One Sunday Morning

Distance covered: 75 km in 3 hours

Places: Manchanabele, Savanadurga

Tippagondanahalli Reservoir

Anjaneya waiting for his mask to be removed

Savana Durga 

Let's go!

Manchanabele Reservoir 

Savana Durga 

ಐಹೊಳೆ ಮತ್ತು ಪಟ್ಟದಕಲ್ಲು ದೇಗುಲ ಸಮೂಹ

೬-೮ ನೇ ಶತಮಾನದ ಅವಧಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬಾದಾಮಿಯ ಚಾಲುಕ್ಯರಿಂದ ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಗಳ ಸಮೂಹ ಐಹೊಳೆಯಲ್ಲಿವೆ. ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಗಳು ಶಿವ, ವಿಷ್ಣು ಮತ್ತು ದುರ್ಗೆಯನ್ನು ಪೂಜಿಸುವ ಮಂದಿರಗಳಾದರೆ, ಜೈನ ಮಂದಿರಗಳೇನೂ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಒಂದು ಬುದ್ಧ ಮಂದಿರ ಕೂಡ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣಬಹುದು. ಇದು ಆ ಕಾಲಘಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಮೂರು ಧರ್ಮಗಳಿಗೂ ಪ್ರಾಶಸ್ತ್ಯ ಇತ್ತು ಎನ್ನುವುದು ತೋರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಬೆಟ್ಟ ಕೊರೆದು ಗುಹೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಿದ ಮಂದಿರಗಳು, ಬೃಹದಾಕಾರದ ಕಲ್ಲುಗಳನ್ನು ಜೋಡಿಸಿ, ಅದರಲ್ಲೇ ಮಂಟಪ, ಗೋಪುರ ಕಟ್ಟಿ, ಅವುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕಲೆ ಅರಳಿಸಿದ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಗಳು ಮನುಷ್ಯ ೧೫೦೦ ವರುಷಗಳ ಹಿಂದೆ ಕಲ್ಲನ್ನು ಪಳಗಿಸುವ ನೈಪುಣ್ಯ ಹೊಂದಿದ್ದ ಎಂದು ತೋರಿಸುತ್ತವೆ. ವಾಸ್ತುಶಿಲ್ಪದ ಪರಿಣಿತಿ ಕೂಡ ಆ ಕಾಲದಿಂದಲೇ ಆರಂಭ.

ಬಿರು ಬಿಸಿಲಿನ ಬಯಲು ಸೀಮೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಕಟ್ಟಿ ಮೆರೆದ ಮನೆತನಗಳು ಅನೇಕ. ಅವರಿಗೆ ಬರೀ ಅಧಿಕಾರದ ಮೇಲಷ್ಟೇ ಆಸೆ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ತಮ್ಮ ಹೆಸರು ಅಜರಾಮರ ಆಗಲಿ ಎನ್ನುವ ಹೆಬ್ಬಯಕೆ ಕೂಡ ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಬಲವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಕೋಟೆ, ಕೆರೆ, ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಗಳ ಕಟ್ಟಿ ಸಮಾಜಕ್ಕೆ ಹಲವಾರು ಕೊಡುಗೆ ನೀಡಿ ಮಾನವನ ಏಳಿಗೆಗೆ ಕಾರಣರಾಗುತ್ತಾ ಹೋದರು. ಆದರೆ ಅವರಂತೆ ಇನ್ನೊಬ್ಬ ರಾಜನಿಗೆ ಕೂಡ ಅದೇ ಆಸೆ ಹುಟ್ಟುತ್ತದಲ್ಲ. ಆಗ ನಡೆದದ್ದು ಯುದ್ಧ. ಐಹೊಳೆ ಬಾದಾಮಿಯ ಚಾಲುಕ್ಯರಿಂದ, ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಕೂಟರಿಗೆ ನಂತರ ಕಲ್ಯಾಣದ ಚಾಲುಕ್ಯರಿಗೆ, ದೆಹಲಿ ಸುಲ್ತಾನರಿಗೆ, ವಿಜಯನಗರದ ಅರಸರಿಗೆ, ಬಹಮನಿ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಹೀಗೆ ಬೇರೆ ಬೇರೆ ರಾಜ ಮನೆತನಗಳ ಆಳ್ವಿಕೆಗೆ ಒಳ ಪಡುತ್ತಾ ಬಂತು. ಮುಸ್ಲಿಮರ ಆಳ್ವಿಕೆ ಇದ್ದಾಗ ಲಾಡ್ ಖಾನ್ ಎನ್ನುವವ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಗುಡಿಯೊಂದರಲ್ಲಿ ನೆಲೆಸಿದ್ದ. ಆಮೇಲೆ ಅವನ ಹೆಸರೇ ಆ ಗುಡಿಗೆ ಖಾಯಂ ಆಯಿತು.

