Microsoft Word - Mantra Lay Am Trip

Our original itinerary was Mantralayam, Alampur and Mahanandi in the same trip, but time constraint came in the way and there wouldn’t be two Sundays at a stretch. So it was zeroed in to Mantralayam and Alampur. 16th May, 2009 The five of us (including my brother in law and my co-sister) began our journey from Hyderabad, at around 7 pm and targeted to reach Raichur in Karnataka in 3-4 hours, where we would halt for the night. Me being a kind of person who jumps at traveling, freshen up, packed and got ready within no time, even after a long day at work (not without my pillar of support, Mr. Chaitanya). We haven’t travelled to this part of the state before and kicked off with the assurance that we would be driving on the National Highway 7 for the bigger part of the journey. Thanks to the national Highways authority of India and their golden quadrilateral initiative. Laying multiple lane highways connecting majority of the cities in the country, traveling is a much easier affair now, even while the project is under way. Reaching the outskirts of Hyderabad is only the tedious part of the journey, apart from my throat infection and ear popping, which was unwilling to leave me for the past one week. Once we reached Shamshabad, there was no stopping. The Highway was more than inviting, with the colorful radium paintings on the road, signifying crossings, culverts, turns and lanes, which help the driver handsomely at nights. The roads, with these wonderful lightings were a beautiful sight to watch. We told ourselves that it was like being in a foreign country and I again tell myself that every other country would compare itself with India and feel the same, during my lifetime. This went on for two hours. Arguing, joking, commenting, pulling legs were all part of the fun, with our mother in law being the only elderly lady, doing her part of the duty and trying to ensure discipline and cautioning her younger son (my husband) on his driving from time to time. After all, that is what elders are meant for. Seeing the way I was devouring cut mango pieces (hehe), my husband took note of my appetite and forced everyone to have a break for dinner (again, this is one of the loveliest things about having your better – no best half, understanding your needs and feelings without having to ask for it). Dining at lorry drivers’ dhabas on the roadside, on cots weaved with ropes, in the moonlight and enjoying the tandoori rotis, dal and vegetables completes the highway experience, but again, being with family requires that we find a family restaurant (we are totally married bachelors when its just the two of us). Do not expect to find any restaurants on this way, except for small Dhabas, until 25 Km from Alampur junction near Kurnool, where you have a very goor restaurant attached to Bharat Petroleum bunk, with lawns, play area and other facilities. This will be briefed about on the return journey. We finally found a decent place and relished spicy tomato gravy, dal fry and phulka accompanied by excellent buttermilk bottled by us at home. Atleast, I enjoyed it thoroughly since our family is nutrition conscious and only non spicy, healthy food is cooked at home. I troubled one of my doctor friends to prescribe some medicine on phone to at least suppress my infection for time being. We hit the road again and our idea was to reach Raichur via Gadwal town instead of Kurnool, since the roads are less crowded and the route is somewhat better. Total distance from Hyd – Raichur via Gadwal is 234 Km. Gadwal is 184 Km from Hyd and one has to turn right on NH 7

at a distance of 168 Km from Hyd , exactly after Beechupalli village, after crossing the dam on the Krishna River. Gadwal is famous for sarees and there is a geographical indication attached to Gadwal sarees, like that of Scotch wine and Swiss Chocolates (Oh no! Unfortunate again to use videshi comparisons for citing examples.) So let me better refer to Shimla Apples, which relate to the place they are produced and gain significance because of such name attached. The significance or rather the horror attached to Gadwal, especially to me and my co sis and the reason behind it will be described later in the page. It then happened that we missed the diversion to Gadwal from the highway and realized it only after we went some 30 kilometers past it. So we had to take an above turn and our total loss was 60 extra kilometers and an extra hour of time. This is, after all, not a grave mistake since that route was unfamiliar, number two- it was night time, number three- the directions put up are not all that prominent and number four- the Goddess at Alampur pulled us towards her , since we were hardly 25 kilometers away from that place when we lost our way. Let me make a very special mention of the locals throughout the places we traveled, who have been extremely helpful in guiding us, a help which the maps, compasses, milestones and boards could not provide. Though I don’t mention it every time, it is their cooperation that kept us moving forward all through our journeys. We went back and spotted the diversion to Gadwal. The horror we girls have been experiencing with Gadwal relates to a recent Horror flick “Arundhati.” The story is based in and around Gadwal where the female lead, in her past birth, buries the evil villain live in a grave situated in a fort. He haunts that place from the grave itself and seeks revenge when the female lead is re born 80 years later and exercises power through black magic and other arts acquired by him. We then entered the city and after a while, found an old building which reminded us of the haunted fort and I was again taunted by being asked to go into it, find someone and ask the direction to Raichur. This was because all passersby in the movie would be invited inside the fort by evil spirits and killed. Though that was only a movie, we could gather all this exciting experience at midnight, in the city, due to me getting engrossed in the movie at that time and getting scared for several days after that. We missed any chance of purchasing Gadwal sarees in the town, as the whole town was fast asleep when we reached there. The road from Gadwal to Raichur was equally deserted and lonely and we had fun with stray dogs ferociously barking at our car and running aside with equal speed, for disturbing their peace. You will encounter the villages of Dharur, Nandini and Sangamvadi enroute to Raichur from Gadwal. We finally found our guest house again, being guided by locals at Raichur and escorted inside, where we instantly fell asleep. 17th May, 2009 We woke up the next morning after a deep, refreshing and undisturbed sleep and headed to Kallur. Kallur is 22KM from Raichur on the Manvi road near LIC Guest House and Karnakata State Highway 20 diversion to State Highway 23 diversion to Kallur. The Goddess here is considered to be very powerful in granting the wishes of devotees who approach her with pure devotion. The idol of the Goddess here is similar to the Goddess in Kolhapur. It said that an ancestor of the priests used to visit Kolhapur regularly and as days passed by, he was unable to travel there. When he was 92, the Goddess of Kolhapur appeared in his dream and told him that

