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| | The TRAVEL LOVERS! Network is not currently active and cannot accept new posts | | Travelogue - Kushalnagar (Bylakuppe & Dubare) | Views: 1110 | | Mar 28, 2007 10:46 am | | Travelogue - Kushalnagar (Bylakuppe & Dubare) | # |
X Y | | Onward journey
The wind chill on 24th December 2005 made the day colder than it was, and the sun struggled to cut through the morning mist by 7:00 am. I loaded the Scorpio with a travel bag of clothing, packed food, snacks, one flask of tea, cans of Pepsi and plenty of music. After a cursory check of tire pressure, spare tire, jack, radiator coolant, jumper cables, tow rope, fuel and windshield washer fluid level, I applied peddle to the 2.6 liter 115 PS CRDi engine and eased through the sparse traffic of the city to Mysore Road. The three hour drive to Mysore was uneventful except for the minor frustration of having to change over to the side of oncoming traffic to accommodate road construction activity. This road has been under upgrade construction for the last couple of years, and they switch traffic over from one side to the other with no warning signals or notifications at all. So it’s not uncommon to be cruising along and suddenly find a massive truck coming at you on your side of the road with no warning. You are expected to understand and move to the left lane. The road is well strewn with good restaurants and dhabas (Punjabi style open air eateries). I even found a Café Coffee Day en route.
About 10 KM short of Mysore city, I turned right to Kushalnagar via Hunsur and Piriyapatna. It’s a bad stretch of road, though efforts are on to repair and widen it. I saw with dismay as workers chopped down massive trees that were easily a hundred years old, to allow for this road widening process. Again, 7 KM short of the town of Kushalnagar (50 KM from Mysore junction), I took left into the Tibetan settlement of Bylakuppe (you will see a prominent road sign “Namdroling Golden Temple” with an arrow sign indicating left, take it). Another good sign to recognize you are in Bylakuppe is the sight of clean-shaven Tibetan monks clad in burgundy robes walking along the side of the road. The entire journey from Bangalore lasted five hours.
Arriving at Bylakuppe
Bylakuppe is a peaceful quite place where one can opt to stay a day or attend the annual one-month retreat at the Namdroling Monastery. The settlement divided into two parts; the 3500-acres Lugsum Samdupling Settlement of approximately 10,000 plus Tibetans established in 1960 and the 1800-acres Dickyi Larsoe Settlement of approximately 4000 plus Tibetans established 9 years later in 1969. The Lugsum Samdupling Settlement contains 5 monasteries including Sera Jey, Namdroling Nyingma and Sakya. The most famous of the monasteries is the Namdroling Nyingmapa Monastery, better known as The Golden Temple. I drove up to the temple and took a right turn at the gate towards the shopping complex housing the Paljor Dhargey Ling Hotel. It’s a paid guest house run by the Penor Rinpoche Charity Foundation. A double-occupancy room cost me Rs.250 per night (room with TV costs Rs.350); it had good clean sheets and clean sparkling toilet with a western-style loo (the hot water is created by solar panels so don’t expect hot water when there is no sun or at night). It was better than many other hotels I stayed at on my road trips for what it cost.
You can contact the guest at the following numbers to make a reservations or enquiries:
Paljor Dhargey Ling Hotel
Nyingmapa Monastery (Golden Temple)
Bylakuppe – 571104, Mysore District, Karnataka
Telephone: +91 8223 258686 / +91 8223 258848
The Golden Temple & Sera Jey Monastery
After checking in, a good shower and a hearty lunch at the restaurant right below the guest house (served excellent Indian food) I made my way into the Golden Temple. The gate led into a vast courtyard lined with living quarters for the Buddhist monks. It’s strictly a male population as the women folk have their own monastery a couple of kilometers away. Another archway led into the beautiful gardens of the Golden Temple. It’s a magnificent pagoda-style gold-plated structure rising about 4 floors high topped by a large rainbow colored ring. The entrance is flanked by enormous murals depicting myriad scenes from Buddhist literature and mythology.