ಐಹೊಳೆಗೆ ಹೋಲಿಸಿದರೆ ಪಟ್ಟದಕಲ್ಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಗಳ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆ ಕಡಿಮೆ. ಊರ ಹೆಸರೇ ಸೂಚಿಸುವಂತೆ ಚಾಲುಕ್ಯ ಅರಸರ ಪಟ್ಟಾಬ್ಜಿಷೇಕಕ್ಕೆ ಎಂದು ಕಟ್ಟಿದ ಊರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಗಳ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆ ಕಾಲ ಕ್ರಮೇಣ ಹೆಚ್ಚುತ್ತಾ ಹೋಯಿತು. ವಿಶೇಷ ಎಂದರೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ಕೆಲವು ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಗಳನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟಿಸಿದ್ದು ರಾಣಿಯರು. ಅದು ತಮ್ಮ ಗಂಡನ ವಿಜಯೋತ್ಸವಗಳ ನೆನಪಿಗಾಗಿ. ರಾಜ ಯುದ್ಧ ಮಾಡುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ಗಮನ ಕೊಟ್ಟರೆ, ರಾಣಿಯರು ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ ಕಟ್ಟುವ ಹೊಣೆ ಹೊತ್ತರೆನೋ? ಇಮ್ಮಡಿ ಪುಲಿಕೇಶೀ, ವಿಕ್ರಮಾದಿತ್ಯ ರಂತ ಚಾಲುಕ್ಯ ಮನೆತನದ ಅರಸರು ಗೆದ್ದ ಯುದ್ಧಗಳೇನು ಕಡಿಮೆಯೇ?

ಧರ್ಮ, ಇತಿಹಾಸ, ವಾಸ್ತುಶಿಲ್ಪ ಇವುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಮಗೆ ಒಂದರಲ್ಲಿ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ಇದ್ದರೂ ಸಾಕು. ಐಹೊಳೆ, ಪಟ್ಟದಕಲ್ಲು ನಿಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಬೆರಗುಗೊಳಿಸುವುದರಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂದೇಹವಿಲ್ಲ.

ಶ್ರೀ ಭ್ರಮರಾಂಭ ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ, ಮುಡುಕುತೊರೆ (ಮೈಸೂರು ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ)

'ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾ' + 'ಅರ್ಜುನ' = 'ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನ'
(ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಹೂವಿನಿಂದ ಅರ್ಜುನನಿಂದ ಪೂಜಿಸಿಗೊಂಡ ಶಿವ)

ಮಹಾಭಾರತ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ, ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಶಿವನ ಪೂಜೆಯನ್ನು 'ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾ' ಹೂವಿನಿಂದ 'ಅರ್ಜುನ' ಮಾಡಿದ್ದರಿಂದ ಈ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ 'ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನ' ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನವೆಂದೇ ಪ್ರಸಿದ್ಧಿಗೆ ಬಂತು.

 

ಮುರಿದ ತೊರೆ 'ಮುಡುಕುತೊರೆ'

ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾವೇರಿ ನದಿ ಮುರಿದ ತೊರೆಯಂತೆ ಹರಿಯುವುದರಿಂದ, ಈ ಸ್ಥಳಕ್ಕೆ 'ಮುಡುಕುತೊರೆ' ಎಂದು ಹೆಸರು. ಅದು ಸ್ಥಳ ಪುರಾಣ. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಬೇಸಿಗೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾವೇರಿ ತೊರೆಯಂತೆ ಕಾಣುತ್ತಾಳೆ ಏನೋ? ಆದರೆ ನಾನು ಈಗ ನೋಡುವಾಗ ಕಾವೇರಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಮೈ ತುಂಬಿ ಹರಿಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾಳೆ. ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಸುತ್ತಲಿನ ಪರಿಸರ ಹಸಿರಾಗಿರುವುದು ಮತ್ತು ಹಲವೆಡೆ ದಟ್ಟ ಕಾಡು ಅವಳದೇ ಆಶೀರ್ವಾದ. ಅವಳು ರೈತರಿಗೆ ಭಾಗ್ಯ ದೇವತೆ. ಸಾಕಷ್ಟು ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಗಳು ಅವಳ ದಡದಲ್ಲಿ. 

