Jan 6, 2009
People visit places and write about their travel experiences. I too have written about Kolkata and Pondicherry earlier. Now that the financial crisis is showing its true colors I have stopped traveling. Hence I thought why not write about my own village, after all there are so many spots here which have the potential to become tourist destinations all on their own. So here I am writing about my small village HALEALVE, some 4 km from the town of Kundapur.
I had a week long vacation for Christmas and what better time than this to visit all my beloved spots. I remembered all my childhood days, when we used to get bored looking at these so called spots. But only when one is away from near and dear ones, be it family or places, does one realize the importance of them. The first thing I did this time when I came home was to ask dad about all places in our village which are photogenic enough to appear on this website, after all he was born and brought up here. Would you believe it, there were ten to fifteen which we listed out. Hopefully you will enjoy the write up along with the snaps.
Halealve is famous for its beach, which actually is called Kodi Beach. On a normal Sunday evening, one can find half of Kundapur on this beach. Kodi for Kundapur is like what Juhu is for Mumbai, Marina is for Chennai .When I was recently browsing Google earth; I found a caption “BEST BEACH IN THE WORLD” for our beach. I really don’t know who put this, but whoever has done this is 100 percent correct. There is a stretch of around five to six kilometers of what I call pure beach. Azure sky, no pollution, no kit pit of vendors, only pure breeze and amazing peace of mind. One can have the majestic view of the sun setting with the clouds turning red. One can sit for hours together on the beach and never get bored. Take my word for it. I have done it numerous times.
On the same stretch there is one Light house which is 100 feet high and offers a view which even the worst of naturists, I mean people who love nature( not the other meaning ..) would love .Let me tell you my experience up there. I along with four of my cousins planned to visit the light house. I had told them I am writing an article on Kodi and everyone agreed for a bribe of one packet Boti and one FriendSip each. This is a local brand which I believe is better than most of the foreign aerated drinks for which we pay a kings ransom and drink. I am actually scared of heights and wanted pictures from the top of the lighthouse and who else than my cousins could have done this for me. I have no doubt they would even dare to bungee jump or sky dive from there if there were provisions. When I was sitting at 100 feet enjoying the view, my daredevils were busy clicking snaps from all angles at 120 feet from the ground and not even scared. What guts !
Our next stop was at Kodi end at the back waters. That’s how the name Halealve was derived. It seems entire Halealve was submerged once upon a time. Now the alve is shifted to Gangolli which is just a two minute ferry ride from Kodi, but will take almost half an hour by road. The ferry ride might cost you 15 rupees max. I simply love this place. The sea taking a right turn and meeting the river. I might have come here a thousand times, but I wish to go there again and again, just like the movie TROY which I might have watched some 20 times now but still long for more.
Let me suggest a wholesome package to spend half day on the Kodi beach. If you are my relative, then you can simply come home. My mom is an excellent cook. Otherwise there are numerous hotels in Kundapur. Morning can be spent visiting temples around Kundapur, Anegudde, Kollur and Hattiyangadi being the most famous.Dont forget to spend Rs 18 on a gadbhad from Hotel Parijatha.Yes folks, Inflation has never touched Kundapur. Lunch at the famous Shetty Lunch home. Chicken Ghee roast rules the menu even now. Kaane Fry, Ghee rice and white kurma being other delicacies which it offers. Now at around 4 you can reach the lighthouse. Its open to viewers from 4 pm to 5 30 pm.After the mini adventure, go straight to the Kodi end. If interested, one can cross over to Gangolli and get back. Now head straight to the beach, enjoy a nice bath and the sunset too. The sea is safe for swimming, if one knows swimming….. It is not very dangerous actually. I can assure you that. At around 7 or 7 30 pm, dinner will be ready at Hotel Kinara. The food here is awesome too. Sitting on the shore and sipping a little beer, whiskey or any other drink is a different experience altogether. Any more details, you can feel free to ask me anytime. I haven’t been paid anything for any of this publicity
In the list which we had prepared there was something called Kaman. I don’t know what it’s called in English. It’s a shed which has many tanks and a huge pan where fish is boiled or dried. My grandpa who was a fisherman owned many of these Kaman’s and also had a fleet of boats along with MAARIBALE(a fishing net which required 100 or more people to pull ) .I could not get proper snaps of these Kaman’s ,since most of them are ruined because of inactivity. No one uses this old fashioned Kaman’s these days. Even the fishermen are obsessed with modern technology. Even to this day, wherever I go in and around our village, I am being recognized as Sojr maneyavaru (from the Dsouza family). I and all my cousins are grateful to our grandpa, though none of us has seen him.
I was hoping to click snaps of green fields, but only when I went to the fields I realized that paddy season is over. Nevertheless, I have clicked some snaps of paddy straw pile (I have no idea what these are called in English. Hope straw is the right word. In Konkani it is called Kooden). Hope the snaps will give a better idea of what I am trying to say.
We have a church (ST Pius X Church) which is almost 50 years old, a small Mother Mary’s chapel which for me and most of them is very holy. Whatever I have prayed at her feet has been given to me. One can find candles lit up at her feet mostly by Hindus who go fishing during the season. They offer prayers for their safe return from the seas. There are many temples too. The annual Genda at the Haayguli temple is a major attraction. The chief priest cuts hundreds of sheep at one go. Amazing. I was shell shocked the first time I saw this. Women walk on burning charcoal, without even hurting their feet. There are around 3 mosques, all on the shore. Jesus Christ, Allah and Ishwar seem to have found Halealve a peaceful place to live. Hindus, Muslims and Christians all live peacefully in Halealve.
Halealve is a place where all communities and religions live happily. I consider myself lucky to have born in this part of the world. Next time hopefully I ll be able to provide you with the details of Kundapur .Its no less than Singapore. Mind it...
I would like to thank my daredevils Vishaline, Neville, Dezline, Senora and Sohan for helping me with the photographs. Without them i would surely not have gone up the lighthouse.