Inside I was awe-struck by the sight of the 60-ft high gold-plated statue of Buddha, flanked by statues of his disciples Guru Padmasamhava and Buddha Amityayus which were 58-ft tall. All three statues are hollow and filled with scriptures, relics, small clay mould stupas and other miscellaneous items of religious significance.
The Buddhists at Bylakuppe practice Tantric Buddhism, consequently the murals depict gore and sexual imagery. I saw murals of Buddhist deities decapitating humans (who have sinned) in all sorts of manners, animals eating the remains of these decapitated humans and deities engaged in fornication (there was one mural depicting copulation between a bull and a woman). This was in stark contract to the otherwise peaceful meditative chanting, soothing sound of cymbals, intoxicating smell of incense and other similar sights and smells that emanated from the surrounding environs. One aspect of this place that strikes any visitor is the sheer colors that bath the walls, hangings and practically everything else. I quickly learnt not to expect much help in explanations for what I was seeing; almost all the monks don’t speak English or Hindi.
I toured the rest of the buildings in the campus of the Golden Temple. I found a row of large white stupas where two squads of young monks were playing volleyball in their robes. I was fortune to catch a full-fledged player session in progress with hundreds of monks chanting in undulating voices accompanied by Tibetan horns, cymbals and gongs. After having my ears full, I headed out to the Sera Jey Monastery which is one of the 'great three' Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet. After the Chinese invasion of Tibet destroyed much of the monasteries the Sera Monastery was re-established in Bylakuppe by refugee monks. This monastery has a vast expansive courtyard and an equally vast high-ceiling room where over 4000 monks can train and engage in debates. The room has row after row of cushions on the floor on which the monks seat lotus style. At the head of the long room is an alter style raised floor carrying pictures of Lord Buddha and several facilities to light yak-butter lamps and hold other offerings.
The orphic spirit
At dusk I visited the library and some of the surrounding habitats of the 20,000 Tibetans. They live simple lives. Every family sends their eldest for training as a monk and the child remains in training till the age of 16, after which it decides to either stay a monk or leave. The dominant sustenance for these people is agriculture with each family owning a small tract of cultivatable land. Another source of income is handicrafts such as thangkas and carpets with Buddhist imagery (some of the exotic hand-weaved carpets sell for as much as $900). Tibetan restaurants, of which there are about a dozen in Bylakuppe, serve a simple fare like beef and chicken soups with noodles and salad greens. Most are simple places with plastic tables and chairs, a refrigerator of soft drinks and a cook who doubles as the waiter too. The monks each receive a stipend from the administration to meet expenses such as travel and basic necessities like soap and toothpaste. I found motorcycle-bound monks in helmets most amusing, whizzing by with their robes flying behind them. The monks are absolutely unperturbed by scantily clad women tourists, and treat them just as nonchalantly as any other visitor.
After a meal of beef soup and vegetables at the Olive Restaurant, I returned to my room and fell asleep dreaming of wrathful deities chopping me up for my sins.
Dubare Elephant Camp
The next day I woke up early and drove 27 KM to Dubare Elephant Camp, a rustic establishment operated by Jungle Lodges & Resorts Ltd under the aegis of the Karnataka Forest Department.
The camp is situated about 20 KM from the heart of Kushalnagar towards Siddapura. The Karnataka Forest Department has about 150 elephants in its ownership, either retired from logging operations or disowned by erstwhile royalty. These elephants are trained and “rented” for religious celebrations around India such as Dussera and similar festive events. The Jungle Lodges & Resorts utilizes this camp and its inhabiting elephants to provide tourists an intimate experience these giant mammals.
I arrived at the camp at 7:30 am, it was foggy and a mist hung around the Cauvery River which flows through the camp. A motor-boat took me to the other side where I paid a modest fee of Rs.100 ($2.25) for the “Elephant Interaction Experience” (the warden was a man who was in the same job for the last 27 years; he knew each elephant like his own child). I was requested to wait near the kitchen (a large room with pane-less windows, wood fueled stoves burning under massive cauldrons) where a dozen workers were busy boiling raagi and jaggery (maize and unrefined sugar) together and making cannonballs of the mix. Yes, this is elephant haute cuisine!
