Thursday, May 03, 2007

Malnad Trip

It is amazing how something as common as a cool breeze (refreshing, but common nevertheless) can take one on a nostalgic trip down memory lane. It happened to me when I was returning from work today evening. It was very cloudy, and considering the weather for the past few days, it was very cool. I was sitting in the car, looking at the trees passing us by on either side. And suddenly I realized how cool it was today, just like it was when I visited Malnad, a few years ago.

I have acknowledged elsewhere, I think, that I have this strange affinity towards malenaaDu. My trips were few and short, but when walking around there, I have felt at least as local as the locals themselves. I feel that every tree and every rock there speaks to me in a language that I understand. The rain (this trip, the one I enjoyed most, was in June and it was raining hard) could deter others from venturing out, but not me. A part of my mind has lived there, enjoying and worshipping the pristine beauty of the hills and the valleys of malenaaDu every day, before I even saw the place for the first time.

We went to Kukke Subramanya first and the same evening, we went to Dharmasthala. Thence we went to Beltangadi via the picturesque Charmudi ghats. We then went to Horanaadu and from there, to Sringeri. It was then back-to-Bangalore from there. The interesting thing about this trip was not so much about the deities and the temples in the places we visited. That was there, of course, but what is making me nostalgic is the route we took. We happened to take local buses everywhere. I did not want to hire a private vehicle, because then I would remain an outsider. This cost us some time, but it was worth it. A couple of the drivers of the buses stopped at some places, to let me take photographs.

The beautiful Malnad becomes greener and more beautiful during the rainy season. The already thick forests become thicker. The hills and the trees bathe, now in the pouring rain and then in the sunlight. When it rains, it is hard to even see one's hands. The roads are lined on either side with thick trees, a la wooden grills. Clouds rest languidly in the verdant valleys, unwilling to rise up. Here and there, one sees solitary houses. Every couple of kilometres, there is a small, often shy waterfall. Ah... if any place on Earth can be called Elysium, Malnad should be one of the contenders.

A couple of lines from a poem of Prof.Nissar Ahmed's, come to mind -
ಈ ಘಳಿಗೆಯೆ ಮೈ ತಾಳಿತು ಎನುವಂತಿದೆ ಲೋಕ
ಇಡಿ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಯೆ ಸೊಗವಾಂತಿದೆ, ಸಮಯವೇ ನಸು ನಿಂತಂತಿದೆ
ಬಾ ಮಾಡಿಸು ಕಣ್ಮನಗಳಿಗಾನಂದದ ಅಭಿಷೇಕ
I do not know if I can make another trip like this ever again, in spite of my yearning. All I have now are the wonderful pictures, enshrined in my mind. I do not think that I can ever forget them.

14 comments:

Unknown said...

yea
wat ever u have written is true.i understand the feeling we get wen we c the green.i too experienced the feeling u got while treking frm sakaleshpur to subramanya.

mouna said...

lovely poetry!

malnad comes alive during the rain! the washed greenery, those deightful smells, amazing!

i'm taken back to those hills, thanks parijata! :)

parijata said...

Deepak,
Thanks for the comment. I have wanted so much to make that trek from Sakaleshpur to subramanya, but haven't been able to go. I hope to do that at least once in my life.

Mouna,
Thanks for the comment. Kuvempu, in his ಮಲೆನಾಡಿನ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು, says 'ಬೇಟೆಗಾರರಾಗಿ ಹೋದವರು ಕಬ್ಬಿಗರಾಗಿ ಮನೆಗೆ ಬಂದೆವು'. That place can make a poet of anybody!

Unknown said...

hello..i'v not been there b4..but after readin this post, i so wish 2 be there..trust me u hav written it well and u make ppl lik me feel bad tat i'v not been 2 malnad til now!! :)

Anonymous said...

Felt refreshed after reading this post. Thanks Parijatha.
Remembered these lines penned by Kuvempu:

Hoguvenu Na, Hoguvenu Na,
Nanna Olumeya Goodige
Maleya Nadige, Maleya Beedige
Siriya Cheluvina Roodige

....

Alli Kanana Madye,
Bhadre Tumbi Harivalu Nunnage...
Hoguvenu Na, Hoguvenu Na
Nanna Olumeya Goodige

Anonymous said...

Good writeup. I was there in kukke and dharmasthala last year. The road was bumpy but scenary was serene as suggested.

Missed horanadu and sringeri..need to catch up.

Anonymous said...

parijatha,
we had planned a trip to malnad this weekend. due to a relative's bad health condition, it has been postponed.

ps: you have been blogrolled.

parijata said...

Hello Abhi,
Welcome to my blog. May you get to visit there soon.

bellur avare,
Thanks for the poem, and for blogrolling me :)
Agree 100% with Kuvempu, though Malenaadu is not (strictly speaking), my home!
We had another poem by Kuvempu, in the 5th standard. I remember only the first few lines.

