Day trippin' in Karwar 07

It was a Wednesday night, the 31st of October, 9.00pm that twenty seven eager and youthful women set out on a day trip to Karwar from Bapuji Hostel for Women, DVG. We traveled by two safaris, watching movies, girl-talking, and of course catching those winks of precious sleep!
We wound along the (10km Ghat section) bends and turns and reached Karwar at 4.50am on the first of November,2007. Karnataka must be proud that we made it a point to explore the expanse of her natural magnificence on the day of Rajyotsava. As the inspection bungalow we were scheduled to rest at was not going to be opened until 8am, we headed to a nearby hall suggested by Akshata's uncles( Akshata being our classmate and a local who accompanied us on the trip). There, we thought we would welcome the sunrise on the beach so we decided to leave at 5.3am. Although not ungrateful, i would like to express my dissent, for girls who chose this very time to be lethargic, and pamper themselves! (We left the hall only at 6.15am)
Akshata was a huge help herself, but her uncles deserve special mention. They woke up at 3.30am for us, and accompanied us to all places and gave us a memorable guided tour. Even foregoing their breakfast in our hullabaloo, they wore a broad and welcoming smile on their faces all through. Although I am unaware of their names, or professions, in a way it is significant that they made an impression on my mind! Maybe, all we need to be is a good human being to be remembered!
Being our day, even the sun willed to linger longer behind the clouds before we could watch her glow into her surreal self. We stood on a bridge- to one side of which was Kalinadi, and the other, the Arabian Sea. We were narrated a story about the pilgrimage of pujaris and idols on a single banana leaf each year from a temple on the Kalinadi side to a cave temple in a hill called Aamegudda(turtle rock) in the Arabian Sea. Apparently, many have perished in this attempt but the faith keeps this tradition alive. They say, it must be written in the sands of your destiny to make that journey.
Karwar looked delightfully calm, contented and serene from that bridge. The bridge itself was unique as the Sadashivagudda was cut through, in order to make it! It rattled beneath our feet when a heavy vehicle crossed it, so i would think it must have been quite old. Karwar, as a secular Indian town, boasted of a Lakshmi Devi temple atop the Sadashivagudda, and a mosque at the foot of the hill, hence pilgrims offering prayers to one, also bow to another, and give each the reverence one man has for his own.
For almost an hour, we watched awestruck by the beauty of the sunrise, which we watched from dawn till the time that the water shone like it was kissed by specks of eternal light, fluttering but only to appear in another ripple nearby.
Breakfast, was at a small hotel called Poornima, where the papery dosas and the bland sambhar wasn't the best we'd had, but with a promising encounter with the rapturous sea, we politely downed it.
After this, we drove to the Tilamati Beach, a 20km drive, and we stayed there till about 12.30pm. The sands at Karwar are distinct from those at Madras, in that, it is firm and steeply sloping, the water too literally crashes into the rocks ashore. The rocks were of a deep black stone variety, solid and some were jagged edged while others were smooth topped.
We did a mini-trek of about 2km to reach a secluded beach in this place. We made our way up, and down a hill looking over the sea. Breathtaking views, gullies dangerously overhanging the sea, crevasses on the rocks, varieties of butterflies, hay-coloured grass growing over the hill on one side, lush green bushes on another, were some of the wonderful things we managed to catch a glimpse of.
Once we reached the beach, we were overcome by the urge to rollick in the water and never return. Here, we let loose, 'bum-blocked' the mighty waves coming our way, played ring-a-roses, felt and acted silly and as child- like as we could be, punctuated by snatches of glorious photography looking sunbathed and gorgeous. We saw huge crab gatherings, sea birds etc here, which were both frightening and amusing!
It was with much reluctance that we left the beach and trudged back on that 2km trail. Skies blue and clear above, as compared to the cloudy overview early that morning. Humidity and the sun-soaking made us exhaust our stores of energy!
We said our goodbyes to the crabs, loving rocks and the wondrous sea, and made our way back to the town with the intention of visiting another beach at Karwar.
This time we went to the inspection bungalow, with 27 of us having to bathe in 2 bathrooms, a morning repeat didn't do us much good. The luxurious use of conditioner by one, and indulgent bathing by another, and it was 3.30pm by the time we were ready for lunch. Hence, most big hotels in the town, were closed or not serving lunch at that time. Our growing appetites did not let us submit, and it willed we would not go without a sumptuous meal, and so we managed to research a certain Shanti Sagar that was willing to serve us lunch at around 4pm.
Supposed to be purely vegetarian, was situated right next to a fish market, and had much of the same odour at its entrance. The accommodating nature of our hunger at that point wouldn't jump to criticism for our Annadaatha. It wasn't a spectacular lunch-Pooris, cabbage curry, rice, suji halwa(an unfortunate reminder of our hostel mess) but our hunger supplemented by an insufficient breakfast, and the water games, led us to a hearty meal. The sev puris in my opinion, were delicious!
That evening, after lunch, we went to Karwar Beach, rode on a camel named Kaajal!, and had the privilege of watching the sun go down into her sea-home against a picturesque horizon. From the beach we saw the port of Karwar, the light house, the Konkan Railway line etc. We took a 15min toy train ride encircling the war-ship museum on the beach.
The war-ship museum was an enchanting place. It is actually an old war-ship that has been converted into a museum for the benefit of the public, so we can see the actual interior of her majesty! We were first shown a video of the story of the pioneer naval attacks during the Indo-Pak war of 1971, which won our Naval Force much respect and admiration. Frankly, I didn't see too much victory in bombing a ship to watch men go down, but the strategy employed was indeed meticulous.
The engine room boasted of 4800Horse Power, 35 propellers, and the power of 75cars put together. The life-like replicas of men aboard, were really amusing, ex-the waiter sahib outside the kitchen, the typical officers! The different parts of the ship were enlightening to my amateur eye! It looked really cool, massive, intricate and intact! Thinking of her at sea set our minds ablaze! So much so that I forgot my wallet at the steering wheel on deck! Luckily to my relief, noone else had noticed it when i rushed back to search for it, and thus making my search fruitful!
I have to narrate the use of technology in my life, with regards to this incident. It was about ten minutes after we left the war-ship that I realised to my horror, that i had left my wallet in the ship! But it was a photo of myself holding the wallet, that helped me navigate my way through the huge place, and know for sure that I'd lost it somewhere after that point, which made my search surer and quicker!
While the non-vegetarians ate the famed seafood at Hotel Amrut, we dined at Hotel Sai International. It was not insipid, but not a treat to our taste buds either. The non-vegetarians too, I was told, were not taste-bud tantalised!
Anyway, all in all, we had a fun girls day out, and a break from the monotony of our lives. We left Karwar at 9pm and were put through a rocky, heart in mouth drive back home to DVG, with a rash and sleepy driver, homely irritation, and annoying idiosyncrasies we melted back into once it had registered that our destination and purposes were different-Friday college!
I only wish, the next time, we spent our time imbibing the air of the place rather than being absorbed in ourselves, and losing precious time in moments and places far and few, like this Dakshin Kashmir in R.B Tagore's words.

My overall rating of the place: 3 stars, maybe if i had seen more, 4
My advice: Visit more places, and be time efficient, visit Murudeshwar and other nearby locales! Goa was only an hr away!