Shimoga Diary ... Frolicking Fish @ Chibbalagudde

I wrote in my previous post that I would be writing ‘in a couple of days’ about the other places that we visited while on our brief Shimoga vacation … it is more than a month since that post now … so much for ‘in a couple of days’ … aah well, these things happen …

Anyway, to continue … as were leaving Skanda Canteen, the owner asked us where we were travelling towards … Appa said we were on our way to Kuppalli to visit Kuvempu’s ancestral house (turned into a museum) … then he told us that we could visit Chibbalagudde, which is on the way to Kuppalli … he said there is a Ganapati temple there and the temple is on the banks of the Tunga river and the fish that you see at this spot are as big as the ones that you see in Sringeri … if you have seen the fish at Sringeri then you get the picture … all of us in the party had been to Sringeri and seen the fish there, so we all got the picture … he also said you’d have to take a detour to visit the temple, and then you can connect to the main route to Kuppalli … we thought why not and checked with our driver … he wanted some clarification about the detour route, which he got from the canteen owner … and so, we went to Chibbalagudde …

As it turned out, we took the detour and reached the temple … it was not a very long detour, but we had to climb a bit higher and take a couple of bends on the narrow road leading up to the temple … lots of people were there and we realized that it is a popular temple and not a sort of tucked-away-inside obscure temple … if I remember right, it was sankashti day and there was a homa going on … and smoke all around … the outside surroundings of the temple were wonderful and green and there were wide spaces inside the temple … there is a board which gives us some information about the temple …  

Briefly, here is what it says – the temple is a puNyakshetra holy place located on the right bank of the Tunga river … it is believed that many sages during ancient times have meditated and performed austerities and gained siddhi here and so the temple is called ‘Siddhi Vinayaka Temple’ … a cave where the sages meditated can be seen near the temple … the idol of Ganapati that is being worshipped here, sort of materialized at this spot (udhbhava) … it is also believed that skin infections (fungal infections resulting in reddish/blackish spots called chibbu locally) are cured when those affected pray here and offer harake (sort of a vow) … so, that is why the place is called chibbalagudde … this place is also a matsyadhaama (sort of fish sanctuary) … the fish are said to be protected by the god Ganapati … and the fish can be fed, but not harmed or caught … 

I was so focused on the fish that I sort of neglected to take photographs of the temple and the surroundings … I took a lot of pictures of fish in the river though!

When I wanted to write about our visit to Chibbalagudde, I realized that, apart from frolicking fish I had very little to ‘show’ … I checked online and found a couple of blogsites that had pictures of the temple … I am showing them here, with due reference to the sites …

This is how the temple looks from outside ... since it was a Sankashti day, lots of people had assembled, but I am sure on other days, it is quite quiet and serene ... and I wouldn't mind spending a whole day here ... (photo: http://gandhadaguditravels.blogspot.in/2013/11/bangalore-arasikere-shimoga-tirthalli.html) 

The sanctum sanctorum ... look at the greenery behind ... (photo: http://gandhadaguditravels.blogspot.in/2013/11/bangalore-arasikere-shimoga-tirthalli.html)

  

The inner courtyard of the temple ... (both photos: http://www.indiamike.com/india/karnataka-f38/fishes-of-tunga-t213113/)

Steps leading to the river ... and the fish ... those moss covered walls ... (photo: http://gandhadaguditravels.blogspot.in/2013/11/bangalore-arasikere-shimoga-tirthalli.html)

And what about the fish … ha ha … see for yourself …

This part of the river is teeming with fish ... and I think they survive entirely on mandakki-murmura-pori which the temple visitors diligently feed them with ... when the mandakki is thrown into the waters, there is heavy jostling and the water becomes a roiling mass of fish ... you can see them near the bottom of the steps trying to suck in the mandakki ... some of these are really huge ... more than 4 kilos each ... Shubha surmised that these are some kind of Catfish, going by their 'moustache' on either side of their mouths ... 

That's Teju and Appa testing the waters, hoping to lure the fish into nibbling their toes ... he he ... 

So, that's that about Chibbalagudde ... tucked in among the green hills and beside the river ...