Category Archives: Bangalore day trips

Day tripping at Tumkur

February 27, 2014 thelostlander 1 Comment

It was exactly a year ago, that I decided to celebrate my birthday by taking a short trip and break from my work. Mom and I drove our car from home in Bangalore at around 8.00.a.m. and headed towards Tumkur with a plan to spend the entire day outside. We wanted to cover as many landmarks in Tumkur as possible.

List of places covered:

Devarayanadurga hills: This area has two ancient temples, also a reserved forest area at Naamada chilume
Koratagere: Goravanahalli Lakshmi temple and the reservoir nearby.
Siddaganga Mutt: You can combine this with a short trek up the Siddaganga hilltop.

First, we headed towards Devarayanadurga hills where the twin temples are located. A winding road along a picturesque landscape lead us to Yoga Narasimha Swamy temple atop. The view from the top was beautiful with early morning dew settling on the warm rocks. We got the first aarathi (Pooja) of the day and rushed to Bhoganarasimha Swamy temple situated at the base of the hill. It is the custom that the doors of the later opens only after pooja at the hilltop.

Top: The view of Devarayanadurga hills; Bottom left: the temple pond at Yoganarasimha temple; Bottom right: Bhoganarasimha temple

From there, we drove towards Naamada chilume. This is a small spring nestled amid the greenery protected by the forest department. It is believed that Lord Rama rested at this place enroute to Lanka. When he woke up in the morning, he did not find water to make his vermillion (Naama- in Kannada). Hence, shot an arrow to a boulder from where a small spring emerged. This is a perennial water source even till date. This is part of a reserve forest area and there are a few spotted deer kept in an enclosure. Nothing very exciting about this place, we would have skipped it if we had known.

Top: The road to Naamada Chilume; Bottom left: A guesthouse at Naamada Chilume park, Bottom right: the water spring where Lord Rama’s arrow struck

From there, we lost our way and reached the main road after a very long drive. We asked the locals for directions towards Goravanahalli. This village is famous for the Lakshmi temple and better known for- Late Kamalamma, the holy lady. We finished our pooja amidst the crowd, took turns to make a wish at the wishing pillar. There is a small lake and a reservoir at a walkable distance from there. We went up there and had our packed lunch with the cool breeze and a good view. Soon after, we planned our next destination- Sri.Siddaganga Mutt.

We were blessed with the holy water of Siddaganga. We took a stroll around the huge campus of the mutt and were awestruck with the service rendered to the society. And then, we were in for a BIG surprise… An occult of the least expected. We felt blessed when we got the darshan of his holiness Sri.Shivakumara Swamiji… It is when least expected, miracles happen. Swamiji who is fondly called ‘the walking god’, was gracefully sitting on the porch of the Mutt and blessing the visitors. Even after several days of planning to get an opportunity to see him, people consider it hard to be able to see him. And there I was, right at his feet, taking blessings from this Holy man. I was thrilled, ecstatic and had goosebumps. Only countable people on this planet have this magical aura around them (according to me), and he is one!

A nandi carved out of a rock at Sri Siddaganga Mutt with the image of Sri.Shivakumara Swamiji

With that, it was a wrap to our day tripping, and we headed back home, feeling all blessed (literally! With a long day of temple visits) and having a small peek into history and mythology here and there along our way.

Trekking enthusiasts have a lot of options around Tumkur. I have covered these places on separate occasions.

Siddara Betta: A trek and a holy place
Madhugiri Betta: A trek with a good view and has ruins of an old fort atop
Siddaganga Betta: A hike accessible near the mutt, offers good view from the top with some mythological spots along the way.
Seebi: A place for those interested in history

Bangalore day trips, Karnataka

A farewell trek to Madhugiri

March 28, 2013 thelostlander 11 Comments

That’s what we call bidding farewell in style…

One of our friends was moving out of India and we thought it was good idea to send him off on a happy note; with something that he likes doing and something that he will cherish. With that, my group of friends hosted him for a dinner and then planned a trek to Madhugiri. Madhugiri is Asia’s second highest monolithic hill and has the ruins of an old fort at the top.

After a dinner party on a Friday night, we started to drive towards NH-4 in 2 cars and 2 bikes at 1.00.a.m. With a smooth highway road and bumpy country sides, we reached the guest house at the foothill of Madhugiri by around 4.00.a.m. The initial plan was to reach the peak for sunrise. But, on reaching the guesthouse, we were advised by the caretaker to start the hike after sunrise. There were recent cases of hikers attacked by bears reported on the hills. We waited in anticipation until sunrise.

