I arrived in Bangalore (or Bangalooru) Friday late evening. My friend Manish, his wife Minu, and their son Rishi were there to pick me up. It is a treat to be among old friends. Again, I am astonished that I have now visited Manish more times in his new Bangalore home than in his previous abode in Stamford, Connecticut. I know Hyderabad better than Jerusalem. I have spent more time in India than any other country apart from Israel, England, and the USA. We had a late night meal of freshly home-cooked uttapam and dal. Minu's mom prepared some spicy chutney for me - she knows my weak spot :)
We woke up early (~5am) this morning to get ready for a long day of sight-seeing in Western Karnataka. Our first stop was Shravanabelagola, a small Jain town about ~200km West from Bangalore where a huge 1000-year-old monolithic statue of a famous Jain figure, Bahubali (100th son of the first Tirthankara, Lord Rishabha) rests atop a hill overlooking the surrounding region. On the way, I learned about Bahubali, Tirthankaras, and Lord Ganesha (Hindu god) whose birthday was being celebrated all day today by drowning clay statues of his likeness in lakes, rivers, pools, and buckets. The car dropped us off at the bottom of Bahubali's hill. We walked up ~625 steps of varying heights to reach the summit. The temple housing the feet of the statue seats in silence fit for deep meditation, and the ~100-ft tall monolith did not disappoint in its stature or magnificence.
Getting back down was harder. When we reached the base my knees were shaking. The village has a little canteen serving Jain food (rice, dals, and curd for most part since Jains have a strict vegatarian diet bordering on fruitarianism) for free, although it is customary to leave some money as charity to the village which chips in to keep the canteen working and the monks of the temple well-fed. We ate there and then continued with the car on to Belur and its Chennakesava (handsome Vishnu) Temple.


We then drove about 4 hours back through rain, high beams, and bumpy roads. Tired but happy, we freshened up and ordered Domino's Pizza for dinner - paneer on one, onions and green peppers on the other, both covered in green and red chillies. People all over the country (especially in Mumbai) are wrapping up their celebrations of Lord Ganesha's birthday, the clay statues melting into the water in which they were immersed, his spirit returning back to the heavens...
No comments:
Post a Comment