‘INDRAHITLU’ means place of Indra, in
olden days Jain pooja Pandits were called Indra and one of that Indra lived in
the place where my native home is, hence we call our home.‘INDRAHITLU. It’s
located in a village called ‘ANDINJE’, Venoor (ವೇಣೂರು)
on the banks of the Phalguni river in the South Kanara District of Karnataka.
It was once the seat of Jainism. It is on the Dharmasthala-Moodabidri-Karkala
route on the religious circuit in the Karnataka State of India.
Monsoon is the
best time to visit my place. The lush greenery around my house makes time fly.
This place attracts nature lovers. “If you consider nature as your friend sure
you don’t need an enemy!”
Grandparents are
indeed ‘Grand’ for their Grand-kids. They serve as role models, teachers, nurturers, providers and mentors. I always have the habit of planning my
holidays during the study holidays. As soon as I complete my final exam my
first call will be to my Grand Mom whom I call ‘Mottiaaye’ warning her ‘I will
be coming, get ready!’
I don’t care
about what I pack. The only thing that keeps running in my mind is how fast can I get there??
Now that I am in
my native, no one can stop me from climbing a tree or playing cricket or in
short I acting like a boy!
“Good Morning
Sunshine” is the first word I hear at 6 am in the morning by my uncles (kakas).
Who wakes at 6 am in the morning?
Common.. Let me sleep for 15 minutes more!!
We say morning
prayers and get up. The first thing I do is to go near the fire place and start
making fire for the water to boil and take bath. I asked my Mottiaaye about the
necessity of burning wood to make water boil. With a broad smile she said that the
wood that burns has several vital ingredients and she said water which is
boiled this way is preferred for the healthy lifestyle. Wow she has answers for
everything. I always want to ask her something which she cannot answer. Every
time I fail!!!
The most
fascinating thing about my native is ’GANJI (ಗಂಜಿ)’ made of brown
rice. It tastes like WOW! I have it with thick curd and tasty pickle with a
sharp flavor. I can have it till my stomach is full. The specialty of Ganji
is, if I have it at 8 am in the morning I won’t be hungry again till 2 pm for
lunch. The concept of “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and
dinner like a pauper” is strictly followed here.
After an
enjoying breakfast (mini meal), I get ready to go to TOTA (Farm land) with my uncle
and cousins. I usually carry a bag and a knife to pick up anything unusual.
The main reason
of me going to my native is the ‘JACK FRUIT’. The taste cannot be put in words
it can only be sensed. We put the jack fruits in a Gunny bag and carry it back
home. As soon as I get back home, I pester my Aunts (kaki) to cut the fruit. I
usually have to skip lunch because of the Jack fruit. It’s so tasty that I can’t
let go of it unless Mottiaaye pulls me away.
After a
fulfilling prince lunch I have left with no choice but to sleep. I fall asleep
as soon as I hit the bed.
After a deep
sleep I freshen up and have some tea with South Kanara special snacks like
Golibaje, Sonte (jack fruit chips), Papad (made of jackfruit),...etc and get
ready to go to the river bank with Mottiaaye and cousins.
We have to walk
half a k.m. to get there. Seeing the beauty of the place, I always feel that I
am in a fairy tale. I feel that there are many unexplored places in India which
are far more beautiful than any foreign place. Mottiaaye and I sit on the river
bank enjoying the serenity of the place. I try to collect flat stones and
splash it into the river and count the number of time it bounces. I can proudly say that I have a record of 10
bounces!
After a while,
we walk towards the Hanging Bridge. It’s a bridge built 25 years ago and
connects the other side of the village where my other set of relatives are put
up. When I stand at the center of the bridge I can see the sun set! It’s the
most beautiful places I have ever visited. I like this place more than Kanyakumari.
I couldn’t pose
for the picture because of the damping sunlight and I shut down the camera in
dismay. I think the sun read my mind and it quickly disappeared into the
mountains. What a view!
We come back to
the house before it gets too dark. I freshen up and sit along with Mottiaaye
and others for Bhajan. We have 3 set of books which is hand written by my uncle
which consists of hundreds of Bhajans.
From the start of the book we start singing for half an hour and continue from
the place we had left off the next day.
'Why do we need
to sing Bhajans? Is it to impress God?' I asked my Grand Mom (Mottiaaye). She
smiled and said that there is nothing like impressing GOD and we do Bhajans for
our own happiness. She said that when we sing together, it creates waves of
vibrations which purify the polluted air surrounding us! What a beautiful
thought.
After Bhajans I
climb upstairs and enter 'Saraswati Mandir'. Saraswati Mandir is the name given
to one of the room in our house. It’s a 16X16 room. When I enter the room I
feel like I am in a Mandir (Holy Place). The room is painted with beautiful
thoughts. These thoughts are hand written by my uncle. One side of the wall has
a small episode of “Mankutimmana Kagga” which is written by D.V. Gundappa. It
says
ಹುಲ್ಲಾಗು ಬೆಟ್ಟದಡಿ ಮನೆಗೆ ಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆಯಾಗು। ಕಲ್ಲಾಗು ಕಷ್ಟಗಳ ಮಳೆಯ ವಿಧಿ ಸುರಿಯೆ ।। ಬೆಲ್ಲ ಸಕ್ಕರೆಯಾಗು , ದೀನದುರ್ಬಲರಿಂಗೆ । ಎಲ್ಲರೊಳಗೊಂದಾಗು ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮ ।।
Meaning, Be a
(gentle) blade of grass at the foot of the mountain; And jasmine
flower at home; Be(strong) like a rock when the fate pours; Be sweet
like sugar and jaggery to poor and weak;
Be one with all Mankutimma.
The
other side of the wall says,
ಕಳ್ಳರಿಂದ ಅಪಹರಿಸಲಾಗದ, ರಾಜರಿಂದ ಕರವನ್ನು ವಿಧಿಸಲಾಗದ, ಪಾಲು ಮಾಡಲಾಗದ, ಭಾರವಿರದ, ಖರ್ಚು ಮಾಡಿದಷ್ಟೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗುವ ವಿಧ್ಯೆಯೇ, ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಸಂಪತ್ತುಗಳಿಗಿಂತಲೂ ಪ್ರಧಾನವಾದ ಸಂಪತ್ತು.
Knowledge is the
main wealth because, It cannot be stolen by thieves, neither taxed by kings nor
be divided into shares and it’s like and expenditure without burden.
The place where
we hang the clock its written "ಕಾಲಾಯ ತಸ್ಮೈ ನಮಃ"which means
everything is enslaved by time.
When I turn to
my right, I can see the beautiful hand written India map with all the states
and its capitals which is followed by the Karnataka map. What a way to
customize your room. Every time I enter the room I feel motivated and
encouraged. I feel like doing something worthy with my life. It’s such an
inspiration. Anyone who enters the Saraswati Mandir will never come out without
appreciation.
My uncle starts
reciting the Bhagavad Gita and we repeat after him. After each Shloka/ episode
he tells us what it means.
My mind freshens
up after chanting the shlokas and with that mind-set we come down for dinner.
After a light dinner, my cousins and I start to make bed for everyone in the
house and I make sure that I get to sleep with Mottiaaye.
All the lights
in the house slowly start to vanish and in a matter of 10 minutes its pitch
dark and the only voice that can be heard is of mine and Mottiaaye’s. I pester
Mottiaaye to tell a story even today. She politely goes on with her story.
After the story we discuss the characters in the story and doze off.
Every minute in
my village is refreshing, memorable and adventurous. Every day is new and
exciting. This is the place I can never say NO to when I am asked to visit.
This is my home and it completes me!
