Chugging Through The Wild Beauty Of The Western Ghats And Coasts - Part 4

Part - 3 Early in the morning we started towards Marikamba temple. The sanctum sanctorum has the central image of fierce form of the goddess Durga, multi armed, riding a tiger and killing a demon. The temple has very special paintings of murals in Kavi art, an art form which was popular in the coastal Konkan region of Karnataka. After spending some time in temple, we immediately made our way towards Banavasi. Banavasi, a small town on the banks of Varadha River, is one of the oldest cities in India. Times have gone by but Banavasi has remained young and green. The traditions, festivals and crafts of bygone days are still in practice. It’s truly said by a Kannada poet Pampa – “It is a virtue to be born in Banavasi as a human being. If not as a human being, then at least one should be born as a bee or a cuckoo in the garden of Banavasi”; impressed by the culture and beauty of this place. Banavasi revolves around the Madhukeshwara temple which was built in the 9th century by the Kadamba kings. The main shrine in the Madhukeshwara temple was built during nascent stages of temple architecture. So, it is very simple structure with minimal decorative sculptures on the walls and pillars. A Sankalpa mantapa was added during the Chalukyan rule and Nritya mantapa during Hoysala period which has exquisite carvings on the pillars and ceiling. The main deity is Shiva in the form of honey coloured Linga. There is a beautiful monolithic Nandi statue in the temple. We enjoyed the ethnicity in the holy land and made our way towards Jog falls.

If it’s Monsoon, it is got to be Jog falls in Karnataka. We even didn’t miss out the chance and started our journey towards Jog to enjoy the splendid beauty of Jog falls that comes to life during rainy season. The road to Jog gives one of the most spectacular window-seat views of ever changing terrain – the freshest green of just cultivating paddy fields, dark and broodingly ominous hills turning and running away out of the cross hairs of camera lens. The scale and beauty of the terrain is enhanced a thousand fold by the silence. The silence touched us deeply. No beeps and clicks and horns and mindless chatter; the general jarring cacophony of daily life. It is so nice to feel being meditated without meditating, being part of nature’s meditation. It is in silence she creates, sustains, regenerates, hopes, and yearns. All of the events in nature happening perfectly quiet, their movement in their stillness, their grandeur in their subtlety, their imposing majesty in their humility. Truly Western Ghats is blessed with all natures’ beauty. If looked at the topography of South India, the Western Ghats appears as a chain of mountainous stretch parallel to Konkan and Malabar Coast and also the region gets one of the heaviest rainfalls, thanks to Monsoon. With water aplenty and a steep gradient in the geography, the region is home to many waterfalls. At place a called Gerusoppe, located near western border of Shimoga district, the rocky mountain makes a 250 meter gorge. Now river Sharavathi makes a dive over the cliff – and is the spectacular Jog falls, Majestic creation of nature. Major factors that adds to the beauty of Jog falls are; the height, sheer volume of water that plunges down the gorge and most important, unlike the narrow single point of origin in the cases of most falls, Jog forms a series of distinctive falls. Just before the fall, Sharavathi spreads out and then head down centre of an arc about half a kilometre long caved into the gorge. Together these series of adjacent falls have a multiplication effect of beauty and hence the name Jog falls and not Jog fall. The four easily distinguishable falls are assigned with fancy sounding names. Raja, the king on the left and Rani, the queen on the right extremity are so names for its characteristics. Raja makes an uninterrupted straight fall from the top to base in one go. That is about quarter of a kilometre dive in one stroke. Rani is in fact a cascading fall with spread as it reaches the base. The falls hits many rocky projections on its way down making numerous mini falls. It’s most graceful of the all and hence called the Queen. Between Raja and Rani are two other falls called Roarer and Rocket. Roarer is located next to Raja. The curious name is given to it  thanks to the sound it makes as water plunges down this stretch. As Roarer makes its dive from the top, it flows through a recess on the rocky wall of the gorge. The recess runs almost half way down and at an angle towards Raja. When water torrents through this constriction, it makes hell of a lot of sound compared to the rest of the three. The Rocket located next to Rani is so called because of its trajectory. No insults intended to the rockets as this rocket plunges downward. Through a narrow constriction at the top, a huge quantity of water is made to pass. A jet results. It hits a few intermediate points before meeting the pool at the base of the fall. The rest that makes waterfall special are its uncluttered viewpoints. It appears as if the falls and the viewpoints are well designed and orchestrated by nature. Think of a gigantic open theatre and a gallery opposite to it with a panoramic view. That is exactly what the terrain is made of water falls from the steeper side of the gorge that makes an arc almost. Opposite to it is the view point, located almost a kilometre away but almost at the same level of the fall’s top point. From this point the start of the fall appears to be at the eye level. Now one can slowly trek down to the base of the fall, never losing the view of the fall as you decent. As you reach down the perspectives of the falls keep changing. The panoramic view from the top slowly gives way to the torrent and the brute force of the river. The sound levels are high. So is the spray that makes one drench, long before the point where water hits the base. It’s not just Jog’s four famous falls but the whole spectacle- the sudden changes in the landscape and climate, the sleet rain, the thick swirling mist that covers and uncovers the falls in a dramatic playfulness that takes breath away. But Jog is only the destination, incidental to the whole experience of the journey. Thus "Chugging Through The Wild Beauty of Western Ghats and Coasts" ended with wonderful memories to cherish for the lifetime. Map :