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.