"I
was born very far from where I'm supposed to be. So, I guess I'm on my back
home."
A
few months after my first solo trip, the 'travel alone' bug started gnawing at me
again. So this time, after recommendations from fellow travelers and a couple of guide books I zeroed in on Sravanabelagola, Belur and Halebid for my next trip.
But this time as I was planning I remembered the stares from my last trip
alone, the questions about where my family was and why I was travelling alone
and did I not know how unsafe it could get? So I kept postponing this one as
the thoughts kept popping in and out of my head, till one Saturday I woke up
and thought well that’s what people do right? Question! That’s what humans do.
Why should I give into others’ concerns? So I just packed a couple of items and
set out early that morning to the Majestic bus stop to catch the next local to
Hassan.
With
a few hours of a wonderful early morning ride on a not so wonderful rickety bus
I got off at Hassan, my base camp for the weekend. Thankfully, the bus stopped
very close to (I believe) the only liveable hotel around and as I entered the
building, thus began my series of questions and answers for the weekend.
After
satiating my hungry stomach and some astonished locals’ curiosity I set out on
my first sight for the weekend; Sravanabelagola. It is around forty-five
minutes away from Hassan by bus and then when you reach there, the walk up the
Vindhyagiri Hill takes another twenty minutes (but it feels like someone has
been pumping oxygen out of your lungs for hours at a stretch!!). The town is centered around a white tank (bela kola) which
gives it the name. The Vindhya Hill to the south of the tank houses the over
17m high statue of Gomatesvara, which is believed to be highest monolithic
statue in Asia. The huffing and panting up the 650 steps is made worth it when
you see the statue and the expression of peace on his face.
 |
| The impressive Gomateshwara statue |
 |
| Murals on the temple walls |
 |
| Tank around which the town is centered |
The
other hill, Chandragiri which is the smaller of the two has more areas of
interest from a historical point of view. There are 576 inscriptions on the
rock, which is the most on a single site in India and they date from the 6th
to the 19th century speaking of a dozen different dynasties.
 |
| Chandragiri Hill |
Next
up on the itinerary were the Yadava temples at Belur and the Hoysala temples at
Halebid. Both are around thirty minutes away from Hassan, but it is advisable
to check out Belur first and then Halebid as there are more frequent buses from
the latter back to Hassan.
The
most famous site in Belur is the Chenna Kesava temple. Though the entire temple
and the sanctum is not in very good shape but it’s good enough to study the intricate
carvings for hours.
 |
| Chenna Kesava Temple, Belur |
Halebid
on the other hand is in almost pristine and untouched condition even after a
thousand years behind it. The best part is the finely carved temples which are
so intricate and precisely done. One can just sit at the courtyard for hours
and try to read the stories that the carvings tell. And when the sun gets too
much to bear just go inside the temple and the latticework allows just the
right amount of air and light to let you continue your contemplatives, unperturbed.
 |
| Intricacies at Halebid |
After
Hampi, this was another wonderful weekend going back in time and being alone
just lets you soak in all the history even deeper.
No comments:
Post a Comment