Trip to Gokak

On Thursday (May 31st) Eva, Shiva, Uncle, and I traveled to Gokak. Gokak, where Shiva and his 11 siblings grew up, is a city about 60 miles from Dharward. However, being as India moves at a different pace than the States (the trip one direction takes about three hours) we left early in the morning and returned late in the evening. The roads were bumpy and busy with buses, cars, trucks, and wagons full of sugar cane/corn pulled by cows, motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, people, goats, sheep, and a few dogs. I was able to see a great deal of Indian countryside and a few small villages on the way. Transportation here is a bit crazy but we arrived to Gokak safely. After a cold drink (the car has no AC and India is hot) at the Gokak Resort (a story all its own) we visited a temple up in the mountains. The “mountains” remind me of the badlands of South Dakota rather than the mountains of Colorado or Alaska.

To get to the temple we had to climb many steps, Eva and I were a bit concerned about Shiva and Uncle. On the trek up we were accompanied by lots of monkeys :) Uncle brought some coconuts and various things for puja (prayer/offering). The monkeys being rather clever and accustomed to guests bringing food snuck up behind Shiva and actually ripped a bag of rice open. Before we knew it a whole gathering of monkeys were feasting on the steps. When we reached to top we explored the temple a bit, took in the view, looked at all the monkeys, and observed puja.

After the temple we continued to Adubathi- the village closest to the farm owned by Eva’s family. The road was dirt and washed out so we walked most of the way. Once in the village we again visited the temple so Uncle could make an offering. I’m not sure how many people live in Adubathi or how frequently they have visitors (especially white visitors) but we developed a small following of children on our way through town. The homes were modest, with cattle in what I would call the front porch, and little kids everywhere. In the river near the temple women were washing clothes on rocks and some little kids were swimming/bathing. I took some pictures of the children and showed them on my digital camera- they laughed.

We walked down another dirt road to the farm house Eva’s family built in 2000. Her family still owns the land but has hired a family to farm it. We sat with the family living there for a bit. It appeared to be a man and his wife, their son and his wife, and the son’s children. The farm was peaceful and a drastic contrast to the hot car and crowded streets we had come from. After a short visit and some pictures we returned to Gokak for lunch and a visit to the home Shiva grew up in. On the way we got stuck in a traffic jam = sitting in a hot car for 45 minutes with the sun beating down and lots of Indian men yelling in a language I don’t understand :) We then went through the market where vegetables, fruits, and all sorts of spices are sold by weight. The streets were lined with local farmers who had brought their goods to town in large bags and spread them out in the street- Thursday is bizarre day in Gokak.

The home was built in 1900 by the family and Shiva’s eldest brother’s wife lives there with her children and grandchildren. The house was about 4 rooms w/an attic where everyone slept. Shiva shared storied about growing up there with his 11 siblings. Shiva and all of his siblings were delivered at home- he showed us the room (just next to the kitchen). The crib, which was used for about 40 children, is still in the house- it is wooden and hangs by hooks and chains from the ceiling. Shiva said it was not uncommon for mother and daughter/ daughter-in-law to be delivering at the same time- I suppose if one woman has 12 children. We had tea with Eva’s cousin as her Aunt had left for a pilgrimage up north and not yet returned. Then it was back in the car for the journey home- we took a different route this time and thankfully it was a bit smoother.