One of the best things about having a job with unlimited Internet access is that you can keep troubling Mr G (Google not God, silly) endlessly. And so during my one of the many "working" moment, I asked Mr G about Gokarna and immediately images of the vast never ending ocean, pristine beaches and historical temples graced my screen. One look at the picture of the awesome Om beach; and I was positively lusting to go there. I mean I had to be there, it was some sort of epiphany and so with my roomie, my friend Jyothi I took off. Well meaning friends kept advising us with dire warnings--it is very sunny, it is raining cats and dogs, yada yada. But we still went, two mad girls going madder on the lovely beaches. It was a dream. It couldn't have been better.
Gokarna is a quaint little village in Uttar Karnataka; with vast beaches, a bustling village and the lofty Sahyadris; Gokarna is a ideal destination for those who loves the beaches and the mountains and want a taste of both at once. And being relatively less explored, it is every bit shy cousin of its neighbor Goa. After a really bumpy ride from Bangalore, very little sleep, we open our eyes as dawn hit. The first sight we see is the lush lakes, the still sleeping village and the smell of fresh rain treated mud awakens us; well its hard not to. A rickety tuk tuk take us towards Om beach and the famous Namaste cafe.
Still undecided where to stay we entered the cafe with much trepidation but as soon as we reached the eating area; we saw the sea waves hitting the hefty rocks, the sea wind caressing our skin and jaw dropping beauty of the OM shaped beach. The choice was made. The sea is a real moody creature, I realized. At times its calm, at times rocky and at times absolutely ruthless. It humbles you down and never ceases to amaze you. I thought the timing could not have been perfect. It was sunny just enough to take a long walk on the beach, get lost looking at the water, read or simply do nothing and cool enough to hike up the tricky cliffs. And as soon as you break a sweat, a quick five minute sudden shower will cool you down.
The cherry on the cake was meeting people from the other side of the world and befriending. Traveling gets rid of your bigotry and teaches you a lot, Mark Twain once said. And meeting different people and learning from them teaches you a lot. For starters, I could not help admire the gumption of this kindergarten teacher from Brazil who is in here for six months travelling alone,roughing it out in some unbearable conditions (unbearable for me) in sleeper class trains, living in match box kind of rooms all for the sake of finding herself. Or a German teacher teaching in a Chennai village who wanted to explore the varied nature of the seas, the people of this vast nation. I learnt at the end of the day despite our differences of colour, culture and languages. We all want the same things--to know who we really are, to explore the various secrets of world, to love and to be loved. I think this was the biggest highlight of the whole trip.
With this Brazilian friend we took off to the bustling market of Gokarna. Well, since it was off season and late noon, the market wasn't really bustling. But on the plus side we got some neat deal; loosened our wallet and bulked our bag with some psychedelic Alladin pants, colorful tops, knick-knacks and all. And while the locals do know how to haggle with an equally haggling customer (read me) I must admit they were much nicer than the shop keepers in city!! Its a quintessential village scene out there, with people greeting each other, shops slowly opening after their siesta hours, mowing cows moving about and all. The famous Mahabaladeva temple is located here. Unfortunately, out of bounds for the phirangs; believed to be some 1500 years old the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, it houses the "atmalinga," legend has it that Ravana himself coined this name referring to the Shiva lingam's strength. With so much of legend surrounding it; its hard not to go there. And as soon as you enter, a strange sense of calm wraps you up....it is as if someone is telling you that all is well. It gave me goosebumps, I kid you not.
While there are other beaches as well, we could not go to most of them as it was the monsoons and we were told the sea can be really ferocious at times. It was closed even if we want to take the risk. But nonetheless, we trekked from Om beach to Kudle beach. But honestly after the mesmerizing beauty of Om, this was a bit of a dampener.Only because it was more populated which in India translates to more dirty. Really, when are we going to learn some civic sense and love the nature??? But to lift our sagging mood, we took a challenge with our firang friends. Trekking back to Om we saw the lofty rocks of the Sahyadris calling us. It was tricky and the unpredictable weather added with the high tide and sea waves almost slapping the huts was a warning enough, but we were hear to flirt with danger. And so we took, rough the slippery rocks, the wind plants hitting us from unknown quarters and gingerly without really looking down at the sea we walked. Looking back, I think if I had caught even a small peak, I would frozen, we were at a great height alright and single step gone wrong could have given a very nasty ending to this story. But Gods were with us. We scaled and it was every bit worth the risk.
The view was breathtaking. The sea all below, all around us. The "Om" shape finally revealing itself and of course the tall trees giving us shelter. It proved God is really there for only he could have made such a beautiful world. That moment I thought I was living inside a beautiful painting.
Gokarna is a place of contrasts. The small huts, the simple locals and ruined temples sits in sharp but comfortable paradox with the beaches, the cafes and the hammocks. You can get lost in the beauty of nature, get your adrenalin kick by trekking up the mountains and just simply discover yourself. Meant for everyone, bar no one.
