Badami, Pattadakal, Aihole, Bijapur - Final Day

Next day morning I was up at 6 a.m. I wanted to be in Gol Gumbaz before anybody else. But it was pitch dark outside. I had some Badam Milk and asked people about what other places I can cover that day. Everybody recommended Almatti Dam, which was an hour's journey from Bijapur. There was a direct train at 9.45 and the railway station was just 10 mins walk from Gol Gumbaz.

Back at room, I got ready and reached Gol Gumbaz by 7.15 a.m.

I was still the first visitor. I took the ticket and walked up to the Gumbaz. The security guard insisted I get a  ticket for the camera and he was no mood to listen to my explanations. I walked back to the counter and got the camera coupon.

As soon as I entered another security guard approached me. He offered to explain the significance of this place. He admitted that he was not a official guide and was ready to accept whatever money I was ready to pay. I couldn't have asked for anything better. I accepted with a wide grin on my face. :)

Naqqar Khana and the Guest House
The first building on the way to Gol Gumbaz is the Naqqar Khana, where king's welcome party used to blow trumpets and announce his arrival. This is now converted to museum. The second one is the guest house complex where king's guests used to join him. Not sure what this is now.  Finally, you see the gigantic Gol Gumbaz. Next to Gol Gumbaz is the mosque. Keeping in line with the Islamic tradition, a mosque was built next to the tombstone. Though the outer walls of the mosque look good, I was told that it is dilapidated inside and hence the public is not allowed.

Naqqar Khana

2nd building

Mosque

Gol Gumbaz
Gol Gumbaz is the mausoleum of Mohammad Adil Shah. He is buried here along with his mistress Rambha Devi (a dancer), wife, and his two children. 

The Story
Earlier, this place used to be an entertainment center. The dancers performed in the central hall and the king sat at the rear end (opposite to the entrance). The musicians sat in whispering gallery area so that the music reverberated throughout the hall without any loss of clarity. This was also the place where the king conversed with his wife and mistress. The legend has that once the king casually asked his mistress if she loved him so much and can do anything for him, can she jump down from the gallery. Without a second thought she jumped in. When the crestfallen king asked for her last wish, she expressed her desire to be buried next to him. That's how the tombstones are today. The original graves are a few feet below the tombstones.

Gol Gumbaz

King's seating area

Tombstones

The guide demonstrated how exactly the whispering gallery works. Camera clicks, footsteps, drop of a coin, and of course the words we speak (whisper, to be precise), every action we did there echoed 7 times. It was amazing. I was awestruck, absolutely speechless. Whatever I read in primary school textbook is actually real! Wow!

Whispering Gallery

The chain to the top of the dome -- The tomb was originally made of stone. The king had a contest where he rewarded people who reached the top of the tomb using this chain and hoisted a flag.

Parrots whispering outside the gallery ;-)

Some random pics

 

Jamia Masjid seen from Gol Gumbaz

I was done by 8.15. The guard-cum-guide's duty was in the dome area that day. Since I still had time for the train, we discussed about lot of other stuff. He concurred with my decision of visiting Almatti Dam and skipping Jamia Masjid, Gagan Mahal and couple of other tourist spots. (My decision was based on my interaction with several people, including the guy manning the footwear and the auto driver.)  He also showed me the Jod Gumbaz which was the built as a prototype for Gol Gumbaz. I couldn't take a snap as it was covered with fog.

I finally came down at 9.15 a.m., went around the dome taking snaps. As I was walked towards the exit, I just could not hide the smile on my face. I was soooooooo happy!

I got into an auto and reached Bijapur Railway Station at 9.40 a.m. The Basava Express reached on time and I was off to my final destination. As usual, I spoke to people in the train. Everybody praised heaps about the dam. I couldn't wait.

Almatti
I reached Almatti about an hour later. I was told that the dam is hardly a kilometer away from the station and the shared autos charge 5 rupees to drop me there. However, couple of auto guys I enquired demanded Rs.100!!! I was shocked. Somebody told me that it is better to walk up to the destination. I saw couple of college kids going in that direction and I followed them. 

After an immensely satisfying experience in the morning, I was here for a major disappointment. The point after that "one kilometer" is a place from where I can just see the dam. I started thinking about my options. Can I leave this place now and visit something else? Is there a place nearby or should I go back all the way to Bijapur? I checked with some shopkeepers. They said there is nothing else nearby, but if want to take a closer look at the dam, I should visit Rama -Krishna Park and Lava-Kusha park. I decided to try that out. I remembered that one of my fellow passengers in the train had mentioned that these parks are beautiful as KRS Dam Park in Mysore.

