got one hut for two hundred rupees . Took bath and already exhausted after riding the horse for 600 kms we ordered the dinner . And that’s where we saw Vladimir, he was sitting next to our table . And like all other westerners he also wanted to go to Varanasi , which is where they always sees “the real india” as per the western movies. Ohm beach also had everything to quench a westerner’s Indian dream. There was a trance mood , name was ohm , there were stray dogs and ofcourse a lot of cows ! , and not much people .

We walked along the beach after having a sumptuous dinner .Midnight blue sky with Orion consolation pointing towards the north as explained by varkey .Big groups of hippies , all groups had people of all age groups from infants to octogenarians , sitting around fire , singing and playing guitar. What a life! , no worry about future , no worry about jobs, no worry about making money , social status – nothing to worry, nothing to gain , nothing to loose.

French men , French lady and us

Morning , one fine morning after a long time , a morning when I don’t have to worry about any of those failing weblogic servers , woke up to have a great tea , watching the tides of ocean, inhaling the pure air from the dazzling breeze, that’s when he came out from his shack , Dazziu ,a French , 42 years old , looked around and smiled -”hmm not much people , good to see that” .

I smiled at him , he wished me.

After having breakfast from the beach side restaurant , we took our baggage’s and walked towards bike , there he was with his other gang members .They were four , three men and one woman .Dazziue asked me if we could carry two of them to Gokarna town , we agreed . We followed dazziu’s bike .He was driving crazy , with his Enfield . He was riding crazy through the narrow spiraling roads to Gokarna town. When we reached there he asked to have a tea with them . He started his story ,he had been traveling since he was his own legs , now he almost covered half of earth riding.

He and his girl fried kept on telling us the exciting and frightening experiences they had during their trip, differences between people , between places . He had been in hundreds of accidents across the world , major and minor ones , so many people lost life !

He was the one who asked me to go to Nepal where I went one month after he told. They showed curiosity d in our journey . We shared the experiences I had in Europe and experiences he had in India .We had consensus on the fact that India and Europe are similar , instead of states in India , they have different countries . Both Indian states and EUcountries have different people with different language , with different food , with different dressing , each ones simultaneously loving and hating each other .

Karwar SI , Swedish couple and most beautiful morning in my life

We started from Gokarna town around ten morning , road was not good .After two hours of ride, I stopped for tying my bag which was almost fallen from the bike . Varkey was behind me . I finished , he still not passed , a bell rang inside my head , something happened ?

I called his mobile, but no response. I went back until I last saw him .The roads were the most dangerous I have ever seen , with hundreds of truck passing ,and with terrific curves like any GATT roads . Trucks were from nearby port , who are allowed to be out during this time alone. So they were flooding the roads.

I had no choice , but to move on. I asked two-three road side shops if they saw some Kerala registration bikes passing , but without any help. I reached Karwar around 1 PM , and had no other choice but to check for the police station .I explained the situation to a police man in English , he asked me

“Hindi atha he? “

I told “han”

Ap hindi mei batha ho ..

I started to explain , if I was a tenth standard student , I would have done it thousand times better . He seeing me struggling with Hindi , guided me towards the SI , Mr ahmed nawaz muthahari. I explained him the situation , he called all nearby police stations and asked if some accidents happened on highway and asked them to check the cliffs(!!!) .And then there was a chaos , wireless messages receiving and sending , DYSP calling and SI explaining , and suddenly I got a call from a local number .

It was him , already reached in palolem beach in goa !! ,and discussing the architectural styles in india and England with an English man. I took two minutes and explained the SI the situation , though he was irritated , he didn’t show it up , I asked him the way to palolem beach after starting the GPS in my phone .He seeing the exact location marked in mobile map where I was standing , he became childish to know a new toy. I had to explain the entire technology to him , as a punishment for all chaos. Still our police don’t know what GPS is !!

From Karwar , two more hours of riding ,reached palolem and took a beautiful beachside shack with a balcony.Thats the best bed room I have ever been to. Took bath in sea watching the sun set for two hours .No hones , no one to disturb ,calm and spiritual . I recalled when I bought a vespa during my first year in college , I used to take her to kovalam twice a week just to have swim in the last minutes of sun falling below the horizon.

Came back to room and took an ayurvedic massage by a messaging boy , Prasanth , from aluva , for back pain . After having dinner I was sitting in my balcony looking to sea . Our next shack was incubated by a couple, I knew they are Scandinavians , in first look. He was enjoying the mesmeric view of Goa.

I asked him “Not like Baltic sea , huh ?”

He smiled me , he told me -good guess , that I understood he is from Scandinavia . Now it is really scrappy weather in Scandinavia as told my Finnish clients. They are kind of people who prefers minus twenty over plus twenty-five , and they hate the range of -2 to +2 , which is exactly now the winter temperature now in Scandinavia , which is a hell for them . When I was returning from Finland , the flight was full of Scandinavians other than some ten india software engineers. So back to my shack , the Swedish couple were having their first time in india , enjoying so much , were planning for backwaters of Kerala next day.

One morning you suddenly woke up and you don’t know where you are and look outside from bed and see a beautiful blue see …!! that was the best morning in my life.

A nice town , a plateau and a city of masked girls

We directed horses to Pune , but had to stop in Belgaum. Beautiful city ,it was. Nice roads , good people , clean air and good food. Belgaum is like Mullaperiyar of Karnataka and Maharashtra. Officially part of Karnataka , but a major number of people living are Maratis. Belgaum is an Air force station , so lot of defense guys. My brother lived there six months for his training in Air force. He told me where to go to have best food .We stayed there and spent our time with couple of natives.

From Belgaum to pune , On the way we went to Mahabaleswar , which is actually a vast plateau bordered by valleys all the sides between Pune and Mumbai. Looked like Munar without tea plantations! . It was the summer capital of Bombay province during British raj.

Theetoi was waiting in Pune for us. It was good that we had somebody to welcome us in each place. He prepared food for us , washed our cloths ! what a descent man !

Next day , it was Friday. And I went to mosque for prayer . I never get spiritual when I pray in a crowded mosque. I always loves to go mosque whenever I am back home , where mosques are simple , people are elegant and it is more of a gathering place. Life is calm and beautiful when a person doesn’t have to leave his village. When greed takes a person out , he becomes disturbed . A life confined to a village and around temple was the culture of Kerala before gulf boom began in seventies and it was beautiful but now an irreversible one.

We took a round in city . Pune is a very much air polluted city , where you could go out with a white face mask , and come back with a brown. Most of people didn’t care , but most of girls I saw were wearing face mask.

Sun of roads , theory of desperation , and minimum city

We started from Pune after noon . And we had to race against sun set , as from pune we travel west to reach mumbai. If you thought sun is most beautiful in beaches , you are wrong .I was seeing most beautiful sun then ,she will glow more for you , because she thinks you were running towards her. Time was already running , provided riding at night was the last thing we wanted . we were riding faster than before.

Have you ever been in a situation like when you wanted something very desperately , and you look around and you get it .Now have you ever thought that other way , like what is making you that desperate in that particular place and time. After one hour of riding from Pune , Varkey turned towards the fuel pump and there it starts . He skidded and back tire is puncture , and we looks around , and there was a puncture shop!! We thanked god . He was a Malayalam(come on!) ,from kollam ,who was an employee there for last two years. We lost half an hour there and started and after half an hour we stopped for a tea and was discussing the puncture luck . There was another puncture shop and we suddenly noticed couple of nails put near to shop.Suddenly it clicked in my mind , so it was a work from those puncture walas. They just need to put two-three nails on the road and at least two three biles a day will be punctured. So me , Hashir created the theory of desperation there , “If you are desperate about something at a particular time and place , it is only because there is a third party who is trying to to make you desperate”.

We reached in lonawala around 5.30 . Lonawala is like Ooty for the Mumbaikars. But we didn’t stop as it was already late. And after that we lost our way . We entered to a road where only trucks were there , it was horrible . We reached to the other end of Maharashtra , lost the way of around 50 kilometers, and also it was late already. Macha and spar was in thane and were waiting for us. We reached thane around nine o clock , and on the way I lost my Lawrence and Mayo riders glass , it was just the starting !.

