Halebidu- Prime example of Hoysala Architecture
On my way
to Chikamanagalore, I saw that name - Halebidu - in many name boards. Halebidu –
A name that seemed to ring a bell somewhere in my mind. But I can’t remember
where. Ah! The Malayalam film actor - Mohanlal’s travelogue! I happened to come
across it in some magazine. A place known for its soap stone architectures. A
nice place to visit! Yes, I remembered it now! But, even though Halebidu was in
my wish list, I didn’t plan to go there during this trip.
By the
time I reached my hotel at Chikamanglore, it was afternoon already. There weren’t
much places that I could visit in such a short duration. So I was wondering
what to do. Just then, my hotel manager recommended me two places to visit - Belur
and Halebidu (Yes! The same place in Mohanlal’s Travelogue!) He then told me
about the bus that will help me reach Belur. Eventually from there, I can get
buses to Halebidu. It was at that moment, I decided to go to Halebidu. I took
my bags and camera and started off to Halebidu. I told myself “Alright Halebidu!
Here I come!” But as I didn’t know the way to the bus stand, the hotel manager sent
his cleaning lady to help me.
After waving
goodbye to the lady who helped me, I got into the bus. I asked my co-travellers
regarding the arrival time at Belur. But Kannada was starting to hinder my
communication skills. However without much delay I reached Belur. It started to
drizzle by then.
Unfortunately,
I missed the buses to Halebidu from the Belur station. So I asked the
information center regarding the next bus to Halebidu. I got a lukewarm
response asking me to wait for another 30 minutes to catch the next bus.
Encountered with bad omens one after another, (drizzling and missing busses) I
thought to myself “Hang on Halebidu. I’ll visit you today. No matter what!”
With firm determination to visit Halebidu, I began racking my brain to make a
decision – Should I wait for another bus or should I catch an auto to Halebidu?
It was drizzling and it was getting dark. Also I had to go back tonight itself.
But on the other hand, catching an auto would be costly and it could go beyond
my budget! It’s just 30 minutes that I need to wait to get a bus… Finally, after
two minutes of brain storming, I decided to catch an auto. So I started
bargaining with the auto drivers in Hindi. In the end, an auto driver agreed
for a round trip for 400 rupees.
It
started to rain when we started from Belur. But as we got closer to the
“old city”, the rain gave way for this solo traveller. Halebidu was the capital
of Hoysala Kingdom and it was ransacked by the two invasions of Malik Kafur.
That's how it got its name “Halebidu”, which was previously known as Dorasamudra
or Dwarasamudra. It's constructed with Soap stone. It has a temple complex with
two temples, the Hoysaleshwara temple and the Kedareshwara temple.
In less
than 20 minutes, I reached the regal capital of the Hoysala Empire. On the way,
I tried talking with my auto driver using my broken Hindi. I could learn from
him that, buses are very rare in this route. So I thanked the bad omens and myself
for my decision to hire an auto. The road was not in good condition but its
construction was going on at the other side. So hopefully in the next 6 months
or so, tourists can travel to Halebidu through a pothole-free road :)
There was
no ticket for entering the temple. When I stepped in, I could see a lot of kids
who were selling guide books to the tourists. There were also some local guides
who were waiting for their bait. Humbly and tactfully I ignored them. I took
out my camera and snapped at the first best example of Hoysaleshwara
architecture.
It was
cloudy. So the black thick sky added darkness to the soap stones. I walked
towards the Kedareshwara Temple and paid 4 rupees at sandals keeper. After
ensuring the safety of my sandals, I finally stepped into the architectural
wonders of Kedareshwara Temple. The walls of the temple were covered with an
endless variety of depictions from Hindu mythology, animals, birds and
shilabalikas (also known as dancing figures). No two sculptures of the temple
were the same. The temple compound had an archaeological museum that’s open
till 5PM. But unfortunately, I was quite late. However, the Halebidu temple was
open from sun rise to sun set and I could see the wonders in it too! That was
how my visit to Halebidu turned out to be.
Learning
from my experience, I think that around one to two hours is more than enough
for you to see all these wonders. Also, you can save money if you can make it
to Belur early and wait for the bus to Halebidu. Halebidu has a small town
around it from where you can buy food if you want. Also, you can choose to stay
at Chikamangalore even if you are planning to visit Belur and Halebidu together.
Hardly it’s a one hour drive and so it’s not that tiring ;) Belur is well
connected from Hassan and Bangalore. And there are buses to Chikamanglore
always. Belur has a lot of hotels. So you really don’t have to worry about
dying from hunger ;)
Happy
tripping! :D
at-last you got some good clicks with your new Toy right!!!!!...
ReplyDeleteYes!! :)
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ReplyDeleteSimple and well written!!
:)
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