೧,೨೦೦ ವರುಷಗಳ ಪರಂಪರೆ

ಸುಮಾರು ಎಂಟನೇ ಶತಮಾನದಲ್ಲಿ, ತಲಕಾಡಿನ ಗಂಗ ರಾಜರಿಂದ ನಿರ್ಮಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟ ಈ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ ನಂತರ ವಿಜಯನಗರ ಮತ್ತು ಮೈಸೂರು ಅರಸರಿಂದ ಕೂಡ ಆದರಿಸಲ್ಪಿಟ್ಟಿದೆ. ಇಂದಿನ ಕಾಲದ ಪ್ರಜಾಪ್ರಭುತ್ವ ಸರ್ಕಾರಗಳು ಕೂಡ ದೇಣಿಗೆ ನೀಡಿ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನವನ್ನು ಸುಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿಟ್ಟಿವೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕೂ ಮಿಗಿಲಾಗಿ ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನನ ಭಕ್ತರು, ಸುತ್ತೂರು ಮಠದ ಗಮನ ಕೂಡ. ಅವೆಲ್ಲವೂ ಸೇರಿ, ಈ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ ೧,೨೦೦ ವರುಷಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಭಾರತದ ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ, ಪರಂಪರೆಯ ಕುರುಹಾಗಿ ಜನ ಜೀವನದಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆರೆತು ಹೋಗಿದೆ. 

 

ಶ್ರೀ ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನನ ಉತ್ಸವ ಮೂರ್ತಿ

ನದಿಯ ಪಕ್ಕ ಬೆಟ್ಟ. ಅದರ ಮೇಲೆ ಪತ್ನಿ ಭ್ರಮರಾಂಭೆಯ ಜೊತೆ ವಿರಾಜಮಾನನಾಗಿರುವ ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನನ ದರುಶನಕ್ಕೆ ನೀವು ಕುಟುಂಬದ ಅಥವಾ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ತೆರಳಬಹುದು. ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಲ ಮೂಲಕ ಬೆಟ್ಟ ಹತ್ತಬಹುದು. ಇಲ್ಲವೇ ಬೆಟ್ಟದ ಮೇಲ್ಭಾಗದವರೆಗೆ ವಾಹನದಲ್ಲಿ ಚಲಿಸಿ ನಂತರ ಕೆಲವೇ ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಲುಗಳನ್ನೇರಿ ಕೂಡ ದರುಶನ ಪಡೆಯಬಹುದು. 

ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಲ ಮೂಲಕ ಬೆಟ್ಟ ಹತ್ತಬಹುದು

ಇಲ್ಲಿಯ ಶಾಂತ ಪರಿಸರದಲ್ಲಿ ದಿನ ಕಳೆಯಬಯಸುವವರಿಗೆ ನದಿಯ ದಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ರೆಸಾರ್ಟ್ ಕೂಡ ಇದೆ. ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಆಕರ್ಷಣೆಯಾಗಿ ನದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ತೆಪ್ಪಗಳ ಮತ್ತು ದೋಣಿಗಳ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯ ಇದೆ. ನದಿಯ ಆಚೆ ಕಡೆ ಇರುವುದೇ ತಲಕಾಡು. ತಲಕಾಡಿನ ಪಂಚಲಿಂಗಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನವೂ ಒಂದು. ಬೋಟ್ ಸವಾರಿ ರೆಸಾರ್ಟ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಉಳಿದುಕೊಂಡವರಿಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರ. ಅಥವಾ ತಲಕಾಡು ಕಡೆಯಿಂದ ಮುಂಗಡ ಕಾಯ್ದಿರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು. ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ  ಹೋದವರಿಗೆ ಕಾವೇರಿ ಮಡಿಲಲ್ಲಿ ಕೈ-ಕಾಲಾಡಿಸಿ, ಫೋಟೋ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಅಡ್ಡಿಯೇನಿಲ್ಲ.

ಕಾವೇರಿ ಮಡಿಲಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರೊಂದಿಗೆ

ಸುತ್ತ ಒಂದೆರಡು ಗಂಟೆಗಳ ಪ್ರಯಾಣದಲ್ಲಿ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಗಳ ಸಮೂಹವೇ ಇದೆ.  ಮಲೆ ಮಹದೇಶ್ವರ ಬೆಟ್ಟ, ಬಿಳಿಗಿರಿ ರಂಗನ ಬೆಟ್ಟ, ನಂಜನಗೂಡು ಶ್ರೀಕಂಠೇಶ್ವರ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಗಳು ಹತ್ತಿರದ ಹಾದಿ. ದೈವ ಆರಾಧಕರಿಗೆ ಮತ್ತು ಕಾಡು-ಬೆಟ್ಟ ನೋಡಬಯಸುವವರಿಗೆ ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಹಬ್ಬ ಮತ್ತು ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ತೃಪ್ತಿ. ಶಿವರಾತ್ರಿ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಶಿವನ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಗಳು ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಜನಸಂದಣಿ ಕಾಣುತ್ತವೆ. ಆದರೆ ಲೋಕ ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ ಬಯಸುವ ಭ್ರಮರಾಂಭ-ಮಲ್ಲಿಕಾರ್ಜುನರ ದರುಶನಕ್ಕೆ ಹಬ್ಬಗಳ ಹಂಗಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಬರುವ ಜನರಿಗೇನು ಕಡಿಮೆ ಇಲ್ಲ.

ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಹಬ್ಬ ಮತ್ತು ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ತೃಪ್ತಿ

 

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಿಂದ ಇಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಮದ್ದೂರು-ಮಳವಳ್ಳಿಯ ಮೂಲಕ ತಲುಪಬಹುದು. ಸುಮಾರು ೧೩೦ ಕಿ.ಮೀ. ದೂರದ ಹಾದಿ. ನಂತರದ ಪ್ರಯಾಣಕ್ಕೆ ತಲಕಾಡು ಇಲ್ಲವೇ ೫೦ ಕಿ.ಮೀ. ದೂರದ ಮೈಸೂರಿಗೆ ತೆರಳಬಹುದು. ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿಗೆ ವಾಪಸ್ಸಾಗುವವರು ಗಗನಚುಕ್ಕಿ ಭರಚುಕ್ಕಿ ಜಲಪಾತಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗಬಹುದು. ಆದರೆ ಸಂಜೆ ಐದರ ನಂತರ ಅವುಗಳ ದಾರಿ ಮುಚ್ಚಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ ಎನ್ನುವುದು ಗಮನದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರಲಿ. 

ಭರಚುಕ್ಕಿ ಜಲಪಾತ

If life was a vacation …

Let us say you are planning for a vacation, a holiday trip to a place you always wanted to go. The purpose of your vacation is to relax, be happy and explore new things. Vacations are not entirely pleasant, there are always inconveniences that travel would bring, and there would be unexpected compromises during your stay. But the good thing is, you have decided to stay happy and enjoy the moment no matter what.

 

Before leaving home, you will pack only necessary things to keep the baggage light and surely not all the things you have at home that add to comfort get into your bag.

 

And while on the way if you realize that you forgot to bring some necessary thing (like a cell phone charger), you won’t mind borrowing it from your fellow traveler. And for that sake, you won’t return to your home wasting time. You are focused on journey ahead and not to cut-it-short or take U-turns unnecessarily.

 

After reaching the destination, you begin to explore new things. And there will be many first-time experiences. Not only the places you had not seen before, cuisines you had not tasted become familiar to you, also you want to go on fun rides too. And you won’t forget to smile at co-tourists and make new friends. Meanwhile, you did not care how much you earned, how famous you became or how much control you could exercise on others. Anyway, they were not the purpose of a holiday trip. Rather focus was on spending time with your family and their happiness (and your own too).

 

By the time vacation comes to an end, you would have exchanged money and time for finer experiences life could offer. You think time is well spent. You also think you should go on vacation again for the happiness it brings and the experiences it provides with.

 

Now let us see life in a different perspective. If life was a vacation, you would have resolved to stay happy, no matter what. You would have reduced your luggage and remained flexible. You will leave things behind and not worry about them. You will be open to newer experiences of life and make your journey a memorable one.

 

I won’t say other aspects of life like career, making money, fame (and what not) are not important. But none of them would keep you happy like when you were on a vacation (though you would be spending hard earned money). I want to earn only that much money which lets me live like I am on a vacation and pursue newer experiences. I want to avoid making my baggage heavy. You are my co-tourists. I smile at you. And those of you who smiled back, hurray, we are good friends!

A photo from trip to Melukote (2016)

