Mekkekattu is a small village in Udupi district of Karnataka. It has a temple of Nandikeshwara. Revisited the temple again in 2020 and here's a quick post on why you should consider visiting Mekkekattu Nandikeshwara temple in Udupi district.
What makes this temple special is the presence of large dolls, few as high as 10-12 feet. Dolls represent various characters- warrior, king, women, animals and vary in sizes.
How to reach Mekekattu?
Mekekattu can be reached by Road from nearby towns like Mangalore/Udupi/Kundapura. Typical route will be- Mangaluru-Udupi-Brahmavara-Barkuru-Shiriyara (Buses that go towards Haladi from Brahmavara can drop you off at this place). Alternatively you can connect from Kundapura town either via Bidkalkatte or Saybarakatte (these are names of local villages- don’t worry if you’re not planning to visit)
Not much information is available about these dolls. These structures/statues/dolls mostly appear to be in war ready state and have a mix of multiple cultures. They appear to be built on movable structures. Not sure if they’ll be taken out in a possession or something during festival/fairs.
Would have been nice if temple management can display them neatly with some display showcasing their name, story etc. Right now they are all stuffed into a room. There are "Photography is Prohibited" board inside the temple but you can request the priest for permission.
Mandarti and Guddattu are two nearby temple towns.
Nearby places: Places to visit inside Manipal * Saligrama car festival photos * Endpoint Manipal * Kodachadri * Kaup * Karkala * Top beaches of Udupi * Kayaking in Kemmannu *
that's nice!
ReplyDeleteinteresting post. thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteThanks Joshi and Rajlakshmi
ReplyDeleteVery Interesting!
ReplyDeleteA large collection of these dolls are present in Barkur and surroundings. I believe there was thriving industry in ancient times Hande
ReplyDeleteinteresting - how did you find this place?
ReplyDeleteArti: Thanks
ReplyDeleteUmesh sir: yes
Mayank: Tip off from a relative