From the foothills of Madhugiri - A view from our guest house — From the foothills of Madhugiri – A view from our guest house

It was 7.00.a.m by the time we started our ascent after a coffee break at a petty shop in front of the fort entrance. The start of the trek made me feel like it was going to be an easy climb. A well laid flight of concrete stairs took us to about 1/5 th of the total climb of the hill. However, the climb started to get tricky further from there. The hill seemed a little steep, the concrete stairs were replaced by steps carved out of the rock itself. With this stretch, we covered 2/5th of the total distance.

The steps disappeared in the next stretch. There was only a rod fixed firmly to the monolith with some barbed wire and the hill had become a little steeper. This was covering 3/5th of the ascent.

A view of the Madhugiri town after climbing the flight of stairs

And then the steps disappeared. There was only a rod fixed firmly to the monolith with some barbed wire and the hill had become a little more steeper. This was covering 3/5th of the ascent.

Somewhere in between, an old and ruined wall emerged out. This added to the climbing woes which gave us only limited space to place our footsteps and less grip to place our hand. And then, we had to jump across a crack in the monolith to get to the other side was the steep valley. Once we reached the other side, every structure that was man made suddenly disappeared. It was just one super steep hill stretching into the sky. we had to literally use all four limbs to scale this 4/5th of the hill.

And finally, there emerged the first glimpse of the Madhugiri fort- gritty, yet seemingly elegant. This was built by Raja Heere Gowda who owed allegiance to the Vijayanagara kings, which was later reinforced by Hyder Ali. It is believed that this fort was a comfortable hideout for many freedom fighters during the Independence struggle. Beehives on the ramparts of the fort were the only means of sustenance for them and that is said to have given the place its name – Madhu(honey)- Giri(hill).

We walked across the structure in its dilapidated form, where the view on the other side was a treat to our eyes and feast for our tired souls. Our joy knew no bounds when we found a puddle of rainwater, which tasted no less than nectar from a beehive.

We spent some time atop and started our descent so that we could reach the base before the scorching sun made his way. The descent was a rather difficult, with me losing my grip every now and then and having nothing to hold onto. I had to sit and slide down inch by inch at most places. And finally, Bang at 12.00. noon, we had reached the base…

Overall, it was an awesome trek and the last one with our friend.

Cheers..!!

P.S.: photo credits to Sam (I’d left my camera in the safe confines of my home)

Bangalore day trips, Karnataka

A Day Out At Mekedaatu

March 19, 2013 thelostlander 2 Comments

It was after a long-time that we cousins were catching up and so we planned to have an all cousins day out (no aunties, uncles, mammas and Pappas). We narrowed down to visit Mekedaatu for the weekend. At 10.00a.m on a Sunday morning, we were late to leave home to any tourist places around the city. And to add to our woes, it was Banashankari temple’s annual festival that day. This only means that we had to wade through hopeless traffic jam along with the Kanakapura road metro line construction also being underway…!!

List of places covered:
Food stop at Vasu hotel, Kanakapura- This is popular for its crusty Masala Dosa
Chunchi falls
Sangama
Mekedatu viewpoint

Details of the trip:

Six kms before Mekedaatu, a board pointing to the left indicated the way to Chunchi falls. We decided to take the deviation. The summertime visit to Chunchi falls was a disappointment for us after reaching there. There was hardly any water in the river and the rocks shined bright in the sun’s reflection. Just as we were about to turn our backs to return, a localite who was around us started a conversation with us. He eventually told us that he could take us to a better viewpoint. We blindly decided to follow him.

We crossed a small dam, a ridge and continued to walk. after a tiring walk in the scorching sun for about 1.5 kms, we slowly started to grow suspicious as to where this man was taking us as the place started to look more secluded. But, just then, he pointed at a watch tower and told us that we could get a good view from there. Before we could react, he intruded – “But, you need to walk down there. Behind that bush”. We were like, “OK… hmm huh…!!” and continued to walk further. He would certainly not be able to mug us as we outnumbered him, we thought. Once we reached that spot, it was a total sense of relief and a surprise. Had we returned earlier; we would have missed such a great spot. I’m sure this place would look more amazing in the monsoon season.

After spending a while at the falls, we thanked the old man with a goodwill amount and headed towards Sangama. ‘Sangama’ is a confluence of river Kaveri and Arkavathi and supposedly a very scenic spot post monsoon. But disappointment was waiting for us again after reaching there. Insufficient rains and the influx of tourist on a weekend, the place was crammed with very little place to even sit peacefully on the riverbank.

