Thandaga - 8th Jan 2013

 Thangada

8th Jan 2013

Next, I wanted to go to a place called Thandaga, where another Hoysala temple lay in wait. This is sheer hinterland of Turuvekere, which in itself was hinterland of Karnataka. To reach Thandaga, which is another lake side agrarian town, I had to change buses. Not because of distance, but due to remoteness and non-existent direct buses. I took a bus back to Nonavinekere, got down in half-way and then waited along with school teachers who also were going to Thandaga. Whenever a two wheeler passed, one of the teachers flagged it and disappeared, one by one. Soon it was my turn and I too did the same and was in Thandaga. The distance was not daunting, but the pain and the fear of the condition of the feet worsening were.

Ceiling -Thandaga

Thandaga was the first of the surprises and shocks in store for the day. The whole spectrum of it. As soon as I got dropped, a few gathered around me and I asked them the way to the temple. An extremely thin man agreed to walk me to the temple. On the way he explained the purpose of my visit, to all who crossed our path.

Thandaga has two temples, one a very small temple and the other under renovation. I visited only the first one which declared its poor status with a thatched roof as its Mantap. The temple in just another modest one with minimal Hoysala styled sculpture but the interiors were unmistakably Hoysala and he ceilings, which by then have become my fetish, were really great.  I was out of it as quickly as reached. As I walked out I saw a post office and stopped over. Seeing a strange creature outside, the postmaster walked out and spoke to me in English. I was in comfort land, having found a common language.

His name is Seshadri and I told him what I was upto and soon his cousin, Venkatesh joined us in the conversation. It seems they were originally from Tamilanadu, their grandfather came to Turuvekere during the British times, as Government servant and never went back. Unlike the Hebbar Iyengars who date back to pre-Hoysala period, these were only two generations old. I was offered a cup of coffee and hospitality.

As I partook, I asked if there is a short cut to ‘Vignasante’ as I could see the distance not too far, from the Google map.  Didn’t notice that fate was lurking behind me, rubbing hands in anticipation.  Venkatesh  confirmed that it is indeed close (about 6 Kilometers) through twists and turns. One of them was skeptical if I could find the way and the other answered “he has managed to travel so far, so it should be a cake walk for him”. My imagined reputation and the attendant ego did not allow me to tell them that I was worried about my feet condition. I smiled weakly and began my walk, wondering if it was a good decision.

Rewards of spontaneity are not uniform. Many give up paying obeisance to spontaneity for its inconsistent dividend policy, sometimes running up a dry patch. I do get seduced for the same reason for when dividend is paid unexpectedly, it is indeed worth the toil. Today was one such day. Dividends and capital erosion.