Monday, June 7, 2010 : A long day
5 AM
As per our deal, we were supposed to vacate his store room by 5 in the morning. But we had hardly slept for 3 hours. And that bloody bastard took 150Rs for giving us a place to sleep for just 3 hours. Gross injustice !!!
We found that the town attraction, the 1000 year old Chennakesava temple opens only by 7 am. So in order to spend the next 2 hours we went to the bus stand and slept on the benches. After getting fresh at the Sulabh Complex we had a light breakfast. I feel uneasy or rather incomplete if I don’t have a glass of milk in the morning. So after brushing my teeth, I enjoyed my glass of milk.
Meanwhile, the temple gates opened.
7 AM
The temple complex was huge and maginificient and was built upon a huge rectangular platform. The entrance was through a massive Gopuram.
Inside the complex were several big and small temples with intricate carvings, dedicated mostly to various forms of Vishnu.After spending quality time there and appreciating the 1000 year old architecture, rather an engineering marvel of the time, we went back to the bus stand and waited for the bus to Halebid.
8:15 AM
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| The Giant Nandi at Halebid's temple |
We finally boarded the bus to Halebid, yet another small town, 25 KMs from Belur, famous for its beautiful Hoysala built temples. The temples at this place were similar in architecture to those at Belur.
9:30 AM
As soon as we came out of the temple complex, wondering what to do next, we spotted a bus going to Hassan. As per my calculations, we had to go to Hassan to catch the bus for Shravanbelagola.
11 AM
From Hassan, we boarded the bus for Shravanbelagola via Channarayapatna.
Trivia : Direct buses from Hassan to Shravanbelagola are very few. An easier way is to take bus from Hassan to Channarayapatna, a bigger town and change from there for Shravanbelagola.
1 PM
We could already see the gigantic statue of Jain monk Bahubali several KMs even before reaching Shravanbelagola. Perched on a hilltop, it looked beautiful.
Trivia :
Shravanbelagola is a small but an attractive town built around the twin hills of Udaygiri and Chandragiri. While Udaygiri is where Lord Bahubali’s temple complex is situated, Chandragiri is the place having monasteries where Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya spent the rest of his life as a Jain monk after renouncing his empire.
The place was magical, and I was amazed to see the 2500 years old rock structures on the twin hills.
Delicious Marwari food
Since the place is mostly visited by Jain piligrims from Gujrat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, there were plenty of homely eateries, serving home-like Marwari-Gujrati food and that too without onion garlic. I finally got what I liked most. After enjoying the “Gehu ki roti, toor ki daal and variety of vegetables with pickles and rice”, we felt like sleeping. But then we didn’t have time to lose. The place has plenty of good staying options (managed by Jain trusts) and locker rooms, so that the piligrims can deposit their luggage before ascending the hills.
The temples
The uphill climb is definitely not an easy task, particularly for the elders and the kids. Though, there are railings all along the way, but the slope is too steep. The temple complex on the hilltop was mesmerizing and the view of the town from top is just amazing. It was built like a fort with several layers of walls and temples enclosing Lord Bahubali’s statue in the centre.
After descending the hill, next we went to Chandragiri and saw the beautiful monasteries. Unfortunately, our camera ran out of battery and we couldn’t take the pictures. But, architecturally, Chandragiri is even more beautiful and well built then the neighbouring Udaygiri.
5 PM Thus we had finished our temple circuit in Hassan district. We were amazed at our own pace. Satisfied, we decided to get back to Bhadravati. We went to Channarayapatna, just in time to catch the evening bus from Channarayapatna to Bhadravati. The return journey was no less entertaining. We managed to get the back seats and just when we were settling down, a drunken woman came and sat near us. Shabbily clothed, she was doing all crazy stuff and became the centre of attraction of all the bus passengers. Ayush and Apurv were closest to her and were shitting in their pants because she was higly unpredictable. We somehow managed to sit there for an hour and got away from her as soon as there were vacant seats in the front.
Back to Bhadravati
By 9:30 PM we were in Bhadravati. After, savoring the delicious 10 Rs plate Idly sambhar and Mirchi-bada at our favorite stall near the bus stand, we went back to our hostel and slept peacefully planning about our next trip – Wild West Karnataka.
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