As I waited, I saw several elephants making their way towards the kitchen. The oldest was a female elephant called Durga about 51 years old and the youngest, named Parasurama, was about 2 years old. The youngster knew every trick in the book; he came around to me and tried to put his trunk in my pocket. Soon, about 20 elephants congregated at the kitchen, one even bought a load of deadwood on his tusks and dropped them at the kitchen, his dues for the meal.
The warden assigned one elephant to each group of tourists and I took my elephant, a female called Indra, to the river where she promptly laid down in the water. The mahout handed me a plastic scrub with which I started scouring the massive animal. Its skin is incredibly tougher than I had imagined and its hairs were like metal wires. Bathing the whole elephant took me about an hour during which Indra obliging got up and turned over. When bathing was done, the mahout and I led Indra back to the kitchen where I was given as much ragi and jaggery balls as I could shovel into Indra’s mouth. She was a voracious eater and devoured every morsel I gave her. Some of the elephants got a lump of jaggery as a bonus for enterprising behavior.
After being fed, the warden arranged a short elephant-back ride on Indra. It was a routine elephant ride which can be given a miss. I bade Indra farewell and headed back, this time instead of taking the boat I walked over a section of rocks that stand just barely over the river.
Some Do’s and Don’ts
1.No matter how friendly, the elephant is an elephant and it is highly capable of crushing a human to death. I would strongly suggest against doing anything that’s likely to irritate it.
2.A mother elephant is very protective of its young. When playing with a baby elephant keep a keen eye for its mother and ensure not to make any threatening move against the youngster.
3.Don’t tease an elephant with food, either give it or don’t.
4.Wear forest friendly colors like green and khaki (no reds and whites).
5.Leave a tip for the mahouts and staff when leaving, it’s courteous.
The sound of goodbye
It was time to move on with my road trip, and my next scheduled stop was Mangalore via Hassan and through the Western Ghats, a mountainous stretch that lines India’s Western coast. I was hoping to get through the mountains before sunset so I checked out of the guest house by 2:00 pm, had some lunch, reloaded the Scorpio and started out back towards Piriyapatna and then north towards Hassan. As I left Bylakuppe, I couldn’t help but reflect upon this strange community which has managed to protect its ethos and thrive in its way of life in a land far away.
Private Reply to X Y | | Mar 30, 2007 4:53 am | | re: Travelogue - Kushalnagar (Bylakuppe & Dubare) | # | 
Michelle Lee | | Hi K R
Enjoyed reading your travelogue as always. Thanks for sharing !!!
Was in Bangalore end of last month. Only visited Mysore Palace. Great adventure for me though as our car to the Palace was stopped by local villages in protest of some water distribution issue...luckily the police came to resolve it quick so the wait was merely half an hour. I had wanted to detour to go back to Bangalore earlier when that happened as I wasn't sure how long the protest was going to end....
Overall, I enjoyed the trip to Mysore very much. To see the beautiful Mysore Palace is really worth the 3 hours drive from Bangalore (one way). Many thanks to a local Ryzer, Saroja who was so kind to make all the necessary arrangement for me.
Hope to come back for Kushalnagar (Bylakuppe & Dubare) tour next time. Thanks again KR for sharing more places of interest with us.
Cheers!
Michelle
Private Reply to Michelle Lee | | Mar 30, 2007 1:43 pm | | re: re: Travelogue - Kushalnagar (Bylakuppe & Dubare) | # | 
Rajvee S | | hi buddy, lovely travelogue...you know its not the travel tats wonderful...when u share it, it also leaves a good feeling to the reader...thanks for the ride.
ciaoPrivate Reply to Rajvee S | | Apr 05, 2007 4:46 pm | | re: re: re: Travelogue - Kushalnagar (Bylakuppe & Dubare) | # | 
investinsureadvisor | | hi
i think i went bylakuppe 10 years back hirangi dam, orange county resort i think its the same place
sanjayPrivate Reply to investinsureadvisor | | |
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