Dharmasthala, off the temple track

Miscellany

The Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara  Swamy Temple lies on the banks of River Nethravathi in Belthangady Taluk, about 300 km from Bengaluru. While the temple is the most visited place here, on a recent trip I decided to look around for other things. What I did find were a couple of interesting museums that have been meticulously maintained by the Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Dr D Veerendra Heggade.

Car museum

If you like vintage cars, head to the car museum that houses a huge selection of vintage and classic cars. While the entry fee is nominal (Rs five), you will have to let go of your camera as photography is strictly prohibited inside the museum. However, there is a small counter outside, where you can buy a booklet that contains detailed information on the cars. There are close to about 50 cars that are on display here and it is commendable how each one of them is maintained so meticulously.

Also, I was given to understand that these cars are regularly refurbished to ensure they are all well maintained. One of the oldest running cars in India — the 1903 Renault, said to be one of the cars of Maharaja of Bikaner, is a beauty in blue. Other old cars include the Pre 1920 Fordson Tractor with Crane, the 1924 Rolls Royce, 1925 Fiat, 1925 Daimler Benz, 1926 Merryweather Fire Brigade and a 1929 Studebaker President. I was quite smitten by an old Beetle as well.

The collection is huge and you can also see a Cadillac, Citroen, Dodge, Rolls-Royce, Hillman, Adler, Volkswagen, Jaguar, Chevrolet, Austin, Morris and Pontiac among others. This apart, there is also an old ambulance on display outside the museum.

A huge Hindustan Trainer Aircraft manufactured in 1972, that was gifted to the museum by the Ministry of Defence lies opposite the museum. This two-seater aircraft was apparently used to impart primary flying training to Air Force and civil pilots at training centres and flying clubs.

Manjusha museum

Dharmasthala also houses an interesting museum that exhibits rare objects, artefacts and temple chariots. Even before you enter the museum, displayed are several huge stone and wooden chariots used for temple processions collected from temples from various districts of the State. Again, photography is not permitted inside the museum, but as you walk through rows and rows of well-maintained artefacts, it is hard not to appreciate the efforts in maintaining and displaying this huge collection.

These beautiful chariots have been restored to their original grandeur by a team of dedicated local craftsmen. The museum has a collection of ancient scripts on palm leaves, silver jewellery, metal sculptures, Mysore paintings, religious objects and household goods such as sewing machine, spectacles, typewriters and cameras. The museum also houses terracotta coins from Mauryan period, dating back to the 1st century BC.

There is also a 300-year-old veena, a musical instrument that belonged to Vidwan Veena Sheshanna on display and paintings of noted artist P R Thippeswamy prominently displayed in the museum. There are also over 6,000 palm leaf manuscripts and other documents written in Sanskrit, Kannada, Tulu, Prakrit and Tamil. A visit to this museum will surely take you on a trip down history and must be on your itinerary the next time you are at Dharmasthala.