Shravanabelagola - Bahubaali

So after a brief break I was back to utilize my weekend .Me and badri had decided to go to Madhugiri FORT .hah!! Man propose and GOD disposes , they say .

It turned out we weren't going there after all.Getting up late in Sat morning(around 8 am Yeh!! thats LATE very LATE ;-)) we decided that it was quiet late for trekking rather lets go for some thing easy and quick.Shravanabelagola was at back of our minds

So after a quick breakfast and wash we headed towards majestic , to catch the direct bus to Shravanabelagola (around 11.40 am)
The bus was supposed to be luxury express .;-)
It wasn't that bad though.Our main concern was time as Sharvanabelagola is 160 km from Bangalore.so we were expecting to reach there by 4.00 pm (yes !4 hrs for 160 km ;-)
considering the road condition and traffic and EXPRESS speed of the bus ;-) ).

At 3.00 pm we had a quick mini lunch ;-)

we reached Shravanbelagola town around 3.45 pm .
Now a bit about this place

Shravanabelagola is a Jain pilgrim center.The town is situated between two hills known as Vindyagiri( also known as Indragiri) and Chandragiri. The unquenchable thirst one develops after visiting the giant monolithic statue of Lord Bahubali at Indragiri is further deepened by inscriptions. and sculptures that virtually speak history dating back to Indus Valley Civilization; and much more.

Frankly i wasn't expecting much.Just a statue and a temple ."oh GOD ! its going to be so boring".....Also as sun was fast fading i was expecting a quick return. just 30 min of site seeing then back( remember its a 4 hrs journey ).

so after getting down , i saw this SMALL hill and said right! just 10-15 of visit.then we'll
go to Chandragiri hill on our way back and have lunch then head back ... nothing special.
The entrance to the Hill
Now as we approached the entrance of hill (indragiri is where the statue is ) we realized that every one was climbing the hill steps with bare feet without any shoes or sandals.Removing the shoes and socks we felt the heat on the rock.

we started climbing.And we climbed and climbed and i started getting tired.Still no sign of our destination.I saw some old women wizz past me towards the top.
"Damn!!!" i said to myself."Need to hit the gas" i said and started climbing faster gulping in more air to support my lungs which was quickly running out of oxygen ;-) .
I stopped at one point to see the old women ,shrink smaller ..as if they were running on a plain.i looked around and was astounded.

The scene that greeted me filled me with immense extascy.I could see the whole city and as I moved i saw cahndragiri looking over indragiri .Chandagiri is comparatively smaller than Indragiri

one of the fascinating things about this hill is there are several inscriptions denoting certain events ,dating as far as 900 AD.

These inscriptions are in Hindi,Kannada,and Marathi languages.



After reaching the enterence (or the gateway as it is called)called akhanda bagilu of Hoysala times, we were totally out of breath.We took a break and enjoyed the view as cool breeze brushed our faces ,filling our lungs with fresh air and cooling our systems ;-)




As we climbed further we came across Tyagada Kamba.a small pavilion with elaborately carved pillar in the center.

It was probably erected in late 10th century.


Negotiating a seired of steps from Tyagada Kamba we stood before the Akhanda Bagilu(Monolithic gateway).This is one of the largest and finest reliefs of Gajalakshmi in the country This doorway was assignable to 980AD.

As we climbed further i appreciated the acrchitectural challenge the builders might have face .
there were several inscriptions on the walls of the temples dateded back to 900 AD.

And then we entered the main temple housing the Bahubali( Mahavir is refered to as bahubali )
the colossal image of bahuballi marks the culmination of artistic excellence achieved by
ganga sculptours.the magnificent sculpture was installed by Chavundaraya in around 982 AD.This north facing sculpture measures 18 mts in height.
Here the stark nudity of the sculpture indicates the absolute renunciation of a Kevalin(One who attains supreme Knowledge) and the stiff stance itself suggest the firm determination and self control.
Surrounding this sculptors were some fine artistic carvings

the below pic of a poem written for bahubali by poet Boppanna.I have no idea what it says but its inscription on block of stone is what caught my eyes
"Job over!!" I thought.It was 4.45 PM now and we were hungry and tired(although the view and breeze were very refreshing ).As we looked around from the top it scenery was simply AWESOME


As we started getting down form the hill i found many inscription on the rocks .Were these genuine one , did ASI(Archeological Survey of India ) miss these i dont know but these looked genuine .
I also found another very keen observer of these inscriptions ;-).
There was also a part of this hill which many tourist skipped , called channa basti.
There was a 24 pillared open hall which was constructed by chennanna in 1667 AD.
The 24 pillared open hall ..... above pic.

