Visit to Gulbarga
University during March 6-9, 2013
Part I:
First stop at Bagalkot and Badami
I was invited to deliver a couple of guest lectures in
my area of specialization ‘FUNGI’ at Gulbarga University on 8th
March 2013 by my good and enduring friend, Prof. Rajasab, Head of Botany
Department and Dean of faculty of Life Sciences. I spoke on two topics: (i) My impressions on Thailand: Culture and
Higher Education; (ii) Advances in
Fungal Taxonomy.
Never ever accompanied in any of my earlier in-service
academic trips, my wife, Vasanthi, joined me in this journey after repeated
persuasion. We drove to Gulbarga in our
car. Prof. Rajasab not only advised us appropriately but also made needful
arrangements for our entire journey.
We left Goa on 6th March 2013 at 7:30 am.
Driving via Sanquelim, Chorlem Ghat, Belagum, Yeregatti and Lokapur, and
covering a total of 260 km, we reached our first day destination Bagalkot at
1:30 pm. The roads from Goa to Belgaum (via Chorlem Ghat and Anjuna Dam) and
onward to Bagalkot are very wide, well-asphalted and without any potholes.
Anjuna dam from Chorlem Ghat is a breathtaking view. Soon after crossing the
Goa border, in the forested area over a stretch of more than a km we saw a wonder
of our times; thousands and thousands of varied coloured butterflies! They once
settled on the road and on my car and quickly withdrew and hovered over us
again! We were spell-bound by this unbelievable beautiful sight! I stopped the
car and quietly watched the butterflies! It was an eye-catching scene all
through our travel. First from Goa to Belgaum it was simply a scenic beauty of
nature preserve; Belgaum to Bagalkot it is a vast stretch of aggressive agriculture.
Varied crops – rice, sorghum, maize, banana, sugarcane, sunflower, groundnut
and vegetables of many kinds are grown and, truly, we felt that we are in a very
fertile land.
Our accommodation in Bagalkot was arranged at the
picturesque and comfortable guesthouse of
Shri Basaveshwar Vidya Vardhak Sangha.
In the afternoon, I visited the Biotechnology Department Basaveshwar
Engineering College, Bagalkot, and gave a talk entitled ‘Opportunities from Fungi’ to Biotechnology Engineering students.
It is heartening to note the advancement taking place in our country in the
area of Life Sciences. Microbiology and Biotechnology subjects are no more in
the exclusive domain of pure sciences. These are now well-accepted applied
disciplines. Engineering students graduated in Biotechnology are preferred
candidates in Pharma-, Agriculture, Food and Bio-processing industrial sector.
The Biotechnology Department at BEC, Bagalkot, is headed by a dynamic, bright,
young Professor Dr. Bharati. A cursory look at the biotechnology syllabus of
Karnataka Engineering courses gave me a feeling that if we don’t restructure
the botany, microbiology and biotechnology syllabi of pure science in the
universities so as to suit the need of changing industrial and technological scenario
in the country, the traditional life science subjects will be doomed in the near
future. During the course of my lecture and follow-up interactions, I found out
that the young engineering students are very attentive and have deep desire to
learn more and excel in their knowledge.
On 7th March 2013 at dawn, we watched the
beautiful sunrise from the guesthouse lawn.
Soon after, on advice and insistence of Dr Bharati, we made an
unscheduled quick visit to a nearby historical site Badami. Incidentally, Mrs
Vasanthi is a history graduate and this visit excited her very much. Badami
from Bagalkot is only 35 km. The road is comparatively narrow but quite good. One
of Dr Bharati’s students, Mr. Ravi, accompanied us as guide.
Badami was the capital of
Chalukya Dynasty during 6th to 8th century. Located in a
ravine, at the foot of a rugged red sandstone outcrop surrounding the Agasthya
lake and Banashankari temple, the town is famous for rock-cut cave temples.
Presently maintained and looked after by the Archeological Society of India, we
were so delighted to see the marvels of cave temples; the history remained
undisturbed at Badami, as an open evidence of our past. First,
we visited the famous Banashakari Temple. Early morning, the temple was quiet,
so serene and hugely engrossing. Three huge lamp-posts opposite the sanctum
sanctorum of the temple are the living memory of Chalukya rulers’ capabilities
and religious faith. After paying obeisance at the temple, we visited the
massive-sized cave temples, sculpted on rock-cliffs. Cave 1 has sculptures of Lord
Shiva, caves 2 and 3 with Bhagwan Vishnu and cave 4 of Jain Sages. There are
numerous carved images of various gods and goddesses around. From historical
perspective, they are true evidences of culture and civilization of Chalukyas
and these 4 cave temples hugely represent the religious tolerance and secular
nature of those early days.
My wife rolled out her
history knowledge. In the proximity of
Badami, there are two other world famous historical places, Aihole (28 km) and
Pattada Kallu (18 km), dating back to 6th to 8th century,
which we didn’t visit this time. We have reserved these for our next visit. She
says that these two also exhibit Chalukya rulers Hindu temple architectural
marvels. Another historically famous pilgrim centre in the proximity which also
we didn’t visit this time is Kudalasangama, place of confluence of
3 famous rivers, Krishna, Ghataprabha and Malaprabha. Sangameshwara Temple is
located on the banks of Malaprabha river. It is the seat of Shaivait faith by
saint Basava also known as incarnation of Lord Shiva, through his Vachanas.