Legend has it, that a goat had jumped across a gorge to escape from a chasing tiger and hence our destination derived its name in Kannada. (Meke = goat; daatu = cross). Trekking the 3 kms distance from Sangama to Mekedatu was banned then and hence, we had to wait for the pick-up bus to come. After disappointments back to back, we were apprehensive of going forward till Mekedaatu wondering if it would be worth our visit. We lost our patience in waiting and walked across the shallow waters to reach back to our car. The security guard who had been observing us, walked up to us and suggested that we go to Mekedaatu since we had already come so far from the city. We were still half minded and tossed a coin. Heads said a ‘Go’.

After disappointments back to back, we were apprehensive of going to Mekedaatu wondering if that place would really be worth our visit. Trekking the 3 kms distance from Sangama to Mekedatu is banned now and hence, we had to wait for the pick up bus to come. We lost our patience, and crossed the shallow waters back to reach our car. The security guard who had been observing us, walked upto us and suggested that we go to Mekedaatu since we had already come so far from the city. We were still half minded, and tossed a coin. Heads said a ‘Go’.. So we again crossed the river, by then the bus had returned. We got the last seat for ourselves. The bus was a total-out-of-the-junk-yard-thing. The seats we were sitting on were infact tied to the roof rails with strings- more like a swing..!! And the fully crammed bus(packed to twice its capacity) started. It was an unpaved road, and a lot of dust was filled inside the bus which made us literally stand up from those swinging seats..

So, we again crossed the river and by then, the bus had returned. We got the last seat for ourselves. The bus was a total-out-of-the-junk-yard-thing. The seats we were sitting on were in fact tied to the roof rails with ropes. It felt less like a bus seat and more like a swing…!! And bus was fully crammed and packed to twice its capacity. The drive was through an unpaved road, and a lot of dust was filled inside the bus. We could barely breathe inside and all we stood up from those swinging seats. Once we reached Mekedaatu after a strenuous back seat ride, we felt that the security guard was right- It was a nice place. But again, insufficient rains did not give me the internet picture I wanted.

Since our onward ride was a bad experience, we chose to sit on the top of the bus for our return. Trust me when I say that the ride was the highlight of our entire day… The best bus ride we all ever had in our life. The bus went at high speed blowing the dust high up from the unpaved roads. There was just one thin steel rod around for us to hold onto, that too was tied to the windows below. At one point, another bus came in the opposite direction, and our bus went completely off road. It felt as if our bus was balancing on a few small stones on the slope of the valley so that the driver could make enough space for the other bus to pass through the narrow road. We could reach the treetops, see the best views of the river and the valley below. It was one AMAZING ride.

The bus, road and our shadow of sitting on the top of the bus- between Mekedatu and Sangama

We ended up feeling that the return trip was a very short one and wanted more… one adrenaline rush moment it was…!! It was the last ride for the day as the sun had already set and we returned to our homes high on energy and all charged up and motivated for another boring week ahead.

There are a lot of options around Kanakapura for a full day or half-day trip. I have covered these places on separate occasions. A few of them are:
* Kabbala Durga trek
* Bheemanakindi trek
* Pyramid valley meditation center

Bangalore day trips, Karnataka, Nature & Wildlife

Day tripping in Nature- the Mysore Circuit

March 18, 2013 thelostlander 1 Comment

The initial plan was to leave before sunrise so that we could see the birds at the Ranganathittu Bird sanctuary before they left their homes for the day’s chores. However, a flat tyre and multiple pit stops added up to late arrival at the Srirangapatna-Yelwala bypass. This led to a few additions and deletions in the original plan so that we could see the birds when they returned to their nests late in the evening.

List of places covered:
Gaganachukki and Bharachukki waterfalls
Talakadu
Kaaranji kere in Mysore
Ranganathittu Bird sanctuary

Details of the trip:

As per the new plan, we headed to Gaganachukki and Bharachukki waterfalls. After a nice long drive through the green paddy fields and rusty countryside, we reached Shivanasamudra. This is one of the island towns formed by river Kaveri through its course. This is where Asia’s first hydel-power project was set up, commissioned by the then Diwan of Mysore- K. Seshadri Iyer; in order to supply electricity for mining at Kolar Gold Fields. River Kaveri plummets down at two places, a couple of kilometers away from each other and then merging together again. The beauty of the twin waterfalls is truly mesmerizing. If you’re seeking for some thrill, coracle rides are available that takes you closer to the spot where the water drops. But we did not want to take the risk of venturing into the water without a life jacket. At least, not after we heard someone say that the water was 1000 feet deep at some point. We weren’t not sure of the exact depth of the river, but certainly did not want to take a chance!

