A Trip to Remember

"Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life." - Michael Palin

....and such were our thoughts as we hopped happily from shore to shore early May in 2013. Though the objective of our trip was not really to enjoy the sands and seas but when you are travelling along the coast, you cannot but help yourself to a dip in the cool waters and loiter on some of the sun drenched beaches of Western coast of India.

We arrived at Manipal at about 8:30am from Hyderabad. After a quick breakfast at our uncle's home, we set out for some work which was also a part of our objective for the trip. After we got back home and enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by aunt, we headed off for a siesta...which ended up being much longer than a siesta is supposed to be. Anyway, we got ready and took a tour of the adjoining city of Udupi. We also went to the Venkatramana temple at Kalyanpur, which is supposed to be a branch of the same temple in Karkala. We got back home to a sumptuous dinner and also had a chance to savour the mangoes from the tree in the front yard. We then enjoyed chit chat at the terrace before finally hitting the sack to prepare for an early morning the following day.

The following day, we headed off towards Ankola in uncle's car. We took many stopovers before we finally arrived at Ankola. The first stopover was the polling booth, for it was voting day for Karnataka legislative assembly. When uncle and aunt returned to the car after casting their votes and began our sojourn, the discussions revolved around politics, outcome of the elections, next year's general elections etc and when we saw beautiful landscapes, parallels were being drawn to Scotland and also aunt and mum-in-law got very nostalgic about their trip to the United Kingdom. Thus chattering we arrived at the Marvante beach which was at its peaceful best. The beach was devoid of people and we enjoyed soaking our feet in the cool waters on a very warm day. It was beautiful and peaceful and was lined by just 2-3 shop shacks which uncle and aunt tagged as 'Our 5 star hotel'. We enjoyed sweet coconut water from tender coconuts and also got some groundnuts from this 5 star hotel. We continued the journey and soon arrived at the Byndoor beach by a Shiva temple. The soil on the Byndoor beach is quite firm and does not leave the sandy residue on one's feet that is often the case while soaking in the waters by the beach. There are some nice rocks by the Byndoor beach which adds a lot of value to the already beautiful beach BUT quite slippery. Unfortunately, I had a slip there and the waters of the sea washed over our camera rendering it incapable of doing what it was designed for. I soon got back on my feet and headed to the temple and sought blessings to avoid such occurrences again during our trip and the God, cheerfully granted us his blessing. It was close to lunch time and we realised how hungry we were just soaking at the sea and bathing in the sun. The beauty of interwebs is an amazing thing. We started discussing the beauty of the coast and one thing led to another and we started discussing food and we did so even as we arrived at RNS Highway Hotel in Murudeshwar and up until the food arrived. Probably the only way we could keep quiet about food was by actually eating it. There was a little pup by a potted plant and my husband took a fond liking towards it and would have enjoyed some time playing with it but it turned out that it was more keen on its rest.

Marvante Beach

Byndoor Beach

All full and happy, we set out again and thought we would visit the beautiful Murudeshwar temple. It turned out it was the resting time for the Gods of the temple and hence closed. We however, drove around the temple and enjoyed the beautiful and tall Shiva statue and a very high Gopur and headed off to Kumta to meet a few relatives who have settled there. 

Temple at Murudeshwar

Murudeshwar Temple

We are people from South Canara and it is unusual for our families to settle in North Canara but on arriving at their place, we realised why they would do so. We visited R's grandpa's sister's place. She is 85 and walks with the support of a stick but very active nonetheless. She had prepared delicious sheera and pakodas to welcome us. Her family and she live in a beautiful old-fashioned house which has been renovated with all the modern facilities and amenities by the river Agnashi. It has an old-world charm to it. The house - a river-front, has a beautiful rose garden to welcome visitors. There is a small temple and a mill (their business) by one side of their home. On the other side, a boat building was going on. There are some ferries that take people across the other side of the river. It was pure joy for us- the city dwellers but they did discuss their share of troubles. Like they say- Grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. The other attraction here for R in particular, was Chikoo- the ferocious looking 12 year old German shepherd. He and Chikoo took an instant liking towards each other and had a quiet conversation on their own. After having a lovely time at Kumta, we headed of Ankola temple- Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mahamaya. We stayed at the temple quarters in Ankola. At night, we had the opportunity of witnessing the Palanquin Utsav where the temple deity was taken around in a palanquin and were offered prayers on its way. We then had a much needed dinner at the temple premises and headed off to bed.

Boat Building in Kumta

Roses on the right. Front-view of river Agnashi

The following day, our main destination was the Sri Shanteri Kamakshi Ramanathi temple in Ponda, Goa. We started off quite early in the morning following breakfast to the temple. I was dressed in a saree with customary wedding jewellery. We arrived there by 11:30am and offered our prayers. The temple was unusually crowded on account of a wedding that was taking place in the premises of the temple. There were some people bursting crackers in the premises too. It was a little annoying but we were happy that we met one of the objectives of the travel. It was lunch time by then and as usual, the stomach people were knocking on its doors. We went to the temple canteen and had some meal but it did not satiate us, or stop us. We continued our journey and went to Cancona's Palolem beach. I could change from the saree to something more comfortable at one of the changing rooms there. Since it was mid-day and also peak of summer, taking a dip at the sea was completely ruled out. We placed ourselves at a beach facing shack like restaurant and viewed the sea while quenching our thirst with icy cool drinks. R also bought a bright yellow souvenir t-shirt for himself with a picture of an elephant on it. He was grumpy from the time we left the temple canteen at Ponda all the way through Palolem but his purchase cheered him considerably and he was quite chirpy for the rest of the day. 