On completion of our slightly
hurried but memorable visit to Badami, we returned to Bagalkot to set out to
our main destination Gulbarga same afternoon
Part II: At Gulbarga University and our return trip.
We left Bagalkot to Gulbarga on 7th March
2013 at 12:00 h and drove via Bijapur and Sindagi. It is about 230 km to
Gulbarga from Bagalkot and took me 4½ h to cover the distance; again, wonderful highway all
along; straight road for kilometers together and as long as the eyes can see.
It was March first week afternoon and with summer already set-in, we drove with
ac on. Keeping our possible visit to Gol Gumbaz for return trip, we took the
by-pass road in Bijapur and missed the formal eating places. With no other
option, we ventured for lunch in a roadside Daba, about 15 km ahead of Bijapur.
Though the daba-enclosure was not-so-clean, tin-sheeted and very warm inside, the
hot meal served to us was truly delicious and sumptuous. It was freshly made,
after we ordered, by an old lady inside the daba and contained sorghum roti,
hot chapatti, groundnut mixed tomato curry, brinjal bhaji, plain rice, rasam
and solidified dahi in an earthen pot. I enquired if the dahi is home-made. The
lady answered in the affirmative. Post-lunch, we were intact with our stomach. It
has been my thinking all along that dabas are not good eating places and I went
totally wrong.
We reached Gulbarga University campus at 4:30 pm. One
of Prof. Rajasab’s students received us in the outskirts of the city and took
to the Guesthouse. Located at a slightly elevated area with an overview of the entire
university campus, the guesthouse is very nice. We took some rest and Prof.
Rajasab along with his wife joined us in the evening. Exchanging good-will and
pleasantries, we discussed a range of issues: present scenario of higher
education in India, nostalgic memory of our stay in Asmara University, Eretria
(at different time period, myself (1981-87) and Prof. Rajasab (1996-98) worked
at the Department of Botany, Asmara University), our work on fungi and many
more things.... We took dinner together at the guesthouse; again typical north
Karnataka menu. I and my wife thoroughly enjoyed the maize roti, soft-hot chapatti,
varied bhaajis and spicy vegetable curries.
On 8th March 2013, though my wife preferred
to stay at the guesthouse in view of warm weather outside, Prof. Rajasab forced
and took both of us to his Department. My two guest-lectures were scheduled at
10:30 am and 12:00 h, same day. After meeting his colleagues whom I knew very
well, we proceeded to the lecture-hall. An unexpected surprise was waiting for
us. Prof. Rajasab had planned a formal felicitation for me, prior to my lecture
in the august presence of his colleagues and students of entire Faculty of
Sciences. I and my wife were made to sit
on the dais and presented with garlands, bouquets, shree-phal and a shawl.
Introducing me and my wife, he spoke so affectionately the contributions that I
made to teaching and research in the last 3½ decades. Fond recognition at a distant place...and a
standing ovation; I and Vasanthi were deeply touched with this noble gesture!
I spoke on two topics supported by power-point
presentations. (i) My impressions on
Thailand: Culture and Higher Education; (ii) Advances in Fungal Taxonomy. In the first talk, I narrated how
Thailand is advancing with knowledge education, agriculture and discipline and
what we can learn from them. In the second discourse, I elaborated on the
recent advances, especially post-Melbourne Botanical Congress 2011, in the
taxonomy of Fungi and what preparedness we should have to meet the world
standards. I believe that both lectures were well-received.
Post-lunch, I spent some good time looking at the fungal
slides made by Prof. Rajasab’s PhD students. They are working on areas such as (i)
fungi associated with Pongamia seeds
and (ii) Ergot-associated fungi. Both these are relevant and important topics
in agriculture and biotechnology. Pongamia
seeds are important in biodiesel production. What are those several associated
fungi in Pongamia, especially species
of Colletotrichum? Ergot, though an
age-old disease on cereals, especially rye and other millets, many issues
related with fungal association remained as mystery even now. They are bright students and I wish them all
the best.
With
fond and warm send-off by Prof. Rajasab and his colleagues, we left Gulbarga at
4:00 pm to Bijapur. Again arrangement was made for our overnight stay through
one of his old students. Reaching at 6: 30 pm, we rested for the day at one of
the guesthouses in Bijapur.
Early
morning on 9th March 2013, we visited the world famous Gol Gumaz. The
Gol Gumbaz of Bijapur is the mausoleum built by Mohammed Adil
Shah, Sultan of Bijapur in 1656. This 47.5 m high and 44 m diameter dome is a
marvelous architectural grandeur. The tomb is said to be the biggest single
chamber built in the world at that point of time. As I went near the Gol
Gumbaz, I felt overwhelmed with surprise. It is an amazing huge structure. The inside of the dome has a ‘whispering
gallery’ where when I made a smallest sound, it echoed on the other side due to
acoustics of the space. Even a single small clap made got echoed over 5 times!
We left Bijapur at 10:00 am and drove straight back
to Goa. For return journey, I took road via Jamkhandi, Lokapur, Yeragatti, Belgaum
and Chorlem Ghat. Good, wide roads all through and with a lunch break at
Belgaum, we reached home at 4:30 pm.
Many useful events, enormous goodwill, affectionate
and fond hospitality all through the journey, I and my wife will remember this
trip all the time to come. We fondly thank Prof. Rajasab, his colleagues and
students for everything they did to make our trip and stay most memorable and
eventful.
Thanks for sharing your valuable ideas!Good luck sir!
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