Apr 13, 2001 03:55 PM
8664 Views
I went to South Kanara as recently as in February and let me tell you that it is a clean and beautiful place with a lot of culture and rich history. My husband is basically from Mangalore and this was our first trip after marriage to his ''native place'' as we Indians call it :)
I agree with Nikhil's review where he says that it is unfair for just one heading in South Kanara. South Kanara has a number of beautiful places!!
I have not visited many places in South Kanara but interacted with many people from South Kanara...The people are very cultured and educated (there is a great emphasis on college education and performance, also on reading good literature). My husband belongs to the GSB Konkani clan from South Kanara and I should know. However, they are a little too traditional and proud for my liking too....
Mangalore - the capital of South Kanara is very clean and beautiful. It was a shock for a Mumbaiite like me to see that a city could be so clean and green. Mangalore is full of swaying coconut trees and 90% of Mangalore has these quaint bungalows with little gardens around them. A lot like Mysore...with it's Gulmohur trees (sigh! my honeymoon was at Mysore and Ooty :)
One thing which I suggest everyone should do (it is off the beaten track, but a great experience) is to eat one lunch at a South Kanara devasthaan (or temple). Piping hot simple food, served by volunteers (these volunteers sometimes include well-to-do CEOs etc.). Believe me, the food is delicious - usually a daali toy (a simple dal prepared the Mangalorean way), sheet (rice), an upkari (a simple vegetable preparation), a ghasi (a vegetable or pulses curry) and a god dish (a sweet dish like paayas). If you know a Mangalorean relative, tell him to take you for a temple lunch - nothing like it if there is a ter (a festival) going on.
A good, cheap and VERY CLEAN place to stay is at Hotel Woodlands in Mangalore. The waiters are so friendly and you get great SK coffee. Also try the biscoot ambados here (a type of vada)! It's veg. only but VFM.
The temples are a must-see, they are so old that you feel as if you have reached another era, the cool stone is great to sit on and contemplate life.....I love the smell of camphor, flowers and sandlewood which lingers there.....
If you are from Mumbai, a great way to go to South Kanara (I know that most people will go by Konkan rail) is by road via Goa. This is what we had done. We had spent a few days in Goa and then gone by the national highway to Mangalore. Believe me, the road is beautiful and in great condition. It touches various beautiful beaches too.
On the way you get to see Ankola (which has an old temple of Mahamaya Laxminarayan - Here you can get that temple lunch), Murudeshwar, Honavar, Suratkal (which has a beautiful beach), Udipi. At one point, on this road, there is the river on one side and the sea on the other. Fantabulous!
You can get great information at http://www.mangalore.com.
