Today we were on the road again to Mysore about 3 hours on India Stretchable Time. The travel included major highways and then some fascinating back roads as the bus driver took a more scenic route as he missed the turnoff. No Tim Hortons in sight but no problem.

Because of the rural route we were able to get out of the mini bus and talk to the people planting rice which turned out to be an agricultural research project. The rice paddy was being leveled by a team of oxen and the work crew were preparing to plant the seedlings, which were about 6 inches tall and placed a few inches apart. It takes about 3- 4 months for the rice to mature and then it is harvested by hand.

Rice paddy being prepared

Another curious thing we ran into or rather ran over were piles of what looked like hay on the road. It turned out to be millet and it wasn’t that someone lost their load. It was placed there on purpose so the traffic would run over it to take the millet off the stalk. From there it was swept up and winnowed by hand out of flat woven baskets.

In Mysore, population 1.8 million, we toured another Vishnu temple which was quite a different experience as it was an active temple full of black stone carvings of the deities and throngs of people praying. We all got a blessing from the priest in the form of red sandalwood paste on our foreheads which the local guide assured us meant we would live to be 100! The devotees were bringing fruit, flowers and sheafs of tulsi or holy basil to leave at the altars.

Next on the tour was Mysore Palace built in the early 1900’s after the original palace burned down. It was opulent with richly carved ceilings, massive pillars, exquisite tile work. We were surprised to learn that many of the building materials came from England, Scotland, Italy and other countries.

I tried to find out about Krishnamacharya teaching yoga to the young men of the court at the palace but our local guide didn’t know anything about it. Only certain parts of the palace are open for visitors anyway and the local guides don’t have a lot of English beyond the basics of the tour. I did manage to find out that the current Maharaja who is only a figurehead still has 14 elephants which are kept in the local forest and taken back to the city for parades at festivals, the next one being in October. I could just imagine the majesty of that kind of a procession on the massive parade ground with the Maharaja in his solid gold howda or throne atop his personal elephant named Arjuna!

One more temple today for Chamundi, an incarnation of Parvati which is a very popular pilgrimage site high on a hill overlooking Mysore. We chose to be driven instead of climbing the 1,000 step staircase. We didn’t go in as there was a huge line up and everyone was getting tired anyway.

Out front of the temple is a small cement pit about 2 feet deep for making offerings of fresh coconut, You buy the coconut and then heave it into the pit to smash it open as the coconut water is considered a pure offering to the Goddess. The resident monkeys eat up the leftovers.

Another type of offering available for sale all around the temple are small baskets containing two coconuts, a red rose and a pink lotus flower. Such beauty and simplicity.

The hotel we are in is quite lovely! I was expecting something much more basic but so far they have been just great. Our touring companions are a lot of fun and I think we were all relieved to find that we have many values in common. We all love Indian food and share many pots of chai in the morning. Tonight at dinner Subash told us all about how his marriage was arranged and about his wedding in Darjeeling in 2001 with more than 1,000 guests!

More from Incredible India soon!

Another spectacular day in Karnataka State. We visited two absolutely stunning 12th century temples today. I don’t have too many pictures on the iPhone but here is one small example of the craftsmanship that took almost 200 years and 20,000 laborers to construct under the Hoysala kings.

The entire external surface of the temple at Halebid is covered with statues that tell the stories of the epics the Mahabharata and Ramayana. We had a great local guide who gave us a few of the highlights.

In the photo below are two examples of the soapstone sculptures. Left is Vishnu on a peacock, right is Ganesha on a rat. Each of these panels are about 6 feet tall and 3 feet across.

Vishnu and Ganesha at Halebid

Each piece is unique and so intricate. If you look down to the rat that Ganesh is standing on, you will see how the sculptor showed the weight of Ganesha by having the rat’s claw dig into the bottom decoration – subtle but profound. The pieces are alive with energy, myth and humor.

Halebid is a Shiva temple, with a long main hallway and two raised circular platforms for Bharatanatyam dancing so I was able to offer a few steps on the platform in honor of the lineage of this sacred art form. Another one of my heart’s desires fulfilled so I told everyone that I could go home now.

The next temple in nearby Belur was a Vishnu temple and was also magnificent with sculptures of dancers and stories. It is an active temple and was more crowded and hot so not quite as enjoyable to tour around but still magnificent. I think we were all so overwhelmed by Halebid, it was almost too much to take in.

On the way back to the hotel, Subash took us to see where jaggery was being made. It’s the Indian equivalent of maple sugar candy made from sugar cane. Apparently it is good for the digestion and is a popular snack. Everything was done by hand from loading the machinery, stirring massive flat bottomed vats, stoking the fire with dried sugar cane and then breaking up the final product into slabs.

Before supper Subash took us for a walk to see a small village of about 60 people. We would never get to see something like this on a big tour bus. Subsistence farming, cows and goats, a few crops, communal well, red brick or mud homes all tight together with tiny alleyways, a couple of newer homes being built of cement block that would have indoor plumbing and a septic system but no running water, most had electrical service. People were coming home from the fields with their livestock and the kids were home from school so we had the usual crowd of curious and shy onlookers. Humbling experience.

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.