Tale of two Towns
It rained almost all the time the week I was in Udupi but there were a few hours of respite in the afternoon on some days. One such afternoon, I decided to take my parents for a drive. They hadn't seen Manipal after it got a make over in the last few years.
In the mid 70s, one of my aunts family bought a large piece of land in Indrali between Udupi and Manipal, and built a big house on it. Since they lived in Mumbai and ran a business there, my grandparents moved in and the house became the vacation base for the families of their sons and daughters of which there were ten in all. There were sometimes up to 20 of us during the summer holidays in May and we could have the best of both the worlds. And what a splendid time we had!
Manipal represented everthing that was 'hep' to us. There were a large number of students from Bombay studying in the engineering and medical colleges who brought with them the fashion of the times. They had their hair styled after Amitabh Bachan or Rishi kapoor and wore bell bottoms, high heeled shoes, waist long shirts with top two or buttons open and big rounded collars that looked like dogs tongue. A steel chain with a large swastika on their chests and a pair of sunglasses completed their attire. Modified Rajdoot and Yezdi bikes were popular with them. Some rode on those little 'Bobby' bikes(Rajdoot GTS) and would even have in tow a girlfriend sporting a mini-skirt and blouse usually with a generous exhibition of cleavage just like Dimple Kapadia did in the movie. There was sun, love and freedom in the air. For an eight year this was the ultimate dream, and dreamt I did. Before the readers start getting any ideas, let me clarify that I am refering to the little 'Bobby' bike.
Only the bike courtesy HILLRAM's gallery
Rajdoot Bobby GTX (1980) (Blue Thunder) - hillram's Photo Gallery - Team-BHP
Udupi on the other hand was a different universe. One of old temples, Goli Baje, aroma of Ayurvedic herbs, sandlewood and textile floating the streets and most of people went about their business in dhotis. Come evening and children would gather in large numbers on the fields of Ajjarad to play and there was a radio tower on a rock which played the latest Hindi songs from a loudspeaker. The students from Manipal came down to Udupi for the movies at Alankar and Kalpana cinemas as there were none in Manipal and went to Diana or the only chinese restaurant in the city before returning to their base. I was curious to find out what chinese food tasted like but my father refused to entertain my desire saying all their dishes included frogs and insects.
I am not sure if this is the Manipal T.M.A Pai dreamt of, but a barren hill is today the top educational township with its instituions equipped with the state-of-the art equipement and beginning to look more like a students' hill station. You can study if you want to, or have fun if that is what you are looking for, or do both if you are up to it. There is a swanky mediatheque, and plush apartments and airconditioned hostels catering to the comforts of the wealthy and NRIs and a fair sprinkling of foreign students. There are nice restaurants and eating joints. It is a common sight to see visiting parents taking their children and their class fellows out for a dinner.
The state-of-the-art mediatheque.
We had heard so much about the Heritage House built by Vijaynath Shenoy, we decided to see what it was all about. When got to the house near the Syndicate Bank staff training centre, we were disappointed to see it was not only locked but looked abandoned with shubs covering most of the entrance. People in neighbouring house informed us that Shenoy was working on a Heritage Village near the planetorium. A few students we enquired with at entrance to the planetorium informed us that there is no such village in Manipal. The security gaurd seemed a little more informed and he directed us to the village which is right next to the planetorium. We passed by huge sheds stacked with hundreds of old rosewood pillars, intricatly carved doors and windows, a little temple chariot and cart wheels. We could see several old houses and were quite exited. The gate was locked and a security gaurd inside that the village would be closed for another year as there is some restoration work happening. It certainly looked worth a visit.
When I returned to Bangalore I had to make do for now looking at the images on this website:
D A I J I W O R L D
We spent the rest of the afternoon at End Point enjoying a walk in the beautiful garden and admiring the scenic views.
With dad and mom
Swarna River seen from End Point
On the way back we dropped in at my aunt's place to pick up some
'Taikilo' leaves and mom made some crispy pakoda's for dinner. It was probably after 20 years I was savouring these.
(To be continued)