The absence of ancient Hindu structures in Kashi is something I have always lamented about. The shrines are certainly ancient, and that is something that has always attracted me to the city. However, I miss the beauty of the ancient structures that we see at other sites. This feeling is intensified when I see marble and concrete and tiles in temples that once would have been beautifully adorned with evocative sculptures, and worn by the passage of time, touched by the hands of seekers who came before. This time , this desire to see some remnants of an ancient Hindu structure in Kashi came true when I managed to visit the Kardameshwar Temple. The Kardameshwar temple is not one of the main temples in the city. It is part of the temples on the Pancha Kroshi yatra, a pilgrimage which takes one on a circumambulatory tour of the whole city. The temple is located on the outskirts of the city, on the western bank of a tank called the Kardama Kund. The Kardameshwar temple is one of the...
In October 2011, we visited Sringeri , Udupi and Kollur . It was a memorable trip with tightropeartists and rainbows giving us a respite from the temple visits . We were really looking forward to the last leg of our trip, which took us to Shimoga and then to the River Tern Lodge. However, we still had much to experience before we reached Shimoga! We had decided to use public transport as much as possible during the trip, so we stuck to KSRTC and private buses which ran on the hills. We had no problem finding convenient buses , and to my surprise, almost always managed to find seats too. The people were helpful, and with a mixture of Tamil and Hindi, we managed to travel from one place to another with the least amount of trouble. The people at the bus stands, as well as the driver and conductor were polite and helpful, and nowhere was it more apparent than on the last part of our journey, from Sringeri to Shimoga.