ALTER IDEM

September 15th 2010 was the first time that I had acknowledged Engineers' Day on Facebook - by sharing this piece of neglected history at the head of the Agumbe ghat....  These stones represent a part of civil engineering that is seldom appreciated or acknowledged (surveying) - and, that was my logic behind sharing. Now, Facebook reminds me about it every year!! The distance from this point to Shivamogga is about 90 kilometres (almost equal to the 55 miles, 1 furlong and 122 yards carved on the stone). Hence, I am assuming that the stones have been untouched for nearly two centuries (1839 carved on the stone)..... From 1802 to 1871, the British undertook multiple surveys of conquered territories in India - to gather topographical, botanical, crop, soil, and other such data - to tax us and supposedly to govern us better. These stones look like benchmarks on the roadway connecting the upper regions with the coast. 'RC & co' probably refers to the team that con...

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.....                               ...

One summer afternoon, we were returning home via the Tirthahalli- Agumbe road. Suddenly, we saw a signpost that said 'Kundadri - 7 kms'. Wonder how we had missed it during our previous journeys on this road!  Kundadri was one of the local places on our 'must-see-sometime' list. And, we decided to check it out this time. Kundadri is a small mountain belonging to the Western Ghats range. Until a few years ago, trekking was the only way to reach the top. In order to make the Basadi (Jain temple) at the top  accessible to all, a businessman from Mumbai spent a few crores to build a narrow, motorable road. One still has to cover the last few metres  on foot. See the 'Welcome' arch somewhere near the centre of this pic? That is how the diversion from the main road looks like from the top! Since the sun was shining down brightly upon us, we decided to bide some time at the empty, shady parking zone. The others divided the newspaper and I reclined the seat to hav...

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...

Lakkinakoppa is a very tiny hamlet - about 10-15 km from Shimoga on the Shimoga- NR Pura- Koppa road. This deserted, aesthetic building in Lakkinakoppa had always made us wonder - 'Doesn't look like a house...what could it be?' Forever in a hurry, we had left it at that...until that afternoon 2-3 years ago. That day, we had plenty of time! Slowing down, we realised that the building was a museum called Amulya Shodha . Amulya means 'valuable'/ 'priceless' & Shodha means 'discovery'. Built on the boundary of a beautiful arecanut plantation and surrounded by a well maintained garden, Amulya Shodha is a private museum belonging to retired history professor, Mr.H.Khandoba Rao. We decided to check it out and were taken aback when the caretaker told us that entry was free! What we saw inside was a mind boggling collection by a single individual - of pots, pans, cutlery, utensils, lamps, weapons, musical instruments, indoor games, clothes, c...

It is almost the end of the rainy season - the time when all waterfalls are at their glorious best. Even the little wayside ones, that exist only during the monsoon, have their own charm. It was around Aug- Sept, one Sunday afternoon, about 3-4 years ago that we decided to check out Sirimane Falls, a locally known waterfall. An hour's drive from home took us to the Sringeri- M'lore highway. A right turn, and, 7-8 kms later, we were at Kigga. Kigga is a town that is connected to Sage Rishyasringa. It has an ancient Shiva temple - active on important days only, I think. I vaguely remembered an Amar Chitra Katha story I had read long, long ago - about the sage with the horn. By the time my brief recollection ended, we had reached the end of the macadam road. There was no sign post around. Only, a school - which wasn't deserted on a Sunday afternoon! A group of young men had converted the corridors into a temporary adda . They gave us the directions and cheerfully added t...

Kuppalli, in the heart of Malenad (rain country) is the birthplace of Kannada poet Rashtrakavi Kuppalli Venkatappa Puttappa (1904 - 1994).Popularly known as Kuvempu, the highly revered poet has won the Jnanapith Award, Sahitya Academy awards, Padma Vibhushan, honorary doctorates,..... (Kuvempu's pic, courtesy Wikipedia) A few years ago, the tourism department made some renovations and converted Kuvempu's house into a museum (The surrounding few hundreds of acres of greenery is also protected by the department). Ever since, Kuppalli has become a favourite picnic spot for the people of the surrounding region. Kuppalli is within 50 km from our home and, for no particular reason, we hadn't been able to go there. On a recent Sunday afternoon,we decided to check it out since everyone had been giving us the 'Oh?! you haven't been there yet?!' treatment. A small break post-lunch, and an hour later, we were there.On entering the yard, this poem greeted us, and I ...

Temple ponds, or, 'Pushkarni's are such an integral part of ancient temples. I just can't get over the idea as well as the efforts that must have been made to build them.  Often, these ponds are quite polluted. But for the presence of some stagnant water, some of them look like dump yards :(  So, it was a pleasure to come across this clean one at the Janardhana Swami Temple at Yermalu on the Udupi- M'lore highway. Dakshina Kannada & Udupi districts can be called the temple districts of the world- there are so many temples that one would need a lifetime to cover all of them! So, not surprisingly, this was our first visit to this temple. If the M-S wedding didn't take place here, we would have missed this one. The idol here was installed by Saint Madhavacharya- social reformer & philosopher who lived 700 years ago. This pond has obviously been renovated since, but, surely, the origins date back to the 13th century, or, earlier? You know, according to t...

Memories of an hour's brisk walk, early in the morning at 'End Point', Manipal.  Lovely weather, good company- would love to repeat this experience :)

Some time ago, I had written about one of the best coffees to be had when one is in these parts of Karnataka. Now, let me introduce you to one of the best teas. AGUMBE.....The place reminds one of so many things..... Second only to Chirapunji, it receives the highest rainfall in Karnataka. One of the best views of the sunset can be had here, especially during the 'minimum mist season' (February). One can actually see the sun sink into the Arabian Sea some 40 km away! It is THE place to study king cobras. Romulus Whitaker of the 'Madras Snake Park' and his team of herpetologists have set up a research station here to study the less known and highly revered king cobras. Agumbe is the 'Malgudi' of Shankar Nag's famous TV serial of the 'only Doordarshan' zamaana - 'Malgudi Days'. If you are looking out for them, you can recognise some of the buildings from the serial, like Swami's home ( a 'home stay' tourist spot now!), sch...

This is 'Bhadra Stop'. Located about 45km from/ before Chikmagalore depending on whether you are coming from/ going to C'lore, on the C'lore - Sringeri road, this attractive shack slows you down to take a peep.  'Bhadra' is the name of the mighty, yet, quiet river that flows nearby. The surrounding coffee plantation is called 'Bhadra Estate'. Well, once you take the peep, you feel like taking a break. Coffee is the only beverage that is served. If you are hungry, some basic snacks are also available. Everything inside has a rustic feel. Yet, the fridge, the gas stove and the uniformed cook- cum- server fit in. We were lucky to be passing by during the peak of the monsoon and when the coffee was served within 5 minutes, all we did was pamper all our senses - saw the lovely landscape, heard the birds, felt the weather and smelt and tasted good coffee. Decision made on that day - If ever 'Bhadra Stop' asks me, 'Coffee, tea or me',...