A Diwali in Gokarna
The thing about travel writing is that words can never capture the smells and sounds of the journey and that of the places where our feet take us. How does one begin to describe the ethereal sight of rain swollen paddy fields arising out of the dawn mist beneath the foothills of the western ghats?
I left bangalore for gokarna on diwali day, a few hours before most parts of the city erupted into a war zone. The intent was to escape for a couple of days at least, to a place that in my researched imagination, offered a refuge to spend some time by myself in quiet reflection. The twelve hour journey kickstarted from the s.r.s. travels terminus in majestic. And apart from a very unintentionally hilarious kannada flick called 'sringara kavya' the journey was quite uneventful and comfortable. The tickets cost us 400 one way per head.By city slicker standards, gokarna is a tiny hamlet, centered wholly around its ancient temples. The town, if I can call it that,
is easily covered on foot, and is charming and quaint in a way we have only read about in malgudi days and the like.
Gokarna, or gokarn,as the shop signs tell me, is built around the ancient mahabaleshwar temple, home to a shiva idol of totally unique dimensions. It looked like a crumpled fist to me though. The narrow lanes around the temple, as in any ancient mythological town, abound in cows, of a unique dwarf variety, dogs, garbage, shops n sadhus selling salvation, and most charmingly, the winding brahmin ghettos, them with their turn of the century architecture, mangalore tiled roofs, and old world ambience. Most of these dwellings seem to be housing a shrine to some deity or the other.
While visiting the mahabaleshwar and the other nearby temples, drop into the pai restaurant m the main thoroughfare and fill up on the local cuisine. Dont forget to order the k... Idli, this steamed wonder comes wrapped in a leaf, to be opened by you. And post meal, pick up your camera and enter the lanes opposite the eatery, which will take you into the traditional localities mentioned above, to the ancient kalyani, the temple tank. Just the ideal place for some quiet moments by yourself.
A five minute walk from the mahabaleswar temple brings you to the gokarna beach, a disappointingly tiny stretch of garbage and sand. Best avoided.
On to the beaches. There are five principal beaches gokarn is known for, namely om, kudle, half moon, little paradise, and paradise. Interestingly, each of these are located adjacent to each other, separated by a thickly forested hill, which does make for enjoyable trekking, provided you are not sissy about sweating it out and getting your hands dirty. A short rickshaw ride from the town will bring you to the Kudle beach, which along with its just around the hill neighbour Om beach, are the nearest ones from the town. All the five beaches offer accomodation on the beach, in bamboo huts and the more concrete cabins. Rates vary from 200 to 800 per night. Though one does get the feeling that the white skins are more favoured than us natives. Better reserve your accomodation before you land up there or it might take a few sweaty tiring hours running up and down the beach trying to find a shack. While Om beach is the more popular one, Kudle is the one with the wider stretches of sand and cleaner waves (or so it seems), and lesser people. The people in this case being the predominant groups of Israeli tourists (me thinks ex-army), Brits, and our own janta, most of whom hang out to catch a glimpse of the foreign ladies in their beachwear.
Om beach offers boat rides, speedboat rides and banana boat rides, boat services are available between beaches for astronomical prices. The beaches are abound in open air pubs which are called 'Cafe' in these parts. Offering accomocation and sustenance, the menu in almost every single one of these sea facing cafes feature Israeli and continental dishes. The cafes on Om beach are just a stone's throw from the rolling waves that reach almost upto the steps in the night. Evenings at the cafe are for long walks on the beach (provided the tide has left some sand for you to walk on) and for catching up or ruminating over a book with some beer and hot meals for company. Though not too expensive (by Bangalore standards), the food in most of the cafes is quite filling. Special mention must be made here of the tea and black coffee served at om beach's Namaste Cafe. Namaste Cafe is where we stayed, in a cabin that is reached by a small walk up a short ravine up from the Cafe. Rent: 700 bucks with 100 extra for a extra bed. Decent beds and Running water etc all OK.
Recommended activities while on the beaches: Get up early before sunrise and run on the beach. Nothing quite like it. And while you are at it, get to know the resident dogs. These guys rule the place. Lie down on the sand and watch the sky changing color as it welcomes another day. And wait for the waves to start tickling your toes.
Doodle on the sand, create sand masterpieces, create your sand castles, be a child, play volleyball in the waves, find a secluded corner of the rocks and catch up on your life, or better still trek to the highest point in the cliffs you can see around you. And once you reach there, sit back, lie down and just enjoy the view. Or roll a joint and pass it around.