ಅಭಯಾರಣ್ಯ ಮಧ್ಯದ ಶಿವಾಲಯ: ಬೇಲದಕುಪ್ಪೆ

ಕಳೆದ ವರ್ಷ ಶಿವರಾತ್ರಿ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾವುದಾದರೂ ಹೊಸ ಜಾಗಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗಬೇಕು ಎಂದುಕೊಂಡಾಗ ಸಹೋದ್ಯೋಗಿಯೊಬ್ಬ ಸೂಚಿಸಿದ್ದು ಕಾಡಿನ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಇರುವ ಈ ದೇವಾಲಯವನ್ನು. ಬೆಳಿಗ್ಗೆಯೇ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು, ಮೈಸೂರು, ನಂಜನಗೂಡು ಮಾರ್ಗವಾಗಿ (ಹಾಗೆಯೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ತಿಂಡಿ ತಿಂದುಕೊಂಡು), ಗುಂಡ್ಲುಪೇಟೆ ಪಟ್ಟಣಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಮುಂಚೆಯೇ ಬಲಕ್ಕೆ ತಿರುಗಿ, ಅಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಅರ್ಧ ಗಂಟೆಗೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಪಯಣದಲ್ಲಿ ನಾವು ಬೇಲದಕುಪ್ಪೆ ತಲುಪಿದಾಗ ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನದ ಹೊತ್ತು. ಈ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ ಇರುವುದು ಬಂಡೀಪುರದ ಅಭಯಾರಣ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ. ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನಕ್ಕಿಂತ ೪ ಕಿ.ಮೀ. ಮುಂಚೆಯೇ ಇರುವ ಅರಣ್ಯ ಇಲಾಖೆಯ ಚೆಕ್ ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ನಮ್ಮ ವಿವರ ಕೊಟ್ಟು ದಟ್ಟ ಕಾಡಿನ ಮಾರ್ಗವಾಗಿ ಸಾಗಬೇಕು. ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಕರು ಮತ್ತು ಕಾಡು ಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳು ಒಬ್ಬರಿಗೊಬ್ಬರು ತೊಂದರೆ ಕೊಡಬಾರದೆಂದು ಮಾರ್ಗಮಧ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಅರಣ್ಯ ಇಲಾಖೆಯ ಕಾವಲುಗಾರರು ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಸಶಸ್ತ್ರವಾಗಿ ನಿಂತಿರುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಹಚ್ಚ ಹಸಿರಿನ, ಪ್ರಶಾಂತ ಜಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ, ಮುಗಿಲು ಮುಟ್ಟಲು ಪೈಪೋಟಿ ನಡೆಸುವ ಹಾಗೆ ಬೆಳೆದ ನಿಂತ ಎತ್ತರದ ಮರಗಳ ಮಧ್ಯೆ, ಮಹದೇಶ್ವರ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನವಿದೆ. ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲೇ ಇರುವ ಹೊಂಡದಲ್ಲಿ ನೀರು ಕುಡಿಯಲು ಸಾಲು ಸಾಲು ಜಿಂಕೆಗಳು, ಆಗೊಮ್ಮೆ ಈಗೊಮ್ಮೆ ಬಂದು ಹೋಗುವ ಕಾಡು ಹಂದಿಗಳನ್ನು ಕೂಡ ಕಾಣಬಹುದು. ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನದ ಮುಂದಿನ ವಿಶಾಲ ಬಯಲು, ದೈವ ಭಕ್ತರಿಗೂ, ಪರಿಸರ ಪ್ರಿಯರಿಗೂ ಹಾಗೆ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೂ ಕೆಲ ಸಮಯ ಕಳೆಯಲು ಅವಕಾಶ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಡುತ್ತದೆ. ಕುಡಿಯುವ ನೀರಿನ ಸೌಲಭ್ಯವಿದ್ದು, ನೀವು ತಿಂಡಿಯನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋದರೆ ಉತ್ತಮ.

ವಾಪಸ್ಸು ಗುಂಡ್ಲುಪೇಟೆಗೆ ಬಂದು, ಅಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಬಂಡೀಪುರದ ಅರಣ್ಯ ಸಫಾರಿಗೆ ಹೋದಾಗ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂಡದ್ದು ಅವೇ ಜಿಂಕೆಗಳು. ಆದರೆ ಅಪರೂಪಕ್ಕೆ ಎಂಬಂತೆ ಚಿರತೆ ಕೂಡ ಕಾಣಿಸಿತು. ಸಾಯಂಕಾಲಕ್ಕೆ ನಂಜನಗೂಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಶ್ರೀಕಂಠೇಶ್ವರನ ದರ್ಶನಕ್ಕೆಂದು ಹೋದರೆ, ಅಲ್ಲಿ ನೆರೆದದ್ದು ಲಕ್ಷಾಂತರ ಜನಸ್ತೋಮ. ಅವರೆಲ್ಲ ಶಿವರಾತ್ರಿಯನ್ನು ಶಿವನ ಸಾನ್ನಿಧ್ಯದಲ್ಲೆ ಕಳೆಯಲೆಂದು ಬಂದವರು.

 

ಈ ಪ್ರವಾಸಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗಿ ಬಂದು ಕೇವಲ ಒಂದೇ ವರ್ಷ ಕಳೆದಿದ್ದರೂ , ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಸಮಯ ಕಳೆದು ಹೋದ ಹಾಗೆ ಅನಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ.

