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Teacher Training Trip
The day began at 4.45am with 13 tired little yogis piling themselves into 2 luxury cars and heading off out for a well deserved day off. The early start was a slight shock to the system, especially as it was even earlier than we had to get up for practice, but as we watched the most picture perfect sunrise over miles and miles of rice paddies it all became worth it! By 6.30 am we were all ready for a chai stop, which gave us the chance to stretch our legs, and experience local life in a town begin it's day. We then drove on through the most beautiful scenery imaginable, it really did feel good to escape the city and be surrounded by greenery, with rice paddies and palm trees stretching as far as the eye could see. Spirits were high and even the small bit of rain couldn't dampen our spirits, but Bharath's suggestion of chanting managed to keep everyone quiet for a few minutes, and I still to this day don't know whether he was serious!!
By 8am we arrived at our breakfast stop, a great little "local" restaurant where we all feasted on masala dosas, iddlies, badam milk and of course more chai. It was a great atmosphere and such an experience to mix with the locals and see how to do breakfast true "Indian style", I'm still not sure I'll ever get used to spices for breakfast though! Just 2 minutes more down the road and we reached our first destination - Bellur. Belur's claim to fame is it's magnificent temple complex and legend has it that it took 103 years and 3 generations to complete. The intricate sculptures that fill the temple are breathtaking, and we were lucky enough to have an amazing tour guide who took us all around the complex explaining everything in detail and making sure that we missed nothing. We were then given some free time in which to wander back around the temple taking in the atmosphere and taking pictures. But, put a group of yogis and a camera together and what happens...asana pictures! We spent a really fun half an hour taking pictures of each other in all of our newly learned asanas (head standing on the concrete floor was optional!)
By 10.30 it was time to leave and drive 45 minutes down the road to stop number 2 - Halebidu. Halebidu was the regal capital of the Hoysala Empire in the 12th century, and is home to one of the best examples of Hoysala architecture in the ornate Hoysaleswara and Kedareswara temples. Here we were given just over an hour to wander round these beautiful temples, which were never quite complete and ruined by repeated attacks by enemy empires, which is where the name came from as Halebid translates into Ruined City. We all met back at the lakeside at 12.30 ready to leave but while sat on the grass someone asked a question, which led to an impromptu philosophy class! It was such a different environment from the classroom, sitting next to a beautiful lake enraptured by Bharaths words of wisdom and I think one of my favourite moments of the trip.
The next part of the drive took us through even more beautiful scenery as we wound through country lanes watching women wash clothes in the river, children playing in the street and local farmers walking their cattle, such a great way to see the way to see local life in the countryside. We then arrived into the city of Hassan, which was a complete contrast to the peace and quiet we had just experienced! Here was a whole new set of sights and sounds to take in, a typical Indian city; alive and vibrant, busy and loud! At 2pm we stopped for the most amazing lunch, where we all got to sit together and share the days experiences and a lot of laughs! The great thing for me about the day was the chance to actually talk to everyone, and I really feel that the group bonded and were brought so closely together. Full and satisfied (and slightly tired after so much food!) we piled back into the cars, where Bharath put on some lively traditional Indian cultural dance music to wake us all back up and energise us for the climb ahead! A short drive later and we arrived at our final stop - Sravanabelagola.
Sravanabelagola is a noted place of pilgrimage for the Jains, where a flight of 614 steps finely chiseled into the granite of the mountain leads to the summit, where the 58 foot, 8 inch statue of Sri Gomatheswar stands. Seeing this as a great opportunity to walk off the food we had just eaten most of us set off up the steps, except Enrique, the biggest and heaviest of our group who could not pass up the opportunity of being carried up the mountain in a chair, it was quite some sight! We had an hour here, which was just enough time to tackle the steps and spend time taking in the amazing views on the way up, standing in awe at the foot of the statue, and of course more photo opportunities. Luckily Enrique let the men off with carrying him back down, but Loveleen then could not resist the opportunity either so caught the ride back down!
The drive home saw a much quieter group, with everyone tired but happy. In one day we had managed to just about cover "all of India" with the temples, history, culture, experiencing peaceful local life in the countryside and the mayhem of Indian cities! It was the perfect mid-way point in the Teacher training and one of the highlights, an experience that I won't forget.
Kristy