Murudeshwar - The more I see ...

Murudeshwar is a small town in Uttara Kannada district that is situated around 465 kms away from Bangalore the state capital of Karnataka, India. This place is closely bounded with the Arabian Sea and hills of Western Ghats which makes it an attractive tourist spot.

My travel experience to this place is totally different in many ways, starting from the travel plan till returning back to my pad, everything. I may have surprised myself when I planned it less than in an hour and the mode of communication was the State run local buses, I switched 5 buses to reach at that place. Frankly, the people out there wouldn’t have appreciated so much for a person holding a camera, writing pad and asking them so many questions not in the language that they can easily understand, but they did and everything according to me was part of the memorable trip :)

"Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen."

One of the main attractions of Murudeshwar is the Lord Shiva idol which is visible from a long distance from the Arabian Sea. The length of the idol is 123 feet into the sky and considered as the tallest Shiva idol in the world.

You can visit Murudeshwar any time in the year and it is well connected by Roads, and trains (Konkan Railways). There are many places of tourist interests near murudeshwar, some of them are Jog Falls (90 Kms), Udupi (100 Kms), Gokarna (65 Kms) and Karwar (120 Kms).

Ulsoor Lake, Bangalore

I took some snaps in and around Ulsoor Lake just to remind myself that I had a wonderful walk early morning on a weekend. It was relaxing and I can say a perfect start of the day.

A quite and nice place at morning, need to start your day with right kind of freshness - Vivekananda Park. But hey don't dare to enter into this place in the evening time.

If you feel you don't want to walk in the overly crowded roads around and also you find there is not enough space then here is one place you need to think about ...

I am still wondering about it, a little place is more then enough to survive.

I wish this greenery will spread all over ...

Sailing through the world that somebody can imagine for thy self.

Shri Krishna Matha, Udupi

I was on my way to somewhere aimlessly and all of a sudden I blessed with something that I realized later is nothing but miracle. It so happened with me again that I was landed in place where I could discover the meaning of peace and happiness together. I was left alone, with all unknown faces around me, completely clueless, no idea whatsoever to where to go and what to do but my journey was never so meaningful ever. As said - god had HIS own plans and after a travel of 6 hrs I reached Udupi, a place well known for its temples. I welcomed by one of the pleasantly weather that one can ever imagine in that region. It was a sunny and bright day outside with a breeze of relief. I jumped out of the bus quickly to take the walk and then searching for the destination that brought me here from so far ...

Now putting those memories in words here is something I really wanted for long time but it seems to be a not so easy task for me, whatever it maybe I made an effort not to show off it. Those are the moments or I can say the memories that drags you back and when you find that you are completely lost with it, again there is this thing known as miracle happened to you and put everything right on its place. Nevertheless, you see life is as beautiful as before and thank every single thing around you for making it so blissful for you.

Udupi Krishna Temple, otherwise know as Udupi Krishna Matha is a very popular Hindu temple in India. I have copied the information from Wikipedia that gives a good insight about the temple and the history associated with it.

The Krishna Mutt was founded by the Vaishnavite saint Shri Madhvacharya in the 13th century. He was the founder of the Dvaita school of Vedanta.

Legend has it that once Kanakadasa, a worshipper who was so pious and devoted to Lord Krishna, was not allowed entry into the temple. It didn't upset him, but instead made him pray with intense devotion. Lord Krishna was so pleased that he made the statue of himself turn around to allow the disciple to gaze upon his heavenly form through a small window at the back of the mutt (matha). Till today, devotees still worship Lord Krishna by praying through the same window that Kanakadasa was blessed with a view.

The daily sevas (offerings to god) and administration of the Krishna Mutt are managed by the Ashta Mathas (eight temples). Each of the Ashta Mathas performs temple management activities for two years in a cyclical order. These eight Mathas are Pejavara, Puttige, Palimaru, Adamaru, Sodhe, Kaniyooru, Shirur and Krishnapura.

Here you go with few of the pictures that I have taken in that short stay near the temple. Since cameras are strictly not allowed inside the temple I didn't miss any chance of clicking the pictures from the outside.

The main entrance to the temple.

The chariot used for the bi-yearly festival, I spotted it just outside the temple.

Walking around the temple was a different experience for me and exploring the shops near the temple brought me a renewed sense of a happy customer.

Kesava Temple in Somnathpur

Somnathpur is small village located around 130 kms from Bangalore. This place is particularly famous for the Chennakesava Temple (also called Kesava temple) built in 1268 under Hoysala king Narasimha III.

The architecture of the temple is one of the finest in the history of Hoysala dynasty. Its beautifully carved sculptures, amazing art work are beyond any comparisons.

Form inside out view of the entrance .

A wide view of the temple.

The pillars outside the main temple tell a different story of the history.

Black & white tells the story of the amazing architecture of this temple ...

A closer look of the delicate art works on the stone ...

The six bands sculptures around the temple consisting of elephants, horsemen, floral scrolls and demons etc...

Idol of ganesh

Shivanasamudra Waterfall

On a lazy weekend I was out with friends to a near by place known as Sivanasamudra, which is around 120 Kms from B’lr. And there you go, one more waterfall is added to my trip memory. Perhaps this is the second most beautiful waterfall after the mind blowing Jog (Jog Falls) inside Karnataka. I enjoyed the trip as much as I did in that trip to Jog Falls. Now here goes some of my clicks on that day ...

The first Hydro-electric Power station in Asia.

A journey unfold !

There goes one of the most exciting train journey I can ever imagine in all these years, after postponing at many occasions and some drop out plans, finally I am able to complete the much awaited trip to west coast of India. It was my sheer luck or you can say coincidence that when I thought of booking the return tickets; I landed at the Indian Railways website to surprise myself that reservation for the newly started train between MAQ-YPR was available for that day. And then I quickly hit the button to book my tickets in it. However, I didn't mind being forced to travel at night sacrificing the sparkling views of the green route (Western Ghats) which would only possible in daylight.

Mangalore Station, MAQ- YPR express standing on PF1.

I was at Mangalore for the first time and it was overall an eventful trip with lots of memory from the konkan railways. The station at Managlore is going through renovation and you can spot loads of construction material here and there. To avoid last minute rush I was there at the platform before time. The interesting things that somebody would notice as soon as the train leaves Mangalore Station (after the Junction between the KR and enroute to SWR ) is the bridge over Netravathi River. The train hits Subrahmanya Rd Station around 10 P.M and snakes through Sakaleshpura somewhere 11.55 PM, and believe me these two hours in the dark night will show you the amazing experience of – the Man, Machine and Nature.

The best part is that you will get more than one chance to explore different types and size of tunnels on the way. Surprisingly, there are around 57 tunnels in between Subrahmanya Rd. and Sakaleshpura, which covers the major part of the Western Ghats. I was not aware of this number until I calculated it all by myself; it was really fun. This 70 K.Ms plus stretch offers the most pleasant and breathtaking scenic view to all those travel bugs.

One of the many tunnels that this train passes by ...
Another tunnel at the night, witnessing the kingdom of darkness ....

In the end, It was an unbelievable experience of traveling for me. The scary noisy sounds that comes from the train wheels when it takes a turn on the curved track, the long-dark tunnels, the night-blue sky and the depth of the mountains under the tracks is really something that one should watch out for.

Karwar & Murudeshwara Trip !

My exploration of west coast continued, on the next day to a quiet and beautiful place namely Kawar – a port town and the district head quarter of Uttara Kanada, was my next halt. It’s around 240 K.ms from Mangalore. The most interesting thing I found about this place is that it’s having one of those quietest beaches, which would match for an idle weekend destination for many travelers. Also it offers some great surroundings with cool scenic views. Rightly, it will be a heavenly experience for people who adore the nature.
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Well, it was on of those rare occasions when I pushed myself out of the bed for an unusually long morning walk. That turns out to be quite interesting when I discover both the highway (N.H 17) and the beach are moving together. Later on to add my curiosity had a good drive on N.H 17, that added to my realization - the journey of life never ends, and in the end, it's not the years in our life that count. It's the life in our years. Hahaa !!! though I was not so philosophical at that moment, it is just that my usual way of relating a good moment or view with some of the intellectual works.

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The sandy beach at Karwar, popularly known as the Rabindranath Tagore beach.

The day break, just opposite side of the beach... Yo yo :) sun always rises from the east.

The toy train line, along side the beach.

INS Cahpal, Warship museum.

Kali Bridge, one can have the beautiful view of the Kali river meeting with the Arabian Sea from here.

On the way to Murudeshwar..

my brunch ..

I started back from Karwar with some different plan of traveling; to my next halt at Murudeshwara. Oh ! that was a enthralling experience for me to catch three local buses (popularly known as the KSRTC’s red-bus) for around 100 K.ms. The encouraging sign there for me was that most of the people in this region can speak Hindi. That reminds me that although I went through some typical villages I didn’t find problem in communicating with the local people there.

Murudeshwara is more like a picnic sport for many. The significance of the place is due to the tallest statute of Lord Shiva. This place is also connected with the Konkan Railway and the station is around 2 K.ms from this small town. The Hotel RNS Residency is located just adjacent to the Arabian Sea, also very close to the famous Mahatobar Murudeshwar Temple. If you're planning for a stay here then this hotel could be the best option available here.

Lord Shiva, a night view of the statute from the beach

Another view of the Lord Shiva's statute

Memories from Konkan Rail Trip !

Last weekend I had been to one of my most awaited trip. The place is there in my favorite destinations list for long time. The Konkan region part of west coast of India, alongside the Arabian Sea. It's an absolute treat for the eyes. And the mode of communicate, I choose was to travel through the Konkan Railways. I already heard lots of things about this route and what best can match KR to travel there. KR is a proud witness to the dedication and immense engineering skills that are available in India. The scenic view through out the route added a little more magic to the man-machine creation.

I started my journey from M’lore Railway station with the Mumbai bound Matsyaganda Super fast Express (2620). I guess this was one of those unplanned trips with a distinct route in my mind; my last stoppage was Karwar, the district head quarter of Uttar Kannada.

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A diesel engine, Mangalore Railway Station.

The train entering into a tunnel.

A sharp curve just before Surathkal.

Those super exciting five hours were unforgettable, I didn’t realize that they passed by me just like that. The tunnels, the over bridges, the curves on the railway lines, the speed of the engine … I could find a difference in everything. Wow ! Where else you could find a train moving with more than 80 Kmph inside a 4 K.ms long tunnel ? That was just one part of it and I had yet to discover some of the other mysterious things about this route. The longest tunnel I came across was just after Bhatkal Station. I could find a number of rivers (I guess it's more than 15 nos.) and the longest bridge was over Saravathi river near Honnavar.

This picture can be best explained by the quote - “When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the Creator”.

Udupi Railway Station.

A guard flagging off the train.

Barkur Railway Station.

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It was not an easy task for me to pick a few pictures to blog about from those hundreds of pictures that I have taken, so I have to leave them for some other time. The good thing about all the pictures are that most of these pictures were clicked from inside the fast moving train. And to realize that I missed some of the interesting ones on that route, never-mind though.