Gaganachukki- The western branch of river Kaveri

The sun was approaching his highest point by this time, and hence we decided that we should be heading towards our next destination- Talakadu. Kannadigas have all grown up listening to the story of the curse of Alamelamma. It is believed that her spell turned this once prosperous town to a sand desert. As a student reading history in school, I had always been intrigued to visit this place and see the romance between the sand and the temples during different seasons. However, the excitement that we had when we started to this place soon died when we arrived there (in fact, it got buried deep under its sands). Given the poor rainfall, less waters and hordes of tourists over the weekend, the place was had gathered so much filth and poop everywhere. There was an unbearable stench that had spread around. The river was shallow and looked stagnant and unappealing. Yet, we did manage to go for a coracle ride which was definitely not worth the buck. The place was a total turn off…!! We lost our interest to explore the famed temples of Talakadu and left the place (I did visit the historically important temples on a later date though).

Bharachukki- The eastern branch of river Kaveri

We wanted to reach the highway back again but lost our way at some point. Without being able to connect to the highway, we just kept driving on some narrow road through the countryside. After the frayed trip to Talakadu, this drive through the rustic countryside was somewhat a deal breaker and a feast to our city bred souls. After a bit of driving around and just when we thought we had reached the highway, we realized that we had in fact reached Mysore…!! Mysore city was never on our itinerary when we left home that morning. We were extremely hungry and hence decided to feast at a nice restaurant in the city itself.

Some friend suggested us to visit Kaaranji kere in Mysore where we could do some birding. Around 3.00.p.m, we headed there- This was in fact the highlight of the trip- though unplanned, it came as a treat to us. We took a boat ride around the lake where we spotted several migratory birds. Not in large numbers, but many in varieties. It surely is a haven for the bird lovers. I pitied myself for not being able to identify what birds most of them were. I’m not an enthusiast of zoos as these places are where animals and birds are kept in enclosures. But, if you are around with kids, this place is good as there is an enclosure here as well that hosts many native birds, a few animals and reptiles.

So, finally by 5.00.p.m, we headed out for what we had come all the way– Ranganathittu Bird sanctuary. It was the time when all the birds returned to their nests… We were there for sunset. We then took a boat ride around the small islets where thousands of birds have made their homes. The trees looked amazing with the birds and the water looked equally dangerous- with crocodiles swimming right past us… Again, we spotted a lot of different birds since it was the peak of the migratory season.

With a pleasant sunset ride in the river, a long day tripping in the Mysore circuit came to an end. Although most part of the day was unplanned, it was a weekend well deserved.

Bangalore day trips, Karnataka

Love in the air- The Aero-India show

February 28, 2013 thelostlander 3 Comments

<10-Feb-13>

I have been tad busy at work with less time to post a thought.. February being a month of love, inspite of my hectic schedule at work, I’ve managed to make the most of my weekends spending quality time with my 1st love- “Traveling”. Every weekend will be posted separately in the days to come.. But, before the ‘month of love’ ends.. I wanted to ensure that the chronicle for the month ends with a love note on my 2nd crush – ‘The Aeroplanes’ 🙂

“Aero India” is a biennial event that happens only in Bangalore and is something that I have been religiously visiting since it’s inception.. I was there this year too.. But, compared to the previous years, it wasn’t a great show.. Unfortunately, the expectations set for the aero-enthusiasts by ‘The Russian Knights’ were too high to be met.!!

The 'Mirror Image' formation by the Flying Bulls — The ‘Mirror Image’ formation by the Flying Bulls

The Suryakirans were missed greatly, due to the passing away of 2 pilots in mid-air crashes 😥 The ‘Flying bulls’ and the Desi-team ‘Sarang’ were clearly the show stoppers.

<14-Feb-2009>

This takes me back to the show of 2009 – When there were too many participants with almost all the biggies in this business from around the world who had set up stalls. India was on a look out for 126 fighters for its mighty air-force. The F-16, F-18, Eurofighters, Rafael, Sukhoi etc etc. India’s LCA- Tejas made her 1st debut. There were many other contenders among the LCH-Choppers like Dhruv, Cheetah, Cobra; Cargo carriers like the C-130: Super Hercules, Omega tankers; Missiles and UAVs.

It was a day of dreams to several other aero-enthusiasts like me. Hopping from one stall to another understanding the latest technological developments in the industry, defence and warfare from across the world can happen only at one-stop-shows like these and not everytime or everyone gets such opportunities to learn.

Here, knowledge is accompanied with entertainment. Aerobatics by various teams from India and abroad, individual competitions that are related to flying or making scaled-down models, display of some vintage aircrafts, flight simulators, interactions with the personnel from major aviation companies are opportunities that every enthusiast looks forward for show after show. Aero-India 2009, being its biggest show ever, it was an amazing day… especially when it falls on 14-Feb..!!!

The 'Tango' formation by the Suryakirans — The ‘Tango’ formation by the Suryakirans

A great show put up by the SuryaKirans and the Sarang team..!!

