2nd August 2008

Last Saturday, I visited this Temple while returning from Chikmagalur. Though I have been to Belur several times, I never had camera with me.

The construction of the Temple was started by Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana in 1117 AD. Well, there is enough information about Belur in web. So, I will not get into the details of the Temple. The details given to each stone carving is excellent.

Here is the front portion of the Temple.

Manasthamba

Darpana Sundari (beauty with mirror), the most popular Shilabhalika.

Raya Gopura, which was constructed later by Harihara II of Vijayanagar Empire. This has been recently renovated.

A damaged idol

Stone carving depicting that during teenage even donkey looks beautiful!!

An Idol inside the Temple.

More photos of this Temple can be seen here.

The night of August 11/12 is predicted to be the peak for Perseids meteor shower this year.

If you can, get out from the city lights, and enjoy the show in the sky!

Click here for more information on Perseids meteor shower.

-neelanjana

ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸಿದರೆ
ಮಾಸ್ಟರ್ ಪೀಸ್ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ
ಎಂದು ಕನಸು ಕಾಣುವವನಿಗೆ

ಖಾಲಿ ಹಾಳೆಯ ಜೊತೆ ಪೆನ್ನಿಟ್ಟು
ಒಂದಿಷ್ಟು ಏಕಾಂತ ಕೊಟ್ಟು
ಒಂದೆರಡು ಗಂಟೆ ಬಿಟ್ಟು

ಬಂದು ನೋಡಿ

ಖಾಲಿಯ ಹಾಳೆಯ
ಮೇಲೊಂದು
ಚುಕ್ಕೆಯೂ
ಮೂಡಿರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ

It was noon when we reached Bekal fort. Wrong time & season - noon & summer - to visit Bekal. The place was almost deserted, with few people here and there. After roaming around the fort - peeping into the (now closed) tunnel, observation tower - we went down to the beach. Sea in this part is a bit rough & not safe for getting into water as lot of rocks are there in the beach.

The fort - the biggest in Kerala, is close to 450 years old & spear over forty acres. Bekal fort was built by Keladi Nayakas post Battle of Taalikote. And main intention of building the fort was for fulfilling defense requirements. And in our era Bekal shot into fame again after a song sequence from the movie Bombay was shot here, so much that when one hears the word Bekal, next word which comes to mind will be Bombay.

Heat & the humidity was brutal. To add to the misery, I forgot to carry my hat that day. Just as we climbed our way back to the fort from beach, those two ladies selling cool drinks & soda appeared to us as angels. Gulped down couple of masala sodas & then headed towards our vehicle.

Continuation of my West Coast ride story.

