Team g square

Waterfalls of kolli hills -2

2012-02-06T20:47:00.002+05:30

After thoroughly enjoying the Junior Falls, we thought we could enjoy the Agaya Gangai Falls as well and very curiously drove towards it. Unfortunately, on reaching this place, we were informed that due to the heavy rains in the past few days, the entry to this waterfall was strictly prohibited. There was absolutely nothing we could do to even have a glimpse of it as we had to walk down to reach the falls from the ticket counter. The gates were locked and the guard made sure his order was strictly followed. We tried hard to gather details of an alternate route to the same but in vain. We also inquired about another known falls, the name of which we were fully aware as Masai Waterfalls, but the guard again gave us the bad news that it had also been closed due to the bad weather conditions. We were very disappointed that we missed the chance of witnessing these magnificent falls after making it this far. Wasting no further time, we visited the main temple of Arapaleswarar (dedicated to Lord Shiva) and then on, we continued towards our final destination of Aruppukottai near Madurai.

Agaya Gangai Waterfalls

While returning from Agaya Gangai falls, we decided to drive through the longer route. After traveling a few kilometers, far away we spotted another waterfall. We had an amazing view of the deep valley and the cascading waterfalls. Identifying its name (if it had any) was a very difficult task for us! We went on to name it Kollimalai Falls. After enjoying this view, we drove further only to find out that the this falls came under the known category and probably has an identity since provision was made for bathing under the falls.

First Look

Kollimalai Waterfalls

Valley

Uppermost Tier of kollimalai Waterfalls

Driving further, we found a small temple by the road side and stopped for offering prayers. On getting closer we found another monsoon waterfall close by. After clicking a few pictures, we moved on.

The Temple

Kovil Waterfalls

Waterfalls of Kolli Hills

2012-02-02T08:30:00.000+05:30

'Kolli Hills ' is known for its waterfalls, a mixture of well known and lesser known falls. Thanks to the rains that added more beauty and charm to the nature.

1. Falls 65

Falls 65 is a road side multi tiered falls which is active only during monsoons. Since the waterfall is located besides the hairpin bend number 65, and we are not aware of its name yet, here we call it as Falls 65. The roaring noise of the falls attracted us to it. It was a quite pleasant and wonderful weather. Nature was at its best that day!

Hairpin Bend No.65

Heavenly

Falls 65

Down Stream of Falls

2. Agaya Gangai / Akasha Gangai Jr Falls :

The Agaya Gangai Falls is the most famous of all the falls in Kolli hills and we were heading towards it. On our way, we found a beautiful flowering tree and wanted to capture its beauty. We stopped by to get some pictures of it. The weather was breezy with continuous drizzle and fog every now and then, which reduced the visibility conditions. While clicking the pictures of that tree, something huge that looked as if nature was pouring gallons of milk into someone's fields caught our eye and we moved further to have a look of what it was! And wow! What a sight! It is probably one of the best waterfalls we have ever witnessed. We are not even sure if this magical waterfall was only a result of the very recent monsoons (the receding northeast monsoons) or whether it is a regular waterfall. Since we could not find out the name of this waterfall too, we chose to call it Agaya Gangai Junior. We were actually lucky enough for having sighted this waterfall, thanks to the person at ticket counter who gave us directions of a short cut route to Akasha Gangai falls. Though we did not feel like parting away from this magic, we had to continue our drive towards Akasha Gangai.

The Hidden Falls

Agaya Gangai Jr Falls

Foggy , Misty and Milky

To be continued ...........

Our Guest Post in My Yatra Dairy

2012-01-31T07:58:00.000+05:30

Arti of My Yatra Diary gave us an opportunity of sharing space on her wonderful blog by writing a guest post. She is an avid spiritual traveler and blogger, who covers various pilgrim destinations of India in detail with loads of information and photographs. Kindly read through our guest post on Chennakeshava temple of C R Patna (Hassan).

Chennakeshava Temple

Roadissi - 1 Lost Hampi -2

2012-01-24T22:30:00.000+05:30

Roadissi Day One

After exploring the beautiful pillared Kalyan Mantapa, we moved on to explore another beautiful temple located a few meters away. This temple is dedicated to Lord Balakrishna and was built by the Pallavas during the 9th Century. It was later restored by Krishnadevaraya in the 15 Century.

The Lord Balakrishna Temple

Udayagiri was one of the most important cities of Medieval South India. It was ruled by the Satavahanas, the Cholas, the Pallavas, the Telugu Chodas, Gajapathis, Vijayanagar, Golconda Nawabs and finally the Britishers. Udayagiri was captured by the Vijayanagar kings in the early 14th Century. Later, the kings of Orissa (Gajapathis) captured this place along with the other surrounding cities like Kondavidu, and fortified these towns. Krishnadevaraya later recaptured Udayagiri and its surroundings and moved forward towards Cuttack to capture the Gajapathis, who then offered a peace treaty by asking Krishnadevaraya to marry their princess daughter Jaganmohini. Krishnadevaraya handed back the territories earlier held by Gajapathis up to river Godavari. In celebrating his roaring victory over the Gajapathis of Orissa, Krishnadevaraya made lavish donations to many temples in his empire, namely the Vijaya Vithala temple (Hampi), Lord Venkateshwara temple (Tirupathi) and so on. Almost all the well known and important temples down south were provided with an imposing entrance / Rajagopuras. Besides, a hundred or a thousand pillared mantapa or pavilion were added to the temple complexes. Most of the old temples in Hampi (the capital city of Vijayanagar kings) were renovated and enlarged with an additional architectural element "antarala". The complete religious structure built to mark his victory was the Lord Krishna temple in Hampi where he installed the Utsava Murthy of Lord Balakrishna (brought from the Lord Balakrishna temple in Udayagiri) in the Manimantapa of the temple complex.

