Part II

Venturing to New Frontiers

Under a huge tree in a regenerating forest

On the second day we went out up the Western Ghats to Agumbe and trekked to a wonderfully picturesque view point. The trek was short but gave a feel of the forest. Geetha madam had a field day in interpreting the local flora and their adaptations.

To begin the boys formed a separate team

Apart from the view point we had been to Jogi gundi falls en-route there was a brief encounter with leaches. As it had not sufficiently rained in the region the falls was not as picturesque as it would have been during the rainy season. The splash zone didn’t exist and all the rocks were bone dry to explain certain form flora and fauna. However there was a good representation of the ferns and other teridophytes.

 

The girls kept for themselves

The following day we set off to a village called Mala, situated just outside the Kudremukh National Park. Tucked in the thickly wooded slopes of the southern face of Kurinjaal Peak of the Kudremukh range are a cluster of houses very sparsely distributed that forms a village.

This obscure village is now almost devoid of proper dwellers in it. For the past two decades it had turned out to be a sort of old age home as the younger generations got educated and found lucrative jobs across the seas. 

Lessons in the valley of Ferns

When the aging parents felt it hard to continue on the farm they wanted to leave the place. Some sold of their properties and some of them have simply abandoned theirs. A group of artists from Udapi have purchased a couple of properties and restored the old and traditional houses on them. Having done so, over the past five years, they are working to convert the place into an Art Village. While restoring the old wooden houses is itself a herculean task, they have collected hundreds of priceless artifacts of the region. They range from utensils and household things to brass idols of gods and demons. Also they have conducted numerous art workshops involving tribal artists of the Bastar region from Madhya Pradesh and Chathisghad.

In the Dream village of Artist, Activist Purushotham Adave

When our convoy of thirty plus went into this dream village, there were thirty more children hailing from cities like Bangalore, Pune and Bombay attending a summer camp there. The beautiful house with its lush green surrounding typically resembled the house of any successful artist of Europe or France. The summer camp was theater based and   obviously noisy. Our timing was perfect for their tea break. For a minute nothing was in order. We found it hard to put our children together for any instruction. It had rained for half an hour yet the temperature and humidity was unbearable. We all sat in the large courtyard of the traditional tottimane.

The brainstorming about the concept of  Roots and nativity

Artist Purushotham Avade introduced his dream project and invited one of the elderly native to narrate the history of the place. We were offered with a glass of musk melon juice after which we had a quick guided tour round the art collection and the pavilion where artisans and artists were on their works.

Many children were upon a discussion about the next camp site for Manu Sir’s camp. Some naughty fellow must have dropped a grape wine. The wisdom of the native, the adventurous spirit of the youthful artist was nothing but a source of inspiration for every young mind. The children may not have perceived that fact in its totality but the greenery around is so soothing and simply inviting.

A tribal artisan demonstrating his skills

The small single teacher school would be shut in the forth coming academic year due to lack of students in it. While the teacher of this school hailing from the Northern district is happy to pack off this place but Purushotham and friends are seriously considering retaining the school for the services of the natives. The community here was originally Male Kudias and then the Marata Brahamins who came in a centaury and half ago settled here.In the sixties when India’s Development era began people from Tamil Nadu were drawn as laborers for various developmental works in the region.

An artist from Delhi upon his terracotta work.

The formation of Kudremukh National park and the restriction imposed upon the local community thereafter is also one of the major factors for the abandonment of the village. Those who would not resist will leave the place. But those who have no place to go would struggle to survive. Lack of amenities, harassment by the Naxal movement and more so by the Anti Naxal Police has put their peace in jeopardy.