Heritage

Sigiriya, Srilanka

2006-04-10T09:49:00.000-07:00

I am a sucker for forts. I had read about the Dutch fort at Galle and the Sigiriya Rock fort. Galle is completely out of the way for this trip, so I thought we will visit the Sigiriya Rock fort.

Sigiriya is about 20 kms from Giritale and could be reached in 45 mins by car. Mathow as usual, picked us up at 9. am. I was told that it takes 1 and half hour to go up the rock and takes 1 hr to come down. So, we decided that the Sigiriya trip is going to take about 5 hrs in all, including travel, so leaving at around 9 am was the best option. That would leave us with a lot of time to rest in the evening.

Sigiriya contains the ruins of a Fort built on top of a rocky structure. It was built by King Kashyapa ( 477 – 495 AD ). It took about 10 years to build this fort, and Kashyapa lived there for just 8 yrs. He was defeated by his brother in war and was killed. Sigiriya then became a abode of the monks. Before it became a fort, it was a place for the monks. Monks lived there in its caves, and finally, it was given back to the monks and remained a monastery upto the 14th Century. The ruins of the fort were discovered in 1907 by British Explorer John Still.
Sigiriya Rock Fort is one of the 7 world heritage sites in Srilanka.

The rock itself is about 180 m high, and is the only rock in its area and it is flat at the top, where the fort is situated. Hence it is visible from any place far away. In fact, you can see it from Dambulla. And from the top of the fort, you can see the Golden Buddha of Dambulla.

Sigiriya may have been inhabited through prehistoric times. It was used as a rock-shelter mountain monastery from about the 3rd century BC, with caves prepared and donated by devotees to the Buddhist Sangha.

The Mahavamsa, the ancient historical record of Sri Lanka, describes King Kasyapa as the son of King Dhatusena. Kashyapa was born to Datusenas concubine and was the step son, not in line for the throne. But, Kashyapa always wanted to be a king. When Kashyapa became old enough, he asked his father for his share. King Datusena asked Kashyapa to become a monk. Kasyapa murdered his father by walling him alive and then usurping the throne which rightfully belonged to his elder brother Mogallana.

Mogallana fled to India to escape being assassinated by Kasyapa but vowed revenge. In India he raised an army with the intention of returning and retaking the throne of Sri Lanka which was rightfully his.

Knowing the inevitable return of Mogallana, Kasyapa is said to have built his palace on the summit of Sigiriya as a fortress and pleasure palace. Mogallana finally arrived and declared war. During the battle Kasyapa's armies abandoned him and he committed suicide by falling on his sword. Chronicles and lore say that the battle-elephant on which Kasyapa was mounted changed the course just to get to a better fighting position/place but the army misinterpreted it as the King fleeing. Thereafter the army abandoned the king altogether. Moggallana returned the capital to Anuradapura and turned Sigiriya into a monastery complex.

The irony of this story is that had Kassyapa stayed inside the high walls of Sigiriya, Mogallana would have never been able to defeat Kassyapa. Some people believe that the years of waiting for an invasion had driven Kassyapa over the edge, some think that Kassyapa had developed a guilty consoncience after what he had done and wanted to fight his brother on a equal level. No matter what had Kssyapa stayed inside Sigiriya not many medeival armys would have been able to occupy a defended Sigiriya

Alternative stories have the primary builder of Sigiriya as King Dhatusena, with Kasyapa finishing the work in honour of his father. Still other stories have Kasyapa as a playboy king, with Sigiriya a pleasure palace. Even Kasyapa's eventual fate is mutable. In some versions he is assassinated by poison administered by a concubine. In others he cuts his own throat when isolated in his final battle.

Still further interpretations have the site as the work of a Buddhist community, with no military function at all.

The rock fort has many parts – the outer moat, there are 2 moats, then the lower gardens with the fountains, the rock gardens at the lower level of the rock, the lion gate with the mirror wall and the frescos and then the palace complex in ruins at the top.

The site is both a palace and fortress. Sufficient remains to provide the visitor with a stunning insight into the ingenuity and creativity of its builders.

The gardens in the base of the rock is called water garden. It has many fountains and water ways. The water in the fountains was supposed to be operated thru pressure in the water ways underneath. It must have been wonderful in these days.

Only once side of the water garden’s ruins are excavated. The other side is still buried under soil. It has been left that way for future generations to see.