They were ready with drinks there for varkey, It is a little funny that wherever we go , the guys were ready with “Energy” for Varkey. So morning , bad luck follows , varkey had to change the battery and we lost 3 hour fixing my break . And we started towards kurla to visit kubaib , on the way one traffic police fined us 1500.It was valentine’s day. So we didn’t get entrance to the college. We met in restaurant , he was living in the same way he lived in college .

After that we entered south mumbai , and I never wanted to come to mumbai again. In mumbai the traffic is crazy , the people are crazy. All the people were chewing reddish pan and whenever we stop the bike for asking something they would spit this and would look to us like some Bollywood villains , and will point to a direction , fuckers .The road will be full without a space for one more bike , but still every one would be moving in at least sixty kilometer/hour .I also had to move in the same speed. If somebody touches somewhere they would give us a most hatred look and would pass. I somehow wanted to get rid off the city , I was suffocating , I didn’t want to go back to thane , even though it was late , even though it was dark , even though it was the most scariest ride of life with so much of traffic all traveling at a minimum of seventy , I just wanted to get rid of that place…….

Family bars , hell of a ride and City of joy

We were riding like never before , stopped at one or two places for cooling our engines, wanted to reach somehow Daman . At around nine , we reached Damen,before that we already had traveled a little across Gujarat. The moment I passed the entrance to Damen , first think I noticed was the hoardings saying “family bar” . I didn’t get the logic of that in Indian context. Family bar? . Daman and diu is a union territory , which was liberated from Portuguese in 61 war against Portuguese to liberate along with Goa. Daman is the biggest city there. And supposed to have beaches.

Daman is like Mahi in Kerala , where tax is less for liquors. Also Gujarat being a dry state , meaning liquor not sold in public. So all the affluent gujarathise and natives comes to Daman beach side “family bars” and watch some bollywood videos have some liquor with family , husband and wife sipping alcohol while their child plays . People looked like having some foreign connection as their dressing were not Indian casual. We had a good dinner and already having enough stress , fell into bed and slept. Morning we had a look around in Damen and rushed towards Ahmadabad.

They had six lane roads , starting from Damen , until Baroda , But can u believe it , I couldn’t see a single tree , in a full stretch of 280 kms of road to stop my machine and take some rest. Some times I wanted to hit the bridge wall and jump into the flowing river to get some coolness. I don’t know , these people doesn’t know the meaning of environment. I smelled all the chemicals I had smelled in the old school labs . Their air was so much polluted all over the places. I knew Gujarat is a dry state meaning liquor less , but Gujarat was dry literally. When we were in south , my riding jacket became brown when I reached Pune , and I had to wash it. But within one day of ride in Gujarat , the Jacket had become black because of the chemicals. And I have never though Ashok Leyland had manufactured this much trucks before this ride.

I was getting fed up with slowness of varkey and he was getting fed up with me being fast. I would have passed thousands of truck within a 300 km ride. But still can you believe ? I couldn’t see a single tree in that stretch!!

And here it comes , we entered Baroda , it looked like an old city .The more we entered into the city , the more colorful it became. After hours of most boring ride of world , there we got oasis. City had lot of entrances for the roads.

Beautiful females were looking down to roads through balconies. They were wearing the most colorful dresses in the world. The city was a typical Indian city , it had a lot of poor people , some rich people, beggars (a lot of them) , street vendors (a lot of them) , street side eateries (a lot of them) , narrow roads , dirty lakes , but city had energy ,city had vibrancy.

I loved Baroda. People were singing , dancing ,smiling , romancing , quarrelling , I have never seen a city like that. The moment we entered the city , we passed a Guajarati marriage procession , with a lot of music and dance , ladies of course with most color full dresses , with the best sound mixed Bollywood dances, that gave us the lost energy back. I wanted to join that , one of the band guy who understood I am enjoying , gave me some special steps. One old guy came to me and asked about me and when he knew I am from Kerala and in a bike trip , he shocked and insisted me to join and I had to take two steps , it was horrible , I guess ,as he didn’t insist me more.

The Baroda city has two sides, an old city and a modern city , separated by a river. People were mixed , both Muslims and Hindus .I always loved a culture where man and woman are allowed to dance publicly. That was there. Pure veg boards all over the city. I could see at least three marriage processions with the best dancing guys , I could see some students playing guitar sitting near to a slum .people were not caring what happens around , they appeared just enjoying ,Baroda is my city of joy.

Land of prosperity , religions and worst thing could happen in a trip

I remember in Chennai , a newspaper full page ad in which Modi was wishing entire Tamils a happy Pongal from the land of prosperity. Believe me , if I have traveled across Gujarat , I didn’t see any prosperity in Gujarat. I didn’t see affluence in Gujarat. Just like any other place in india , I could see hell lot of poor people and some rich people over there. Ahmadabad was a cultureless city. The most disgusting thing was , of course the city had good roads , but suddenly the roads , even national highways become dirty with potholes and all , even after ensuring that I am not influenced by any prejudices , you could see a hell lot of people from Muslim community living each side of that.

The so-called development never reached those who were not supposed to have it. First we went to Sabarmati ashram in Ahmadabad. It is really disappointing that this kind of partiality exist in a place where Gandhi , who died for the peace of humanity , was born.

I always tried to make out the real cause of rivalry between Islam and Hinduism across North India. I won’t agree this existed in South , what we see now in south is just spill over from North India. The conflicts between religions would have originated from some unhealed wounds passed through generations , happened during centuries of Muslim rulers , which started from 7th century , intensified from 12th century and ended in 17th century. And when the wounds got exploited by vested minds , starting from British ending till Muthalik for political gains , it became a debacle for everybody. Demolition of Babri masjid and advent of Islamist terrorism to India. Life was becoming more hell to every one. Country witnessed an eventual shift of a nationalism to majoritarianism to a form of a fascism which ultimately resulted in Godra and Kandhmal , whatever be the action -reaction theory in both cases. Also lame mullah appeasement policies , resulted more anger among marginal majority community. Also one personal thing which I believe is the inability of Minority community representatives to raise voice against , like nude portrayal of Saraswathi by MF Hussain . No justification can be given to MF Hussain’s painting of naked Saraswathy devi , even in the name of artistic freedom , while he was living a sensual and sensitive country like India.

Sabarmati was a calm and peaceful place , the only place where you can get some peace in Ahmadabad. Gandhi is a comic character for some of youth , a icon for a minority , an enemy to some , a legend to some , an invincible man to some .I thought , what is Gandhi to me ? I think at least I am not matured enough to know the value of that human being. There were so many foreigners in ashram who came all the way from their countries just to visit the ashram. The charka he used was there , his house , his room . I could see the images which were on walls getting life and slowly time going back where all those people where lived.

We took a round in city , the same old story , a typical Indian city . Some parts looked like some African countries . I think in Gujarat schools they are not teaching the lesson environment. There were no greenery at all in the city and nobody cared about that. City was dusty and no tree in the city , that’s hell. You can see shopping malls here and there. I don’t know if a Guajarati think having some roads and some malls means everything , means prosperity . Again at least for me , the life is not about malls and roads.

A Bengali , a remote village and a kolkatan malayalee

And we rushed towards Udaipur, the city of Lakes . On the way Varkey’s bike started showing some disobedience and had to stop in Utanpur , which was close to 50 kms from Rajasthan border. And had to fix the battery and dynamo. The town was a very small village , luckily one work shop was there. And we checked one guy who didn’t want to speak us as he knew only Gujarati but Hindi . He started checking step be step and asked us to charge the battery. And we went to battery shop and there was a Malayalee , Suresh , settled now in that village with Guajarati wife , came long back , almost 5 years since last went to 1kollam , where he hails from , came here and somehow became like this , he told !!!. I still don’t know why he never tried back in home , and I wanted to ask , and then I understood the fact that he doesn’t want that to be asked. The mechanic was a Guajarati who doesn’t know Hindi , who wasn’t talking to us , might be because of complex he had that he didn’t know the Hindi , but didn’t know we also didn’t know Hindi much.