ಸಂಜೆ ಮುಗಿದಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಇರುಳು ಶುರುವಾಗಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಬಿಸಿಲು ಕಣ್ಮರೆಯಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ, ಸೂರ್ಯನ ನೆರಳು ಚಾಚಿಕೊಂಡಿತ್ತು. ಮನೆಯೊಳಗೆ ಯಾರೋ ಅರೆಮನಸ್ಸಿನಿಂದ ಎಸೆದ ನಸುಬೆಳಕು, ಪುಟ್ಟ ಮಗು ಚೌಕಕ್ಕೆ ತುಂಬಿದ ಕಪ್ಪುಬಣ್ಣದ ನಡುವೆ ಖಾಲಿ ಉಳಿದ ಜಾಗದಂತೆ ಕಾಣಿಸುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಹಳೇ ಕಾಲದ ಮೇಜಿನಡಿ ಜೋಡಿನೆರಳುಗಳು ತೆಕ್ಕೆಬಿದ್ದು ಹೆಣೆಯಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು.
ಅಷ್ಟು ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ ಬೆಳಕಾಯಿತು. ದೂರದಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೋ ಟ್ರೇನು ಬಂದು ನಿಂತ ಸದ್ದು. ಆ ಸದ್ದಿಗೂ ಕತ್ತಲೆಯ ಸುದ್ದಿ ತಿಳಿದಿತ್ತೋ ಎಂಬಂತೆ ಎಂದಿಗಿಂತ ವೇಗವಾಗಿಯೇ ಅದು ಆ ಕತ್ತಲನ್ನು ಆಗಷ್ಟೇ ಹೊರಹಾಕಿದ್ದ ಮನೆಯ ಒಳಗನ್ನೂ ತಲುಪಿತು.
ಬೆಳಕು ಆವತ್ತು ಮಾತಾಡಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಮಾತಾಡುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಏನೂ ಉಳಿದೇ ಇಲ್ಲವೇನೋ ಎಂಬಂತೆ ಕತ್ತಲು ಕೂಡ ನೆರಳಿನ ಕೂಡ ಜಗಳ ಆಡುತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ನಾವಿಬ್ಬರೂ ಸಹಬಾಳ್ವೆ ನಡೆಸಬೇಕಾದ ಜಾಗ ಇದು ಎನ್ನುವುದು ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟವಾಗಿ ಗೊತ್ತಿದ್ದವರ ಹಾಗೆ ಅವೆರಡೂ ಒಂದೇ ತಾಯಿಯ ಮಕ್ಕಳೋ ಎಂಬಷ್ಟು ಸಹಜವಾಗಿ ಆಪ್ತವಾಗಿ ಒಡನಾಡಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದವು.
ಮನೆಗೆ ಅಂಗಳ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಬೀದಿಗೇ ಚಾಚಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದ ಬಾಗಿಲು. ಹಾದಿಹೋಕ ತಪ್ಪಿ ಒಂದು ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ ಪಕ್ಕಕ್ಕಿಟ್ಟರೆ ಮನೆಯೊಳಗೆ ಬರಬಹುದಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಆದರೆ, ಹಾಗೆ ತಪ್ಪಿ ಒಳಬಂದವರನ್ನು ಆ ಮನೆ ಯಾವತ್ತೂ ನೋಡಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಬರಬೇಕಾಗಿದ್ದವರೇ ಬಾರದೇ ಉಳಿದ ಮನೆ ಅದು. ಹೀಗಾಗಿ ಅಪರಿಚಿತರ ಪಾಲಿಗಂತೂ ಅದು ಮುಚ್ಚಿದ ಬಾಗಿಲು. ಆ ಬಾಗಿಲಿಗೆ ಒಮ್ಮೊಮ್ಮೆ ಬೀಗ ಜೋತುಬಿದ್ದು, ಇಡೀ ಮನೆಯ ರಕ್ಷಣೆಯ ಹೊಣೆ ನನ್ನದು ಎನ್ನುವ ಅಹಂಕಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂತಿರುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಅದರ ಅಹಂಕಾರವನ್ನು ಅಣಕಿಸುತ್ತಾ, ಕಳ್ಳರ ಅತೀವ ಚಾಣಾಕ್ಷತನಗಳು ಆ ಮನೆಯ ಮುಂದೆಯೇ ಓಡಾಡಿದ್ದುಂಟು. ಅಂಥ ಜಾಣ್ಮೆಗೆ ಸವಾಲಾಗುವ ಶಕ್ತಿಯಂತೂ ಆ ಬೀಗಕ್ಕಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಅದು ಅಷ್ಟು ವರುಷ ನಿಯತ್ತಿನ ಕಾವಲುಗಾರನಾಗಿ ಉಳಿದಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣ ಅದನ್ನು ಮುಟ್ಟದೇ ಮುಂದೆ ಸಾಗಿದ ಕಸಬುಗಾರಿಕೆಯ ಕರುಣೆಯೇ ಹೊರತು, ಬೀಗದ ಶಕ್ತಿಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ ಅಲ್ಲ.
ರಸ್ತೆ ಆಚೆ ಬದಿಗೆ ಬೀದಿದೀಪವಿತ್ತು. ಅದರ ಬೆಳಕಿಗೆ ಮನೆಯೊಳಗಿನ ಕತ್ತಲೆಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಅತೀವ ಮರುಕವೂ ಇತ್ತು. ಬಾಗಿಲು ತೆಗೆದಾಗೊಮ್ಮೆ ಆ ಬೆಳಕು ಮನೆಯೊಳಗೆ ಕಾಲಿಟ್ಚು ಒಳಗೆ ಮನೆಮಾಡಿದ್ದ ಅರೆಗತ್ತಲ ಹರೆಯಕ್ಕೊಂದು ಕಣ್ಣುಹೊಡೆದು ಮರಳುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಆ ಕತ್ತಲನ್ನು ಕೂಡಿ, ತನ್ನ ಪ್ರಜ್ವಲತೆಯನ್ನು ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು ವಿಸ್ತರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಅವಕಾಶವಂತೂ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿರಲೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಆ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಬೀದಿ ದೀಪದ ಬೆಳಕಿಗೆ ಅಪಾರ ಸಿಟ್ಟೂ ಇದ್ದಂತಿತ್ತು. ಆದರೆ ಆ ಸಿಟ್ಟನ್ನು ವಿಷಾದದ ಅರಿವೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸುತ್ತಿಟ್ಟು ಅದು ಮಂದವಾಗಿ ಉರಿಯುತ್ತಿತ್ತು.
ಅಡುಗೆ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ತಟ್ಟೆ ಸದ್ದು ಮಾಡಿತು. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ವರಾಂಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಕುರ್ಚಿಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಕೂತಿದ್ದ ಕಾಲುಗಳು ಭಂಗಿ ಬದಲಾಯಿದವು. ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆಲ್ಲ ಶಂಖದ ದನಿ ಮನೆಯೊಳಗಿನ ಅರೆಗತ್ತಲ ನಿದ್ದೆಯನ್ನು ಅರೆಕ್ಷಣ ಓಡಿಸುತ್ತದೆ ಅನ್ನುವುದು ಕತ್ತಲೆಗೂ ಗೊತ್ತಿತ್ತು.
ಮನೆಯೊಳಗೆ ಅದೇನೋ ಸದ್ದಾಯಿತು. ಆ ಅಪರಿಚಿತ ಸದ್ದಿಗೆ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳೂ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಕಿವಿಗಳೂ ಚುರುಕಾದವು. ಆ ಸದ್ದಿಗೂ ತನಗೂ ಸಂಬಂಧವೇ ಇಲ್ಲ ಎಂಬಂತೆ ಎಂಟೂ ದಿಕ್ಕುಗಳೂ ತೆಪ್ಪಗಿದ್ದವು. ಆ ನೀರವದಲ್ಲಿ ದೂರದಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೋ ಮಳೆಯಾದ ಘಮಲು ತೇಲಿಕೊಂಡು ಬಂದು ಕತ್ತಲ ಮೈಗೆ ಸವರಿತು.


