Jain Saint Gomatesvara

At the top of the mountain is a huge complex of passageways and shrines culminating in this massive stone sculpture, the largest free standing stone monolith in the world.

The saint is said to have stood so still in his meditation that vines grew up around him. We were able to spend about half an hour here and although the signs say silence please there were babies crying and a low murmur of voices as well as the ubiquitous goats bleating in the background. But we all know that the chaos outside can deepen our inner connection.

And of course what goes up must come down including us. The steps were pleasantly warm underfoot. A tiny lady in a crimson and saffron sari passed me going the other way and said “Sri Ram Jai Ram” as she touched my arm. Maybe she was offering me a blessing or maybe she thought it would be good luck to touch the red headed Western woman. Guess I am still not blending in with the locals!

Lunch was at a small restaurant in the town. Some had the thali plate of breads with tiny pots of condiments and sauces served on a large stainless steel plate or a dosa which is a big crepe freshly made from rice flour and stuffed with potato. Lunch for the two of us with lime sodas was 105 rupees or about $2.00.

In the small town we encountered people trying to sell us postcards and socks, very persistent as well as a couple of little girls begging for money. I am sure we will see more of these activities at the larger tourist sites but we did not see any of this in Kerala. Subash advised us to adopt a Buddhist perspective and try to not get distressed about it but that will take some cultivation and contemplation.

Now we are set up in a beautiful resort called Hoysala Village which has a swimming pool and gorgeous grounds. We were greeted with jasmine garlands and sandalwood paste on our forehead and lots of Namaste! We have two nights here and are off to see more temples tomorrow. There a couple of large tour groups from Europe here as well which makes me appreciate our little ensemble.

We are on India standard time or as Subash likes to say India stretchable time, which is probably why it feels like we have been here for a month or maybe a lifetime or two!

Stairway to heaven

Subash told us there are 660 steps to the top of the mountain to visit the pilgrimage site! We had to either go barefoot or in “temple socks” as footwear is not permitted. Wally wore his socks but I decided to have the full barefoot experience. Subash also told us we would have to run up the hill! Gasp! Only joking! But he used to be a mountain guide in Nepal so no doubt could do it! He did say to go at your own pace and pay attention to “your nature” to make sure we didn’t over do it. We all made it to the top and really it wasn’t that bad as we went very slowly hanging on to the generous hand rails. The stone steps had all been carved right into the mountain side and I wondered how many other feet had touched the steps since the site was established in 981 AD.

Garlands of jasmine, marigolds and roses

We met up with our tour guide Subash Tamang, a charming man from Darjeeling of Nepalese descent who is a Buddhist – how perfect is that? His English is excellent and he speaks Hindi as well.

Our tour companions are a lovely couple from Ottawa, Bud and Trish who have done extensive travel with this tour company and Hilary from New York City on her first trip to India.

We have a comfortable mini tour bus with big windows and lots of room and best of all a great driver named Raman.

We said goodbye to Bangalore this morning around 8, with mercifully lighter traffic and made our way to a Jain pilgrimage center en route to Hassan.

At a small crossroad, Subash bought some bananas and we took photos of the garlands available for sale.

We started our morning with a typical Kerala breakfast – small rice dumplings called Idli served with Sambar which is vegetables in a sauce, fresh bananas right off the tree and tea masala.

Another guest was pointing off into the fields and we went over to see what the excitement was about. A whole row of wild peacocks were making their way across the field, necks stretched out the way wild turkeys run except with iridescent feathers shining in the early morning light.

Ancient Jain temple with tour guide Justin

So if that wasn’t enough to make our day we then were taken by one of the workers named Justin to see two ancient Jain temples a short walk from the estate. Both were falling down but that only added to the majesty of their intricate carvings, including Hanuman the monkey god.

And if that wasn’t enough to fill us right up, Justin then took us to see the Ganapati temple also off the main road. Ganapati is another name for Ganesha the elephant headed god. This was a huge honor for us as the inner sanctuary of Hindu temples is usually off limits to non-Hindus. It was a highlight for Cath to be able to ask for the blessings of Ganesh in a waft of sandalwood incense with the soft light of the oil lamp on brass tray enhancing the beauty of flowers left for the puja or offering.

After all of that we hopped in the car for what was billed as a 4 hour drive to Bangalore which morphed into 8 hours. We crossed into a wildlife reserve and almost at the edge of the park we caught a glimpse of a wild elephant on the other side of the road. We had passed by her before we realized what we were looking at. Ashref stopped the car but by the time we got turned around in our seats all we could see was the backside of an elephant making a hasty retreat away from the road. It reminded us of seeing bears in the Western national parks, a glimpse is usually all you get and all you would want to get. The road signs say very clearly no picnicking and no photography. We have a couple more visits to wildlife parks on the formal tour so hope to spot more wildlife. The park we were in is closed from 6 pm to 6 am to help protect the animals.

We left Kerala state and entered Karnataka state which was much drier, more desert like than the lush tropics of Kerala. The language changes as well from Malayalam to Kannada, just like it sounds!There is more agriculture including vegetables and flowers. We also saw more livestock – goats, sheep, donkeys and cows being herded down the highway or tended in fields. We saw the classic Indian white bulls drawing carts or being led in groups of 2 or 3 en route for plowing the fields. Sometimes these bulls are tinted yellow which might be tumeric and their horns are painted red, blue or tipped with brass decorations. Other cows can be seen walking on the road but more often resting in the shade – smart cows! We encountered many small hindu temples all along the way plus a huge four sided gold Ganesh towering several stories high.

Traffic got much denser when we got close to Bangalore whose congestion is legendary and for good reason. Picture four lanes of traffic narrowing down to two in complete chaos with a mix of cars, trucks, buses, auto rickshaws and motorcycles all vying for space with inches between each vehicle. We have a few videos to show you – you won’t believe it. Thank goodness for GPS which got us to the hotel. Ashref and Rauf went to stay with a cousin and were to drive all the way home the next day. We were sad to say goodbye to these great guys and we could never have got here without them! Our tour book says “the best advice to anyone thinking about driving in India is, don’t !”

Only in incredible India could we see wild peacocks, abandoned temples, active temples, wild elephants and use a GPS to find a hotel in the midst of complete chaos – all in one day!

After settling in to our accommodations Ashraf and Rauf took us over to Jafar’s sister’s home for coffee, delicious snacks and a visit. Their home is only a few hundred meters from the guest house where we were staying.

Jafar’s brother in law told us that he worked in Saudi Arabia for 14 years. Now he is focused on farming on the family property. Like their neighbours, they grow coffee beans as well.

Neighbor kids visit too

While we were there several small children from the neighbours’ homes came over to see who was visiting. At first they came and peeked up the driveway, all ran away then came up to the house, peeked at us again and ran away until finally mustered up the courage to come right into the house to see us up close. Not too many Westerners in this part of Kerala. There were about 10 kids ranging from 3 – 12. Cath gave each of them a Canada lapel pin which they all got a big kick out of. They all then posed for a photo!

We took several photos of our visit but unfortunately they are on the camera card which I cannot access until I can hook up to a computer.