Though we are all human, nature of everyone of us is not the same. It differs from person to person. Either I or my mind cannot remain idle. I had been to my native place Udupi to witness Ganesh Chathurthi festival.It is during Ganesh Chathurthi almost of all the members of our family from different parts of globe meet. In fact, it is a family get together. It is an happy occasion. My cousins who arrange the festivities had asked me to be there at least four days in advance before the festival so that we could make the preparations for the festival together. It is an opportunity to come closer and develop our relationship also.It is when we share our difficulties ,our experiences and happiness. In midst of busy schedule,on a day before the festival my wife and I were a little free. We had about six hours at our disposal. We had to return to Manipal by 1 p.m. to take part in Gauri Pooja at the residence of Mr D Srikanta Rao. Early in the morning we thought of visiting Kumbhashi. Kumbhashi is famous for its Anegudde Sri Vinayaka temple.
At 6 am we left my brother's residence at Ajjarkad Udupi. It was early morning. There were no rains.However, the weather was cloudy. There was no heavy rush in buses. We were able to catch Vishal Motor speeding towards Kollur. My better my half wanted to proceed to Kollur. Had we been to Kollur, it would not have been possible for us to return to Manipal by 1 p.m. Hence,we boarded the bus and got down at Kumbhashi at 7 a.m . There was not much rush whatsoever at the temple. Atmospheric was calm and quiet. We offered our prayers at the temple and were back on the highway 7.30. am. It was only 9 k.m. to Kundapur from Kumbhashi. In our hurry bury we could not finish our breakfast there. Our enthusiasm persuaded us to board a bus which came there that was proceeding to Kundapur. Further, we were informed that there was a bus to Kamalashile at 8 a.m. at Kundapur. We had heard a lot about Kamalashile but we had not visited it. It was only at a distance of 35 k.m. from Kundapur. At Kundapur the bus towards Siddapur was ready for take off and could not have our breakfast there also. We boarded it.
The distance between Kundapur and Siddapur is 29 k.m. We come across numerous paddy fields on both sides of the road on our way. They are beautiful. They give us a feeling of harmony and renewal. Besides, we find everywhere greenery, and coconut trees. As the rainy season was not yet over,we came across tanks,rivers, and ponds which were all full. I remembered my school days.There were no high schools in this part of Kundapur Taluk. It was all kutcha roads. There were no bridges across rivers. In fact, in my life spanning over 9 years at Kundapur , I could not visit majority of these places. I had only heard of their names. The students from these places had to cross ferries and walk miles to attend high school at Kundapur. Now there are high schools at every nook and corner. Even colleges have come up in this parts of Dakshinakannada. Really India has developed. Everywhere there is sign of development. Everywhere bus stands are shifted to spacious places to accommodate more number of buses. Nice breeze was coming through the windows of our bus. The bus was moving at moderate pace. One by one place like Koni, Basrur, and Kandlur were passing by. People were getting in and getting out of bus at those places. The transport system was excellent.
The following thoughts began to circulate in my mind on our way. "roam the countries tend read the volume and volume of books" this what the elders advise the youth. Earth moves in its orbit about 2 degree per day. It moves around the sun in a circular path. A man too is a wanderer . His journey begins the moment he is born.His journeys are described in many ways. Some say , he joins the great marathon. The marathon is divided into three parts namely the present, the past and the future. The future is the journey that is yet to be covered by him. The past is the journey that he had completed already. The present is the part of his journey from where he could look both at the future as well as at the past. The present , the past and the future are seldom of equal duration. The future is always unpredictable. The marathon continues, it never stops it is an unique marathon. It is impossible to make out who would last long and whose journey would be short , when the journey would end and whether there would be another journey again. It is all a mystery. More we think of life more complicated it turns out to be. Life is never simple. Seldom a life runs as one wishes . It takes its own course. That is why Fitzgerald says " Life is a horse cart . Destiny is its master You are a horse Go wherever it takes you. When your legs get tired. Mother earth beacons you.
In the process , We may go or we may not go wherever we intend to go. But certainly, we would end up where we deserve to be. Our life is a written story only.
Thereafter, I coincidentally remembered the wonderful song sung by Sri Kishore Kumar Ji for the film Dost in 1974 too. The meaning of the song is summarized here below:-
The train is calling, her whistle is blowing
Life is about going on, and it is going on
Look at the train, that plaything of kids, all you grown ups
learn from that she carries load on her top, fire in her heart, and smoke on her lips still she is carrying on, and is singing songs too
There is storm brewing ahead, and it is raining in the rear, with lightening in the sky
The train does not bother about all that, she proceeds as soon as she gets the signal.
