An unforgettable evening

NIVTI FORT

After a sumptuous lunch of Kalwas, prawns, mackerel and other small fish, we started towards Kille-Nivti or Nivti fort. The so called Nivti fort is not really a fort but an outpost on the southern side of Sindhudurg fort, alerting and protecting it from attack of marauders from the southern seas. James Rennel describes Nivti port as;

“Nivti port, in the village of Kochra, six and a half miles south of Malvan and eight north of Vengurla, stands at the mouth of a small creek in rather a striking bay. Rennell (1788) suggested that Nivti was Ptolemy's (150) Nitra and Pliny's (77) Nitrias, ' where the pirates cruised for the Roman ships….”

NIVTI MOBAR

The drive was through a tortuous road winding up and down through a ravishingly beautiful countryside. We passed the Nivti village and climbed up to a view-point, opening to us an entire panorama of beaches, sea and shoreline. From this height we could see down below,

DUNGOBA

Nivti Mobar and Nivti Beach cuddling up in a horse-shoe shape. The hill on the opposite side behind the Nivti beach was so thickly wooded that we could not see any light falling on ground below the green jungle. It was so thick with the vegetation consisting of trees, shrubs and creepers that one has to crawl on all fours to reach the top. We learned that this hill is called “Dungoba”, one of the famous Devrais of Konkan region. There is a small temple on its top, of Lord Dungoba, protector of plant life. It is an express taboo, let alone cut but even touch and harm the plant kingdom here. This is what Shrikant Ingalhallikar, an ardent nature lover and author of "Flowers of Sahyadri" has to say;

  "This may be the only coastal 'Devrai' and perhaps the only one that has rare mangrove plants. Trees seen at the upstream end of the fresh water are the precious 'Sundari' mangrove trees or Heritiera littoralis. This is the only record on the western coast of the celebrated trees of the Sunderbans of eastern India. Around 50 full grown trees with heavily buttressed roots can be seen. They are known by the locals as 'Samudra Kandol' very aptly (Sterculiaceae) because Sterculia villosa which grows uphill is known as Kandol. Heritieras here have been flowering in July and fruiting in latter part of the year. All the trees in Dungoba sacred forest are protected by the locals. May God Dungoba bless the forest for the ensuing centuries"

We parked our vehicle at the highest motor able point and climbed down to hike up rest of the distance. With a short but steep climb up a stony and bushy foot trail, we reached the top of the Nivti fort Buruj.
To say that the view from here is breathtaking is a sheer understatement.

On the right, one can see the long and pristine Bhogwe beach disappearing up to the Karli River. Beyond Karli there was a clear view of Devbaug, Sindhudurg fort and Malvan coastline. This place is so high with a sheer cliff plummeting down below that we could see kites and sea-gulls flying directly below us. Looking down the coconut tree tops along the beach, we had a highly romantic “Google Earth Bird Ey

e View” in 3D reality soaking in all our senses.
On the left was the view of Nivti beach, Nivti-Medha beach, Khavne backwaters, Vayangani beach, Vengurla lands end point with a Lighthouse on its top and the outline of Terekhol fort in Redi at distance. We could see many ships anchored at sea near Redi for loading and exporting Iron and Manganese ores.
On the far horizon, towards west we could see the faint outline of Vengurla Rocks or Burnt Island with its Lighthouse (कोचरयाचे दीपगृह).

VENGURLA ROCK LIGHTHOUSE

Vengurla Rock Lighthouse is about 8 km north from Vengurla port and is approached, during fair seasons only by a mechanized boat. Steps have been cut in the rock for climbing up from landing point.The coastal region from Vengurla  to Nivti fort has several high rise rocks inside the sea. The Vengurla rock or Burnt Island consists of a group of rocks rising 20 to 50 m above sea level.

MINIATURE BEACH

But what lay down below in front of us was simply sprung out of mystical adventure stories. Protected by the jagged rocks in the sea below Nivti fort, was a small miniature beach, tailor-made for secret flirting expeditions of some billionaire Casanova.
As I was engrossed in relishing the beauty of this incredulous beach, I saw some swift and ominous movement in the left corner of my eyes. I was jumping with surprise and glee when I recognized that they were four wild boars, sniffing our presence on the top, rushing up with terrific speed from the beach. They zoomed past within 50 meters from us and vanished inside the thick foliage behind us. We were speechless for a few seconds, realizing the spectacle we have witnessed. Varah Avatar!
Then we settled down to take in the ever enjoyable view of the Red Sun setting down in the expanse of Arabian Sea.

