Travel And Leisure
| By : Ajit Hari Sahu | Previous | Next |
| Posted on : 31 Aug, 2005 | Total Views : 277 |
Mangalore and the Coast
Church of the Most Holy Rosary, Udipi, Mutts, Gokarna, Mahabaleshwar Temple, festival of Shivaratri...
A benevolent and powerful goddess called Mangala Devi has given her name to Mangalore. Set near palm-fringed backwaters formed by the confluence of the Netravathi and Gurupur rivers, Mangalore has a pleasant climate all year round. Its importance as a seaport is increasing, continuing a tradition dating back to when Mangalore are used all over India and the manufacture of bidis, cigarettes rolled from a single tobacco leaf, is a popular cottage industry; it is also an important center of the cashew and coffee trade. Although the city is named after a Hindu goddess, it has one of India's largest Christian communities, and several churches date from the 16th century; the earliest, the Church of the Most Holy Rosary, was founded in 1526. But Mangalore has little to offer of architectural or historic interest; its attractions are its relaxed atmosphere, lush greenness and location as a good starting point for the journey up the coast to Karwar.
Between the waves of the Arabian Sea and the rising grandeur of the Western Ghats lies a strip of land - no more than 65 kilometers (40 miles) wide at its broadest - which runs for almost 600 kilometers (350 miles). Only when the rivers that rise in the Western Ghats rush towards the Arabian Sea during the monsoon (July to September) does travel become, if not difficult, uncomfortable. This is not a place to hurry. Rather, one should just drift up the coast, enjoying the scenic beauty of some of the best and least-known beaches in India, as well as the wonderful cuisine.
There is little to distinguish one seaside village from another. Only at Udipi, 58 kilometers (36 miles) from Mangalore and slightly inland, and at Gokarna, 55 kilometers (34 miles) from journey's end at Karwar, does the atmosphere change. Udipi is one of South India's most important Hindu centers and the seat of Dwaita, a system of Hindu philosophy. The 13th-century exponent of this philosophy, Sri Madhava-Acharya, installed the beautiful idol of Krishna in Udipi's famous temple. As the town is also the home of eight mutts, or Hindu monasteries, the streets are always bustling with devout pilgrims. All over India Udipi Hotels are a familiar sight and a byword for inexpensive, strictly vegetarian, no-frills restaurants whose proprietors and staff hail from this small town.
Gokarna is one of India's most sacred places. Overlooking the sea, the temple dedicated to Shiva, the Mahabaleshwar, is said to be second in sanctity only to the Viswanath Temple in Varanasi. After the death of a close relative, Hindus come here to perform their obsequies. A belief held by the people of Kerala is that the Nagas, the underworld snake gods, spend part of the year here. The festival of Shivaratri in late February/ early March draws large crowds.
The Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore declared that Karwar had the loveliest beach in the world, but the truth is that the whole coastline is dotted with beautiful beaches and the traveler can choose his favourite for himself.
