Photos Of The February Edition: Rangolis

This time, we present to you the traditional South Indian Rangolis. Rangolis are the ancient art of colouring floors. The patterns are symmetric and signify the talent of Indian women.

Usually the colouring mixture is fine sand or Rice flour. They are created at the entrance of house or near gods room to divert the evil eyes or envy of those who enter the house. Rangoli is still believed to work like the Chinese Bagua Mirror.

Another story of creating such Rice flour patterns was to provide food to ants and other insects. The aim was to live and also let every living organism live.

Today, small or big, the arrangement is still seen in almost all the South Indian households and one will also be surprised that despite the fast lifestyle, the members of house take time to create and retain the centuries old tradition.

All in all, I felt that these beautiful designs required a special status in our February travel E-edition.

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6 Best Homestays Of Karnataka

If you have to know the real culture and food of Karnataka, you should be at the Homestays. Nowadays, Homestays make much more money than hotels in Karnataka as they are calm, sophisticated and private.

Since the estate owners take care of Homestays, it is secure, food is always homemade and gives one a resort feel.

Ask the Bangaloreans, specially, the software lot as their weekend getaways to Shimoga, Chikmagalur and Sakleshpur ghats will be with the homestay bookings.

The Kannada families of these homestays are very hospitable, educated and quite well to do. Today, I shall rate the best homestays of Karnataka to help travellers worldwide have a pleasant experience down South of India.

Why Homestays?

• Because they are always amidst the greenery of valleys and very scenic.
• The house members never disturb you like the Hotel staff
• Rooms are simple, clean and are many in number.
• Food is authentic and healthy or most of the time cooked as per traveller's choice.
• Very reasonable in terms of pricing.

6 Best Homestays According To Travelendura:

Swasta - Taken care by a family of Doctors, this place became our favourite in Sakleshpur. The couple were friendly and the food, needless to say, was best of the best. We were served Bisi Bele Bath and Poori, spicy for the freezing Sakleshpur climate. Kokkum juice served before meals was very rejuvenating. This place reminded us of Mungaru Male. 

Biligali - Chikmagalur is best for trekkers and mountaineers, Biligali in Chikmagalur is one of the coolest homestays of Karnataka. I call it coolest because the owner couple are very friendly and entertaining. They have many pet dogs, from Beagle to Boxer, all welcome you as a family. I cannot forget their evening snacks (Bondas and Bajjis), very tasty, very spicy. They also make good Akki Roti (Rice Pancakes) and Bamboo pickles.

Kolavara - Shimoga is also famous for Homestays and Kolavara is one such close to many wildlife sanctuaries, waterfalls etc. The homestay is beautiful and antique. Food is also worth a mention as they prepare many authentic Shimoga food. They can accommodate upto 10 members. 

Navilgallu - Very hot Vegetable Biriyani and Rasams. Navilgallu is beautiful as it is surrounded by lush greenery of Paddy fields. It is close to Kuppali, our famous Kuvempu's birth place.

Iruppu - One of the reasonably priced homestays of Karnataka. The Coorg estate is very close to Iruppu waterfalls and best in the budget. Iruppu estate is a Coffee estate.

Gabadi - The Dum Aloo Biriyani is my reminder of Gabadi. The couple took a good care of our group and prepared delicious food. We loved the house and surroundings situated at the Sharavati backwaters. A must see place for photographers and nature lovers. 

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Road Trip To Southern Tip Of India : Kanyakumari

Kanyakumari - The last chunk of scenic landscape in the southern tip of Indian Peninsular. Our caravan road trip to Kanyakumari from Bangalore via Hosur and Madurai is one of the best stretches of National Highways in India, the NH7. The same NH runs from Kashmir till Kanyakumari, the longest NH in India.

 Day1: Bangalore to Kanyakumari, hotel stay in Kanyakumari

A few glimpses of the scenic beauty all along our journey of around 650kms, which was covered in 10hrs (2008-09).

We concluded the first days’ journey by halting at the Hotel Madhini that offers an excellent view of the juncture of the Indian ocean, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.

The sunrise on the day 2 was a splendid sight to spot right outside the balcony of our hotel, sipping a kappa hot and strong south Indian filter coffee.

The day 2 activities followed by a visit to the Kumari Amman temple where the Goddess Kumari Amman had a diamond nose ring which was seemingly bright and sharp enough to fox the ships and big boats arriving at the harbour to misunderstand it for the light house.

To avoid any further mishaps, one of the entrances to the temple was closed forever. Unfortunately couldn’t get snaps of the idol of the great goddess.

The delights of the Dosas and idly vadas’ are always mesmerizing when one plans to stay in this serene place.

The most famous tourist spots, a must visit in Kanyakumari is the juncture point of the Indian ocean, Arabian sea and bay of Bengal along with the great Vivekananda Rock.

The peace lovers paradise and the very location where the great saint Sri Vivekananda found eternal bliss…. The Vivekananda Rock. The way to get to this place is through ferries that ply every 10 minutes from Kanyakumari.

After returning from the peace palace, we drove towards the west coast of Kanyakumari that had lots to offer in terms of superb sunset views, all along the coast.

With a lot of resistance, we had to pack our bags to head towards Rameshwaram, another holy and scenic city in the southern east coast of India. 

The famous Rameshwaram bridge is a must-stop location, with winds blowing at speeds good enough to flyaway… the kilometers of the sand that are left out for drying and processing is a common sight on the way from Kanya to Rameshwaram.

The Rameshwaram bridge was a total delight to watch the railway and the motorway running parallel and almost feels like, we are driving in the mid of the sea.

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