कुठे बुडाला पलीकडे तो सोन्याचा गोळा 

Temples: Trustees of Culture, Museums of Evolution, Fountains of Spirituality, Marvels of Architecture Part 3

कलेश्वर नेरूर

Next on our itinerary was the temple of Kaleshwar situated at Nerur , one or two kilometers away. Lord Kaleshwar (meaning the God of Arts), is an incarnation of Shiva and is the village deity or “Gram Devata” of Nerur. It is believed to be the oldest shrine in this part, having varying claims to its age from 1500 BC to 1200 AD. There is a legend associated about its discovery by a Brahmin, who observed his cow emptying her udder full of milk at this very spot, day after day. The Shivling so discovered after excavation at this spot, is placed on a square shaped platform called

as “Shalunka” in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. It is noticed that the water offered on top of the Shivling does not gather on the platform and it is said to be a mystery as to where the water seeps down.
The temple is very spacious with a large entrance hall. Its ceiling is has colorful decorations made out of paper forms, which amplifies its grandeur and adds pulsating atmosphere of vibrant dance floor.

 The enormity of this temple’s campus becomes evident when one visits the smaller temples around. Next to Kaleshwar is a temple dedicated to Brahma,

the propagator of all the life on earth and one of the Hindu Trinity of gods. It is the believed that this is the only known temple of God Brahma, after the well-known temple in Pushkar, Rajasthan. The tall idol of Brahmanath has a radiating face and is accompanied by many smaller idols.
The most striking temple is at the corn

er of the compound, God Ravalnath temple. According to Hindu mythology, Ravalnath is an incarnation of Shiva and commander of the army of Goddess Durga, who defeated the demon Kolhasur. All other idols of Ravalnath I have seen have blazing fiery eyes, tense determined look and all sinews straining with VeerRasa, befitting the image of commander at war. This six feet idol is different. The face is relaxed and there is a sanguine satisfied look in the eyes. There is a wide grin, with baring his teeth, as if to smirk at a conquered foe. This one is MUST SEE for students and devotees of Hindu idols. Beside the Ravalnath idol, there is an ancient carving, which rightfully belongs to a museum.

Temples: Trustees of Culture, Museums of Evolution, Fountains of Spirituality, Marvels of Architecture Part 2

Laxminarayan of Walawal

A downward journey from the temple of the fiery goddess of Chendvan, through the green rainforest of Konkan, took us to the famous Laxminarayan temple of Walawal. This temple dates back to early 14th century and is built in a classic Hemandpanthi style of temple architecture. It is said that this east facing temple is constructed by Suryabhan & Chandrabhan Prabhu-Desai brothers. Although the temple was built in 14^th century, the beautiful black stone idol is of Chalukya period

in the 8^th century. It is a fine example of sculpture of this period and a precious treasure of national heritage. The idol of Laxminarayan (Lord Vishnu) has a majestic look in its eyes and its forehead is decorated by a symbol with three horizontal stripes in vermilion (normally associated with the devotees of Shiva). The idol is flanked by Garuda (The king of the eagles from heaven) and Vasuki (The king of the serpents from the netherworld).
There is another black stone sculpted idol of Lord Vishnu in Maharashtra, the deity revered by millions, the idol of lord Vithoba at Pandharpur. There are many similarities in these two idols. Experts say that both idols are of 8^th century and of similar black sandstone. Both these temples are closely related by traditions of millenniums. It is a holy pilgrimage to carry a garland of Tulsi from Laxminarayan temple to Vithoba temple and carry back the blessed black powder from Vithoba temple to Laxminarayan temple. However, the residents of Walawal village were prohibited from visiting Pandharpur in olden times, as they were afraid of mishap if they tried. Walawal, therefore, is known as the Pandharpur of the south.