It is a feeling of contentment that fills my heart when I come here for each show and a sense of sadness to think about waiting for 2 years for the next show.. It gives us a sense of pride when we say we are Bangaloreans and the Air show happens only here..

If you want me to write further, I can go on.. About every show and every machine there.. But i’d like to save some for the coming shows too.. So, I end it here with a ‘Love Note’ in the month of love and let the love spread in the world 😛

Bangalore day trips, Karnataka

Re-visiting the Happy Valley – Makalidurga

December 26, 2012 thelostlander 1 Comment

I had already been there before.. I knew what to expect (Click here to read more) and so had declined repeated requests for my participation in the trip.

Even then, the second visit to Makalidurga happened. I was forcibly dragged out of bed on a cozy Sunday morning. I was supposed to be the guide to the first timers so that they could hike up the hill.

I knew the way to reach Makalidurga- but could not guide them any further to the exact spot from where they could get the photo of the train crossing which they wanted.. Considering it was around 11.00.a.m, the sun had already reached a good position to suck the fluid in us..

Alighting @ the Happy valley : Makalidurga railway station

We had left home without breakfast hoping that we could have something on our way and pick up some water bottles.. Hard luck..!! We could find neither!!

All of us reached a railway track finally.. And randomly climbed a hillock, climbed further up.. We continued to climb hoping to find some shade to sit and wait till our catch of the day appeared… But again, no luck- no water, no food, no shade. We randomly stopped on a considerably flat area without being able to proceed further under the ruthlessly shining sun and waited for the train..

After about half an hour, the smoke from the engine chimney appeared near the horizon.. We all got excited.. As it neared, the engine emerged from behind a bush, then a bogie.. Before our cameras reached their position, we saw the end of the train 😥 It was a small train with just 1 engine and 4 bogies…

So, we continued our wait.. After a while again we found some smoke at the horizon. So, this time we hoped that our tiring wait would end soon and we could get that perfect internet photo of a blue passenger train passing across the frame… Hard luck once again- It was indeed a super long train with over 55 bogies: But, it was a goods loco and not the one that we had waited for and moreover its colour did not match the background 😥

This meant that we still had to wait. We were restless… We decided to walk further up hoping to find some shade atleast..!! And we did find a small tree (or rather a bush). Something that was better than nothing, we thought. All the five of us squeezed into that small patch of shade and continued to wait….

After a while, we heard the hooting of a train at a distance… This time, we couldn’t see any smoke rising up… The sound became louder and louder but still- there were no signs of the train. But, we knew for sure that the source was somewhere closeby. And suddenly, a Nizamuddin-Yeswantpur bound passenger train came buzzing into our visibility. We all took our cameras out and started clicking… The train was really long and it stretched beyond the 2 ends of the frame. Yet, this was not the photo we wanted. The train was actually in the opposite direction. So, even if the engine is very much in the frame, it appears like it is gone beyond 😥 But, anyway it seemed like we could not hope for anything further because we were all dehydrated.. So, we had to be contended with what we got and return back to pavilion 😦

Our prized catch- The Nizammuddin-Yeswantpur passenger

Bangalore day trips, Karnataka

Makalidurga Ghats- Inspiring the Indian Railways

December 25, 2012 thelostlander 2 Comments

This one was totally unplanned…!!

My family decided to visit the Ghati Subramanya temple on Ganesh Chaturthi day considering that there would be less crowd in a Subramanya temple. A short drive into the Bangalore outskirts, Ghati welcomed us with a mesmerizing view of the hills, ponds scattered in the meadow and a lot of greenery around… The boundary of the meadow was lined by a railway track- It looked beautiful.!!

And just as we slowed down to appreciate the view, a freight loco came zipping along the line- and now it looked picture perfect…!! And just as I thought that this scene was familiar- my mind wandered to recollect where I had seen it. Soon I knew the answer: it was the “Makalidurga Ghats” that I had seen in an IRCTC hoarding of the South Western railways at Cantonment station. Back then, I remember that I had gone back home and googled about Makalidurga but had soon forgotten. So, this felt great today!!

We then proceeded to the temple and finished the darshan early (considering less crowd). And we then straight away followed the milestones to Makalidurga. I was back from a railway trek to Dudhsagar just two days ago and here, I was with a view that inspired for another railway trek. We stopped our car close to the railway station and walked 3-4kms along the railway track to reach the bridge that I had seen in the hoarding. But sadly, there was no train that would pass at that time…

Top: The Subramanya temple at Ghati; Below: The naga pratishtapana installations outside the temple

We then explored the place around by foot. One of the hills offered an amazing view of the surrounding villages. There are ruins of an old fort atop the hill which makes it a great place for some exploration. I later learnt that the place is crowded with trekkers on weekends who usually come here for adventure sports and camping. It is a nice place if you are looking for a quick and a random drive just around the city.

