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Gorkarna Beach
 Gokarna, on the other hand is, basically, a paddlers' beach: wet saris, rolled up trousers, and screams as the surf silvers in. Most of the paddlers, we learnt, had come as pilgrims to the famed temple and had then determined to take a dip in the sea. At least two families from Bengal told us that such an ablution cleansed them of "Impurities": we didn't ask if those pollutants were physical or spiritual; probably a fair amount of both. Pilgrim towns in our land tend to attract harassed out youth from other parts of the world, seeking escape by various means! And in the labyrinthine alleys around the temple, drop-outs from the west subsisted in doss houses and hovels, drifted around in scruffy undress. In beads and beards the alleys also infest the beautiful twin scoops of Om Beach. It's a fairly long, possibly sweaty, trudge from the crest of a scrubby ridge down to the shore. Both Gokarna and Om are interesting strands if you like your beaches a bit down-market and slightly gamy! Incidentally, the coconut merchant we encountered on Gokarna was a scalper used to rooking firangs.
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