From the base of the rock, steps take you upwards. On all rocks, one can see depressions, the remaining parts of the brick structure, watch towers, resting rooms. Every wall and face of rock has white plaster indicating that there must have been beautiful frescos there. Also, there are several sand beds which might have been gardens.

From here the climb to the top of the rock is via a modern iron stairway that reaches the rockface through the remains of the original brick gateway, the Lion Gate, now degenerated to a massive pair of brick paws. The ruined paws are all that remain of a huge head and fore paws of a lion, whose open mouth served as the entrance to the royal palace.

The route continues around, across and up the cliff face via a rather airy iron staircase, a modern replacement for the original brick stairway, that vanished along with the lion's head during the 1400 years since the palace was constructed.

The stairway ends at the highest point of the rock. The ruins of the palace buildings rise only perhaps half a metre above the surface of the rock, but the extensive works cut into the surface of the rock have endured better.

The complex is surrounded by an extensive set of walls and man made pools.
John Still in 1907 had observed that; "The whole face of the hill appears to have been a gigantic picture gallery... the largest picture in the world perhaps".

The paintings would have covered most of the western face of the rock, covering an area 140 meters long and 40 meters high. There are references in the Graffiti to 500 ladies in these paintings. There are just about 8 of these frescos remaining. Each one has a unique face. It is belived that the faces are that of each concubine of King Kashyapa, whom he might has received as gifts from friendly kingdoms.

It rained that day and the entire place became very cool. Children from a school came for an excursion, and entire place was buzz with children chattering.

We reached Sigiriya at about 10 am. We engaged a local guide who would take us above and would explain every thing about the place to us. The stories that I have written about Sigiriya are true and were explained to me by our guide.

Somewhere mid way over the rock is a hornet’s nest. So, around that place, we were asked to maintain silence. But, some noisy westerners disturbed the hornet’s and they all came buzzing. We had to run for shelter or remain silent without moving for about 30 mins. Then, we slowly got off the rock and came down.

The ride back to the hotel was smooth. I have fresh in mind the rock fort and the images of the heavenly maidens. The place is beautiful, thought it is in ruins, and expresses so much about the glories days of ancient Srilanka.

Anuradhapura

2006-02-27T01:24:00.000-08:00

Day 4

Anuradhapura was top on the list. I wanted to visit this place, coz this was the place where Buddhism started first in Srilanka. Emperor Ashoka’s children Bindusara and Sangamitra, took a sapling from the Bodhi tree at Gaya to Anuradhapura and planted it there. The tree is prayed and millions of devotees come there to offer their prayers.

Anuradhapura is also the 1st capital of ancient Srilanka. In all good intentions, I wanted to visit Anuradhapura first and then visit Polonnaruwa which is the 2nd capital. But, the order got reversed as Arvind’s health was not good. We visit Polonnaruwa first. But, that’s okay.

I visited Anuradhapura alone.

Mathow picked me up early, and the distance of 90 kms from Giritale resort took about an hour and a half.

Anuradhapura is the oldest city I have visited. According to my reading, it was a city dating back 500 BC.

This ancient and 1st Srilankan capital, is famous for its well preserved ruins of the Great Srilankan Civilization. It is one of the greatest civilizations of Asia. It is a UNESCO recognized World Heritage Site. It lies 205 kms north west of Colombo.

Reading more about Anuradhapura, I realize it is not just a 500 BC city, it is much older than that.

Mahavamsa is the greatest ancient historical books of Sinhalese, and it mentions that Anuradhapura was the capital of Kind Pandukabhaya who ruled from 437 to 367 BC. It was built by King Vijaya’s chief minister Anuradha, and hence it was called Anuradhapura.

As per historical records the city is of the 5th century BC, but excavations near the citadel have revealed information about the earlier inhabitants of the city. Excavations also showed articles dating 900 to 700 BC. The city is well placed, between the ports on the Northwest and the North East, and is buried deep in the jungle, which was to serve as natural defense.

First, Pandukabhaya who founded this city and planned it, had gates for the city, and quarters for traders. At that time, the city must have covered a large area. This is evident from the countless number of ruined roads we passed through as we drove to reach the different places in this city.

Buddhish was introduced first into Srilanka here and then, the city became more prominent. The book Mahavamsa states that King Kutakannatissa built the first wall around the city to a height of about 7 cubits with a moat. This fortification was later enlarged and reinforced during the reign of King Vasabha. Gates were also added, and these can be seen even today.