Door Frame

Empty Gribhagriha

Note The Carvings of Various Animals

Lakshmi Narashima

Lord Balakrishna and Butter Churning

Ananthasayana

Rear View of Shikara

Ananthashayana Sculpture on the Shikara

Hereon, we headed towards the biggest of the Rajagopuras of Udayagiri, the one that first caught our attention and drove us into exploring the other beauties.

References :Vijayanagar, edited by Vasundhara Filliozat and Archaeology, Art and Religion, New Perspectives on Vijayanagara " written by Anila Verghese.

The Dance Shall continue .......

Roadissi - 1 Lost Hampi -1

2012-01-19T00:00:00.000+05:30

Roadissi Day One

After realizing the presence of a fort named Udayagiri at about 11 km from Duttalur, we went ahead to explore the place. Lovely winding roads leads us to Udayagiri, a hill fort, situated at 950 m above MSL. Within minutes of our realizing that it would take us more time to trek up to the fort, a few tall Rajagopuras in Udayagiri town caught our attention.

History of the Fort - The fort was built by Gajapathis during the14th Century. In the year 1512, Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagar Kingdom attacked this fort while the battle lasted for about 18 months. After Krishnadevaraya's army defeated the Gajapathis and captured the fort, the Gajapathis offered a peace treaty by asking Krishnadevaraya to marry their princess daughter Jaganmohini. Later, the Nawabs of Golconda occupied this fort. Today it is pile of ruins. One has to trek about 12 km to reach the fort.

Udayagiri Fort

The Grand Royal Wedding - A grand Kalyana Mantapa was constructed in the Udayagiri town at the orders of Krishnadevaraya. The place was decked up beautifully for the wedding of Krishnadevaraya and Princess Jagamohini. A lovely Rajagopura welcomes us at the entrance, while the pillared Kalyana Mantapa with intricate carvings is present inside the compound. There is a huge Kalyani in front of the Rajagopura. The ASI and the Andhra Pradesh Govt. has done a decent job in restoring the place, though there is a lack of maintenance.

Pushkarni or Kalyani

Mantapa

Rajagopura

Carvings on the Walls of the Rajagopura

Lord Krishna

Pillared Mantapa

Another View of The Mantapa

Kalyana Mantapa

Carved pillars

Pillar Top and Lintel Carvings

Udayagiri houses the ruins of more than 300 temples built during the reign of different kingdoms, though most of them were re-built or improved further by the Vijayanagar Kings. Thus we named it "The Lost Hampi".

Reference : Article from The Hindu
The Dance shall continue ..........

Roadissi -1

2012-01-12T22:52:00.000+05:30

Roadissi Day One

Day Plan : Non-stop drive to Visakhapatnam

Travel Route : Bangalore- Hoskote (NH 4) - Chintamani (SH 82)- Madanapalle (NH 205)- Rayachoti (NH 40) - Kadapa (NH 40) - Badvel - Pamuru (AP SH61) - Kandukur (NH 5) - Ongole (NH 5) - Guntur (NH 5) - Rajamundry (NH 5) - Visakhapatnam (NH5)

Distance : About 1000 km

Estimated Travel Time : 12 hours excluding breaks

Landscape at Karnataka - Andhra Border

Welcome to Andhra Pradesh

We started right on time on day one and as usual, after offering prayers at Lord Hanuman's temple for a safe and happy journey, continued our drive. We stopped by for some breakfast at Madanpalle. Driving further, we had to take a deviation from NH 205 towards Rayachoti. Though the initial stretch of the road was under construction, later on, the condition of roads only improved. All of a sudden, something huge appeared before our eyes and caught our attention! It was the beautiful hill fort of Gurramkonda. Now, we were in two minds about exploring this place. After a few minutes of analysis and coming to a conclusion that it would take us at least three hours to explore the fort, and since we had set ourselves a time limit, without wasting any more time, we quickly took a shot of it and promised to visit this place again.

Gurram-Konda Fort

View of NH 40 from Kadapa Ghat

Via Rayachoti, we proceeded further towards Kadapa (famous for its stone slabs, popularly called as Kadapa stone). A few kilometers before reaching Kadap, a short stretch of ghat section welcomes us to view the natural beauty of Kadapa. Hereon, we reached Mydukur and after crossing Badvel, we visited the Lord Rama temple by the road side. At the first look, the temple looked like it was built by the Vijayanagar Kings, though not sure. It seemed to have undergone some renovations. A small well existed near the temple, which was built using Kadapa stones. The water level in the well was quite high and the construction was neat.

The Tall & Lovely Raja Gopura of Lord Chennakeshava Temple

Lord Rama Temple at Badvel

Mosaic Designs

Lord Rama

The Well

Water Level in the Well

Our Dear Travel Partner !!

Proceeding further towards our destination, we reached a place called Duttalur at around 12:30 pm and on reading our map for route confirmation, we realised the presence of a fort around by this place. We had traveled around 450 km until now. We allotted ourselves about thirty minutes to explore the fort as we had to travel 550 km from now on and reach Vizag before 10:00 pm. The Fort had much more to offer than we thought.

The dance shall continue .........

"Roadissi" Dancing on the Roads of Orissa

2012-01-08T17:00:00.000+05:30

"Roadissi" is the chronicle of our road trip to the beautiful state of Orissa/Odisha. After reading a newspaper article about the famous temple of India "The Sun Temple of Konarak" being in danger, we decided to visit this marvelous temple. Though our initial plan was only a 2 to 3 days trip covering Puri - Konark- Lake Chilika - Bhubaneshwar, on researching for places in Orissa, we realised 2 to 3 days were insufficient!!! A good 10 to 15 days would give us a good chance of covering most of the places and since we were driving so far, it made sense to make the best use of our time! Rule number one was to complete all our official works so we could take leave without any hindrances. Finally, we managed to get a good two weeks leave and here on started our adventurous and unforgettable road trip to Orissa.

