Auli -> Rishikesh -> Corbett National Park -> Varanasi -> Agra
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It was the morning of early February. It was pleasantly cold in the morning when I headed out in a noisy auto-rikshaw towards the airport. It was mildly foggy, which made the slopes of the inner ring road look picturesque and beautiful. I was heading out to North India and was to be travelling for a month. I was a little nervous but very happy. I had been thinking about travelling like this for a long time, and when it was about to materialize, I planned it for a few months and anticipated for this day.
If the signs in the beginning were anything that would indicate the success of my journey, they were not very encouraging. I had a tough time getting a taxi to the airport, and the flight was delayed while we waited for fog to clear. I reached Delhi an hour later than I was supposed to.
But the weather in Delhi seemed too perfect to be true. I have heard many rants about the extreme weathers in Delhi which rises to as high as 40 in summers and drops near zero in the winter. Newspapers were full of news about cold waves that affected north India. But I was there at a time when winter was giving up its hold, and the day looked perfect. It was mildly cold and comfortable. The breeze coming on to my face reminded me that it is winter, but the mild sun neutralized it. It was so pleasant that I forgot all about the delays and the waiting, and found myself smiling. It was a good beginning.
An hour long taxi ride took me to Interstate Bus Stand somewhere in the middle of Delhi. This is the second time I am in Delhi, and as I moved around, I could not help but appreciate the open spaces that Delhi boasts of. We drove through thickly wooded area for nearly 30 minutes, which gave way to large buildings and wide roads. The traffic is smooth and uninterrupted though that is not the case in all parts of the town.
I was heading to Rishikesh from the bus terminus. Travelling by day means you are unlikely to get a comfortable bus that can take you through the journey with out much pains. I ended up getting into an old rickety, congested bus which stopped at every possible place. I was the first one to get inside and managed to find the most comfortable place of what was available. There is no good place to eat at the bus terminus, so I end up skipping lunch. The skimpy breakfast offered by the airline is all the I got to eat through the day.
If the taxi ride was comfortable and took me through the best and spacious streets of Delhi, the bus went through just the opposite. The roads were congested and the traffic was too much. It became hotter as the day progressed. Our driver seemed to prefer the right lane for driving. He bullied the smaller vehicles to give way, honked away to glory and has little care for lane discipline – probably a concept he never knows.
The people in general appear friendly and minutes after the bus starts, strangers start conversation and make friends. The topic of conversation varies from politics to hot weather to merchants who swindle the buyers and much more. The bus breaks suddenly somewhere and an old man who was not yet seated falls down. People rush to help him stand, but he is fortunately not injured. The driver is apologetic but conveniently blames the traffic. It is an accepted means of apology in a world where people do not expect the formal ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’ but understand subtle expressions of the same.
The bus eventually leaves Delhi and enters the fertile Gangetic planes. The entire highway is swarming with vehicles and the journey is painfully slow. Bullock carts, cars and trucks share the same road and the carts are actually in a large number. The bus stops at every small town, and hawkers rush to the bus to sell whatever they can each time it stops. There are fields of sugarcane and (probably) paddy everywhere. Every inch of land is used up for agriculture, houses or roads and there is no concept of free space all along the way. I understand why Uttar Pradesh is such a populous state. There seems to be a good amount of money around here, as I notice many resorts, townships and entertainment centers dot the highway. The bus passes via Meerut and I briefly recollect Mangal Pandey and the first revolution of independence in 1857. Further on the road, there is a heavy traffic jam at Roorkee which holds us for another hour, adding to the delays. The driver had said earlier that we will make it to Rishikesh by 7.30pm, and when we finally arrive it is 9pm. I don’t have time to look for a good place to settle down, so I decide to get into the first smallish hotel near the bus stand and check in for the day. It was a long journey through the day and I haven’t eaten much. I find a nearby place to eat and pounce on Chapatis, come back and crash.
More on Rishikesh at paintedstork.com
* Rishikesh photo gallery
* Arriving at Rishikesh.
* Walking around Laxman Jhula
* Ganga Aarthi at Rishikesh
* Photo Essay: Babas of Rishikesh
* Rishikesh to Kaudiyala
* About Rishikesh
Also read: a more recent story on Belur, Halebeedu and a few other beautiful but less known temples nearby. This article, published in a magazine, covers history and architecture of the Hoysalas in details besides narrating my experience of visiting these architectural beauties.
I was not so very fond of architectural heritage of India. That is until I got a good view of the temples of Belur and Halebeed recently, understood the complexity involved and visualized the minutest details to which the rocks were carved.
A BRIEF HISTORY AND SOME INFORMATION
The temples of Belur and Halebeed were built around 12th century by the rulers of the Hoysala Dynasty. The story goes that the dynasty was founded by a young man called Sala who killed a tiger with bare hands.
The Logo of the HoysalaThe symbol of Hoysalas hence is a man killing a tiger. Halebeed was the capital of the dynasty where the temple stands. The temple of Halebeedu was constructed over a span of 190 years and remained incomplete. The Belur temple took more than 100 years to construct. The material used for both temples is soap stone which is soft and easy to carve when taken out from the earth but gets harder over prolonged exposure to the atmosphere.
