continuing this post after 7 years... maybe life caught up with me .. :).. but Better late than never. the below post is a narrative of my subsequent trips since 2010.
so the latter half of my trip was spent in my hometown of kalmadi in udupi distriict. Udupi is famous all across the country for the Udupi joints and the amazing south indian food that they serve.
but there have been many changes to this place in the past several years. for example this beautiful entrance to the city is no longer visible from the highway like it was earlier.
Udupi has many famous temples like ambalapady etc but is known for the Udupi sri krishna mutt..
the new place that i explored during this visit was the Durga temple at kunjaragiri. exploring places on a bike is always fun so it was a a pleasant ride to the foot of the hills.. the area is famous for the mallige flower and many plantations. the air carries the faint sweet smell of the flower. when we reached the base the of the hilll , the uphill climb seemed like a daunting task and it surely was. around 100 steps on a steep climb. but the view from the top was breathtakingly beautiful. the vast expanse of greenery all around is a luxury, city dweller like us crave for..
this temple has lot of monkeys around. it was very endearing to watch this little one with just one hand and was trying to drink water .
the view from the top of the road below and the entrance at the foot of the hills.
after alll the calories we burnt in the uphill climb, it was time to regain some . so we headed off to Diana's for the famous GadBad icecream.
the other places to visit in Udupi include the St Mary's Island off the coast of the malpe beach which is made up of volcanic rocks.
this is what wikipedia has about St Mary's
"St. Mary's Islands, also known as Coconut Island and Thonsepar, are a set of four small islands in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Malpe in Udupi, Karnataka, India. They are known for their distinctive geological formation of columnar basaltic lava (pictured).[1]
the hillock behind our home itself has few places to see. its called babariya paade. babariya is the local deity who looks after the wellbeing of the village and paade in tulu means a small hillock
the bababriya devasthana (temple) is situated at the top.
as kids we would loiter around the paade while the elderly went about with the post harvest activities such as de-husking the rice grains in the small pits in the rocky hillock. dad would share stories of how they used the cutout in the rocks as a sofa with a backrest and spend time reading over there. this is one of the most peaceful places with pin drop silence. the only sound one hears is that of birds, eagles hovering above you. and the wind blowing.
one of my childhood memories is having the simple farmers lunch of ganji (rice porridge) and uppad( pickle) under the shade of the huge banyan tree along with the elderly folk and listening to their stories. playing in and around the unused fishing boats,
lot of things have changed since then. there is a road to drive till the top now, a certain section of of the backwater has been filled with sand making way for the "development" the huge banyan tree has shrunk in size. the cave at the backside of the hill which was supposed to be the abode of an old sage during dad's childhood is barely visible now as the hill seems to be come down.
but what remains standing is this huge rock which looks like the front face of an elephant. whats amazing about this rock is that even though it is so huge it is standing on a very small area of probably a few feet and it has been so for all these years.. there are many village folk stories around this one . one of which is that this is a wish granting stone etc.
the open to the caves now in 2017.
and the caves and the elephant rock in 2010.
the joy of plucking the mangoes from the tree and enjoying the unadulterated sweet sour taste, the excitement is even more when plucked from neighbours garden :)
the garadi; temple of koti chenaya,,
my partner in exploration.. Rishi.. :*
the gadbad at Diana
the Daiva sthana... i.e. temple of the kuldevta.
No matter where life takes you, do not forget the roots you came from. this post is dedicated to my favourite place.. namma ooru Kalmadi :)
P.S the rudra temple in surathkal on top of the hill near the light house too is a must visit place while in mangalore. dont miss the view of the sea and the beach from the top of the cliff behind the temple.. pics to follow..
so the latter half of my trip was spent in my hometown of kalmadi in udupi distriict. Udupi is famous all across the country for the Udupi joints and the amazing south indian food that they serve.
but there have been many changes to this place in the past several years. for example this beautiful entrance to the city is no longer visible from the highway like it was earlier.
Udupi has many famous temples like ambalapady etc but is known for the Udupi sri krishna mutt..
the new place that i explored during this visit was the Durga temple at kunjaragiri. exploring places on a bike is always fun so it was a a pleasant ride to the foot of the hills.. the area is famous for the mallige flower and many plantations. the air carries the faint sweet smell of the flower. when we reached the base the of the hilll , the uphill climb seemed like a daunting task and it surely was. around 100 steps on a steep climb. but the view from the top was breathtakingly beautiful. the vast expanse of greenery all around is a luxury, city dweller like us crave for..
the view from the top of the road below and the entrance at the foot of the hills.
after alll the calories we burnt in the uphill climb, it was time to regain some . so we headed off to Diana's for the famous GadBad icecream.
