Lawley
Square, Albert Mission High school, Board High school and Vinayak
Mudaliar Street - do these names sound familiar? To travel down memory
lane, let's take a trip to a village nestled deep in the Western Ghats.
Taking the bus towards Mangalore from Shimoga,
the road meanders through thick evergreen forests. After nearly 90
kms of a bumpy journey, we come to the edge of the Ghats from where
the hills recede to give way to the western coast. We reach a place
called Agumbe, often referred to as the Cheerapunji of South India.
It is situated 826 meters above sea level on the edge of the Sahyadri
ranges. This quaint little village shot to prominence after the famed
teleserial 'Malgudi
Days'aired on Doordarshan. One often wonders why the late
director-actor Shankar Nag chose Agumbe of all the places to
shoot the teleserial. The terrain is difficult and the weather
treacherous, certainly not a place for the weak hearted.
They say there are three seasons in Agumbe. The
cloudy season, rainy season and torrential downpour season! It
rains so heavily here that you can count the warm, sunny days on
your fingers. The continuous downpour often makes the place inaccessible.
In 1999 on account of heavy rains, the Sunset Point situated
on the Ghat road, collapsed in a landslide. The air becomes so humid
and moist that algae and grass starts growing on rooftops. And then
these rooftops begin to resemble paddy fields!
'Save
for the rainy day' is a proverb that seem to reflect the lifestyle
of the Malnad people. Firewood, foodgrains, dried mango pickles,
groundnuts, spices, honey - everything is readied during the handful
of summer days that they get. Once the rains start, life is confined
indoors or under the shade of giant umbrellas made of arecanut leaves.
We stayed in the affectionate Kasturakka's house, a very
affectionate lady in whose house the teleserial 'Swami and Friends'
was shot. The mild aroma of arecanut being processed
in huge cauldrons emanated from the large kitchen. Children cheerfully
huddled around the fireplace, relishing roasted jackfruit seeds.
Layers of smoke hung over the nearby small thatched houses made
of hay and wood.
Lofty
arecanut and coconut trees, entwined by pepper and betel
leaf creepers, stand tall amidst lush green patches of paddy. Women
singing folk songs while planting paddy saplings, water streams
gently flow cascading down the terraces made on the hill slopes,
the melodious sounds of exotic bird calls - a serenity that filters
down to the heart. Oh! this place is heaven. No doubt it has been
immortalised in the literary works of Kuvempu in his 'Malegalalli
Madhumagalu', 'Kanooru Heggadathi' and other works. In fact
Kuvempu's birthplace in Kuppali is just miles away from Agumbe.
Moving
beyond the checkpost, the road comes to the breathtaking cliff with
nearly 14 hairpin bends taking us down to the plains. Dr.
Rajkumar's famous movie 'Akasmika' has a song on the beauty
of the sunset from here. From this point, the cliff drops down to
a wide open space towards the coast. The sea reflects the crimson
shimmer of the sunset and, on rare, cloudless days, a spectrum of
colours can also seen. Also seen from here is the single gushing
waterfall of Onakeabbi falls and the observatory of the Meteorological
Department.
Travel Info Distance: 365 kms from Bangalore by Road Accommodation: Only in the houses of the affectionate
villagers Nearest city: Shimoga- 274 kms from Bangalore
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