HALEBEEDU
The temple of HalebeeduHalebeedu, when translated from Kannada means old habitat. This was named as Dwarasamudra in the times of Hoysala Dynasty and became an ‘old town’ after invasion from Muslim Rulers of the north. As with most of the historic temples, this temple also has seen some damages. The deity of the temple is Shiva in the name of Hoysaleshwara who is worshipped in the temple’s two shrines even now.
One of the largest Nandi statues in IndiaThe temple also hosts two of the largest Nandi statues in India. The guide told us they are the 7th and 8th largest Nandi statues in the country. The carvings seen around the temple are amazing. Every inch of the wall is filled with art and the attention to details in each carving are surprising.
The guide explains us of every detailThe image above shows the carvings on the circumference. The bottom layer are elephants which are more than thousand in number, with each one in a different position than other. No two elephants are unique. There are seven layers with the subsequent layers hosting lions and horses and more.
Bheema killing the elephants!There are stories of the Mahabharata and many mythological stories carved on the outer wall. The above image is of Bheema killing elephants in the war. To his right is an elephant he is tackling and to his left is a pile of elephants he has already killed! Such images are in plenty.
Just after the temple is a big lake once called the Dwarasamudra. Archeological Survey of India have maintained the temple well and you get well informed guides who can show you around the temple. Make sure you hire a guide to make your visit worthwhile.
BELUR
The temple at BelurThe Belur temple is more known for the “Shilabalike” – the images of women carved in stone all around the temple. Each image is of a women doing different things or engaged in different occupations. They have interesting names such as ‘Shuka Bhashini’ for a lady talking to a parrot; ‘Darpana Sundari’ for a lady with a mirror and such.
Shuka Bhashini, a ShilabalikaThe guide said that people hid the temple from invaders by covering it up completely in sand because of which the temple is intact. The carvings in Belur temple are as intricate as its counterpart in Halebeedu. The temple hosts an idol of Vishnu in the name of Chennakeshava, which can be translated from Kannada as ‘the beautiful Vishnu’.
The guide also informed us about another famous Hoysala temple with similar architecture at Somanathapura near Mysore, which I am yet to visit.
Information on Belur and Halebeedu
The two places are around 20kms apart. If you are driving, drive from Bangalore to Hassan. Take NH4 out of Bangalore. After driving for around an hour, turn left to NH 48(Bangalore to Mangalore road) at Nelamangala. Continue driving on the highway till you reach Hassan town(around 180kms from Bangalore) which is a few kilometers to the right of the highway. Ask for directions to Halebeedu once you are in town. Halebeedu is around 40kms from Hassan town. The drive from Bangalore takes around 6 hours.
If you are taking the bus, take KSRTC buses to Hassan from Bangalore where you can change buses to Halebeedu or Belur. Frequency of buses from Hassan to Belur should be good, but try to find bus timings to Halebeedu in advance.
The best town head for staying overnight could be either Hassan or Chikkamagalur. But you can also find some basic accommodation in Belur.
While my friends went in to check out the temple in Hampi, I sat outside waiting for them. I had been inside a couple of times earlier and was in no mood to take out my footwear again.
There were people walking all around, unhurriedly and with no purpose. Some people entering the premise, some leaving, and some more like me sitting and whiling away their time. A few people who were watching Utsava programs till late and could not go home had settled down there itself for the night to recede.
Also see more about Hampi on paintedstork.com:
* A drive to Hampi.
* Hampi image gallery
A sadhu(hermit/saint) sitting below a tree nearby smiled at me. He raised his hands in blessing and I bowed slightly to him from where I was – a process that is usually done the other way round. After a few minutes of silence and indifference, I shifted places and sat next to him.
He was an old man, with a beard and saffron robe typical of any yogi. When he spoke, he spoke softly in an unhurried manner. There was an eternal slight smile on his face that never seemed to fade. And when he spoke, he spoke anything he wished to, with no inhibition of communication boundaries. Many people walked in and out of the temple with no regard for the Sadhu. A few people stopped, touched his feet with devotion and received his blessings. And some people looked at him, half minded and wondering whether to stop or not. The sadhu treated everyone in the same manner. He did not mind if people decided not to stop. And he was not elated when some one bowed in front of him. And his smile stayed all along. He spoke to them affectionately.
We struck a conversation. He said he was here to visit the place, and also inspect the cleanliness in the temple. He had travelled all over India, from far north to the South visiting holy places with the same intent. And he was not happy with what he saw. He talked about his birthplace and a little about his history – something that is traditionally not spoken by these people. I wanted to ask him about his journeys, but such questions are usually not asked.
A villager sitting nearby joined us in the conversation. The talk turned to yesterday’s programs in the Hampi Utsava(Also see – picture gallery, Hampi Utsava). They relished talking on a mythological play which I had missed. The villager seemed to go into a devotional trance as he described the play – “It felt as if Lord Krishna himself had come down to earth and appeared on the stage”. I pinched myself again for missing out on the play.
I asked the Sadhu’s permission and took some pictures. He was willing to pose but I asked him not to. A child walked in all by himself. The sadhu smiled and patted his back. As I came back to him and sat down silently, more and more people walked in. With his ever-present smile, he blessed them and applied a paste of Vibhooti(sacred ash) on their forehead.
Most people who walked in struck a conversation. They felt at home with the complete stranger. My friends were back from the temple by then. I bowed to him again and moved on.