And there we goes again , rushing towards to Udaipur , and there it happens again. Varkey’s machine is down. At midnight in no man’s land , desert on both sides , some where near to Rajasthan , we two sounthies , with all the gadgets. We had no option but some how move forward. We saw some light at the end of road through the dark. We moved there. It was a left out old temple. I suggested to leave his bike there and looks for some nice stay. He was not positive. So we decided to stay there till morning . The place had an alarming and disturbing silence to a level at one time we both suddenly rose and told lets move.

We needed some rope to tie my bike to his. He looked towards my mufler , I told “no no no“. It was my dearest accessory , I wore almost all day when I was in Finland and through out trip for which I paid 30 euros. But no help. The next moment there we goes, my bike in front and his in back and connected by , no I don’t want to tell.

Almost one mile , in that way . We reached near to a building which looked more like a bar which has some rooms also , than a motel where liquor is also available. The owner was looking at least 120 kilograms , and had a dog which looked same weight as his boss. I had never seen a dog in that size. I don’t know what type of dog was that , as I never had exposure to all those pet dogs .Living in Malappuram , where appearance of some stray dogs will create a big chaos in whole village , which is a good thing actually as malappuram is the only place where I haven’t seen any stray dogs or cows in India.

So we were taken to room by a wicked looking man . We could here giggles which were originated from female emotions while we walking through the corridor. That was not at all a place for us , but had no choice but finish the lunch sleep and never woke up till morning.

Morning , I woke up early and moved to Bichwada , which is a nearby town to check if I could get some mechanic for Varkey’s motor cycle. Bichwada was a small and sleepy town , where I was sure I should get some mechanic. I saw one small spares parts shop , where I met Mr kalpesh . A typical North Indian small town boy , with lot of fascination to mobiles , bikes , and muscles. He asked me if I go to gym and if I eat non vegetarian. When I told him I don’t eat vegetarian food , he was shocked and told me a big secret he probably hadn’t told anyone in his life that , he had chicken when he had gone to Udaipur once for purchasing parts. Having non -vegetarian food among most of middle class in most of rural northern India is like having liquor in Kerala. Everybody knows you might be taking , but you are supposed to create a feeling that you are concerned about others knowing it.

So with Kalpesh’s help I could get a mechanic and took him to our stay and fixed the electrical issue. But nightmare wasn’t over. We were happily moving , smiling towards the road , we two happy riders ,may be not , this time it was my machine. I never thought he will cheat me. Bad things comes together. We totally lost . One passed cycle man informed us there is a small village in four hundred meters . We pushed towards the village. A very typical Rajasthani village. Small shops which still sell two rupees Britannia biscuit pack. It was lunch time in some nearby school , and all those running nose kids having a particular oil on their hair were there to welcome us. The whole village came to us. I could here comments like ‘bahut purani gadi hei “ , “bahut lambi gadi hai”.

So I had to wait with my new friends – kids , one shop lady , and some brats till , now its varkey who gets some Mechanic. So I was relaxing there with my cool friends. And one of the brat , who introduced himself to me asked where I am coming from . I told Kerala. Then he told me in Hindi there is one guy from Kerala in that village ! “Come on , fucking mallues. What the heck is that guy doing here“. I was told he is a local physician there , means some fake doctor. So he could be from kerala , I thought. So he asked me to follow. So that brat in front , me in back with all baggages just behind him and all those kids , around twenty of them , who thought of seeing some emotional scenes behind me. We reached a small house . The brat knocked the door. He would have never though of seeing this kind of scene in his life . In first look I understood he is not from the land made by Mr Parashuraman , but from some other land.

Our leader told ‘aree bayya , ye bantha apka desh se atha hei’

His face illuminated. “Sach batha rahe? Kolkatha se? “

So the chapter is over.

I waited half an hour more , and Varkey came back with most hilarious scene. The guy who went looking for mechanic Came back in a open truck with his bike on trunk. I didn’t ask much . With help of all those “still” my friends , I loaded my machine also to the truck and moved to Udaipur.

The driver , Durga , a Rajasthani , as any low wage job guys in there, having pan all time , was real fun all the way to Udaipur. He told us he knew only two kind of keralites , one is all those battery shop walas and then injection ladies , nurses .

The city of lakes , Naked Aravally and solitude

Udaipur kept the promise , the city of lakes was a true jewel of Rajasthan. The entire city lives on tourism. As the auto driver Irfan Khan told me , when asked about communal relationship , there is no time for a jagada , so much of tourists are coming ,and we need to take care of them. Rajasthan was a livable state , not like Gujarat , which doest have clean air , good water , pure hearted human , some non-veg food and liquor but has a lot safronization. In Rajasthan you get all the above. I could see people there whom I could relate to somebody whom I already knew. I could see my neighbor there , I could see my uncle there , my friends there .I was feeling home in Rajasthan.

Udaipur was a lucky child to a rich father , a city blessed with a rich history ,and so some marvelous palaces ,which are still owned by the remains of dynasty. Rajasthan had the best climate after I started my journey. Morning it was chilling cold , and after noon when we were traveling to Ajmer , through the beautiful aravally mountains, even though the sun was trying its best to burn everything under him , the breeze from the aravally was cool. The beauty of aravally is , she doesn’t have any greenery on her, she was naked , not like the western gatts which put on green skirt.

When you travel through the road , occasionally some trucks , and village life on both sides . People are living here , the people just like us , with no difference , I could have been one of them . The veiled woman , turbaned men with long sticks , tourist cars from which some white faces enjoying the poor india…you can forget everything , you can forgive everything in such a journey.

Business of spirituality , two terrorists and redemption

From Udaipur we started after noon , directed towards Ajmer which is 275 kms away from Udaipur , means 5 hours of riding . Already having enough with mechanical issues with bikes , we were cautious in the ride not to compel the machine to deliver extra. We were riding at a speed of seventy.

Ajmer , the sacred city for all , durga for Muslims , Pushkar for Hindus and “foreigners” . I already had an idea on what can be expected in Ajmer , but Varkey had no idea. In each north Indian city , he was getting more nervous , was crying to shut the door and sleep with mosquitoes in Cochin. Some times he was getting more nervous , to an extend , suddenly waking up from deep sleep , dreaming he pushing the bike in a remote deserts of Rajasthan , where he already had to do the same for four kilometers in Bichwada , and most funniest part was when he woke up , I was also dreaming and laughing loudly in my dream , later I told him , seeing the same dream.

He was not showing much interest to “feel” the city anymore , especially after Ahmadabad. Back to Ajmer, it was a city for the business of spirituality , for all.Morning we asked the hotel receptionist , on how to go to durga . We both having long beard , and having all looks and likes of a “strangers” who well can be two terrorist came and bombed the city.

He was a hesitant and cautious in giving answers . One bomb in city , there goes all the business. Whatever be the battle , whether ideological or territorial , whatever be the attack , terrorist or fanatical, it always affect some people who just want to “live”. This guy was one of those. So this guy was also asking questions like why do you want to go to Darga ,and all. Somehow pacifying him we called an auto and directed towards durga. On the way to Durga we could see couple of Malayalam boards showing clear indication of where the people are coming from. There were so many flower shops , kerchief shops etc outside. And inside dua and visit to kabar of Mu’īnuddīn Chishtī . He was the one brought Sufism to India. Born in Persia and moved to India and settled in Ajmer. Some scholars of religion argue that Sufism is simply the name for inner or esoteric dimension of Islam. The only Best thing about that place was Sufi songs sung by devotees. Whatever you touch , you had to give money. Varkey was a little hesitant to enter the durga , thinking that could be only for Muslims, but was asked to come inside by those guys ,he didn’t know there is no religion for business. Darga was one example how some people can live on faith of some other people.

Pushkar was the Hindu counter part. Pushkar was the mount Everest of ohm business . Everything a western adventure would like to see in india , cows , sadhus,strange processions , a mysterious fragrance all over the place and lot of Kancha. We were riding through the crowded narrow streets of Pushkar , crowded with all those westerners thirsty for the spirituality . And exploiting this to the maximum , the perpetrates of ohm business , there were frequent religious procession across the streets by Sadhus with decorated cows.

