Karla revisited

We visited Karla after almost more than a decade. And we loved every minute of it.  

We drove down from Mumbai on the Expressway and the drive was uneventfully peaceful. 

Our first stop was Narayani Dham. Narayani Dham is a popular temple, built in 2002, located

in Lonavala, Maharashtra, dedicated to Goddess Narayani, an incarnation of Goddess Durga. The temple is beautifully designed with grand architecture and has an aura of divinity. 

The main deity of Narayani is flanked by Lord Ganesha and Hanuman on either side. There was a notice which stated that one could take photos of the deity but strictly no selfies! It is a practice which I feel all temples should follow.  

The interior decoration is typical Rajasthani and so are the priests. The temple attracts a large number of devotees from all over the country and is recognized for its peaceful ambiance and the sense of spiritual tranquility it offers.  

After paying obeisance to all the deities, we visited their Goshala (cow shed). It was spotlessly clean! 

Now it was time to put our growling stomachs to rest so we drove down to Manashakti

Research Centre canteen where we had amazing spicy batata wadas and sabudana wadas (with sweet curds) followed by a cup of hot Chaha.  

Next, we headed to MTDC Karla resort and checked into a lovely cottage. It was clean and what I liked was the check in process was totally paperless since I had made an online booking. The resort was as rustic as it was decades ago but the facilities were all modern. The staff were gracious and smiling. The only thing missing was an intercom in the cottage. Despite the fact that there weren't many people staying in the resort, their restaurant had all the listed menu items available, freshly prepared. Had a yummy lunch and a good siesta. 

In the evening, we took a walk to the Indrayani riverside which runs through the resort and

spent a lovely evening watching a beautiful sunset. 

Next morning we woke up early to catch the sunrise and we were not disappointed. 

After a heavy breakfast of Kanda Pohey and puri bhaaji in the MTDC restaurant we visited the

Durga Parameshwari temple. The idol is beautiful. This temple also houses the samadhi of Shrimath Parijnanashram Swamiji of the Chitrapur Saraswat community. After spending some meditative moments in the temple, we left for lunch at Siddhu Punjabi Dhaba.  

The ambiance and the food transported us to Amritsar as we gorged on Sarson da saag, Makay di roti and Missi roti followed by a tall glass of Lassi! There were cots there next to the dining tables where the diners could snooze before driving ahead.  

Spent the rest of the day exploring the MTDC resort surrounded by nature. It was a wonderful way to conclude our Karla visit.    

Linking to Mosaic Monday

Temples in Mangaluru

Had passed Mangalore city a number of times during my visit to Vittal for the annual Shashti festival but unfortunately never stopped by to explore Mangalore.

So, this time we decided to visit Mangalore for a day and check out the three temples that everyone talked about and of course have a seafood meal in one of the most hyped restaurants. 

Since there is enough information about the temples that we visited I will not go into much details but just give my view of the temple. In none of the temples that we visited was photography allowed hence all the photographs are from outside.

The first temple we visited was Mangladevi temple in Bolara. It was this temple that gave Mangalore, now Mangaluru, its name. 

The temple is dedicated to Shakti in the form of Godess Mangladevi.

As per one legend it was supposed to have been built by Parshurama, one of the tenth avatar of Lord Vishnu and later developed by Kundavarman, of the Alupa dynasty in the ninth century.

The engravings on the pillar, the exterior walls of the temple and specially at the entrance are beautiful.

The next temple we visited was the Gokarnanatheshwara Temple, otherwise known as Kudroli Sri Gokarnanatha Kshetra,  which is in the Kudroli area of Mangalore. It was consecrated by Narayana Guru and is dedicated to Gokarnanatha, a form of Lord Shiva. This temple was built in 1912 by Adhyaksha HoigeBazar Koragappa.  

It is a beautiful temple complex with various temples dedicated to various Gods apart from Gokarnatha.

There was the Hanuman temple, Shirdi Saibaba temple and the Krishna temple too and some beautiful

carvings around the temple pond.

The last but not the least temple that we visited was Kadri Manjunatheshwara temple in Kadri. It is estimated to have been built in the tenth or eleventh century and converted into a stone structure in the fourteenth century. It is dedicated to Manjunatha (another name for Shiva).

There is a natural spring, at the back of the temple at an elevation, called Gomukha. The water flows out of a cow's mouth. It is believed that the water originates from the river Bhagirathi river in Kashi and hence called Kashi Bhagirathi Teertha. 

This water is then directed into nine ponds where devotees can wash their hands and feet before entering the temple. 