ಬಂಡೀಪುರ ಅಭಯಾರಣ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಬೇಲದಕುಪ್ಪೆ 

ಮಹದೇಶ್ವರನ ಸನ್ನಿಧಿಯಲ್ಲಿ

ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ ಪಕ್ಕದ  ಹೊಂಡದಲ್ಲಿ ನೀರು ಕುಡಿಯಲು ಬಂದಿರುವ ಜಿಂಕೆಗಳು

ನಂಜನಗೂಡಿನ ಶ್ರೀಕಂಠೇಶ್ವರ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಶಿವರಾತ್ರಿಯಂದು ನೆರೆದಿದ್ದ ಜನಸ್ತೋಮ

Visit to Ilkal

ಶ್ರೀ ವಿಜಯ ಮಹಾಂತ ಸ್ವಾಮಿಗಳ ಗದ್ದುಗೆ

ಚಿತ್ತರಗಿಯ ಚರತಾತ 

ಇಳಕಲ್ಲ ಪುರ ವಿರತ 

ಆದಿ ಅಂತ್ಯ ರಹಿತ 

ಶ್ರೀ ವಿಜಯ ಮಹಾಂತ

ಉತ್ತರ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ನೆಲದಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಜ ಮಹಾರಾಜರುಗಳು ಸಾಧಿಸಿದ್ದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಸಾಧನೆ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದು ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ಸಾಧು-ಸಂತರು. ಇವರು ಕಟ್ಟಿದ್ದು ಕೋಟೆ-ಅರಮನೆಗಳಲ್ಲ. ಬದಲಿಗೆ ಸಮಾಜದ ಹಸಿವು ನೀಗಿಸುತ್ತ, ಬಡವರ ವಿದ್ಯೆ- ಶಿಕ್ಷಣದ ಅಗತ್ಯಗಳನ್ನು ಪೂರೈಸುತ್ತಾ, ಬದುಕಿಗೆ ಮಾರ್ಗದರ್ಶನ ನೀಡುವ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಗಳನ್ನು. ಹಾಗಾಗಿಯೇ ಇವು ರಾಜ ಮನೆತನಗಳಂತೆ ಕಾಲನ ವಿನಾಶಕ್ಕೊಳಗಾಗದೆ, ಇಂದಿಗೂ ಜೀವಂತವಾಗಿವೆ. ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಇಳಕಲ್ ಸಂಸ್ಥಾನ ಒಂದು ಉದಾಹರಣೆ. ಬಸವ ತತ್ವ ಸಾರುವ ಈ ವಾಕ್ಯ ಇಂಥ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಗಳ ತಳಹದಿ ಎಷ್ಟು ಭದ್ರವಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂಬುದರ ಸಂಕೇತ.

Himalayan Calling

How did the pull begin?

It was couple of years ago when on vacation with family at Mussorie, I saw the signboard showing Gangotri to be at 100+ kms. From the top of the hotel where we had stayed, Himalayan mountain ranges looked enchanting. I thought I should go there sometime. A year before that natural disaster had struck Kedarnath. And a year later, rains seemed to bring more harm but they did damage at the other end of hill ranges, in Kashmir. After one more year, I had to scrap the plan to visit Char Dham due to heavy rain forecast. It did rain heavily. But the videos I had watched of those regions had created a calling in me. I was prepared mentally fully and just waiting for the opportunistic moment. And it came this year.

Not a good start

A flight from Bangalore to Delhi, then another flight to Dehradun landed us in Uttarakhand swiftly. But when we were at Delhi Airport, there was the news of heavy rain and the road to Badarinath being blocked. And a whatsapp image sent by my wife showed a newspaper article of cloud burst killing twenty in the route we are supposed to travel. But there was no looking back as we had already arrived close to where we wanted to go. We had to wait for couple of hours in Dehradun to board a cab. Our journey on wheels began but we had to return from two of the routes to where we started due to a land slide causing traffic jam in one and a stream overflowing the bridge on another route. Third route took us out of Dehradun and by the afternoon, we were stopped by a massive landslide on the way to Yamunotri. An earth mover was doing a heroic act to clear the way which took more than four hours. Not a good start but I thought tomorrow is a new day. And Gods smiled at us.

Yamunotri

Next day morning, we began the 6 km up hill trek to Yamunotri. What a place Yamuna has chosen to begin her journey. After walking up around 4 kms, I had to slow down my pace and take frequent rests to catch up with breathing needs. It almost took two hours for us to reach the temple from base. A bath at Suraj Kund helped to let go of all the physical tireness and made us pleasant again. It has been said in the religious texts that visit to this temple will make one get rid of fear of death. I thought otherwise. Anyone scared of death would not be willing to come here. Everything from nature’s cooperation to driver’s carefulness to your physical strength should fall in place to make this happen. But it is worth the effort. In the wild danger lies the uncommon beauty as we call it ‘Rudra Ramaneeya’. After getting down the hills, we stayed at Barkot, a sleepy town. And the views from our hotel room appeared like a heaven unfolding in front of us. Floating white clouds had covered the green mountains. Such a clean atmosphere!

