During my early days as a blogger, I had written about Kuppalli. Back then, we were unaware of this place in the vicinity called ChibbalaguDDe. A recent acquaintance told us about it and we decided to check it out on our way elsewhere.
ChibbalaguDDe is marked by a Ganapathi temple with the river Tunga flowing behind. There are some reliable signposts to guide one to the place. People who cannot read Kannada can depend on the locals to guide them, I guess......
You know, all along the length of the river Tunga, you'll find special spots teeming with the Mahaseer fish and this is one such spot. It is believed that by feeding puffed rice to the Mahaseer fish here, one is cured of a skin ailment known locally as Chibbu (Tinea versicolour to doctors). That's why/ how the place got the name.....
Since the Mahaseer fish here is protected under law, one is greeted by a list of "DON'Ts" put up by the Dept. of Fisheries, Karnataka Govt.
NO - fishing, littering, smoking, boozing... Of course, there is no one to keep a check - the department trusts every visitor to be good and conscientious!!
'NEAT'... Actually, that's the best word to describe this place!
The lingering fragrance and the closed doors told us that the pooja for the morning was over. I guess, like all small temples, this one's open only during pooja hours.
However, we got to see some pics and read about the idol on the walls of the veranda. The idol here is referred to as Udhbhava Moorthy. It means that it is not an idol that has been carved. A naturally-cut stone with God Ganapathi- like features was found here long ago and hence, the temple....
NO taking pics inside the temple complex..... The not-too-old temple complex is like most temple complexes in South Karnataka/ North Kerala - a central temple surrounded by an open courtyard on all sides.
These courtyards have verandas on all sides. The verandas are usually roofed and at a higher level than the courtyard. As outermost rooms of the temple complex, they have walls to the outer side, and are open to the courtyard.
At ChibbalaguDDe, three sides of the courtyard have verandas. The courtyard behind the temple leads to the river..... about 30 to 40 feet below ..... and some very steep steps lead one to the river.
NO swimming in the river..... However, there are a couple of benches where you can sit and spend some peaceful minutes. We were warned about troops of monkeys that usually assured 'NO sitting on the benches'. Fortunately for us, not a single simian was around.....
ChibbalaguDDe is marked by a Ganapathi temple with the river Tunga flowing behind. There are some reliable signposts to guide one to the place. People who cannot read Kannada can depend on the locals to guide them, I guess......
You know, all along the length of the river Tunga, you'll find special spots teeming with the Mahaseer fish and this is one such spot. It is believed that by feeding puffed rice to the Mahaseer fish here, one is cured of a skin ailment known locally as Chibbu (Tinea versicolour to doctors). That's why/ how the place got the name.....
Since the Mahaseer fish here is protected under law, one is greeted by a list of "DON'Ts" put up by the Dept. of Fisheries, Karnataka Govt.
NO - fishing, littering, smoking, boozing... Of course, there is no one to keep a check - the department trusts every visitor to be good and conscientious!!
A house at the entrance- the priest's probably- advertises the availability of puffed rice to feed the fish. The good people have filled two concrete containers with drinking water - 'For Cows Only'-painted boldly on them. They have also maintained a neat garden.
'NEAT'... Actually, that's the best word to describe this place!
The lingering fragrance and the closed doors told us that the pooja for the morning was over. I guess, like all small temples, this one's open only during pooja hours.
However, we got to see some pics and read about the idol on the walls of the veranda. The idol here is referred to as Udhbhava Moorthy. It means that it is not an idol that has been carved. A naturally-cut stone with God Ganapathi- like features was found here long ago and hence, the temple....
NO taking pics inside the temple complex..... The not-too-old temple complex is like most temple complexes in South Karnataka/ North Kerala - a central temple surrounded by an open courtyard on all sides.
These courtyards have verandas on all sides. The verandas are usually roofed and at a higher level than the courtyard. As outermost rooms of the temple complex, they have walls to the outer side, and are open to the courtyard.
At ChibbalaguDDe, three sides of the courtyard have verandas. The courtyard behind the temple leads to the river..... about 30 to 40 feet below ..... and some very steep steps lead one to the river.
NO swimming in the river..... However, there are a couple of benches where you can sit and spend some peaceful minutes. We were warned about troops of monkeys that usually assured 'NO sitting on the benches'. Fortunately for us, not a single simian was around.....
The river bed here is quite rocky - both, upstream.......
......................................................................and, downstream.
Such rocky stretches are known to contain whirlpools. That's why, 'NO swimming'....
If you peer into the above pics, you'll see some huge shadowy creatures. Those are the Mahaseer fish. Since we believe in 'NO feeding creatures in the wild', we hadn't taken any puffed rice and the fish didn't come up to the surface. Even so, it was quite fascinating to watch them bump into one another as they swam along...... and not seeming to mind the traffic jam!
Well..... nothing else to do/ see here! It is just an ideal place to stretch your feet if you are travelling on this road (a short detour from NH 13 between Koppa & Tirthahalli).........
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