Sitting in Hong Kong’s international airport in late December, I had one of those – what I think of as – “twilight zone moments”, when nothing seems quite right. The hour was indeterminate, the past weeks of frenzied activity – entertaining, tramping through endless malls, packing for the long journey to India, and the long journey itself – was catching up, and I found myself staring balefully at the plate of dim sum in front of me.
Normally this is one of the attractions of this stopover in Hong Kong, snacking on the delicious foods available at the airport. Not this time. To add to my general sense of weariness, there was little chance of luxuriating in long, holiday sleep-ins anytime soon.
A niece’s wedding was scheduled to take place soon after our arrival. Never mind the jet lag, we’d have to hit the social whirl running. At that moment, the prospect of having to dress up in wedding finery and head straight into festivities soon after arriving in India was enough to make me want to head for the hills.
Little did I realize, our niece had had precisely the same idea – heading for the hills, that is!
The venue her parents had chosen for her wedding ceremony is a temple situated at the foot of Nandi Hills, about 50km north of Bangalore.
It’s not a great distance but, given the dreadful traffic conditions, it took well over an hour to make our way there. Making sure my sari stayed in reasonably presentable form as we lurched through traffic wasn’t helping my rather cranky, sleep deprived mood.
Once we got out of the traffic snarls and turned off onto the country road leading to the temple, matters improved dramatically. The pretty countryside is much as I remember it from over two decades ago, albeit now the flower and vegetable fields are interrupted here and there with large real estate developments, and a fancy golf village to boot.
Stepping into the Bhoganadishwara temple complex, I had the oddest feeling this might be one of those mythical portals to another time. Towering, monolithic rocks in the backdrop, and serene, beautiful, timeless within…it’s hard to do justice in words to the charms of this unique place, so I’ll just let the pictures do the talking.
In one corner of a stone shelter outside the temple, sat of group of young men – at work preparing the wedding lunch. They were a quiet group, working patiently at reducing baskets of fresh vegetables to neatly sliced, diced and shredded mise en place for the cooks. Apart from the convenience of the gas-fired stoves, this could have been the scene of a temple feast from any one of the eras depicted on the sculpted walls around. That carefully crafted lunch, served on fresh banana leaves, was undoubtedly my favourite meal of 2012. Twilight zone to timeless beauty – what a wonderful way to end the year! I hope 2013 brings more such lovely surprises. 🙂
I’m on vacation right now, but I’ll be back soon, and in the meantime, here’s wishing all of you a very Happy New Year!
What a majestic temple it is indeed set against an equally majestic backdrop of the Nandi Hills . Thank you first of all for providing a link to the ASI site . Very heartening to see that the temple has been so well maintained and that it in fact a working temple . it certainly merits a Sunday excursion even if one is not religious . To just admire the architecture , the carvings and soak in the wonderful atmosphere of faith and spiritual that is steeped in this beautiful temple complex would be a divine experience . The pictures , ( As usual they are splendid ) do justice to the lunch spread. One cannot but be impressed with the manner in which the apprentices and others employed in the kitchen ,wash , chop, peel slice, grate , dice , making short work of the Mise en place for all the numerous dishes . Gosh there are so many items served up on the plantain leaf . The local languages may not have sophisticated names for them ( or do they ) , but what a splendid job they do and what fabulous food served in simple but impeccably clean and so professionally managed eateries has emerged as a result of young people learning their trade and performing selfless service in the temple kitchens of South Inida . those preparations look so appetizing g a feats for for the Gods !.May all the angels and Gods bless the newly married couple with love , good health .and happiness forever and a day . This must have been a very beautiful wedding ceremony .
Definitely worth braving the traffic for, Jyoti. The layers of history evident in the changing architectural styles is fascinating.The wedding bower carved of dark stone outside the shrine dedicated to Shiva and Parvati is absolutely gorgeous, with whimsical arrangements of flowers, birds, and animals.
There are priests living within the complex, and there are kitchen facilities too, which I think may be in use during festivals.The team in these pictures however are independent caterers who specialize in wedding food.(I’m trying to get a proper recipe for that thing that looks like a neer dosa!)
I was so impressed with the way they worked- no stress, and they really seemed to be enjoying what they were doing.Of course I couln’t keep pace with all the various items being placed on my leaf at lightning speed, so what you see is only about half of what was on the menu.:-)
Thank you for your warm wishes for the young couple! It was a truly lovely wedding ceremony,conducted in one of the stone mantapams, open to the breeze and sunlight on all sides.While the couple was being put through their paces, I had a little tour of the temple, led by another niece, whose wedding was also held here a couple of years ago.:-)
What a beautiful temple, it is a shame that I hadn’t heard of it. Will be definetely added to our itinerary in our next trip to India. The picture on the ASI site is absolutely stunning. What a great place to have a wedding, so serene and divine.
A very well put togahter blog, yet again Shalini, it is so refreshing to read your writing, and the pictures do 100% justice to the divinity of the place, the effort of the cooks in the kitchen, the mouth watering south Indian thali and everything else.
I have a dream to serve my guests a full course South Indian meal on Banana leaf this summer, I think the taste of the food is enhanced when the food is served on Banana leaf.
Enjoy your stay in India and convey our love to each and everyone of your family.
Keep up the great work on the blog, it is time you write your first book now:) Lots of love.
Dear Vindhya, my apologies for the slow reply to your lovely message.(This break has included significant chunks of time without proper internet connectivity!) Thank you!
Yes, the temple should certainly be on your “must see” list on your next visit to India. I just know you’ll love it. As for that banana leaf meal , with your amazing ability to churn out course after course of complex South Indian menus single-handedly, it would be only a matter of picking the right day, and some fresh banana leaves! 😉
Now that is going to be a meal we will anticipate all through the rest of winter and spring! 🙂