Orissa is blessed with immense natural, cultural and religious heritage. James Fergusson (author of the book " History of Indian and Eastern Architecture") declares in his book that " there are more temples now in Orissa than in all the rest of Hindustan put together". W W Hunter stated that "From end to end, it is one region of pilgrimage". Orissa, rightly called as the land of temples, is home to the most beautiful masterpieces of architecture.
Our Itinerary

1) Pilgrimage - Puri Jaganath, Puri and the Lingaraja Temple, Bhubaneshwar
2) Architectural, Hindu - Konark, Bhubaneshwar, Cuttack, Banks of the River Mahanadi
3) Architectural, Buddhism/Jainism - Dhaulagiri, Udayagiri (2), Ratnagiri, Lalitagiri and Khandagiri
4) Natural wonders - Atri and Taptapani Hot Water Springs
5) Wildlife - Simlipal Tiger Reserve, Bhitarkanika and Gahirmatha, Chilika and Satkosia
6) Beaches - Gahirmatha, Chilika, Puri, and Chandrabagh
7) Forts - Sisupalgarh and Cuttack
8) Art - Pipli, the Art Village
9) Asokan Edicts - Dhaulagiri and Behrampur

Unfortunately, the Simlipal Tiger Reserve remained closed due to Naxal activities in the region, thus ruining our opportunity of visiting the reserve as well as India's second highest waterfall - the Barehipani waterfall (1300 ft), which falls inside the reserve limits. Also, visits to Satkosia, Taptapani, Cuttack and Behrampur failed to materialize due to various reasons. Apart from these, as it was road trip, we got to explore a lot of hidden treasures of both states, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. Road trips always are an added advantage as we have no time limits and free to explore any place we feel like!

Roadissi - Dancing on the roads of Orissa

Our companions of the trip

1) Information Center - "Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent " by Takeo Kamiya, India - Eyewitness Travel of DK, Incredible India of IMS, Wildlife Holidays in India of Outlook Traveller, Konark - By Thomas Donaldson, Temple Cities of Orissa - By Balaram Mishra and few details collected from various websites

2) Clicking partners - Canon Power shot G3 (5 GB) and Canon EOS 450 D (16 GB)

3) GPS - Eicher Road Atlas (wonderful road atlas) and IMS India Road Atlas

4) Music partner - Our good old pen drive with 4 GB capacity, full of songs (old and new Kannada and Hindi songs, dropped the latest ones as some of them have no meaning at all!!)

5) Telecom partners - BSNL, Airtel and Vodafone - had three for safety as we were unsure of the connectivity (though it turned out to be far better than we expected). Very important to keep in touch with our loved ones

6) A travel diary for writing down details of places visited, etc., including expenditure

Our Travel Oath

1) Not to exceed a speed limit of 100 kmph (Result:Never exceeded 100 kmph)

2) No night driving beyond 10 pm . (Result:Oath broken on last day while returning back, by celebrating New Year's during the drive)

3) Calling home everyday (Result:Did not dare to break this one!)

The only package trip we opted for, during our trip : 2 days at the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary. Halted at the Sand Pebbles Resort, very close by to the sanctuary limits

Total Cost : Under Rs 60,000/- per couple, including the Bhitarkanika package (16k) and diesel expense (14k), which are the major contributors

Road Conditions : 95 % of the roads were excellent, rest were manageable except for a kilometer stretch that leads to the Bhitarkanika Sanctuary

Total km : 4438

Number of Days : 14, 19 December 2010 5:15 am to 01 Jan 2011 2:30 pm

Total No of photos taken : 14 GB, 7352 clicks

The Beginning

Morning Hues

First Sunrise of our Trip

Smooth Road Connecting Chintamani and Madanpalle

A P State Highway 61

Traffic Pile Up on the River Godavari Bridge

Traffic Jam at Vizag Steel Junction

Awesome Road Connecting Puri and Konark

Wow ! What a Sight - The Sun Temple, Konarak

Muddy Road Leading to the Wild Bhitarkanika

Last Sunset of our trip (Visakhapatnam)


The End and Beginning of a New Journey

The dance shall continue ......

Kalleshwara Temple, Hulikal

2011-12-31T07:00:00.000+05:30

During our course of conversation with the priest at Tandaga, he informed us about another stone temple situated about 3 km from Tandaga. He went on and appreciated the ASI, who helped restore the temple, which otherwise was in ruins. We were not aware of the temple of Kalleshwara in Hulikal. On following the directions given by the priest, we reached a canal, from where we had to take a right turn. Now, we were stuck in a rather funny situation, wherein there were two motorable roads turning right, running parallel on either side of the canal!! We stopped by to inquire a few locals about the route to Hulikal and none were really sure. Finally, we decided to trust our gut instincts and drove ahead, choosing one of the right turns. We traveled for almost 2 km with no signs of any temple around, nor any local in order to confirm about the route. We started to doubt our decision of taken the right right turn! Not giving up, we continued driving and luckily, an auto driver coming in the opposite direction confirmed to us that we were heading the right way towards the temple.

The Lovely Canal

A lady sitting nearby the temple confirmed to us that it was the Kalleshwara temple we were looking for. The temple has undergone restoration recently. Sadly, there were no signs of any further maintenance, which was evident by the sight of water logging around the temple itself. Though the temple was locked, we were able to peep in and get a glimpse of Lord Shiva and his guardian Nandi through the grilled door. The architectural plan is very similar to the Chennakeshava temple of Tandaga. This temple was built by the Hoysalas, who, as we all know, are the masters of intricate temple architecture. Surprisingly, the Kalleshwara temple seemed to have the simplicity and plainness unlike most of the other hoysala temples, known for their artistic intricacies.

