THE MYSTERIOUS TEMPLE OF MASRUR

Every summer many thousand people drive on holidays to Kulu, Manali or Daharamshala but very few know that a small detour from their usual destinations will take them to one of the most amazing temples of India. It is also perhaps the oldest Hindu temple in north India. India’s earliest temples were cut inside caves of hewed out of living rock until the south Indian technology of building with prefabricated pillars, beams and panels became popular after the 9th century AD.

The Kailash temple at Ellora is the biggest and most famous temple of this type that was cut from top down out of a huge single rock face. Masrur is the only such temple in north India and is roughly dated to the 8th century. It is also built in the classic old style with fifteen shikaras and a big water tank in front of it. The shikaras like the peaks of the mythical Mount Meru look remarkably similar to the famous Hindu temples of Ankor Vat in Cambodia.

You will need about fours to reach Masrur from Mandi so it is recommended that you break your journey to spend the night at Kangra or Dharamshala and then do an easy day trip to Masrur and back. After driving on the national highway towards Mandi on the road to Kulu there is a excellent road to Pathankot that runs just south of Dharamshala. You can also go via Jullundur, Hoshiarpur and Una to connect to this road. You then drive west for just over an hour. It is 32 Kms west of Kulu on the Nagotra – Surian link road. It is a very picturesque drive through rocky Shivalik hills and small patches of cultivation with the majestic Dhauladar mountain range to the north. The drive is through some very rugged country with deep ravines and thorny trees that look as if dinosaurs are lurking in the shadows but visitors will bee struck speechless when they see the magnificent edifice.

As there is no inscription or mention in any ancient text, nobody knows who built this great structure or when. It is also a mystery as to why this gigantic symbol of devotion was built in such a remote and unfertile area. There is no record of what king was the patron to build such a large temple that must have needed millions of man hours of devoted labour to say nothing of huge funds that could not have been squeezed out of farmers in such a rugged area.

The elaborate carvings despite huge damage from the 1905 earthquake show that it was originally a Shiva temple that had been completely abandoned because wandering priests quite recently made it into a Ram Lakshman temple with three black stones representing Ram, Lakshman and Sita inside the inner sanctum. The drive is a little off the beaten track but it is a most picturesque and rewarding experience with lovely spots for a picnic on the way.

THE MIGHTY MINI GOES TO HAMPI

I was very privileged to take a Mini Cooper S last year on perhaps the most pleasurable 1200 KM test drive I can remember from Goa to the magnificent ruins of Hampi in Karnataka and back over lovely twisty `ghat’ roads with some good stretches of highway. The Mini is a small car, roughly the size of the Maruti Swift, but there is no comparison for acceleration, road grip, ride ,handling and sheer luxury.

As the usual route from Goa to Hampi was in bad shape so we headed north on NH 17 towards Mumbai and then west on a lovely winding road via the minor hill station of Amboli to get to Hubli from where NH 63 got us straight to Hospet close to Hampi. In a fast and nimble car the 450 Km journey took just nine effortless hours and we arrived fresh and exhilarated by the drive. The Mini could instantly overtake anything on the road and was capable of much faster speeds than the 150 Kmph that we sometimes hit. We stayed at a very comfortable resort run by the Kishkinda Trust that is located on the western side of the rock strewn Tungabadra River. A small coracle took us to across the river to see some wonderful rock carvings scattered among the rocks. Many pilgrims also come to Hampi as legend has it that this area ruled by Hanuman was the legendary launching pad for Ram’s final attack on Lanka in the epic Ramayana.

Hampi is a truly magical place. The ruins of the sixteenth century capital of the Vijayanagar Empire built with huge granite blocks, pillars and beams is set among a most dramatic pile of tumbled rocks. One needs to use a coracle to cross the beautiful Tungabadra River.European visitors used to describe it as the most magnificent city in the world during its heyday. The fortifications set among the huge rocks would have been unassailable but the rulers foolishly challenged the coalition of Adilshahi rulers on the open plains and were routed. The attackers then utterly destroyed the city.

We returned via the port of Karwar south of Goa on another wonderful hilly road. The little 2-door car was great in the two front seats but was distinctly cramped in the rear. The peppy 184 HP engine was very docile at low revs but pumped out instant acceleration when the pedal was pushed. The six-speed automatic also made it effortless to drive but there were also paddle shifts for those who like the feel of gears. Our average fuel consumption was also a very acceptable 15 KMPL on the 1200 KM journey.

The Mini Cooper is quite one of the most exciting cars to drive and the Mini Cooper S is the ultimate in fun cars. When the original Mini was launched way back in 1957 it was immediately popular except that it was designed as a small `Peoples Car’. A joke was told of a girl in the passenger seat fending off her boy friend’s advances with the words… “What sort of girl do you think I am... a contortionist?”

The standard Mini delivers a peppy 120 HP from a 1600 cc petrol engine while the souped up Mini S has been tuned to pump out a huge 184 HP from the same engine. No car gives such a sense of speed as a small car which is why few cars can match the driving pleasure of a Mini. And, since it has come into the BMW stable it now offers every conceivable feature for comfort and pleasure. Luxury is never cheap and the Mini does cost a bomb but is a real jewel of a car.