When I saw the "Brahmopadesham" invite from my uncle who stays in Koppa, without a second thought I made sure
to confirm my dad that I would be joining! Koppa is located in Chikkamagaluru
district, Karnataka. It is famous for coffee and tea plantations. I have heard
my cousins say that it’s a beautiful town which is always present in every
traveller’s dream destination list. How can I ever miss out on an opportunity
like that?!
We reached Koppa early in the
morning. The sky was clear and the place was green everywhere. I loved the
smell of green! It makes me rejuvenated. Enjoying the weather, we walked to my uncle’s
place. When I reached, I could see kids playing and hear thunderous laughter. The atmosphere
was very festive. I was pleased to see all my cousins. They welcomed me and the
‘Camera’. My kaki offered us Koppa
special coffee and it was strikingly delicious. We got ready for the
Upanayanam.
The function was arranged in the
premises of a temple. I was impressed by my little cousin who was performing
all the rituals with so much dedication. Seeing his dedication, I ran to my
parents and asked them to explain to me the significance of Upanayanam. With a
broad smile, my father explained that ‘Upa’ means near and ‘Nayana’ means eyes
and Upanayana means being by the side of teacher. He also said that Upanayana
is performed at the time when a child is ready to start schooling. My mom added
that Bramhopadesha (Upanayanam) signifies the schooling phase of a child and
hence we call the child Brahmachari. My mottiaaye(Grad-mom) who was sitting
next to me, also couldn’t resist but add that during Upanayana the child would
receive its first lesson (Gayatri Mantra) from its first guru, who is the
father. She said that the mantra causes vibrations in the body and rejuvenates
the body and the mind with positive energy. At that point I realised that there
is significance and meaning behind all the ritual practices and I was just a
fool for not knowing it.
My cousins and I took a walk in the
evening. It had rained heavily an hour ago and the sky opened up and the sunset
painted the sky. It was mesmerizing. Looking at the weather my cousin said
Masala puri To banta hi hai. We spent the entire night planning about next
day’s schedule.
The next morning, I got up as early
as I could and was ready to explore more of Koppa. We first planned to visit Sirimane falls which is 5 kms from
Kigga, Sringeri.
This place is like a hidden treasure. It’s located deep into
the woods. We climbed down a few steps to reach the falls. We went up to the
waterfall. When
I stood under the waterfall, I felt like I was receiving a natural massage
therapy. It was an amazing experience. An
interesting fact is that the waterfall feeds coffee estates and paddy fields.
It was an awesome place.
After the darshanam at Sringeri Sri Sharadamba
temple, we headed for Kuppalli. Kuppalli is a small village in Thirthahalli
taluk, Shivamogga. It’s the home town of Rastra Kavi ‘KUVEMPU’. We stopped by
Kuvempu’s home which is now converted into a museum. The entire house looked
like a glaring castle which stood majestically amidst the greens.
It’s a
vintage three- storey building with tile roof (ಹಂಚಿನ ಮನೆ). The ground floor had
a kitchen (ಅಡಿಗೆ ಮನೆ), store room (ಸಾಮಾನು ಕೋಣೆ), bananti kone, bedrooms etc.
It was an authentic traditional house. Another amazing thing which we noticed
is that the wall clock which is stopped at 1:03; it is the time when Kuvmpu
passed away.
As we walked around the house we
could see Kuvempu’s sayings engraved on the walls. Some of which were,
ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಪತ್ರಿಕೆ, ಕೆಲವು ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಗ್ರಂಥಗಳು ಇರಬೇಕಾದುದು ಸದ್ಗುಣದ ಲಕ್ಷಣ
Meaning,
One good news paper and a few knowledgeable books is the definition of a noble
house.
ಬದುಕುವ ಛಲ ಮತ್ತು ಹಠ ಇದ್ದವನಿಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರವೇ ಬದುಕು
Firm
determination to live and aiming at it at any cost what may come, assures life fulfillment.
ಎಲ್ಲಾದರು ಇರು ಎಂತಾದರು ಇರು ಎಂದೆಂದಿಗು
ನೀ ಕನ್ನಡವಾಗಿರು, ಕನ್ನಡವೇ ಸತ್ಯ, ಕನ್ನಡವೇ ನಿತ್ಯ
Where
ever you are, however you are, forever you be a Kannadiga. Kannada is the
truth, daily it is Kannada.
We could also hear Kuvempu’s poem
sung by late C.Ashwath in the background which made us climb the first floor. The
first floor is all about his achivemants, certificate, medals, awards...etc. We
all came out of the house inspired and headed to ‘Kavishaila’.
Kavishaila is
about half a km from Kuvempus home. This is believed to be the place where he
first started penning down sitting on the rocks of Kavishaila. This is in the
midst of greenery and it is breath taking.
However, all good things eventually come
to an end and it was 6 o’clock, we had to head back home. I wished we had 48
hrs a day!
“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveller only who is foreign”.
Every place is beautiful and exploring new places made me realise how small I
am!