ಕತ್ತಲು ಪುಳಕಗೊಂಡು, ಆ ಪರಿಮಳಕ್ಕೆ ತನ್ನನ್ನು ಒಪ್ಪಿಸಿಕೊಂಡುಬಿಟ್ಟಿತು.
ಕೇಶವಮೂರ್ತಿ ರೇಲು ಬಂತು, ಹೋಯ್ತು ಎಂದು ಪಿಸುಗುಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡರು. ಶಾಂತಮ್ಮನ ನಿಟ್ಟುಸಿರು ಆ ಪಿಸುಮಾತಿಗೆ ಮುತ್ತಿಡಲು ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ ಮುಂದಿಟ್ಟಿತು. ಅವೆರಡೂ ಕ್ಷಣಾರ್ಧದಲ್ಲಿ ದಿವಂಗತವಾದವು.
-೨-
ಹೊರಟ ಹಾದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೂಬಿಸಿಲಿತ್ತು. ಅದು ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನದ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ ದೂರ್ವಾಸರ ಹಾಗೆ ಕೆಂಡಾಮಂಡಲವಾಗಿ, ಮತ್ತೆ ಊರ್ವಶಿಯ ಹಾಗೆ ತಂಪಾಗಿ, ಕೊನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮೇನಕೆಯ ಹಾಗೆ ಮೈ ಚಾಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾಯುತ್ತಿತ್ತು.
ಚಿರಪರಿಚಿತ ರಸ್ತೆ. ತನ್ನನ್ನು ತುಳಿದು ಸಾಗಿದವರನ್ನು ಅದು ಯಾವತ್ತೂ ನಿರಾಸೆ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಿಲ್ಲ. ಹೊರಟವರನ್ನು ಹೊರಟಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ತಲುಪಿಸಿ ಮರಳಿ ಕರೆತಂದ ಖ್ಯಾತಿ ಅದಕ್ಕಿತ್ತು.
ಚಪ್ಪಲಿ ತೊಟ್ಟ ಪಾದಗಳ ವಿಚಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಆ ರಸ್ತೆಗೆ ತಕರಾರು. ಬರಿಗಾಲಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಯುವವರನ್ನು ಕಂಡರೆ ಅಚ್ಚುಮೆಚ್ಚು. ತೀರ ಸಂತೋಷ ಉಕ್ಕಿದಾಗ ಒಂದೆರಡು ಹಳದಿ ಹೂವುಗಳನ್ನು ಅರಳಿಸಿ ಅದು ರೋಮಾಂಚಗೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಆ ಹೂವುಗಳಿಗೆ ದೀರ್ಘಾಯುಷ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ ಎನ್ನುವ ಕೊರಗೂ ಆ ರಸ್ತೆಗಿತ್ತು. ಆದರೆ, ಶಾಶ್ವತವಾದದ್ದು ಯಾವತ್ತೂ ಸುಂದರವಾಗಿರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂಬ ಸತ್ಯವನ್ನು ಅನೇಕರು ಆ ರಸ್ತೆಗೆ ಕಲಿಸಿಕೊಟ್ಟಿದ್ದರು.
ತನಗೊಂದು ಕೊನೆಯಿದೆ ಮತ್ತು ಮೊದಲಿದೆ ಅನ್ನುವುದೇ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲದ ಹುಂಬ ರಸ್ತೆ ಅದು. ನಡೆದಷ್ಟೂ ತೆರೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಅದನ್ನು ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೊರಟವ ಕಾಲುಗಳೆಲ್ಲ ಅರ್ಧಕ್ಕೇ ಹಳಿ ಬದಲಾಯಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು. ತನ್ನನ್ನು ನಂಬಿದವರನ್ನು ಒಂದು ಗುರಿಗೆ ಖಂಡಿತಾ ತಲುಪಿಸಬಲ್ಲೆ ಎಂಬ ನಂಬಿಕೆಯಿಂದ ಆ ರಸ್ತೆ, ತನ್ನನ್ನೇ ನೆಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡು ನಡೆಯುವ ಕಾಲುಗಳಿಗಾಗಿ ಕಾಯುತ್ತಿತ್ತು.
