TRAVEL
THE WEEKLY OBSERVER SUPPLEMENT THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2017
Honavar, a Hidden Gem An off-the-grid vacation spot to soothe the mind and stir one’s heart Ilona Dam
H
onavar is a taluk in Uttara Karnataka with less than 50,000 inhabitants. However, after a 441km, 10hour journey and week-long stay in the town I would say it is much more. We were intrigued to discover this town nestled between the mighty Western Ghats and the gentle Arabian Sea. As soon as we alighted from the bus, our first destination was the beach. The serene blue water washed fatigue away like magic. Popularly known as Kasarkod beach, the shore was barely populated at 9 am. Later one evening we came back to find the same emptiness, when the beach should have been teeming with visitors. Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Coorg and Gokarna are places that attract maximum tourists in the state unlike Honavar. Urban luxuries like malls, departmental stores or cinema theatres are nowhere to be found in this Honavar. Our hotel, Kamat Executive Inn sat on NH-47, a two-lane road connecting Honavar to the rest of the state. The police station and government offices like Forest Department, Revenue Office and the Panchayat Office are nestled on both sides of the road. Locals speak a plethora of languages, ranging from Hindi, English to Marathi, Konkani and Kannada. Thus, language was never a barrier in our interaction with the community. With almost 70 percent of its people living in villages,
agriculture is the main occupation followed by fisheries and apiculture. Honavar port has two parts, divided by Kasarkod River. On one side is the commercial port, which is called the
'minor' port. A ferry took us to the other side of the port, where lies the fisher-folk village of Kasarkod Tonka. The village houses around 10,000 families. As we stepped off the boat, the putrid smell of fish rushed into our nostrils. Heaps of fish dried in the sun. We spotted some women chatting away as they cut and de-scaled their catch. Their animated laughter and playful gestures suggested a well-knit community. Ms. Fatima, a middle aged lady among them, told us
that they worked from six in the morning till around eight in the evening. As the men went out fishing, women sorted the catch for sales.The fish was then sold at the local markets. Life isn't easy for the families, with very little aid from the government. However, an amicable community and a decent business are enough for the happy smiles to last. Our most enlightening destination was Karwa village. It is situated in the lap of nature, encircled by aristocratic hills. Its 240 families are all engaged in some form of horticultural practices. Mr. Dinesh Bhat, who resides in the village, produces honey and fruit juices in his backyard. He collects raw honey and fruits from neighboring households, processes and sells them in the local markets under the brand name Swasthik Gramodyog Malige. His efforts to provide local employment won him the Innovative Farmer Award, 2015. Most residents in Karwa have retired and wish to spend their remaining years in their ancestral homes. The youth here mostly migrate to cities like Delhi and Bangalore in search of job opportunities, leaving their parents. One wonders how lack of employment can force people to abandon even a place as magical as this. As I travelled back from Karwa, I contemplated what makes a place beautiful. Is it monuments or tourist spots? There weren't either in Honavar. Yet, it offered warmhearted people and a picturesque marriage of mountains and sea. If they call Kerala 'God's Own Country', I wonder what Honavar would be?
Economy vs. Ecology in Kurseong Unplanned growth threatens a beautiful destination Arunava Banerjee
K
urseong, a sleepy town, is a two hour drive from Bagdogra airport. Travelling through the evergreen Sukuna forest and up the Rohini elephant corridor, an expanse of farmlands and tea gardens can be seen. It is a little over 4,700 feet above sea level, 30 kms away from Darjeeling. Kurseong, meaning ‘the land of white orchids,’ is one of the oldest town municipalities of the country. Established in 1879, it was initially developed as a sanatorium for the British colonisers because of its pleasant weather. Today, it is a hub of tourists and schools. However, the weather has changed today. People and litter crowd the streets. Global warming has raised the average temperature by over 3 degree Celsius in the last 10 years. Rapid expansion and illegal concretization have aged this town further. It appears as if the hill, that once had a life of its own, is now on its way to oblivion. Dowhill pine forest resembles the Scottish woods. This forest, covered with the Cryptomeria japonica (a type of pine) trees, is a boon of the British colonisers who wanted to replicate a European landscape. It is dotted with Victorian cottages while Dowhill Girls and Victoria Boys school, established in 1879 in the middle of the forest, call for tourists to indulge in its serenity. Dowhill is also home to diverse species including the barking deer and the giant flying squirrel. Dowhill Eco Park, previously called Deer Park, is being developed by the state and local administration into a satellite zoo. The forest, infamous for ghost stories, also has a museum that
educates visitors about the eco-diversity of the region. Botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker documented it in his memoirs from India. The town that housed a few hundred families is now home to over 50,000 people. In the absence of parallel in-
frastructural development, however, it is a chaotic movement of vehicles, people and the UNESCO declared heritage toy-train all on the same road - NH 55 or Hill Cart road. Most locals are Nepalese and Bhutanese and consider that the town has always been a place to rest, away from urban lifestyle. Its allure lies in the wildlife and while tourism is helping the local economy, it is destroying the ecology. In fact, it is difficult to spot white orchids in its namesake land today. Remaining wild flora can be seen decking the cliffs and walls in between giant ferns in the forest areas of the
municipality. ‘Eagle’s Craig’ lies at the hilltop at a place called Naya Baazar. It gives one a panoramic view of the entire town merging into the infinite expanse of green agricultural and forest land divided by three major rivers, the Teesta, the Rangit and the Mechi and their distributaries that then merge into the concrete structures comprising of Siliguri and its outskirts. The park, with an infamous suicide point on a 1000 ft cliff, attracts tourists on a large scale. Kurseong has some historical significance too. Aurobindonath Tagore’s cottage on Palmer Road is also where Atul Prasad Sen lived for a while. Sarat Chandra Bose built his cottage in Gidda pahar where Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose stayed while exiled. The Tagore house has now been converted into a government residence and Bose’s cottage is a museum where his memoirs are displayed. Several viewpoints and nearby tourist destinations add to the spectacle of a town that is now waking up. Apart from tourism, major industries running the town’s economy are schools like Goethals Memorial School (established 1907) and St Helen’s School (established in 1889) and famous tea estates like Makaibari and Castleton. Hanging between civilization and nature, Kurseong is still a recluse for the city-dweller looking for some introspection in solitude; however rapid urbanisation is fast turning Kurseong into a noisy setting while an unplanned growth threatens this erstwhile sanatorium with annihilation. How the town shapes in the future remains a cause of concern for every old resident of the town and environment lover.