The noted traveler Fa-Hien visited Anuradhapura at this time and was thoroughly impressed with the city planners. He states in this books that there were two types of homes. The homes of the merchants were large and well decorates, these merchants were mostly from foreign countries, South India, Mediterranean and Persia. The other homes were much smaller and they belonged to the locals whose main source of income was from agriculture.

King Devanampiya Tissa wanted to create enclosures for the Sanga ie the Buddhist monasteries and wanted to himself live close to the Buddha. Hence he commissioned the constructions of buildings with marked boundaries. Thus began the great building era.

Go around Anuradhapura, and you will see how large the city is, and how large the buildings and stupas are. They made the largest stupas and seems like they did it with easy and in style.

The monastic settlement, known as the Theravadins was founded by King Devanampiya Tissa in 249 BC.

The Mahayana followers built the Abhayagiri Vihara.

King Mahasena ( 275 BC – 310 AC ) built the Jetawana Ramaya, which is the large brick structure in the world. Its looks marvelous from a distance with its orange robe. The robe is given as offering by devotees.

Therefore around the city, several gigantic stupas were constructed. The Mahatupa, the Bodhi tree and the Thuparama are in the south of the city, the Abhayagiri to the north, the Pubbarama to the east, the Tonovana to the north-west and the Jetavana to the south east.

The tooth relic was brought by the King Kirtisri Meghavana, and was kept in a building named Dhammachakka. It was taken in a annual procession to Abhayagiri.

The city began to grow and lots of people began to live there. Administration has to be taken care of and amenities had to be provided.

King Vasabha ordered the construction of many ponds for rain water harvesting. River Malwatu Oya was dammed to built the Maccaduwa wewa. Tissa, Abhayavapi and Nuwarawewa tanks were built to collect rain water. I passed through Nuwara wewa and I could see the Ruvanaweli Seya and the Abhayagiri at the background.

Hospitals, quarters for the crippled and blind were built. King Buddhadasa ( 337 – 365 BC ) appointed a physician for every 10 villages. Sanitation was taken care of the city was always maintained clean.

Anuradhapura is known for its irrigation system and many of these survive to this date.

The city flourished for 10 decades. It came under attack by the Kings of South India, especially the Chola rulers. The Cholas plundered the city and ruined it. In 1017, the city has to deserted and the capital was moved to Polonnaruwa.

Anuradhapura became ruins and the forests took over.

Sometime around the 19th Century the British colonists cleared the jungle and laid this beautiful city bare. Several tanks were restored and made usable for the general public.

So, what is there today to see at Anuradhapura. For any ancient ruin lover, there are lots of treasures.

There are basically three types of buildings – Dagobas ( stupas ), monastic buildings and Pokunas ( tanks ). The Bo tree is dated back to the year 245 BC.

The most important places to visit among the ruins in the city are the Bo tree, Ruwana weli seya, Tupa ramaya, Lanka Tilake, Abhayagiri, Jetavana Ramaya, The Dhana shala ( where the monks used to eat ), The Atupokuna where about 7000 monks used to bathe daily, the Kuttam Pokuna or Twin ponds were the royals used to bathe, Kiribath Vihara, Samadhi Buddha among other places.

Isirimuniya is a small Buddhist vihara close by, and it has many exquisite statues of Buddha and a small museum.

I finished by Anuradhapura trip and got back to the hotel by about 2 pm, ready for lunch and a well deserved afternoon siesta.

Polonnaruwa

2006-02-21T12:21:00.000-08:00

Day 3

After a really calm night at Giritale were went to sleep early. Aravind was really tired after the car journey. He was also feeling unwell, and so on day 3 of the trip we decided to go to Polonnaruwa instead of Anuradhapura.

Polonnaruwa is very close to Giritale, about 20 kms away, and as Aravind was not well, we thought we shall visit the nearby place so that we can get back to the hotel early for rest.

Anuradhapura is the first capital of Srilanka ( 500 BC to 1017 AD ). The Chola kinds of South India attacked Anuradhapura and caused so much destruction, that the once great city was completely in ruins, the dams were destroyed and hence the city had to be abandoned. The capital was moved to Polonnaruwa, and it is hence called the 2nd capital.

