At the end of the day, Nature assumes the role of a painter and creates constant magic with changing colours that keeps viewers spellbound. For humans, it would be a challenge to capture the many moods of a sunset; Nature however does it unhindered, unacknowledged and unassumingly.

When you climb up the watch tower at Haigunda, you will be richly rewarded with countless ethereal views as the sky and the surroundings keep changing hues steadily & constantly, as the Sun settles down into the western sea.

King Mayura Varma is said to have wanted to bring to this place Brahmins well-versed in Sanskrit grammar, Vedic Shastras, rituals and other branches of knowledge, to assist & advise him in administering his kingdom. Only 2 families out of the original 62 that settled here during the 4th Century AD, are said to have remained in Haigunda today.

What was ahead of me was competely different from what lay behind me! When I turned around, the landscape of molten hues gave way to one of sedate pastels, its time yet to come.

The Durgaparameshwari Temple on the banks of Sharavathi at Haigunda is believed to have been built and nurtured by the Ahichhatra Brahmins, many of whom appear to have transformed into Havyaka brahmins who abound in this region. The Goddess is believed to be protecting the local population through the centuries and attracts a large following.

The bronze statues at the temple are said to be over 1600 years old and are taken out in a procession once every year. The Goddess is believed to fulfil devotees’ prayers for an offspring, and as though bearing witness, there is a small figure of a breastfeeding mother beside the main deity in the idol.

Kadambas ruled between 345 and 525 AD, and their kingdom included the present-day northern Karnataka and North Canara, where they chose Banavasi as their seat. It is said that during Mayura Varma’s time, some 62 Brahmin families from Ahichhatra near Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh came and settled at Haigunda.

A unique feature of Haigunda is the availabilty of readymade bricks under the top soil! It is believed that the Brahmins settled here used to conduct fire rituals called as havans for which they used to make & use clay bricks. Hardened by fire and buried under the soil, these bricks now surface in many places, and the villagers re-use them in the construction work.