RSS FeedKerebasadi of Varanga
Dec 12, 2010 Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka, Pilgrimage
The noise of the bus died down as it went ahead after dropping me at this small sleepy village, Varanga. I walked along the mud road which the bus conductor asked me to take, “Keep on walking till you reach the lake, it’s just 2-3 minutes walk”, he had said. Personal experiences have taught me that when you ask a localite for distances/time to a certain place, you need to multiply by a factor anywhere between 1.5 & 3 to get the actual value. Just as I was mentally prepared for a long walk, there I was at the edge of the lake within 2 mins. I was proved wrong!
There I was looking at a small temple in the middle of the pond with full of aquatic plants and with backdrop of beautiful lush green hillocks. While I was savoring the beautiful nature, from a distance a person clad in white was waving to get my attention. Seated behind a small writing desk, he greeted me with a smile when I approached him. He was the priest who also acts as the boatman. He guided me to the boat what resembles a canoe made of metal. Boat is the only mode of transport to reach the Kere basadi as swimming is virtually not possible due to the density of the water plants. As the boat sailed making way between the lotuses and other flowers, it was as if I was is in some other universe. Standing in front of the basadi gives a panoramic view of the place – the village, old temples, green hillocks, cultivated land. Since I was the lone visitor at that time and the priest was also relatively free, both of us had plenty of time to spare with us in the middle of the pond. After spending handful amount of time, and then visiting other two basadis, I was back at the bus stop waiting for the rickety bus to take me home.
About Varanga:
Varanga is a Jain pilgrimage in Udupi district of Karnataka, which boasts of three old Jain temples. Chandranath basadi and Neminath basadi are situated on the bank of the pond. ‘Kere Basadi’ which is situated in the middle of the pond is a ‘Chaturmukha basadi‘ dedicated to four jain tirthankaras – Parshvanath, Neminath, Ananthnath and Shantinath. The Kere basadi is said to be built during early 18th century.
Varanga is 25 KMs away from Karkala on Karkala-Hebri road (9KMs from Hebri). Approximately 385KMs from Bangalore and 90 KMs from Mangalore.
Kere basadi = ‘kere‘ meaning pond/lake in Kannada and ‘basadi‘ = Jain temple.
Chaturmukha basadi = A Jain temple with four identical doorways in four directions.
I Was Here: Jageshwar
May 2, 2009 I Was Here, North India, Pilgrimage, Uttarakhand
And I know that I, I will do more than just pass through this life
I’ll leave nothin less that something that says
I was here, I was here, I was here, I was hereby Lady Antebellum
Here I start – ‘I Was Here’ – a photo series with a photo or two from the places I’ve visited so far, along with a line or two about the place & may be on photo. I will be posting under this title randomly, without any specific frequency.
I saw these two camera-shy girls playing in the temple premises of Jageshwar. They were enjoying their time to the fullest – full of energey, running around, chasing one another and at the same time shying from the cameras. Captured in October 2008.
Mandharagiri (Basadi Betta)
Mar 8, 2009 Karnataka, One day outing, Pilgrimage, Tumkur
Ask anyone in Tumkur for directions to Mandharagiri, it’s most unlikely that you will get proper details. But wait, now ask for directions to Basadi Betta (or Basti betta), almost everyone knows how to go there. Basadi Betta is a small hillock off Bangalore – Tumkur road. The name Basadi betta is due to the jain temple (basadi) on top of the hillock.
While travelling towards Tumkur from Bangalore, some 10 KMs before Tumkur you can see this small hill with word ‘Mandharagiri’ written (in Kannada) on face of the hill. It’s not adjucent to the highway but have to travel (turn right while comin from Bangalore) couple of kilometers to reach the foot of the hill. A hundred or two steps of climbing takes you to the basadi door. While the southern gives the urban landscape, on the other side lies lake Maidala (once source of drinking water to Tumkur city) with the backdrop countless number of hills. Out of them, Devarayana Durga & Ramadrvara Gudda are the prominent ones (or the names which I know :D).
With respect to architecture, the basadi doesn’t attract many people. But the place brims with devotees during festival season & a calm place for many away from the buzzing life. An year ago, a monolith of Chandraprabha Theerthankara was installed at the foot the hill. The statue which stands at a height of 21 feet is claimed to be the tallest statue of Chandraprabha Theerthankara. In case if you are driving by Tumkur and need a break, then you know where to go.
Interesting places near Tumkur:
Trek to Parvathamalai
Jan 27, 2009 Pilgrimage, Tamil Nadu, Trek, Weekend Getaway
Most of my travels are limited to Karnataka and when I came to know that there is trekking plan in Tamilnadu, I jumped in. Parvathamalai, a pilgrimage near Polur in Thiruvannamalai district of Tamilnadu was our destination. Since it takes 4 to 5 hours to climb up, we left Bangalore on Saturday morning to reach Thiruvannamalai by noon. After visiting & roaming around the Shiva temple, we started towards Parvathamalai. It was past 2 in the afternoon when we started climbing.
Parvathamalai is more of a pilgrimage than a trekking spot. We saw pilgrims of all age – from as young as 3-4 years to as old as 70-75 years – climbing up & down the hill en route our trek. There is a temple of Shiva at the top, which the hill is approximately 3500 ft above sea level & is in Thiruvannamalai district of Tamilnadu. There are two routes to reach the peak – one from village Thenmathimagalam which is lengthy but easier and the other from Kadaladi village which is shorter but steep. We took the latter for both climbing up & down.
The path from Kadaladi village starts off like a jeep track and soon narrows down to path where one has to walk one behind the other. Most part of the hill is shrubs with trees scattered all around. That means you can be under a shadow only now and then. The shrubs in the initial stretch were dry & full of thorns. Three fourth of the hill is a steady climb and can be covered without much fuss. The final part is the steep climb on rocks, which is not so difficult if you are there on a bright sunny day. But that will be challenging if you have to climb that stretch after Sun has gone done in the west, with a surprise drizzles making the rocks completely slippery.
We reached the top around 7.30, after the tough final climb. Apart from the visit to the temple & packed dinner which we carried, it was just talking, talking & talking till we slept. Coming down the hill was easier, thanks to gravitational force. We took little over 2 hours to reach Kadaladi. A nice bath in cold water was refreshing before we boarded the vehicle back to Bangalore.
Few things to keep in mind, if you are planning to vist the place and/or stay overnight at the peak – there is no water available at the peak. Every drop of water – be it for drinking or any other purpose has to be carried along. It’s better to carry food, though food is provided at the temple. Reason, most of the devotees climb the hill without bringing food. Last, but most important, please don’t litter.
Photo Credits – Srik. I lost all the photos of the trip as the memory card of my camera got corrupted.