The door of the palanquin shaped sanctum sanctorum is artistically decorated with a carving of Lord Vishnu reclining on Shesh-Nag. The central hall or Sab

hamandap is adorned with intricate wood carvings and its ceiling is made of many wonderfully painted wooden panels, unfolding the various scenes from Dashavataras (The ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu as protector of the earth). The entrance hall is very spacious and has colorful paper decorations hanging from the ceiling (which are renewed every year).  It also has big bell, purchased from earlier Portuguese neighbors.
We were pleasantly surprised to meet another troupe of Shimga revelers in the entrance hall. They had a single male dancer, dressed up as a woman.

The first time visitor may easily miss it, but the lake behind the temple is a refreshing sight. It is said that, on a full moon night, one can see the stars reflected in its placid clear water. One can witness a rare spectacle of the Sun setting in the west and at the same time the Moon rising in the east.

Temples: Trustees of Culture, Museums of Evolution, Fountains of Spirituality, Marvels of Architecture.Part 4

SAI DARBAR

SAI DARBAR

With Sun blazing on the top, exhausted and thirsty by the heat, we then moved towards “The Very First Saibaba Temple in the World” called as Sai-Darbar, located at Kapil Gaon in Nerur, near Kudal Railway Station. Just one look at the premises and our exhaustion evaporated like a drop of water on a red hot iron.

FIRST IDOL

Most popular and secular as well as religious saint of India, Saibaba returned to his eternal abode in 1918. One of his ardent devotee, Madye-Bua who resident of this place and who had spent many years with Saibaba in Shirdi, immediately took up on himself to construct a temple in the honor of his Guru.
The temple was opened to public in 1922, in a small 10 feet by 10 feet hut, with installation of a idol of Saibaba sculpted by a local sculptor Baburao Sarang, by putting in all his art and soul.

NEW IDOL

This idol was later on replaced by a new one, still more life-like, made by the original sculptor’s son Shyam Sarang. The statue is so amazingly life-like, we can actually see the arteries and veins on Saibaba’s hand, as if throbbing with flowing blood. The sparkling life-like eyes make one feel as if we are in the august presence of the saint himself.

MADYE BUA

The temple has a small collection of some exquisite art pieces in the adjoining room. One can see the older idol of Saibaba, many paintings including that of Madye-Bua, a beautiful sitting idol of lord Dattatreya, many other artefacts.





http://wikimapia.org/3784822/Sai-Darbar-India-039-s-First-Sai-Mandir

Temples: Trustees of Culture, Museums of Evolution, Fountains of Spirituality, Marvels of Architecture. Part 1

पाट । हुमरमळा । चेंदवण ।

We started off in Suzuki Eco, from Parule towards Kudal and in five minutes reached the Pat Mauli temple, at the junction of roads leading to Kudal and Vengurla. 

In front of this temple, there is a big beautiful lake fully covered with charming lotus flowers, with petals of carmine red color, radiating outwards. They were looking like a huge parade of troops in Red Square offering their salute to the Sun God, who was halfway up the horizon.

View Larger Map It was very difficult to make out the water as almost its entire surface was covered the dark green leaves. White cranes, interspersed in-between were appearing like white lilies woven in to the red-white-green quilt. Hundreds of coots were trying to navigate between the Lotus leaves.

This lake is believed to be under protection of Goddess Mauli, whose temple is nearby. People believe that anybody plucking the lotus flowers or killing the birds will attract the wrath of the goddess and come to great harm. You may call this as blind faith, but I suspect this type of dictums have arisen from the great wisdom of our ancestors, who believed in environmental protection.

The temple is neat and clean, like many other temples in the region. A portrait Shri Narayanrao Patkar of Dombivli adorns one of its walls.

We took the left road at the junction towards Kudal and stopped at the Rameshwar temple in Humarmala. Having paid our respect to the ancient Shivalinga, we were appreciating the well preserved ancient wooden carvings (No photography allowed inside!), a local troupe of 10-15 persons entered the outer hall with a lot of din. They were dressed in various flashy attires of kings, queens, demons, warriors, wild animals and spooky ghosts. Their faces were painted with bright colors and decorated with various mottos. They were chanting in local language, leading to explosions of laughter from the crowd gathered and all their chants ended with loud “शबय। शबय। शबय।“

From the full moon day of Holi till the next new moon day, the village folks of southern Konkan celebrate a festival called Shimga or Shimgotsav. As the day of Holi comes after the winter crop season and farming folk are resting after tenuous farming and harvesting, this festival was designed by our ancestors for fun and frolics, and also to give expression to the hidden talents of the young generation in dance, drama, music, costume designing and other such art forms. It is the Halloween of Konkan!