There are no direct autos to those parks. I first had take an auto to the "highway" and from there get into another auto which will drop me at these parks. I reached the highway paying Rs.7. But the auto guy at the highway asked Rs. 70 one-way to the park. I walked out of the auto stand to have my brunch (and plan my next step) at a nearby hotel. The cashier at the restaurant told me that I can take a shared auto going towards Rampur, get down at some circle, and walk a couple of kilometers to reach the park. I thanked him and got into an auto. Fortunately, that auto was going somewhere beyond the park. So I got down at Rama-Krishna park, which was right opposite to the dam entrance. As I walked through the gates I thought of Anil Kumble, a person I always associate with perseverance.

But then, the joy was short-lived. Hardly few steps into the park, I realized that the guy who compared this with KRS park has definitely not seen it. Seriously, even the Basavanagudi Bugle Rock park (in Bangalore) is much bigger and more beautiful than this park. And most importantly, despite it being so close to the dam, I could not view even 60% of the dam gates from the highest point in the park. Colossal waste of time! The caretaker of the park suggested that I visit the Lava Kusha park (a kilometer away) to get a full view of the dam. I thanked him with a smile and walked out. I had enough. 

Some pics from the park -

By the time I came out of the park, it was 1 p.m. My return train was at 2.55. So I decided to walk back to the circle from where I can get the autos coming from Rampur. It served dual purposes. One, I could kill some time. Other, I can go to the river side of the dam, get my feet wet, and hopefully get a better view as well.

There was some swamiji's ashram near the power-generation unit of the dam. I wonder why he is not called "Current baba" (I have heard about some Visa baba or Visa god).

 And this is the snap I took from the riverbed.

I reached the circle at 1.30. The sun was at its peak and all I could find was a stone to sit. An auto came by after almost half an hour and I reached "highway" at 2.15 p.m. Here again my woes continued. The auto guys at the highway asked for Rs.50 to drop me at the railway station. The 2nd option was to wait till he can get 9 more passengers so that it will come down to Rs.5 each. What the...!!!  Anyway, since I had time, I decided to wait. By 2.40, we could get 4 more passengers. All of us were heading towards the railway station and agreed to pay Rs.10 each instead of waiting for more passengers.

The train was late by 15 minutes. I reached Bijapur at 4.30 p.m.

While searching for info on Bijapur, I had found out that Ilkal saree is a must buy here. A fellow passenger in the train to Almatti recommended SJ Bhavi and Sangameshwara stores near Gandhi Chowk for this.

I headed straight to these shops from the railway station. I finished my lunch and shopping and returned to my room at 6.00 p.m. I slept for a good half an hour and got into the bus at 7 p.m.

As I settled on my favorite window seat in the first row, I started looking back at my day. What a contrasting experience! One moment I was patting my back on my decision to revisit Gol Gumbaz. Few hours later, I was cursing myself for going all the way to Almatti.

But hey wait! It was not over yet. While booking the ticket, I was told that the journey duration to Bangalore was 11 hours in Rajahamsa. But now the conductor bluntly told me that they won't reach before 7.30 a.m. that is, 12.5 hours.  "Awesome! What next? Will the bus break down on the way? Bring it on!", I thought.

Well, anyway, no such thing happened and I was back where it all started by 7.30 a.m.


ನೀವೆಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋದರು ಬರಲೇಬೇಕು, ನಮ್ಮೂರಿನಲ್ಲೇ ಬದುಕಲುಬೇಕು, ಪರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಥಳ ನಮಗಿಲ್ಲ, ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ ಊರೇ ನಮಗೆಲ್ಲಾ...

Sidewing:

The security guard at Gol Gumbaz is a post graduate with 92% score.

The best time to be in Gol Gumbaz is before 7.30 a.m. People start pouring in after that. In summer, they might be in earlier.

"Whisper" in the Whispering Gallery. If you want to shout to hear the echo, go to some hilltop. And yeah, no chorus please.

I bought an Ilkal saree from the Bhavi stores. Their range starts at Rs.550. I liked the Rs.850 saree more than the Rs.3500 saree.

Badami, Pattadakal, Aihole, Bijapur - Day 2

Next morning, I set out towards Badami caves by 7 a.m. The caves were just 10 minutes walk from my hotel. 

I was the first visitor that day. I was there even before monkeys took their positions.

The security guard at the entrance warned me that monkeys will be in anytime now and suggested that I can keep my bag at the canteen in the same complex for nominal charge of Rs.2. Wary, but to be safe than sorry, I followed his advice.