ಅದರ ಆಯಸ್ಸೇನೂ ತೀರಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಧೋ ಎಂದು ಮಳೆಸುರಿದಾಗ ಅದು ತನ್ನ ಸ್ವರೂಪ ಕಳಕೊಂಡು ಎಡಬಲದ ಬಯಲಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದಾಗುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಮತ್ತೆ ಬೇಸಗೆ ಕಾಲಿಟ್ಟಾಗ ಅದು ಮತ್ತೆ ಹಳೆಯ ರೂಪಕ್ಕೇ ಬರುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಚಳಿಗಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ರಸ್ತೆ ನಡುವೆ ಬೆಳೆದ ಹುಲ್ಲಿನ ತುದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಿರುಜೇಡ ಕಟ್ಟಿದ ಬಲೆಗೆ ಮಂಜಿನ ಹನಿಗಳು ಮುತ್ತಿನ ತೋರಣ ಕಟ್ಟಿ ಸಂಭ್ರಮಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು. ಅಂಥ ರಸ್ತೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಕಾಲಿಟ್ಟ ಆ ಪಾದಗಳು ಆದಷ್ಟು ಬೇಗ ರಸ್ತೆಯ ಸಹವಾಸ ಮುಗಿದರೆ ಸಾಕಪ್ಪ ಎಂಬಂತೆ ದಾಪುಗಾಲು ಹಾಕಿದ್ದವು.
ತನ್ನನ್ನು ತುಳಿಯುವ ಕಾಲುಗಳು ದಾರಿತಪ್ಪದಂತೆ ಕಾಪಾಡುವ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳು ತನ್ನ ಮೇಲಿದೆ ಅನ್ನುವುದು ಗೊತ್ತಿದ್ದರೂ ಆ ಕಣ್ಣ ಕಳವಳ ಏನೆಂಬುದನ್ನು ತಿಳಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ರಸ್ತೆ ಯಾವತ್ತೂ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ತೋರಿರಲೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ತನ್ನುದ್ದ ಚಾಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ರಾತ್ರಿ, ಹಗಲು ತನ್ನನ್ನು ಮುತ್ತಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ನೆರಳು ಮತ್ತು ಎಂದಾದರೊಮ್ಮೆ ಅತಿಥಿಯ ಹಾಗೆ ಬಂದು ಹೋಗುವ ಮಳೆಯ ಕುರಿತೂ ರಸ್ತೆಗೆ ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ.
ಆ ಮುಸ್ಸಂಜೆ ತನ್ನ ಮೇಲೆ ಉಪ್ಪುನೀರ ಬಿಂದುಗಳನ್ನು ಅಲ್ಲಲ್ಲಲ್ಲಿ ಸುರಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ರಸ್ತೆಗೆ ಇದ್ದಕ್ಕಿದ್ದಂತೆ ಕರುಣೆ ಉಕ್ಕಿಬಂತು. ಆ ನೀರ ಬಿಂದುಗಳನ್ನು ಅದು ವಿಪರೀತ ದಾಹಗೊಂಡ ಮನುಷ್ಯನ ಹಾಗೆ ಕುಡಿದು ಸುಮ್ಮಗಾಯಿತು. ಹಾಗೆ ಕುಡಿದ ಉಪ್ಪುನೀರ ಬಿಂದುಗಳನ್ನು ಹಳದಿ ಹೂವಿನ ಬದಲಾಗಿ ನೀಲಿ ಹೂವುಗಳಿಗೆ ದಾನ ಕೊಡಬೇಕು ಅನ್ನುವ ಆಸೆಯೊಂದು ಮೂಡಿ ರಸ್ತೆ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಮೈಮುರಿಯಿತು.
ಆ ಮೈಮುರಿಯುವ ಸಂಭ್ರಮಕ್ಕೆ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ತನ್ನನ್ನು ತುಳಿಯುತ್ತಾ ಸಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಕಾಲುಗಳ ಪರಿವೆಯೇ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ.
ಇನ್ನು ನಾನು ಅರಳಿಸುವ ಹಳದಿ ಹೂವು ಕೆಂಪುಬಣ್ಣದ ಹಣೆಬೊಟ್ಟಿಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡು ಕಣ್ತೆರೆಯುತ್ತದೆ ಅನ್ನುವ ಕಲ್ಪನೆ ರಸ್ತೆಗೆ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಪ್ರೀತಿಸುವವರನ್ನೂ ದ್ವೇಷಿಸುವವರನ್ನು ಸಮಾನವಾಗಿ ಪ್ರೀತಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ ಎಂದುಕೊಂಡು ರಸ್ತೆ ಭಗವದ್ಗೀತೆಗೆ
ಶರಣಾಗುವ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ, ಶಾಕುಂತಲೇ ರಸ್ತೆಯಿಂದಾಚೆ ಬಂದಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಅದಕ್ಕೂ ಮುಂಚೆ..
ಶಾಕುಂತಲೆಯ ಬೆರಳು ಕಲ್ಲೊಂದಕ್ಕೆ ಎಡವಿತು. ಒಂದು ಹನಿ ನೆತ್ತರು ರಸ್ತೆ ಪಾಲಾಯಿತು.
-೩-