Gangotri

Not much hardship was needed to reach Gangotri as the vehicles can close to the temple. We dropped the baggage into the room, took a towel, walked towards the river bank to take a dip in Bhagirathi River. Water was really cold, probably less than 10 degree C. A quick dip in that ice cold water refreshed me. Cold water bath though looks difficult in the beginning, become bearable as the body adjusts and we begin to notice its magical power of putting one into a good mood. Changing into new clothes, we entered the temple and we were othe only visitors during those late afternoon hours. Then we went for shopping, there are numerous small shops along the street selling idols, pooja materials etc. Our taxi driver was a learned fellow and he had a guru living in Gangotri. Along with him we went on to meet Swami Sundaranand. A mountaineer turned yogi, Swami Sundaranand is already in his nineties, did not talk much. Photos of his in the ashram gave us an idea of what he was like fifty years ago. As we returned to room, sleep was waiting to take control on our bodies.

Kedarnath

Journey from Gangotri to Phata helipad took almost whole day. Stuffed with Aloo Paraatha for breakfast on the way, it was long journey for us. And to give company, Lata Mangeshkar was singing melodious songs for us through car audio. As we reached the helipad, it was getting dark. We booked the tickets for helicopter ride, took a room in the same campus and ordered food in nearby canteen. I slept so well that I did not know how the night had passed. In the morning next day, though we were ready early in the morning, we had to wait for our turn. When it came, I got seat next to pilot in the helicopter. Before getting in I was instructed not to pull any instruments or distract the pilot. It was just eight minutes ride through the beautiful valley. I could see the long walkway but I was mesmerized with the setting of beautiful hills. I remembered reading how Himalayan mountains got formed as Indian sub-continent hit Asian plate. Those formations were in front of my eyes. Reading provides with the information but witnessing it through senses like touch, feel and climb is a different experience. Again in this temple too, visitors were not too numerous. We had a good darshan as there was no hurry to move out quickly. Coming outside, I started noticing the set-up. The temple has tall Mountains in the backdrop which are snow claded in the top. Those glaciers melt down to become the rivers Mandakini and Saraswati. They both meet near by temple and travel downwards. The whole atmosphere is cool and calm. Here one has to put no efforts to meditate as there are no obstructions and the set-up is encouraging. After taking a look at the surroundings, I felt like real god lies in that setting of nature. This experience would have led Pandava’s to build the temple (if Mahabharata had happened) and Adi Shankara to revive it.

The journey downward began on the horse. It was not a comfortable experience so we decided to get down of horse and rather walk down. Three to four hours of walk took us to Gaurikund. We got into cab again to move towards our next destination. Chopta, a village where stayed during night, is said to be one of places of interest to tourists. When he had reached there, it was completely dark and we hardly could see what lied few feet away from us. So we decided to retire for the day. I looked at my pedometer, it was showing past 20k steps. I had never walked this much before. Next day morning, as we were short on time, we decided to move forward rather than exploring Chopta.

Badarinath

It was late afternoon when we had arrived at Badarinath. Found a room near to temple, unpacked our luggage to pick towels to take bath in hot water kund. Water was steaming hot, we had to mix it with cold water in a bucket to take bath. Next we headed to darshan. In all the temples we had visited, this is where we could find sizeable number of travelers. After darshan, we sat along with the group of people listening to bhajan. Two hours passed like minutes. It was time to shut temple, we came out and headed to a restaurant. Our journey was coming to an end. Our Char Dham darshan got over though it started with lots of uncertainties.

Next day morning we got up up quite early, again we took bath in kund, went into temple and spent couple of hours there. I had found peace in sitting idle near to Adi Shankar’s idol in the temple premises. We got back to room, checked out from room and informed our cab driver to drop us at Rishikesh.

Rishikesh, Haridwar and B2B

On the return journey, at Devprayag, we got down to take some pictures of two rivers – Bhagirathi and Alakananda meeting to become Ganga. Had we time I wished we would have spent some time in this place. We reached Rishikesh during twilight hours. We had climbed down from all those tall mountains which had fascinatingly attracted me. Rishikesh appeared dull and lacked all the soul comforting things which the hills offered. After visiting Jhula’s, I bought few books authored by Sivananda, a yogi who lived and built a big ashram in Rishikesh.

Next day we had arrived in Haridwar. We went to Har ki Paudi, took dip in Ganga and waited till evening to watch picturesque Ganga Aarti. Indian civilization has grown up on the banks of Ganga, though people were scattered over time, they never forgot motherly Ganga. Go to any corner of India, you would find a girl named Ganga. When people offer pooja any water source (including wells), they call it Ganga Puja. Such is the influence of Ganga. Many Hindus believe it is sacred to offer last riots at the banks of Ganga, this was the place they were born and it is Ganga they want to merge with.