View Larger MapThis troupe was sporting the characters of God Shiva, demon king Ravana and other mythological figures. They performed a small skit, albeit with musical accompaniment, in the main hall of the temple. The performance brought wide ear to ear smiles to all and made our day uniquely memorable.

Leaving the main tar road, we took a small country road towards left in to hills of Walawal. We rested for while in a small deserted Ganesh temple, soaking in and marvelling at the botanical treasure laid bare for us along the way and resumed our upward journey towards Chendvan village. Situated at the top a hill on the border of Chendvan and Walawal villages, is the famous temple Chendvan-Mauli. The goddess is the revered Gramdevata of both these villages, who is known to bless her devotees and alleviate their suffering. 



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Temple is wide and good looking, adjoining a small cliff. The four feet tall stone idol with blazing eyes has ten hands carrying artifacts and weapons like conch, wheel, mace, trident, sword etc. Facing the goddess in a small alcove is the idol of her elder son, seated on a horse, holding spears and arrows to crush the invaders. He is holding the twelve commandments of rules and is rearing to go at the command of the goddess. On a clear day standing outside this temple, one can see the village of Walawal down below, nestled in greenery and the waters of river Karli beyond.

Excellent, Good, Bad & Ugly

MALWAN-CHIVLA-TARKARLI PART-II

The Konkan coastline is abundantly blessed with many rivers and rivulets, cascading down the hilly Sahyadri range and meeting the sea at various points. Although richly endowed with virginal natural beauty and teaming with plant and animal ecosystems with great biodiversity- a veritable nature lover's paradise, these rivers were a challenge to travel and communication for the inhabitants of Konkan. In order to cross these rivers, they had to travel arduously to a convenient jetty point near the mouth of the river, called in the local language as Tar (तर). They had to wait patiently, sometimes for hours, for high tide to come in when the river becomes navigable by by row boats. The boatmen who steered these canoes across, were called the Taris. The village on the south side of Karli river, takes the name of the river itself and is called Karli. The village on the north side, that is the one which you reach on crossing the "Tar", with the help of the "Taris"(तारी ), is so aptly called Tarkarli (तारकर्ली).

These were the thoughts floating in my mind when we left Parule towards Malwan and Tarkarli. We crossed the seemingly barren land called Chipi, where a new international airport is coming up. I am using the word "seemingly" on purpose. To the eyes of the hotel-to-hotel-hopping modern-day tourist, it may appear as nothing but a wasteland, where nothing grows except some wild grass, that too not more than a foot tall. During day time, if you look carefully, you may spot few snakes and vultures. But come to this place at night, the place packed with all kinds of fauna like the Dadar railway station. The wild boars, mongoose, toddy-cats, rabbits, scorpions and umpteen kinds of desert animals frequent this place. Besides this area is a great aquifer, charging the perennial wells in Parule, Walawal, Korjai and Karli.

Having buried the disturbing thoughts of desert creatures of Chipi, waiting to be attacked by the monstrous aeroplanes and its minions of modern world aficionados, we came to the bridge over Karli river and stopped to appreciate the magnificent view on either side.

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We lost the track of time just looking at the islands with swaying coconut trees, small boats plying with fishermen and tourists, schools and schools of small fish swimming in sunlit crystal clear water and content men at the other end of fishing lines oblivious to our humdrum daily grind.

It was second day of Holi and as we approached Malwan, gangs of urchins, their faces covered with all kinds of color powders, were hanging around street corners, stopping vehicles and extracting ransom for promise of un-ugly behavior. Mal-ware of Malwan!
Our first stop was Jay Ganesh Mandir of Kalnirnay fame Jayant Salgaokar. This exquisitely built temple has the Ganesh idol made of resplendent pure gold.