I left bangalore for gokarna on diwali day, a few hours before most parts of the city erupted into a war zone. The intent was to escape for a couple of days at least, to a place that in my researched imagination, offered a refuge to spend some time by myself in quiet reflection. The twelve hour journey kickstarted from the s.r.s. travels terminus in majestic. And apart from a very unintentionally hilarious kannada flick called 'sringara kavya' the journey was quite uneventful and comfortable. The tickets cost us 400 one way per head.By city slicker standards, gokarna is a tiny hamlet, centered wholly around its ancient temples. The town, if I can call it that,
is easily covered on foot, and is charming and quaint in a way we have only read about in malgudi days and the like.
Gokarna, or gokarn,as the shop signs tell me, is built around the ancient mahabaleshwar temple, home to a shiva idol of totally unique dimensions. It looked like a crumpled fist to me though. The narrow lanes around the temple, as in any ancient mythological town, abound in cows, of a unique dwarf variety, dogs, garbage, shops n sadhus selling salvation, and most charmingly, the winding brahmin ghettos, them with their turn of the century architecture, mangalore tiled roofs, and old world ambience. Most of these dwellings seem to be housing a shrine to some deity or the other.
While visiting the mahabaleshwar and the other nearby temples, drop into the pai restaurant m the main thoroughfare and fill up on the local cuisine. Dont forget to order the k... Idli, this steamed wonder comes wrapped in a leaf, to be opened by you. And post meal, pick up your camera and enter the lanes opposite the eatery, which will take you into the traditional localities mentioned above, to the ancient kalyani, the temple tank. Just the ideal place for some quiet moments by yourself.
A five minute walk from the mahabaleswar temple brings you to the gokarna beach, a disappointingly tiny stretch of garbage and sand. Best avoided.
On to the beaches. There are five principal beaches gokarn is known for, namely om, kudle, half moon, little paradise, and paradise. Interestingly, each of these are located adjacent to each other, separated by a thickly forested hill, which does make for enjoyable trekking, provided you are not sissy about sweating it out and getting your hands dirty. A short rickshaw ride from the town will bring you to the Kudle beach, which along with its just around the hill neighbour Om beach, are the nearest ones from the town. All the five beaches offer accomodation on the beach, in bamboo huts and the more concrete cabins. Rates vary from 200 to 800 per night. Though one does get the feeling that the white skins are more favoured than us natives. Better reserve your accomodation before you land up there or it might take a few sweaty tiring hours running up and down the beach trying to find a shack. While Om beach is the more popular one, Kudle is the one with the wider stretches of sand and cleaner waves (or so it seems), and lesser people. The people in this case being the predominant groups of Israeli tourists (me thinks ex-army), Brits, and our own janta, most of whom hang out to catch a glimpse of the foreign ladies in their beachwear.
Om beach offers boat rides, speedboat rides and banana boat rides, boat services are available between beaches for astronomical prices. The beaches are abound in open air pubs which are called 'Cafe' in these parts. Offering accomocation and sustenance, the menu in almost every single one of these sea facing cafes feature Israeli and continental dishes. The cafes on Om beach are just a stone's throw from the rolling waves that reach almost upto the steps in the night. Evenings at the cafe are for long walks on the beach (provided the tide has left some sand for you to walk on) and for catching up or ruminating over a book with some beer and hot meals for company. Though not too expensive (by Bangalore standards), the food in most of the cafes is quite filling. Special mention must be made here of the tea and black coffee served at om beach's Namaste Cafe. Namaste Cafe is where we stayed, in a cabin that is reached by a small walk up a short ravine up from the Cafe. Rent: 700 bucks with 100 extra for a extra bed. Decent beds and Running water etc all OK.
Recommended activities while on the beaches: Get up early before sunrise and run on the beach. Nothing quite like it. And while you are at it, get to know the resident dogs. These guys rule the place. Lie down on the sand and watch the sky changing color as it welcomes another day. And wait for the waves to start tickling your toes.
Doodle on the sand, create sand masterpieces, create your sand castles, be a child, play volleyball in the waves, find a secluded corner of the rocks and catch up on your life, or better still trek to the highest point in the cliffs you can see around you. And once you reach there, sit back, lie down and just enjoy the view. Or roll a joint and pass it around.
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