Mathow picked us up. We passed through the Minneriya national park, the marching cadets of the nearly Army training institute, the wide lake and the several birds that inhabit the lake. As we approach the country side, again, it seems so much like India. The farmers now use mechanized motors to till the soil. The paddy is green and was from the Giritale and Kaudulla tank are used for irrigation.

We reached Polonnaruwa is 45 mins. We passed through a lake which was as big as a ocean. It was the Parakrama Samudra, build by the 2nd king of Polonnaruwa Parakrama Bahu. It had birds of many kinds and had fishermen fishing. The early Srilankan kings decided that water was precious and had to be conserved, and hence commissioned the construction of a tank of a monstrous size, which is called Parakrama Samudra. From one end, it was not possible to see the other end. In fact, it is 5 independent tanks connected by canals.

We also passed through some primitive dam structures. We saw water getting stored on one side, and part of it flowing through canals through primitive sluice gates like of rock structures.

The package tour that we took included entry fee to all the sites that we were about to visit during the trip. The entry fee can be anywhere between 8 to 15 US$ per head. Also, in some places like Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa which are a cluster of ruins, stupas and temples etc, each of these complexes attract a separate entry fee. Thomas Cook and Mathow took care of all the tickets for us. We din’t have to pay for it.

The first halt was at the Polonnaruwa museum. The complex is itself inside a ruined rampart. The museum is well maintained unlike any museum in India. The floor and the walls are clean, and all the exhibits are clean and well displayed, inside clean exhibition counters. The lighting is good. The wash rooms, water facility and the small cafeteria which sells some soviners was also good. The museum had replicas of all the structures that we were about to see. There were photos of the monument before and after restoration, and a ditto replica of the structure, how it would have looked in its days. The museum is one of the best I have visited.

Then, we went to visit the individual ruins, complexes and statues of Polonnaruwa.

Regarding the history of Polonnaruwa, it was the 2nd capital of the country. King Vijaya Bahu 1 founded this city. He defeated the Hindu Chola kings of South India and founded this city here. The real hero of Polonnaruwa is his grand son King Parakrama Bahu 1.

Parakrama Bahu’s days are considered the Golden Age, when trade and agriculture flourished. He invested lot of time and money on constructing dams, irrigation systems far superior than those of Anuradhapura, which would supply water for paddy cultivation. The greatest of his dams / lakes is the Parakrama samudra which in fact surrounds the city of Polonnaruwa. It also acted as a moat for the kingdom, to prevent intruders. The kingdom was self sufficient during his times.

However, after Parakrama Bahu, the only other successor of mettle was his immediate son Nissankamala 1, all the others were weak. The successors decided to get into matrimonial alliances with the strong Chola rulers, so maintain peace in the kingdom. These alliances led to superseding of the local royal lineage, this lead to Kalinga invasion by King Magha in 1214. After this, a South Indian king of Pandyan Dynasty – Arya Chakrawarthi invaded Srilanka in 1284 and took control of Polonnaruwa. The capital was next shifted to Dambadeniya. Dambadeniya is the 3rd capital of Srilanka.

Polonnaruwa today is one of the best ancient archeological sites, and is one of the best planned cities of ancient times, and stand testimony to the greatness of his rulers and planners. We drove to several kilometers of roads through the ruined city, which has over grown trees and looks like a perfect haven. All the roads, ramparts, ruins, homes, monastic buildings, palaces, libraries, chapter houses, halls, conference halls and places of worship are well marked and maintained.

The most interesting ruined complexes to visit in Polonnaruwa are statue of Parakrama Bahu 1, Potgul Vihara ( the library ), The Palace ruins, the Conference Hall, the Bathing tank, The Tuparama ( Chapter house ), Shiva Devale ( Shiva temple which has a shiv linga ), Wata Dagoba ( Circular monastery with its beautiful Buddha’s ), Hata Dagoba ( The monastery that was completed in 60 days ), The Ata Dagoba ( The monastery that was completed in 8 days ), The image house which has some beautiful frescos and a large destroyed statue of the Buddha.

The places of worship have beautifully carved moonstones at the entrance. They have a row of cows, swans, horses, elephants and lions and the lotuses in the center indicating that life is full of trials, which one needs to cross before attaining the nirvana.

The site also has a large stone relic, and has inscriptions by King Nissankamala, giving details about the city. It is considered the largest stone relic in the world.