The Kalleshwara Temple

Shikara

A Peep into the Temple

Inscription Stone

The Lake

Nandi Kambha

For details of directions, distance from Bangalore and places to visit around : Kindly click here

Tambdi Surla, Goa

2011-12-24T07:00:00.000+05:30

'Tambdi Surla' is a small village inside the Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary, Goa. This place houses one of the finest and probably the oldest surviving temple of Goa. The temple is dedicated to Lord Mahadeva (Shiva) and is believed to be built around the 12th Century by Goa Kadambas. This is one of the few temples that has survived trough years and remains intact.

Mahadeva Temple

ASI Tourist Information Broad

Entrance and Sloping Roof of the Mukhamantapa


Lord Mahadeva


Floral Ceiling- Unique Feature of Kadamba Architecture (Asta Kona, Eight Directions)

Decorative Artwork on the Pillar

Kadamba Nagara Shikara

Not sure what these are

Mahadeva Temple, Tambdi Surla

The temple is very well maintained by the ASI. There is no entry fee. We had no information regarding the priest of this temple.

Harihara, Davangere

2011-12-21T22:03:00.000+05:30

'Harihara' is a bustling town located about 13 km from Davangere district. This place derives its name from the famous Harihareshwara temple situated here. The temple is dedicated to the Lords Hari (Vishnu) and Hara (Shiva). It stands as a classical example of the Hoysala architecture and is believed to have been built during the12th Century. Harihara is also known as Guharanya Kshetra or Dakshina Kashi.

Harihareshwara Temple

The idol of Lord Harihareshwara inside the Garbagriha is about 6 ft tall, with parts below the deity's knee being buried under. This idol is believed to be a Swayambhu murthy (Swayam:Self ; Bhu:Generate). The temple has a huge Mukhamantapa with 60 pillars. The exterior and the interiors of the temple are wonderfully carved. There is a temple dedicated to Goddess Parvathi inside the temple complex. There are two beautiful Deepasthambas (pillars for lighting diyas) in the front portion of the main temple and many inscription stones inside the complex.

Pillared Alley

Lord Harihareshwara

Dwarapala and his helper

Artistic work on the Door Frame

Ceiling with the carving of the Asthadikpalas

Inscriptions

Temple dedicated to Goddess Parvathi

Inscription Stones

Deepasthamba

A saint named Guha lived on the banks of the river Tungabhadra. He had the reputation of being cruel, cunning, and demonic. He desired to take control over the entire universe and thus, performed penance on the banks of the river to please Lord Brahma. Pleased by his devotion, Lord Brahma granted a boon for which Guha asked for himself to be eternal, and that it should be impossible for any man, demon, animal, god, or any other form of life, to kill him. Accordingly, and true to his word, Lord Brahma granted him this wish and left the place. Guha, after having gained the power of eternity began to trouble all life forms existing in the universe. Being troubled, noble men went to their favorite Lords to seek a solution for this problem. Thus, the form of the Lord Harihara (Shiva and Vishnu) was born in order to defeat Guha. Harihara and Guha fought war for many years, with Guha finally accepting defeat and begging for Salvation. After being pardoned and granted salvation in the form of Lord Harihara standing on his chest, Guha entered pathala and the Lord remained there with his feet buried under. Thus the image of the deity here is only visible up to the knee.

Amazing Symmetry

The deities in the temple are worshiped regularly and the temple is very well maintained.

Places to visit around: Davangere, Uchangipura, Uchangidurga, Kankakuppa, Chitradurga, Ranebennur, Haveri, Harpanahalli, Bagalli, Anekonda, and many more.

Distance from Bangalore: 275 km

Just Like That -3

2011-12-12T18:29:00.002+05:30

Water covers 71% of the earth's surface and constitutes about 60% of the human body weight. A compilation of a few of our favorite captures having water as its main theme is presented below.

Namada Chilume, Water Spring,Tumkur

Atri Natural Hot Water Spring , Orissa

Stepped Tank (14th Century), Bhoganandishwara Temple, Nandi

Agastya Lake ( Man Made,5th Century), Badami

Honnamana Kere, Somwarpet

Natural Lake, Avani, Kolar

Umbalagundi Falls, Madikeri

Jedupala Falls, Madikeri

Bhitarkanika Back Waters, Orissa

Sharavathi River Valley, Karnataka

Tungabhadra Dam, Hospet

Sea Mouth , Lake Chilika joins the Bay of Bengal

One of the India's cleanest Beaches, Orissa

Kaup Beach, Udupi

This compilation also marks our 100th post!!!

The Saga of Hairpin Bends -Kolli Hills

2011-12-11T11:16:00.000+05:30

A chance to attend a friend's wedding at Madurai gave us yet another opportunity of exploring the state of Tamil Nadu. Since last time around, we had missed exploring the Namakkal fort, we wanted to do it this time and also as the time was very short (a day), we had to minimize the number of places we could visit. As we started our journey on Saturday morning, we were welcomed by rain and as we continued, it showed no signs of stopping. Due to the receding north east monsoons, there were heavy rains and hence we thought it would be the best to visit waterfalls. Our plan now was to explore the lovely Kollimalai /Kolli Hills, the beautiful Akashganga waterfall and a few temples around. We were fully aware that we had to cross the seventy hairpin bends to reach this amazing place courtesy our fellow bloggers - Shankara and Mitr .

An initial View of the Kolli Hills and its Magnificent Waterfalls

After inquiring at various places, we reached the hill base. There is a forest check post where they collected from us a minimal entry fee along with our details. Hereon, the saga of the hair pin bends started and we began to enjoy the journey more, amidst the mist, the rains, the curvy roads and the lush greenery.