We had guest dropping by at home and hence, headed back home early.

The IRCTC photo that I couldnt capture :'(Picture courtesy: IRCTC hoarding at Cantonment station — The IRCTC photo that I couldnt capture 😥
Picture courtesy: IRCTC hoarding at Cantonment station

I visited this place again with friends on a later date. That time, exclusively to do train spotting. Click here to read further.

Andhra Pradesh, Bangalore day trips

A corridor of the hanging pillar- Lepakshi

September 12, 2012 thelostlander 8 Comments

On a weekend, my family planned to go for a day trip from Bengaluru. Since my dad wanted to visit Lepakshi since long, that was our destination for the weekend. There are several other small and major historical landmarks in a 50-100kms radius from Lepakshi; hence we had an initial plan to cover a few other places during our return as well. A super awesome NH7 from Bengaluru took us till Bagepalli, from where, Lepakshi was a small deviation away…

The belief is that, Jataayu- The vulture King (mentioned in the Ramayana) fell here when he was shot by Ravana’s arrow. Later, Rama is said to have commanded the bird to rise- Le Pakshi, and hence the name of that town. But not just its name, this entire place turned out to be a storehouse of history. Be it from mythology or the recent past history of the Vijayanagar Empire, every stone at Lepakshi had a tale to tell… We walked carefully reading every story that unfolded at every step

Although, I might advice you to take a personal guide while at Lepakshi who will be able to better put up all the stories and facts to you, here I would like to enlist a few noteworthy stories and art representations from Lepakshi.

The main shrine of this architectural complex is the Virbhadra temple. The human figurines/ sculptures in its main hall are believed to be made up to the specifications to measure the beauty of a perfect man and a perfect woman.

Left: The perfect man; Right: The perfect woman

2. The idol of Nagalingesvara– Carved out of a natural boulder to the west of the shrine, is a seven-hooded Naga sheltering a black-polished lingam cradled in its ribbed coils. A saptamatrika panel is placed below to the right. History tells us that the sculptor had come home for lunch one day. His mother said she would be back soon with food for him. She was surprised with her son’s work when she returned and exclaimed “Oh my son..!! You have carved such a big and a beautiful statue in such a short interval.” Even before she completed, a big crack developed across the linga. This makes it un-worthy of any Pooja/ offerings at the temple.

3. The hanging pillar– Among the several ornate pillars that decorate the temple corridor, this one takes a special mention as an architectural marvel. The pillar doesn’t rest completely on the ground and hence a sheet of paper can be easily passed through the gap beneath it. The roofs of these corridors are also adorned with several ancient painting, however they are largely lost due to apathy. Another noticeable feature on these pillars are the certain designs engravings specific to this temple. These designs are said to be the inspiration for the traditional Lepakshi prints found on Sarees around this area.

4. Kalyana mantapa-This incomplete structure has been depicted as the site of the celestial wedding of Shiva and Parvati. Each pillar here is supposed to be installed in celebration of this event. Hence, one can notice that there are depictions of drummers and musicians, gods and goddesses among others engraved in these pillars. A similar place is believed to exist in Kailash and it was therefore pronounced that a place more beautiful shouldn’t exist on the earth. And hence, this Kalyana mantapa was left unfinished.

5. History says, the place could have got its name referring to the two brothers- Veeranna and Virupanna, under King Achutaraya of the Vijayanagar dynasty. Virupanna got this temple built as a tribute to the Lord as his mute son regained his speech while he was playing near the Udbhava Moorthy of Shiva on this hillock. It is said that Virupanna spared no expense while having this temple constructed. However, since he was the treasurer of Penukonda province (today’s Anantapur), the money he was splurging lead to suspicions from the king about embezzlement of money. It is said that, Virupanna plucked out his own eyes and threw them against the wall in grief and in anticipation of royal punishment. And thus, lepa-akshi (blinded eyes). Till date one can find those blood stains on that wall. The locals say that it has even test have proven that the blood stains are indeed real..!!

6. The Natya Mantapa– This is an arena where the celestial dances are believed to have been performed. Besdie it, one can see a large footprint embedded on the ground and beleived to be the footprint of Sita. It is so large that is hard to imagine what it could have been or imagined to be when it was made.

Clockwise from top left: The Natya Mantapa; The idol of Chowti Ganesha; The Sita Paada; The bloodstains of Virupanna’s eyes

7. The statue of Basava or the Nandi is the largest monolithic Nandi in India. It is built facing the Naga Linga within the temple complex. However, this is half a kilometer away from the main temple.

