Weekend Trip - Shirsi / Sirsi

In most Malenadu homes, molasses ( Liquid Jaggery /Joni Bella)  is a must in breakfast everyday . Both my kids love it as well. I have always wanted to see  how molasses was made using sugarcane and wanted to show it to the kids as well. Alemane is a celebration where in all the family members and friends get together and the sugarcane produce is harvested and fresh cane juice is served  along with spicy snacks.The remaining cane milk is then put in a huge urn and it simmers for a few hours and then molasses is obtained. It is called " Joni bella" in Kannada.

When we got an invite for "Alemene", we didn't think twice to make our travel plans and set off from Bangalore on Friday afternoon at  around 3 pm .We took the route Bangalore -Tumkur - Chitradurga- Davanagere- Hanagal- Sirsi. Here is the Google map link  .The highway is awesome and there were no glitches in our journey.It took approximately 7 hours to reach Sirsi town.

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Places around Sirsi:

• Yana
• Manjugani venkateshwara temple
• Unchalli falls
• Sahasralinga
• Banavasi
• Vibhoothi falls
• Bheemana gudda

  Things to buy in Sirsi:

• Joni Bella/Molasses
• Home made pickles and snacks
• Ilkal sarees in C P bazar

There are many other places to visit..Here is a comprehensive list.We could not visit all places due to time constraints .We would love to visit them next time for sure.We stayed in Hotel Madhuvana.It was a very good hotel with comfortable and clean rooms and awesome food  and service.We had our dinner in the restaurant and crashed in our bed.

Early morning, we decided to visit Yana .It has beautiful rock formations and a cave temple.Legend has it that  ( Source : Wikipedia) Bhasmasura, by austere penance, obtained a boon from lord Shiva. This boon made it so that when Bhasmasura placed his hand over any one's head, he would burn them up and turn them into ashes (bhasma). It is further narrated that, in order to test his powers, Bhasmasura wanted to place his hands on his patron Lord Shiva's head. He chased Shiva, which unnerved Shiva and prompted him to move from his heavenly abode to earth to seek the help of Lord Vishnu. Vishnu transformed himself to help Shiva, adopting the form of beautiful damsel named Mohini who enticed Bhasmasura with her beauty. Bhasmsura was quite infatuated by Mohini, and agreed to a challenge she issued for a dance competition.

                           

During the dance competition, Mohini cleverly performed a dance bhang ("pose") with hand over head. Without realizing the gravity of this act, the demon king also placed his hand over his head and perished by the fire of his own hands, he was converted into ashes. It is believed that the fire that emanated during this act was so intense that the limestone formations in the Yana area were blackened. The loose black soil or ash seen around the two large rock formations in the area are cited as proof of the legend by devotees who see them as due to the fire and that ashes produced by Bhasmasura death. The two hillocks are also named for this event: the tall peak being Bhairaveshwara Shikhara ("Shiva's hill"), and the smaller peak, a few steps down below, being Mohini Shikhara ("Mohini's hill") where an idol of goddess Parvathi is installed.

After visiting Yana, we quenched our thirst with Kokam juice which is a natural and healthy drink.We then headed to Manjuguni Venkateshwara temple.Manjuguni is one of the well known pilgrim centers located in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state. Manjuguni is located at a distance of 26 km from Sirsi. The temple here is dedicated to Lord Venkataramana and Goddess Padmavathi. It is believed that, Manjuguni is called as Tirupati of Karnataka. At the entrance to the village there is a big tank 4 Hectares in Size.The temple is located in belt of Western Ghats, also commonly known as Sahyadri hills. During winter, this place will be covered by thick fog and hence this place called by the name "Manjuguni". The temple of Lord Venkatramana is a huge complex built in Vijayanagara Style.

( Source: Karnataka Holidays website).

After that, we proceeded to Unchalli falls , which is a waterfall created by a 116 metres (381 ft) drop in the Aghanashini river.It is a spectacular sight all around the year.There is a a small walk ( around 500 mts) for the first vista point and 250 more steps for the final vista point.There is a family around 200 mts from the gate which serves simple and healthy vegetarian  food at a reasonable cost (you have to inform the Mr.Hegde earlier and their contact number is 08389-293033 ).We had sumptuous lunch over there , spent a little time in their cow shed (kottige) with cows and newly born calf. We headed back to Sirsi and rested there for a while.

Later in the evening one of our friend's father was kind enough to take us to a place called Hulugolu/Hulgol  where there was Alemane . The Alemane was conducted by one of our friend's relatives.Our tummies were full with drinking sugarcane juice and all the spicy yummy snacks.

 It was sheer luck that there was a magic show by Shankar and Shankar Junior of the famous GiliGili magic group (Facebook page). We enjoyed the 2 hour program and kids were just awestruck watching the thrilling performance.

The next day early morning we visited the famous Marikamba temple in Shirsi town. It is a 300+ year old temple built by Raja of Sonda. Then we visited our friend's farm house and were treated to traditional dosa (tellevu), and MaNNi (sweet made out of Sugar cane juice) and Todadeva (a crape made by sugar cane juice). Kids savoured the Jambu Nerale fruits in their farm, played with the cows/calfs and could not get enough of Rotwheeler puppy in the farm.  We then planned for a quick stop over at Sahasralinga (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahasralinga) but kids jumped into water and it was more than a brief stopover :) It is a great picnic spot but I suggest visiting this place either early in the morning or in the evening.

We were then treated to a traditional Shirsi havayaka meal at another of our friend's place. As we bid them good bye and drove amidst the arecanut plantations, we were already missing the place - definitely want to come back and explore more!!Many thanks to Vishwa for being such a great tour-guide/host and to our friend's families who took good care of us !!