First Hair Pin Bend

Don't know what it really says, though we were proud to be amidst Kolli hills!!!

Tourist Places of Kolli Hills

An Awesome Morning!!!!

Hair Pin Bend

Winding Roads

70th Hair Pin Bend

We crossed the 70 hair pin bends and wow, what a journey it was! There were still no signs of any waterfalls anywhere. We reached a place called Semmudu, the largest village of Kolli hills. There is another check post here and they collect a fee for further entry. On inquiring about the falls here, he gave us directions telling us it was about 19 km from the check post along with an alternative option of taking a short cut, which would save us about 10 km, the chances of losing way in the latter was much easier. We took the short cut and after traveling some distance, we reached an unknown village where we spotted some hot food being served and fed ourselves sumptuously with dosas, parsthas and omelettes. In no time, we reached the Arappuleshwara Temple. It was chilly weather and we were almost shivering due to the cold. We headed towards finding the way to falls But, to our dismay , we realized that the entry to the waterfall was temporarily suspended for all, because of heavy rains. And they would open the gates only after the rains subsided until it would be safe for the public. Not being very disappointed, we inquired about another falls called the Masai falls, near Masai Periswamy temple. The locals informed us that, at this point in time, it would be difficult for us to go to the temple and the falls due to the heavy rains. From here, we proceeded to the Arappuleshwara temple and after a quick darshan, we had some hot herbal soup that was prepared locally and tasted perfect. We wrapped up and started driving towards Madurai.

Lovely Tribal House

Water Everywhere

Misty and Cloudy

Raging Clouds

Misty Kolli Hills

Magical

While returning, we took the longer route to make sure we don't miss anything worth watching and later realized that we had to drive through an additional 39 hairpin bends! All put together, we crossed more than 175 hair-pin bends of Kolli hills, which was a wonderful experience. There are also a few small resorts in the hills which offer accommodation. Since ours was a short trip, we didn't get chance to check out any of these resorts. Kolli hills is an ideal weekend getaway from Bangalore. Like most of the hill stations, this place is also abused by irresponsible tourists who do very little for keeping our environment safe. A humble request to the tourists, from us and all who care for our surroundings and the environment is, please do not litter, use the waste bins for throwing garbage, which is present at most of the tourist places. Avoid use of plastic wherever possible. Nature is god's gift. Help in keeping it beautiful.

Await for more hidden secrets of this place..........

Fort Kundana

2011-12-08T09:00:00.000+05:30

'Kundana Fort' is one of the closest forts to Bangalore, housed in the small village of Kundana (about15 km from Devanahalli). A small hillock with fortification is seen from the roadway. A walk of about 10 minutes leads us to the first tier of the fort, most of which is in ruins today. Nothing much remains of the fort, except for it's three tiers, a doorway, two renovated temples, a kitchen room and foundations of a few buildings. While looking at the doorway, a wild guess can be made, that of a Palegar of Vijayanagar Kingdom having built the same.We did find a water pond near the temple, again a wonderful and skillful depiction of our ancestors wisdom in harvesting the rain water. Unfortunately and sadly, today it only turns out to be a dump yard for people who visit the temple. Not a single soul was spotted on the hillock.

The Second Tier of the Fort

Crumbling Fort Walls

The Doorway

Chennakeshava Temple, Kitchen Room and the Water Pond

Garuda Kambha

Phantom Rock

Kundana Village - Bird's Eye View

Fort View Villa

Drying Wild Zinnia Flower

Overall this place is good for quick outing from Bangalore.

Places near by: Nandi Hills, Devanahalli Fort, Skandagiri, Ghati Subramanya and many more ...

Lizards

2011-12-05T08:00:00.000+05:30

Lizards (wiki) are the most common of all reptiles. They are characterized with well developed limbs and eye lids. Among the reptile species, 50% of the species belong to the group of lizards. The lizards, along with snakes fall under the Order "Squamata "(scaled reptiles). The other orders of reptiles include "Crocodilia "(Caimans, Alligators Gharials) and " Testudines" (Turtles and Tortoises).

Lizards are mainly insectivorous though some are carnivores and some are herbivores. Their body is covered scales at least on some portion of the body, if not fully. They are found in all kinds of terrestrial biomes (wiki) like the deserts, forests, hilly regions, etc,. Most of the lizards are oviparous, expect a few. Lizards are further divided into many families depending upon the their common characteristics. Common lizard families include the Geckos (Gekkonidae), Agamas (Agamidae), Chameleons (Chamaeleonidae),Skinks (Scincidae), Monitors (Varnidae) and the Iguana (Iguanadiae).

Agama

Geckos: These are the most commonly and easily found lizards. They may be arboreal, ground or rock dwellers. Some are commensal with man . Most of the geckos are nocturnal. The tail of geckos regenerates and does not attain the original color and shape. Geckos are non poisonous.

Northern House Gecko

Chameleons: They are arboreal lizards. Only one species is found in India. Chameleons are unique in the possession of an extensible tongue, independently movable eyes and have parrot toes that are characterized by modification of the toes into two sets of opposed clasping organs. They have a compressed body and prehensile tail . They posses to a remarkable degree, the ability to change color.

Chamaeleon zeylanicus

Skinks: Their bodies are covered with smooth or keeled shiny scales ,imbricately arranged . There is typically little or no neck region. Body is elongated and flattened. These are majorly ground dwellers. Some limbless forms are also found.

Skink

Snake Skink (Juv)

Agama: The most easily found family of lizards, especially in rocky regions. They have well developed teeth, which are divided into incisors, canines and molars. They can be found in all types of biomes. The head, which is held off the ground on a distinct neck, has small scales and lacks shield. Eyes and ears are well developed.