Basavanna- Guarding the entrance — The largest monolithic Nandi in the world- Facing the Veerabhadra temple

Jataayu is believed to have died at another place which is located at about 2 kms from the complex.This is quite sad that a place of such importance is not maintained or highlighted anywhere in the map. It didn’t have any walkable road to the exact spot. But, by this time we had already spent more than half a day at Lepakshi which we hadn’t anticipated. It was also very hot and dry and we were feeling all exhausted. Hence, decided to save all the other places for another day and returned to Bengaluru.

Conclusion: A wonderful place to visit if you are a history and art buff and looking for a place located at just about 120kms from Bangalore..!!

Bangalore day trips, Indian Architecture, Karnataka

A Weekend Drive to Belur and Halebeedu

September 6, 2012 thelostlander 3 Comments

It was a Sunday morning and our family outing was fixed. We decided to take a day trip to Belur, Halebeedu and Shravanabelagola. These are places that I can NEVER get bored of visiting and can go over and over and over again. I prefer to write less in this post because I choose the pictures to speak for themselves.

‘Karnataka- is One State, many Worlds’.
-KSTDC, Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation

As a part of an endless list of things that Karnataka has to offer to every traveler, are its unending list of historical and architectural monuments. With several kingdoms ruling over Karnataka at different points in history, the temple architecture in Karnataka doesn’t fail to get a ‘WOW’ even from a person not interested in art and history. And one such place that has always and always mesmerized me are the temples built by the Hoysalas. These temples are not as big in size as the grand Chola temples but aesthetically BRILLIANT and I run short of adjectives to describe their grandeur.

With the Hoysala style of architecture evolving over centuries, I take it quite seriously to visit and explore as many of these structures as possible.The erstwhile capital towns (now located in Hassan district) of the Hoysala empire hold the finest surviving examples of the Hoysala style today. Out of 900+ temples built across Central and South Karnataka, only around 400+ remain now many of which still need restoration and maintenance. Most of the now inexistent temples are believed to be destructed by the Delhi Sultanates in the 14th century and the remaining smaller ones bit into the dust due to apathy and negligence.

Our first place of visit for the day was Belur, or Velapura as it was called back in the time when it was the capital city of the Hoysalas. The Chennakeshava temple complex is a group of temples and the epitome of this style of art. This complex is located inside a walled fortress and has a tall Gopura at the entrance. For someone visiting it for the first time, the first look of the Gopura from the outside is quite deceitful of what is in store inside.

The Belur Chennakeshava temple complex — Hoysala structures within the Chennakeshava temple premises at Belur

Salient features of the Hoysala temples:
• Although the earliest Hoysala temples were made with the local sandstone, their finest temples are made by carving one of the hardest materials for making stone sculptures- the granite stone.
• The ceilings of the Hoysala temples have extremely intricate and multi-tiered mural designs.
• The pillars are lathe machined and mirror finished.

Murals at Chennakeshava temple complex — Friezes and murals at Chennakeshava temple, Belur

Fun Facts about the Hoysalas:
• Jakanachari is the revered master craftsman behind most of the marvelous temples of this era. Legend has it that he was however challenged by his own son, Dankanacharya about a possible flaw in the sculpture made by his father. Jakanacharilost the challenge when a toad and water emerged out of an idol made by him after which he cut-off his right hand as a symbol of submission to his son’s skill.
• Shantala, the wife of King Vishnuvardhana (One of the most prominent Hoysala ruler) was so mesmerised by the Sculptures of the dancing ladies carved here in different postures, it is believed that she used to dance with these Madalikes or ShilaBalikas in her dreams.

The capital of the Hoysalas was shifted from Belur to Halebeedu, then called Dwarasamudra. The Hoysaleshwara temple is the most prominent among all. The monolithic statue of Nandi here, is the sixth largest in the world.

The Hoysaleshwara temple at Halebeedu — Hoysala sculptural Art at Halebidu

Although our next destination is not a Hoysala hotspot, we decided to include it in our itinerary as it was just around. We headed towards Shravanabelagola, one of the most important pilgrimage sites for the Jains. Shravanabelagola has two hills- Chandragiri and Vindhyagiri. The twin hills offer a panoramic view of the surrounding plains. Chandragiri hill gets its name from Chandragupta, one of the greatest emperors of India who converted to Jainism, gave up all his worldly pleasures and is believed to have passed away on this hill. The statue of Bahubali/ Gomateshwara located on the Vindhyagiri hill is the largest monolithic stone statue in the World.

The statue of Gomateshwara at Shravanabelagola — The Gomateshwara Monolith statue

With this, I wind up with Part 1: of visiting the Hoysala temples. To put it in my words, I survived an ‘Art attack’ at Belur and Halebeedu.

