Karkala Cake – The Wheat Halwa

 

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ike Mysore has its Pak, Dharwad its Peda, Tirunalveli its Halwa, Karkala too has a delicacy to its credit.  Karkala Cake!   Who doesn’t love cakes?  However, a Cake lover’s jaws will drop to find a sweet dark pudding look-alike for a cake without the customary baking. Soon the initial disappointment will give way to ecstasy once you sink your teeth into it, albeit reluctantly.  A die-hard cake fan too may find it irresistible!

     How this whole wheat flour halwa, came to be known as Karkala Cake, is still a mystery.  Some say the humble small hotels in Karkala, invented this easy to whip-up economical delicacy. It has succeeded in acquiring a mouth watering spot in menus at various functions, be it big or small. The humble delicacy can compete with any dessert if prepared properly.

     All you need to prepare Karkala Cake is equal amounts of wheat flour, ghee and sugar with some broken cashew nuts and raisins.

      Heat some ghee in a frying pan; add cashew nuts and then raisins. Once fried take them out and keep aside.  Add some more ghee to the same pan and heat it. Add a cup of whole wheat flour to it and fry. Keep stirring. The wheat flour starts emanating a nice aroma as the colour changes. Keep stirring for some more time. Add one and a half cup of hot water to the wheat flour on a slow flame. Care should be taken so as no lump is formed.  It turns into a sticky mass. Now add a cup of sugar and stir. Add some more ghee, if required. Stir until the mass starts leaving the surface of the pan. Add cardamom powder and garnish with cashew nuts and raisins.

Durga Falls – For a Monsoon Outing

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urga village is a hilly terrain, a little away from Karkala.  As you approach the little hamlet in the lap of the Western Ghats, the vegetation turns thicker.  The name Durga could have been originated from the word durgama in Sanskrit, connoting hard to venture into.  Yes, in those non-motor days, the village would have been a totally cut off remote dwelling.  Thanks to the development, is has not remained so now.

     Durga Waterfall, on the course of River Swarna that originates in the Western Ghat, is one of the magnets that attracts nature lovers and revelers alike to the village.  On its course downstream, Swarna flows through a vast rugged rock expanse, offering a visual delight in the monsoon and the ensuing few months.  Popularly known as Durga Falls, it in fact is not a waterfall, but the water surges on those rocks with force.  Nonetheless, the charm is no less.

     As the water makes its way through the obstructing rocks, it appears to dance with a snowy white hue.  The pleasant burble offers a perfect background.

     As the spot is parallel to the tarmac road, one can enjoy the beauty sitting in the vehicle also.  Situated five kilometers from the town, away from the hustle bustle, it is an ideal spot to unwind on a monsoon evening.  A few film makers too have found the locale charming enough to shoot a couple of scenes.

     On the bank, there is a small enclosed structure informing about the conduct of the post death rituals.

     However, the serene spot has already borne the brunt of the mindless picnicking. It is disappointing to see empty bottles, containers and packets of eatables and other trash strewn at some pockets. 

    

Mahalaxmi Shenoy - Music is her Mantra

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er parents are ardent aficionados of music.  Their passion and the musically charged environment at home kindled a spark for music in their little daughter since the age of three.  It was like imbibing music passively.  Today young Mahalaxmi Shenoy is a name to reckon with in the field of Hindustani classical music.  The prodigy from a small town Karkala is scaling new heights with the music that has its roots in the north.  She is literally going places.

     Her parents recognized her inclination early in her childhood and let her pursue her passion wholeheartedly.  Little Mahalaxmi began her musical journey by learning Carnatic genre. However, a concert by Mohan Veena exponent Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt at Karkala under the aegis of the local Shastreeya Sangeet Sabha in 1997, the driving force of which is her father Dr Prakash Shenoy, a cardiologist, held her in awe about Hindustani music.  Then itself as an 11-year-old, she had found her calling.  Hence she switched to Hindustani music. 

     After the initial training at her hometown, she came under the tutelage of Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, a recipient of Padma Bhushan and the Grammy Award.  She used to travel as far as Jaipur during her vacations and her learning with him still continues.  The nuances learnt from him made her what she is today - one of the most sough-after young artiste.  She is also a Sangeet Visharad from Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya. “Impressed by a Bhajan sung by me as a three-and-a half-year-old little girl, my spiritual guru the late Sri Sudheendra Theertha of Kashi Math had foreseen a bright future for me in the field “, reminisces the devout vocalist. She believes it is his blessing that has led her so far.

