அமேசிங் places

Never before I had a vacation like the one I just had on the eve of New Year! Yes; this time my visit to India was fully packed and memorable.

On 31st December, we left for Mangalore from Mumbai. From the Airport we went straight to Sringeri in Karnataka which is on the banks of river Thunga. We stayed at the guest house called Rishi Valley Cottages. We could breathe the fresh air with sweet smell of flowers coming from the beautiful garden inside the compound. When experiencing the serenity and tranquility of the place, you are convinced as to why that saint had identified the place and made it his abode for reaching to the heaven! Yes! This place, I swear, is the one stop destination for reaching to the heaven!

The caretaker who knew only Kanada language could communicate what he can offer for breakfast, "Avalakki Uppittu" or iddlies besides coffee or tea for beverage. Whilst we enjoyed his coffee, my daughters simply went around clicking the flowers and the surroundings, some of the photos are posted here.





Next place I can never forget is Dharmastala. This is about 100 kms away from Mangalore. We reached on Monday evening-4th January. Somebody advised us to meet Mr. Veerendra Heggade, who is the Dharmathikari (Trustee) of the heritage. I should say that rather than being termed as a religious place, this place is the final destination for dispute resolution for scores of people. Yes people come here to resolve their disputes or problems and go back happily by reaching an amicable settlement! The judgment obtained here is valid and widely accepted.

We met Mr. Veerendra Heggade who not only engaged us for over 10 minutes, he also suggested us to stay overnight and proceed the next day after seeing all around the Dharmastala. We readily accepted his advice and stayed overnight at the "Netravathi"guest house. Mr. Heggade also sent a representative who took us around Dharmastala and also to the massive kitchen and the dining place, showing us how the food is prepared for the visitor and served free. Earlier Mr. Heggade told us that on that particular day of our visit 53 quintals of rice was cooked, enough to feed about 45000 people!

People of all faiths from all over India and abroad visit this place. Any amount of words will be insufficient to express the greatness of this place and the tradition followed by the family of Heggade for almost 700 years now.

Whilst returning, I was just thinking that if more such dhamastalas are founded in various parts of the world, then there would be no one going to bed without having one square meal in a day!