Mattur Lake
Mattur Lake
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Profvns
Bengaluru, India545 contributions
Mar 2015 • Friends
Shimoga is well known as cultural capital of Karnataka and for its modern, progressive strong cultural family and warm hearted and nice behaved people. The special feature of this city, as I personally experienced, is the simple life style, normal cultural activities, low cost of living and less pollution have turned this city to gain the modern title as ‘retired persons’ paradise’.
We can enjoy the beauty of nature in abundance like rivers, waterfalls, dams, gardens, wild life sanctuaries, elephant training camp, temples, religious centers, green field all around, trekking hillocks, historical monuments and many more glamorous items to enjoy are found in this district. In my experience, one week of holiday is not sufficient to cover all the tourist dots found here.
Mattur (Mathur) is a village near Shivamogga city known for the usage of Sanskrit for day-to-day communication, although the general language of the state is Kannada.
There are temples dedicated to Rama, Shiva, Someshwara and Lakshmikeshava. The twin villages namely Mattur and Hosahalli share almost all the qualities and situated across the banks of Tunga River, and always referred together. They have several common objects such as supporting Gamaka, an artistic way of singing while narrating a story or reading a poetic composition of epic stories in Karnataka. They have imbibed a divine quality in speaking in Sanskrit as their common language. The people here speak only in Sanskrit as if it is their mother tongue. Sanskrit is the vernacular of majority of the residents of this quaint, sleepy hamlet found at 8km from Shimoga and 300km from Bangalore.
My friends were looking at the shopkeepers and agricultural labourers with open mouth while they were replying in Sanskrit for all our queries. Fortunately for us we got a young man to help us in translating Sanskrit in Tamil because he could speak only in Sanskrit and Tamil. That was a great help for us since I know Tamil also. The little children were speaking in Sanskrit while playing and conversing. I remembered my grand kids who always speak in English as if they don’t know any other tongue.
Sanskrit is an Indo-Aryan language forming the root of many Indian languages. In ancient India, it was the main language used by scholars. Sanskrit script is known as ‘Devanagari’ and also called as ‘Devabhasha’ namely language of gods. There are very few villages in India where Sanskrit is predominant as in Mattur.
Even the Muslim families speak Sanskrit without hesitation and as comfortably like Urdu. Muslim children are found in the streets reciting Sanskrit shlokas. They freely speak Sanskrit while fighting, playing cricket in the grounds or in studies. While walking in ‘Ratha veethi’ (Car Street) I observed a quotation written on walls in Sanskrit. Since I know Hindi, I could easily read it as “Maarge swachchataya virajate, grame sujanaha virajante” meaning thereby “Cleanliness is as important for a road as good people are for the village”. There are many such writings on the walls but not cinema posters as we see in cities.
Mattur is also famous for the lake of sweet water and attractive natural sceneries. It is a check dam across Tunga but not a lake as is understood commonly. Tunga in its long journey is said to be crystal clear and very clean and tidy in this lake. Mattur Lake is less popular but more popular as the place where Sanskrit dances on the common man’s tongue. It is that factor that attracted me more than anything else.
You can reach Shimoga without risk by bus or train where there are several hotels to provide tasty food and nice accommodation.
We can enjoy the beauty of nature in abundance like rivers, waterfalls, dams, gardens, wild life sanctuaries, elephant training camp, temples, religious centers, green field all around, trekking hillocks, historical monuments and many more glamorous items to enjoy are found in this district. In my experience, one week of holiday is not sufficient to cover all the tourist dots found here.
Mattur (Mathur) is a village near Shivamogga city known for the usage of Sanskrit for day-to-day communication, although the general language of the state is Kannada.
There are temples dedicated to Rama, Shiva, Someshwara and Lakshmikeshava. The twin villages namely Mattur and Hosahalli share almost all the qualities and situated across the banks of Tunga River, and always referred together. They have several common objects such as supporting Gamaka, an artistic way of singing while narrating a story or reading a poetic composition of epic stories in Karnataka. They have imbibed a divine quality in speaking in Sanskrit as their common language. The people here speak only in Sanskrit as if it is their mother tongue. Sanskrit is the vernacular of majority of the residents of this quaint, sleepy hamlet found at 8km from Shimoga and 300km from Bangalore.
My friends were looking at the shopkeepers and agricultural labourers with open mouth while they were replying in Sanskrit for all our queries. Fortunately for us we got a young man to help us in translating Sanskrit in Tamil because he could speak only in Sanskrit and Tamil. That was a great help for us since I know Tamil also. The little children were speaking in Sanskrit while playing and conversing. I remembered my grand kids who always speak in English as if they don’t know any other tongue.
