Time Travel to Chalukya Desa ....DAY 3 - Wah ! Vatapi !
" Its just like the gorges of Grand Canyon, abridged! " Said one. " Its just like the gorges of Petra, scaled down ! " said the other. " Its just gorgeous ! " said I , slack jawed, "and just like the Vatapi i'd always imagined ! " We were standing on a flat rock, hedged in by GIGANTIC, craggy cliffs on all sides, catching our breath before tackling the next fleet of steps leading to the pavilion called The Lower Shivalaya. Carved into the rockface at the very base of the red sandstone massif on our left was a tiny Hanuman in bas relief, smeared with turmeric and vermillion and perfumed by a bunch of dying agarbattis. Traditionally, Hanuman is a guardian of wayfarers. Considering that the whole valley is overrun by armies of marauding monkeys, its always useful to be in the good books of the Big Boss. We dutifully uttered our prayers and proceeded left towards a lovely stone gateway heralding the Shivalaya. Another fleet of steps ran off ...