Look here she comes look there she goes
People come and people go, like ripples in still water
We are reminded of them only after they become history
She is creating memories, and she is erasing memories
Look at the train,how kind she is, she does not differentiate between good and bad,
she is carrying all kinds of people,be they friends or foes
She is teaching us about life, she is teaching us about death
Do not give the train a bad name by jumping in front of it,
Do not lose heart,wait for the tide to turn, go back to your home
The night is coming to an end, being replaced by new dawn
The train is calling, her whistle is blowing
We arrived ultimately at Siddapur. A bus was ready there to take us to Kamalashile. All buses that come there are full or become full. Day by day the number of people who travel has been increasing. Located 7 km away from Siddapur on Kundapur- Shimoga Highway, Kamalashile is noted for the Brahmi-Durga Parameshwari Temple and a small cave called Suparshwa Muni Guhe. The cave ends at a well called Naga teertha, where we can see a Subramanya idol. The idol of Brahmi Durga Parameshwari attracts a lot of devotees. The unique feature of the temple is that the puja to the goddess is performed by the Balegaras (bangle sellers). There are many myths associated with this temple. The annual festival is conducted on Chaitra Bahula Moolanakshatra. The grand silver chariot (18 feet high) of the temple is used during the car festival. Kamalashile village is surrounded by mountains and evergreen Sahyadri forests on the bank of Kubja river. Kubja river joins with the Souparnika River .
Kamalashile is a beautiful hilly resort. It is a nature lover's spot, as it is infested with streams, thick forests and much more. One can go very well for trekking in the the forests there. It is there one can spot bison, deer and wild bear etc. Kamalashile has a population of about 1601 persons living in around 270 households. This place is the perfect blend of Beauty & Divine. It is a tourist center as well as a pilgrimage center.
Every ancient temple usually has got a history behind it. This temple too has also got a history behind it. According to Skanda Purana of Sahyadri Kanda, a beautiful lady by name Pingala was a court dancer who performed in front of Lord Shiva & Goddess Parvathi in Kailash Mountain. One day because of her ego, she refused to dance and was cursed by Goddess Parvathi. She lost her beauty and was born as an ugly woman(Kubja) in Bhu-loka. Realizing her mistake, when Pingala pleaded for mercy, Goddess Parvathi told her that She will be coming down to earth to put an end to all the evil deeds of a giant by name Khararatasura and she will be showing up in the form of Linga in front of Raikwa Rushi ashram in sahyadri forest and the linga will be in the form of Kamalashile. Goddess Parvathi told Kubja to go near suparshwa cave and do penance till goddess gives her moksha. Later Pleased with Kubja, Goddess Parvathi appeared in the form of Kamalashile (linga) at the Sangam of River Kubja & Naga theertha in front of Raikwa Rushi ashram. Kubja was told to go to Mathura and wait for Sri Krishna and she would get relieved of her curse by the touch of Lord Sri Krishna.Goddess also told her that the river which originates from sahya forest & flows towards western coast would be named after her (Kubja) and the river would flood every year to clean the Linga. That is how Brahmi Durgaparameshwari temple came into existence. It has given a place of pride to Kamalashile. Goddess Brahmi Durgaparameshwari is worshiped here in the form of a Linga, which is said to be convergence of goddesses Mahakali, Maha Saraswati and Maha Lakshmi.
A special pooja is performed every evening called as “Salaam Pooja” as a tribute to the Muslim rulers Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan and the practice has been there for a long time. Further , the history of the place runs into pages. TV9 Kannada channel relayed an episode "Heegu Unte "regarding Kamalashile & 6 other villages. It furnishes many details about Kamalashile place. It narrates how a tiger roams and roars to deliver a message and make the villagers of 7 villages assemble and maintains the sanctity of place.
More than anything else there is dearth of a calm place in 21 st century.Majority of people love a calm place.It is in a calm place mostly inner peace could be found. One can forget the whole world in a calm place. When one is disturbed, when one wants peace of mind, one would be in search of a calm and quiet place. It is where a soul will be filled with hope. It is in a calm place only usually one gets enlightened. God is the friend of silence. Any place of worship not flooded with people is a calm place. A place of worship has positive vibrations. The positive vibrations are due to the regular chanting in praise of the Lord.The deities mostly fixed or rarely movable are worshiped by the priests for several years and there is a spread of positive vibrations all around. Further, idols in a place of worship emit magnetic waves which are good for human body. There would be silence everywhere there. It is always a right place meant to empty out one's mind and become light hearted. Visit to any place of worship is good for physical as well as mental health. It is a good habit.
Being in a remote corner nearer to western ghats there was no much rush at Brahmi-Durga Parameshwari Temple Kamalashile. Atmosphere in the temple was calm and quiet. It was rejuvenating. It was an ideal place to offer prayers and meditate. On the day of our visit there was not much rush in the temple too. The bus had left us a few yards away from the temple. The conductor of bus had guided us how to proceed towards the temple. It was at a walk-able distance. After a few steps tower of the temple was visible. We moved in that direction and were in front of the temple in no time. After crossing 75 feet tall dwajha stamba made up one bhogi tree with silver plating, we entered the temple. As per the instructions from His Holiness, Sri Sridhara Swamiji Maharaj of Varadapura in the year 1952, while entering the inner quadrangle male devotees should remove their shirts and banyans, female devotes are requested to wear a saree or a salwar. We followed the instructions.
We at the outset prostrated before stone Linga and had darshan of Devi at the temple. Beautiful carvings of Ramayana and Mahabharata along with the tales of Brahma Ratha were the chief attractions of the temple.
There were a few shops in front of the temple at the place.We remembered that we were yet to have our breakfast. At about 12 noon, we had a cup of coffee and some biscuits to finish our morning breakfast from one of the shops there.The paucity of time did not permit us to extend our stay there. We had to cut short the trip and rush to Manipal . We were in time for Gauri pooja there.