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oth Tipu and his parents are buried, then
went on to visit the Keshava temple at
Somnathpur. Founded by the Hoysalas in
the 13th century, it has a walled courtyard
with colonnaded cloisters (64 separate cells,
each containing sculptures). The exterior
screens around the main central temple have
exquisitely carved rows of elephants, geese,
and horsemen.
‘It was begun in 1116 and
building work lasted for 100 years’
The next day, back in Mysore, we took a
local bus up to the top of Chamundi hill –
five rupees each. It took about 20 minutes.
At the top we found a temple, a large
market and a lot of people, but they were
soon left behind when we walked down the
hill to see the famous statue of a Nandi,
standing five metres high. (A Nandi is a
Hindu god in the shape of a benign looking
bull.) The Nandi was carved out of the rock
in 1659 and is a famous place for pilgrims.
A family posed for their photograph and
then, in typical Indian fashion, asked us to
sit with them for the next shot. It seemed
churlish to refuse.
From Mysore we took a three-hour train
ride to Hassan, our base for three days while
we explored temples at Belur and Halebid.
Each day we took local buses, bouncing
along with the locals, sometimes on tarmac,
Carved Nandi at Chamundi hill
Exquisite erotic carving on the Keshava
temple at Somnathpur
sometimes on gravel and sometimes we simply
flew. Great views, though – fields of bright
yellow sunflowers and what looked like
lavender. This colourful spectacle was
punctuated with small hills of red chillies
drying in the sun.
Belur had the wonderful Channekshava
temple, an easy walk from the bus stand. It was
travel v
begun in 1116 and building work lasted for
100 years. There was a carved frieze
running round it with six tiers of figures
and 38 freestanding figures between the
eves and the upper walls. At the entrance
was a seven-storey goporum (tower). The
temple stood in a large, paved courtyard
surrounded by a cloister and there were
several smaller temples. The interior was a
space of pillars and shrines, lit only by the
light from the four doorways.
Halebid, the capital of the Hoysala
empire in the 12th century, held the
Hoysaleswara Temple, begun in 1121 and
worked on for 80 years but never
completed.
On the eastern side were two pavilions,
each containing a large Nandi. The temple
was set amid green lawns and well-tended
flower beds. Inside the main temple was
another, much smaller, Nandi, in front of
the shrine. There were about 20 carved
columns supporting the roof. The light
from the four doorways lit the stone floor,
polished smooth by tens of thousands of
feet over the past 800 years.
It was cool, and calm, with the faint
smell of incense. We heard bird song and
when we looked up saw, perched on the
head of the god Krishna, a family of brighteyed
sparrows. V
Next issue: part two, Hassan to Mumbai,
and home.
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