Jul 10, 2008
Traveling has been my passion and viewing the passing landscape through the windows of the vehicle either bus or train has been my hobby. However, whenever I used to travel by Matsyagandha to Udupi from Mumbai or back, I used to feel that I was missing the opportunity to view the beautiful green coastal belt on both sides of the railway track especially that of Goa and Karnataka Konkan. The timing of the train has been such that both ways the train would traverse the region during night time.
An unscheduled an unplanned trip to my native village on 29th June 2008 provided me an opportunity to view the Konkan coastal belt through the windows of Matsyagandha. This opportunity was born out of adversity as the train was delayed by over nine hours. Due to some technical hitch between Diva and Panvel stations, the train which was already delayed at Kurla and Thane got further delayed at Diva and began its journey at around ten o’clock in the night. While my co-passengers were cursing their luck and blaming the railway administration for the delay, I remained clam and became optimistic about the opportunity that I would have to view the enchanting Konkan belt, that too during the monsoon.
After the nightlong sleep, I woke up at the Sindhdurg Station. After freshening up I began to see through the window the passing landscape in all its shapes and green colour. Though I had my digital camera, I was hesitant to take it out and click the pictures as I was a little apprehensive about its security. After a quick breakfast at Madgaon Station at around 9.30 am, I once again got hold of the window seat and as the train started moving began to peep out to capture the glimpse of Goan and later the Karnataka Konkan landscape.
Green hills and valleys, flowing rivers and streams, rice fields and pastures, coconut groves and houses of different sizes, cattle grazing the lush green grass, farmers ploughing the fields and later women transplanting the rice saplings, all these scenes passed in quick succession. As the compartment was relatively empty, I could not resist the temptation of taking out my camera and freezing the passing scenes in it.
The rain soaked landscape was so enchanting and eye-catching that I continued clicking pictures right from Karwar up to Barkur. Each passing scene was worth being photographed and frozen in memory. I felt my self fortunate to fulfill my desire of viewing the lush green coastal belt through the windows of Matsyagandha, though I reached my home ten hours late.
If Goa is the ‘paradise of the tourists’ and Kerala is ‘Gods own country’, there is no doubt that the Karnataka Konkan is the ‘Heaven on Earth’, that too during the monsoon season. I just wonder why such a beautiful land has not been developed as a tourist destination. Tourism can be promoted in this land with its natural beauty, having a number of temples and pilgrimage centers of different faiths and a rich historical legacy. Development of tourism in Karnataka Konkan can add to the economic progress of the region and provide employment opportunities to a number of people, especially the youth who are forced to leave their native villages in search of jobs elsewhere. Initiative from the local entrepreneurs and support from the Karnataka Government can definitely convert the Karnataka Konkan into the ‘Heaven on Earth’.
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