… an important port city, handling about 75% of India’s coffee exports and most of India’s cashews. India exports 55% of the cashews consumed in the world. Pliny the Elder and the Greek historian Ptolemy both referred to Mangalore in their writings.
Our tour began with the Achal Industries Cashew Factory which employs more than 500 workers. Almost 95% of the employees are women, who are picked up by company buses each day; there is a daycare facility on site, so they can bring their young children along. On the way to the factory, our excellent guide pointed out the cashew trees to us, and passed around an unopened cashew nut and a cashew tree leaf. At the factory we saw tarps of just-picked cashews drying in the sun. After about a week, they are roasted in huge containers. A conveyor belt dumps them in a steaming heap on the workroom floor. Each nut is processed by a crushing machine to crack the shell, then the shell is removed by hand and the kernel carefully retrieved. The opened cashew nuts are transferred to large trays and roasted. Then they are sent to another department for the peeling of the multiple layers of skin surrounding the nut meat. Next comes the grading department where they are sorted into 27 different groups based on color, size, and texture. After grading, they move to the packaging department which bags them. It is a much more time consuming and labor-intensive process than I would have dreamed possible, and I will never eat another cashew casually without thinking of all the effort that went into producing it.
Kadri Manjunath Temple, our second stop, dates back to approximately 1068. Lord Shiva is the main Hindu deity honored here. The temple grounds are picturesque and contain many major Hindu statues and sculptures, including a bronze seated statue which is said to be one of the finest in India. Located in a large and sprawling complex which includes a monastery, the architecture was fascinating. One special feature was a sacred pool. One dip in this pool is equivalent to saying a blessing 10,000 times. A fair number of people were dipping and we decided to check it out. The steps were a slick as ice with algae, etc.! One of the monks gave us sandalwood paste, and a scoop of holy water.
On the bus to the next stop, the guide told us about beeti, a tiny cigarette made by housewives as a cottage industry to make extra cash. She said you can get about 1000 beetis for US$5. They may be smaller but they’re just as addictive. Indians also use tobacco in combination with other things. They take a pan leaf, put betel nut and tobacco inside, and chew it. It’s also addictive.
Our third stop was St. Aloysius Church, located in the heart of the city. The church, which also houses a large school and college, was built in 1899-1900. What makes it a must-see location are a series of paintings by the Italian artist Anthony Moscheni that cover most of the interior of the church and depict the life of Aloysius Gonzaga. No photos of the paintings were allowed.
The last stop was the Gokarnanath Temple, a modern temple also dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple was built by a Hindu businessman for the non-Brahmins of Mangalore, who were not allowed to enter the Brahmin Temples. As in all Hindu temples, we had to remove our shoes and proceed with bare feet or with socks. The white marble floors were burning hot, leading one person on the tour to dub it the “Temple of the Burning Feet.” The white and gold color scheme and the many fanciful animals scattered throughout gave it a bit of a Disneyland flair.
It was a long, hot sweaty day; Alaska keeps looking better!
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