Banavasi

Chaagadha bhogadhakkaradha geyadha nottiyalampinimpugalgaagaramaadha maanasare maanisar! amthavaraagi puttalenaagiyumeno theerdhapudhe? theeradhodam maridhumbiyaagi menkogileyaagi puttuvudhu namdhanadhoL banavaasidheshadhol”

wrote Pampa, eminent Kannada poet of the Kadamba era.

(It is a virtue to be born in Banavasi as a human being. If not as a human being, then at least one should be born as a bee or a cuckoo in the garden of Banavasi)

My visit to Banavasi was, how do I say – with least expectation, other than that we have a place to stay. Surfing the internet, looking at various blogs gave me some information and what to expect but it also managed to give us some fears as to what not to expect. Especially, when you are travelling with family and kids, these “don’t expect” things becomes an issue when some of them are priority for you.

But we were surprised to see the tourist home run by Village tourist council in association with an NGO (Travel Another India) and some government agencies. The caretaker and the facility manager was what a doctor would prescribe to the place – very helpful, resourceful and knowledgeable. Banavasi as a place was clean, friendly. Not that we don’t have our usual cribs – absence of what we call a decent place to eat (khanavali serves the food), very basic accommodation, no recreation, I can go on and on. But then, you visit a place like that, you set your expectation accordingly and Banavasi and tourist complex stood up for what they currently is. Off course, the pantry can improve, the courtyard can be cleaned, the outer open space can be “fixed” for some kind of children play area and with live vegetation but what I missed the most was the wardrobes in the rooms and with so many devices that we all carry – digital camera, pen drive, laptops, MP3 player, PSP and other digital entertainment, only one plug point in the room was a hindrance. We were able to manage as we had two rooms and an extension cord – expecting the expected J

Had been to the village market, as suggested by Mr Bramha Kumar, the complex manager, and was surprised to see how farm produce can be fresh and inviting. Guess, we have forgotten about it long time ago! We visited Yana, Sirsi, Sharsalinga, Mundgod etc during the trip and had made Banavasi as the centre of the trip, looking its strategic location.

Coming soon: Details of the trip and experience, stay tuned…