ಸದ್ದಿರದ ಪಸುರುಡೆಯ ಮಲೆನಾಡ ಬನಗಳಲಿ
ಮೊರೆವ ತೊರೆಯೆಡೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗುಡಿಸಿಲೊಂದಿರಲಿ
ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಗಿಳಿ ಗೊರವಂಕ ಕೋಗಿಲೆಗಳಿಂಚರವು
ಕಲೆಯುತಲೆಯಲೆಯಾಗಿ ತೇಲಿ ಬರುತಿರಲಿ
ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಬಳಿ ಪಸಲೆಯಲಿ ದನಗಳಂಬಾ ಎಂಬ
ದನಿಯು ದನ ಕಾಯುವನ ಕೊಳಲೊಡನೆ ಬರಲಿ ...

Just the first two lines are enough to take me to a dream-like state!

Hope your relative is feeling better.

Mohan avare,
Thanks for the comment. The route from Sringeri to Horanaadu is very beautiful. There are tea estates on the way, and the views are really breathtaking.

Anonymous said...

ನನ್ನ ಬಯಕೆ - Isn't that the title of the poem ?

Ditto like you.....Not really from malenADu...but have always enjoyed the nature there and yearn for it !!!

parijata said...

DS,
Yes, that's the title of the poem. Thanks.
And hey, I tried to comment on your blog, but looks like there is a problem with wordpress. I could not get it to accept my comment...

Anonymous said...

ayyo, parijaaata amma, namduki malenad nalli current illa. neerilla. voged batte vanagakke 3 dina beku. kemp bassilla. school illa. aaaaaaspital illa.

nimduki bengloornalli yella ide.

yake malenaad pirithi?

will-

parijata said...

ಹೆಸರು ಹೇಳಲಿಚ್ಛಿಸದವರೇ,
ನೀವು ಹೇಳಿರುವ "ಕಾಟ"ಗಳ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಇನ್ನೂ ಒಂದು ಕಾಟವನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸಬಯಸುವೆ. ಅದು ನಕ್ಸಲರ ಕಾಟ. ನನ್ನ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಇದೊಂದೇ ನಿಜವಾದ ಕಾಟ. ಇರಲಿ. ಇನ್ನೂ ಹೇಳಬೇಕೆಂದರೆ ಸೊಳ್ಳೆಗಳ ಕಾಟ, ಹಸುಕರುಗಳು ತಪ್ಪಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗುವ ಕಾಟ, ಒಂದೇ ಎರಡೇ? ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಹತ್ತಿರವಿರುವ ನಮ್ಮ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಯವರೊಬ್ಬರಿಗೆ ಕಾಯಿಲೆಯಾದಾಗ, ಎದ್ದು ಬಿದ್ದು ಅವರನ್ನು ಕರೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಬಂದು ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗೆ ಸೇರಿಸಿದಾಗ "ಹಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಯಾದರೂ ಇರಬಾರದೇ" ಎಂದು ಹಲುಬಿದ್ದಿದೆ. ಹಳ್ಳಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ವಾಸವಾಗುವುದು ಎಷ್ಟು ಕಷ್ಟ ಎಂದು ನನಗೆ ತಿಳಿದಿದೆ. ಅಥವಾ ತಿಳಿದಿದೆಯೆಂದು ಅಂದುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ಆದರೂ ಮಲೆನಾಡಿನ ಬಗ್ಗೆ "ಅದು ನನ್ನದೇ" ಎನ್ನುವಂಥ ಪ್ರೀತಿ ನನಗೆ. ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣ ನನಗೆ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. "ಮಲೆನಾಡು ನನ್ನ ಮನೆ" ಎನ್ನುವುದು ನನಗೆ unheard melody, ಅನುಭವಿಸದೆ ಇರುವ ಸುಖ. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ನನಗೆ ಅದು ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಿ ಸಿಹಿಯಾಗಿ ತೋರುತ್ತದೆಯೇನೋ?

Chevar said...

ತುಂಬಾ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿದೆ ಬರಹ. ಅಂತೂ ನಮ್ಮ ಊರಿಗೆ ದಾಳಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ರಿ ಅಂತಾಯ್ತು.

parijata said...

ಮಹೇಶ್ ಅವರೆ,
ಮೆಚ್ಚುಗೆಗಾಗಿ ಧನ್ಯವಾದಗಳು.
ಹೌದು, ನಿಮ್ಮೂರಿಗೆ ದಾಳಿ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೆವು. ಬೇಗ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ದಾಳಿ ಮಾಡುವ ಆಸೆ. ಕೈಗೂಡುತ್ತದೆಯೋ ಇಲ್ಲವೋ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ.