From Mumbai we were travelling towards southern part of India. Krishna was driving the car. The Konkan way consists of one of the most amazing and beautiful roads for a peaceful journey. In some places the roads and rail lines run together and kiss each other and then separate to different direction. After Panvel, we were truly enjoying the road side green forests, mountain ranges, plains, crossing rivers, small springs, and green paddy villages. We crossed several Nagara (Indian temples are mainly in two architectural styles one is Tanjore style and other is Nagara style) architecture style temples.Our trip was beautiful as we could relate all the aesthetic cultural thoughts and ideas with the journey. In-between we stopped and had some hot tea,coffee,vadapav and delicious ‘dosai’ to fuel ourselves.
From Mumbai we were travelling towards southern part of India. Krishna was driving the car. The Konkan way consists of one of the most amazing and beautiful roads for a peaceful journey. In some places the roads and rail lines run together and kiss each other and then separate to different direction. After Panvel, we were truly enjoying the road side green forests, mountain ranges, plains, crossing rivers, small springs, and green paddy villages. We crossed several Nagara (Indian temples are mainly in two architectural styles one is Tanjore style and other is Nagara style) architecture style temples.Our trip was beautiful as we could relate all the aesthetic cultural thoughts and ideas with the journey. In-between we stopped and had some hot tea,coffee,vadapav and delicious ‘dosai’ to fuel ourselves.
After the most beautiful Karvar beach, in Karnataka, somehow we lost the state high way and entered in to a forest road. We didn’t know where we were going. After droving for a while , the way was shrinking and the road was thinning into a small path. We stopped the car, examined the surroundings, could hear sweet chirping voices from everywhere. The collage sound contains the rippling river which is crossing the slim road where we were halted our car. The smell of the forest, oh my goodness, it really was giving us a very new life. The nature had cast off all my stress which I was carrying for a very long time. I wet my legs in the small thin river, guess it is starting from there. It was the moment I reached a sort of Zen state. We didn’t know where to go; we cannot take a reverse from there as the path was extremely narrow. One side a big slope which might touch the valley below it.
But Krishna made it real, he reversed the car within the very small rectangular place, like a magician.We drove again through the beautiful forest which was slowly merging into the dusky orange tinges. He came to another which we never came across before; but it was a village road which headed to udupi, again a breezy consoling journey.
We asked the way wherever we saw someone. They were core farmers, not interested to leave their village boundaries. The darkness was competing with us too. We finally decided to give way to the darkness to overtake us. We discussed with some elderly villagers, the interesting thing was that nobody knew about any hotel there. So they decided to accommodate us in one of their houses. I was too excited. We went to one of the villagers place and made ourselves comfortable in the available space. They gave us maize roti (bread made of maize,) and ragi porridge. With some local spinach dry curry. Heartily delicious with their love and care. We went to deep sleep that night which was celebrating its triumph on us with its maximum darkness. We were sleeping outside the house, which was a strange and a new experience for me. Initially I had some unidentified fear but soon the soothing darkness and the fragranced breeze made me slip into deep sleep. A very different voice woke me up, the time was early dawn. when the leaves are getting its first green color with the first day light… I saw a silhouette of a big beaked bird, flapping its wings and trying to sit properly. I woke up, I couldn’t believe my eyes, it was the great Malabar hornbill. What am I seeing, a very rare bird which is the very native of the western ghat monsoon rain forest? It was there for some time and then flew away with its partner into the reddish golden sky. We thanked the villagers and resumed our journey from there. On the way we saw many horn bills. It was an unforgettable life time experience for me. But the beauty of the journey was that were in a shortcut road to Mangalore and reached below the famous Mookaambika temple.
We reached fast, but with so many strange experiences. I cannot forget the healing power of forest. The great Malabar hornbill, which is in the extinct list of the forest birds due to the scarcity of its natural habitats. We are not at all thinking about their right to live in this planet. A lovely unforgettable journey by the Konkan mountain road from Mumbai to Kerala .
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