Hassan (Karnataka), India - December 17th, 2006

The construction of the Hoysaleswara temple at Halebid began around 1121. Despite more than 80 years of labor, it was never completed, but it's still the most outstanding example of Hoysala art in India. The outside and parts inside are covered with riots of Hindu deities, sages, stylised animals and friezes reflecting the life of the Hoysala ulers. They ruled between the 11th and 13th centuries.
While there taking pictures, four guys from Andhra Pradesh state (neighboring Karnataka on the eastside), asked me to take a picture of them and to email it to them, so I happily did it. Also, while taking a photo of the sitting bull deity, a group of children students showed up and I photographed them. One of the girls asked me for my name, my mother's and my father's name, and I tol her the names. An Indian lady overheard it and asked the girl why did she wanted to know that, but the girl didn't respond. She seem different than the other girls, heavy, but with ligh brown piercing eyes, and she kept hiding away from being photographed.
I did a loop, so I took another bus and went to Belur from here. In Belur, the Channekesshara temple is the only one at the three major Hoysala sites still in daily use. The construction began in 1116 and worked at it over a century. The work in the higher part of the temple has very intricate detail and artistry. There are some bracket figures of women in ritual dancing poses. The front of the temple had dancers and characters from Kama Sutra, and the back of the temple strictly for gods. The supporting pilars inside are very decorative. Every major Indu deity is represented here. Some Hindu ladies were praying and there was a tray next to their god with a mixture of two color powders, red/orange and hellow, so they placed a finger in it and marked each other's forehead (the area between the eyebrows). Some men smeared a good portion on their foreheads and they keep it all day.
I returned to Hassan and the town was having a special celebration in a cultural center, various entertainers doing commedy show in Kannada language. The people around me were very happy I joined them, but I couldn't understand a thing, so decided to leave the happy audience.