As an English calendar year begins its descent around Christmas time, it creates an atmosphere of slowness all around and makes/tells people to take it easy. This is also a time when I take a weeklong vacation to go out of town with my family to unwind, reboot, relax and contemplate. But this year’s weeklong vacation plan had been sabotaged by my wife’s school. During the Christmas vacation break when every single school is closed, her school asked its teachers to come to school in a very circumspect manner. So on Friday, 24th Dec, when she came back from school and told me that she would have 4 days off and has to report to school only on Dec 29th, I quickly decided to go somewhere out of town. A weeklong vacation is great, but 4 days is not bad either.
I called some taxi operators but the rates they quoted were very high- Rs 10/KM- so I said to myself, “What the heck, I’ll drive myself”. I contacted a couple of my friends to discuss some options on locations and routes. One suggestion to me was to not take the Honda City due to is low clearance, and instead take the I10, even at the cost of slight discomfort and coziness. Finally, I decided to convert this trip as a pilgrimage to Kukke Subramania, Dharamsthala, Udupi, Sringeri and Horanadu. The packing began on Friday, 24th Dec, evening. I had set the alarm to get up at 4:00AM the next day in order to start early, to enable us to beat the traffic.
25th Dec 2010 (Saturday)
Although, the alarm was set for 4:00AM, I got up at 3:50AM on my own. It happens to me all the time whenever I have to start early; I end up waking up well before the alarm goes off. I’m sure that is the case with everyone. The subconscious mind does not sleep and keeps processing even when we are asleep. After finishing morning chores, we started from home around 5:40AM, not bad. As we came out of the house, I noticed heavy fog and I said to myself “O my god, this will slow us down”. Anyway, I started driving and very quickly, I was on old Madras Road (NH4) towards KR Puram. Although the traffic was slight, I was not able to get speed beyond 50 KMPH due to fog, and I being a safe driver (at least that’s what I think) was not willing to take any risk whatsoever. What is the point in hurrying? The journey is equally important as the destination.
After crossing KR Puram bridge, the fog situation became slightly better but not good enough. I passed Manyata Tech Park, my work location on right, passed under the Hebbal flyover and soon I was at the Tumkur road. I had read from the news papers about the completion of the long flyover on Tumkur road and this was my opportunity to witness it firsthand. Within no time, I was on the flyover. The next 17-18 KM till Nelmangala drive was a breeze. The folks have done a remarkable job in the flyover and highway work. I can say, it is truly international standard. It looked as if I was driving on a highway of a developed country. What that shows is that we have the ability to make truly international standard roads. Then, why can’t we implement the same model for all the roads and highways? Ever since my childhood, to whatever back in time I can recall, our country has always been a developing country. The wait has been too long and still not over. I think if we can put our act together, it won’t be long before the tag of “Developing” country can be converted to “Developed” county. Anyway, sorry for the segway, me being me, can’t avoid.
From Nelmangala, I took the Mangalore road (NH48). The road is being widened but seems like the progress is very slow, like everywhere else. Overall, the road was about 90% good and I was able to get good speed. I also noticed that there were way too many LPG bullet tankers on the road. One thing I would say about the drivers of the bullet tankers is that they are all very good drivers and give more than right of the way and help faster vehicles in safe overtaking. Very soon we were in Kunigal. The stomach had started churning and was badly demanding breakfast. We were told that there is a Kamath restaurant after Kunigal but we did not see any, even though we were looking very carefully on both sides.
We continued and were passing though C R Patanam, still without any signs of Kamath. Finally we saw a signboard for Kamath and were thrilled with the expectation of food. The stomach churning cooled down as it started to see the light at the end of tunnel. Upon reaching Kamath, we had heavy breakfast and coffee. The food quality was not great, just ok but the service was absolutely chaotic. On comparison, the food quality of Kamath on Mysore road is much better. By the way, there are a couple of more restaurants after Kamath on the same side as Kamath (Ganesh and one more). From outside, they looked very appealing. Next time, we’ll probably try a different restaurant.
After breakfast, we continued towards Hassan. The road was good and I was able to cruise up to 80KMPH, not bad for an I10 automatic. The Hassan city traffic slowed us down but the road and traffic became much better after the Hassan city. The Hassan city also reminded me of ISRO’s MCF (Master Control Facility) due to impending GSAT launch. Later on, the GSAT launch did not succeed due to some technical goof up. I wish ISRO best of luck for next time. ISRO is one of the few organizations of India which is truly international standard and has made country and countrymen proud on many occasions. As we were driving towards Sakleshpur from Hassan, the landscape on both sides of the road was giving clear signal that we were about to enter the ghat area.
