MYSORE: In Hinduism, a guest is considered as God (Athithi Devo Bhava) and it is still believed and practised by one and all.The generosity and culture of treating a guest like God is something unique to the Hindu way of life.In today’s globalised world, treating guests has become a business. There are a number of paid guest houses scattered all over many cities. Some people have extended this business and converted home stays into a lucrative business.In Kodagu, often known as the Kashmir of Karnataka, home stays have become a great success.The concept of home stays took shape a couple of years ago in hilly regions with plantations. Initially, the guests were given rooms by the locals at their homes to get an alternative income.Later, it became a means of employment to hundreds of families, particularly women in the plantation communities of Kodagu and Chikmagalur districts.Their success stories spread very soon and inspired many in Mysore and Chamarajanagar districts to start home stay facilties.It has now crossed the borders too. Some people have come out with private guest houses to meet the demand of the tourists visiting parts of Wayanad in Kerala, Hasanur in Tamil Nadu, that falls in hide outs of Forest Brigand Veerappan on Karnataka- Tamil Nadu borders.This very concept of home stays, which did not do well initially, gives a peek into Kodavas’ rich heritage, unique cultural habits, food and hospitality.The home stays have also given a great scope for social networking. A number of people write blogs on their experiences in home stays.Some have exchanged their views on social networking sites like facebook etc. Some people have become close to the home stay owners and exchange gifts and greetings during the festivals and on other occasions.Earlier, the movement of tourists was confined to Mysore and nearby national parks. However, in recent years, the tourists have started visiting Kodagu, particularly the places with waterfalls, plantation, garden, fort for at least one day when they visit Mysore.Nowadays, scores of tourists from Bangalore are visiting Mysore and Kodagu generally.Further, the panoramic views of Abbi, Irpu water waterfalls have started attracting tourists in large numbers. Earlier, there was no place to stay for a couple of days there barring a couple of small hotels near Gonikoppa.Noticing the shortage of facilities for staying, some planters started reserving their guest houses and a few rooms for tourists. Provisions were made to allow tourists to stay a couple of days amidst nature. A few other planters accommodated guests in their children’s rooms as they were away from estates for pursuing education in Mysore, Bangalore and Mangalore.They started charging for stay and shared food prepared by their maid servants and family members and ensured that tourists leave their place with good memories of hospitality.As the coffee prices crashed in the international market for a couple of years and the planters were left in the lurch, women extended helping hand to their families by making provisions for home stays as a source of alternative income. Thus they helped in generating direct and indirect employment through tourism in the region.These home stays which started in a small way in slowly spread all over Kodagu. Today, there are more than 800 home stay facilities (including registered and unregistered ones) in the district.The rates of home stays range from Rs 300 per person to Rs 6,000 for a couple for a day depending on the facilties and there is a great demand for accommodation in Madikeri as there are limited hotels that cannot cater to the needs of the tourists visiting the hill station from across the globe. The home stays have been started in Chikmagalur and Mysore districts too.The guests get authentic Kodagu recipes like Kadambattu, Akki Roti, Kolikari and dishes made out of Bamboo.They are also served with locally grown orange, butter fruit, jack fruits and forest fruits. They are taken around coffee plantations to educate them on coffee cultivation, harvesting and processing.Thus, the concept of Athithi Devo Bhava has further strengthened national integration as the toursists share their culture, take part in local festivals, exchange gifts for Diwali, Ugadi and Huttari festivals.According to government sources, there are around 200 registered home stays in Madikeri and near by places.Also, there are more than 400 unregistered home stays that are run to cater to the demands of the tourists.They have managed to keep the visitors in good humor taking them to waterfalls, rafting , picnic spots as many of them, particularly technocrats from IT industry with a stressful life want to relax and go on an outing.As the inflow of tourists has increased over the years, including high-end tourists from Europe about 30 resorts including those from Orange Country, Wind Flower and others from Ayurveda Spas have come up in and around the valleys of coffee plantations. The completion of state highway has reduced traveling time to 2.5 hrs between Mysore