THE COUNTRYSIDE

Lush green hills (probably snow capped), flocks of sheep dotting the greenery, a small wooden cabin by the stream side – this is how I pictured my ideal travelling destination to be. Surprised as I was, my own country with its numerous villages, few of which do not find place on the official maps ended being my best travel destinations. 

Uttara Kannada district, in the state of Karnataka is a place where nature is still weaving her magic web. The tiny hamlets around Anshi in this district are the places worthy of a road trip. If you are a tourist expecting luxurious resorts, spas, tidy roads, I would then say this place is a big NO for you. This is for travelers who love getting lost amidst the nature’s bounty, who remain awestruck seeing the perfect balanced way of living with nature.

Anshi is one of the Evergreen forest belts in India and her forests are dense and green throughout the year. River Kali, the lifeline of this region is a beautiful long river who commands a reverence when you approach her dark waters. Hiring a jeep in Dandeli and having a GPS along is all that is needed for the travel around this place. A village in this region may consist of only one big Indian family and thus, do not be surprised if the village name is nothing but the surname of the family. The people around this region are very hospitable and they have welcomed me into their houses offering buttermilk, bananas, jackfruit chips and yet times even lunch with their family! You will have to travel around 7-10kms between each village. But these stretches will be the least boring as this a landscape of dense forests and you can enjoy bird / butterfly watching as you travel. Yellapur is a small town in this area, where accommodation is clean and cheap. There are numerous waterfalls in many of these villages and you will be guided to beautiful places by the local people once you interact with them and let them know your choice of places. This region is home to ethnic groups like Gowlis, Siddhis and Kurubas. Their culture and way of living teaches you about the diversity India really has. For the Gowlis, their cattle are assets they will protect with their life and cattle shed is a part and parcel of their household. Siddhis are settlers who were brought to India ages ago. They are so deeply etched into our society that their Kannada seems to be much more fluent than the Kannada few Bangaloreans tend to speak nowadays.

Having travelled more than 100 villages around this region, one village stays very close to my heart and perhaps, someday in the future I shall visit this picturesque village yet again. Nested amidst thick forests and having no neighboring villages for more than 10kms, this was a tiny hamlet with hardly 3-4 families constituting it. Each house rests in the middle of huge farms and I selected one of these houses to drop by. Having walking 500 meters in the farm and coming across a small cozy house, I knocked on the door several times only to be disappointed. I went around the house searching for people and heard some sounds in the backyard farm, a little distance from the house. I walked towards the source of this sound and met with the family of the house busy working away on their farm. Nature had a big surprise in store for me as the farm’s backyard was nothing but the backwaters of the mighty Kali river! With the sun setting in the background, two buffaloes quenching their thirst, a vast expanse of black waters and hills surrounding this water, this a sight I cannot erase from my memory! Even today as I sit and close my eyes, I remember every detail of this amazing sight nature blessed me with. After spending ample time with the family, I headed back home with a satisfied smile on my face reckoning the fact that it was time to get back home.

For all of you who love to just pack a bag and travel around, this is one such region which is never going to disappoint you. Through this travel of mine I realized how rich our country side is and in reality, how lucky that family was to have Kali backwaters as their backyard. This also made me realize that Indian villages are worth exploring especially if I am going to be blessed with sights like I did.