ತಾನು ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ್ದನ್ನೇ ಮರೆತ ಕತ್ತಲು ಮತ್ತು ತಾನು ತಲುಪಿದ್ದನ್ನೆ ಮರೆತ ರಸ್ತೆ ಎರಡನ್ನೂ ದಾಟಿಕೊಂಡು ಕಾಲುಗಳು ಮನೆಯ ಬಾಗಿಲಿಗಾಗಿ ಹುಡುಕಾಡಿದವು. ಬಾಗಿಲು ಮುಚ್ಚಿತ್ತು. ಕತ್ತಲು ಕಣ್ಮುಚ್ಚಿಕೊಂಡು ಕಾವಲು ಕಾಯುತ್ತಿತ್ತು.
ಮಂದ ಬೆಳಕಿಗಾಗಿ ಕಣ್ಣು ಹಂಬಲಿಸಿತು. ಬಾಗಿಲು ಬಡಿಯುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಕೈಗಳು ಕಾದು ಕಂಪಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದವು. ತನ್ನ ಕೈ ಹೊರಡಿಸುವ ಸದ್ದು, ತನ್ನನ್ನು ಶಾಶ್ವತವಾಗಿ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಜಗತ್ತಿನ ಪಾಲಿಗೆ ಎರವಾಗುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತದೆ ಎಂಬ ಕಲ್ಪನೆ ಆ ಕೈಗಿತ್ತು. ಬೆರಳುಗಳು ತಾನಾಗಿ ಮಡಿಸಿಕೊಂಡವು. ನಡುಬೆರಳು ಬಾಗಿ, ಬಾಗಿಲನ್ನು ಎರಡು ಸಾರಿ ತಟ್ಟಿತು.
ಬಾಗಿಲು ರಸ್ತೆಗೆ ತೆರೆದುಕೊಂಡಿತು. ಒಳಗಿದ್ದ ಅರೆಬೆಳಕು, ಹೊರಗಿದ್ದ ಕತ್ತಲೆಯ ಸೊಂಟಕ್ಕೆ ಕೈ ಹಾಕಿ ಬರಸೆಳೆಯಿತು. ಮುಗಿದು ಹೋದ ಕತೆಯ ನಂತರ ಉಳಿದಿರಬಹುದಾದ ವಿಷಾದದ ಹಾಗೆ ಬೆಳಕು ನರಳಿತು.
ಕಣ್ಣಂಚಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನೀರಾಡಿತು. ಮತ್ತೆರಡು ಕಾಲುಗಳಿಗೆ ಮತ್ತೆರಡು ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳು ಹುಡುಕಾಡಿದವು. ನಾಲ್ಕು ಕಣ್ಣು ಎಂಟಾಗದ ಅಚ್ಚರಿ ಮತ್ತು ಆತಂಕವನ್ನು ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟಪಡಿಸಲು ಕತ್ತಲೆ ಅಂಜಿಕೊಂಡಿತು. ಬೆಳಕು ತನಗೂ ಇದಕ್ಕೂ ಸಂಬಂಧವಿಲ್ಲ ಎಂಬಂತೆ ದೀಪದ ತುದಿಗೆ ಆತುಕೊಂಡಿತ್ತು.
ಮೂರು ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳು ಆರಾದವು. ಆರು ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಆರಿದ ಬೆಳಕು ಕತ್ತಲೆಯನ್ನೂ ಅಂಜಿಸುವಂತಿತ್ತು. ದೂರದಲ್ಲೆಲ್ಲೋ ಮೋಡದ ಮೇಲೆ ಚಿನ್ನದ ನೀರು, ಚೆಲ್ಲುತ ಸಾಗಿದೆ ಹೊನ್ನಿನ ತೇರೂ..’ ಎಂಬ ದನಿ ಕತ್ತಲನ್ನು ಕೂಡಿ ಕಳೆದುಹೋಗುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಇದ್ದಕ್ಕಿದ್ದಂತೆ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ರೇಲು ಬಂದು ನಿಂತ ಸದ್ದಿಗೆ ಭೂಮಿ ಕಂಪಿಸಿತು. ಆ ರೇಲು ನಿಂತಂತೆ ಮಾಡಿ ಮತ್ತೆ ಅದೇ ರಭಸದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಳ್ಳೆಯ ದನಿಯಂತೆ ಕಿವಿಮರೆಯಾಯಿತು.
-೪-
ಏನಾಯ್ತು, ಕೇಶಮೂರ್ತಿ ಕೇಳಲೋ ಬೇಡವೋ ಎಂಬ ಸಂದಿಗ್ಧದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೇಳಿ, ಉತ್ತರಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಕಾದರು. ಶಾಂತಮ್ಮ ಶಕುಂತಲೆಯ ಮಾತು ಬೆಳಕಾಗಲಿ ಎಂದು ಎತ್ತಲೋ ನೋಡಿದರು. ಅವರೆತ್ತ ನೋಡಿದರು ಅನ್ನುವುದು ಕತ್ತಲಿಗೂ ಕಾಣಿಸಲಿಲ್ಲ.
ಶಕುಂತಲೆ ಎಚ್ಚರವೂ ಅಲ್ಲದ, ಸಾವೂ ಅಲ್ಲದ, ಅರಿವೂ ಅಲ್ಲದ, ಪರಿವೆಯೂ ಇಲ್ಲದ ದನಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ವಾಪಸ್ ಬಂದುಬಿಟ್ಟೆ’ ಅಂದಳು.
ಕತ್ತಲು ಮತ್ತು ಬೆಳಕು ಮತ್ತೆ ಸಂಧಿಸುವ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಸಂಧ್ಯಾಕಾಲಕ್ಕೆ ಕುಕ್ಕರಗಾಲಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಯುತ್ತಾ ಕೂತವು.
ಕತ್ತಲು ಬೆಳೆಯುತ್ತಿತ್ತು.
ಬೆಳಕು ಅಳಿಯುತ್ತಿತ್ತು.