One time we stopped just to have look around , one boy who looked around 17 , came to us and asked if we would like to take a round , and lead us to the Pushkar lake. Pushkar is the place where most important of Brahma’s temple exist , which is very rare in India. Brahma is regarded as the creator but not necessarily as God. Rather, He is regarded as a creation of god or Brahman. There are so many myths why Brahma is not devoted widely in India. The boy showed us the lake , where he told us if we immerse will get redemption to sins. As both myself and especially varkey hadn’t done even a single sin in our whole life , we refused the offer. And his business was that we had to give 10 rupees for the thali which has all those stuffs conducive to redemption.We spent there till evening and moved to Pink city.

Old city , new city and pink city

Three cities in one city , that is Jaipur. There is an old city , a new city and a pink city. Whatever , a typical Indian city. Same old story , I thought , might be because I was exhausted . I visited all those places , only if I ever have to speak with a Jaipuri , to avoid an over excited emotion like “oh I cant believe you didn’t go to hawa mahal in Jaipur.”

Bikes were not at all in good condition. When I started the trip from Chennai , and when Varkey started the trip from Cochin , both of us had no idea where we were going. People used to take bullet trips to Himalaya , or some routes blessed with natural beauty. But I don’t know if any people thought same as us. When we joined in Bangalore , I asked him , what is the plan. He repeated same the question to me. Fair enough. Every morning , once we started our bullets , we looked each other and asked , “engotta?”. Either I suggest one place or he , we never said “no , lets go to other place”. We didn’t speak much , we didn’t complain each other. I was most lucky to had him to partner my trip.

Once we finished the Jaipur trip, he told me one thing , ‘Hashir , lets stop this here” . Ok , lets stop this here. We went directly to Jaipur railway station and mailed our Machines to Chennai. And took bus to Delhi where arjun , brinku and all others were waiting for us to receive as they told with flags .

One day in Delhi to have a look on all those Mughal remnants with friends in Delhi. That was the second time I was in Delhi . And I had evening flight to Chennai and Varkey had it to Cochin. Approved vacation in company was over. Time to worry again about failing weblogic servers. While I was on air , I thought , two more rides remaining , one solitary ride to north-east of india and one romantic ride for a rendezvous with Himalaya .

Travelogue: Sharavathi Valley Backwaters

Aditya Kavoor — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:31:52 +0000

There are some amazingly awesome places in Karnataka which need the right guidance and facilities to attract tourists. One step forward in achieving this is made by Mr. Sampath who is responsible for the revival of tourists flowing into the Sharavathi Valley Backwaters. All you need to do is inform Mr. Sampath a week in advance, the number of people in your group and rest is taken care by him.

About the place: Sharavathi Valley backwaters is formed as a result of Linganamakki Dam constructed across the river Sharavathi which later flows down the hill and results in Asia’s highest waterfalls, the Jog. Due to the sudden rise in water levels because of the construction of the dam, many low lying areas around the path of Sharavathi are submerged resulting in formations of a number of islands. The slow flowing water provides the perfect platform for swimming, boating, kayaking and other water sports. A small hill of moderate trekking difficulty gives the aerial view of the wonderful backwaters.

Getting there: At a distance of about 300km from Bangalore, Sharavathi valley is a minimum of 2 days trip. Take a bus to Sagara and then hire a local taxi guy who takes you GubbaGodu, 20km from Sagara. Make sure you reach GubbaGodu well within 8 30am in-order to make the rest of the day enjoyable. Since our bus reached Sagara by 6 30am, we decided to view the Jog and proceed towards GubbaGodu. Heavy rains played spoilsport at the Jog and much to our disappointment, none of the gates of the Dam were opened.

Things to carry: Here is a list of accessories you *must* carry in-order to help yourselves during your stay in Sharavathi Valley.

A proper BackPack. (A bag which can be put on our back and other kinds of bags wont do).
A plate with a spoon for eating food. (Must)
One cup for drinking water, tea etc. (Must)
One light & thin bed sheet, Foam sleeping Mat will be arranged by them.
A small hand torche. (Must)
A 1 ltr. water bottle.
Well worn in sports/canvas shoes/sandals.
Toilet kit (toothbrush, toothpaste, comb)
Sun cap and Sun lotion.

Please carry only items mentioned here. Carrying extra stuff might just discomfort you.

Day 1: GubbaGodu – Mr. Sampath’s men were waiting for us with Hot steaming Idlis with Chatni and Khashaya. The experience of sipping hot Khashaya on the river banks is bliss. One thing needs a mention here. There are no basic facilities for freshening up in these islands. Be mentally and physically prepared to get yourself up and going amidst the woods. Atleast you can tolerate that to see nature’s heart. Boats were kept ready for us and we proceeded towards another island. Everything here is environment friendly and that means you should not expect motor boats. Rowing your way all through these islands is the only means. For the first half hour you would enjoy the rowing, but afterwards you need the villagers to take you through. I tell you rowing against the current is not an easy task. Half way through some of us dared to swim across the river and repented heavily for it. The distance what you see is actually way too much less than what it is, and we ended up swimming half the distance. By the time we reached the shore, there was nothing left in us. We could barely walk. Sampath’s men then setup tents for us and we took some time off to rest from travel fatigue and swimming disaster. In sometime Sampath’s men prepared lunch and for the rest of the noon we spent time admiring nature.

By 4pm we set out to another island which is said to have a wonderful sunset point. Again rowing ourselves through a rather calm Sharavathi we reached the place which is another treat to the eye. As the sun went down behind the hill we felt the much needed relief from city life. Took some amazing photographs and headed back to the camp island. To our surprise Mr. Sampath’s men had readied the campfire. Now you are in the an island lit by just the moonlight, pitch silence, campfire and surrounded 360 degrees by water admist a forest. This is pure awesomeness. Hospitality of the best of its kind when we served Hot tea and Mirchi(Chilli Bhajji) at the campfire site. Could not ask for more. Sung, danced and screamed like no one was hearing or seeing us and not to forget the heated argument on Rahul Dravid vs Adam Gilchrist. We were then served dinner and the tents were setup with mats for out sleep. Most of us just roamed around till midnight and just passed off.

Day 2: Awesome breakfast which included Ragi Dosa and Akki Rotti with hot Khashaya. We had boats ready for kayaking. Put on our life jackets and entered the water — fun unlimited. Half the day was already over when we were done with the water sports. Had awesome Pulav for lunch and left for the main Island near GubbaGodu. No sooner we reached there, we set off on another mission — trek the hill which gives a breathtaking aerial view of the backwaters with islands. With heavy backpacks we had to walk nearly 45 minutes nonstop to reach the base of the hill. After recollecting some energy we started the trek which takes not less than another 45 minutes to reach the top. I promise you every step is worth its weight in gold. The scene from the top is just not expressible. With some final photography with the lowest of batteries left after two full days of life with no electricity.

We literally ran our way down the hill to catch the last bus to Sagara and then headed back to Bangalore from there on. To say the least the effort of Mr. Sampath is just remarkable. The price he charges is very nominal. You actually feel that you really got more than what you actually paid for. Here are his contact details -

Mr. Sampath Kumar
prapancha@gmail.com
facebook.com/prapanchas
sharavathi.blogspot.com

For the complete photoset click here.

Let the rebels know, CM will not bow one inch

churumuri — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:26:45 +0000

On a day when seven BJP ministers were enconsced in yet another “secret meeting” in Bangalore, setting off the usual suspicions, chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa was going around inspecting “developmental works” at his hometown Shikaripura in Shimoga district on Monday.

Photograph: Karnataka Photo News

***

The B.S. Yediyurappa photo portfolio

Is it an idol? Is it a statue? Is it a mannequin?

One leg in the chair, two eyes on the chair

Yedi, steady, go: all the gods must be crazy

Kissa Karnataka chief minister’s kursi ka: Part IV

Why did the chief minister cross the road divider?