Hardly five minutes into my world of interpretation and admiration of sculptures in the first cave, a tourist guide approached me and offered to walk me through these caves for a discounted rate of Rs.200. I checked his credentials and agreed. 

Whatever I write now is his version. So, take it with a pinch of salt. And no, I haven't given away everything he told. I don't want you guys to take a print out of my blog when you visit next time and deprive him of his means of livelihood.

The Naming Ceremony
Version 1: Badami was earlier known as Vatapi, named after a demon by the same name. Vatapi transformed himself as a sheep and his brother served him (the sheep) to the travelers visiting this place. Once travelers had their food, Ilvala asked Vatapi to come out and Vatapi emerged out of the traveler's stomach. Then, the brothers feasted on the traveler.

Once sage Agastya came to this place. Since he knew about the brother's tactics, as soon as he had his food, he said "Vatapi Jeernobhava" (Vatapi, get digested). That day, when Ilvala called Vatapi, he never came out. Thus the name, Vatapi.

My take: What was this place known as  before this incident? What if the traveler was a non-vegetarian? Why couldn't the demons just kill the travelers instead of taking so much trouble?

Version 2:  The hills/ rocks in this place were formed due to a volcano centuries ago. Since these stones are of Almond color which means Badami in Kannada, this place came to be known as Badami.

My take: This is quite possible.

The Cave Story:

Badami was the capital of Chalukyan kings. They have built four cave temples here.

1. Shiva
2. Vishnu
3. Mahavishnu
4. Jain

Every temple is carved out of a single piece of rock.

Cave 1:
Nataraja in first cave: This statue has 18 hands (9 on each side).  Any random left hand-right hand combo results in a Bharatanatyam position. Thus you can see all 81 positions here making this a one-of-a-kind sculpture.

Baby in various positions: Two faces/ bodies depicting four positions.

Since the idea was to build temples in a single piece of rock, the sculptor didn't continue when he saw the 2nd rock.

Other interesting sculptures here include:

• Parvati pillion riding with Shiva on his vehicle Nandi.
• Bull-Elephant combo
• Ardhanaareeshwara (pic below)

The idol of Linga still exists in the sanctum sanctorum.

Cave 2
This was built by Keertivarman, Pulikeshi's son. This temple is dedicated to Vishnu.

Sanctum sanctorum is empty. Vandalized by Bahamani kings.

Vamana avatara of Vishnu on one of the walls

Never-ending Swastika.

British judges stole this hairstyle idea:

Between 2nd and 3rd cave are these steps leading to Tipu Sultan's fort on top.

Cave formed coz of erosion

Cave 3
Built by Mangalesha, Keertivarman's brother. Similar to 2nd cave. Nothing in sanctum sanctorum.

Narasimha avatara

Evolution: Monkey from one side and Human from another.

Drunk wife supported by hubby

Other interesting sculptures include:

• Ashta dikpalakas on the ceiling
• Hari-Hara
• Colorful designs on the ceiling

Cave 4
Jain temple dedicated to the 24th Tirthankara of Digambara sect.

24 tirthankaras

Idol in the sanctum sanctorum

The guide left after this. I came down and headed towards the museum and other temples.

Agastya teertha: 

Till 1960s, the hills around this lake were full of medicinal trees. The rainwater from these hills flowed down into the lake and hence a dip here was believed to cure all diseases. Now this lake is used by washermen (meaning Agasa in Kannada) and this is known as Agasa teertha. No prizes for guessing its current medicinal value. :D

The museum was yet to open. So I walked up further towards Bhootanatha temples.

Bhootanatha temples:
This is one of most peaceful places I have ever visited. I sat there for about 45 minutes and all I heard was chirping birds and few washermen busy with their duty.

Dashavatara inside a small temple next to Bhootanatha temples

While I was taking pictures around Bhootanatha temples, I saw some sculptures dumped on the nearby hill. Even these are vandalized. But I don't think Bahamani kings are to be blamed for this. :P

I was back at the museum by 10.30 a.m. I generally find museums very boring. But this one has some excellent stuff and I was glad that I didn't give it a miss. After spending a good 15-20 minutes there I set out towards hilltop temples.

On the way...

The temple at the highest point -

 View from the top

When I walked down, it was 11.30 a.m.  I collected my bag from the canteen, sat there for few minutes having tea and snacks and set out towards my deal-clinching leg of Bijapur.

There are very few direct buses to Bijapur from Badami. The best option is to go to Kerur and then get a bus to Bijapur from there. The bus to Kerur started at 12.45 p.m. So did my thoughts. Overall, I was satisfied with my visits over the last two days. I rated Badami the best of the lot and wouldn't mind visiting again after 3-4 years.