As we explored more, our adventure spirit came to fore.We found a series of steps leading further up.I must give credit to Badri who , although tired and hungry ,suggested to explore the destination of these steps.

The steps kept rising and as it approached the top , it was breathtaking.

Words cannot convey the gr8 magnificence and the grandeur of the view.
i felth how much i missed thses views and the gr8 and strange feeling that they arouse in me.It was as if i was practically tacken back to old time.I wondered how the pilgrims could come to the top( remembers the steps were build by the govt ...)and undergo a spiritual transformations.

How people were in harmony with the nature and how nature was provided care and sustenance to them , as if there was a relation between man and nature....
I felt some how on our way to PROGRESS we lost our selves ,we became so weak and dependent....
we stood there for some time enjoying and reliving the time .It was as if nature was showing us how grand and vast it is ...that to feel elated and happy one just needs to come closer to it.... Ok Ok no more philosophical stuff :-)

It was 5.15 PM now ,We were very hungry and needed to catch the bus to Channarayapatnam (the last direct bus to Bangalore was at 4.00 pm).we started our decent( if i may say so ).

I didnot miss Lalbagh at all.
Guess history is not of much importance to them ;-)

We were hungry and after scaling 630 steps to and fro were quiet tired.Then badri sugessted we have our lunch at this HOTEL(Raghu is name of my manager ;-))

"NOOO!!!!!NEVER!!!" I said .I would rather stay hungry than have food here ;-)
Badri suggested "imagine u r eating HIM , and not the masala dosa ...." Ye!!! gr8 idea "
After having raghu errr i mean masala dosa we set out for channaraypatnam.

The view form the bus stop was gr8 .We were getting late and decided to come again to cover the
Chandragiri hills then.

The journey to channaraypatnam was amazing(it is 11km form sharvanabelugole).

I saw small children playing int he field with their parents sitting in leisure and talking .i thought
"God!! Do we miss such time in the city ..."

We reached Channaraya patnam and immediately got into bus for Bangalore.We got in , and to our gr8 luck we got the front seat ,right next to the bus driver, with full view of the road and bulwark of trees.
It was a gr8 ride back to Bangalore.We reached by 10PM and had our meals in majestic and were back in our rooms by 11.30 pm .

It was an amazing day and I must give credit to Bangalore electricity dept for it (officially 1 hr power cut un official 3-4 hrs power cut ) ;-). I think credit also goes to the govt to making such tourist place well connected to Bangalore.

I feel lucky to be able to visit and explore more of INDIA and try to understand its history.

In the end i would like to quote a beautiful poem from the book "Into the Wild "

"There is pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes,
By the deep sea and the music in its roar;
I love not man the less, but Nature more."
— Lord Byron

Trip to Nandhi Hills ...Almost ! ;-)

Well this week I decided to go to Nandhi hills (I could almost hear a "Noooo!! Not Again !! voices )Hold on! hold your horses folks! .This trip was going to be a special one( i know almost every Bangalorean would have visited it multiple times ) To be frank i wasn't very interested in seeing the Nandhi hills( this was my 5th visit ) .So i decided to trek to top of Nandhi Betta (Betta in Kannada means Hill ) , just to make it exciting.My starting point was "Nandhi Cross".


The hill top is 8km from this point.So the trek seemed easy and simple .

The day was glorious and very windy.It was fun to trek through the curves with the warmth of sun beating down and a stiff breeze cooling u .


It was an amazing feeling to walk through the smaller hills , I would sometimes jump off the road , sit on the side rocks facing the breeze.

The sound of wind passing throught the leaves and rocks brought with it the smell of eucalyptus filling my lungs and giving me renewd energy ,it was a life time experience.It was also a nice break from constant sound and noise pollution of the city , being close to nature.The chirps of birds and whispering of trees would break the silence of the hill and I would jump off the road to find a shady rock and close my eyes to experience the symphony.