Couple of weeks back, I got a chance to visit Narasimha Theertha back again. It is just on the outskirts of MuLabagilu, Kolar District.

Here's a photo of it I uploaded on India Water Portal Kannada:

It is probably more than 1600 years old. There is a huge population of fish there and water level never seems to drop much anytime.

Late one Saturday morning V and I began digging up two of the four plant beds in our garden. S had been cleaned up and fed and was going to fall asleep in his playpen; which is the primary reason for the delay getting started. (We love blaming everything on S!)

With the Sun now hot above our heads we began turning the stubborn soil. We dug it up as best as we could - V did most of the heavy digging with me helping with suggestions and getting in his way as much as possible. I was actually trying to isolate and get rid of the bounty left around by the neighbour's cat and also water the soil as it was being turned. Then it was time to mix in the store bought compost. Part of the bed was marked off as the nursery and we planted a packet of okra seeds (of course we didn't plant the packet directly!) We checked the watering situation a few times and then let nature and the sprinkler system take care of everything.

A few weeks later (I think it was 3), we had lots of lovely seedlings. Another hot Saturday morning we completed work on the rest of the bed, did more compost mixing and then thinned out the nursery and spread out the seedlings. Some more watering fixes later we were done. That weekend was extremely hot and we lost a few of the transplants but I was surprised by how many actually survived. I think we lost 3 or 4 in about 12-15. We'd left the really robust seedlings growing in the nursery - they were too well established to be transplanted.

A few more weeks later we noticed flowers - big yellow ones. I have not seen an okra plant before, so I didn't think much of it. Last weekend we stepped out to see flowers and fruits - but the fruits look like baby squashes! All the plants have similar looking leaves - do we have a wholesale mutiny? We have yet to find out. Ants and aphids have made an appearance though. I really wonder how organic farming deals with these. I can't stand the sight of them on fresh leaves and buds. V helped wash most of them down, but I am pretty sure some plants are gone. Ugh!

So, do we have any okra at all? We have no idea, but watch this space. V says that after all the hard work, he doesn't care what fruit/vegetable it is, he is going to eat it anyway! :)

- M.

I wish to draw your attention to this picture to our left from the world's largest read English daily. (Yes, that is the Times of India, if you didn't know that already).

Something wrong about it? Look at the news item that got pushed down. That is not a day old as I type up this post. 146 human beings with 30 children dead; rather killed by a rumor of a landslide. TOI's editors found it convenient to push it down all the way to the second India item - with a cash sting item preceding it. Of course, this was not terrorism. Neither was it a star couple's marriage. The tragedy was that I didn't find it surprising that this item was pushed all the way down. It seems to me that we have lost even the feeling of wounded surprise as this kind of reporting has become so routine and predictable in India.

146 souls - dead; not naturally; but at a holy place. Is this somehow unimportant in the larger scale of things?

We probably deserve the news we see. After all, the media is pandering to our attention, right? Aarushi and other sensational stuff somehow hogs the limelight, but such items (as about this stampede) of immense magnitude, causing irreparable loss to the families of the living, get overlooked. What if the same people had died in say, an aircrash or a train wreck? (Of course, on Friday more than 30 people got charred in a train and we've already forgotten about it).

Have we become so desensitized to the whole thing that death, if not of a person close to us, is meaningless? Don't these souls deserve at least our moment of concern while reading the news? I feel horrible at this blatant indifference.

Anyway, it looks like our selfish gene is at work while picking up news worthy items too (as in other spheres of human activity as well). Because, terrorism for instance, affects the living people of India "more" than a stampede in a tiny corner of the country. "More" because people want to continue living; because for most people, nothing is higher than the preservation of one's own life.

Here is something that I'd written up in the first week of April. It was unfinished and I just didn't get around to posting it! It has been 4 months since then and everything is different (again!)

Mercifully the sleep deprivation is not as bad. Sameer is a good sleeper, but getting him to sleep is an exercise in itself. I've read articles where people say that it is a myth that babies try to fight off sleep and will fall asleep when they are ready. They'll forever be silenced if they see our little one when he is drowsy. He'll rub his eyes, yawn till I fear his jaw will fall out, so tired that his head just drops down, but he'll pull back and look around to find a distraction to keep him awake. If he finds he is too sleepy and is succumbing to it, he'll resort to anything from a mild grumble to full fledged crying. The latter of course will delay sleeping for a bit. Once he is asleep though, it is impossible to believe that just a few moments ago, he was intent on staying awake. During the day he is a light sleeper, but at night, my cell phone alarm can go off very close to him and he won't budge.

