INDRAHITLU

‘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. 

As I walk through the Farmland, I see the sprinklers splashing and turning all the way! What a sight! It’s like a live dancing Peacock. My cousins and I usually make a master plan to get through the other side of the land without the water from the sprinklers touching us! It’s a game we always play. I will be hoping that water hits someone so that we all can turn the game other way round and turn along with the sprinklers and get completely wet! It’s a bliss trust me!

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,

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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!