Sanskrit is an Indo-Aryan language forming the root of many Indian languages. In ancient India, it was the main language used by scholars. Sanskrit script is known as ‘Devanagari’ and also called as ‘Devabhasha’ namely language of gods. There are very few villages in India where Sanskrit is predominant as in Mattur.
Even the Muslim families speak Sanskrit without hesitation and as comfortably like Urdu. Muslim children are found in the streets reciting Sanskrit shlokas. They freely speak Sanskrit while fighting, playing cricket in the grounds or in studies. While walking in ‘Ratha veethi’ (Car Street) I observed a quotation written on walls in Sanskrit. Since I know Hindi, I could easily read it as “Maarge swachchataya virajate, grame sujanaha virajante” meaning thereby “Cleanliness is as important for a road as good people are for the village”. There are many such writings on the walls but not cinema posters as we see in cities.
Mattur is also famous for the lake of sweet water and attractive natural sceneries. It is a check dam across Tunga but not a lake as is understood commonly. Tunga in its long journey is said to be crystal clear and very clean and tidy in this lake. Mattur Lake is less popular but more popular as the place where Sanskrit dances on the common man’s tongue. It is that factor that attracted me more than anything else.
You can reach Shimoga without risk by bus or train where there are several hotels to provide tasty food and nice accommodation.
Written February 15, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sdbgl
Bengaluru, India105 contributions
May 2014 • Family
Had been to Mattur 3 times. I believe everyone in this little village knows Sanskrit! Tunga river flows through this quiet village. If you want uninterrupted and safe place for family to relax look no further than Mattur. There are couple of places where even aged people can enjoy and play with water. IT is very near to Shimoga city (around 10kms perhaps)... worth visiting!
Written October 15, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sudarshan H
Bengaluru, India128 contributions
Jan 2014 • Family
This is actually not a lake but the tunga river stopped by a check dam. Matter being the first village in a long distances the tunga river, the water is very pristine. And as expected, the water is very sweet to taste.
It overflows the check dam across the many gates, where it is very safe to play in the water. The people of the villages on either side speak Sanskrit ! These villages are known to be the first ones in India to take up Sanskrit conversation in recent times.
This place is just 5 km from Shimoga town on the Thirthahalli road.
It overflows the check dam across the many gates, where it is very safe to play in the water. The people of the villages on either side speak Sanskrit ! These villages are known to be the first ones in India to take up Sanskrit conversation in recent times.
This place is just 5 km from Shimoga town on the Thirthahalli road.
Written January 6, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sh00nya
Mumbai36 contributions
Nov 2013 • Friends
My review is primarily about the village Mattur in Shimoga district in Karnataka. It was an absolute feast to visit this place. I had actually heard of this place in a Bajaj ad ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FTVGNdDp2o ). I had wanted to visit this place ever since. Took a detour from Bangalore, during one of my road trips from Mumbai to Kerala.
The unique aspect of this village is that still use a form of sanskrit for their everyday communication. The entire village is like an Agraharam (the Brahmin quarter) with about 120 houses and seven temples. The outer area of the Agraharam has about 300 houses. The residents of these houses are not necessarily brahmins, but have learned Sanskrit.
People here actually speak a language called 'Sanketi' (yes, it's not pure sanskrit). This language is a mix of Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, and Sanskrit. The most interesting part is, it does not have a 'lipi' or written alphabets.
All 120 families are brahmins and their main occupation includes farming and doing puja ceremonies. They are also required to learn vedic scriptures since childhood.
There is also a river touching this village and the other side has one more village called Hosahally and the people there as well speak the same language.
If you can, this is one trip you should not miss. But note that they are a very closed knit community and is not a tourist destination. So be careful in your approach towards people and your demeanor.
The unique aspect of this village is that still use a form of sanskrit for their everyday communication. The entire village is like an Agraharam (the Brahmin quarter) with about 120 houses and seven temples. The outer area of the Agraharam has about 300 houses. The residents of these houses are not necessarily brahmins, but have learned Sanskrit.
People here actually speak a language called 'Sanketi' (yes, it's not pure sanskrit). This language is a mix of Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, and Sanskrit. The most interesting part is, it does not have a 'lipi' or written alphabets.
All 120 families are brahmins and their main occupation includes farming and doing puja ceremonies. They are also required to learn vedic scriptures since childhood.
There is also a river touching this village and the other side has one more village called Hosahally and the people there as well speak the same language.