He is teething now and it is so funny to watch the way he will literally attack something that comes within reach. I was playing with him yesterday - showing him a toy that has a bunch of buttons that play different sounds and music. He came over, drooling like it was a tasty morsel. It was hilarious! Once he was close enough he pounced on it, reminding me of puppies or kittens at play. He can't crawl properly yet, but heaven help us if we think he is not mobile. He'll get up on his arms and knees and sort of pitch forward/sideways etc. depending on where he wants to go. He hasn't figured out that he needs to move his legs separately to get anywhere!

Now, Sameer has all 4 upper incisors and two lower ones, he crawls and walks too. He babbles and his current favourite sounds are 'thaa-thaa' and 'doodle-doodle' with a bit of 'kaa-kaa' thrown in. It is less of a battle at bedtime and he has gotten better at falling asleep on his own for daytime naps. He loves pulling off my sticker bindi and trying to reach inside my mouth to examine my teeth. He is determined to be my dentist and I pretty much have to run when he wants to play dentist, because he doesn't care for the gentle touch and will dig into my skin to pry my mouth open! If I ever needed an incentive to keep his finger nails safely trimmed this is it.

It is fun to watch him grow. He taught me something the other day. He has Sophie, a rubber teether and it is also a squeeze toy. It makes the loudest sound when pressed hard in the middle and I didn't think he knew where exactly to press. He usually gets it to squeak a little when he bangs it on the ground or sits on it. However, I heard him make quite the racket with it and when I looked to see how he was doing it, I was surprised. He was holding it with both hands and just bending it at the base of its long neck and it worked just as well. I'd not even tried that!!

- M.

Here is something that I'd written up in the first week of April. It was unfinished and I just didn't get around to posting it! It has been 4 months since then and everything is different (again!)

Mercifully the sleep deprivation is not as bad. Sameer is a good sleeper, but getting him to sleep is an exercise in itself. I've read articles where people say that it is a myth that babies try to fight off sleep and will fall asleep when they are ready. They'll forever be silenced if they see our little one when he is drowsy. He'll rub his eyes, yawn till I fear his jaw will fall out, so tired that his head just drops down, but he'll pull back and look around to find a distraction to keep him awake. If he finds he is too sleepy and is succumbing to it, he'll resort to anything from a mild grumble to full fledged crying. The latter of course will delay sleeping for a bit. Once he is asleep though, it is impossible to believe that just a few moments ago, he was intent on staying awake. During the day he is a light sleeper, but at night, my cell phone alarm can go off very close to him and he won't budge.

He is teething now and it is so funny to watch the way he will literally attack something that comes within reach. I was playing with him yesterday - showing him a toy that has a bunch of buttons that play different sounds and music. He came over, drooling like it was a tasty morsel. It was hilarious! Once he was close enough he pounced on it, reminding me of puppies or kittens at play. He can't crawl properly yet, but heaven help us if we think he is not mobile. He'll get up on his arms and knees and sort of pitch forward/sideways etc. depending on where he wants to go. He hasn't figured out that he needs to move his legs separately to get anywhere!

Now, Sameer has all 4 upper incisors and two lower ones, he crawls and walks too. He babbles and his current favourite sounds are 'thaa-thaa' and 'doodle-doodle' with a bit of 'kaa-kaa' thrown in. It is less of a battle at bedtime and he has gotten better at falling asleep on his own for daytime naps. He loves pulling off my sticker bindi and trying to reach inside my mouth to examine my teeth. He is determined to be my dentist and I pretty much have to run when he wants to play dentist, because he doesn't care for the gentle touch and will dig into my skin to pry my mouth open! If I ever needed an incentive to keep his finger nails safely trimmed this is it.

It is fun to watch him grow. He taught me something the other day. He has Sophie, a rubber teether and it is also a squeeze toy. It makes the loudest sound when pressed hard in the middle and I didn't think he knew where exactly to press. He usually gets it to squeak a little when he bangs it on the ground or sits on it. However, I heard him make quite the racket with it and when I looked to see how he was doing it, I was surprised. He was holding it with both hands and just bending it at the base of its long neck and it worked just as well. I'd not even tried that!!

- M.

The month of August features two eclipses - A solar eclipse on August 1st and a lunar eclipse on 16th August. Both eclipses are visible from India. If you did not know already, eclipses always come in seasons separated by about 6 months. During each season, there could be up to three eclipses.

An article which describes the principles the invisible nodes Rahu-Ketu and how they cause repeating eclipse cycles written by yours truly, has appeared on www.thatskannada.com today.

Click here to read the article: ರಾಹು ಕೇತು ಕಾಟ ಮತ್ತು ಗ್ರಹಣ ಚಕ್ರ

-neelanjana

Download from here (Right click & select save target to download)

Background photo: Sunset - captured right behind our house.

A picture says a 1000 words. This is quite true even of UML, the Unified Modeling Language that’s used as a diagrammatic representation of software artifacts. One of the key advantages of having a diagram is to convey a lot of ideas with a simple glance. Diagrams usually simplify one’s perspective, and can give a [...]

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ಬಣ್ಣಮಾಸಿದ ನನ್ನ ಗಾಳಿಪಟ!

