Images of India - a drying yard in a coffee estate

I was in Malenadu last week, on my way to Sringeri and we transited through the coffee country - Hassan, Belur, Chikmagalur.If you followed my twitter updates, you would have got a feel of the journey.

I was at a couple of coffee estates , which have a colonial feel to them.One of the plantations is up hill in Chikmagalur near Balehanoor and we drove into the drying yard. There was less coffee and more spices, especially green pepper in this drying yard .


Persuaded by Gopal and Deepak I've enrolled for the photoblog contest.Pls vote for me here and dont forget to vote for Deepak and Gopal as well.

And therein ends a trail..

So, my current trail comes to an end and I move on to my next destination and my next post.But before that, a last look at some of the images that still linger in my mind..Coffee and tea estates, flowers,forests, mountains, curvy roads, hairpin bends, boulders and an interesting snippet from the Mahabharat. A mountain peak of the Babu Budan Hills in Chikmagalur loomed large before us . "Its called Kunti "Kal" (stone) where Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas had rested during their exile.." came the explanation . "Could we go there ? "I asked and I got no answer..so I contended myself with this picture..

Kandya temple

If the river Tunga flows peacefully, can the river Bhadra be far behind ..A couple of hours from Sringeri is Chikmagalur and as one climbs the western ghats across the hairpin bends, dense forests and coffee plantations , you come across an ancient temple called the Kandya temple, where the Bhadra flows quietly behind..The two rivers join to form the Tunga Bhadra which flows down the ruins of Vijayanagar empire in Hampi.


I had been to this temple as a child when we had visited Sringeri and I remember seeing the rivers Tunga and Bhadra for the first time.This is my second visit to this temple.I was must admit that I have not done any research on this temple.The story of Markandeya who defies death and the Lord of death, Yama by praying to Lord Shiva is immortalised here , hence the name Kandya temple.

The story goes that Markandeya's parents had prayed to Lord Shiva for a son. Lord Shiva gave them an option - either an intelligent compassionate son who will die at 16 years or a stupid indifferent son who will live a long life . The parents opted for the former and when Markandeya became 16 years old, Yama with his noose landed to claim his life. Markandeya requested a few minutes to pray to Shiva, but death waits for none. As Yama flung the noose over Markandeya's neck, the boy clung on to the Linga praying to the Lord. As the noose tightened, it is said that Lord Shiva emerged out of the Linga and gave Markandeya his life back saying that he will live and forever be 16 years of age..


It is said to be a very ancient temple and not much literature is available here. The temple was under renovation when we went there..and yet, not a soul around. I do not know which dynasty built this temple, but note the image of the fish on the wall. It probably indicates the direction to find the the river which is the only witness to the history of this temple. Calm and placid, it flows as history and mythology weave a tale..

Belavadi - the Hoysala Trail continues ..

My tryst with the Hoysalas continues. It was a hot Saturday afternoon and my aunt and I had a couple of hours on us. My uncle had excited us about a temple built around a “syambu pulaiyar “ ( An idol of Ganesha or Ganapathi is said to have been carved by itself) in a small hamlet called Belavadi . And I had heard of a Veera Narayana Temple , built by the Hoysalas in Belavadi .



The most obvious destination from Belur should have been Halebeedu, the capital of the Hoysalas after Belur . However the excitement in discovering something new took us to Belavadi and we planned to return to Halebeedu if time permits .


I had first heard of Belavadi as a suffix - as a surname attached to several people I knew and I have heard of. Later I was told that it was near Javagal..another hamlet prefixed to the name of India’s famous fast bowler- “Javagal” Srinath . Many people here still have the custom of their native village attached to their names, as a prefix or a suffix- an unique identity perhaps ..These were my thoughts as we were cruising down the highway from Belur to Belavadi.


It was noon when we reached this hamlet and we were greeted by silence. A few cows had strayed on to the road and a couple of shops were open..We asked for directions to go to the Veera Narayana Temple and a little detour took us right to the portals of the temple. As Belavadi is not in the tourist circuit, we were not surprised to find that we were the only ones in the temple.


Most Hoysala temples are broadly classified according to the number of Vimana or tower they have – Ekakuta, Dwikuta, Trikuta, Chatushkuta and Panchakuta.This ornate Trikuta was built in 13th century (1200)by Veera Bhallala II and like other temples, is built of soapstone .The sculptures on the outer walls are typical of the Hoysala period as Hindu deities come alive on these stones.


There are two temples here that face each other. One is square shaped and the other,raised on a star shaped plinth. They are all guarded by ornate elephants. The temple houses three shrines- Veera narayana, Venugopal and Yoga Narasimha, three forms of Vishnu . Its unique as two shrines face each other and there are a total of 59 bays with several pillars, most of which are lathe turned and bell shaped.


The central shrine has an 8 feet image of Veera Narayana with four hands which is considered one of the best examples of Hoysala art. .The second shrine has an 8 feet tall image of Venugopal (Krishna with flute) and the third shrine has a 7 feet tall image of Yoga Narasimha ,in meditation . An important feature of the temple is the stone bench which runs all round the edge of the temple.


The temple was almost shut when we came in, but the priest was kind enough to show us around. I learned a bit about the history of Belavadi, which is even older to the temple.

According to the legend, its a place called Ekachakranagara of Mahabharath, the epic. Its the place where the Pandavas when excaping from the Kauravas, their cousin, live in a Brahmin’s house , disguising themselves as Brahmins as well. This is where Bheema kills Bakasura, the demon or asura who torments the villagers and kills them if he is not fed .

I wanted more stories , but I did not hear more. We asked the priest where the Ganapathi temple is and he showed us a small road that was behind the Hoysala temple adjacent to a tank. The road led us to a recently constructed temple where a group of people were doing puja for their new vehicle.

We learnt that Udbhava Ganapathi temple was constructed recently by the devotees and it belongs to the Shringeri Samsthana, one of the mutts established by Adi Shankara . The villagers say that the Ganapathi “emerged on its own” and the idol has been 'growing' from many decades .Many of the ornaments that the devotees donated to the temple does not 'fit' the idol. Belavadi has been traditionally an adopted village of the Samsthana and the temple is managed by them.The legend is that Kaliyuga would end when the idol grows completly and fully upright.

Time, unfortunately is a cruel word and we are all bound by it. We could have lingered longer, asked a question here and there or gone over to Halebeedu, but we had to return ..But the Hoysala trail continues...

Getting there
Belavadi is in Chikmagalur district in Karnataka and is about 30 kms from the town on the Chikmagalur-Javagal Highway . Its about 10 kms from Halebeedu.