It all started in a very dramatic way, when I moved to Bangalore from Mumbai. I attended a party with my husband at the Casa Del Sol resto pub at Richmond road where I bumped into a tarot card reader cum astrologer. I was quite impressed with his readings and so took his vcard and inviting him over to know the marriage prospects for my sister in law. He then revealed and told us that there is a belief that if you want to settle down in Bangalore you must visit Kukke Subramanya and Dharmsthala. This was one year ago in last August 2007.
[Restaurant on our way]Finally, we set out for the much awaited trip on May 1st 2008 and I must say it was the most blissful trip we ever had. We [my husband, my sister in law and I] started our journey from Bangalore at around 11.30 am and we took almost 8 hours to reach there via NH-48. For Lunch we stopped at this great restaurant called Mayur hotel which serves the most amazing south Indian thali. Even my husband who is the most fussy about food loved it. This is about 1.5 hours before Hassan. The road is awesome till Sakleshpur and you can cover this distance easily in 6 hours from Bangalore even if you stop for lunch or breaks. The nightmare begins with the beginning of Shiradi Ghat. The government is of course doing a great job by building this road but in patches. So you have a smooth ride in one part of the road and most bumpy in the other. I wonder what’s the logic though of building road in patches. Anyways the drive is very beautiful as you pass through the thick dense jungles till you hit the junction where you take a left into kukke Subramanya. From the junction this place is about 20 kms and trust me, it’s like god testing your faith whether you can make it to this place. The road is terrible. It’s really a back breaking journey even if you are in a car. It took us almost 2 hours from the junction to the town.
[Beautiful Ganesha temple at the entrance of Kukke Subramanya]We stayed in hotel Sheshnaag Ashraya which is opposite to KSRTC bus stand and which is the best hotel in kukke Subramanya. This is also the same hotel where celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Kapoor have stayed. The hotel also has AC rooms available for 1400/- Rs for 3 people. The staff is extremely courteous and helpful to the extent that they even might help you get the tickets for poojas in the temple. The phone numbers of this hotel are 08257-281215, 281219, and 281279. You can contact staff members Rajshri and Manjunath [husband and wife] who are very helpful. This hotel unfortunately does not have any restaurant. So you have to eat outside. Just on 2 mins walking distance is Mysore cafe and another cafe opposite to it which serve very good food and opens at 5 a. m. in the morning to 11 pm in the night. Though this place is a village you never feel scared as it is a lively town. When we reached on 1st may 2008 in the evening @ 7 30 p m, after freshing up we were able to catch Maha puja at 8 30 pm in the temple which is so beautiful to experience. In this temple one certainly feels the spiritual power punch. Our driver was also very informative and had first hand miraculous experience with a pooja he had done two years ago called Ashlesha bali. He informed us that this temple is the place for people who are unable to get married because of sarpa dosha. So they do this pooja for the unmarried and he got married with in two months of doing this pooja. So we did the same for my sister in law. We also did Naag pratishta which again is a very powerful pooja done to please the lord kukke Subramanya. Both these poojas cost Rs 250/- each. One of the most interesting prayers which I personally liked here is called Prarthana which is a personal prayer to Lord Kukke Subramanya. In this the priest listens to your problem and offers vedic remedies which is solutions and these have tremendous power. People who dont have kids, or are not married or are facing any kind of problems in life are really helped with this Prarthana. The ticket for this costs just Rs 25/-. We reached in the evening only to discover that may 2nd was Ekadasi . Please ask someone before coming here because on ekadasi only the temple is open but no poojas are held in the temple.
[Kukke Subramanya Temple]So the 2nd of May 2008 we utilized this day to go to Dharmsthala. God, it was the most crowded temple on that day. The queue ran at least a few kilometers. Also the worst part is they ask you to remove your shoes much ahead of the queue you follow so walking around on the hot black rock stone can actually burn your feet. Also it’s chaotic as nobody knows where to go for what. No clear signage nothing. We stood for hours in the queue only to discover in the end that we won’t get any prasadam as we dint take coupons in the beginning of the queue. So although the darshan was great, not getting the Prasad did make us feel little sad. Anyways after the darshan we headed straight to the Surya temple, which is 12 kms from Dharamsthala on the Udipi route.
[Drive from Kukke Subramanya to Dharamsthala]Now this is a very special temple not yet unearthed by crowds which was told to us by Manjunath in Kukke Subramanya. The specialty here is that it is 2000 years old and not many people know about it. The local belief is also that whatever you desire or wish comes true or your wish is granted within a year’s time. Also if your wish is fulfilled then you do have to make an offering to the lord Surya [Which is just a Shivlinga under some people tree which was formed on its own] in Dolls form made out of clay. Once your wish is fulfilled you have to call this temple and they keep the clay dolls ready for you to offer to the lord. The number of this temple is 08256202200. Again you do not have any accommodation here. So kindly just visit.
[At the entrance of Surya Temple]After this we headed back straight to Dharmasthala, where you also have the Ganesha Temple which also has some religious significance. So we visited that too. After all this we headed straight to Kukke Subramanya to our hotel as the next day was a long day for us and we had poojas to perform. So we had a quick dinner and next day performed Ashelesha Bali and Naag Prathishtha in the temple.
What I did learn and loved about this place is that this is a small village amidst thick forest and people here are so humble and nice. There are no cheats or frauds here and you don t feel cheated or feel someone is trying to get you. In the end just one thought crosses my mind is that compared to these people who live in small villages and have so little to eat, they are still contended and feel happy with themselves. And people like us who have world’s luxuries or at least a thousand times better lives still chase negativity and stress.
