Ruins - Protect. Don't repair

As we continued our journey back home, we decided to visit one more place that we hadn't been to in a long time. The last time I had been to this place, it was not too famous. So you'd rarely find someone visiting it. This time, it was a different matter all together. Not only did I see tourists, they were also indulging in photoshoots with professional photographers. People will be charged to enter this play soon I am pretty sure. I won't keep you waiting any longer for the name reveal. I am talking about this not-so-famous ruins of a church called Shettihalli church or the Rosary church.

The church was built around the 1860s by French missionaries. Abandoned after the construction of the famous Hemavathi dam, the church remains submerged in the backwaters for half a year. What stands out more about this church is the fact that it is still standing! You can see the walls being destroyed day in and day out by the natural elements but it grows more beautiful with every destruction. May be that's the beauty of Gothic architecture. Though I can't do justice to it, here are a few pictures I captured during our visit.

_{From the village side where it looks like a whole building}

_{The back wall, clearly visible from the backwater side}

_{The ruins in full view. Notice the erosion patterns matching with water direction}

Coming back to our journey to this place, when we left Chikmagalur, it was already noon. A pit stop for lunch and then a quick stop at Yagachi river meant we had no time for anything else that day. But as it turns out, my friend who is quite brilliant at driving wanted to set himself up for another challenge. So he decided we could make it for the sunset at this place. It did put my car into test as well and it held up its end really well. I had no doubts about making it in time but I was concerned about how submerged the church would be. I did not want to travel all the way to know that the church is only 1/4 visible or 1/3 visible. But thankfully that wasn't the case and the place looked absolutely breathtaking in the colours of dusk. The backwaters, the bridge and the church was an absolute joy to watch. Few pictures here that I thought could give you an idea of how everything looked.

_{Dusk colours reflecting from the backwaters}

_{The Church during dusk}

Well, after a soul pleasing trip of 2 days, I returned back home and I can't help but think about this with a huge smile on my face and warmth in my heart. Here's a link to my previous post to help you understand the context better (in case you haven't read it already) ,
https://steemit.com/steemexclusive/@berlin22/the-destination

Thanks a ton for reading this. Have a good day!

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ayazali (62) · 3 years ago

I read your post. Everything you have written about the church in this post is amazing. It's been so many years but the beauty of the church is not gone yet. Keep writing like this.
#affable

$0.00

berlin22 (43) · 3 years ago

Thanks for your kind words. Intend to keep going.

vaibhavsan (62) · 3 years ago

Nicely written by you. The pictures added are very nice.
#affable

Thank you! Means a lot to hear it

leenaa (54) · 3 years ago

This church is so beautiful. You have written very nicely about the history of this church and have clicked the pictures nicely. A great place to visit.

Agreed. It has a very different vibe to it. A sense of absolute serenity. Thanks for your encouragement.