I reached Kerur at around 1.15 p.m. The road was good and there were very few stops in between. The Hubli-Bijapur bus reached Kerur as soon as I got down from my bus. I just confirmed with the driver and got in. On the way, I saw some people selling curd in a small pot. Wish I could buy one.

Bijapur:
I reached Bijapur at 3.30 p.m. I checked with a couple of people and they said that I can cover Gol Gumbaz and Bara Kaman that evening. I also booked a ticket to Bangalore next day.

My first destination was Gol Gumbaz. The cheap and best mode of transport to reach there was the shared auto from a circle which was about 7-10 mins walk from the bus stand. I reached Gol Gumbaz at 4.00 p.m. I was completely shocked as soon as I walked through the gates. No, it was not the massive Gol Gumbaz. It was the parking lot. The sight of so many vehicles - buses of various capacities, Tata Sumo, Safari and every other tourist vehicle I can think of made me wonder if I made the right decision by coming here. But I still decided to go. Worst case, I will come again next day.

I saw people everywhere on the way to the main tomb - people came here for evening walk, picnic, and of course, being weekday evening, kids with various intentions. As expected, most of the crowd was inside Gol Gumbaz.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, Gol Gumbaz is famous for its whispering gallery. Every word uttered in this gallery echoes 7 times. And the keyword here is "whisper". But imagine the chaos when you have about 150 people testing this? Or when a school teacher asks his team of about 70 kids to clap together (discipline factor) to hear the echo? Gol Gumbaz had turned Ghor Gumbaz.

I walked out of the tomb in less than 15 minutes. The guy manning the footwear said that if I really want to experience whispering gallery, I should be here by 6 a.m. He also helped with the plan for evening. If I can hire an auto, I can cover four key places that day itself. Considering the distance and time, the best deal would be at Rs.200.

I was back in front of Gol Gumbaz gate at 4.45 p.m. I cut a deal with an auto guy for the recommended fare and headed towards Bara Kaman first.

Bara Kaman

This was being constructed by the son of king who constructed Gol Gumbaz. However, the construction stopped when he died in a war. Now all we can see are these arches. If it had been completed, it would have been taller than Qutub Minar, currently India's tallest monument.

Upli Burj

There is nothing much to see here.

Malik-E-Maidan a.k.a Topu

Got a guide here, though I hardly had any time to spare. This place is famous for the cannon British wanted to shift to England. But this cannon was so heavy that they gave up after bringing this down by just one floor.

Some trivia about this cannon:

• Made of panchaloha (combination of gold, copper, silver, iron, and lead).
• Won the battle of Talikota in which Vijayanagar empire was wiped out.  Locals worship this twice a week even today.
• A single shot from this cannon killed 200 people.
• Has a design of Elephant body with horse legs depicting its power and speed.

The king who built this was a very religious tolerant person. The proof of this is the pic below that has a moon representing the Islamic religion and sun for Hinduism.

This tower was one of the entrances of Bijapur fort. So there is a moat (which used to be full of crocodiles) around this as the first line of defence and small holes in the walls to fire at enemies who manage to cross the moat. If the team here wanted reinforcement, they used to clap here (see the square in the pic) and the regiment stationed at Upli Burj, located about 300 metres away, heard it and responded.

Ibrahim Roja

This tomb of Ibrahim Adil Shah inspired Shahjahan's Taj Mahal. Need I say more?

I came out of Ibrahim Roja by 6.00 p.m. and reached the bus stand by 6.15 p.m. I checked into Yatri Nivas (Karnataka Government's budget lodges) in the bus stand complex. It offered a single room with TV, fan and hot water for Rs.250. Exceeds Expectations.

A great day ends.

Sidewing:
The best quote from my Badami guide: GOD - Generator, Operator, and Destroyer.

It is worth hiring a guide in Badami. Their explanations might not be entirely true, but it definitely helps in understanding and appreciating the craftsmanship of Chalukyan era architects. Trust me, I have shared only half of what my guide told in this post.

One needs to pass through narrow-laned residential area to get to the museum and Bhootanatha temples. Watch out for the small signposts to make sure you are on the right path. Or even better, ask locals. Most of them can understand Hindi.

Bijapur is also known as Vijapur. Many buses use the latter on their boards. In any case, just check before you get in, just like I did.

If you are carrying any digital camera (this includes any non-reel camera, not just DSLR), get the camera coupon at Gol Gumbaz. The guy at the entrance of main tomb will not allow you to take it inside without that ticket.

Bags are not allowed inside Gol Gumbaz. You have to leave it at the guy manning the footwear. As far as possible, leave it in your hotel room.