Laddakh and Back - Day 1, April 6th 2009
Got delayed in starting, by a day and a half. But we've finally started. It's a little unbelievable. Lunch at "The Dhaba". And there we go. It takes a long time to get out of Bangalore. Preetam says, how many vehicles you think are here with destination Kashmir?
We decide to stop for the night at Sravanbelagola. The road - the detour from NH48 towards Sravanbelagola - is beautiful, passing through undulating country through a rural setting. Hardly any traffic. Its twilight time. Preetam sees a hill silhouetted in the distance, with lights leading from the foot to the top. This must be the hill of the famous statue of Gomateshwara. By the time we reach the place, it is almost dark. This is a delightful little village-town bustling with activity. After checking in at a Jain dharamshala, we walk out into the streets. Small shops of all kinds. The weather is pleasant. Wandering about, we see a street with a lot of activity. Theres a temple at the far end and a congregation has gathered. Looks like a festival. And when we do reach the center of activity, its unbelievable! Loads of people gathered in the central area, loads of onlookers standing and watching, more people streaming in from different directions, women and children all dressed up - theres celebration in the air. This is the time of a five day "Jaathra" at the Jain temple and people have come from all near and far away villages. After a dinner of dosa in a dim lit restaurant, we come back to this place and visit the Jain temples there - they are beautiful in their simplicity. We visit Bhandari "Basdi". The statues in black stone of all 24 tirthankaras lined up at the back of the complex are really impressive. The frescos in the other "Basdi" are enchanting. Beautiful scenes from a past era - hunting scenes, war scenes, court scenes, religious scenes - very beautiful. Jain temples are very clean, we observe.
We walk back through the streets to our dharamshala, settle down, take a shower and feel fresh. Tomorrow we've got to get up early and reach the top of Vindhyagiri hill. You've gotto go up barefoot, so the more you delay, the hotter the stone steps become. Also, it's good to have an early start to the day.
It's been an interesting first day; if all days turn out like this, I would be happy. Alright, good night!
We decide to stop for the night at Sravanbelagola. The road - the detour from NH48 towards Sravanbelagola - is beautiful, passing through undulating country through a rural setting. Hardly any traffic. Its twilight time. Preetam sees a hill silhouetted in the distance, with lights leading from the foot to the top. This must be the hill of the famous statue of Gomateshwara. By the time we reach the place, it is almost dark. This is a delightful little village-town bustling with activity. After checking in at a Jain dharamshala, we walk out into the streets. Small shops of all kinds. The weather is pleasant. Wandering about, we see a street with a lot of activity. Theres a temple at the far end and a congregation has gathered. Looks like a festival. And when we do reach the center of activity, its unbelievable! Loads of people gathered in the central area, loads of onlookers standing and watching, more people streaming in from different directions, women and children all dressed up - theres celebration in the air. This is the time of a five day "Jaathra" at the Jain temple and people have come from all near and far away villages. After a dinner of dosa in a dim lit restaurant, we come back to this place and visit the Jain temples there - they are beautiful in their simplicity. We visit Bhandari "Basdi". The statues in black stone of all 24 tirthankaras lined up at the back of the complex are really impressive. The frescos in the other "Basdi" are enchanting. Beautiful scenes from a past era - hunting scenes, war scenes, court scenes, religious scenes - very beautiful. Jain temples are very clean, we observe.
We walk back through the streets to our dharamshala, settle down, take a shower and feel fresh. Tomorrow we've got to get up early and reach the top of Vindhyagiri hill. You've gotto go up barefoot, so the more you delay, the hotter the stone steps become. Also, it's good to have an early start to the day.
It's been an interesting first day; if all days turn out like this, I would be happy. Alright, good night!
posted by Pallavi at 10:47 PM
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