Skip to main content

Featured Post

2023 - The Year That Was

Places impact you for a variety of reasons. And the same place impacts different people in different ways. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual experiences, where every single person’s experience is unique. And personally, every spiritual experience is unique, the same person can have different deeply spiritual experiences at different places, at different times. This thought has emerged because of my own experiences over the years, but especially so this year, with different and unique experiences at various places I have visited recently. I began this year with a visit to Baroda (Vadodara) with friends. It was meant to be a relaxed trip, a touristy trip, with our sons. We enjoyed ourselves to the hilt, but the highlight of that trip was a visit to the Lakulisha temple at Pavagadh. It was the iconography of the temple that I connected with, and I spent a few hours simply lost in the details of the figures carved around the temple. There was an indefinable connect with

Dubare: The Elephants and the River

Dubare is known for its elephant camp. Located on the picturesque banks of the Kaveri, this was where the elephants used in the Mysore region were trained.


Those were the days of extensive logging, and before the times of six wheel drives, and elephants were invaluable. That was also the time when the Mysore Dasara celebrations were at their most ostentatious, and there was a lot for the elephants to do, and to be trained for. Times changed, as they are wont to do, and the elephants were rendered jobless. They are still used during the Dasara celebrations, but not in numbers like in those times. Besides, the elephants still had to be fed and taken care of, for the rest of the year. Someone, along the way, had the brilliant idea of opening the camp to visitors, and they have struck lucky with it. Today, Dubare sees loads of visitors, who rush to enjoy a chance to bathe or feed the elephants, or simply to enjoy a joyride on one of them.



We visited Dubare in March this year, and, though it wasn’t peak season, the place was still packed with squealing adults and kids. Yes, that included my excited son, who was scared of the elephants, but still wanted to go near; didn’t want to get wet, but couldn’t stay away from the water; was saddened by the chains on the elephants, but couldn’t help smiling when he could go near and scrub the elephant, reassured by those very chains. 



As for me, I simply stood afar, trying desperately to get some decent photos – without the crowd in them!




Information:
  • The Tourist arrangements at Dubare are handled by JungleLodges and Resorts. They have a resort in the camp, though it is not necessary to stay there to enjoy the activities. Most of the crowd are visitors, who make day trips to the camp. Apart from the activities involving the elephants, it is also possible to go rafting on the Kaveri, or on treks inside the forest.


I have not stayed at their Dubare resort, by going by my experience of their other resorts,  I would think that staying there would give us time away from the crowds. That, to me, can only enhance the experience of Dubare! 

Comments

  1. Heard a lot about this place, yet to visit..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Its nice, Meghana, but a bit too crowded for me :D

      Delete
  2. I am yet to go there..but very soon I will..Thanks for reminding me what I missed :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are welcome, Ankita! look forward to reading about your experience!

      Delete
  3. http://tinyurl.com/workid/?id=Aayu

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love the third photo of the elephant sitting in the water. Where is Dubare, btw? Near Kabini?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great piece of information, especially on the history of Dubare . I just wanted to add a couple of points for the benefit of the readers who wish to reference this blog if they are travelling to Dubare. While the place is most famous for elephants, one can spot other animals like spotted deer and sambar. The river is home to some crocodiles too. Having a local expert always helps. For birdwatchers, there’s a feast awaiting in the form of woodpeckers, kingfishers, and partridges. Being in the Coorg district, mornings are especially beautiful and weather is simply great throughout the year.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw

Rama Temple, Gokarna

To my right , the waves rush to the shore, eager to merge with the sand. To my left, the same waves crash against the rocks, their spray diverting my reverie as I ponder over the beauty of nature, and wonder what first brought people here. Was it this beauty that encouraged them to build a temple here, or was it the fresh, sweet spring water flowing from the hill here that made this place special? No matter what the reason, I am glad my auto driver brought me here. We are at the Rama temple in Gokarna, just a few minutes away from the Mahabaleshwara Temple, yet offering so different a perspective.

Pandharpur Yatra 2023

The first time I visited Pandharpur was back in 2007 . The names Vitthal and Pandharpur, were just names to me. I had heard of them, but that was about it. Seeing the lord standing on the brick, hands on his hips, was memorable, but more memorable was the sight that greeted us as we walked out of the main sanctum of the temple. In the mandap just outside were a group of devotees singing abhangs , and dancing. This was the first time I had heard abhangs , and even almost 15 years later, I can remember the welling of feeling within me, listening to the songs, and how fascinated I was by the sight of the devotees dancing, lost in their love of the Lord. Over the years, as I have read more about Vitthal, and participated in Ashadi Ekadashi programmes at Puttaparthi, that first experience has stayed clear in my mind and heart. Every time I tell my Balvikas students of the saints who sang of Vitthala, it is that experience that I re-live. I visited Pandharpur again, in 2010, but that experie