Sometimes you are up, sometimes you are down

Dressed to thrill: Yedi-Chini bhai bhai in Shanghai

Survival of fittest is a great photo opportunity

Drought relief one day, flood relief the next

How a chief minister should drink tea. (Or not.)

Excursao de Goa: Day 1

Sriharsha Rajashekara — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:06:58 +0000

Preface:

Into the last week of September, I could only hear about how the tour is going to be? Where would we be stopping? What should I carry? Such was the excitement with everyone simply everyone refused to think anything beyond the trip. Then as the day dawned on 26th Sep 2009, the long wait ended. As planned, we started off early by quickly offering a puja for the car. I was bit apprehensive about the first ayudha puja for the car and didn’t want to travel long without it.

Ready; Steady; 1-2-3 Go…

6:30 AM 26^th September 2009

Ready to leave

Ravi and Anupam joined us this time and ensured the enjoyment never dipped. We picked Prasad and Ravi on the way and were out of Bangalore by 6:30 AM. As we headed towards Magadi, traffic weaned. The road after the NICE road junction is newly laid and with little traffic, the cruise went smooth.

Flow down the valley to Magadi:

Early birds to school

Vinay hand picked about 4 GB of songs that included latest release and some sufi classics. It was enough even if we had traveled a week non-stop… All through the way, Prasad read aloud every board/hoarding interpreting his version of the meaning. Occasionally he came out with some censored one-liners that prompted a burst of laughter. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed the drive through the landscape around Thippagondanahalli valley. The early morning mist kissed the mountain peaks, Farmers out on their way to the field, a group sat at the lone village tea stall smoking beedis gave a perfect flavor of life around the village surrounding Bangalore…

Smoking tea @ NH48 Junction:

8 AM 26^th September 2009

We headed towards Kunigal from Magadi, again the stretch is newly laid, well marked and is a treat to drive. Ragi fields on either side of the road and lean traffic density the landscape resembled the drive to magadi. Within no time we were at the NH-48 junction and decided to stop for a tea. As we sipped tea, Prasad help a kannada newspaper and started running though the headlines and continued testing his interpretation skills. A local frequenter to the tea stall probably couldn’t stand the slang in his oration pulled the paper and surprised Prasad. We all chuckled at his spate, and never again he tried reading news paper along the trip… Back in the car, we took NH-48 and headed towards Channarayapatna

Aagey se right – to Arasikere:

10 AM 26^th September 2009

Dream road

The drive through NH-48 wasn’t smooth, the traffic grew, and the roads are patchy. The road widening project has left parts of the road in bad shape. As we reached Channarayapatna, we all were hungry and looked for a decent place to refill. We tried munching at a joint kruthika, but the quality wasn’t that good. We took the road to Arasikere, this was the treat of the entire road we drove through added to this was anthakshari which was as funny as it was in our previous trip with songs being twisted and murdered to suit ones need… Its about 30+ KM straight, marked, newly laid stretch and I did a 120 kmph here and reached arasikere in 35 minutes I guess….

Quenched thirst at shimoga:

1 PM 26^th September 2009

By time we reached Shimoga it was past noon, Sun was mercilessly spitting heat… We took the by-pass avoiding the chaotic shimoga town. Finally thirst overpowered the boys and every one wanted a drink… Anupam rushed out to find an outlet where we could find a bottle of cold water and successfully came out with couple of them… Once the thirst vanished and with energy flowing across the muscles and viens, hungama started in the car as I drove towards Sagara…

in the woods... on the way to sagara

The road to Sagara started to show the glimpse of the rich vegetation ahead in the Western Ghats. The landscape had changed from bayalu seeme(Plateau) to a richer, greener environment. All through our journey we regularly stopped for a small break and that invited twitter from the boys… One such conversation ended up with confusion about 2 breeds supari: red and white. By the time we reached Sagara, it was around 2:30 PM. We decided for a second pit stop and have lunch at Madhura. Lunch was satisfying and probably made the folks drowsy… Then we had to stop by a adake thota(arecanut farm)and Vinay cleared the confusion Prasad had about red/white supari… The weather grew humid and suggested rain in the ghats and coast…

Jogada Siri Belakinalli

3:15 PM 26^th September 2009

Joga.. no intro needed

Jog was humid again, and it hadn’t rained in the last week which meant the falls from Sagara was not enjoyable… Disappointed, we dint spend too much time except for a quick photo session. Ravi felt the need for a cable car to the other side of the valley… As we left Jog, Anupam dreamt of coming back with his soulmate the next time.

Sharavathi – A valley of imagination

4 PM 26^th September 2009

In the Ghat.. be there to feel it

As we entered the ghat, I could smell the scent of the rain forest… The temperature dipped and roads got foggy with intermittent showers. Occassionally we spotted a far away water fall gushing down the hill and they kept coming back as we traversed through the curvy road. The roads were motorable considering the rain forest… and the traffic was considerably less compared to shiradi, charmadi or any other ghat…

Sharavathi silenced

Then we reached sharavathi valley… No words can explain the beauty or serenity, it only can be experienced. There she stood still, forming a back water of the gerusoppa dam surrounded by dense jungle. The jungle was so dense; there was no other color than green… The clouds played with the sun, covering him most of the time… as if they dint want him to enjoy the curvy sharavathi flow. The clouds, the green, the wet surrounding, the silence, made each of us go still for a while. The mind had been put to rest, the happiness, the joy each one us were experienced was so immense that we had forgotten the tiredness from the 300 odd Km journey.

In the foreground all of us got busy clicking snaps… Then came the galore of views, Prasad wanted to buy a boat, and cruise down to the dam! Ravi wanted to buy an acre in the jungle and build a resort, to which I and Vinay disagreed. Anupam went quiet! Probably he was trying to relate to something similar in the hills of Assam. With sweet memories of the valley, we started descending the ghat towards Honnavar.

Vinay’s Karwar

7:30 PM 26^th September 2009

Sun sets over Kali

Once we reached Honnavar, we stopped a quick tea break, without wasting time we headed north on NH 17. The road from Kumta to Karwar isn’t great at all… Now you must be surprised to read “Vinay’s Karwar”… This section is dedicated to him, he had so much information about karwar, right from the time we touched the Seabird site, to the port, then his college and hostel, Devbagh, Sadashivghad etc… He opened up an entire fold of his fond memories page by page, book by book… We crossed the Kali River and stopped by at Sadashivghad… Unfortunately sun had set by then and we haven’t captured any part of the picturesque location and remains for “Our Eyes only”

Goa: Amzha aale

8:30 PM 26^th September 2009

I was looking for a cup of tea when I bumped into the border… The guard was gentle enough to quickly clear us and we were zooming. This stretch was the most tiring as well as adventurous of the drive. The roads got narrower, the curves got frenzier… as Prasad says, we went through G, O, A turns… Once in Madgaon, we decided to look for a place to stay and finally zeroed in on Dona Julia Resorts at Calangute…

I smell ‘Kal’ n ‘Gute’

10:30 PM 26^th September 2009

As promised we had 2 rooms booked for us, we quickly freshened up and then were off to the beach… I pampered myself with couple of beers with dinner at the Souza Lobo’s. This gave me a lot of relief from the day’s driving… All of us headed back to the resort for a much needed good night sleep.

To be Continued….

My trip to Hampi and Jog Falls in 2007!!!

sarojlenka — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:02:26 +0000

This was the 1st get together plus trip with my 3 close friends in collage. All of us planned to go out and spend time at Hampi, Jog waterfalls. We choose this place as Hampi is a world heritage with old temples and contains several other monuments belonging to the old city.

before day1..all mates

So except Ramesh who was tarvelling from Banglore, started Hyderabadon a friday evening and reached at Hospet at 5 AM. Then we roamed in the city lloking for a hotel, as we didnt book any. At last we got a room in a good hotel Sidhartha Residency, which we wkipped thinking that the charges will be more. The same day we booked a Cab for travelling to Hampi and other nearby places. We started with Kiskindha resort. All of us was in an impression, was the kingdom of the King Sugiva, the younger brother of Vali, in the Ramayana. But frustrated to see some unexpected small park, pool and a waterles dam. Heading towards to Hampi, we had a nice and authentic style lunch at ‘Mango Tree’. Enjoyed an ambiance not had ever before.

at the Krishna temple

Then we moved to many templees 1 by 1. Most of them were ancient, was built instone, granite, and musical pillars. Krishna Temple, Lotus mahal, Elephant stables, Royal Enclosure, Pushkarini Tank, Virupaksha Temple, and couple of other temples.

the beautiful Lotus mahal

It was so hot out there. Unfortunately we missed the Vithala temple, which was the major attraction. So after that we backed to big Tungabhadra dam and spent some time in the water park nearby. Back in hotel, we had our dinner with drinks at “Purple Grass” in our Hotel.