I was waiting all along for the Gal Vihara, which house three huge and magnificient statues of Buddha – in Sitting, Standing and Sleeping posture. I clicked several photographs.

Pollonnaruwa is declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco.

Visiting all these places took about 4 hrs. Then, we went to the Polonnaruwa cultural guest house for lunch. This place is by the Parakrama Samudra and has a beautiful view of the large lake.

Srilanka was according to me a very expensive place. Indian rupee is stronger than the Srilankan rupee, but every thing was so very expensive. We spend about Srilanka Rupee 600 for lunch per head. So, about S Rs. 1200 per head, which is equal to INR 600. But, in India, whenever I travel, I manage to get a great lunch for a maximum of Rs. 100. So, in that sense Srilanka was expensive.
After the trip, we got back to our hotel by about 3 pm. Arvind was not feeling well and decided to take rest. I din’t have much to do. There is practically nothing on TV in Srilanka. There are a few Srilanka channels, Sun TV comes, so I could watch some tam songs, and there is a German and a French Channel. So, basically I kept it off most of the time. I freshened up and sat in my balcony to observe the langurs, the fishermen and the birds in the Giritale lake.

Dambulla

2006-02-06T11:10:00.000-08:00

Day 2 - Dambulla

Any article on Srilanka is incomplete without the image of the Golden Buddha. Most travel agents, when they suggest a travel itenary for Srilanka, include only Colombo, Kandy, Bentota and some other beach destination. They never suggest the places in the interior, which are so full of history and culture.

Next time anyone wishes to go to Srilanka, I suggest that they look beyond the ordinary shopping in Colombo and the beach destinations. There are so many beautiful historical places in Srilanka, and the kind of architecture that you would get to see there is truly mind blowing.

Srilanka is a 69 % Buddhist country, and therefore all the historical places are full of Buddhist monasteries, stupas and places of worship with exquisite statues of Buddha.

I have not visited the Buddhist sites in India like Sanchi, Sarnath or Gaya. But, this trip to Srilanka, I ensured that I will visit every Buddhist cultural site.

After my night at Negembo and the early morning walk by the beach, Mathow was ready to pick us up. We left Negembo at about 9.30 am.

The next destination Dambulla is just about 148 kms from Colombo / Negembo, on the Mathale – Anuradhapura Road , but, this short distance was going to take about 3 hours to cover. The reasons being the maximum speed at which anyone can drive is just 50 kms per hour. You will find the best imported Japanese cars, but, there is no fun at this slow speed. Just for information, Dambulla is 72 kms from Kandy is 18 kms from Sigiriya.

Also, driving through Srilanka heart land, is like driving through Kerala and Goa - very green and beautiful, with the road winding slowing through the jungle.

Srilanka is not divided into states like in India. It is divided into smaller administrative units called Zones. There are 52 zones in all. Each of the zones, have their local administrative body or government.

Now, regarding Dambulla, it homes the famous cave temples. It is called the Golden Temple at Dambulla. The complex has a museum, library, a huge Golden Buddha which is painted in gold, a Golden stupa and several caves.

The caves are on top of a hillock. There are about 80 caves, the most famous ones are the 5 caves that are called the Maha Raja Vihara. They contain in all exactly 157 statues – 153 Buddha’s and statues of kings and Hindu Gods. The Buddha statues are in sitting, standing and reclining positions, large ones and small ones.

The first cave had a large reclining Buddha who is dying. You can make this out from the position of his toes on his feet. When the toes are not together, the Buddha is considered to have died. The frescos on the wall show the life if Buddha and of Sinhalese history, these frescos were added much later.

The 2nd cave is impressive with 150 Buddha statues and has idols of Ganesh and Vishnu.

There are several mural paintings depicting the life of Buddha.

Dambulla has been a cultural and religious center for about 22 centuries. Dambulla region had a lot of caves and many monks used to practice Buddhism here. Going into the history of this place, Srilanka was contantly under attack by the Chola kings of South India. These caves were the refuge of King Walagamba also called as Vattagamini Abhaya in the 1st Century BC. He was the king from Anuradhapura. When attacked, to escape defeat, capture and ill-treatment, he took refuge in these caves along with the princess. Till this day, one can see the secret door inside the caves, in which the princess stayed. There is a stupa in the cave. The king is supposed to have put all his treasure into it and closed it up. King Walagamba returned to Anuradhapura after 14 yrs, and then he ordered the magnificient rock temple to be build from 104 to 76 BC. This temple was built in thanksgiving.

