Sravanabelangola, Hassan, Halebid and Belur – 1st + 2nd July 2006
On Saturday, the 1th of July at 7.30 a.m. Rebecca, Maria, Gaya, Carolin, Karolina, Jaap and me started on our trip to Sravanabelangola, Halebid and Belur. All these towns are located very close to Bangalore. So we decided to go there by car, what meant, that we hired a driver for two days. Due to the enormous supply of car transporting, we only had to pay 150 Rupees for the driver per day and 6,50 Rupees per kilometre. All together, a very cheep trip in my opinion. It was the first time that I left Bangalore. And it was a very impressive trip, that’s what I can already say without having already told too much. The area among Bangalore is really rural. Once you have left Bangalore you are in the middle of agriculture. Very poor people live here, although only some kilometres from the “Silicon Valley” of India away. Here, probably some of the farmers haven’t seen any white men before. 
So, as we made a break to get some air for the tires, we were surrounded by some citizens of this small village. It was so incredible to see in the eyes of one of these little boys who seemed to ask himself what kind of thing these white men are holding in their hands. You can´t imagine, how he looked then when he recognized himself in this little thing called camera. He was wondering, how on earth he could come inside of this thing. The citizens here wash their clothes in lakes and then know the clothing on stones. Exactly how the Europeans did it centuries ago. And wherever you look, you see cows and sheeps eating close to the streets. The farmers use oxen to cultivate their fields, no machines or anything comparable to it. In a nutshell, the people here live very simple, some of them can’t read or write, for sure.
Our fist stop then was Sravanabelangola. Here we paid a visit to the famous Gomateshvara, a Jain deity. It´s a completely naked statue of 17,5 meter height and is supposed to be the world´s tallest monolithic statue. From this it follows that the monolith was carved out of stone. Incredible, isn't it? I don't want to know how much time it took to finish it. It must have taken decades. It stands on a hill called Vindhyagiri Hill. We had to take off our shoes before we could start climbing the 615 steps upstairs. The reason is that shoes are very dirty in the Indians thinking and in order to keep the place pure we had to do that. But it was no problem, although it was raining a little bit and thus not completely free of danger. On our way to the top we had a great view over the landscape.
India is a really beautiful country, trust me. We came unfortunately four month to late, coz in March there was a festival held only every 12 years on which blossoms, milk and paint were poured above the Gomateshvara´s head. Because of that, its colour has changed from grey into red. Gaja even took part of a prayer with some Hindus in front of the Monolith. Afterwards we went down to continue our fantastic trip.
Our next destination then was Hassan. Here we wanted to stay for the night. We found a hotel for 213 Rupees per night and person. But nevertheless, this was quite expensive. Rebecca told me that on a former trip they paid only 40 Rupees per night and person. Well, but Rebecca had to admit that the room wasn´t as good furnished as our room. Anyhow, it is incredible, isn’t it? 4 Euros per night and person. In Hassan itself, there is nothing worth visiting.
Thus, we decided to go to the pictures to watch the movie “Honeymoon Express”, an Indian movie. We paid each 25 Rupees (40 Cents). Of course, we haven´t understood any word, coz the movie was spoken completely in Kannada, the language of Karnataka. But nevertheless it was real entertainment, for us as well as for the others, coz it was very strange for the citizens to see white men in their cinema. The movie was very funny and of course with a lot of songs in it.
I have to admit, that I start liking Hindi music more and more. After the break of the movie we decided to go for a walk in the city. But in advance, we first bought some popcorn. It was tasty and I wouldn´t have expected that, spicy. Indians seem to add spice to every food. The walk in the city was unbelievable. For that evening, we seemed to be celebrities. We were surrounded by the citizens and of course, lots of beggars, as everywhere. They wanted to know our names, funny, isn’t it? But that´s the Indian way of starting a conversation. They want to know your name, so that they can claim later then having talked to you and even knowing you! The streets in Hassan were unbearable. We walked in mud and nothing else, especially in the side roads. I don´t understand why it is so difficult to build acceptable streets.
After having had a dinner in the hotel, which cost 409 Rupees (8 Euros) for 7 persons, we all together watched the match England vs. Portugal and later then went immediately to bed.
