How do you say, "No. No, Thank You" in Kannada?!

This past weekend our group took another trip! And, once again, it was a fantastic - this time for my Culture & Civilization class, and focusing on just that.

We departed early from the hostel to visit 4 different sites: Shravanabelagola to see the Jain Gommata/Bahubali Statue, the city of Hassan for lunch, Belur to see a temple for Lord Vishnu, and then to Halebidu (just 16 km down the streeet) to see the Hoysaleshwara temple for Lord Shiva. Soak in those long names for me, will you? And now, say them out loud. TRY! Now you can properly imagine how much of an idiot I felt like each time we were asked to recite the names... truly.

Shravanabelagola: is a major Jain pilgrim town settled between two hills, Vindhyagri (the big hill) and Chandragiri (the little hill). A 58'8'' foot tall statue of Bhagwan (Lord Bahubali Gomateshwara), the largest monolith in the world, stands at the top of Vindhyagri Hill.

 I think it was 615 steps to the top

No big deal, I thought...

 ...I, foolishly, began running up the stairs, counting as I leaped from step to step

"This is fun!"

Then... the steps got taller, and farther apart, and at about Step No. 157...

...I about had an asthma attack; so I stopped running and took a more peaceful stroll the rest of the way 

 A view from the top of Chandragiri Hill

 Before we started our climb, a group of men asked, "Ma'am, you want carried?"

Translation: "Hey, white girl, too lazy to climb up all those stairs?"

Of course I turned that generous offer down, thinking... "who would ever use that?"

From the top though, I saw this older gentleman being carried down the stairs and then understood..

..although, I still think that would be much scarier than trying to walk down independently

 Oh, Yeah! 6:00 a.m Yoga is paying off!

(admire my bad form)

 There he stands, Bahubali (aka Gommata)

All 58' 8'' of him

Pretty impressive, huh? Not bad, for being crafted in 983 AD

Belur: to see the Chennakesava temple complex which contains the Chennakesava Temple. It is dedicated to Chennakeshava, meaning handsome Vishnu.

 Entrance to the temple, though constructed many years after the temple was built

 

A family looking down a well in Belur

I creepily took their picture from far way before openly creeping up to see what they were looking at

Halebidu: to see the Hoysaleswara temple, a temple dedicated to Hindu God Shiva. It was built during the Hoysala Empire rule in the 12th century by King Vishnuvardhana. The construction was completed in 1121 AD.

 Black Marble makes up the inside of these beautiful Hindu Temples

Each pillar holding up the temple ceiling is unique

Just a photo exemplifying the intricacy of the stone carvings from thousands of years ago

I'll never get enough of this architectural design

 "The demon Gajasura - also knows as Nila - took the form of an elephant and attacked Shiva, but was killed by one of Shiva's attendants. Two representations of Shiva from this battle, often combined, are Shiva Andhakasuravadha (impaling Andhaka) and Shiva Gajasamharara (dancing on Nila's decapitated head or underneath his butchered skin)"

(http://www.harekrsna.com/philosophy/associates/demons/siva/gajasura.htm)

 The group of us (from bottom to top/left to right)

Victoria, Jake, Kat, Joseph, Laura, Me, Bri, Nina, Kate and Sherry

This man (along with many other men, women and children) was trying to sell me this coconut-violin thing Naturally, it was overpriced and I had no interest in buying one. I have learned to just keep my head down and not show any interest in buying something if I don't want to. BUT, many street vendors just don't get it... 

hence the title of this post: "How do you say, "no, thank you" in Kannada?!"

I understand this is their job, and obviously I am the most tourist looking person around (a light skinned girl with a camera in hand..) so obviously I expect to be approached. Never would I think (especially after hiking all those stairs and being out to view temples all day) would avoiding the street vendors be the most exhausting aspect of the trip. This particular man actually came to our travel van and stuck his arm inside the window trying to bargain with me. Needless to say, I do not own a coconut violin. Overall though, even with the many offers of stone carvings, postcards, and poorly constructed instruments, the trip was fantastic!