Spiny Agama

Rock Agama

Peninsular Rock Agama

Monitor Lizards: They have a long and flattened body, long tail, long neck, and extremely elongated and slender forked tongue (similar to snakes). Komodo dragon, the largest existing lizards belongs to this family. Some are found in aquatic biomes also. These are endangered by trade in reptile skins.

Common Indian Monitor

Iguana: They are large herbivorous lizards native to central America and Caribbean Islands. They re usually found in zoos and national parks.

Iguana

Reference: The book of Indian Reptiles and Amphibians by J.C. Daniel

Muktesvara Temple - Chaudayyadanapura

2011-11-28T17:37:00.001+05:30

"Muktesvara temple" is an Ekakuta temple and is a masterpiece portraying the style, culture and architecture of the Chalukyan era. It is considered to have been built in the Jakkanacharyan style of Architecture. There are two entrances to the temple, one from the south and other from the east. Both entrances have beautiful porches. The door frames are decorative and classic, representing true Kalyani Chalukyan Architecture. There is also a carving of Lord Mahesvara on the main door lintels.

Muktesvara Temple

Lovely Door Frame

Lord Mahesvara on the Lintel

Decorative Carvings

Carving of Animals on the Door Frame

Door Frame of the East Entrance

There is a small Shiva Linga inside the Garbhagriha and the door frame of the Sukanasi is skillfully executed. There is a Mantapa on the front side of the east entrance . The exterior walls of the temple carry carvings of Lord Shiva in his various forms, Lord Ganesha, Goddess Saraswathi, Lord Krishna, Lord Surya and other gods. The artistic work on the outer wall is commendable.

Sukanasi Door Frame

Lintel of Sukanasi Door Frame

Sapthamathrikas

Outer Ceiling

Inner Ceiling

Mantapa

Carvings of Dance Troupe on the Front Porch

Lord Ganesha

Intricate Carvings on Temple Walls

Empty Devakosthas

Wonderful Floral Depictions

Pattikas

Miniature Shikaras

Temple Shikara

It is definitely one amongst the well maintained temples of Karnataka. The temple remains open throughout the day irrespective of the priest's presence.

Directions from Bangalore: Bangalore-NH4-Tumkur-Chitradurga-Davangere-Ranebennur-Right Turn towards Guttal-Right Turn towards Choudayyadanapura (Be sure not to miss this turn as there are no sign boards indicating the same, The right turn to be taken is about 6 km before Guttal)

Distance from Bangalore: About 330 km

Places to Visit Around: Galaganatha, Kuruvatti, Haveri, Ranebennur, Devaragudda, Harihara and many more

Reference Used:
The Temple of Muktesvara at Caudadanapura: A Little-Known 12Th-13th Century Temple in Dharwar District, Karnataka (Kalasamalocana)

Chaudayyadanapura

2011-11-28T10:54:00.001+05:30

On reaching Ranebennur cross on the NH4 highway and realizing that Caudadanapura was situated close by, we were curious to see the temple of Muktheshwara that we had read about a while ago. We inquired about this place, but there seemed to be a lot of confusion with regards to the pronunciation of the name when finally, a jeep driver came to our rescue by correcting the same, from Caudadanapura to Chaudayyadanapura. On following his directions, we reached Chaudayyadanapura / Caudadanapura, a small village situated on the banks of the river Tungabhadra of Ranebennur Taluk, Haveri District. This place gets its name from the Veerashaiva Saint and Boatman, Sharana Ambigara Chaudaiah who lived here during the 12th Century. The place is also called by various names such as Shivapura, Muktikshetra and Gope. As per our readings, a mantapa on the bank of the river Tungabhadra housed the samadhi (Gadduge) of Sharana Ambigara Chaudaiah. But, we found only a small structure on the banks which we thought to be the samadhi, though not confirmed.

Samadhi of Sharana Ambigara Chaudaiah

The temple of Mukteshwara in Chaudayyadanapura was built by the Chalukyas in the12th Century. According to a legend, this place is situated at place where river Tungabhadra changes its path or direction of flow indicating the beginning of a new course, symbolizing Mukti / Salvation (Redemption). Hence, this place is called as Mukthikshetra and the deity worshiped here is Lord Mukteshwara or the God of Salvation. From our observations, it seems like our ancestors chose places close to water bodies and the summit of hills for the construction of the temples as these places were considered to be sacred.

Mukteshwara Temple Complex

There are eight main inscriptions found in this place. As per the book referred below, one of the inscriptions states that, in the year 1191, an ascetic/saint by name Muktajiyar was at this place and performed rigorous rituals to please Lord Mukthinatha. Thus, the deity here came to be known as Muktesha. It further states that the name of Lord Mukteshwara was appropriate as he was bestowing Mukti on his disciples.

Inscriptions

The temple complex consists of the main temple of Mukteshwara, the Kallideva temple, two small Shiva temples, another temple with four compartments of which two are dedicated to Lord Shiva, one for Lord Virabhadra and the other to goddess Chamundi. A Keerthistambha stands tall (about thirty feet) at the entrance of the complex. There is also a Gadduge of the saint Shivadeva inside the temple complex.

Kallideva Temple

Kallideva and two Shiva linga temples

Shiva Linga

Virabhadra , Shiva Linga and the Chamundi Temple

Keerthistambha

Virabhadra Statue

Samadhi (Gadduge) of Saint Shivadeva

Depiction of Disciples

The entire temple complex is well maintained.

Reference: The Temple of Muktesvara at Caudadanapura: A Little-Known 12th-13th Century Temple in Dharwar District, Karnataka (Kalasamalocana) by Vasundhara Filliozat. Vasundhara Filliozat is a freelance historian and epigraphist. She has worked on many aspects of history of the Karnataka kings and the temple of Jakkanachari style in the Dharwar District. The above referred book contains a detailed study of the temple of Muktheswara and has been used for providing information in this post.

