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6 Days Road Trip from Bangalore

 Towards Tamilnadu and Kerala This is a blog based on the experience of a planned and well executed 6 days bike ride to different destinations in Tamilnadu and Kerala. Anybody looking for a perfect break can plan something similar.  Day 1(Bangalore-Madurai) 450kms With all good preparations as per your requirements, start the trip from Bangalore early in the morning. Suggested time is 5-5.30AM. You can plan for breakfast, tea breaks and lunch at convenient places. There are good restaurants at Krishnagiri, Salem, Karur and other places. You can reach Madurai by 2-3 PM, as the road is a 4 and 6 lane highway throughout.  Once you reach lookout for a hotel to stay near the Meenakshi temple; or book in prior to avoid last minute hassles. After freshening up you can visit the temple which is open from 4pm to 9pm. After darshana, you can explore the city, have dinner and go to bed.  Day 2(Madurai-Rameshwaram-Kanyakumari) 175+300kms Start the day two early by 5am. As the distance to be covere
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Utsava: The festival

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Utsava, the word means festival. Here we are speaking of the Utsava that takes place annually in the temples of Tulunadu. As the word itself suggests it is the annual festival. As per mythology one year for mankind is equal to one day for God. So, if we perform Utsava once a year, it is like performing daily for God. Utsava’s  are celebrated in almost all the temples in Tulunadu; during Uttarayana(one half of the Hindu year), which is known to be day time for Gods. The time period varies from one day to one month in various temples.  In many temples, Utsava starts with Dhwajarohana, hoisting of God’s flag on Kodimara(holy pole in front of the temple). Many rituals are conducted based on old practices of each temple(practices vary from temple to temple) during the period of Utsava such as Rathotsava(chariot festival), various special Pooja’s such as Ranga Pooja, Pusha Pooja, etc., Utsava bali(procession by holding God’s idol on head), Kattepooje,etc. Utsava’s normally end with Avabhruta
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Pili Vesha

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Pili vesha is the famous form of folk dance in Tulunadu which attracts the people from across the world towards it. Pili, in Tulu means tiger and vesha mean the attire. Which together means to say, the dance of tiger. It is danced for the beats of Thaase, the drum. The beats of  Thaase can be heard to several meters. It makes anyone feel like dancing. Pili vesha requires a lot of patience while putting on the paint of the tiger. It requires hours together to paint a pili vesha.                                                              Pili vesha has historical importance. Pili or tiger is the animal of Goddess Durga. So, pili vesha is performed during Dusserah. It is also performed during Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh chaturthi, etc. Pili vesha is famous in Mangalore and Udupi. There is so much devotion and emotion involved with this dance. The performers don't wear sandals and perform it with devotion towards God. This folk form is hundreds of years old. The troupes of 5-1
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The story of Parashurama Srishti

The beautiful Tulunadu which we see today was not the part of land long long back. It was the part of the ocean. It was Parashurama, who is said to be the sixth Avatara of Lord Vishnu according to Hindu mythology who made it a part of the land. Parashurama was a Brahmin and was the son of sage Jamadagni and his wife Renuka. Once, Jamadagni ordered Parashurama to chop the head of his mother because he was angry on her. Parashurama being the follower of father's words, chopped his mother's head with his axe. Later when his father agreed to give him blessings, he asked Jmadagni to revive his mother. Jamadagni agreed and his wife came alive by his blessings. This is the early story of Parashurama. Parashurama hated all the Kshatriyas; so, he destroyed them all. And donated the gained land to sage Kashyapa. After donating all the land, he thought, staying in the donated land is not right. So, he went on to Sahyadri to start a meditation on Lord Shiva. Shiva appeared before him an
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#5 Mistakes to avoid while learning Tulu

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Hello again. A person who is in Tulunadu not knowing Tulu would normally be treated as a stranger.  So, it is common that one might badly wants to learn Tulu. In the beginning, Tulu might seem a bit difficult to learn. But believe me, after learning Tulu, one doesn't feel as comfortable as speaking in Tulu while speaking in any other languages. Tulu is a sweat language, that it feels very sound to hear it. So, an outsider who wants to learn Tulu must try to avoid some mistakes. It would help learning Tulu faster. #1:  Thinking that it's tough The first mistake that is commonly made by non-Tuluvas is that thinking Tulu is tough. By listening to the speed at which people speak, and the way the tongue twists, it is often that one might feel Tulu is difficult to be learned. I suggest, first, remove that from your mind. Tulu is not a difficult language; perhaps, it is one of the easiest and sweetest languages that one can learn. This would help in making it learn faster. #2
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Step by step guide to take a Tulunadu tour

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 Anybody thinking of taking a tour in Tulunadu, this is the place to look for. You will be surrounded by people talking a number of languages in any part of Tulunadu. There are people speaking Tulu, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Malbari and many other languages. One will feel home when he is in Tulunadu. A day won't be enough to see the beauty of Tulunadu. It includes three districts, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and also Kasaragod, in Kerala. Your tour in Tulunadu could include the following steps. #Step 1: Decide your goal of the tour The first step for taking a successful tour in Tulunadu is to decide your goal or purpose of the tour. the purpose of the tour for people may be different. One may be interested in knowing the culture, another may be traveling just for fun, some may want to travel for the purpose of traveling. In each of the different cases, the destination for the tour is different. # Step 2: Look out for destinations If you are looking for destinations to enjoy,
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Yakshagana

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Yakshagana is the famous art in Tulu Nadu.It is an art form which involves song, dance, speech, instruments and much more. In fact, it is a combination of all these. Different stories are performed overnight. There is Himmela which is a group of people which gives the background music and Mummela which is a group of people performing the acts. There are two styles of yakshagana, tenkutittu, which is performed in the south and badagutittu, which is performed in the north. It is called as gandukale which means 'the art of men'. But today even women are into this. It is an art form which requires a lot of strength and communication ability and scholarship. Usually, the stories are from the Hindu Puranas and sometimes imaginary stories are also performed. There is Bhagavata, who sings the songs which are written by the poets, especially for yakshagana. There are two people who play the instruments Chende and Maddale. Two other instruments Chakrathala and Harmonium are
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