ಅಜ್ಜೀಪುರ-ರವಿ
ಅಜ್ಜೀಪುರ, ರವಿ, ಶರತ್, ಕಲ್ಕೋಡ್, ನಿವೇದಿತಾ, ಶೀಲಾ ಮೇಡಂ, ಉಮೇಶ್
ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಹೀಗಿದೆ

ಫುಲ್ ಮತ್ತು ಹಾಫ್

6,7th March 2004This is one of the most exiting treks that I have done. Of late this area is a flourishing ground for Naxals.

Policemen at Agumbe did not like our idea of trekking to Narasimha Parvatha. Our first thought was that they wanted some money. But their concern was genuine. Naxals had visited the village where we were supposed to start trek and these Policemen had gone in search of them. So, they did not want us to trek there. It took an hour of negotiation to convince them. We gave writing that we would be responsible if anything happens to us during trekking.

The trek is through one of the dense forests of Western ghat. There is no defined path and we blindly followed our guide Krishnappa. Sense of direction is lost as soon as we enter into the forest. Even GPS or compass would be of little use here. Without a guide chances of getting lost is very real.

The trail(??) goes on top of Barkana falls. It provides a very nice view of the valley. This place is supposed to be filled with King cobras but we did not find any.

Last 30 minutes of the trek is on grasslands and this is the only place where we can see the path.

Camping at Narasimha Parvatha is not allowed since it is inside Kudremukh National Park. But since nobody from forest Office was there to question us, we stayed at the peak. It is the one of the best places to camp. The area on top is quite wide. There is also a small pond.

Narasimha Parvatha provides the best views of both sunrise and sunset.

Getting down towards Sringeri was not a difficult task as there is a very clear path and would take around 90 minutes.

As mentioned earlier, this place is now infested with Naxals creating problem for nature and general public. They are the good example of what happens to people who sit idle without any goal in life. Their justification of solving issue of poor people sounds similar to Majestic goondas of doing “social service”.

These days I have not heard anyone trekking to Narasimha Parvatha from Agumbe side. Policemen at Agumbe do not allow anyone to trek on this route. People climb from Sringeri side but one does not experience the wilderness and secrecy of Agumbe route.

Pranati is a very active group of individuals interested in literature, trek and culture alike. Each event organized by them until now has taken me by surprise in its own way, but I have nothing but admiration for their teamwork that sets them apart as one of the most lively teams surrounding Kannada.

This Saturday, the team is organizing a VeeNa recital (on 2nd of August) at Indian Institute of World Culture. Here's an invitation of that for all music fans in Bangalore.

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With Sender Policy Framework (SPF) Records, one can specify which hosts are authentic senders of email on behalf of the domain.

But SPF Records can be tricky if you're using multiple hosts for sending mails (for instance, when all the mails are handled by Google apps but you still use your id to send mails from the server).

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but this seems to work out fine for SPF record for setups like the ones mentioned above:

v=spf1 a mx include:aspmx.googlemail.com ~all

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Personal History: All the Answers: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker

"The Quiz Show" is a movie directed by Robert Redford that had me riveted. Every time I watch it I cannot but think of the then successful Charles Van Doren whose life becomes miserable at the end of the movie.

Now the real Charles Van Doren speaks after quite a long media hiatus. His recollection in the New Yorker is pretty neat.

Some bad decisions taken on the spur of the moment haunt us for life indeed. Charles Van Doren is the example for this.

On day three we gave rest to our steeds & hired a car as Srik's aunt & cousin accompanied us for the trip. And third day turned out be more of a pilgrimage with visits to plenty of temples - most of them in Kasaragod district. Our first stop was Ananthapura. Few weeks before our ride plan, there was a news article about the place & it's uniqueness.

Ananthapura, the place is well known for the temple of Lord Anantha Padmanabha. There are two specialties of this place - one, the idols of Lord Anantha Padmanabha, Goddesses Sridevi & Bhudevi are not made of stone/wood/metal, but are made of a mixture of more than 60 extracts from herbs/plants & other natural materials. The temple is built in the middle of a small pond & there is no external source of water to the pond except rain.

Second unique/strange thing of the place is, a crocodile lives in this pond where temple is constructed. It's said that the crocodile is living there for years. During lunch time when called by priest, the crocodile comes out of the water & receives the 'prasada' from the priest. The legend says that - In 1942, the crocodile was shot dead by a British soldier. And the very next day appeared another crocodile which is present now. It's said that the same crocodile is living in the temple pond since then. It was truly a 'Believe it or not' moment for us.

How to reach Ananthapura:

From Mangalore travel south towards Kasaragod to reach Kumbala (39KMs). Turn left & after 4 KMs you will be at Naikap. Turn right to reach the temple.

Our next stop was Madhur - temple of Srimadanantheshwara & Ganapati (siddi Vinayaka). Though the main deity here is Lord Shiva, his son Ganapati gets more importance/devotees. Our visit was brief compared to Ananthapura. From Madhur we started towards Bekal fort.

The Story so far:

Bangalore - Kunigal - Hassan - Belur - Yagachi - Chikkamagalur - Balehonnur - Jayapura - Sringeri - Agumbe - Hebri - Udupi - Malpe - Bengre - Udupi - Udyavara - Kunjarugiri - Pajaka - Kaup - Surthkal - Mangalore - Ananthapura - Madhur