Critters of T G Halli Reservoir

2011-11-24T20:49:00.001+05:30

'T G Halli Reservoir' is located on the Bangalore Magadi Highway. Entry to the dam is possible only with prior permission from Cauvery Bhavan, located in Bangalore. Yet, there are many ways of enjoying its surroundings.This place is a heaven for bird watchers and nature lovers.

Peacock Pansy

Common Castor

Plain Tiger

Plain Orange Tip

Stale Flash

White Hairy Caterpillar

Praying Mantis

Stick Case Pupae

Aghalaya - Get rid of your Sins

2011-11-17T22:49:00.001+05:30

"Aghalaya" houses a magnificent Malleswara temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is situated in between Melkote and Shravana Belagola. Though we had a chance to visit this temple before, we were not allowed to see the temple at that time as there was some trouble in the village. Also, we were just beginning to learn about Hoysala temples and so we did not realize completely what we had missed. Recently, we had a second chance to explore this unique and unusual Trikuta Hoysala temple at Aghalaya and so we did.

The Malleshwara Temple, Aghalaya

Trikuta (Three Chambers)

Aghalaya means destruction of sins (Agha = Sin, Laya = Destroy). Nothing much is know about the temple's history, except that it was built by the Hoysalas during the12th Century. This temple covers a large area compared to many other Hoysala temples. It is a Trikuta temple, having three Chambers or Gribhagriha, all facing East. It is similar to the Govindanahalli temple (which is a Panchakuta temple, having five chambers). The interiors and exteriors set a good example of the Hoysala architecture. Another interesting feature was that though the outer carvings were of Lord Vishnu, the deity worshiped in the temple was Lord Shiva.

Front Porch

Outer Ceiling

Nandi

Lord Ganesha

Mahishasura Mardini

Uma Maheshwara

Lord Shiva , Goddess Parvathi and Lord Ganesha

Decorative Work on the Pillar Top

Naga Stones and Perforated Window

Lord Vishnu's various forms and the Garuda-I

Lord Vishnu's various forms and the Garuda-II

Five of the Dashavataras

Lord Chennakeshava

Art Work on the Outer Wall

Renovated portion v/s Original

Like many other temples around this region, this temple was renovated by the Govt of Karnataka with the help of the Dharmasthala Trust. The priest here was a very gentle and kind person.

Location : Between Melkote and Shravana Belagola

Places to Visit Around : Shravana Belagola, Melkote, Sante Bachahalli, Kambadahalli, Bindigananavile, Govindanahalli, Kikkeri, Aghrahara Bachahalli, and many more

Umbalagundi Falls

2011-11-15T18:38:00.001+05:30

'Umbalagundi Falls' is located just off the Madkeri-Mangalore State Highway. There is a high chance of missing a view of this falls as it is not visible from the highway, though the noise made by the gushing waters cannot be ignored if one has sharp ears. A small trek downward takes us to the base of the waterfall. As soon as we reached the base, we were greeted by a seven feet long snake and within the blink of eye, it disappeared underneath the rocks. We were not lucky enough to get a good shot of it. Not disturbing the snake, we moved on. towards the falls. The water here falls from a height of about 25 feet, and is truly mesmerizing. A passer by local told us that even during peak summer period, the volume of water remains more or less, the same.

Snake in its hide out

Umbalagundi Waterfalls

A Complete View of the Waterfall

Gushing Waters

Down Stream

After having a wonderful time at the falls, we moved on and just after a little while, we were in for another surprise. We spotted another snake, this time comparatively smaller in length, about three feet, which was on its way to the other side of the road. We had to be a little quicker than the snake to catch him for a photograph.

The Banded Racer Snake

Just Like That -2

2011-11-09T20:13:00.000+05:30

Below is the compilation of a few more of our favorite captures (Click here for Part1).

The Full Moon

Straight As An Arrow

Pleasant Drive

Wild Flower

Purple Leaf (Ventral Side)

A Fern

Wild Flower

Ground Beetle

Pill Millipede

Damsel Fly

Snail

Monitor Lizard

Spidy

Waiting for the prey

Back to Home

Lovely Sunset

Kalyala Falls

2011-11-03T22:46:00.001+05:30

'Kalyala Falls' is located off the Madkeri - Mangalore Highway. It is visible from the highway and looks beautiful. Since the driving directions to the falls were known to us from our first visit, we quickly reached the last motorable stretch from where we had to trek down to view the falls. The drive itself is a mesmerizing one, with the greenery around and the narrow and curvy roads. It feels through the drive at every stretch, as though there's something more beautiful in store for us to see! It was a complete feast to our eyes.

View of the Falls from the Highway

Green & Lovely

Curvy Roads

The trek downwards is not long and took us about ten minutes to reach the falls. We did not spot a single soul around the falls and that meant the entire place was just for us two nomads. We had get down parallel to the falls to reach the place from the where we could enjoy the waterfalls . It is multi-tiered and the water falls from a height of about 150 feet.We are unsure of which tier of the falls we actually start trekking downward.

A Quite Artistic Board Directing us to the Falls

Dense Forest

Jungle Path

Upstream of the Falls

A Lovely View

Starting point of the Falls

Kalyala Falls

Wider View of the Falls

Chennakeshava Temple , Anekere

2011-10-30T21:08:00.000+05:30

Anekere is a small village belonging to Channarayapatna Taluk of Hassan District. It is home to one of the beautiful temples built by the Hoysalas and dedicated to 'Lord Chennakeshava (Vishnu)'. The two distinct features of this temple are the Temple Compound Wall and the Khalasa on the Temple Shikara. The Khalasa here is supposedly the largest one found in the state.

The Big Khalasa

The temple is a perfect example of Hoysala architecture, though smaller in size when compared to the other Hoysala temples. On keenly observing, we found an interesting feature on its Navaranga Ceiling wherein, its central portion is carved in a way that it resembles a Conch (Shanka). The entrance has a beautiful porch.

