Surviving Through Ages

Western ghats’ kathalekan retains its vegetation even after a millenium.

- Akshit Sangomla

Zigzagging along the Western Ghats, our jeep rumbles along the National Highway-206, connecting the coastal town of Kumta in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district to Jog falls. Suddenly, the vehicle screeches to a halt at a signboard that read Kathalekan (dark forest). I had been promised a sojourn in an ancient forest and was surprised to find only areca nut plantations at the spot. My guide M D Subash Chandran, a professor at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, got down and started walking from the spot where the signboard stood like a mute spectator. I followed him and found a perfectly preserved instance of an ancient ecosystem deep inside.

Kathalekan is a sacred grove nestled in a valley surrounded by hills, with the gurgling Sharavati river flowing close by. It is a relic forest spanning 25 square kilometres; its vegetation has not changed over a million years. According to Chandran, who has studied the region’s ecology for three decades, the grove has been preserved and worshipped for centuries, but there is no trace of the original devotees now. At present, it falls under the state reserved forest. We meet Ganpati Naik, a middle-aged man wearing a T-shirt and lungi, who performs rituals at a smaller grove nearby. Once a part of Kathalekan, it is now situated some 500 metres from the main grove, with plantations and farms dotting the landscape in between. According to Naik, his forefathers have been praying at the grove since ancient times. From nearby Malemane village, Naiks, Gowdas and Idiganaiks perform rituals in the smaller grove now. The presiding deities of Kathalekan are Chowdi (mother goddess) and Bhootappa (father god), along with Yakshi Bana and Nagara bana. Devotees visit the grove during festivals from the nearby villages of Hejini and Mensi to pray to their ancestors. Three festivals are held here—Sankranti in January, Adri Mali in June and Diwali in October-November.