Our journey to study Coorg’s heritage takes us on a spiritual quest – atop mountains, inside forests and coffee estates and by the river side. There are temples etched in the cultural landscape of the Kodavas, some of which never find mention in any religious text.

The Iguthuppa Temple. Picture Courtesy: Lakshmi Sharath.

It is misty as we climb a small hilltop to the ‘Padi Iguthuppa’ temple in Kakkabe, Coorg. The bells start ringing the moment we enter the temple, as a gentle breeze blows from the rolling hills around. A group of ‘Kodava’ women enter and speak with the priest, Kush Bhat, who welcomes us and insists that we stay for lunch. “No one comes to the Iguthuppa temple and goes away without eating lunch,” he says. He explains that the word ‘Iguthappa’ implies a provider of food, and this deity is a form of ‘Subramanya’ or ‘Muruga’, the son of Shiva.

The Iguthappa temple. Picture Courtesy: Lakshmi Sharath.

“Close your eyes and ask Iguthappa whatever you want… If you have faith, you will get the same,” says Kush Bhatt, adding that centuries back, Shiva and Subramanya came here and loved the hills so much that they decided to settle down in this region. The temple is known to feed anyone who visits it, and all pilgrims offer food, and not money to the deity. “Iguthappa told the people of Coorg that you will never go hungry as long as I’m here, and if you accept me as your God,” explains the priest. Some call him a saint, others say he is one of the four brothers who settled in the hills around the area. But despite the legends, every festival of the Kodavas starts with the invocation of Iguthappa, the most important temple festival being ‘Tulabharam’.

The Iguthappa temple. Picture Courtesy: Lakshmi Sharath.

We also visit another Iguthappa temple in ‘Naljee’ inside a forest, through a lush coffee plantation. There is not a soul around and it is peaceful just listening to the sounds of the forest. These monuments are probably lost to the average tourist, but as a traveler, I realize that one finds sanctity in the silence around them.

Lakshmi Sharath

Lakshmi Sharath is a media professional and a travel writer. She has written for several publications including in flight magazines and local newspapers. She has been a travel blogger for the last 4 years and her blog, A travel blog of an Indian backpacker is very popular.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 22nd, 2010 at 6:14 PM and is filed under Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.