Our day was spent with Kumar, the master of many things, one of which includes, epic and amazing journeys. We took in a beautiful temple outside of Mysore India and then drove to Melkote, a region about 1.5 hours outside of Mysore. The main Temple at Melkote is a temple for Narasima, a lion God and incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Although, we are not sure exactly how old the temple is, it is nearly 2000 years old. In India, temples are built, on the highest spot, to be closer to the heavens. So, we climbed the well worn stairs to the top and were blessed by Narasima. The carvings at this temple were magnificent. The energy was strong and we all enjoyed a fresh coconut on our way back down.
Many people who are trying to have babies go to this temple at Melkote and pray to the God. If they then conceive they return and thank the God at the temple as well as at our next stop, Kalyani, a 2000 year old bath.. surrounded by stairs on four sides down to the bath. We sat there for a minute.. and rested. We saw babies being dipped in the blessed (and dirty green) water and the happy parents thanking their Gods for the blessings of their child.
From there we enjoyed a beautiful snack prepared by Kumar’s wife. Idly is a steam rice and lentil cake. We dipped it in coconut chutney and we mmmmm’d our way through.. This time Latha (Kumar’s wife made special pumpkin idly and it was fantastic).
We drove from there to a special spot with no name and no explanation, but kumar thinks they were going to build a temple there and never finished. It is a beautiful spot with intricately engraved columns. And, then onto Sri Rangapathnum to see another temple, this one to the Lord Vishnu, in his laying down form. It turned out to be an auspicious day. They had just dipped his entire body in butter and decorated him. I don’t know the significance, but there were hundreds of us there waiting in line for peak of Vishnu and his blessings…
We then had a cup of chai by the river, watching people dip there bodies in to receive her sacred treasures of healing and protection. Then to the summer palace of Tipu Sultan, the man who defended and protected the Mysore area!
Samia Shalabi is a Seattle based artist & designer, yogi and traveler who has roots in the Middle-East, was raised in the middle-west and is drawn to India. She has a degree in geology, has traveled all over the world with a backpack, and believes in following her dreams. Samia does yoga most mornings, enjoys walks around Seattle, loves to laugh, and daydreams about where to travel next. She is working on a movie shoot in France.
