Two women in traditional Indian attire, rural setting.

Evolve Back presents a series of expressive stories from our destinations. We hope that these stories encapsulating the lore of the land help foster a deeper understanding and connection between our guests and the places we call home.

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RECENT STORIES

The Horses That Run for a Goddess: Kudure vésha at the Kavadi Bhagavathi Temple, Kodagu

Published on: 01/07/2026 |Contributors: Sourabha Rao & Santosh Saligram

Kudure vésha (horse costume) has a profound, layered significance in the Karnataka folk-religious landscape. It appears visually simple, but what makes it powerful is precisely that economy: a human body animated into a horse, moving through devotion, rivalry, endurance and ritual memory. In Kodagu, the Kavadi Bhagavathi Temple has its own version of the kudure vésha worn by four young men from four ‘keri’s (neighbourhoods) – four horses made of cloth, sweat and faith.

Paying Obeisance to the Father

Published on: 22/06/2026 |Contributors: Bindu Gopal Rao

One of the most ancient temples in Kodagu, Padi Igguthappa Temple in Igguthappa Devara Betta in Aiyengeri Forest is revered among locals. As the road forks and snakes its way towards the temple, the landscape is unmissable: mist-clad mountains, waterfalls (especially in the monsoon) and lush coffee shrubs that keep you company.

The Unhurried Hampi

Published on: 13/06/2026 |Contributors: Gowri Subramanya

There is a way of seeing Hampi, especially if it is your first visit and no one has told you that this is unlike any other tourist destination. It begins with a checklist and is, in its own way, a perfectly good way to spend a day. But it is not the only way, nor perhaps the truest. Hampi does not surrender itself to a checklist. Its celebrated monuments are merely the most familiar voices in a conversation that unfolds across the landscape, all the time, in a much quieter register. To hear the rest of the story, you have to walk.