Taking overnight bus to Delhi and then by early morning flight we were back in Bangalore.

Aftermath

The days we were in Char Dham was like life’s excitement at the peak. Now the normal life looks so predictable and unexciting. It is like after you count lakh rupees, counting thousand rupees does not seem exciting. But the memory has become rich. My eyes had seen the most beautiful places of this world. My mind had understood what it means by calm and serenity. My body had learnt to cope with physical stress and cold environments. I may go there again but before that I need to do what I learnt there, to walk more, to take cold baths and to meditate.

A joyful walk on the Golden Gate Bridge

It has been a packed work week for me at California (I am on a short visit) as I was rushing through many of the tasks at office. Whola! Weekend was equally joyful. We, a group of colleagues first drove to Lake Tahoe on Saturday. This lake has a length of 35 km, but yet it is not part of ‘The Great Five Lakes’ of North America but it is next in line, at the sixth place. 

Large fresh water body also serves as a weekend getaway for those who would like to swim, fish, or indulge in water sports. In winter, one can go skiing and snowboarding too in the mountains. Well, I am not much into adventures, I was happy walking on the shore, and getting lost (not physically) in the nature.

On a sunny Sunday, what better alternative is there than taking a walk on the Golden Gate Bridge? It has never failed to thrill the visitors since it was built seven decades ago. If you share the fascination towards man-built large structures like big dams or bridges, this one puts you on the cloud. 













This bridge used to be the longest suspension bridge, but many engineers all over the world took inspiration from this once called "the bridge that couldn't be built" and went on to produce even longer structures. But yet, Golden Gate Bridge remains “the most photographed bridge in the world”. We too joined that crowd and took photographs.

One of the persons behind the idea of building this bridge was Joseph Strauss, an engineer by profession and a poet by passion. Result was this bridge along with structural soundness got its elegant looks. It took no time to become a national icon. Except the seismic retrofits, the bridge is doing fine in handling traffic of more than 100,000 cars running over it on daily basis.

Sounds interesting? If you have not already walked over it, you can do it here. Virtually! http://www.airpano.ru/files/San-Francisco-Golden-Gate-USA/2-2

A day in Pondicherry and The secret of the Veda

Wide walkway along the beach

The official tourism site of Pondicherry (or Puducherry) says ‘If peace and a break is the most sought after, then Pondicherry is surely the place’, but visiting Sri Aurobindo Ashram was my objective to visiting Pondicherry. Seeing that beach is just few feet’s away from the ashram, a tourist in me woke up, and I could not resist walking along the seaside. Blue waters and restless waves can calm anyone’s mind. Well paved wide walkway along the sea makes the walk pleasurable. You can almost sit almost everywhere along the beach on the pavements and watch the infinite sea. I could see the big ships anchored at a distance and small boats doing some transport from them. Taking a walk further I could spot a tall statue of Mahatma Gandhi. And there is a garden on the other side of the road. It provided relief from the heat and a place to sit and read Sri Aurobindo for hours. I could agree with what was said in the website - If peace and a break is what one is looking for, this is the place.

Ashram Entrance

There was a reason for Sri Aurobindo to come to Pondicherry. He was a freedom fighter and a journalist and he had angered the mighty British on many occasions. He was arrested and released couple of times by the British. When there was a news of he getting arrested again, Aurobindo took the break from British ruled Bengal and moved to Pondicherry which was a French colony. Though he did not support French rule either (he fought for independent India) there was no intimidation for his works here. His interests turned from nationalism to spirituality here though it was an undercurrent during his journalism days. And he transformed himself into a Yogi to take the break from birth-death cycle.

I was attracted to the works of Sri Aurobindo in my efforts to understand the Vedas. What is Veda for you? For some it is scared text. Few believe it is just nomadic ritual. Some use it to please Gods and few for the attention of Demons. There are multiple perspectives to it. But for Sri Aurobindo, it is the vehicle to spirituality. He decodes much of the hymns, and constructs a meaning and purpose of the Veda. He reasons why their purpose is not limited to praying Gods for material benefits but provide a philosophical base to heighten the spiritual awareness. He has written several books on the subject and they can be downloaded for free here: http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/ashram/sriauro/writings.php

Since I wanted to hold in my hands and read, I bought hard copies of them during my visit to the ashram.

A rusted cannon in the garden

I went to Pondicherry to get a glimpse of the place where Sri Aurobindo lived and created the masterpieces on Yoga and spirituality. There were many visitors for the same reason and there were lot others too who had come to the town for a weekend break. And the town of Pondicherry does not disappoint any. Your day would be well spent. For those living in Bangalore, it is an overnight journey by road and there are plenty of hotels to stay in Pondy in a wider price range. My unplanned tour confirms, a random visit would do fine as well.