We did the climb up to the temples on Sunday. The 3,200 steps seemed much tougher to climb than the last time I did them. I stopped many times en route, even though the common wisdom is that one should just continue. Bhavana made Abhishek walk-and-talk and set a fast pace, and they made it to the top faster than all of us.
The toughest part of the climb was from steps 1,000-2,000 – the middle path, as it were. The destination is still away, and one is tired from the first part of the climb. After that, it is a countdown to the top.
There was a slight drizzle as we did the climb. At the heights, the low clouds made it almost surreal. Inside the temples, there was no artificial light. The rituals being done now were probably exactly how they have been done for hundreds of years.
In a sense, not only is one climbing up, but one is also going back in time.
