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Pretty as a picture
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Unravel Kasargod district's best-kept secret - Possadi Gumpe
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THE MOMENT I ask for Possadi Gumpe, curious glances are cast my way. "Do you mean Gumpe? Where are you from?" a middle-aged man asks me. I have given myself away by asking for Possadi Gumpe. For the natives here, it is just Gumpe.
I have already travelled more than 20 km from Kasaragod town towards Manjeswaram to reach Banthiyodu. "You will have to wait for two hours for the bus to arrive," the middle-aged man says, as he signals towards a jeep. All of us who alight from the bus get into the jeep. The middle-aged man introduces himself as Khader, an arecanut grower.
Arecanuts galore
The road to Gumpe is lined on either side by arecanut trees. We soon reach a junction. All the passengers get out of the jeep, except Khader, his driver-son, and me. "This is the last bus stop. You will have to walk five km to reach the top of the hillock."
No way! I find myself ill equipped to take up the challenge. My anguish is quite visible and Khader suggests with a smile: "How about proceeding in the jeep?"
I hesitate, thinking it must be a ploy to fool tourists and make money. After all, the driver of the jeep is Khader's son. But I take up his offer and we leave behind motorable roads and the final signs of human habitation.
The last stretch of the road to Gumpe has a trail of green on the left. The road soon veers round a gorge and the journey is no breeze. Small rivulets criss-cross the bumpy road, ensuring the jeep ride is not all that pleasant. But, the surroundings make up for all that.
It's been half-an-hour since we started off and the scenery changes like a series of picture post cards.
Picturesque locale
The temperature falls as we reach the biggest hillock, which is 1,000 km above sea level. The nearby hillocks are carpeted in velvety green. Looking around, I feel I'm in picturesque Switzerland. I suddenly spot dark specks in the distance - cattle grazing on the slopes. And, atop a nearby hillock, stands a lonely hut.
"It is an ashram," Khader says. The signboards and bricks heaped alongside the hillside suggest that more ashrams are in the pipeline.
Power lines and the huge towers that dot the countryside are the only signs of human presence in the area. I spend an hour at Gumpe before reluctantly getting back into the jeep. I'm ready to shell out any amount of money for this tête-à-tête with nature. But, Khader smiles and says: "Don't worry about the fare. You are our guest. Hurry up. Here comes the bus."
I climb aboard and Khader waves a goodbye. The father and son fade into the mist along with the stunning valleys of Gumpe. The same spirit of beauty seems to pervade both the land and its people.
MANU REMAKANT
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Metro Plus
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