From Cancona, we soon arrived at Karwar. We would have loved to eat at the popular Amruth Family Restaurant but due to the announcement of the results of elections, this place was advised to stay closed. We went to another place called Poornima close to Amruth. Here, our orders were taken by a female waiter- a rare sight in India especially in small restaurants in small towns of the county. It seemed to take forever for our order to arrive and when it did, we just leapt on the food and gobbled as fast as we could to answer some very important questions raised by Mr. Hunger. Now, Poornima is a very run down place and I saw a few cats taking a tour of the dining room. I only hoped that the cats were not being raised there for some specific purpose pertaining to some form of kitchen nuisance. After surrendering to the conditions but enjoying the food, we proceeded to Karwar Beach. We enjoyed ourselves at the calm and polite waters at the Karwar Beach which apparently also represents the nature of the locals. We enjoyed the beautiful sunset at Karwar. It was really lovely but some clouds did try their best to block our view. A very cool breeze was blowing by the beach and came as a welcome relief from the cruel, humid summer. Following this, we returned to Ankola and after ablutions, had a wholesome dinner at the temple and a good night's sleep.

Me at Karwar

The following day, we rose early yet again. After prayers and breakfast at the temple, we started towards a beautiful island. I do not wish to reveal the name of the place as it still quite untouched by tourism but for the sake of convenience, I will call it MK island. So, we arrived at the little MK island on a boat from a place close to Kundapur. We visited the Durga Parameshwari temple there and had bananas and one of the best lemonades ever prepared by the family of the priest. It is a rare privilege and we cherished it thoroughly. We then hired a boat and went around the island and lapped up all the scenic beauty of the place. It was simply breath-taking. We waved at some children by the shore and felt good whenever they reciprocated. 

View of MK Island

View of MK Island

View of MK Island

View of MK Island

View of MK Island

The tour on the boat lasted an hour and we wished it did not end.  Once back at the place we first boarded the boat, we started going towards a special place in Kundapur- Shetty Lunch Home. Now, before we got into the ferry to MK island, aunt had called up Shetty Lunch Home to place an order for their specialty- Chicken Ghee Roast. It is very important to place an order at least an hour before so that they can serve it to you as soon as you arrive, else, there is an hour's waiting time at the minimum. It seems the chicken is marinated only when an order is placed and takes a long time for the marinated chicken to rest. I guess, people like to adopt weird strategies when it comes to their quick-selling specialties. Anyway, we were served the dish soon after we arrived. R enjoyed the chicken bursting with ghee. I, being a vegetarian, opted for the Gobi Ghee Roast but was not really impressed with it and found it way too salty and spicy to my liking. We then went to Ideal Ice Creams to soothe my tongue burnt with the spicy ghee roast. The choco-nut bar did its job as a fire-fighter very well. We again hopped into the car to head towards our next destination- Malpe beach.

R in the t-shirt from Cancona, outside Shetty Lunch Home in Kundapur

Malpe beach was very crowded place and also offered a lot of water sporting options and para-sailing. After our Mauritian experience with para-sailing, R and I were not very impressed with what was being offered at Malpe for para-sailing or other water sports. It came no where close to what we experienced previously. We opted for a doubles- ride though, on the water scooter. It was high tide at the time and the waters quite choppy but we managed to enjoy the ride. The 'pillion' rider needs to cling quite tightly to ensure their security as there is every possibility of being thrown into the sea in choppy waters. I only wish, that the people conducting the rides had a bit more concern for the safety of others at the beach and not of only those who are booking their rides. We again witnessed the sunset at Malpe beach and left for Manipal. After ablutions, we again enjoyed a nice home-cooked meal by aunt, ice-cream and the mangoes from the front yard. We also enjoyed 2 old English classics- The Old Man and the Sea and Some Like it Hot (partially)  from uncle's huge collection of movies and went to bed.

At Malpe Beach- Can you spot us? Clue: Water scooter

Next morning, we were up early to visit my mum-in-law's uncle and aunt in an ashram in Surathkal- Ajja  and Mamama. Ajja is about 96 and Mamama a few years younger. They spoke to us about their lives in Karkala and how they were spending their time at the ashram. They lit up our hearts with their cheerfulness. It made us realise how easy it is to be happy with simplicity. After spending time with them for an hour-hour and a half, we left for Manipal. 

Ajja-R-Mum-in-law-Mamama

On arriving, we quickly packed our bags as this was our last day of the entire trip and time to go back to Hyderabad. We then had a quick lunch and completed watching Some Like it Hot. By the time the movie ended, it was time for us to leave. 

We learnt a lot on the trip about our culture and establishment of temples. Being GSB Konkanis, we usually mingle amongst other GSB Konkanis of South Canara. On this trip, we had a glimpse of other non- GSB Konkanis of Karnataka and all types of Konkanis Goa in terms of lifestyle and differences in our cultures and languages. It was also strange, especially coming from Hyderabad, to see people unknown to each other communicate with one another in Konkani. It is a very very rare sight and hence, quite strange. 

We left bidding adieu to uncle, aunt and Manipal, knowing that we would be returning sometime soon and creating newer memories to cherish.