A letter to my sister

Guest post by Jyothsna Jayaprakash

This letter was written in the year 2008 to my sister Jyothi when I was working as a Physics lecturer in Madikeri. Jyothi was studying at JNU Delhi at the time. 

It is quite a common fact that people who have homes in beautiful tourist locations do not really explore or experience their own territory. Heck, we never even knew most of the tourist spots until we started the Homestay! The usual idea is that tourist spots are always meant for "tourists"and not for the locals. So back in 2008, when my colleagues planned a picnic to Nalknad Palace, which was a "tourist spot", I was skeptical at first, but agreed to join in. I thought, "Ah well, let me see what the big hype is all about!"

But I was in for a surprise so wonderful that I had to write to Jyothi about it. So here goes!

______

Dear Jyothi, 

I wanted to tell you about a picnic that we went for today. Yes! A picnic, can you believe it? And guess where! To Nalknad palace and Paadi Igguthappa temple. I know we have both heard about it but we have never been there ever, have we? So here is my first hand account of the experience!

Nalknad palace is at Kakkabe, Virajpet. It was constructed by King Doddaveera Rajendra. The story goes that King Chikaveerarajendra used it as a hiding place before surrendering himself to the British.

Naklnad Palace (Pic: internet)

Oh it is such a beautiful palace and I cannot believe we never visited before! Mind you, it is nothing like the palaces you imagined, nothing gaudy, no signs of grandeur, no silk drapes lining a King's courtroom, nothing. Yet, there was something so awe-inspiring, yet humbling about the whole place. You, know, it is like one of those palaces that you want to live in!  They say that the architecture of the palace resembles the traditional Kodava household, the ain mane. It was not maintained very well, but the security guard  explained  all the details pretty nicely. He had many valiant stories about the king and the various hiding places in the palace. Yes, you heard that right- hiding places! I thought it was very clever of the builders to invent such ingenious methods to save their kings from surprise attacks!

So I have told you about the hiding places, but there was something which really shocked me at the palace- creepy, dark rooms used for confining prisoners! These rooms were so dark that not even a single ray of light could enter it. One spine chilling story is that there is a small niche within these dark rooms where the jailers light small diyas. You would think that this would be a gesture of kindness to the prisoners, so that they could find their way around the dark room. But no! This act was meant to draw out whatever little oxygen was left in the little rooms to suffocate the prisoners which would speed up their impending doom and subsequent deaths! That really gave me the creeps! You should really see it to believe it! 

Outside Nalknad Palace, 2008

After the palace, we visited the Igguthappa temple. This temple is a feast for the eyes! The ambience is so tranquil that I must warn you that you won't feel like leaving. Coorg has always been beautiful to us, but to experience it like a tourist is like watching paradise unfold in front of you. 

Paadi Igguthappa Temple (Pic: internet)

The people there were amazingly hospitable. The priests at the temple treated us kindly and even invited us to their homes. The chief priest explained every aspect of the temple because we were new to the place. Okay, honestly, I felt like an imposter who although had lived her whole life in Coorg, was pretending to be a tourist. But hey! I was definitely a tourist for the day! So, no guilt!  We even had a nice, simple yet delicious lunch at the temple. Needless to say, I fell head over heels in love, both for the place as well as for the people!

There are few places on earth that can overwhelm you and Paadi Igguthappa temple is one of them. I felt as if all my feelings and emotions formed a lump in my throat. It wasn't so much about the deity or the temple, but you know the feeling you get when something tells you that you are at the right place and at the right time? This was one of those moments.

Before I end the letter, I also wanted to tell you about Sr. Assumpta,  this beautiful soul who accompanied us on this picnic. She is the history lecturer at the college and she turned out to be quite a bundle of joy! She's one of those people who can make everyone around her feel joyful. She was quite sportive and given her build, she didn't mind climbing all the steps and the steep roads. There are quite a few life lessons to be learnt from her. We walk around feeling the weight of the world on our shoulders, while Sr. Assumpta is the free spirit we must all aspire to be! I am attaching a photo of hers as well.

With Sr. Assumpta and my colleagues

Well, so much for today. A day well spent indeed. As we were returning from our picnic, I told Sr. Assumpta that we should plan another trip soon. And as always, she was already ready for the next adventure! 

It was a great day and I missed u loads.

Lots of love,

Jyothsna