Please do find a day to visit these places and you will not regret, trust me!

Bangalore day trips, Karnataka

A day out at Kaiwara

September 4, 2012 thelostlander 1 Comment

Our company has recently changed its working calendar and now, we have our weekly off on Wednesdays instead of Sundays. When I woke up this Wednesday morning, a weekend for me and when the rest of the world is working their asses off, halfway through their week… I sat wondering how I was going to kill the rest of the day amidst the four walls of my house, all jobless.

Then suddenly, I remembered a place that a friend had told me about, long ago. She had done her internship at ‘Kaiwara’ during the final year of her MBBS course. I jumped out of my bed and began to google for it. With lot of information available online, I was able to jort down a list of places to see in and around Kaiwara and with a quick route map. I dragged my mum along, pulled the car out of the garage and zooommm we went…….

List of Places covered:
Narayanapa Mutt; Bheemeshwara temple; Bheema baana Betta or Kaiwara Betta; Tapovana; Vaikunta betta; MahaKailasaGiri Betta; ChenaKeshava Cave Temple; Alambagiri Venkateshwara temple

The details:
It was around 09.00.a.m. when we started from Bangalore. We reached Devanahalli from where we took the Vijayapura bypass road. At an average speed of 60kmph, a drive of a good 45min from the Bengaluru airport is what it took us to reach Kaiwara.

As soon as one enters the Kaiwara town, a small lane on the left leads you to the Narayanappa ģMutt. This is where Saint Narayanappa attained ‘Jeeva Samadhi’ and the mutt is currently being managed by the M.S.Ramaiah trust. Half a kilometer away from the Mutt is the ‘Bheemeshwara temple’. This is where the mythology has it that Bheema killed Bakasura while the Pandavas were in exile. There is a group of small temples there, each named after the Pandavas within the same premises. Overlooking the Mutt is the Bheema baana Betta or Kaiwara Betta. We thought of skipping our visit there, considering the number of steps we had to climb up. Maybe a hike that I can plan for some other day.

We drove for one kilometer further and reached ‘Tapovana’, the place where Saint Narayanappa used to meditate, back in the days. There is a small garden around there, which can be given a miss if you wish. Few yards uphill from there, we reached the ‘Vaikunta Betta’. At the base of the hill is the ‘Amaranareyana Temple’ dedicated to Lord Vishnu built by the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana. With our climb upstairs, we reached the ‘Yoga Narasimha Temple’. The structure seemed to be ignored by the visitors. But we enjoyed the calm in this cave temple, believed to be the place where the Lord appeared in front of Narayanappa. The temple terrace had an excellent view of the entire town. A word of caution though: With too many monkeys around there, it was no monkey business.!!

A view from The Vaikunta temple — A view from the Vaikunta temple

We then commenced the best stretch of the drive. After an uphill drive of 5kilometers, we wondered how beautiful Mount Kailash (in the Himalayas) could be if the lesser known ‘MahaKailasaGiri Betta’ in Kaiwara was this beautiful. Atop the hill, is a set of newly chiseled man-made caves that houses 3 temples.

Unlimited food is provided to every pilgrim/visitor at KailasaGiri temple and the Mutt between 12.30.p.m and 3.00.p.m. So, we decided to hog some yummy temple food at Kailasa Giri itself. By this time, we had covered all the places I had enlisted in Kaiwara. But it was still 2.30.p.m and we had a lot of time left. While coming downhill, we decided to follow a signboard which indicated the way to ‘ChenaKeshava Cave Temple’. But it was quite a disappointment after reaching there. We could’ve probably skipped the visit to this place.

I then remembered someone mentioning about ‘Venkateshwara Temple’ in Alambagiri, located about 10kms from Kaiwara. The place is supposedly famous for Paper made handicrafts. So, we decided to explore this place too. But some renovation work in this ancient temple was in progress and there were absolutely no shops in that place (forget handicrafts stores). We were disappointed again by the unfruitful drive until there.

Alambagiri Venkateshwara temple (1) — Alambagiri Venkateshwara temple

As per google, there was ‘Ambaji Durga Cave temple’ 7kms away from Kaiwara, and we tried to enquire with a few locals about the place. But nobody seemed to have heard of it and hence, we thought of giving it a miss too. With this, we thought it was time for us to return back to where we belong to- The Bengaluru city.

Conclusion:

Kaiwara alone is a nice place to plan a drive with family or a group of biking friends. Though it was a small trip, it was a pleasant one.
Kaiwara is famous for silk rearing & weaving. You will come across several houses stacking up the cocoon rearing trays for most of your way. Maybe you should try to pick up some silk stuffs while you are there or get hands-on working experience at silk rearing.