Warangal and pulihora

On a fine weekend the hipposaur and madcap decided to get inspired and woke up at 5 in the morning. This was a remarkable feat, considering the hipposaur is primarily a nocturnal creature. That aside, they boarded on a rickety passenger train on its way to Warangal, situated at a distance of circa 140 km from Secunderabad. Warangal is a sleepy little town, not your usual tourist site, housing magnificient ruins from the Kakatiya dynasty, way back in the 13th Century. The fact that the touristy bunch give the town a miss is a good thing, since one has the luxury of soaking in the history at one's own pace.

This is a blow by blow account of the journey. It is quite significant.

After reaching the station the duo haggled with the autorickshaws, and settled for a price of 275 Rupees for a tour of the fort, the town and the temple, including any parking fees incurred during the day. Fair enough.

10:30 am the auto takes them to the Bhadrakali temple, replete with a gorgeous view of rock formations surrounding a lake.



11.05 am they are on their way to the Thouand pillar temple near Hanamkonda.



Built Circa 1163 AD by Rudra I of the Kakatiya clan. Significant is the pastiche of styles inspired by Buddhist architechture. Must notice the Dragon like carvings in black stone. There they made a purchase of prasadam consisting of 1 unit of Tamarind Rice (Pulihora) for 5 bucks, best damn tamarind rice there ever was.

12:30 pm discovery of a lunch mess. A plate of "omlette meals" was ordered. Whereby a large bucket of steaming ginger flavoured Rasam arrived, accompanying a small mountain of rice, shortly followed by heaps of Tindora (related to the gherkin, all ye philistines) curry, sambaar, and coconut chutney. A piece or two of pickled avakkai mango was also reportedly seen in the vicinity. A small omlette arrived reluctantly, a while later. The meal was rounded off with a bowl of sharp white curds. Now since the young travellers are the intrepid kind, a single "meals" was ordered. However, the rule, as they were told, was "One person, one meals". Ergo, the duo did something unimaginable in a small eating joint in a small town of Andhra Pradesh- they shared a meal (Whoa!) Now this had probably never happened in this part of the planet, where members of the opposite sex maintained a safe distance. Moreover, the eating joint in question catered chiefly to working
class men who would drop in to pick up a quick, and undeniably enormous, bite. After a battery of many a shocked stare and suppressed laughter, the intrepid travellers departed.

2:00 pm they arrived at the ruins of the Warangal fort built during the 12th Century, built by Prola Raja of the Kakatiya clan. It's a fairly interesting place, considering the absence of the ceiling across the central palace. So what you have is a whole football field sized area filled with pillars of all sizes.



Buddhist sculpture plays a prominent part of the architechture, yet again, resembling the stupas of Sanchi. Later they found out that Warangal and surrounding areas was part of the ancient Buddhist trade route in the 10th Century. Oh well, Quod Erat Demonstrandum.

Roster:
Train tickets from Secunderabad 45 Bucks a head
Travel 275 Bucks
Massive Lunch with free stares and myriad expressions of amazement 30 Bucks
Tamarind Rice at temple 5 Bucks
Train back 45 Bucks, again.
(Bloody good) Tea at Alpha Hotel, Secunderabad after coming back 4 Bucks a head

Happiness...