River walk across Bhadra - Reliving an old travel tale

One of my most memorable journeys is from  a bus trip to the Western ghats of Dakshin kannada region. We were passing from one town to another in this 3 day trip and  the intervening journeys  in this  western ghat region are simply some of my best . I relived one of the experiences to  a friend recently when we were talking about Saraswati temples in India and I was tempted to write that as a post.

We were a bus full of relatives numbering 53,  My family( my parents, sis and I)  along with my  aunts, uncles, cousins and  extended relatives  had hired a bus from Bangalore to visit some of the famous temple towns, beaches  and hill stations of western ghats in Dakshin Kannada.

After visiting  Malpe beach, we reached sringeri in chikmagalur district . Sringeri is one of the few Saraswathi temples of India and it is also one of the Shankar mutts found By Adisankara. The temple is at its best during navaratri.

                          Sringeri one of the few saraswati temples in India on the banks of River Tunga

We were here  on a misty winter morning in 93. Yes, this is an old dusty tale but the memories are fresh.

We dropped our belongings in a huge dorm room, freshened ourselves and left for the temple. It was noon when we returned from the huge Sharadamba (Saraswati) temple, river Tunga, vedic school  and the beautiful Vidya shankara temple.

After lunch, we left to the nearby  Kudremukh region , A UNESCO designated world heritage site. Kudremukh( it has a horsefaced peak and hence the name) is one of the scenic spots which is a plum blend of adventure, nature, secluded holiday spots and serene little temple towns. You will come across deep valleys, natural grasslands, tea and coffee estates in this  thick rainforests. Agumbe, the second largest place which receives heavy rainfall after Cherrapunji( or Maysynram) is in this area. So, this region is interspersed with rivers, water  falls and brooks .This place was also famous for  Iron ore mining which was  closed in 2005 with pressure from eco warriors who felt the bio-diversity of the rainforests was disturbed.

All through the ghat journey, we were marveling at the shimmering waterfalls, breath taking valley views. The velvetty grasslands, the drifting mists over the hills, the tea/ coffee and spice estates while the bus negotiated the hairpin bends and curves. Often, we were bracing the water sprays from our windows while  we were  playing Anthakshari in the bus. Those were sprays from the little streams which flowed from the hills and crossed the roads.

                                                 The rolling velvetty hills of Chikmagalur

  We were on to our destination  Horanadu, another beautiful valley temple. It was almost sundown time  when we reached the banks of River Bhadra The bus stopped on the banks. When the driver enquired the route to the temple, the locals said, the big bus cannot cross the river and so all of us had to alight from the bus to cross the river. Many elders and  little children stayed back, while many of our elders and us crossed the river.

We walked down the slopy river valley in the twilight hour . We crossed the knee deep water of River Bhadra   with light from the Technicolor sunset.  We held each other’s hands and formed a human chain. The river which is known for wicked rapids, marsh crocodiles and has high energy  in another town was shallow and calm here. There were cries of ‘ooh’,  ‘Aah’, hold tightly etc., some of us were giggling, some of us tripped, some of us felt the water was softly tickling our feet, but none of us were scared or frightened, blame it on our  young age or the fact that we were secure with our family. The riverwalk was complemented with sound track from  the mountain breeze, the river water,  tweets, calls,  and the chirps of the various forest life. Finally, we  reached the other bank after the riverwalk.

There was a rattling mini bus which made weird sounds. The sounds  added to the fun but the bus  served our purpose. We  reached Horanadu Annapoorneshwari temple. And this little temple and the goddess was another visual treat. People say two eyes are’nt enough to soak the beauty of the god and I can authenticate that statement.   There were no frills or fancy barricades, praharams or commercial motives, all that was between us and the God was a thick rope. It is an instant connect if you have faith. One of the most beautiful temple dedicated to the goddess of nourishment and food. The uniqueness of this temple is everybody who visits this temple is provided with prasada bhojana( breakfast, lunch and dinner) and also place to sleep in the temple dorm.

River Bhadra, Tunga and Nethravati rise from The gangamoola hills near Kudremukh

 There are plenty of temples here, they are not architectural or sculptural marvels but you will sense the peace and calm in the various temple abodes that will recharge you spiritually

.We left the place quickly since we had to cross the river to reach our bus. From here we went to Kalasa, another simple temple with a rich legend and finally to our dorm at Sringeri.

The rest of the journey and the interesting legends behind each place  and the scenic delights which need multiple eyes is a sublime experience, but this river walk across Bhadra was one of a kind travel experience in this   Western ghat odyssey.  

A 3 day trip would’nt suffice to this region. There are nearly 50 beautiful places like hill stations, waterfalls, temple towns some of which are discovered and popular like Agumbe( a prime movie location, prominent being Malgudi days), Jog falls,  Kodachadri, madikeri, babubudangiri, Udipi, Murdeshwar, Tirthahalli,  and there are many lesser known places too.  

Agumbe receives the second highest rainfall in India after Cherrapunji or Mayswnram

If you have been here, you will want to keep talking about the various sights over and over again along with the many interesting temple legends, food tales (Malenad kadubu, Malenad kashaya, neer dosa, Chikmagalur coffee)  and travel tales to tell. If not, next time around Bangalore or Mysore,  extend your stay, take time to explore this beautiful region. 

 An ideal place for naturalists, adventure seekers, water sport buffs, photographers , explorers, travel buffs and spiritual seekers.  Even If you aren’t any of those , make a trip to just breathe, relax and regain your sanity. You will even forget where you have come from for this region of Westernghats is frozen in time and faraway from the concrete world and will reboot your well being.

Image courtesy: Google images