Travel gives you a chance to have hazy new beginnings. There are certain thunderous decisions made in a jiffy when the travel bug has bitten you and some of you know really well that there is no return which you can expect once the bug bites you. The motivation for the trip is sometimes just a sense of boredom with our day to day life and a longing for something like an adventure. Some people also feel itchy if they stay in one place for a long time. Travel according to me is also flirtatious and at times intoxicating. The legs burn to take a journey to a fresh location. This is the reason that this time a road trip was destined. Though, I have not had many this one taught me a lot many things. Exploring the rural is what we least do, whereas, these are the places which prove to be insightful experiences, which give you a glimpse in a world which you will rarely see, they teach you to look within you, to have a feel of different lifestyles, to make you realize how lucky you are that all the luxuries are available in the cities.

Learning to live with travel is a difficult thing to do. It takes the thirst for adventure and the thought has to tickle your soul each time. This time a road trip to Hubli and back was one of a kind. Driving and speeding through the NH4 highway was a thrilling experience, though the speed limit was maintained. A smooth road with less or should I say no potholes at all. The Indian Government seems to have done a very good job in this part of the country.The windmills across the highway leave you spellbound in the evenings, there are bike races along the way which give you an adrenaline rush of a superior kind. You just want to jump at every stunt you see along the way. There are the purple skies which enhance the beauty of the evening skies, when the colours merge it is like an artist creating a masterpiece in front of your eyes. Sunsets are a treat to the eyes as well and when you are driving along the road which seems unending, the sunset seems all the more tempting.

Coming to the places I saw, which I believe many of us rarely would think of visiting, since nothing special is present here. But you can learn a lot from the lifestyles which people follow in the northern part of Karnataka. Basic facilities are taken care of and people maintain the hygiene.They are hard-working and innocent.  Hubli is the second most important  city in Karnataka after Bangalore. Most of the important commercial decisions happen in Hubli. It is a quiet city with less bustle and really stern people around. There are no special places apart from temples to visit here but the city is clean and well maintained. It is less glamorous as compared to Bangalore but traditional to the core. Hubli is jointly known as Hubli-Dharwad as these are the twin cities, Dharwad located about 20 km away from Hubli. Next on the agenda was Harihar, Grasim Industries of the Aditya Birla Group has its headquarters in Harihar and it is the seat to the lesser known Harihareshwara Temple and the Basaveshwara Temple on the banks of river Tungabhadra. River Tungabhadra is the lifeline of Harihar. Harihar is also strategically located being situated in the centre of Karnataka. One can also find smaller temples in this part of the town which are artistically built.

Davanagere is one of the cleanest cities that I have seen in Karnataka, it is very similar to Hubli and the woman in this part of the world love wearing flowers in their hair, each one of them, literally, each one of them! A lot of sugarcane fields here which makes it possible to have tasty sugarcane juice at any given point of time. It is the city where once upon a time Chalukyas had their headquarters. As per some geographical knowledge Davanagere was separated from Chitradurga for administrative effciency – this is what the Wiki says!….Durgambika temple and Lingeshwara temple are the major attractions here. Personally the view of Lingeshwara temple appealed to me since I belong to the Lingayat community, which believes in Lord Shiva.

Shimoga was silent of the whole lot, moga means face in Kannada, so the name is derived as the ” face of Shiva”, Lord Shiva is one of the most important Gods worshipped in a large part of Karnataka. Shimoga is an educational hub. Many colleges can be found within the vicinity which really surprised me, since a small town was giving so much importance to education. One more striking feature here was that almost all the people owned cars and there were less two wheelers to be seen. On the outskirts of Shimoga the farmer works hard to earn a living, his better half supports him in all the way she can. That is where I mean that luxuries of the city have spoilt us. We cannot imagine to live like this farmer and work hard like those women. The women in the cities are lucky and privileged. I would say these people are the real multi talented lot in the country. They take care of their kids and husband, they cook, wash , clean, plough the fields ( without machines indeed and only bulls to help them), so she is working round the clock and there are additional chores of feeding the cows and managing the animals as well. At some point of time after the harvest she also gets the best price for her crop,which is micro management,I can say this with full surety,since I saw a woman fighting with the dealers to get the best price for her crop  and that is the real India!

For this time it ended with a town near Bangalore called Tumkur which is located right along the NH4 highway. Nothing much to explore, but a recently announced smart city by Narendra Modi. This city progressed since it has close proximity to Bangalore and is well developed. The rural part of Tumkur is very close to urbanisation since Bangalore is extending its borders at a rapid speed.

Next one when time permits!

Rucha Khot