A long overdue visit to say hello to Subbu
Kukke Subramanya is a Hindu temple located in the village Subramanya, of Kadaba taluk in Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, India. In this temple Kartikeya is worshipped as Subramanya, lord of all serpents. Source: Wikipedia
Lord Subramanya is the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi. He has a famous brother — Lord Ganesha.
I think of all Gods as friends. So I refer to them all fondly with shorter and cuter names. Subramanya is Subbu. Venkateshwara is Venky. Ganesha is Ganu. Shiva is Shiva — can’t imagine how to shorten an already short name.
A visit to Subbu at Kukke was on our minds for a while. We suddenly realized that now was a perfect time to go; we hopped into our car and sped off. It was an approximately 7-hour drive, including food and restroom breaks. In addition, we stopped briefly to click pictures of the beautiful landscape that was laid out in front of us.
The first stop was for breakfast at an amazing South Indian breakfast joint near Kunigal. I enjoyed a very delicious sprouts and onion dosa. It was as tasty as it looked.
There were many water bodies and lakes sprinkled all over the route. We could not stop at each one because we had a destination to reach before the afternoon. But we did stop at this one. It was gorgeous. We spent a beautiful half-hour pottering about and soaking in the sights.
The floor under the tree was covered with pretty honge flowers and some variant of jasmine.
After much gushing over the beauty that suddenly granted us a view, we drive on. I was sleepy but had to keep my eyes open lest I miss any part of the blue skies, green and brown countryside, misty mountains, kind-looking cows, pretty little village homes, amazing lakes with breathtaking reflections, and oh, everything. I could not afford to close my eyes even for a second.
Soon we were in Kukke and all set to meet Subbu. But first, we had to finish important things such as lunch and stretching our legs after that long drive.
We were ready to visit Subbu by about 5:30 pm. The temple is beautiful by morning light, afternoon light, evening light, and by night. Yes, yes, I am a fan. Look at the colors in the picture below. What’s not to like?
By the grace of Subbu, the temple was not too crowded, and we were able to soak in the Lord to our heart’s content. There is something magical about temples in South India, with their dark interiors lit only with the steady glow of oil lamps. It evokes a goose-bumpy feeling. When the mangalarathi is being done, and the temple bells are ringing, the energy one feels is inexplicable.
Subbu’s temple did not disappoint. Despite a throng of devotees pressing from all sides to get a glimpse of the deity by the light of the arthi, I was overwhelmed by the feeling coursing through my veins at that time.
We finished offering prayers, came out, and ran into Yeshaswi. She is the cutest thing ever. Many temples in South India have an elephant attached to the temple. Yeshaswi belongs to Subbu. She was standing outside looking so kind and gentle and blessing everyone with her trunk for a small fee. I don’t know for how long I stood there staring at her with a smile on my face before my husband gently reminded me that we had other things to do.
We had dinner at one of the local restaurants and were on time to witness a mini rathotsava. The Lord was taken for a small walk outside in the beautiful chariot. The entire procession was led by none other than my new crush, Yeshaswi. There was so much festivity and excitement in the air. We felt lucky to have witnessed something like this.
Having traveled so far, it was not ok to meet Subbu just once. We decided to rise early the next morning and visit him again.
The temple looked ethereal in the morning light. We met Subbu and spent some quality time with him. I had much to request him for. I provided him my list in person and came away feeling happy that he had listened despite being so busy.
Too soon, it was time to leave. We said bye to Subbu and started our journey home via a different route which was no less beautiful.
Two days and one night — a beautiful drive, a blissful ‘darshan’ of Subbu, and so many photos to serve as memories of a short but super pleasant trip!
Anu Anniah Writes 