Day 2, started moving to Shimoga for our next destination The great Jog falls. Enjoyed the bus state transport ride, took 5 hrs to reach at Shimoga. We reached at Shimoga at 2 afternoon, and had the lunch. Got a room in Hotel Ashoka, i liked the hotel, as it was spacious, charge was very less. The rest of the day, we just spent exploring the city by walk(not much). However got the drinks for the night party, after which we went for the dinner. Inbetween we watched the EPL ManU match.

way 2 Jog fall

Day3, booked a cab for travelling to Jog Falls. We had a authntic kannad breakfast, and started to Jog. On the way, we stopped at Elephant Safari. This was ok, as we saw the forester took their elephants for a bath. Me and happy went for a DONGI drive.

dongi ride..the good times

Next stop was the Lion and Tiger safari. We went into the safari in a serviced bus. Heading towards, we stopped at Sagara for lunch, and after that reached at Jog. Got unhappy to see not much of water, but it was good to go down till the bottom of the fall. So all our group the talented, saw another group coming out from bottom in a route. So we followed and trekked down tille 70%. Then discovered that, we cant move on. It was very dangerous, inclined and a mistake would results a mishappening. SO we headed back to top, it was the real tough. Reaching at top, we found the long steps down and the actual route.

d way to Ground Zero

Moved on that way after a bit rest, reached at the base, with a record time of 20mins. Spent 20mins there, and stepped back to the top. I made some extra 30% effort, as i forgot my watch at the base. So finally we reached at the top in 35 mins.

watching from the top

It was a overall a good experience, then we moved back to Shimoga after some snx and drinks. So thats all my experience at hampi and Jog Falls. We move back to hotel, pabitra travelled to his brithers place at Bellary, and back next day to join us in the train back to Hyderabad. He was lucky to visit the Vithala Temple on the way. Overall it was good trip, a good gathering and vacation.

Government Schemes and Projects named after Nehru-Gandhi family

thecandideye — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:30:09 +0000

My friend arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport,New Delhi last week, after finishing his re

SHIMOGA

Rajat Kumar — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 05:50:00 +0000

Around 30 km away from Shimoga, in the village of Hanagree, situated the dargah of Hazrat Sayyid Sadath which is a perfect example of “syncretic” culture in its true sense. Probably one of its kinds in the whole India, this 500 year old dargah has a temple and a dargah side by side. Situated in Shettihalli Wildlife Sanctuary, the village of Hanagre with 400 Hindus and 100 Muslim houses has never seen any sort of communal disturbance in the area. The dargah of Hazrat Sayyid Sadath has attracted devotees from all over India. According to locals account national and international news channels have covered the story of this village.

On being asked about the history of the place, no body was sure about it. The only information which I was able to find out was the dargah was of Hazzrat Sayyid Sadath and Hindu temple is dedicated to Butrai and Chadeshwari Gods. It is said that both the Hindu gods were near and dear to Hazrat Sayyid Sadath, so after their deaths a temple was dedicated to the said Hindu gods. Normally, the devotees come here with their health or personal problems to dargah. According to the legend, all wishes come true if asked in dargah. If wishes come true then according to the rituals, the person has to come back to the dargah and give sacrifices in the name of dargah. Everyday a Hindu Pujari and a Muzzavar reside respective Puja and Fatiah dargah side by side. Needless to say, that people from both communities come and worship here.

While talking to the Muzzavar of the dargah, I found out that till now there has been no controversy started here by any communal organisation. According to him, Raghvendra who is the son of current Chief Minister of Karnataka and a BJP MLA from the Hanagere area, came before election to the dargah and now after winning the election his visit to perform sacrifices in the dargah.

Outside the dargah one can find many Hindu and Muslim shops to buy prasad and other things which are used by a devotees in the dargah. Talking to one of the shopkeeper, Chetan Kumar, he told me that though he is not aware of the history of the dargah but he visits everyday in morning. Even he endorses the fact that people from both religion come here. According to Chetan, sometimes there have been small minor incidents between two communities but they are not of large scale so that you can name it as “communal” problem. According to him, people in Hanagree are generally peace loving and since it is a small village they are more concerned about there living being rather than fighting over religion.

Muzzavar Syyed Hidayat, told me that for muslims there is nothing greater than the Ullah. Even Hazrat Sayyid Sadath can be the holy person or “allah ke bande” but in Islam he is not considered as Ullah. On the same lines, no one is unequal in the eyes of ullah, all these caste and class hierarchies according to him are creation of man which has no support in Quran or any religious books. On being asked about his feeling about the different practices carried on in the temple and the dargah in the same room then he answered that it doesn’t matter to him that a devotee who has come to the dargah is a Hindu or Muslim. From past 500 years, this place has been a common place of worship and no one questioned the unique practices which were going inside the dargah. Fatiah or Puja they both the same thing in different languages then why man should any one will have problem. Syyed Hidayat told me that State gives them full support and many politicians come there to visit dargah out of respect.

During my stay there in the place it was indeed a different experience to see burqa claded women and mangalsutra wearing women worshipping in both side of the dargah. This indeed was a new experience of a new tradition which was nowhere present in any of the places I previously visited. The two different system of worship undeniably mixed here to give rise to a completely a new system. Though the locals claimed that there was BBC or NDTV news channel that covered the story of the dargah, I wasn’t able to find about history of the place on internet. Therefore, the exact history of the place is still unanswered but the main conclusion which we can draw from this “absent” history, is that history really doesn’t matter to the people, it is the spirituality which attracts the devotees and not the history of the place.

Jog Falls travelogue

hemabalaji — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:11:50 +0000

Hi all 7th July was my hubby’s birthday. Co-incidentally, he was born in Jog and I had been telling

Raghu Marriage - Shimoga Trip

maduvemantapa — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:49:50 +0000

Love – what others will think, Marriage – whatever others think – least bothered.

Wife kills husband in Shimoga

iluvshrutiverma — Mon, 18 May 2009 11:59:01 +0000

Look at the Choice of words
- Harrassed Wife
- Drunkard Husband
- Incessant harrassment
- HE fought with HER
- He doubted the integrity of wife
- Srinivas Naik Slep after ROUTINELY quarelling with Wife
- Frustrated Geeta strangelled
- She confessed to crime( Brave honest girl )

So this is a case where a poor man is dead and all the negative derogatory
adjectives fall on him. poor man gets blamed even after his death..
This is a case where a woman brutally commits a cold blooded Murder, and the media are adding their niceties around her ..

WOWOW.. Media and its Gender Biassed Opinions…

*Shimoga, May 18:* In an incident that occurred on the night of Saturday
May 16 in the town, a daily wager named Srinivas Naik (33) was murdered by his wife, who was unable to cope with his incessant harassment.

Reportedly, Srinivas Naik doubted the integrity of his wife Geeta Bai (24)
and fought with her on a daily basis, alleging that she had an illicit relationship, after getting drunk.

On Saturday too, Srinivas Naik slept after routinely quarrelling with his
wife. Frustrated Geeta strangulated her husband when he was sleeping, by
tightening a rope around his neck. She confessed to the crime when the
policemen, who were alerted by her neighbourers, questioned her.

The policemen of Tunga Nagar police station here have registered a case.

