I am Malenadiga by birth and spent my entire childhood at my grandmother’s place. I am very sure that a lot of Malenadigas will connect with this piece of writing about our lovely motherland. The misty mornings, smoke and fragrance from the kitchen, chirping birds, and breeze on our faces all remind us how lucky we were to be born in Malenadu. The wind on our faces used to make us feel fresh in the morning with bright sunlight in the courtyard. We as kids used to play all sorts of games from climbing trees to running in the open fields.

Our grandparents were very sweet to us who let us play in the field all day. Malenadu has a lot of unique things that we get to see, eat, play and witness depending on the season. Whenever it rains in the city where I live, I feel very nostalgic remembering the incessant rains of malenadu. If you are a nature lover and wanted to explore a beautiful place in Karnataka then you must never miss rainy days in Malnad. I used to have a lot of nice things at home during monsoon season. My favorites are jackfruit kadabu (kotte kadabu), jackfruit papad, horsegram rasam (hurali saaru), mavina gojju, appe midi pickles, and a hot cup of coffee in the evening.

I and my family never miss visiting the Malnad region during the monsoon. When I now go to my ancestral home with my kids I allow them to do all that we used to enjoy as kids. What I notice about Malnad is, the nature is so pure there with a kind of enchanting character. My kids refuse to come back to our city-dwelling after spending a week in the Malnad region. That is the power of nature on human beings. Now you have a lot of malnad homestays for you to come and spend a weekend to experience malenadu hospitality.

I have friends from the Malnad region at my office. We were once sitting and sharing all our memories, one of our other friends from Delhi was listening to us. Today, more than us he keeps visiting homestays in malnad and loves Malnad cuisines. Malnad food is very good for your health. There are several dishes that boost your immune system and make you feel refreshed after a meal. We shop all essentials from our hometown at Malnad Store. We are glad that we get our Malnad red rice, Appe midi, spices, and masalas delivered to our home.