Our initial prolonged journey soon after marriage, if you could simply call it the honeymoon vacation was this one particular to Mookambika with a stopover at Bekal. It was a journey that happens after in a life time for the mood was so and the destinations quite unique and mystic. When we boarded the teach to Mangalore that night, we did not know that this journey came accurate because of to some divine intervention. In the 1st area, this could not have taken area at all. It was working day when the total Kerala came to a standstill thanks to some issue which demanded a bandh. My spouse who was then doing work in Pathanamthitta just about made it to the railway station at Thiruvananthapuram, our boarding place, many thanks to well timed help from police and a pal.
Anyway our honeymoon vacation was on. The up coming early morning we alighted at Bekal railway station with the Arabian sea and the timeless Bekal fort lending a amazing backdrop to insert a intimate contact. With support from a good friend functioning in Bekal Resorts Advancement Corporation (BRDC), we managed to get a space in their place of work located within the fort. Recall, this was way back again in 1996, and tourism was however to just take off there. Bekal fort, created by Sivappa Nayik is an exceptionally crucial monument in the annals of Indian heritage but was still to get because of notice in the tourism scenario. The beaches all-around was haven to smugglers and anti social aspects. Yet my obsession with Bekal was too strong to succumb to these fears. My wife as well was keen on this take a look at. The location experienced a lush environmentally friendly seem and the weather conditions salubrious, which we owed to December, the thirty day period we acquired married. The sea was blue and inviting. This famed fort has carved a specialized niche for by itself in the hearts of film goers with music sequences from lots of strike motion pictures becoming shot in this article. The spot experienced a deserted look which was in stark contrast to the scenes we see there now. This as pointed out was thanks to the infamous stories involved with the place. Our mood was exuberant and there was no area for despondency.
The fort remaining a secured monument is under the aegis of the Archaeological Study of India. A single could not say if there was a significant attraction in this spot which stood out. The ambiance was exceptional. The beautiful beach locations and waters of the Arabian Sea coupled with the amazing Fort experiencing it will make this position a unique 1. We had a excellent time walking and frolicking about the fort premises. The lookout towers give outstanding views of sea from equally sides. The fort walls experienced openings by means of which guns could be educated on invaders. It is not astonishing that Bekal fort was the very first alternative for taking pictures some unforgettable song sequence from the film Bombay. The component of the fort stretching out into the sea provides some excellent sights.
A desire could not previous eternally, which we realized to our dismay as it was time to transfer on. It was midday and no lodgings had been accessible within or outdoors the fort. Even hotels were being not viewed which gave us sufficient reasons to board a bus to Mangalore. After a transient stopover for lunch, boarded a bus to Kollur-Mookambika, which in point was our principal location. It was 8.30 and the night was acquiring colder and darker when we achieved Mookambika. The supper, which was pure vegetarian was common but the taste of mango pickle even now lingers.
The encounters we experienced the following early morning are unforgettable. An age-previous belief that recently married couples can direct a blissful married daily life if they just take a dip in the Souparnika River impressed us. Souparnika originates in Kudajadri and flows along, hardly a kilometer away from the temple. The location had an ethereal magnificence about it with stream soaring out of the waters even in the cold weather. We took a dip alongside one another and came again elated. It was time to go to the temple. A nearby priest guided us in performing some rites. Shankaracharya started off the Poojas and rites which are continue to performed here. This is the only temple devoted to Goddess Parvati and is above one thousand yrs previous.
As talked about earlier the divine intervention took place once more. This time it was in the sort two younger chaps who shared a space reverse to ours. We ended up on the lookout for partners for the journey to Kudajadri and quickly recognized their invitation to join them for the journey to the holy hills bordering this divine position. The jeep journey becoming expensive we had been also looking for a person who could share the travel charges. Right after a little bit of bargaining the driver agreed to Five hundred rupees which is very little in comparison to the charge now. So the jeep which typically carried 6 to 7 individuals had only four passengers. As the car or truck moved, the path transformed from tarred to muddy and then to rocky. It was an knowledge which, may possibly a time, I imagined could convert me within out. Any following a bone jarring journey of about 40 kilometers uphill, we attained Kudajadri.
The household users of the monks who stay right here permanently welcomed us. They gave us tea and snacks. A novel penned, M.T. Vasudevan Nair, the legendary author in Malayalam with the plot woven around this very history was retold by my wife who is an ardent admirer of his. To my shock, the scenes which unfolded here and the characters below behaved specifically the exact same way as she had narrated. In actuality she had informed this numerous occasions through the journey and the delight on her confront was obvious.
There is pond fed by h2o flowing down from the forest tract on top of the adjoining hills. We trekked up the path having fun with the apparent skies and salubrious weather amid the forest. Following a climb for about 50 % an hour, we arrived at the Sarvanjapeedom, the place Shankaracharya mediated and Mookambika Devi appeared right before him. There is an fascinating tale driving this episode. Shankaracharya required Devi to abide by him to Kerala the place there have been no Devi temples. Devi obliged to Shankaracharya’s request and adopted him subject to the situation that he under no circumstances appears to be like back again. At a position Shankaracharya seemed back again because the seem of Devi’s anklets could not be listened to. Genuine to her words and phrases, Mookambika Devi informed Shankaracharya that she would stay here and folks could appear in this article to request her blessings. Eventually, moved by Shankaracharya devotion, Devi advised him that she would give darshan to devotees of Kerala at Chottanikkaara in the course of early morning and then return to Kollur. It not stunning that the Chottanikkaara temple opens at 4 am in comparison to other temples since Mookambika Devi will come to Chottanikkara in the course of the a person hour since the temple is open up!
Our buddies attempted climbing up the peedam and have been quickly witnessed stepping down frantically. This was considering that a gentleman with a saintly look was throwing abuses at them for owning climbed the peedam which naturally was a sacred monument. Some pilgrims returning from a slope informed that there was cave below which was value viewing. It turned was the Chitramoola cave which Shankaracharya mediated and attained enlightenment from the Goddess of understanding.
A human being with all physical appearance matching that of a saint was meditating in the cave which was straight out of Amar chitra kadha internet pages. We have been not certain if this was real a person. Anyway lot of income could be observed at his ft available by passersby. There is a waterfall in this article which included to the complete impact.
It was time to go and we climbed back and then commenced the stroll down to the jeep After refreshing, climbed into the jeep and started the respectable to Mookambika. Really weary right after the hectic day, we retired to bed with a heap of joyous ordeals floating into our desires.