Mangalore Trip Part 3 – Dussehra in Mangalore

After a refreshing afternoon nap, we set off to check out the local places within Mangalore. Since it was the main festival day of Navarathri, the whole of Mangalore was decked up with lights along major roads. Most of the market places were closed. Couple of local beaches that can be visited are Panambur beach and Tannirbhavi beach. The way to Panambur beach is smeely since there are industries on the way.

The main diety of the city is Mangaladevi. We went to see the temple and the planned festivities. The procession along the streets is famous during this festive time. Royal tiger dance is a popular folk dance during dusshera. Young men form troops, wear tiger costume and dance like a tiger.

After aarthi at the main temple, idols of Navadurgas along with Ganesha and sharada are taken on procession. For this a special chariot is decorated grandly with flowers and lights. This is pulled with thick ropes. The temple arranges for various cultural programmes and these are shown across the city on big screens.

Various tableau decorated in different themes follow in the procession. The procession goes on till wee hours of next day. 

Mangalore Trip Part 2 – Udupi Temple and Malpe beach

Post breakfast we started off to Udupi. There two things that one cannot miss in Udupi – Krishna temple and local cuisine. The weather is relatively hotter. Since we went in end of October, it was pleasant by local standards. Due to Navarathri there was a long queue but the darshan of Lord Krishna made up for all the wait. On the way we get to see the Lord’s Elephant Subadre (named after one of krishna’s wives) and their Gowshala.

Kanakadasa ,a pious worshipper and devotee of Lord Krishna was refused darshan of the lord since he was from a particular community. He stayed in a makeshift hermitage in front of Krishna mutt singing verses in Krishna’s name. There was an earthquake in the night and the outer temple wall cracked such a way that there was a wide enough opening for Kanakadasa to have darshana of the idol. Till today, devotees worship Lord by praying through the same window where kanakadasa was seeing the offerings/Pooja from outside. 

Since cameras were not allowed inside I am posting a pic from official website.

We completed darshan by 11 am. We set off to Malpe beach nearby even though it was close to noon. This being a fishing hub we have to pass the fishermen’s houses to reach the beach. The way is smelly but the beach is beautiful.

Though hot sun on top, the cool breeze of the beach changed our mood. Never ending stretches of white sand, turquoise blue waters, colorful shells, a glimpse of St. Mary’s island, coconut trees along the beach add to the never before seen natural beauty.

Apart from the neat and clean beach(Malpe beach is called a virgin beach), there are many activities to do. There are many islands nearby. You can visit the St. Mary’s island which is known for its volcanic rocks mostly vertical and hexagonal ones. There is a fort on Daria-Bahadurgad island. There are jets that you can drive or water skiing or para gliding.

My children collected many colorful sea shells. There are restaurants along the beach but mostly sea food on the menu. Being strict vegetarians, we hit the national highway towards Mangalore and stopped over for lunch at a south Indian restaurant.