the other places to visit in Udupi include the St Mary's Island off the coast of the malpe beach which is made up of volcanic rocks.
this is what wikipedia has about St Mary's
"St. Mary's Islands, also known as Coconut Island and Thonsepar, are a set of four small islands in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Malpe in Udupi, Karnataka, India. They are known for their distinctive geological formation of columnar basaltic lava (pictured).[1]
Scientific studies indicate that the basalt of the St. Mary's Islands was formed by sub-aerial subvolcanic activity, because at that time Madagascar was attached to India. The rifting of Madagascar took place around 88 million years ago.[2]
The islands form one of the four geological monuments in Karnataka state, one of the 26 Geological Monuments of India declared by the Geological Survey of India in 2001. The monument is considered an important site for "Geo Tourism"
Malpe beach is probably one of the cleanest public beaches i have come across. though it attracts a huge crowd on sundays, the beach is well maintained and super clean. some of my best sunset clicks are from this beach.
The one place which is on my to-see places list since a long time is the seethanadi nature camp in Udupi.. If you are nature lover then you might love this place as it includes staying right in the middle of the jungle in tents or a dormitory and a trail to a nearby waterfall.
however, the place i absolutely love is my dad's home in Kalmadi. nestled in the midst of coconut plantations , open fields, small hillocks and backwaters , this place just amazes me in terms of the beauty it holds . be it the small hillock right behind our house surrounded by backwaters or the variety of birds that are a absolute pleasure. during my recent visit in May 2017, it was such a treat to watch the big group for peacocks crossing the fields in the morning and evenings. it seemed just like the mumbaikars travelling to work and back home everyday :P. but watching the majestic bird in their natural environment and as free beings and not in some sanctuary or zoo is a different joy altogether. it was pity that i couldn't see them dancing.
the pack of peacocks and peahen at home after sunset!
watching some of the other birds that i came across gave me a childlike happiness. in the city we are privileged to find only 4-5 species of birds, being the crow, sparrows (on the fast track towards extinction), the pigeons, myna and occassional heron, and kites.
the white headed eagle.
the little black bird was swimming one moment and flew off to the nearest branch the next. waiting along with the bigger bird for a prey to come along.
watching some of the other birds that i came across gave me a childlike happiness. in the city we are privileged to find only 4-5 species of birds, being the crow, sparrows (on the fast track towards extinction), the pigeons, myna and occassional heron, and kites.
the white headed eagle.
walking around the village brought back my childhood memories where we would go hunting for crabs around the backwaters at night with the elderly. the thrill of getting a good haul and the ladies cooking it is something my dad calls.. " sweet memories" to cherish for lifetime. as neither those people nor those times will return..
this person hunting for crabs using frogs as the bait along with his catch for lunch :).
the hillock behind our home itself has few places to see. its called babariya paade. babariya is the local deity who looks after the wellbeing of the village and paade in tulu means a small hillock
the bababriya devasthana (temple) is situated at the top.
as kids we would loiter around the paade while the elderly went about with the post harvest activities such as de-husking the rice grains in the small pits in the rocky hillock. dad would share stories of how they used the cutout in the rocks as a sofa with a backrest and spend time reading over there. this is one of the most peaceful places with pin drop silence. the only sound one hears is that of birds, eagles hovering above you. and the wind blowing.
one of my childhood memories is having the simple farmers lunch of ganji (rice porridge) and uppad( pickle) under the shade of the huge banyan tree along with the elderly folk and listening to their stories. playing in and around the unused fishing boats,
lot of things have changed since then. there is a road to drive till the top now, a certain section of of the backwater has been filled with sand making way for the "development" the huge banyan tree has shrunk in size. the cave at the backside of the hill which was supposed to be the abode of an old sage during dad's childhood is barely visible now as the hill seems to be come down.
but what remains standing is this huge rock which looks like the front face of an elephant. whats amazing about this rock is that even though it is so huge it is standing on a very small area of probably a few feet and it has been so for all these years.. there are many village folk stories around this one . one of which is that this is a wish granting stone etc.
and the caves and the elephant rock in 2010.
the Babariya devasthana at the top.
some pics from the 2017 trip with the next generation of karkera santana :).
the ancestral house "Nelle Eella" meaning "the big house" the old grinding stones...
No matter where life takes you, do not forget the roots you came from. this post is dedicated to my favourite place.. namma ooru Kalmadi :)
P.S the rudra temple in surathkal on top of the hill near the light house too is a must visit place while in mangalore. dont miss the view of the sea and the beach from the top of the cliff behind the temple.. pics to follow..
