A Holiday which gave Bliss.

Home is where the heart is they say. But this summer I found some place which made me forget my home. A great vacation and even greater memory.

Summer vacations are always about going somewhere out with your family. As goes the family tradition we were deciding upon a venue where we could spend a few days amongst the beautiful beaches and natural beauty. With none of us agreeing to each other’s suggestions we cancelled the plan and I was hell disappointed about staying at home the whole month.

But then there was a ray of hope, when mom suggested Coastal Karnataka. She said it and the next minute I found myself Googling the places to see in Karnataka. What did not make me very happy were the search results which just gave long names of temples. Throughout the year I find myself bowing to the Lord only twice a day as a ritual and more so before and after the exams. Not kidding.

So we finally made an itinerary which had more temples to visit than the coast. And we embarked on the journey a week before than we actually planned to stepped out.!

I spent my time in the dicky of the car along with the luggage stuffed around me. As uncomfortable as it could get I managed to make my own space for a sleeping as the criss-cross roads made me dizzy. I tried my best not to wake up as during the dark there was no sight-seeing to do. After some time I realised the car had stopped moving, I got up to see if we had reached. What pleased me to see was the morning light making it obvious that we were closer to our destination.  I looked back and was taken aback by the beautiful beach across the road. We were halting on the coastal highway of Karntaka at 7 in the morning. With no traffic on the road and just the sound of the breeze and waves I knew I was in for better days ahead. I can never get the image of the serenity of that early morning out of my mind.

Our first stop was at Udipi and who knew that it would be the place-to-be throughout. The hotel which I booked luckily turned out to be the best one we ever visited and that too at a really affordable price. Now the trip was getting more and more exciting for me. The weather there was definitely much better than what we were experiencing in Mumbai. The first day was just resting in the hotel as the journey really tired everyone. It was ticked off the itinerary now.

In the next four days I don't mind saying I had the best vacations of my life. Visiting temples I thought would bore me but I was so bloody wrong! The temples there are so well-built. The people spend heftily on the construction and the architecture is deep-thought of. The top of each temple is adorned with gold and the inside smells of pure dhoop. As soon as you enter them divinity engulfs you with the incandescence sticks filling the interiors. The dimly-lit temples from within provide the Lord a lovely accommodation with the traditional flutes and drums playing by. The environment created by the rhythm and echoing of the mantra recitation placed me in a different state of mind. The one which took away all my random thoughts and replacing them with peace. For a moment I stood still in front of the deity with nothing to ask for as I had my inner peace with me now. But that did not last long as the impatient lady behind pushed me ahead so she could stand there and pray. The moment was gone.

Next up we had a visit to some beaches. This was even more intriguing in terms of the poise around. In the evening the next day we visited Malpe beach, Udipi. It was spectacular beauty. The coast had designs of the crabs footprints and the waves did the talking. As I was done clicking some pictures along with my family, I went ahead in the water as they all sat on the benches.  A missed all my close friends then, wishing them to be around so we could splash and play. But as the water touched my feet and went back I forgot about it all. The kiddish urge to go and jump over the waves came over and I gave in. Not bothering about how wet I would get I just jumped and jumped with smiles on my face. The feeling was AMAZING.

The next two days were joyous in the same vein by visiting temples and beaches. A few famous temples and a few local ones but feeling given by both was same. The roads in Karnataka also gave a delight simply because it was covered by water on both sides. One side has the back-waters and the other river. So it was yet another amazing time to be surrounded by beauty and heading towards another one. The back-waters as wide as the sea and the clean river make for an estuary which can’t be missed.

What I still haven’t talked about is the food. Yummilicious south-indian food was just another brownie point for the place. The crispy yet soft dosas, medu-wada, idli fry made perfect for breakfast. We believe when in South-India do as South-Indian’s do.!! (or for that matter any place) So not even a single day did we try anything that was out of the place. The leaf-lunch which was synonymous to a buffet-serving technique but on a banana leaf became my favourite diet there. So every day 1 time a leaf-lunch (includes 2 bhajis, puri/chapatti, chatni, rassam-rice, papad and dessert) was filling.

One disappointment was the timings of places worth seeing. 1-5 in the afternoon is certainly not a time slot one would expect things to be shut down. Being on our own we did not know about it. so we were not able to see all on the itinerary but whatever we saw, I made the most of it.

Finally it was day to bid good-bye to the place. But what came as a surprise in that too, was an extra stay grant from mommy dearest. Yayy we were not leaving tomorrow that gave me joy. So in this whole week I had seen Udipi, Kundapur, Manipal, Dharmasthala, and a few nearby places.

Today I am sitting on my couch, writing this piece of my experience and you know what is more joyous about it now? I just visited the place again. 

Malpe Beach