The ceiling of the Sabhamandap are adorned by eight watercolor pictures depicting the Ashtavinayaks, revered throughout Maharashtra. Two stately elephants in radiating white are guarding its entrance. The temple is east facing and constructed in such a way that for ten days around 14th of January the rays of rising Sun fall directly on the golden Ganesh idol, exploding the inner sanctum in all brilliance.

Next halt was Chiwla beach. This crescent shaped beach is very convenient for the residents of Malwan and affords a great view of Sarjekot and Talashil peninsula on its right. But if you turn your eyesight towards left you will be taken aback by the big eyesore of a bungalow constructed by the "you-know-who" minister. Looking at its extension in to the sea, you can't help thinking that it probably flouts the CRZ regulations of Saudi Arabia also.

When we had planned visiting Rock Garden of Malwan, I had images of Chandigarh's Rock Garden at the back of my mind. But this one turned out to be a pleasant surprise, a garden on the rocks by the sea!

It is very beautifully laid out, without moving or cutting the original rocks, so we encountered many solid rocks jutting out on the foot-walk between the flowering plants. As you cross the garden and walk towards the sea, you are awed by the contours and hues of the basalt as well as volcanic rocks.

On a platform within few feet from the sea, there is a high seat in the shape of a throne of an Emperor.


On the adjacent ledge, the rocks had taken the shape of king size beds and the crystal clear water was gently lapping on their surface not more than six inches deep. The air was warm, but the water was super cool and I had a strong urge to take off all my clothes and recline on one of those wonderfully crafted sea-beds and let the water caress my entire body with its cool hands.

See also http://powaitech.blogspot.com/2011/04/blog-post.html

River,Ocean,Setting Sun & Supermoon

KARLI RIVER PART 3




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Having reached Korjai jetty we realized that the Sun was going down very fast. We moved along the left side of the bank of Karli river, searching for a better view. That is when we chanced up on Anand Sarang’s picturesque riverside holiday home. From the lawns of this place the view of setting Sun on that very part of the horizon, between the landmass of Korjai on left and Devbaug peninsula on the right, where the large hearted Karli spreads its arms wide and gives up her own identity to become Arabian Ocean, is something to experience and treasure.

This Korjai jetty was the only way to travel to Devbaug and Malvan crossing the river by boat, few years back, till the Chipi bridge was built. Even now, the villagers of Korjai and Devbaug use the canoe to commute between their villages.

On the right side of the jetty there is an undulating river walk. This river walk running alongside Karli river is of bright brick red color of the Konkan soil. On its right are salty marshes, with pools and poodles of saline water, trapped at the time of high tide. These salt water pools are in themselves another complete universe full of its own kind of flora and fauna.

Riverwalk

The sun was disappearing like a red hot ball in to the deep underbelly of the ocean, majestic cranes with their streamlined bodies were flying westward in a V formation to roost for the night, The Super moon ( Holi evening) having come up on the eastern horizon was throwing the gauntlet to any light show on this earth to try and compete with him, the waters of the rising tide were stealthily creeping up the steps of the jetty and we decided to beat our retreat back, having totally surrendered our souls to the mysterious Karli River Goddess.

Super Moon on 19th March 2001

तोरा, ओवळा आणि पांडवांची देवळा

KARLI RIVER PART 2:
Mangoes, Bakula and Ancient temples

On the way back from Karli jetty up the hilly slope, we noticed some men harvesting raw mangoes from the wild mango trees. These raw mangoes (TORA) are in great demand all over India for pickles and chutneys. When the raw mango fruits are plucked, the gummy juice secreting from their severed stems, fills the air with a kind of pungent scintillating aroma, which activates that secret center in our brain’s sensory nervous system, which generates an intense overpowering craving for these raw fruits, which is not satiated till all the glands in your mouth, esophagus and stomach in contact with them.


Two men perched dangerously on tall branches of the well spread tree were plucking these fruits with native contraption, made of a long bamboo pole and pouch of a net called as Goke or Shibali in local tongue.
At a junction of roads on way from Karli to Korjai, we made a halt to appreciate a couple of beautiful Bakul trees. The lovely evergreen Bakul (Ovalaa) with its shiny, thick, narrow, pointed leaves is famous for its tiny cream colored flowers, which fill the night air with its delicious heady aroma. And next day when they fall to the ground, they retain their odor for many days, that has inspired the popular saying “True friendship lasts like the scent of Maulsari (Bakul)”.



