Aversa and Ankola

Date: 2nd April, 2006.
Location: Aversa, Karnataka.

After a long drive from Pune, which started at 5:30 a.m., we could finally see the setting sun while decending over the ghats at Ankola at about 5:00 p.m. It had been a long, hot day. All was going well till afternoon 1:00 p.m. We had made it to Dharwad on that awesome, newly constructed 4-lane highway (NH-4) from Pune. We had our lunch break at a restaurant by the highway. Then came the mistaken detour.

The board said "Panaji - 340 Kms" and we took it. But as our luck would have it, it turned out to be some stupid state highway running through a jungle. The roads were bad and in stark contrast to the highway we had just been zipping on. Speeds were low and tempers were high. 2 hours later the road met a National highway again (I donot recall the number). This was freshly laid and low on traffic (as it was passing through a forest reserve). I must say, what happened for the next one hour was just venting out of frustration on the road. A quick run on this highway ensured that we recovered some of the lost ground (and time). Soon enough we reached Yellapur (NH-65) and by 4:45 p.m., we were approaching Ankola. By 5:20 p.m., we were there. At Aversa. Finally.

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Aversa

Latitude - 14.73
Longitude - 74.30
Population - 19000 (Approx.)

Source :http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/19/Aversa.html

Significance of this town (to me) is that it has a temple dedicated to our kuldevta. This temple was originally built in 1518 by devotees, who migrated from Banavalli (in Goa) for the fear of being converted. Another legend is that a sea-faring merchant was in peril of losing his ship at sea with all his goods. He made a promise that he would rebuild/renovate the temple (which was dedicated to his kuldevta). He was miraculously saved and he kept his promise. The ceiling is in the shape of a upside-down boat. Part of this ceiling is visible in the picture below.

The deities at the temple are Shri Katyayani & Shri Baneshwar.

Then there is a beautiful idol of Shree Ganesha just outside the room housing the idol of Shri Baneshwar. Although I could not catch a picture of the main idol, I managed to get this one (embossed in silver).


Tired looking though, my mom and dad outside the temple.

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Ankola - A View from the road.
As the NH-17 passes through Ankola, it offers a breathtaking view of the region. Paddy fields, small villages, river, et al. The road winds at the base of the Western ghats and runs next to a river for quite some time (I don't know the name of the river)...

... then finally crosses over it. The crossover bridge is shown in the snap below.


And the fields on the river bank...


The country side is lush green.


There were few small rural households to be seen. A simple contraption for irrigating the fields (in teh foreground).


I have been through this place many times. And each time, this place facinates me. The beauty of this place is in its serenity. And may be that comes from the fact that there is nothing made out of concrete (with the exception of the bridge).

Disclaimer: This post contains contents which are relevent to Hindu religion. This is just a travelouge and is not to be construed as a religious propoganda. Some of the text contents here have been sourced from the internet. The relevent links to the sources have been duly mentioned.