Where nature, faith & the Gods offer a healing touch for the troubled mind

In the month of Shravana when the monsoon is in full flow with rivers hugging their banks and dams touching the brim, the Kappattagudda hills in Gadag district come alive in an explosion of green. It’s time to venerate age-old practices and religious beliefs like generations of Kappattagudda residents have done in the past, for these traditions are deeply rooted in the rural lifestyle and inextricably linked with the protection of nature. Others may deride these customs as irrational and obscure but for the people of several villages situated in the Kappattagudda hills, it is their lifeline-something which integrates their cultural and spiritual values. For lakhs of people living here, the forest deity, Kappatta Malleshwar is a source of inspiration and they reaffirm their faith by holding a unique fair every year before the last Monday of Shravana, the fourth month in the Hindu calendar. This is the time when nature, people and tradition blend together to send out an intrinsic message that despite the invasion of urban lifestyles and hi-tech gizmos, our forests continue to be at the heart and soul of human living-and we can hardly afford to shed our roots. Vittal Shastri takes us on a journey through life in Kappattagudda and its practices, where the barriers between nature and divinity vanish when a native people celebrate the coming of the rain.

Come August every year, a sea of humanity descends on Kappattagudda to get a glimpse of the forest deity situated in the heart of the hills. The panoramic hills surrounding the ancient Kappatta Malleshwar temple attract lakhs of devotees turning them into a spiritual hub for people of more than 40 villages situated in the vicinity and for lakhs of people across the state. What is astonishing is that every religious ritual here has a deep attachment to the more than 130 species of medicinal plants found in the region. For these plants, have over the centuries provided solutions for all kinds of ailments of villagers. Which also explains why the people worship their forest deity in a unique way by holding a grand marriage ceremony of the God and Goddess.

For farmers, sowing operations can only start after donating seeds to the deity as they feel this will fetch them a good yield. They even believe and not without reason that burning leaves of Ayurvedic plants at home will ensure them peace and prosperity. Holy water from the wells of the forest is sprinkled at home and in the fields to ward off evil spirits. More than 20 temples and maths are situated in the hills spread across 33,000 hectares in the three taluks of Gadag, Shirahatti and Mundaragi. People visiting the temples build a model of a house on the road that leads to the forest deity with a special prayer to fulfill their wish of having a house of their own. Childless couples offer cradles seeking a baby.

Interestingly, every temple here is named after the deity based on the geographical conditions of the Kappattagudda hills such as extreme cold weather, strong winds and water rich in minerals. The heads of these temples have been distributing Ayurvedic plants among the devotees for their ailments. Environmentalists who fought for the conservation reserve tag for Kappattagudda therefore had a valid point in mind as they feared the age-old traditions may vanish if the hill was not accorded special status. And more so when several projects were being launched in the hills, proving detrimental to the rich flora and fauna.

There are several caves and tunnels in the steep rocks here with the villagers believing that ancient Indian sages used to meditate inside the tunnels. The forest has been divided into three blocks- Kappatagiri, Dronagiri and Suvarnagiri. The villagers believe that the Kappattagudda forest inherited its name from the ancient sage Kapila Muni and Drona, the teacher of the Pandavas in the epic, Mahabharata, who once lived in the forest. “We believe that the sages are still meditating inside the tunnels. We used to hear a gentle sound from the tunnels a few years ago in the early morning. But, the sound has disappeared after hundreds of giant wind turbines were built in the hills to generate power”, said Gurushantayya Swami of Gangibavi Math situated in the hillock.

Many people also feel that the forest cover has some connection with the Hindu epic, Ramayana. They believe that Hanuman visited the hills to fetch Sanjeevini, a powerful life-restoring herb to revive Laxman who was severely wounded during the battle against Ravana. Eco-activists are also pitching for the setting up of an Ayurvedic University here for protection of the rich natural resources citing this.

But a matter of concern is the rampant illegal mining which has led to a depletion of the rich mineral resources and medicinal plants in the hills. “The government should remember that heads of maths are Ayurvedic experts and have been providing treatment for various ailments by giving herbs to people. Though the government has accorded a special tag to protect the region, too many restriction should not be imposed on the use of medicinal plants as our livelihood depends on it”, said Veerayya Swami of Gwalageri Math.

Another major threat is forest fires with the forest department rendered helpless due to acute shortage of staff and funds. Ground water has also receded and the lakes have dried up due to the failure of the monsoon in past decades and this has forced wild animals including leopards and bison to stray into farms in search of water. There have been incidents of villagers setting forests on fire to appease the rain god and shepherds burning the dry grass to help grow fresh roots for grazing of sheep. However, village elders claimed that such incidents have stopped after awareness campaigns were launched.

Facilities which tourists look for, are sorely lacking which is surprising considering that the ancient temples in the hills attract lakhs of devotees from across Karnataka and from neighbouring states. Bad roads, drinking water shortage and poor accommodation facilities continue to be a regular problem during the annual fair. Could Kappattagudda emerge as a tourism hub for all those enchanted by the unique bond which binds nature and humankind? We may have progressed a thousand centuries but deep within, we are the same fragile, sensitive and superstitious beings who tend to cling to anything which serves as a wall of support-society, traditions, beliefs and the Gods-for without them, our lives would look colourless and sans meaning and our values could come apart. The millions who have tread the arduous path to Kappattagudda know more than everyone else that this is a journey to reclaim the past, to prove to themselves that the ties with temples, the forests, the hills and lush green nature are sacrosanct and cannot be wished away.