Oh what a week it was!!! India has so many places that compete with the best in the world. If only our rulers, officials and the people show some more care and discipline, one need not go to any other country for seeing most of the wonders of nature. Man made wonders also abound here as we saw in Halebeedu and Beluru. The sculpture there was so intrinsically carved that it threw us into rapture. The procession of elephants and horses and Yaalis (the mythological animal which looks like a lion), the different postures of the dancing, a student learning dance from teacher, the lady with a mirror in her hand, the naaga veena or the veena of serpent, the squint eyed woman, people wearing helmets, the 48 pillars in Beluru, the most exquisite of them, the Narasimha Sthamba which is having the miniature versions of all the dancing postures on the outer walls, the story that says that the creator had left some vacant areas in that pillar for a better sculptor to complete it, the single stone bull, the reliefs on the ceilings were just a few of the details I could remember. It needs a day or two and complete details from Internet to go through each of the items.
Shravanabelgola was another excellent place to visit even from a fitness point of view if not from a religious angle. The 600 odd steps on the hill are so steep that they easily make you almost breathless. But the view from atop is too good to remember the hardship. The Kalyani tank looks great from the top.
Kodagu district is again God’s own country. The meandering road to Madikeri from Kushal Nagar and then to Talakavery is easily one of the best sceneries nature provides. The Kaveri Nisarga Dhama (the abode of natural disposition of Kaveri) is set in an idyllic and serene environment. The Talakaveri and the hillock by its side provide another breathtaking view of Nature’s bounties. If only one gets to rest in these places for just a week in a year, one gets rejuvenated, physically and mentally. Are we missing so many things in India or at least are we aware of these to know what we are missing?