Next to the Bakul tree was the famous Madhuca Latifolia tree, commonly known as Mahwa or Mahua. The flowers are edible and attract the birds. The heady wine made from the flowers is also well known.
Before going down to the Korjai Jetty, we took a left turn in the hills. The road was very narrow. On the left a steep hill with thick jungle of thorny corinda ( करवंद ) bushes, teak & badam trees, on right a sheer fall in to the coconut and betel nut palm tops leading down to the slow flowing water of Karli river a few yards further down. Path was dotted with tiled village homes whose gardens were adorned with many creepers and vegetable plants. We stopped at a projecting view point, soaking in the swaying palms, sleepy little islands in the river, white cranes deeply lost in their trance of meditation, diving kingfishers plucking off the unsuspecting gullible tiny fish and intoxicating fragrance of Son-chamfa.


We came upon some ancient caves now covered with a roof called as “ पांडवकालीन शिवमंदिर”. Climbing down the steps leading to this temple, branches of big Bakul tree were brushing our heads. We spotted some fruits in ripe yellow color and tasted a few. The temple was simply built, however, without in any way disturbing the historic caves and and its artefacts. There was a newly built jetty in front of the temple and view of the river and that of Tarkarli on the opposite side was magnificent.

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तस्मै श्री गुरवे नम: ॥

In the kingdom of Nostalgia – तारी मास्तर

Last month I took some time off and paid a visit to my birth place, Vengurla. It was just a casual visit, sauntering lazily through the town and recollecting the nostalgic moments of my childhood and school days. We had reached a non-descript one story building on the Main Road, with sloping tiled roof, with facade of wooden ribs and a tall compound wall made of lateritic stone. “That’s my school, my primary school!” I said to my wife, recollecting about the days, when I was in 7^th standard.

The floodgate of my memories burst open. Once upon a time, I was running across the street to reach the school in time before the bell stopped ringing, singing hoarsely with the chorus the “Geetai” by Vinoba Bhave, squatting barefooted on the floor cross-legged & writing down on a stone slate, playing mischief during the study breaks. But the most intense and moving memory of all was that of Tari Sir.

Tari Sir was the headmaster of School No. 3, a primary Marathi medium school of Vengurla. He was known as a very stern and disciplinarian headmaster. Let alone students, even the other teaching staff was afraid of him. Initially, while talking to him I could not raise my eyes from my twiddling toes and it took me a couple of months to discover the divine qualities of this gem of a man.

Those days, during the academic year of 7^th standard, there used to be a competitive examination, passing which with good marks; one could avail of a scholarship for next four years of schooling. I was selected with five other students from this school, to appear for this examination and Tari Sir had taken upon himself to coach and prepare the aspirants. Coaching had to be carried out without disturbing the normal hours, spending extra time at school. That is the time I discovered the excellent personality of Tari Sir. Loving, caring, encouraging and completely dedicated to the welfare of his wards.

After a tiring day spent in teaching and administering the school, Tari Sir would teach us for long hours with a smile on his face, kindling our interest in solving difficult sums and understanding nuances of literature. When we were tired with fatigue, he would look up enthusiastically and ask, “Shall we play cricket?” We would jump up in affirmation and close all the doors and windows of the school building. The building was actually a single huge room, demarcated by chalk marks into separate class divisions. With a stack old slates serving as stumps, he would take guard with a worn out old bat and ask one of us to bowl underhand, with a tennis ball. Many a times, I have glanced up at the photograph of Mahatma Gandhi adorning the wall, with suspicion that there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes and amused smile on his face.

At that young age, we would get famished in no time during our coaching time. Tari Sir quickly comprehended our problem. He disposed off the old magazines and newspapers, which had been donated to the school and with that money he would buy some snacks for us. Whenever I reflect back on those days, I ask myself, why was this man with a family and home of his own was going out of his way to care so much for us, who would be out of the school anyway the very next year!