If you can, this is one trip you should not miss. But note that they are a very closed knit community and is not a tourist destination. So be careful in your approach towards people and your demeanor.
Written October 16, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ShajiJV
Bangalore86 contributions
Nov 2014
Around 10-12Kms from Shimoga.Not much explored by tourists.Clean water. Kids and adults ca play in the water.Everyone speaks Sanskrit and they are very helpfull. I couldn't see places for staying there. Not exciting ,but not bad.
Written June 4, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Krishna G K
Chennai (Madras), India186 contributions
Aug 2016 • Family
We looked at the reviews and added this place to our schedule in Shimoga
We took an auto in the evening by about 5 from Shimoga and it took roughly 20 mins to reach this place. To our surprise, the place is not much popular with the locals and the auto driver kept asking where is 'Kere' (Kannada for Lake). Only one of the locals spotted this place correctly
We got down where the auto stopped and were able to see the lake, but, it appeared to be a village pond than a lake. Actually, there aren't much spots on the shore of this very vast lake to visit or sit down and relax
We heard about a very good Shivalaya in the vicinity of the lake and went there, expecting the same disappointment
But, the temple was just awesome. It looked like the legendary 'Ashoka Vana' portrayed in the epic Ramayana. It was a great garden (almost a mini forest) with Alayas for the deities. At the backyard of the falls, there is a water canal which was running to its brim
We returned to Shimoga with mixed emotions. Had we not tried to visit Mattur lake, we would have missed the experience of the one-of-its-kind Shivalaya
We took an auto in the evening by about 5 from Shimoga and it took roughly 20 mins to reach this place. To our surprise, the place is not much popular with the locals and the auto driver kept asking where is 'Kere' (Kannada for Lake). Only one of the locals spotted this place correctly
We got down where the auto stopped and were able to see the lake, but, it appeared to be a village pond than a lake. Actually, there aren't much spots on the shore of this very vast lake to visit or sit down and relax
We heard about a very good Shivalaya in the vicinity of the lake and went there, expecting the same disappointment
But, the temple was just awesome. It looked like the legendary 'Ashoka Vana' portrayed in the epic Ramayana. It was a great garden (almost a mini forest) with Alayas for the deities. At the backyard of the falls, there is a water canal which was running to its brim
We returned to Shimoga with mixed emotions. Had we not tried to visit Mattur lake, we would have missed the experience of the one-of-its-kind Shivalaya
Written August 16, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
santosh
Shimoga, India133 contributions
a small village near shimoga,everyone here knows sanskrit and thats the uniqueness of this village,river tunga flows nearby and there are couple of temples,good place for sunday outing,not many eateries in this village but shimoga is near
Written November 1, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Arpita R
40 contributions
Jan 2017 • Couples
small pond type located in a village.Calm place to relax but not a good attraction.Road toward mattu lake is pathetic
Written March 10, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TravelTime
Bengaluru, India238 contributions
Jun 2019 • Couples
Huge Lake with greenary, you can't get into the water. Nice place to have some photos clicked, road to this place is not great though, it is a mud road. Cars can get in, if you get some other car opposite then it may be little difficult to pass through
Written June 16, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chichha
Hyderabad, India16 contributions
May 2018
A lovely experience in Shimoga, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Great place to soak in a sunset from!
Written May 23, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I'm going to jog for 2night and3 days. What are the places to visit there
Written December 27, 2016
Actually, you can spend a day in Jog. You can trek down the 1400 steps to the bottom of the falls and enjoy the view
You can take a cab and visit the other view points to get a glimpse of the green valley
Other than Jog, you got Linganamakki dam, which is really good but you cant go inside due to the restrictions. You can look around and enjoy. You can visit Sakrebailu elephant camp, Gajanur Dam in Shimoga
Also on the way from Jog to Linganamakki is the infamous Talakalale dam, whose waters are superb to boat. There is a boatman by a narrow gorge and the driver will take you there if you ask for it. This is a very good place to visit
Written January 7, 2017
Looking for a 3-4 days vacation at Mattur village. Kindly guide me on the accommodation facilities in this village. Got to know that villagers let the visitors stay in their houses. But how to approach them for a shed for 3-4 days ?
Written November 27, 2016
First I really feel there is nothing worth visiting in Mattur Village for 3-4 days. And if you are planning for a stay, better to stay in Shimoga for a day and go to Mattur and enquire if the local people can provide accommodation for 3 days
Mattur village has nothing to offer than the pond and the temple. Not more than couple of hours. Shimoga offers you more
Written November 27, 2016
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