In the early morning then we left Hassan for Halebid which is only 35 kilometres away from Hassan. But nevertheless, to go there you need nearly one hour. Why that, you ask now. Well, the answer is very simple. Although the roads between two more or less big cities are in good shape, it is impossible to drive more than 80 km/h. And of course, every now and then the road is crossed by cattles. As we finally arrived in Halebid, at once, we were surrounded by several vendors who wanted to sell postcards, little elephants made of stone and so on. But first, we wanted to pay a visit to the Hoysaleswara Temple. It is a really nice temple. It was impressive to see all the figures of stone which must have been made with a lot of patience, coz otherwise it wouldn´t have been possible to sculpture the statues so detailed. Here, we had to take off our shoes as well. Actually it´s really strange, coz the Indians are used to throw their garbage in the streets, but if garbage is related with Hinduism, they are very severe. On our way back to the car we were again surrounded by vendors. I was interested in such a little statue made of stone. At the beginning, I should pay 50 Rupees, but at the end then, I only paid 15 Rupees for a little elephant made of stone. It is quite nice. When we meet each other one day I will show you, I promise. After having seen Halebid, we went to Belur to visit the Channekeshava Temple there. This temple is even more impressive as the temple of Halebid. Around the temple, there is a big court with about 100 of 100 metres and in its middle you find the temple.
The two temples have a lot in common, but the one in Belur is bigger and there are several other little temples joining the big one in the middle. As I was in one of the other smaller temple with our driver, I had a prayer with some other Hindis. At the end of the prayer I became a little red stain on my forehead. I was so proud of it, that I left it on my forehead for the rest of the day. As we left the temple it was already past 1 p.m.. So we decided to go back to Bangalore. But first we had a lunch in Hassan again, in the Southern Star Hotel exactly. It was very tasty and we all had continental food, no Indian food. Afterwards, we took-off for Bangalore. We had 180 kilometres to go to Bangalore, which lasted nearly four hours. At 6.30 p.m. we arrived in Bangalore, at Robertson House. We had to pay the trip at once. Altogether we paid 4.200 Rupees, 3.900 Rupees for the car and 300 Rupees for the driver. But due to the fact, that we were very content with our driver, we gave him a tip of 140 Rupees. All summed up, I can recommend you to do such little trips when you are doing a traineeship in India one day. It is really interesting, especially the trip itself is nothing but fun. On such trips you can experience the true India, coz about 40% of the Indians live close or even under the poverty limit. For that reason, India is still a developing country, definitely. Everybody who claims the contrary is lying or has a completely different judgment concerning valuing the facts. Due to the fact that down to this week-end, I had only seen Bangalore, it was a good contrast to the life in Bangalore. And the mood among us was also good. Let me loose one personal remark to you, Maria. I will never forget as you lost your temper when the guy in the hotel was preparing your bed on the floor and as you asked the boy in the streets of Hassan, what else would be worth visiting here. Hey, you six! Thanks for this great trip and the fun we had. I hope we will go on a trip again in the near future. As for me, I would be a party to that, definitely! And all you at home in Germany, be anxious what’s coming up next.
So, as we made a break to get some air for the tires, we were surrounded by some citizens of this small village. It was so incredible to see in the eyes of one of these little boys who seemed to ask himself what kind of thing these white men are holding in their hands. You can´t imagine, how he looked then when he recognized himself in this little thing called camera. He was wondering, how on earth he could come inside of this thing. The citizens here wash their clothes in lakes and then know the clothing on stones. Exactly how the Europeans did it centuries ago. And wherever you look, you see cows and sheeps eating close to the streets. The farmers use oxen to cultivate their fields, no machines or anything comparable to it. In a nutshell, the people here live very simple, some of them can’t read or write, for sure.Our fist stop then was Sravanabelangola. Here we paid a visit to the famous Gomateshvara, a Jain deity. It´s a completely naked statue of 17,5 meter height and is supposed to be the world´s tallest monolithic statue. From this it follows that the monolith was carved out of stone. Incredible, isn't it? I don't want to know how much time it took to finish it. It must have taken decades. It stands on a hill called Vindhyagiri Hill. We had to take off our shoes before we could start climbing the 615 steps upstairs. The reason is that shoes are very dirty in the Indians thinking and in order to keep the place pure we had to do that. But it was no problem, although it was raining a little bit and thus not completely free of danger. On our way to the top we had a great view over the landscape.
India is a really beautiful country, trust me. We came unfortunately four month to late, coz in March there was a festival held only every 12 years on which blossoms, milk and paint were poured above the Gomateshvara´s head. Because of that, its colour has changed from grey into red. Gaja even took part of a prayer with some Hindus in front of the Monolith. Afterwards we went down to continue our fantastic trip.
Our next destination then was Hassan. Here we wanted to stay for the night. We found a hotel for 213 Rupees per night and person. But nevertheless, this was quite expensive. Rebecca told me that on a former trip they paid only 40 Rupees per night and person. Well, but Rebecca had to admit that the room wasn´t as good furnished as our room. Anyhow, it is incredible, isn’t it? 4 Euros per night and person. In Hassan itself, there is nothing worth visiting.