     A kirana gharana singer, she is open to the positive aspects of all gharanas.  Listening to the exponents in the field has helped her perfect the skill.  She is a great admirer of Begum Parveen Sultana of Patiala gharana, the queen of classical vocal.  Mahalaxmi’s blemish-free voice, intonation and agile rendition catapulted her to different platforms, they being higher every time.

     The child prodigy’s concert odyssey started with a performance in 1999 and she has given more than 1500 concerts since. Sankat Mochan Sangeet Samaroh and Guru Shishya Utsav at Varanasi, Pt. Jithendra Abhisheki Sangeet Utsav, Panaji, Salt Lake Festival, Kolkata, Late Panchakshari Gavayi Music Festival, Baba Hariwallabh Sangeet Sammelan, Jalandhar, Sa Ma Pa Sangeet Sammelan New Delhi, Sawai Gandharv Sangeet Samaroh and Nadgir Waade Sangeet Mahotsav, Kundagol, Ananya, Arohi and Saptak in Bangalore, are just a few prestigious events from her long list of concerts. Not only she has widely travelled in the country but also performed in Dubai, UAE, Germany and gave a series of concerts in the USA.

     Equally proficient in light and devotional music, she sings Kannada, Konkani songs with élan apart from Meera Bhajans and Marathi Abhangs.  She has composed music for over 1000 songs. Proficiency laced with devotion is the hall mark of her renditions.  Her rendition of a Konkani song of light music genre, Yore pora amgele ghara … penned by R D Kamath and composed by Pt. Vasanth Kanakapure has turned out to be her USP  over the years, albeit inadvertently.   Mahalaxmi’s music is synonymous with this song on child Krishna set in the raag Ahir Bhairav.  “Many memories keep gushing when I think of the song. It has a spellbinding impact on all, be it toddler, young children or mothers,”   she chuckles.

     Sitar maestro Pt. Ravishankar, the guru of Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt had attended one of her 20 concerts in the USA.  Despite wheelchair-bound then, he wanted to listen to the disciple of his disciple. “I had the huge responsibility of upholding the reputation of my guru. It was a real test for me. Panditji’s words of encouragement, however, had put    me in ease,” says Mahalaxmi recalling the incident. 

     Her performance at Kundagol, at the Wade of Sawai Gandharva, an all time doyen of Hindustani music, to a gathering of seasoned artistes and connoisseurs of music was a “divine experience beyond words”.  But she does not forget to add that each performance is unique and an experience in itself.

     She has, to her credit, many albums in Konkani, Kannada, Hindi and Marathi such as Anagha, Guru guna gana, Eddu baro Ranga, Krishnarpana, Yore Badarayana,  Meera, Vasudeva ganamala and Guru namana.  For some she has composed and sung also, and in some she has lent voice. In Vivekanand ko Sangeetanjali she has joined other artistes.

     Though firmly rooted in the classical tradition, Mahalaxmi is not averse to experiments. Recently she came up with a presentation with an ensemble of young instrumental artistes of both Hindustani and Carnatic genres with her vocal rendition. It’s going from the higher altar of classical music to patriotic song with many variations like light music, folk song, movie song in between.

      Several prestigious honours like Surmani, from Sur Singar Samsad, Mumbai, Abhinav Kala Sanman, Bhopal, Bhaktidhara from Bhajanamruta, Chennai, Malhar Manishi from Malhar for Rains, Ajmer and many more are in her kitty. With so much of achievement and recognition, doesn’t she feel complacent? A humble Mahalaxmi admits, “My achievement is just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much to fathom into.” Music is a life time commitment for the performer. 

     It’s nothing but music which is the heart and soul of this double postgraduate in Social Work as well as Counselling and Psychotherapy. “Once you are into a creative field like music you would find every other profession a bit monotonous. With music you are at peace with yourself,” she opines.

      The singer who has transformed into a seasoned artiste over the years is completely in agreement with what her guru says that music is the gift of god for the benefit of mankind. Bestowed with that gift, Mahalaxmi’s is working to touch the soul of people. She has chosen music as her medium. Yes, it’s a kind of therapy. 

Lava-Kusha Jodukare Kambala at Miyar

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on’t miss the Lava-Kusha Jodukare Kambala at Miyar held in early January every year.  A perfect adrenalin fill as you enter the new year.

Kambala is a traditional sport held for centuries in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka and the adjoining Kasaragod district of Kerala. It’s buffalo race on slushy tracks. The Kambala season heralds in the month of November and draws to a close in March every year.  Many Kambalas are held at various places in this period, however, a few of them are just ritualistic.