The annual Jathra Mahotsava, a nine day festival is held every January beginning on Makar Sankranti. People from all over come for this festival and is celebrated with great religious fervour.

When we visited the temple, the Ayappa festival was on and a lot of people who are on their pilgrimage to Sabrimalai stop by to pay their respects.

All this visiting had made us hungry and so we decided to visit the most talked about seafood restaurant 'Girimanja's' to end our short day trip.

We had fish thalis and fried fish. 

The fried fish (mackerel/bangda and Anjal/surmai/kingfish was very tasty but soaking in oil. 

The ambiance is good and the service staff very attentive and friendly apart from being efficient! 

Linking back to Mosaic Monday

Jambrung

Just spent an amazing weekend in the salubrious environment-friendly Shri Bhuvaneshwari homestay in Jambrung, Maharashtra. This homestay is a labour of love by Amit for the natural environment. His love for nature and his conservation efforts are remarkable. The house runs on solar power and the water supply too is by harvesting rainwater and trapping aerial moisture. Cooking gas is generated from organic waste! There is never a shortage of water nor is there any power outage in that homestay! He also has provided solar power to the public school nearby to ensure they never run short of power for the computers that the students use!

The ambiance is amazingly serene with an amazing 360 degree view of mountains.

 

In the garden surrounding the homestay you can sit for hours, like we did, watching butterflies and dragonflies and damselflies flitting around, occasionally joined by sunbirds visiting for a drink from the blooming flowers.

If you are looking for some outdoor action you can drive down to the nearby Tembhure or Ambivali caves which is a single set of twelve viharas but now you will find Ganesha, Radha Krishna, Bhairav and other Hindu idols installed. It is a protected monument, protected by the Archaelogy Department of India.

Then we went on to check out the Solanpada dam backwaters. Since the rains had stopped over a month ago, not much water flowed or remained there but there was abundant bird life.

We were told we could hike with a guide to the Peth fort but due to lack of time and energy we kept it for the 'next time'.

One meal we had from a nearby restaurant called 'Parking Lot' which was delicious. the rest of the meals we cooked at the homestay and did not avail the facility of the in house cook.

Overall it was a fun experience with the main advantage being just a couple of hours away from Mumbai.

A must visit to recharge one's batteries!

For booking you may get in touch with Amit Amembal on +919619798342. He is an enthusiastic host and will ensure your comfort to meet your expectations.

Linking to a blog hop here

Honnavar

 On our way to Mangalore from Mumbai we stumbled upon a beautiful river side homestay in Honnavar. It was the only such homestay on the banks of the river Sharavathi. They had simple pretty cottages with bare necessities, no luxuries, home cooked food and their own tiny jetty to take visitors for a river cruise to see the sunset, sunrise and the beautiful birds that lived there.

The owner, guide and resident photographer Ganesh Hegde met us at the turn off from the highway on his motorcycle and guided us to the homestay. The last five hundred metres was a bit of off-roading adding to the adventure.

We reached there in the afternoon just in time for a sumptuous home cooked meal. A typical south Indian vegetarian meal.

We rested for a while and in the evening, we were treated to a beautiful sunset cruise in a motorised

👆Photo credit: Ganesh Hegde

boat and saw the river being criss crossed by a lot of boats transporting locals from the mainland to the nearby islands. Spotted flocks of cormorants and egrets either flying or resting. 

Ganesh kept up his running commentary all the time and pointing out good spots to take photographs. Was a beautiful memorable cruise and we returned to our cottage feeling very happy.

Spent the late evening dining by the riverside and watching the reflection of the moon dance on the river. A sight to behold.

Had a restful sleep, no dreams at least none that I can remember and woke up early next morning for the sunrise cruise.

We saw and adored the sunrise from outside our cottage and soon after got called by the boatman who had silently rowed in to pick us up. Ganesh joined us and soon we were up and away but silently in a row boat. 

He took us to an island where we spent some time admiring the flora and fauna, and sunlight streaming through the palm fronds. An ethereal experience.

During this cruise we noticed a lot of pre wedding shoots going on in various boats across the river. Apparently, a favourite destination for event photographers.

Returned to our cottage for a heavy breakfast and checked out from the homestay to get on the highway to Mangalore but not before Ganesh guided us to the ‘hanging bridge’ across the river, 

a conservation of mangroves site and finally a temple at the top of a nearby hill from where we could get a bird’s eye view of the forest all around.

This indeed was one of the most refreshingly interesting stopovers in Karnataka.