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=60009&n_tit=Shimoga%3A+Harassed+Wife+Kills+Drunkard%2C+Quarrelsome+Husband

Koodli-Confluence of Tunga and Bhadra River

Ramesha JS — Sun, 17 May 2009 19:26:17 +0000

Recently I went to my native, which was saw happiest and sad moments of my life. to meet my childhood friends, my schools at Bhadravathi. That i will post later. On sunday morning I with my friend went to Koodli, which i frequently visited during College Days.

Koodli is a small village with very Big heritage behind. It is 16 Kms from Shimoga on Holehonnur – Channagiri Road and the same distance from Bhadravathi, Steel Town.

Rivers Tunga(ತುಂಗಾ ನದಿ) and Bhadra(ಭದ್ರಾ ನದಿ) -Joins here, hence the name Koodli . From here onwards both rivers together became TUNGABHADRA till it joins KRISHNA river in Andra Pradesh and finally dissolves in Bay of Bengal.

TUNGA RIVER born in the Western Ghats on a hill known as Varaha Parvata at a place called Gangamoola. From here, the river flows through two districts in Karnataka -Chikmagalur District and Shimoga District. It is 147 km long and merges with the Bhadra River at Koodli. The river is famous for the sweetness of its water. There is a belief that ” Thunga panam Ganga snanum” which means we should drink the water of river thunga and take bath in river Ganga.

BHADRA RIVER born in the Western Ghats range, and flows east across theDeccan Plateau, joined by its tributaries the Somavahini, Thadabehalla, and Odirayanahalla. The river flows through the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary. A dam was built across the river near Lakkavalli. The Bhadra meets the Tunga River at Koodli.

On the banks of the confluence there is an age old temple built by Hoysala and Ikkeri Kings called Rameshwara Temple. A beautifully maintained, with gardens, lawns and more over neatness by ASI (Archelogical Survey of India).

Behind the temple a small roofless temple with nandi denotes the exact point where the two rivers meet, and is considered to be very sacred. At sangama lord called as Sangameshwara. At confluence point there will be always water.

While going to the river on the left side we can find another famous temple, which is Kshetra Devate Sri Chitamani Narasimha Swamy Temple beside the Sangameshwara temple.It belived to be installed & worshipped by Sri Prahlada.

Extract from Wekipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koodli

There are two mutt in the Koodli. One is Shankara mutt (Advaita Philosophy) & another one is Akshobhya thirtha Mutt (Dvaita Philosophy).

Shankara Mutt

There is very old Indian style school of learning for Shankara philosophy, called the koodli mutt. This has a long history: onetime in 15th or 16th century, the chief swami of shringeri had gone to a teerthayaatre, probably to kashi. He did not return for a long time, which caused the deputy chief to take up the chief’s position. But the chief was alive and did return to Shringeri after a few days. But he of course could not go in to the matt where his own pupil was the chief, so he left shringeri and started his own matt at the sangama of tunga and bhadra, kudli, and this came to be known as kudli Shringeri mutt. Now in the beginning of 1900s, a new swami took the position of the chief swamy here. He was formerly the teacher of his highness Krishnaraya Wodeyar the 4th, Maharaja of mysore. This brought good times to this matt again. Between the original founder and this person, few talented persons had been chiefs here, who made this place, keep up the standards. After independence, one particular person was very talented and influential, and made the mutt a noted place again.

Arya Akshobhya Thirtha Mutt

It has stated by Sri Akshobhya Thirtha (one of the prominent disciples of Sri Madhvacharya) around 13th or 14th Century. Sri Mutt had very good scholar of Sanskrit & Madhvacharya’s philosophy as there Petadhipathies (Cheif Swami) till to date. There is very well maintained Goshala (Cow yard) by AAT Mutt.

At the entrance of the village, Sri Bhrameshwara Swami welcomes you to koodli. Further you will see Bhavani Shankara Temple, Vidhya Shankara Temple, and few many small temples are there in this single road village.

Uniqueness of Koodli Village.

* Combination of Dvaitha and Advitha Philosophy

* Onthe Right side of the houses River Tunga Flows and on the Left side houses River Bhadra Flows.

* In this small hamlet, the hindus religious place Muslims also reside together. They have built two mosques here. They stay entrance of the village.

The Sad thing noticed here is below monuments are thrown on the road side and lies along the cow dung etc..Can ASI give life to these monumnets and shift to safer place.

By noon we returned back to Bhadravathi and after having a lunch in my friend house bid adieu to them and left to Shimoga……

How to reach Koodli.

From Shimoga>–> Buses available any time. Buses plying towards Chitradurga, Channagiri passes via Holehonnur. Getdown at Koodli entrance and walk 2kms inside or get down at Holehonnur and catch the Auto to Koodli. Travel time from Shimoga to Koodli is 30min to 45mins.

From Bhadravathi>–> Buses available to Hole honnur 14kms and from there get an Auto to Koodli which is 3kms from there. Travel time from Bhadravathi to Koodli is 30min to 45mins.

–Photos and Article by Ramesha JS

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A VIP finger so right that it is almost to the left

churumuri — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 12:41:20 +0000

The BJP’s candidate from the Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency B.Y. Raghavendra provides visual evidence that he cast his ballot the right way on Thursday, while his father, the chief minister, B.S. Yediyurappa, holds up his right finger to show that he probably did not.

Is the CM’s left index finger, which is where the mark is supposed to be applied, injured? Or was there already a mark on it necessitating the right finger? Did the CM insist on the mark being applied on his right hand? Did the voting official not know? Or is it the new status symbol in town, getting the voter mark on a finger of your choice?

Does the CM’s vote count? Or does it not matter if it is a VIP?

Photographs: Karnataka Photo News

Naxal WARNS hindu hooligans of coastal district

mangalorepress — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:29:21 +0000

Naxalites first time raised their voice against hindu hooigans of coastal district. In a pomplet they have warned hindu orgnisation leaders to stop their goodaism. here is a pomplet and report published in KARAVALI ALE/ KANNADA JANANTARANGA dated march 25

ramcolor

report in Karavali ale, kannada janantaranga

INDIA: ‘ANTI-CONVERSION’ LAW CONSIDERED IN KARNATAKA

Particular Kev — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:40:32 +0000

Legislation leading to anti-Christian attacks said to be planned in violence-ridden state. NEW DELHI

उबुन्टू : खुद सीखो - फ़िर सबको मुफ्त सिखाओ

oskanpur — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 06:52:12 +0000

उबुन्टू : खुद सीखो – फ़िर सबको मुफ्त सिखाओ

Ubuntu is a FREE software. If you have problems in downloading, please go to any internet cafe in dehradoon and ask them to download it for you. It will take about one hour to download. Then burn a CD with the Ubuntu file and you can start working. 1. Free Ubuntu CD – http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu

2. Download Ubuntu for free – http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download. Make some extra copies and distribute free to others in Herbertpur also. Otherwise you can obtain it from Kanpur / Lucknow / Dehradoon from any Computer assembler for a nominal price.

osKanpur

Learn Ubuntu – Teach Ubuntu

उबुन्टू : खुद सीखो – फ़िर सबको मुफ्त सिखाओ

Dear Friend I have read your blogspot. Recently, I switched from Vista to Fedora.. but could not cope. I am just a health professional with no programming knowledge. I want to try Ubuntu. I am based in a small place ( herbertpur ) 35 km from dehradun. Connectivity is a problem. Can you send me / or tell me how to get one- an installation CD of Ubuntu 8.10? I will be so grateful and will certainly pay for it.. Dr srivastava Samagra ashram Near summerfield school Herbertpur Dehradun Ph 09412058272

Visit to Kukke; Dharmasthala & Sringeri Temples

Ramesha JS — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:13:58 +0000

I had been to Kukke Sri Subramanya, Dharmasthla Sri Manjunatheshwara and Sringeri Sharadambal Temples with my family members.

