It has been just three days since we have come, but it feels like I have seen it all and walked or trekked for days uncounted. This day onward, I figured that I needed a third eye to look at the things I had already looked. Everyday now I planned to look deeper, beneath the surface.
Virupaksha temple was a spectacle to me the first time I saw it and some intangible connect brought me here to this temple two days in line. My purpose of visiting multiple times was ambiguous. The people I saw the first day on the way to this temple have become familiar to me and its seems so that I have too. This is a connect that I have never been able to develop anywhere other than my home locality where I have spent 19 years. But to my surprise, I have done so, in just three days in a tourist place. Just a brief smile to the Banjara lady or one coconut from the seller down the road, made me comfortable in the most unexpected way.
Virupaksha is much more than just a temple. The monkey tantrums were a sight to behold including the elephant Lakshmi who was unique with her style of blessing. Watching her do the same chore for two days I realized that she has the sensibility of giving one blessing per person, no matter if one pays twice! Animals do have their own dignity and principle, I suppose.
Apart from our mammalian counterparts, I chanced upon two weddings held inside the temple. It was fascinating as the bride and groom were not bothered by the stranger crowd hovering over them.
Not wanting to risk sitting inside because of our notorious primates, I sat on the other side, not expecting anything at all; just trying to investigate my presence and purpose.While I contemplated a man happened to cross by and approach. On further conversation, I got to know he was working for the Archaeological Survey of India for 20 years now and was on his way for lunch. His tale was one of hope and vision where he envisioned the place to be better by time. His view was antithetical to other locals but he supported his point by referring to the past when the area around the temple was a dense jungle, foreigners would come and stay in the temples, indulge in drugs which at times even led to murders. So as a prevention of such happenings, the area was cleared off, roads were constructed and in terms of displacement of locals in the process, he believed it to be a doing for the bigger picture. Of all the three thousand temples, this one was a popular of the few that had a deity to be worshiped. When asked about his religious sentiments he turned out to be a Muslim working in a Hindu temple. This didn't surprise me at all because the boundaries of religion coming in the way of us being us is disruptive and hollow. His enthusiasm for work was all that was needed for him to go on.
All the day's work, culminated to sitting down together for lunch at Mango Tree restaurant, our go-to place. The ambiance was relaxing and the only relief from the unbearable heat outside.
Combining two days of being at the Virupaksha temple, I conclude that I have known a lot of the history, meaning of the carvings, met people, heard their stories and got inspired. The fascinating things is that when I replay these two days in a new light I find new stories hidden beneath the ones I have heard and seen.
Reading the lines is important but reading in between the lines makes it better.
Virupaksha temple was a spectacle to me the first time I saw it and some intangible connect brought me here to this temple two days in line. My purpose of visiting multiple times was ambiguous. The people I saw the first day on the way to this temple have become familiar to me and its seems so that I have too. This is a connect that I have never been able to develop anywhere other than my home locality where I have spent 19 years. But to my surprise, I have done so, in just three days in a tourist place. Just a brief smile to the Banjara lady or one coconut from the seller down the road, made me comfortable in the most unexpected way.
Virupaksha is much more than just a temple. The monkey tantrums were a sight to behold including the elephant Lakshmi who was unique with her style of blessing. Watching her do the same chore for two days I realized that she has the sensibility of giving one blessing per person, no matter if one pays twice! Animals do have their own dignity and principle, I suppose.
Not wanting to risk sitting inside because of our notorious primates, I sat on the other side, not expecting anything at all; just trying to investigate my presence and purpose.While I contemplated a man happened to cross by and approach. On further conversation, I got to know he was working for the Archaeological Survey of India for 20 years now and was on his way for lunch. His tale was one of hope and vision where he envisioned the place to be better by time. His view was antithetical to other locals but he supported his point by referring to the past when the area around the temple was a dense jungle, foreigners would come and stay in the temples, indulge in drugs which at times even led to murders. So as a prevention of such happenings, the area was cleared off, roads were constructed and in terms of displacement of locals in the process, he believed it to be a doing for the bigger picture. Of all the three thousand temples, this one was a popular of the few that had a deity to be worshiped. When asked about his religious sentiments he turned out to be a Muslim working in a Hindu temple. This didn't surprise me at all because the boundaries of religion coming in the way of us being us is disruptive and hollow. His enthusiasm for work was all that was needed for him to go on.
All the day's work, culminated to sitting down together for lunch at Mango Tree restaurant, our go-to place. The ambiance was relaxing and the only relief from the unbearable heat outside.
Combining two days of being at the Virupaksha temple, I conclude that I have known a lot of the history, meaning of the carvings, met people, heard their stories and got inspired. The fascinating things is that when I replay these two days in a new light I find new stories hidden beneath the ones I have heard and seen.
Reading the lines is important but reading in between the lines makes it better.
Welcome view
Virupaksha temple gopura-Dravidian style
Inside the temple
Our friends
In motion
Lakshmi getting prepped
Pillar structure-a mix of horse,alligator,rabbit,elephant;each of significance
Mango Tree
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