Navaranga Ceiling

Ceiling 1

Ceiling 2

Outer Porch Ceiling

The Grand Entrance and the Front Porch

Lord Chennakeshava

Intricate Dwarapalakas

Lion Face Carving

Garbagriha Door Frame

Temple Entrance Door Frame

Pillar Carving

Antique Tulasi Pot

It is surprising that this wonderful temple is not yet under the purview of the ASI. The temple has been renovated with the help of Shri Dramasthala Manjunatha Trust. As the priest was unavailable during our visit, the only information we got of the temple from the locals was that it was built by the Hoysalas.

Chennakeshava Temple

Shikara

Another View of the Temple

Ancient Temple Compound Wall

Directions from Bangalore: Bangalore - NH48 - C R Patna - Left Turn (near Ganapathi temple after medical center )- Anekere (8kms from C R Patna)

"Galaganatha" - The Pyramidal Temple

2011-10-23T17:12:00.115+05:30

"Galaganatha", a small sleepy village on the banks of the river Tungabhadra of Haveri district is well known for its 'Galaganatha' or the 'Galageshwara' Temple built by the Kalyana Chalukyas. The temple is situated at the holy confluence of rivers Varada and Tungabhadra. A notable and distinguishing feature of this temple is its heavy pyramidal base and the strong curtains walls built around the temple in order to protect the temple from river floods. One has to appreciate the architectural skill of the Chalukyas, since this temple has been standing in its place for almost more than a thousand years, whereas the entire village was washed out due to continuous floods. The new village came up a little further from the temple.

The Galaganatha Temple

There is another temple to the left of the Galageshwara temple known as the Malleshwara temple, built during the period of the Rashtrakutas. The main temple of Galaganatha is dedicated to Lord Shiva in the form of a Linga. Inside the garbagriha is a pacha-linga idol symbolizing the confluence of the five rivers viz., the Tunga, Bhadra, Kumadvathi, Varada and Dharma. There are beautiful carvings of Lords Vishnu, Bhairava, Surya, Shiva, and of Goddesses Mahishasuramardini, Kali, etc., inside the temple.

The Malleshwara Temple

Galaganatha Linga

River Goddess

Pancha Lingas

Nandis

Beautiful Carvings depicting War Scenes

March Towards a War

Lovely Door Frame

Nicely Polished Pillars

Inscriptions

Nandi

Skillfully Formed Pillar

There is a ruined mantap inside the temple complex where some sculptures are kept. Its believed that there are about 101 Shiva Lingas around the temple and on the banks of river.

The Ruined Mantap

Nandi Kambha

Some of the 101 Lingas

Hero Stone and A Linga

Rear View of the Pyramidal Temple

The temple priest is a kind gentleman and shared various stories related to this temple. According to him, the temple was built by the great legendary Sculptor Jakanachari, out of a single rock. He continued to say that the linga here is a Sparsha Linga, which is underneath the present visible Linga and is considered very powerful. In the earlier days, when people kept iron near the Sparsha Linga and prayed to god, it turned into gold. As people started to misuse this power, the king decided to cover the same with a structure called 'Galaga'. Hence, the deity here came to be known as Galaganatha or Galageshwara and in due course the village too became popular for this temple and came to be known as Galaganatha .

Directions from Bangalore: Bangalore-NH4-Tumkur-Chitradurga-Davangere-Ranebennur- Right Turn towards Guttal-Right Turn towards Havana-Left Turn to reach Galaganatha

Distance from Bangalore: About 350 kms

Places to Visit Around: Choudayyadanapura, Kuruvatti, Haveri, Ranebennur, Harihara and many more

Garuda Lenka Kambhas , Agrahara Bachahalli

2011-10-16T22:10:00.121+05:30

'Agrahara Bachahalli', a village located in K R Pete Taluk of Mandya District was one of the most prosperous erstwhile towns of the Hoysalas. It is home to numerous temples built during the Hoysala period. The "Huniseshwara Temple" is the most prominent and well maintained temple in the village. A priest who was passing by the place, on finding a Shiva Linga under a tamarind tree, built a small temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and thus the name Huniseshwara (Hunise in Kannada means Tamarind). The interiors of the temple has been completely renovated. The Shikara (Gopura) is heavily and intricately carved.

The Huniseshwara Temple

A unique feature is the Garuda Lenka Kambhas, which is also found in the Malikarjuna temple at Basaralu, Karnataka apart from the Huniseshwara temple. An interesting and strange fact is that, though the Garuda is associated with Lord Vishnu, both the temples having Garuda Lenka Kambhas are dedicated to Lord Shiva. The pillar at Basaralu has lost most of its sculptures on the pillar-top unlike the pillars here that are complete and well preserved.

Garuda Lenka Kambhas

Lord Huniseshwara

Lord Ganapathi

Kala Bhairava

Lord Shanmukha

Nandi

Central Ceiling

Natya Mantap

Shikara

Lovely Pillar

Empty Devakosthas

The Huniseshwara Temple

The caretaker of this place, an elderly person in his early 80's lives in a small house near-by temple the temple complex . The temple was renovated with the help of Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatha Trust .

To be continued .....

The Mystical Charmadi

2011-10-12T07:10:00.001+05:30

"Charmadi Ghat" is one of the hot spots of Western Ghats and is home to innumerable waterfalls and hills. It also has a reputation of being a favorite trekking spot. The Ghat section, recently being upgraded to National Highway standards (NH234) is in best of its conditions. The drive along the Charmadi stretch is an amazing experience, especially during the monsoons and the post-monsoon period.

Lovely Lavender Flowers bedeck the Lush-Green Hills


Charmadi Ghat