At all the places had the peaceful darshanam of God and Goddess . Being the month of Jan all temples were floating with Ayyapa devoties every where. Atmosphere was very good and chilling. For Chennaities these weather is not tolarable atleast for me…

Left Bangalore on Satuarday night and reached Kukke Subramanya in the early morning by 5.15pm. By that time already temple streets were filled by devoties, chatrams were full and neatness were vanished away. People visiting the temples doesnt have the civic sense spoiling the temple atmosphere. Spitting every where, Public toilet of chatram seems to be cleaned long back, even holy river Kumara Dhara and stream inside the temple along the Aadi Subramnya look like the drainage. God only has to save his place. We went to river for bath, there also the same thing. No proper arrangements for bathing on the river bank, Not enough light, rooms for changing the cloths, toilets without lite and cleanness. Oh god ………keeping aside all these keeping the holyness of the river in mind had bath in Kumara Dhara in the chilling weather. After two dips temparature was normal.

After having the breakfast left to Sri kshetra Dharmasthala Manjunatha Temple.

Had the darshan of Lord subramanya and left to Aadi Subramanya the origin place of this sacred place nearby.

By noon we have reached the Dharmasthala and there also it was very crowd as all the Ayyappa devotes gathered there. We got the room to stay at “VAISHALI” rest room. In Dharmasthala everything look clean, systematic and one can feel…all the efforts by present dharmadhikari Sri Veerendra Heggade. Words are not enough to explain the history and works by Heggade family. visit the below temple official website for more details.

www.shri dharmasthala.org

“People in front of Sri Dharmaasthala Manjunateshwara Temple”

Night we had the darshan of Lord Manjunateshwara and took the prasadam at Annapurna dining hall of temple.

Early morning we left for another sacred place Sringeri Sharadamba temple, Sringeri.

There is no direct bus from Dharmasthala to Sringeri. One has to change the three buses to reach the 125 km distance. by 10 am reached the temple. Present at temple main entrance a very big Gopuram construction has begin and the entrance is from behind the administrative office.

Went to Tunga river freshen ourself s and visited the Chandra mouleshwara temple.

Temple an outstanding architecture. Sculptures look lively. It is a Photographers paradise. Next visited all the temples in the premises and went to Sharadambal’s darshan. Two eyes are not enough to see the Ammas beauty , you have to open inner eyes to see her. We have to salute Sri Aadi Shakaracharyas vision to establish the Sharadamba Peetam here. In the evening we went to Narashimha Vana where the previous Jagadgurus Samdhi, Guru’s residence, Prayer hall, Deer park, Temple elephants are located. Present Pontiff Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamigal gives darshan to devotees every day when they are in Sringeri. We had his darshan and prasadam from his hands and returned to Sharadambal temple again. Night once again had the darshan and had the prasadam at temple and left to Bangalore on the same night. More Information on Sringeri is available on the temple official website – http://www.sringeri.net.

Travel Infornation :.

Dharmasthala and Kukke Subramanya.

-> From Chennai take Mangalore Express and alight at Mangalore Railway station. From State Bank bustand frequent KSRTC buses ply between Mangalore and Dharmasthala. 100 KM. Dharmasthala to Kukke Subramany is 45km and buses are thre. Travel time 1 – 1/2 hr. People visiting from Bangalore having direct buses from Kempegowda Bus Terminus (Majestic) to Kukke Subramanya or Dharmasthala directly. Even Train is available for Kukke Subramanya it is on Mangalore – Bangalore Railway line.

-> For Sringeri from Dharmasthala buses going towards Chickamagalore, Shimoga, Hubli..will give stop at KOTTIGEHARA get down here and catch the bus to BALEHONNUR and from there buses available to Sringeri. Plan to reach Sringeri within evening as temple rooms may not available in the night and festival seasons. Sringeri to Bangalore direct buses are available and towards Chennai catch the bus towards Mangalore direct buses available from Sringeri and from Mangalore Catch the train to Chennai.

Dharmasthala to Kottigehara is 48 Kms – Kottegehara to Balehonnur is 37 Kms and Balehonnur to Sringeri is40 Kms.

Near By places form Sringeri—> Horanadu Sri Annapoorneshwari, Kalasa, Kollur Mookambike.

Note: Please leave your views, suggestion’s in the comment Box

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Second visit to Sri Ramachandrapura Matha

Hariprasad — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 06:55:08 +0000

Several months ago, I had visited Sri Ramachandrapura Matha at Hosanagara, near Shimoga. Recently, we visited the place once again. This time, I had carried my camera and managed to click several photographs. The place is one of the most serene and beautiful places I have seen. Plus the Goshale there is absolutely amazing. There are several hundred cows being taken care of there. In all, over 30 Indian breeds are being sheltered there.

Sri Ramachandrapura Matha

Garden in the matha

The matha has a policy of breeding only Indian cows. The philosophy is that indigenous Indian cows are the best suited for our environment and are extremely disease resistant also. Consequently, one does not find even a single foreign breed of cow in the entire matha.

Whenever I visit this place, I am instantly reminded of my visit to Vrindavan in UP. This place, just like Vrindavan, is so full of cows everywhere. You will tens of cows on the streets, in the fields, inside the temple and so on.

Hasu mattu Karu

Cow statues

The Goshale is an extremely clean and well maintained place. Each breed is housed separately. They are well fed and cleaned regularly. One can gather that the whole task requires extreme dedication and attention. In fact, I saw one board which indicated that several thousand rupees are needed for the maintenance of the place for a single day!

Baragur - Tamil Nadu

Huge cow

Karnataka breed

The biggest of them all was a massive 8ft one.

The biggest!

There are some very nice places around the Goshale such as a Gurukula where they teach Vedas to young student, a girls school, the Sharavathy river bank and some old temples. There is also a new memorial constructed recently – in the shape of a cow’s face.

Gurukula

Goloka

Overall, it is an extremely interesting and culturally enriching place to visit. Plus the excellent accomodation, at only Rs 200/- per day, is an added bonus. And free food, of course. The Kashaya given there is also yummy and healthy. I strongly recommend people to visit this place.

The Matha is located 350kms away from Bangalore. It is located 75kms from Shimoga. One needs to take the Sagara road from Shimoga and turn towards Ripponpet at Ayanur. Cross Ripponpet and reach Hosanagara. The Matha is 9kms from Hosanagara.

You can see many more photos of our visit to the Goshale at my gallery here.

Sharavathi Valley Trek

Anil Kulkarni — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:47:00 +0000

The gang: Anil, Ananth, Anjan, Ashish, Harshal, Rahul, Suhas, Gaurav, Vivek, Lokesh The Place: Shara

Reaching out to the grassroots

eksparsh — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:53:46 +0000

Chorodi Gram Panchayat, Vaddayarakoppa, sets an example to the rest of the state when it comes to self-help groups, explains Father Staney of the Shimoga Multipurpose Social Service Society (SMSSS). The Society was started ten years ago, has been co-ordinating with such SHGs. More women from the region than ever before are marching towards literacy, can sign their names, and carry out bank transactions successfully. Three committees have been set up: one to oversee education, second for loans and the third for supervision. All members are responsible for the smooth functioning of the SHG. The agenda is strictly followed every month. Read more at http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Jan132009/spectrum20090112112093.asp

A trust that helps rural women earn

eksparsh — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:02:33 +0000

Kodachadri Hill in Shimoga district has a name of its own as the highest and gracious peak in the Sahyadri range. Named after it, an NGO founded here two years ago, has also grown into a powerful entity of rural women who are making a headway in the direction of self-sufficiency and women empowerment. The trust, comprising six dedicated members led by R M Manjunatha Gowda, is striving to change the lives of poor women in Shimoga and has formed more than 5,000 self-help groups among the agricultural labourers. With planned programmes, the trust has been providing expertise training, supply of raw materials, and financial assistance through district cooperative bank with low interest rates, besides providing a well-knit marketing facility. Read more at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mysore/A_trust_that_helps_rural_women_earn/articleshow/3943407.cms

Elephant

pabmohan — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:40:11 +0000

Elephant bathing place which we visited while going Jog Waterfalls from Shimoga. It is near to Shimoga and told to us by our driver that it is some Elephant Safari, but actually is a bathing place of elephants where the Mahawat (owner of Elephant) come every morning.

Place and Time: Near Shimoga, Dec 07

Camera: Sony CyberShot H7