If u thought my idea of walking to the top was crazy ,then this would even sound crazier.I found quiet a few cyclist who had cycled from Bangalore(60 km s) to hill top.One of them was going back when he requested me to take a couple of his snaps( Do i look like a photographer ? ) he also informed me that there is actually couple of trek paths through the woods and mountain to the top of hill but he wasn't sure where exactly.


I was hoping to find such a track, through the woods and through the mountains surrounding the hill.If only I can find one , i thought .


Anyways as i continued my way up I was amazed at the scenic views that greeted my eyes .The land and all buildings were looking so small and organized.It is a totally different feeling when u stop and enjoy such beauty rather than just whiz past it in the automobile.




As I saw the miles getting reduced ( 4km more to the top , and i was thinking no not so soon) I saw a very curious trail road ending on the road.I was curious and started following the trail.



It was leading me into an adjacent mountain through woods.I would keep on saying to myself " just 5 more minutest then I'll turn back and trek to top "but the amazing feeling of discovering the unknown along with a chance of exploring the mountain tempted me to keep carrying on.The trail path and the surround seemed to remind me of the African landscape( natgeo for those who see that channel ;-) ).It was a totally amazing and exciting feeling to be alone on the road and as I kept moving up and I could see the land below growing smaller and smaller.The breeze was making it even more pleasant


Then at one point when i turned back I was totally mesmerized by the site nature had in stored for me.

In my front I saw the Nandi Hill with one of its temples and tipu's drop towering over me .And adjacent to it was this deep view of landscape .It felt like I was flying ;-) .Frankly i have no words to explain how it felt.


As I kept following the track I saw a mountain in front , as if challenging me to climbing it.


Looking at the watch it was 12.00 pm . and I needed to reach the top of Nandhi hill before 2.30pm ( there is a bus to Bangalore at 2.30 pm )I said to my self again "5 more minutes to figure out where this trails will lead me, then I'll head back,no matter what " .I was very very tempted to climb the mountain but was hesitant, should I explore the trail more or go for the mountain's top (all in 5 min ?? ) .I decided to follow the trail further ( promising myself to scale the mountain next time around )I kept following the trail as it was becoming even more exciting by the scenaries it offered .

I guess i was on an adjacent mountain to the Nandhi hills and with no one around, the excitement to investigating the unknown was very very tempting.At one point I saw the top of the mountain seem so small I wondered how come ? Am I close to the top of this mountain ( i preferred calling it Navbaba's Hill ;-) now).Looking back I was taken aback .I could see the trail looking small and it had indeed brought me close to the top of the mountain.


You could see the trail track which i was following

And there i saw the portion of Nandi hills staring at me , as if these hills were brothers looking upon one another.
Thats the Nandi hill.You can see the temple at the top if u expand the pic.

I kept following the trail when suddenly the trail ended.



I was very very disappointed.I thought I could have found a trek track but alas !! I decided to explore more before heading back.
But Hoooo!! wait a min !! i saw 2 more tracks leading to the top.

I was so happy and promised my self to explore it the next time I come.I searched for a nice spot for my lunch.


I had my yummy lunch took a small nap for 5 min and rushed back towards the road excited and refreshed .

As a child I liked to go alone exploring hills and landscape.I felt like a child again ;-)


I was back on the road and was 4km from my destination.I must confess these final 4km were very challenging.Esp because i was tired and also the road was becoming more steep .At around 1 km to the top I found another trail road joining the road to the top.Another adventure awaited me.Well! I decided not today I was pressed for time and needed to hurry ( it was 1.45 pm.) "next time dude ! " I promised my self .

At last at around 2.15pm I reached the top.Had some quick snacks at the ticket counter( i wasn't interested to go inside...also there were so many couples inside it reminded me of Lalbagh ;-), the famous couple's spot in Bangalore ;-) ).Anyways I waited for about 45 min and at around 3 pm the bus arrived.I reached Bangalore by 5.30 pm and slowly got used to the noise and chaos again ;-)

It turned out to be a very very pleasant Saturday for me .As Chirstopher McCandlesss said in the book "Into the Wild " -
"The core of mans' spirit comes from new experiences. "

My suggestion folks ,if u visit any place always explore it beyond what is commonly known about it , there is always some thing amazing waiting to be experienced .

Hail the spirit of adventure !!!!