Outskirts of Warangal; my friend said it’s close by.

We were relaxing after a 4-hour drive to the city of the Kakatiyas. It was a short trip with just a day and a half to spend. We wanted it to be a relaxing drive; didn’t want to hurry, and would only visit as much as possible. Around 4 PM, we settled-in at the Haritha Kakatiya Hotel, making plans for the evening.

And then we looked it up. 70kms? Really? To be sure, we looked it up again; and then we looked at each other, like it was a checkmate. Yes, the Ramappa temple is a further 70 kms away. My four-year old sensed something was fishy. His eyes were speaking, do not put me back into the car now! We had just settled down and he was still exploring our accommodation. Tomorrow was packed with another “leisure” schedule. If we had to visit the temple, this was our only time. In a few minutes, we hit the road. We were expert Travel Rookies, if there was such a thing!

This was nothing like the earlier drive; not a highway anymore. There were long stretches of single-lane driving, along the countryside with intermittent villages. Sometimes, we found speed bumps on the road, other times, we found a road among the bumps. Through the sparsely populated, rural, deserted roadways, through the fields, our fate depended on just two things, our car and our maps. At one point, we heard a loud clang, as if something fell off the car. The sound resonated for a few seconds and then receded as we drove farther away. We slowed down, looked around, but nothing seemed off. The poor Maruti Alto was still in one piece, and seemed to be running okay. We didn’t dare venture out on this deserted place, so we kept pushing ahead. We were on a schedule, the temple would be closing soon.

As we approached this ancient structure, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, the security was getting ready to close the gates. In a flash, we stopped, leapt out of our car, and negotiated with the gatekeeper. After some haggling, he considered. Lucky us, we thought!

The temple, named after the architect, Ramappa, is a majestic structure, made of reddish sandstone and basalt. The temple sat on a star-shaped pedestal with a prominent Nandi (the sacred bull) facing the temple deity, Lord Rudreshwara. The intricate carvings inside the temple showcased the Kakatiya art and craftmanship. After many invasions and plunders, parts of the structure remained in ruins, while some were being restored. At its prime, one could only imagine the splendor of this temple.

In a quick 45 mins, we wrapped up our visit. With tons of memories, we were back in the car. Suffice to say, the drive was every bit worth it.

The next morning we discovered a missing wheel-cover on our vehicle’s rear wheel. And then we remembered the loud clang on our drive. And then we were able to connect the dots!