The ghat road after the Sakleshpur is extremely bad. I am running out of adjectives to describe it. By any standards it cannot be called a road. The road is only 5% good, maybe less. One is lucky to get speed beyond 10KMPH. And if one drives more than 10KMPH, the damage to the car tires and suspension could be severe and can make one stranded on the highway. We saw a couple of cars overturned. An overturned giant truck has blocked more than half of the road and it took considerable amount of time to pass that area. Finally we were looking for the signs of Kukke Subramania left turn. We followed the policy of asking at two places and then take action. Like in Bangalore, we were getting the answers, “Straight Madi”, “Mundhe”. Then we saw a left cut to the Kukke Subramania temple. It is about 25KM from the Mangalore road and the road is extremely good. As we reached the temple, the trip odometer was showing 298KM and clock was showing 12:50PM. Nearly 7 hours and 300KM, not bad considering that terrible ghat road after Sakleshpur and the time we spent for the breakfast.
The temple has plenty of parking in nearby area. After parking the car, we hurried towards temple as the mid day closure time is 1:30PM. We had good Darshan in Kukke Subramania Temple in spite of heavy rush. This temple is also known as “Nag” temple. After Darshan (Subramania, Vasuki and Sesha), we had Maha Prasad in the temple’s dining hall. The food was simple but extremely delicious. It is always the case that when the name Prasad is given to a food item, the taste is multiplied manifold. The God takes care of the taste. In Kukke temple, we also met the mutt chief for a few minutes. Pujayaneeya Swamiji was very kind in spending time with us and interacting with me and my family.
From Kukke we started our journey towards Dharmashala. The feeling of having to drive on Mangalore ghat road was once again a little depressing but at the same time, excitement of visiting Dharmasthala was overwhelming. Again, we were back on the same torturous road after taking the left turn. The road condition improved after 10KM and after another 10 KM, we took the right turn towards Dharmasthala. The road was not great but not bad. It was possible to cruise up to 60KMPH. We were looking for signs of Southadaka, an open air Ganesh Temple which we saw after 20KM or so. The Southadka temple is about 2KM from the main road but half of the road is extremely bad and is full of big stones. So, I drove very slow and reached the Soudhadaka temple. This temple has its unique style. It is in open air and is considered one of the “Active” Ganesh temple. We had good Ganesh Darshan and once again, started our journey towards Dharmasthala.
We reached Dharmasthala around 5PM. The parking space there is plenty. We checked in our luggage in Netrawati Guest House. The room was extremely good with a restaurant across the street. We proceeded for Dharmasthala temple Darshan (Lord Manju Nath) around 7PM and had very good Darshan of Lord Manjunath and other deities. We had Mahaprasad in the temple dining hall. The food was simple but delicious. Later on, we saw Dr Veerendra Heggade, the 21st Dharmadhikari of the Dharmasthala trust, distributing Prasad to the devotees. With the help of Temple officials, we met Dr Heggade and his wife Mrs Hemavati. Dr Heggade was kind enough to spend some time interacting with us. He asked us to visit his car museum as well which we could not, due to shortage of time.
At this point, I would like to sincerely appreciate and express my gratitude towards Arun ji from Sangh Parivar in arranging us very pertinent and timely help in Kukke Subramania and Dharmasthala.
Dec 26th,2010 (Sunday)
As we were badly tired the previous day, got up little late, around 6:30AM, in the morning. After the morning chores, we visited Bahubali Vihar, a nearby place where a tall statue of Lord Bahubali is installed. It is at the top of the hill and one has to climb nearly 275 steps to reach there. From the top, the view all around is marvelous.
We had breakfast in a nearby restaurant, Arpana. The food quality was good but the service was extremely chaotic. People were literally pushing each other to get food and find a table to sit. But what can be said of people’s behavior at religious places when we can notice the same behavior in IT capital of India as well.
After breakfast I started driving towards Udipi. The road condition is 50% good. There are some very poor road patches which can take the gut out of the tires. The road signs were not very clear so we had to ask for directions at key intersections. Again, we followed the policy of asking two people, “believe and verify”. When we were just 20 KM away from Udipi around Karkala, I made a mistake and took the wrong road and that road put me at Podubidari on SH17, the coastal highway, 15 KM south of Udipi. Bad but not too bad. The coastal highway was good but extremely crowded. Did not get speed beyond 30-40KMPH. Finally we took right turn for Krishna Temple. The signs for the temple were very clear and we could reach the temple around 1PM. We had good Darshan of Lord Krishna. The deity is in the form of “Bal Krishna”. Before Darshan of main deity, we also did Darshan through Kanakadas window on the back side of the main temple. It is believed that Lord Krishna turned his face backwards and gave Darshan to Kanakadas who was not allowed to enter the temple due to his lower caste. The caste problem has its root from far back in time and needs to be eradicated. It is a drag on our society. We had Mahaprasad in the temple dining hall. The food was simple but delicious. The temple is very old and requires little better upkeep then what is present right now.
