Visiting Hampi left me with an agenda. For what remains after a trip to those ghostly ruins, the sole artery in the form of the Hampi Bazaar feeding off their modern fame is a nod to the north – even as Vijayanagar casts a spell, the Chalukyan legacy is a gentle tug. Badami-Aihole-Pattadakkal has been a whisper this year and a half, to-do, not too soon, someday. When the whisper became an urge is hard to tell but it stems from my leaving Bangalore in a short while. One weekend we make it happen.
Badami has monkeys. In good numbers. They are a lot to reckon with, always on the prowl for a lapse on the part of the tourist and seemingly everywhere, including the railway station and hotel balconies. They seem the true inheritors of the place and play good hosts upon our arrival by the Bijapur Express. My uncle points at one doing a trapeze walk over a high beam. An hour later at the entrance to the cave temples, they are rendered touristy by busloads of people. They are easier to ignore now and we head for the caves.
Straightaway a relief of Nataraja leaves me clicking and staring in disbelief. As we take in more, the stark beauty of the reliefs in the shrine to Shiva (first cave) contrasts with the ornate iconography in the caves housing Vishnu (second and third caves). The relief of Vamana with feet raised to dwarf the earth and the heavens is insouciance to the beatitude of a Vishnu relief rendered with girth and gait. Varaha and Narasimha feature, as they will quite regularly in a tour of this trinity. We don’t know it yet but the reliefs are a sign of what awaits at Aihole and Pattadakkal. The fourth cave is a Jain shrine with Parshvanath (23rd Tirthankara). I notice that the reliefs of Mahavira (24th) are brought out by depicting the meditative sage in all sizes and stacked symmetrically around a central, much larger icon.
On our way to the Bhoothanatha temple, fatigue from a mild temperature and a slight pull in the thigh are taking their toll on me as is the harsh Deccan sun. I recall a line from Outlook Traveler – Badami can vary between hot, very hot and extremely hot. So with some issues resolved and some tucked aside, I find walking through the alleys of Badami a pleasure. I guess it is what lends character to these two tours – Hampi and Badami. You’re better off on foot and though it isn’t quite backpacking and hiking, it comes close. The exertion lends value to every treasure. Having walked that much, one is inclined to attend keenly to the sights at hand. The pleasures-pains of walking apart, the serendipity of a protected monument popping up between two dwellings is something that fascinates us.
The Bhoothanatha temple has an enviable setting with the greenish moss of the Agastyatheertha surrounded by the cragged hills of Badami. A couple of herons stand expectant and their scouting for catch proves elusive to capture on camera. It is this setting that we drink out of in the evening when we come back after a meal and a nap. The twilight and ensuing nightfall transform the scene and soon the heat is a memory. Soon I trail off on parallels between Ashoka and the Chalukyas – both achieved lasting fame through their response to war and bloodshed. The Mauryan made Buddhism what it is today and the Chalukyas took to temple building.
We hire a cab the next morning. The first stop is Mahakoota. Of note here are a group of temples clustered together in one complex flanked on three sides by a forest that lends it an unhurried air. This is a welcome change from the hustle of Badami’s main road. Climbing up to the roof of an adjoining hall, a strange sight …. a shikara and what I think is a vimana (later at Pattadakkal it is clear that what we now know as the South Indian vimana or gopuram was yet to evolve when the temples at Mahakoota were built) one after the other. One belonging to the Sangameshwara temple and the latter to the Mahakooteshwara (Lord of the Mountain Crest), they form an odd couple. Little else is odd about Mahakoota. The quiet and the environs make it worthwhile. The big draw however, is the temple pond. Thankfully, the complex is just about big enough with more than a corner or passageway for respite, hidden from plain view.
Next up is Pattadakkal. We are met with a surprise there. It is April 18th, designated as World Heritage Day and this is one of India’s 27 World Heritage Sites. There is nothing forthcoming from the authorities, apart from a waiver on the entrance fee. It hardly registers then for we find it hard to contain our glee. It’s down to business though when we begin to take in the treasures. The temples are a motley collection. If one can look beyond the smug dismissal that is ‘Aihole School, Badami Degree College and Pattadakkal University’, it is apparent that there are experiments here too. Likewise with the reliefs. Some clearly suggest early attempts and there are others that show refinement. How much of an induction it is for the uninitiated! How much can be gleaned only by glancing from one structure over to the next! The Chalukyan temples here revel in questioning established precepts of beauty – that it diminishes as one peers closer. The collective vision that is all the monuments at Pattadakkal is as stare-inducing as the tiniest engraving.
Aihole, in hindsight, should come first in an itinerary. Pattadakkal raises the bar so high that Aihole’s school credentials can only offer so much. Given that the Durga temple that greets you first up has the most in terms of sights, the rest can seem a chore. That it exists and must be acknowledged. A hotter afternoon than the previous isn’t helping either and I spend more time cooling off in empty temple verandahs. The museum here isn’t quite on par with the one in Badami but it helps me establish one thing. Photographs mention places in Aihole that we are yet to see after an hour or so in the main complex (Aihole, like Pattadakkal, has one sprawling complex dotted with temples and the museum). And this is the key to getting the most out of Aihole. If one can keep the spine up, the best of Aihole (Ravanaphadi Cave, Huchimalli Gudi, Meguti temple) lies outside the complex.
The trail to Meguti temple has the other two. While the Huchimalli Gudi looks impressive, we can’t go in as the gates are closed. Soon we come upon the Ravanaphadi cave. This constitutes the last of the gems on this trip and it is some way to sign off. Built out of a huge monolith, the cave temple houses reliefs that evoke awe. One features an eight-armed dancing Shiva with Parvati and Ganesh to the left, watched by Saptamatrikas. The other includes a Tantric figure leaping in ecstasy. Later, spent, I take a breather in the Meguti temple on top of a hill ascended by taking a 120 step staircase. We are done and my thoughts echo what my uncle has just told me, you can now leave Karnataka in peace.
