Hoysala Temples

 

I have to say that in the past two years I think I have done a lot of traveling which I dont think I ever did in my life. That too solo.

 Its interesting how things open up when you decide to travel on your own and not wait for anyone to join in. Another side effect is that seeing one travel so much they also decide to join you in your coming trip which actually happened when I had decided for the Bhimashanker trip on the bike. 

That trip was supposed to be a stepping stone for another trip of mine that I was planning, again on a bike.

 I have to say that growing up I did believed in God, in fact as a child used to do aarti also after taking a bath and all, visiting local temples and all. Nobody told me to do that but I used to do that on my own. 

For me as a child, God was a friend who helps the good people and thrashes the bad people. Then I had a fight with god and I simply stopped doing what I used to do. That would include visiting the local temples too. Even now I hardly visit the local temples.

That did not meant I gave up on our friendship but yes I was angry. As a child sometimes one does not understand the turns life takes nor one gets the answers they are searching for.

I am very much invested in the Indian mythologies especially Mahabharath and do wish to read the Vedas or Upanishads if I can. I find it very odd that foreigners found inspiration in our ancient texts and built something that could end the world. Yet here we are being independent for over 75 years as a country and a majority of Indians are pretty clueless about the contributions that India has made in the world or how advanced our ancestors were. Its a pity.

 When I decided to travel, visiting temples was certainly not on my list. Yet here we are and I have already visited a few in places like Hampi, Tripura, Bhimashankar, Gujarat and others to name a few.

I realized that its the temple architecture that has my attention. Those beautiful carvings carved out, the detailing and intricate designs speak so much of ability to tell stories out a stone.

I also have to state that Instagram scrolling also enabled to know more about such places of worship which have been built beautifully but I had no clue about.

They Hoysala temples were one of those reels that I would come across and would be mesmerized by the beautiful carved statues and the mandanikas. Also who can forget those perfect polished granite pillars and its complex designs, when there were no machines around.  

Wondering how did this trip happened? Well, I needed a break. Its so strange that within a couple of months from my Tripura trip. I went ahead with this one.

More on that I did this trip on my bike. That was not the first choice but given the transportation concerns, I thought it would be better to ride on my bike and it certainly did not disappoint.

 Doing a bike ride on the highways has its own fun.

 I would be sharing the travel details in my upcoming posts. If its more than one blog posts then I would link it below for easy reference.

Lucky to Be Alive!!!

I thought this would be my last trip. If you have traveled in one of those "Super Express" buses plying in the state of Karnataka/Kerala, you would know what I am talking about.

This is not the first time that I was riding on these buses. The experience this time was definetly terrifying though. It looked as if the driver had made his mind up to live up to the name of "Super Express". For once I felt that the BEST buses in Mumbai was a smaller evil in front of this monster, but then you don't have so many open roads in Mumbai where you can really make your vehicles go faster.

Down here in Kerala, private buses form the crux of the road transportation. As there are many players involved, competition is tough. A case of who gets the passengers first at each stop and they would do anything to out do each other even if it means speeding, making dangerous manevours and overtakes.

The bus in which I was traveling had almost knock down a biker who made a wrong pass. The bus driver even went ahead and tried to make a U-turn without slowing down so as to reach the bus stop in the first position. His efforts did not pay off, but he did made me realize how one would feel if the bus is on a two set of tyres. There was a moment when I started chanting GOD's name when standing in a position made it possible for me to look outside the same glass the driver was looking through. The way he was driving, you too would have started praying. I am pretty sure that some of these 'maverick' drivers might have ended up in accidents. I wished not to be a part of it.

I am not sure if the people of Kerala find this amusing, but something should be done about this. For me, the bus ride was one hell of a journey and I feel Lucky to Be Alive!!