After Darshan, we were looking for a hotel to stay overnight. Someone told us to try in Manipal, a town only a few KM away from temple and famous for educational institutions. In Manipal, we looked at 2-3 hotels and finally decided to stay in Hotel Ashlesha. The AC room was reasonable and clean. After checking into the hotel, we relaxed a bit and then proceeded to Malpe beach of Udipi. The beach was extremely crowded but we did not have any plans to go in the water anyway so it did not matter much to us. One thing I would suggest to some of our countrymen is to show some sensibility and decency in public places. For example, going in water in public places should be done in swimming trunk and/or other appropriate clothing. Going in water in just chaddi shows only lack of decency. Anyway, it is what it is. In India, that’s how people live and behave. It will probably take generations to overcome this. We took a walk on the beach and then took a motorized boat to nearby St Mary Island, about 5 Km into the ocean. This is the same island where explorer Vasco DeGamma first anchored his ship before proceeding to southern city of Kozhikode. The St Mary Island has pristine water and rocks. One thing which is highly deplorable is that plastic bottles, plates and polythene bags were scattered everywhere, although there are NO Plastic signs all over the places. Almost everywhere in the country, most of the people seem oblivious to the instructions.
We were having desire to have a nice vegetarian food so we asked our hotel reception for the recommendations. The receptionist recommended very highly for Kediyoor for vegi food. The restaurant was nearby and we did not have much difficulty in finding it. But, we went to restaurant with very high expectations. The food quality was above average but because our bar was very high, we were not very satisfied. However, it is good value for the money. I guess the words poor, average, great and outstanding do not have any absolute values but are all pointers on a relative scale. Based on where the bar is set, the same thing can be interpreted one-way or the other.
Dec 27th 2010 ( Monday)
We got up little early this day, around 6AM to make an early start for Sringeri. Before proceeding to Sringeri, we had breakfast in Pangaala restaurant in Manipal. We had inquired about the Sringeri route and I was warned that the shorter route is through Agumbe Ghat which has tens of hairpin bends and the climb is very steep and car requires lots of power. With about 70 horses pulling I10, I realized power should not be any problem. Also, by this time, I had developed solid handling of ghat roads. So, I decided to proceed towards Sringeri via Hebri, Agumbe. The road is only about 50-60% good. As I saw the Agumbe hills and cars on the hills, it caused goose bumps to me. Then the climb to Agumbe began. Remember the rail engine song “I think I can I think I can”. Initially there were marking for hairpin bends (HP1, HP2 etc ) but then there were no markings. Nevertheless, I continued the climb ( tapa tap tapa tap….). We stopped at a few photo spots and took some pictures. After Agumbe, the drive to Sringeri was not that bad.
We reached Sringeri around 10:30AM and straightaway proceeded for the Sharda Maa Darshan. Again, here also we had very good Darshan. Post Darshan, we went to neaby river and fed popcorn to the fishes. There were so many fishes and so many people were feeding them. It was an amazing scene. The water was very clear and cold. We relaxed there for a while and then proceeded to dining hall for the Maha Prasad. Again, the food was simple but delicious.
After Sringeri, we proceeded towards Kalasa via Kudremukh ( NH13/SH66). For half of the distance, the road was pretty bad and isolated. There were stretches of 10-15 minutes when we did not see any vehicles either overtaking me (I am a fast driver so I was not surprised by this) or from the opposite side. That gave us little scary thoughts at times. Nevertheless, the nature was pristine; especially in Kudremukh National Park area is awesome. We could see signs all over the places “Snakes Zone” so I was little careful in the driving. I did not want to hurt a snake and that too after doing Darshan in “Nag” temple in Kukke Subramania. As we were approaching Kudremukh, I saw a big viper on the road, about 6-7 feet long slowly crossing the road. My speed must have been around 50KMPH so I had to slam the breaks to avoid reaching near the snake. As my car windows were open, I could smell the rubber due to the tires rubbing hard on the road due to break slamming. We were extremely happy to see the snake in the wild, especially after Nag Darshan in Kukke Subramania. On our way to Kudremukh, we also stopped by at Soothanabbi Fall. The scenery was amazing. We had to go down close to 480 stairs which was not that big a problem but, coming up required us to sweat out. We considered that as precursor to having a good dinner.