and Madikeri.This has also contributed significantly to the growth of home stays.Tourist spots in and around Mysore and KodaguChamundi Hills, Mysore Palace, Jagan Mohan Palace, Brindavan Gardens, Mysore zoo, wax museum, Karanji Lake, St Philomena’s Church (All in Mysore), Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, Dariya Dowlat, Gumbaz, Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple (All in Srirangapatna), Bandipur National Park, Nagarhole National Park (In Mysore district), Abbi falls, Irpu falls, Raja Seat, Talacauvery, Bhagamandala, Golden Temple at Bylakuppe, Dubare forest, Nisaragadhama and Kushal Nagar (in Kodagu district).Rainy season is not a problemThe Kodagu district administration might have declared closed holidays for schools following incessant rains in Bhagamangala and across the district . But the rain or Ashadha season has not kept the tourists away from the district. Hundreds of families have landed up in Kodagu for the weekend to enjoy the rains, streams and waterfalls all around. H T Anil, who runs a website homestaykodagu.com, says that many of the home stays are full as there is no fall in the number of tourists even during the rainy season or Ashadha, considered to be an inauspicious month.Eye on unauthorised home staysNothing much has been done by the Tourism Department to control the mushrooming of unauthorised home stays which have started operating from rented houses. The Coorg Home Stays Association, registered with the Tourism Department, has opposed the imposition of commercial power tariff on home stays and wants the authorities to act to uphold credibility of the home stays which have made a name for themselves with their hospitality.Many feel that the home stay owners should exhibit license received from Panchayats, Tourism Department , maintain guest books, collect their addresses, email and also take their suggestions to further improve their services.The Madikeri Town Municipality is taking note of the unauthorised home stays being run for commercial purposes in rented buildings. It had thought of imposing commercial tax and water tariffs too. Meanwhile, the local leaders and planters have strongly opposed the increasing number of resorts in Kodagu.Former Minister M C Nananiah has opposed the conversion of agriculture land for commercial ventures which will have worst implication on paddy cultivation and ecology. However, some people feel that there is a good response from the visitors and tourists as everyone enjoys the pleasant stay, food, eco tourism activities like trucking, rafting and ride on elephant in Dubare forest.They say that the visitors have also further inspired the planters to maintain their houses well and social networking with the people of the rest of the world.No non-vegetarian food, alcoholHome stays have become quite popular in Mysore too. Despite the availability of a number of hotels and rapid urbanisation, the home stays in Mysore have received positive response from both domestic and foreign tourists.Ganga and her husband Sugunan of Hill View farms in Chikkahalli on the outskirts of Mysore have proved that there are people who prefer home stays vis-a-vis posh hotels. This couple who started with two rooms in their farm have five rooms, a swimming pool and an organic farm now. They have also banned non-vegetarian food , consumption of alcohol and serve food and vegetable grown through organic farming. Ganga says that people who like to live in natural surroundings prefer to avoid the crowd visit them on week days and weekends. Sugunan serves home-made jams, pickles, diary products and the couple teach visitors, particularly foreigners on request how they prepare Indian dishes as they do not serve continental food. He says that their pool has natural water and they have been doing a good business thanks to word of mouth publicity. The government supports home stays during Dasara festivities every year.The home stays accommodate tourists from all over in their houses serving Mysore traditional dishes. This year, they are likely to get a fillip as around ten families have applied for the Tourism Department’s permission.Guest houses in Veerappan’s terrain■ The death of forest brigand Veerappan has turned out to be blessing in disguise to explore and tap the tourism potential in Hasanur on Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border.■ The lush green dense forest in the foot of chains of hills in Western Ghats has attracted leading business houses, corporates and individuals to construct guest houses all around.Consequently, there are a number of prominent hill stations around Erode, Salem and Chamarajanagar now.■ The guest houses charge Rs 500 to Rs 3,000 per day for stay.They have good facilities and the families of tourists can enjoy stay, truck into the hideout of Verrappan, move around Bhavani Sagar dam, Rajkumar’s house in Doddagajanur, Bannari Amman temple, visit K Gudi forest range, Suvarnavathi and Chikkahole reserviors.
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