The scholarship examinations were to be held in Winter and the test centre was at Savantwadi, about 30 kilometers from our town. The number of students had come down to three, including me. We would have to travel to Savantwadi and stay there 2/3 days, during that period. Parents of the students concerned were not inclined to go out of town and advised us to forget about the test. Not to be undone, Tari Sir applied for a leave of absence from the school and accompanied us to Savantwadi. He booked a room in a lodge, to be shared by four of us.

He would teach us till late night, get up early to get us all prepared clean and bright and take us for breakfast. He would then accompany us to the test centre, bidding Good Luck. When we would finish answering the morning test paper and come out of the exam hall, we would see him waiting there for us, with a hot lunch-box and four plates, lest we waste our valuable time. Over the lunch, he would join us in a quick recap of the next test questions. As we went back again, we would see his figure walking away taking the empty lunch-box. Once again after the afternoon test, we would see his smiling figure, waiting for us, to take us back to the lodge.

During my career, I have come across many teachers, some of them with multiple PhDs and research papers to their credit, some whose portraits are adorning the entrance halls of renowned institutions, but if you ask me who is the best teacher I had, from the bottom of my heart I would say, TARI SIR!

Such unselfish dedication, such genuine feeling of responsibility for the students and most of all such positive attitude to take on any hardship for their sake, I am yet to come across on this planet...... तस्मै श्री गुरवे नम: ॥

Adinarayan, Crabs, Oysters and Alexandrian Laurel

KARLI RIVER PART 1:
Adinarayan, Crabs, Oysters and Alexandrian Laurel

In the afternoon, we started with a visit to the Adinanarayan temple nearby. This is a temple of Sun God and one of the few Sun temples in India, dedicated to this primordial source of energy. This temple deity is a family deity of Kudaldeshkar community, one of the categories of Gaud Saraswat Brahmins in India.


This temple, although renovated in the recent past, has still preserved some parts of the ancient wood carvings, which were part of the Sabhamandap in the old temple. Lord Adinarayan in his majestic form oversees his devotees in stern but protective gaze, in the form of black stone statue.
It is a tradition in Indian temples that whenever these temples are renovated and old idols are replaced with new ones, with pomp and ceremony, accompanied by chanting of Mantras, the old idols are taken out in procession and installed at base of a Pipal tree (Sacred Fig) in the same compound.

This temple is no exception and one can see the historically important centuries old stone idols can be seen on a concrete pedestal at the base of Pipal tree nearby. This particular Pipal tree is very interesting. Although we cannot guess its age, it must be at least 200 years old, it had many different creepers growing on it, with some strange multicolour berries.


We proceeded towards Karli jetty in the western direction, a downward winding path lined up on both sides by a wild variety of tall mango trees. Karli jetty at the end of the Karli village overlooks the wide river basin, meeting the Arabian Sea. On the opposite side is Devbaug, the cocoa-nut tree dense peninsula, separating the river from the Sea.

It was a low tide at the jetty and the amphibian creatures from the backwater were having their day out, on the marshy slopes of the river bank. Of all those crawling life forms, one standing out in particular, was the “Single Pincer Crab”. There were several colonies of this crustacean at this place. They were in various sizes and colours. A variety of amphibian fish (Shevta) was also seen hopping around like a miniature version of walrus, in a few millimetre deep water and slush.

Single Pincer Crab

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As we were engrossed observing these fauna, Bhayya had vanished somewhere and he resurfaced grinning and holding a transparent jar filled with some dumpling like lumps floating in sea water.
KALWA! He cried out with glee, indicating that he has managed to obtain the best delicacy (Rock oysters), and my saliva glands went in to super drive. I gave a loving glance to the would-be gastronomical delights and held on to the jar tightly for the rest of the journey, lest the water may spill out and the creatures die a premature death!
At Karli jetty a number of Undee trees (Calophyllum inophyllum, Alexandrian Laurel) were thriving in the saline atmosphere, laden with abundant Undee fruits.

These fruits yield a kind of thick greenish oil when dried, which burns very slowly providing a completely smokeless light. In the olden days, the local people used to carry torches (Mashals) soaked in Undee oil, when travelling at night in the dark jungles of Konkan region. A few ounces of this oil, soaked up on the torches, would last the entire night. What an eco-friendly torch, a real gift from Mother Nature!

Undee Tree & Fruits