It was tough to wakeup in the early morning - 4:00 to be precise- specially after a sleepless night. Ultimately we were on our way. My friend slumped on the push back seat of the AC bus for a quick nap immediately after it started to Sravanabelagola as our first stop. It meant "The Monk of the white pond". Since I had already googled some information about the trip I was quiet excited about the prospect of coming face-to-face with the History. As the jungle of greenery invited me into its fold I was not disheartened by its vastness and was more than happy to leave the jungle of concrete. My view covered a pallet of farmlands, numerous coconut trees, beetle nut trees and small villages doted here and there. As we neared Sravanabelagola, like a dieting Anakonda the road on which our bus travelled, crawled into oblivion of timelessness. At this juncture I wished that the restless time would stand still for ever never returning to the regular life. But alas!!! all good things dont continue for too long.
Like two pillars,the hills Vindyagiri and Chandragiri stood on the either side of road.The 600 steps vindyagiri was majesty personified with the so called white pond beside it. And that is where we were headed to. History was calling us to revisit it so that it could reveal its numerous treasured flashbacks to make us more knowledgable. Many people who had started to ascend the hill with over confidence had been outdone by the steepness of it. I was one among them. The steps were etched on the hill and hence the reason for its steepness as it took the shape of the hill. The Chandragiri looked dwarfed from top of Vindyagiri.
The serene smile of 57 feet largest monolithic statue of Bahubali cooled our workedup nerves. Traditional music filled the air as we entered the shrine. It was a photo time now as we were awed by the height of the giant. This giant gets its princely bath (Mahamasthabhisheka) every 12 years. The smaller version of the giant is more luckier as it is bathed everyday.
To suggest you a piece of history, After defeating king bharatha in a battle, Bahubali entered the state of abstinence and took the root of an ascetic to finally attain moksha on this hill. This statue built by Ganga king in 981 AD is still an eye-ball grabber. If it is hard to imagine how they would have built this magnificent structure in the technology deprived age, it is equally hard to imagine what would happen when thousands of worshippers walking the only thin line of engraved footsteps to congregate in 2018 to do the Mahamastabhisheka.
Our next stop was Halebeedu. As our bus traversed through the tunnel of trees, I was thrilled to see the variety that it offered. Nowadays its become so difficult to accomodate so many trees in our so called urbanised societies uprooted to make way for bridges and flyovers that it takes a while for we urbanised souls to distinguish the names of it. Its always worthwhile to go for such outings just to keep in touch with what the nature has to offer. As the window of my bus provided the endless canvas of greenery what numerous paintings would not offer as if a movie unfolding in front of my eyes, my thoughts veered backward and front so on and so forth.
Just to give you a piece of my thoughts,
There was a huge Banyan tree in front of one of the houses in the colony where my friend stayed. Since it was huge tree it not only gave shade to the passers by but also to the nearby houses. During the fall season when dead leaves fall from the tree it also gave that much excercise to the people in the houses under the shade to clean the mess it created. It was easier for them to accuse the tree for its careless behavior than remember its service of shade for all these years. The irked people - who nowadays are more used to the comfort lifestyles and dont like to put there body to any kind of physical stress and strain- resorted to pressurizing the house owner in front of whose house the tree was located, to chop it. My friend played the hero part to protect the tree's rights(like human rights) by complaining to various organizations but only in vain. It was an anti-climax of sorts where villans had the last laugh instead of the hero. The tree was chopped. What should have been the major source of feeding to the impoverished villagers are being used as mere embellishments in front of buildings in this Global village.
The entrance of Halebidu evoked me out of my thoughts. It was lunch time by the time we reached this fallen kingdom. Halebidu means ruined city. In its heydays was called by the name of dwara samudra - capital of Hoysala dynasty in 12th century. It was destroyed by the surging Bahamani sultans. The Hoysaleswara temple which is the only surviving piece is a masterpiece in itself. It took over 3 generations to build this incomplete temple - as considered by Historians as it does not have the temple top. If an incomplete temple like this one can be considered as masterpiece what would it be had it been completed. In this current technologically advanced age we still cant match the perfection of the then skilled artisans. There was no cement used to arrange these beautifully carved stones. Though the heat of the afternoon sun would move our shoeless feet within a second, the wonderful artifacts carved on the walls of the temple could not move us for close to an hour. Even today Hoysaleswara is worshipped. Two of the largest Nandi statues are found here. The walls toled us many untoled stories of Mythology in which Ramayana, Mahabharatha and Bhagavatha being the major beneficiaries. We were curious enough to know that if a single temple of Hoysala carried such richness of artifacts how much more would all the sorrounding temples put together carry. But time was running out.
Our last stop was belur about 16 kms from Halebidu. The channakesava's statue is a treat to the eyes. If Halebidu was an external showpiece, this was an internal classic. The 80 pillars in the temple which are unique in their own way enriched by the skillfull craftsmanship adorns the internal space.
On the whole the trip gave us a taste of a different facet of hindu kings older than vijayanagara kings. Reading a google might give all the facts and details but it would not reveal us the greatness of those skillful ancient artists who gave us some of the most beautiful timeless sculptors. You have to experience it to know it.
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