Traditional Kambalas were held by temples, landlords and some influential families as a ritual to propitiate the deities. Besides it was an entertainment in the agrarian community. However, the Kambalas have undergone a sea change  in recent years.

The folk ritualistic event has transformed today into a professionally organized sport.  The single track non-competitive event has turned out to be a competition among hundreds of pairs of buffaloes. Coconuts, bananas, lemons and beetle leaves with arecanut given away as prizes have given way to gold and silver medals besides cash prizes.  Kambalas have no more remained the prerogative of influential landlords as they are being organized through committees in many places.  Meantime the robust game had to cross many legal hurdles too.

Interestingly, the Kambalas held at different places are given names based on closely associated personalities or entities like Lava-Kusha, Soorya-Chandra, Kanthabaare-Boodabaare, Koti –Chennaya etc.

Lava Kusha Kambala

The seeds for the present day Kambala were sown at Lava Kusha Kambala way back in 1969-70, though it was held at Bajagoli about six kilometers away from the present venue Miyar. True to its name Lava-Kusha, the Kambala infused fresh air into the traditional sport.  The Kambala buffaloes were brought to artificially laid slushy tracks from the traditional paddy fields.  Two parallel tracks were laid, setting the stage for competition between two pairs of buffaloes.  Henceforth the events came to be known as Jodukare Kambalas denoting twin track buffalo race.  Kambalas continued well into the late night under flood lights. Winning buffaloes were awarded medals. However, the entry was not free.

It was a great disappointment when the Kambala of this scale discontinued for some reason. People never expected such a fate to the gala event.  A committee was formed with the local MLA as the ex-officio chairperson.  Five acres of land was identified at Miyar, the village adjoining Bajagoli for the annual event. Kambala was revived and is being conducted in a grand scale from the last fifteen years. Mangalore-based Navodaya Grama Vikas Charitable Trust too is involved in the successful conduct of the game.  Thus Lava-Kusha Kambala became people’s Kambala.

The area is developed using various funds from the State government. No other Kambala field perhaps has a gallery for an easy glimpse of the event.  Yajamanara Chavadi is constructed for the benefit of the owners of the buffaloes, for whom, rearing buffaloes is a matter of pride and prestige.  The Kambala buffaloes are expensive and their upkeep too is a costly affair.

The action front

It is pairs of well-fed decked up buffaloes everywhere at the venue along with the attendants. Utmost care is taken to see to it that their buffaloes do not suffer even slightest discomfort. The men accompanying the buffaloes wait with their laid back buffaloes until their turn. They are fed at frequent intervals.

Witnessing Kambala is an experience beyond words. The beasts are brought to the track upon their turn. Getting them ready for the race, they are caressed and cajoled once they are on the track.  They are let loose as the cues go, along with the jockey to the cheers and whistles of the equally enthusiastic audience. The loud cheers literally drown the commentary in the background.  The race is over just in seconds covering 145-metre distance on the slushy track ! The accompanying jockeys are no less.

The competitions are held in categories like negilu- where plough is tied to the yoke; hagga – a rope is tied;  adda halage- a wooden plank is attached to the yoke on which the jockey stands; kane halage- a wooden block attached to the yoke on which the jockey keeps his one leg. In adda halage and kane halage, the winner is decided by the level of water splashed above.  More than 150 pairs of buffaloes are brought to the Kambala. Thousands of Kambala enthusiasts descend on Miyar, a hamlet a little away from Karkala, on the occasion of Kambala.

Laser beam network system is used at the finishing point to avoid any error in judgement. Videos and electronic timer too are in vogue to decide the winner in many other Kambalas.

The Kambala Protection Committee

The petition by the People for Ethical Treatment Animals (PETA) and the subsequent court rulings, once threatened the very conduct of Kambala. But an ordinance from the President of India has enabled the conduct of  Kambala albeit with a rider that buffaloes should not be hurt in the process. In this backdrop came up the Kambala Protection, Maintenance and Training Academy operating out of Miyar. It conducts annual camps for jockeys wherein they are trained on various aspects such as physical fitness of themselves and the buffaloes as well, upkeep of buffaloes and making equipments for the Kambala. Though buffalo jockeys used to be uneducated youth earlier, today it attracts educated youth also for the thrill it offers and the money as well.

A survey based on the opinions from select respondents concluded that the Lava-Kusha Kambala is the second best such event in the region. And that says all.