Thus, we decided to go to the pictures to watch the movie “Honeymoon Express”, an Indian movie. We paid each 25 Rupees (40 Cents). Of course, we haven´t understood any word, coz the movie was spoken completely in Kannada, the language of Karnataka. But nevertheless it was real entertainment, for us as well as for the others, coz it was very strange for the citizens to see white men in their cinema. The movie was very funny and of course with a lot of songs in it.
I have to admit, that I start liking Hindi music more and more. After the break of the movie we decided to go for a walk in the city. But in advance, we first bought some popcorn. It was tasty and I wouldn´t have expected that, spicy. Indians seem to add spice to every food. The walk in the city was unbelievable. For that evening, we seemed to be celebrities. We were surrounded by the citizens and of course, lots of beggars, as everywhere. They wanted to know our names, funny, isn’t it? But that´s the Indian way of starting a conversation. They want to know your name, so that they can claim later then having talked to you and even knowing you! The streets in Hassan were unbearable. We walked in mud and nothing else, especially in the side roads. I don´t understand why it is so difficult to build acceptable streets.
After having had a dinner in the hotel, which cost 409 Rupees (8 Euros) for 7 persons, we all together watched the match England vs. Portugal and later then went immediately to bed.In the early morning then we left Hassan for Halebid which is only 35 kilometres away from Hassan. But nevertheless, to go there you need nearly one hour. Why that, you ask now. Well, the answer is very simple. Although the roads between two more or less big cities are in good shape, it is impossible to drive more than 80 km/h. And of course, every now and then the road is crossed by cattles. As we finally arrived in Halebid, at once, we were surrounded by several vendors who wanted to sell postcards, little elephants made of stone and so on. But first, we wanted to pay a visit to the Hoysaleswara Temple. It is a really nice temple. It was impressive to see all the figures of stone which must have been made with a lot of patience, coz otherwise it wouldn´t have been possible to sculpture the statues so detailed. Here, we had to take off our shoes as well. Actually it´s really strange, coz the Indians are used to throw their garbage in the streets, but if garbage is related with Hinduism, they are very severe. On our way back to the car we were again surrounded by vendors. I was interested in such a little statue made of stone. At the beginning, I should pay 50 Rupees, but at the end then, I only paid 15 Rupees for a little elephant made of stone. It is quite nice. When we meet each other one day I will show you, I promise. After having seen Halebid, we went to Belur to visit the Channekeshava Temple there. This temple is even more impressive as the temple of Halebid. Around the temple, there is a big court with about 100 of 100 metres and in its middle you find the temple.
The two temples have a lot in common, but the one in Belur is bigger and there are several other little temples joining the big one in the middle. As I was in one of the other smaller temple with our driver, I had a prayer with some other Hindis. At the end of the prayer I became a little red stain on my forehead. I was so proud of it, that I left it on my forehead for the rest of the day. As we left the temple it was already past 1 p.m.. So we decided to go back to Bangalore. But first we had a lunch in Hassan again, in the Southern Star Hotel exactly. It was very tasty and we all had continental food, no Indian food. Afterwards, we took-off for Bangalore. We had 180 kilometres to go to Bangalore, which lasted nearly four hours. At 6.30 p.m. we arrived in Bangalore, at Robertson House. We had to pay the trip at once. Altogether we paid 4.200 Rupees, 3.900 Rupees for the car and 300 Rupees for the driver. But due to the fact, that we were very content with our driver, we gave him a tip of 140 Rupees. All summed up, I can recommend you to do such little trips when you are doing a traineeship in India one day. It is really interesting, especially the trip itself is nothing but fun. On such trips you can experience the true India, coz about 40% of the Indians live close or even under the poverty limit. For that reason, India is still a developing country, definitely. Everybody who claims the contrary is lying or has a completely different judgment concerning valuing the facts. Due to the fact that down to this week-end, I had only seen Bangalore, it was a good contrast to the life in Bangalore. And the mood among us was also good. Let me loose one personal remark to you, Maria. I will never forget as you lost your temper when the guy in the hotel was preparing your bed on the floor and as you asked the boy in the streets of Hassan, what else would be worth visiting here. Hey, you six! Thanks for this great trip and the fun we had. I hope we will go on a trip again in the near future. As for me, I would be a party to that, definitely! And all you at home in Germany, be anxious what’s coming up next.
posted by Thorsten at 2:36 AM
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