Said goodbye to the faded and empty Hotel Lalita Mahal Palace after having a delicious breakfast that included a masala omelet. Come to think of it every hotel we've stayed in have had wonderful breakfasts and I've never eaten so many eggs in my life as I have during this trip.
Set out early for a visit to a local vegetable market. Saw all kinds of produce that are integral to Indian cooking such as tamarind, small red and green tomatoes, chili peppers, yams (that look like huge rocks), coriander and mint leaves, limes (lemons), watermelon, coconut, garlic and ginger.
Then on the way to Hassan
Lakuma told us the story of the Ramayana, or rather a 'cliff notes' version of the seven-volume tale that takes years to read. The Ramayana is the story of the hero Rama - the seventh incarnation of the god Shiva - versus his nemesis Ravana. At the climax of this spellbinding tale, Rama successfully saves (with the help of the monkey god Hanuman) his wife Sita from having been kidnapped and held prisoner for 14 years by Ravana on the island of Sri Lanka. Lakuma tells the story extremely well and at a level that we can understand.
One word came out of her storytelling that I'd like to remember - "muhurthe" (pronounced moo-hoort-a) - which means "
the time between one second and a minute". The meaning is that one should go with one's first instinct; that it's a mistake to over-think one's gut feeling regarding a decision because the gut instinct is more often than not correct.
Our first sightseeing stop of the day was a Jain Temple, Sravanbelagola. The temple is on top of a 400 ft hill made of slickrock and you need to climb 620 (steep!) steps to reach it. Fortunately the weather was sunny but not terribly hot and if you took the steps slowly, as I did, you could make it. When we reached the top Lakuma told me to say "Jai Hanuman" which is apparently what you say if you've done something you didn't think you could do. I suppose it also has to do with reaching a destination because Hanuman flew all the way to Sri Lanka several times to help Sita and Rama.
At the top there is one of the largest monolithic statues in the world; a huge naked 58 ft statue of Bahubali (Gomateshvara) created in 981 AD. Jains are a particular Hindu sect who practice strict vegetarianism. They will not kill any form of life and even in the plant realm will not eat vegetables that grow beneath the ground.
Afterward we ate lunch across the street from the temple at a restaurant strictly for locals.
Checked into our charming hotel at about 2:30 (Hoysala Village in Hassan) and had 20 minutes to return to the bus to continue touring.
The late afternoon was spent visiting magnificent (I repeat magnificent) Hoysala Dynasty temples.
First to Halebid, another intricate and delicately carved soapstone temple created 800 years ago. The exterior temple carvings tell the story of the Ramayana. The temple is dedicated to Shiva and his wife the goddess Parvati. Shiva has 64 incarnations.
Then to Halebid (Chennakeshvara) temple built in 1116 AD. The King commissioned this temple to celebrate the victory of the Hoysalas over the Cholas. Chennakeshvara took 103 years to complete. The temple was designed by a notable sculptor of the period but signatures of other sculptors can also be found on the building. Halebid had figure carvings incised so deeply that they almost looked like free standing sculptural works. Some statues stand under branches and leaves that are fully formed and cut away from the background like lace. We were told that if you place a string through the eye of a statue it would emerge through the nose. Some were signed by particular artists. The carving is done in such a delicate manner that it's hard to believe they've survived for so many centuries. Truly magnificent artisanship.
The town of Hassan is dusty and nondescript but our hotel is quite charming. There are small bungalows spread across large grounds with a pool. Our room is quite new and in excellent condition with a modern bath. Returned to the hotel at 7 and had a nice dinner at the hotel in an open-air dining room with Lakuma. To bed exhausted around 10.
