We
step down from Talguppa Express onto the platform of Shivamogga Town Railway
Station at 5am. Still adjusting to the light after a short night’s sleep, I
squint at the illuminated minarets of a nearby mosque.
My
husband and I hail an autorickshaw to traverse the 10 kilometres to
Mattur—popularly known as Sanskrit Gram. It is Eid-e-Milad today. Shivamogga is
decorated with strings of tiny green bulbs twined over trees and networks of suspended
green prayer-flags which seem to bring crescent moons and stars closer to the
earth. The only constant sound is the vroom of our rickshaw. For the last few kilometres
to Mattur, the dark road becomes narrower, as if squeezed by the areca nut and
coconut plantations on both sides.
Our
destination, sans sufficient street lights and signboards, is at a missable
turn. We have a room reservation at Sanskrit Bhavan adjoining Sharda Vilas School.
We are welcomed by an illuminated statue of the Goddess of Learning, poised and
decked-up for our early morning arrival. The Bhavan houses four spartan rooms
(named after Sanskrit scholars: Vyasa and Valmiki with attached bathrooms, and
hot water facilities, Panini and Chanakya without amenities). The village is
otherwise devoid of any hotels or restaurants.
Mattur
is a hamlet in Karnataka inhabited by about 350 Brahmins who live in a
designated cobblestone square. The Brahmin men wear their traditional white
cotton, two-part attire; long tuft of hair on crown of head; three horizontal
white lines (tilak) on forehead; and walk mostly barefoot in their quarter.
Read the full article in April-June issue of IQ available at your nearest bookstore! The online version is here.