Treats in the backyard.....
One can live for half a century in a place and not know of little treats that lie in the backyard. How is it that one never heard of Hedathale and Hemmaragala, when one was younger and hopping over to Nanjangud at the drop of a hat ? Half a hop beyond it lie two precious little shrines , centuries old . Renovated recently. And widely made known recently too. Hemmaragala A shrine of modest size and design, this little temple houses an absolutely charming idol of Santhana Venugopala in Tribhanga pose . Strangely, he is also called Hucchu Gopala because of a curious legend in which a royal couple pray for offspring and Gopala obliges , but when the child is born its gender keeps doing a flip flop between male and female . Thats some leela on the part of gopala to tease the couple itseems. Which sounded quite idiotic to me . At the end of the story, the obviously bored infant settles on a male identity and the grateful couple build this temple in g...