(Holidays pt. 2)

---

Okay, friends. Now for the second installment of my holiday adventures (or, should I say, "Now to our featured presentation!"):

The second morning at Hampi, we decided to go to the Hanuman Temple on Anjaneya Hill. This temple is still-functioning, and is one of about four places that claims to be the birthplace of Hanuman, a very important monkey god.

Some background on Hanuman: He plays a huge role in the Ramanyana, the epic tale of Rama's (one of Vishnu's incarnations) battles against the 10-headed demon king of Sri Lanka. The tale begins with the demon king's abduction of Sita (Rama's wife). Hanuman becomes one of Rama's followers and, when Rama is unable to cross a large body of water to get to Sri Lanka, Hanuman leaps (or "flies like Superman" according to a tour guide) across with Rama's ring to show Sita that he is a friend. Of course, there is a lot more to tell, but that gives you an idea of Hanuman's devotion.

To get to the temple, we had to take a rickshaw to the river, then cross the river by boat because there is no functioning bridge in the area. The boat was small and cramped with motor-bikes, but it was a short ride and the morning air was lovely. We then had to take another rickshaw by lush fields and through small towns to the base of Anjaneya Hill.

So, the temple is up about 570 steps, and even in the morning sun, it was a difficult climb. But once we reached the top, we were welcomed by a beautiful view, prayer-chanting in a small shrine, and monkeys. For a long time, we kneeled in the dark shrine and listened to the chanters, who were doing a call-and-response. Then I went back out to enjoy the scenery, while the others stayed inside.

When they came out, they each had bindis on their foreheads, and they directed me to another small room where I could be blessed by Hanuman. As soon as I entered the shrine, I wished I had seen someone else perform the blessing ceremony first. There were several local women and a boy kneeling in the room, and a small table spread with various dishes and items, and I had no idea where to start. The women looked at me expectantly for a moment, then, realizing my panic, made a gesture to the boy. He took a small spoon and put holy water into my cupped hands, which the women then gestured for me to drink. I tried, but it basically just touched my lips because I hesitated too long and the water was already falling from between my fingers. Then the boy gave me a handful of sugar, and I was told to eat that, which I did readily. After that, there was a long awkward pause, in which I figured I was supposed to put the bindi on my forehead, but I could not figure out in the dim light which bowl held the powder. The boy seemed hesitant, too (maybe he was not allowed to help me with that part?), and eventually one of the women stood and put the bindi on my forehead. I thanked her and the others as best I could, but I have to admit that I came out feeling like a fool. Hopefully Hanuman understands that I had the best intentions.

When I reemerged, I noticed Peter disappearing over a big boulder behind the shrine. When I looked closer, I realized that there were man-made steps at the base, and so I decided to do some climbing, too. It turns out that there is a path laid out to a small man-made pond and a single tree among the rocks, straight from your favorite kung-fu movie. The view from was amazing, and the openness at the very top of the hill made you want to stay up there forever.

I'm going to save my ruins exploits from this day and the next for my next entry, but I also wanted to point out that we discovered another fabulous restuarant in Hampi called the Bamboo Tree. It is a roof-top place, with low tables and cushions and pretty darn good naan. It would be a great place to sit back and read a book, though I never got the opportunity to do so.

Next on the docket: Ruins, temples, and how I found a little bit of "Up" in India.

---

Photos

Ruined Bridge
The reason why we needed to take a boat to get to Hanuman Temple

The Crew
From left to right: Bitsy, Lizzy, Ally, Peter, and me.