In Kalasa we stayed in Thotedar Yatri Nivas. The hotel was reasonable and the AC room was clean and we had no issues at all. The place also had a vegi restaurant downstairs which serves simple food. In Kalasa we visited Rudra Tirtha, a scenic spot on the river side. We relaxed on the rocks quite a bit; meanwhile kids collected some rounded stones. The rounded stone are very symbolic in nature. They represent rounded personality of individuals whose sharp edges have been smoothened overtime through life’s challenges. The water in the river was very clean and flow was decent. I wish North Indian River Yamuna in UP becomes as clean. We also visited a peak called Dabbapanna Katte, a famous point for watching sunset. The climb to the hill was about 1 km and was not very steep. We were all ready to witness the breathtaking sunset but suddenly a big patch of cloud came from nowhere, moving at a low speed. By the time, the cloud passed, the Sun was set. Slightly disappointing but we enjoyed the bird’s eye view of Kalasa town. In the evening, we went to Horanadu, a place about 8KM from Kalasa for Darshan of Maa Annapurneshwari. Once again, we had a very good Darshan of Mata. The drive to Horanadu was the only stretch when I drove with car lights in ghat area. During this 8KM drive, there were quite a few hairpin bends and sharp curves. It was a very good experience. The Kalasa Horanadu road quality in general was very poor.
Dec 28th, 2010 (Tuesday)
We were really excited to head home after 3 days of visits to mostly religious places but some nature places as well. The first stretch I picked was from Kalasa to Kottigeher, a distance of about 35 KM and the second stretch from Kottigeher to Mudigere, about 20 KM distance. The road in the first stretch was 50% good but the second stretch was very nice. I could cruise up to 80KMPH in the second stretch. We also had nice breakfast in a small restaurant in a Tea Estate. From Mudigere, I drove to Belur, about 45KM away. The road condition was pretty pathetic for most part. There were potholes all over the road. From Belur, I drove to Hassan. This stretch (SH57) was extremely good and brand new. I could cruise up to 90-100KMPH. After Hassan city traffic, we were on Mangalore-Bangalore road (NH48). The road condition in general was very good and I could cruise up to 90KMPH easily. Within a few hours, we were in Nelmangala and then once again I got opportunity to drive on international quality 18-19km on Tumkur road.
Although we are vegetarians, we have no problem eating veg food in restaurants which also serve non-veg food. But during this trip, because of lots of religious places, we wanted to eat only in pure veg restaurants. So, upon entering Bangalore, we were contemplating as to where to have lunch. As we were passing thru new BEL road circle on outer ring road, it stuck to us that there is Mast Kalandar nearby so we had Mast Kalandar. From there we headed home and then finally reached home sweet home.
Our return journey from Kalasa to our residence in Whitefield was 335KM and it took end to end time of 8 hrs and 30 minutes which includes two breaks, 30 minutes for breakfast and 1 hour for lunch. So 335KM in 7 hours is not bad.
The odometer for the overall journey clocked 1040KM. This was truly a very satisfying and purposeful trip. The trip has given me lots of confidence of venturing out in interior parts. I want to make a similar trip to Tamilnadu/Pondy sometime next year.
A few key points.
· Never hesitate in asking directions. People in general are willing to help. However, it is good idea to reconfirm. It’s OK to use policy of ‘believe but verify”. Also, while receiving directions, keep an eye on their hand/finger movement. Sometimes, they will say “Go straight” but hand will point left. In this case it is better to reconfirm if they meant a left turn.
· Do not have high expectations with restaurants in interior Karnataka. Go with low bar to enjoy food and for satisfaction. Also, stick to south Indian food only.
· Be ready for sudden potholes on any roads including State and National highways
· Speed up only when absolutely safe. There is no point in taking any un-necessary risk.
· Enjoy the journey as much as destination.
· Do not let the person in the front passenger seat sleep when vehicle is being driven.
· Chewing gum keeps one sharp. Keep some gum in the car.
· Having a collection of MP3 CDs to play while driving is helpful. The FM does not work in Interior Karnataka.
· Keep extra bottles of water , juice/snacks within the car
· Do not wait to refill petrol till light indicator is on. Many times, there are no petrol pumps for 50-60 KM. It can create panicky situation if the tank is nearly empty. I have witnessed this during this trip.