he can find her presence in his own house hereafter. The next day, the image of the Goddess was formed on a sandstone in their puja room, on which sandalwood is rubbed upon everyday, to extract sandalwood paste. Then he began worshipping the idol, which is intact till date, though formed on a very sensitive surface. This happened 320 years back and the rituals are carried on by the priests, who are the descendants of the same family, till date, in a small temple constructed in their ancestral home. Idols of Lord Venkateswara and Hanuman are also found in the temple, which are said to be discovered in their field. All these were explained by the priest in the temple and we were given holy flowers and other offerings made to the Goddess. Prasadam, the food offered to the Goddess is also offered to devotees everyday at lunch time. We also visited a Shiva temple located on a hill adjacent to the temple. This temple is a very peaceful place if not for the scorching heat. We were informed that the Sun’s rays directly fall on the Sivalingam in this temple on Ugadi day every year, directly from the main entrance. We then proceeded to back to Raichur and headed to Mantralayam. Mantralayam is 34 Km from Raichur on the Andhra Pradesh SH13 via Gunjehalli, Madhavaram. This is the place where Sree Rghavendra Swamy attained ‘Samadhi’ state and the temple is constructed around the same spot. There is a separate hall for meditation and one can find peace ideal for deep meditation. One more important finding by us is that devotees are allowed to have ‘Darshan’ and spend few minutes in front of the Guru’s Samadhi, unlike other places where people are pulled away from the place without even having a proper glimpse. A different experience can be obtained by just standing and looking at the Samadhi, where the Guru showers his blessings from. After accepting the Prasadam, we headed to Alampur via Kurnool. The distance from Mantralayam to Kurnool is around 110Km, via Adoni, Aspiri, Kodumuru and the route is not very crowded and good for driving. After reaching Kurnool, travel 10Km on the NH 7 towards Hyd and take right diversion at Alampur junction from where the temple is 15 Km away. The temple is located at the far end of the town and the road ends there. The Goddess at Alampur is ‘Jogulamba’ and the temple is closed from 1-2 pm. We first visited the temple of Lord Shiva who is known by the name of ‘Bala Brahmeswara Swamy’. The ‘Sivalingam’ there is in the shape of a cow’s hoof, with a slight cut on the top, as if trying to divide it into two. The speciality of this is that the Lingam is neither made of stone nor wood and the substance is unknown till date. This temple was built by the Chalukyas and during that time---------- found a mysterious------------ oozing from the Sivalingam. Even today, the Abhishekam water flowing from the Lingam smells of some chemicals. The temple of Jogulamba is quite large with its colorful Gopuram and lawns and trees grown along the four borders. The temple had very few people, it being a hot summer afternoon and we could spend a considerable time in the sannidhi of Jogulamba. The idol of the Goddess is dark, powerful and ferocious and peole practicing deep meditation in the place can feel the power of the Goddess in the form of slight vibrations in surroundings. This is obvious since the place is one of the Ashtadasa Saktipeetams in India. We had a pooja performed contentedly and left the place. We were back on NH 7 and decided to stop over for lunch at the place mentioned earlier, on Kurnool – Hyderabad route, some 25 Km away from Alampur junction. By then, it was almost 3 pm and we had rumbling stomachs craving for food, since all our activities for the day were confined to temples and our family is principled not to consume unless we finish those. This petrol pump, with a fairly big restaurant and sprawling lawns with play area gives a stylish and peaceful look. We had hot piping South Indian lunch, clicked few pictures and filled gas in the car before speeding on the highway at around 4 pm. Though the distance comes to 200 odd Km, we could cover that in 2.5 hours to reach Hyderabad, thanks again to the NHAI. We experienced

a much sought after shower of rain on the way back and enjoyed it thoroughly. We stopped at Munnavar, yet another small roadside hotel near Jadcherla for tea and reached home by 7 pm, with travel plans already in place for the upcoming June, July and August, with our energy levels remaining as high as ever.