Fifteenth birthday 🎂

Happy Fifteenth, Alter idem!

Once upon a time, a man went to a monastery and spent a few days meditating.

Though he felt rejuvenated, he sensed that something was missing. He asked a monk in the monastery about it.

The monk said that inner peace came from accepting everything that happened to oneself. Acceptance instead of resistance was the key to the monk's peaceful demeanour. Enlightened, the man returned home....

Hereby, I am accepting the fact that I am unable to update this space as often as I would like to...

✌🏾 ✌🏾

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Ash gourd & beliefs

Whenever a farmer comes to my doorstep selling vegetables, I buy them. The other day, one of the regulars dropped in. This time, he had only ash gourds. Since my own ash gourd vine was looking good, I had to tell him that I didn't want any. He then expressed a desire to see the vine - to check out the variety, etc... Soon after seeing it, he told me that the vine would produce only one gourd and that I should be offering it to some temple instead of using it! Well! I hadn't heard this one before! Though nobody knew why, every single person advised me against using the ash gourd if it turned out to be the only yield from that vine. And, 'Give it to some temple' was the final line that everyone added! You know, as far as vegetables and beliefs go, the ash gourd is one that has many attached to it... each one of them, meaningless and without logic. My mother believed that a whole ash gourd should not be cut with a knife by people whose parents were alive. Fortunat

Ganesha's water-pot!

You will not find this place on the tourists' list of places to visit in Chikmaglur. However, you'll find it on my list of favourite places in Chikmaglur. Let me take you there..... A half-an-hour's drive from home will take us to the not-so-sleepy town of Koppa. From here, onto the road to Kesave village. About 3-4 kms on this road, to the right - a rusty arch and the mud track beyond welcome us. Blink, and we'll miss the place! We are now on private property. This part of the estate is open to all. Because, it is here that the river Braahmi has her origins. The Braahmi is a small tributary of the river Tunga. Infact, she joins the Tunga within 20 kms. from her place of birth. The presence of an idol of the elephant-headed God lends some piety to the place. Someone has done a neat job - making it seem like the water is gushing out of a water-pot. This, and the presence of God Ganesh... the place is locally known as 'KamanDala Ganapati'. Lik

ChibbalaguDDe

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.....

ALTER IDEM

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