Lingering in Lepakshi

Taking a break.

Originally uploaded by Pallavi Barua.

Route : Hebbal (flyover) – Yelahanka – Devanahalli – Chik Ballapur – Reach Karnataka / Andhra Check post. STOP. TURN LEFT. – Bagepalli – Lepakshi

It was one lazy Sunday that we decided to make our way to this place which I had heard and seen so much ..

Started early in the morning and we had Arijit, Love and Tana, Prateek and Nita and myself and Rocky.

Prateek had on his army boxes and wanted to ride with them. Nita and me wanted to check our new riding jackets.

The day was cloudy and we had a good straight ride till we cam somewhere near a village and a tired worker on his cycle decided to cross the road without really seeing the bikes.

And BOOM !! went Prateek and Nita. And I went Oh NO !!!
This was not good. Luckily the massive boxes protected Prateek. Nita was unharmed. Our bikes are pretty sturdy that way. Prateek was shaken.
By that time, the crowd gathered and I saw that they had allowed the cyclist to go and they surrounded us with the hope of creating a scene and getting some money.. We had been there and done that a lot of times and this was not happening.

I rushed to the cyclist who even if he wanted to could not get away as his cycle was totally bent out of proportion. He was zonked.

I had some choicest words in Kannada to really intimidate him before we got intimidated by the gathering mob. Shooed the mob in Kannada and then we rode fast and stopped by the highway to check our damages.

And damages were minimum and Nita who just started riding.. got christened with that fall and has been welcomed warmly to the club of riders. She took all of it very sportingly.. as well.. All part of the travel..

Arijit trying to be Bruce Lee

Originally uploaded by Pallavi Barua.

Arijit lovingly called Orgy went into a frenzy of belle dancing with a chain which he had kept for locking his stuff on the bike.

He is one hilarious guy who can manage to get the most comic side of me. And he was a riot all through the ride.

We went on after clicking some nice photographs in that place. My friends made fun of me clicking or trying to click an old woman leading two bulls.

I thought it was very powerful statement of the simplest kind..

The highway was in progress in some places and we had to take a couple of diversions.

Generally the ride is pretty boring till one reaches Bagepalli. There is every possibility that one will fall sleepy on this highway..

Nandi from afar

Originally uploaded by Pallavi Barua.

After Bagepalli, the road is cool. We ripped the country roads and since the weather was cloudy it was very nice breezy ride.. A very good change from the straight boring road…

We were now in AP and the first impressiion of Lepakshi was that it was very small town.

Lepakshi is a small village, which lies 15-km east of Hindupur in Anantapur District of Andhra Pradesh. It is the most important place in the district from the historical and archaeological point of view. A trip to Lepakshi is revitalising for those who believe in heritage sites, for those who marvel at the art of our ancestors, and those willing to get away from the routine multiple-destination tourist routes. The place is renowned as the repository of the best mural paintings of the Vijayanagar Kings.
Lepakshi consists of three shrines dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and ‘Virabhadra’. On one of the hillocks near the place is known as “Kurma Saila” (tortoise shaped hill), are located the temples of ‘Papanatheswara’, ‘Raghunatha’, ‘Srirama’, ‘Veerabhadra’ and ‘Durga’, of which the Veerabharadra temple is the most important. Read more

Baruas at the temple.

Originally uploaded by Pallavi Barua.

The Temple was a beautiful surprise. Entering the temple was entering history and I felt that every pillar and stone had a story to tell.

The temple interior boasts of imposing sculptures in half-relief on each of its granite pillars. These depict dancers, drummers and divine musicians — such as Brahma playing the drum and Tumburu playing the veena. The celestial nymph Rambha is depicted in dance, while Shiva is captured for posterity in the throes of the ananda tandava. In the intermediary hall, one frieze is especially striking — a long line of geese with lotus stalks in their beaks. No detail has been spared even i n the central hall between the three shrines, adorned with flawless carvings of Gajantaka, Ganapati dancing, Durga and a hermaphrodite. Artistically, the Lepakshi temple is most celebrated for its paintings, though some have vanished while others are palpably weathered with time. A colossal painting of Virabhadra is almost hidden in the central hall. On the ceiling of the hall o f dance, eight panels depict Puranic legends. One greatly humane panel captures the story of the Chola king Manunitikanda, who loved to dispense justice even to animals like the cow! The use of natural pigments and ancient mural arts makes Lepakshi a remarkable storehouse of skills on the verge of extinction. The birds, beasts and foliage depicted in its paintings and carving have spawned a style often found today in block-printe d Indian textiles and rugs, popularly referred to as the Lepakshi motifs. Today, the temple remains the town’s main draw, though maintenance is poor and its priceless works of art have been ravaged and weathered by the years. Its inhabitants are used to visitors from afar who descend on them out of the blue and then are seen no more. ( Extract)

If you like ruins, you will like this place. This made me feel at peace. It is a photographer’s paradise. It was about to rain and the mood during that day was very dramatic with the clouds swollen with water just adding that perfect background to the temple.. and it seemed just a perfect time and a day for being there.

We were there during lunch time we got some unbelievable tasty prasadam. We had a late lunch by the highway dhaba which was not very appetising but anyways… taking some tid bits with you would be a good point..

Some pointers :

• Carry your own food and water. Dont expect to get meals like other places. You have to rely on the Dhabas.
• My personal safe favorite is tea and boiled eggs.. No tension.
• Dont expect to buy anything there.
• Make it a day trip. Did not see any hotels there.
• Carry a camera.. you will love exploring there if you like photography
• Drive/Ride slow around the villages..

And thats all from this trip.. more in pictures.. Here