Badami has monkeys. In good numbers. They are a lot to reckon with, always on the prowl for a lapse on the part of the tourist and seemingly everywhere, including the railway station and hotel balconies. They seem the true inheritors of the place and play good hosts upon our arrival by the Bijapur Express. My uncle points at one doing a trapeze walk over a high beam. An hour later at the entrance to the cave temples, they are rendered touristy by busloads of people. They are easier to ignore now and we head for the caves.
Straightaway a relief of Nataraja leaves me clicking and staring in disbelief. As we take in more, the stark beauty of the reliefs in the shrine to Shiva (first cave) contrasts with the ornate iconography in the caves housing Vishnu (second and third caves). The relief of Vamana with feet raised to dwarf the earth and the heavens is insouciance to the beatitude of a Vishnu relief rendered with girth and gait. Varaha and Narasimha feature, as they will quite regularly in a tour of this trinity. We don’t know it yet but the reliefs are a sign of what awaits at Aihole and Pattadakkal. The fourth cave is a Jain shrine with Parshvanath (23rd Tirthankara). I notice that the reliefs of Mahavira (24th) are brought out by depicting the meditative sage in all sizes and stacked symmetrically around a central, much larger icon.
On our way to the Bhoothanatha temple, fatigue from a mild temperature and a slight pull in the thigh are taking their toll on me as is the harsh Deccan sun. I recall a line from Outlook Traveler – Badami can vary between hot, very hot and extremely hot. So with some issues resolved and some tucked aside, I find walking through the alleys of Badami a pleasure. I guess it is what lends character to these two tours – Hampi and Badami. You’re better off on foot and though it isn’t quite backpacking and hiking, it comes close. The exertion lends value to every treasure. Having walked that much, one is inclined to attend keenly to the sights at hand. The pleasures-pains of walking apart, the serendipity of a protected monument popping up between two dwellings is something that fascinates us.
The Bhoothanatha temple has an enviable setting with the greenish moss of the Agastyatheertha surrounded by the cragged hills of Badami. A couple of herons stand expectant and their scouting for catch proves elusive to capture on camera. It is this setting that we drink out of in the evening when we come back after a meal and a nap. The twilight and ensuing nightfall transform the scene and soon the heat is a memory. Soon I trail off on parallels between Ashoka and the Chalukyas – both achieved lasting fame through their response to war and bloodshed. The Mauryan made Buddhism what it is today and the Chalukyas took to temple building.
We hire a cab the next morning. The first stop is Mahakoota. Of note here are a group of temples clustered together in one complex flanked on three sides by a forest that lends it an unhurried air. This is a welcome change from the hustle of Badami’s main road. Climbing up to the roof of an adjoining hall, a strange sight …. a shikara and what I think is a vimana (later at Pattadakkal it is clear that what we now know as the South Indian vimana or gopuram was yet to evolve when the temples at Mahakoota were built) one after the other. One belonging to the Sangameshwara temple and the latter to the Mahakooteshwara (Lord of the Mountain Crest), they form an odd couple. Little else is odd about Mahakoota. The quiet and the environs make it worthwhile. The big draw however, is the temple pond. Thankfully, the complex is just about big enough with more than a corner or passageway for respite, hidden from plain view.
Next up is Pattadakkal. We are met with a surprise there. It is April 18th, designated as World Heritage Day and this is one of India’s 27 World Heritage Sites. There is nothing forthcoming from the authorities, apart from a waiver on the entrance fee. It hardly registers then for we find it hard to contain our glee. It’s down to business though when we begin to take in the treasures. The temples are a motley collection. If one can look beyond the smug dismissal that is ‘Aihole School, Badami Degree College and Pattadakkal University’, it is apparent that there are experiments here too. Likewise with the reliefs. Some clearly suggest early attempts and there are others that show refinement. How much of an induction it is for the uninitiated! How much can be gleaned only by glancing from one structure over to the next! The Chalukyan temples here revel in questioning established precepts of beauty – that it diminishes as one peers closer. The collective vision that is all the monuments at Pattadakkal is as stare-inducing as the tiniest engraving.
Aihole, in hindsight, should come first in an itinerary. Pattadakkal raises the bar so high that Aihole’s school credentials can only offer so much. Given that the Durga temple that greets you first up has the most in terms of sights, the rest can seem a chore. That it exists and must be acknowledged. A hotter afternoon than the previous isn’t helping either and I spend more time cooling off in empty temple verandahs. The museum here isn’t quite on par with the one in Badami but it helps me establish one thing. Photographs mention places in Aihole that we are yet to see after an hour or so in the main complex (Aihole, like Pattadakkal, has one sprawling complex dotted with temples and the museum). And this is the key to getting the most out of Aihole. If one can keep the spine up, the best of Aihole (Ravanaphadi Cave, Huchimalli Gudi, Meguti temple) lies outside the complex.
The trail to Meguti temple has the other two. While the Huchimalli Gudi looks impressive, we can’t go in as the gates are closed. Soon we come upon the Ravanaphadi cave. This constitutes the last of the gems on this trip and it is some way to sign off. Built out of a huge monolith, the cave temple houses reliefs that evoke awe. One features an eight-armed dancing Shiva with Parvati and Ganesh to the left, watched by Saptamatrikas. The other includes a Tantric figure leaping in ecstasy. Later, spent, I take a breather in the Meguti temple on top of a hill ascended by taking a 120 step staircase. We are done and my thoughts echo what my uncle has just told me, you can now leave Karnataka in peace.
