A pink-domed clock tower rises over the university lawns, and nearby shoppers still line up on Line Bazaar, the street named after the queues for one family's peda. In Dharwad the past turns up during ordinary errands. A poet's old home in Sadhankeri now holds his portraits and verses, and the gates of the old fort stand among houses and shops.
Beyond the campuses, families stroll the walkway around Sadhankeri Lake and fill the Hanuman temple at Nuggikeri on Saturdays. Up on the plateau, spring is hot and dry, the monsoon runs from June, and winters stay mild and rainless. A Local Friend walks beside you instead of ahead, pointing out the doorway where a great singer once lived.