Successive kings had added to it. The site was repaired and repainted several times in the 11th, 12th and the 18th Century. The paintings are said to be new, they are about 200 yrs old. The statues of the Hindu gods, Vishnu, Ganesha and Saman date back to the 12th century, when Hinduism took root in Sri Lanka and started influencing the arts.

Dambulla was designated a World Heritage Site in 1991. It is a point on the golden triangle. Sigiriya and Kandy are the other 2 places. Dambulla site is indeed very unique as this site has seen additions made to it over the last 22 centuries, and has proof of material used in all the years, and also shows clearly the influence of each religion and culture across various time periods, under different rulers.

We reached Dambulla at about 12 noon. The sun was bright and we started sweating as we were going up the hillock. Any amount of trekking expertise is useless here, cos the sun shines sharper in Srilanka and can sap your energy.

The large Golden Buddha, the minute your eyes fall on it, you instantly cool off. The gold paint for this large statue that over looks the entire town is supposed to be donated by the Japanese. When I get to historical places like this I feel calmness within myself. And, the Buddha statues are a added bonus.

We reached the complex at the top of the hillock. The entrance of the caves is modified into a concrete structure – latest addition I guess. But, this is an absolute must, to protect the murals from rain water and sunlight. The dents in the rock, am sure helped keep rain water from entering the caves, but, what can withstand time. The concrete shelters will surely protect the paintings inside in the future.

Just outside the caves, is a lake, with purple lilies. The king is said to have washed his feet here, and used these flowers for his prayers.

The complex excursion was done in 1 hr. I clicked a lot of pictures.

It was about 2 pm now. The site seeing agenda for the day was done. We next had to reach Hotel Giritale in Giritale district. Giritale was to be our place of stay for the next 4 days, from where, we were to visit the other places.

We were terribly hungry. We stopped by a Habarana and had lunch in the tourist guest house. The food was sumptuous, spicy, just the right kind of flavor for my taste buds. We had a sumptuous meal and proceeded to Giritale.

The drive to Giritale is fabulous. The road is good. Giritale is a large artificial lake. It is in the Minneriya National Park, which also has the Northern command of the Srilankan army. We saw army cadets sweating out and doing their workouts by the lake.

We reached our hotel by about 4 pm. We got to our room, freshened up and settled in the open bar, which faces the Giritale lake for our evening cocktail. The sunset drama was about to begin, and I had my camera fully to capture the spectacle.

Lepakshi

2006-01-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

Lepakshi is a small town, in Ananthpur district of Andhra Pradesh state. Lepakshi is famous for its temple, which is dedicated to Veerabhadra, the fiery incarnation of Lord Shiva. In this temple, there are beautiful frescos of Ramayana and Mahabharatha. Lepakshi style of painting is still practiced today and is sold as handicrafts.

Lepakshi is about 140 kms from Bangalore, and I know that a single day would be sufficient to visit this place and return back.

I got all the required information on the net, the route to be taken, the time it would take to travel, the history of the place, the temple itself etc.

It is in this place, that Jatayu fought against Cruel king Ravana, when he was taking away Sita to Lanka. Jatayu was injured in the fight and lost his wings. Lord Rama and Lakshmana, found Jatayu, and got to know about Ravana’s abduction of Sita. Jatayu died, and was buried by Rama and Lakshmana. It is due to this reason, that this place is called Le – Pakshi.

Me and my husband, along with my colleague decided to visit Veerabhadra Temple in Lepakshi one Saturday afternoon. We left at 1 pm. To reach Lepakshi one must drive on Bangalore Hyderabad highway, the exact route is Bangalore – Chikballapur – cross the Andhra check post – take a left turn at the Bird sanctuary – ( one would find huge models of painted storks ) – Lepakshi is about 10 kms from this point. Hindupur is beyond Lepakshi..another 15 kms away.

The climate was good, and since we had not had our lunch, we stopped by at a Dhaba. The food was good – hot parathas, egg masala omlette, channa masala, dal fry and a bottle of King Fisher – all at Rs. 147. The food was good.

I felt we started a little late..coz it was already 3pm and we had not reached Lepakshi. The road was good, except for a few bumps here and here. After crossing the check post at the border, we found a huge model of Painted Storks. We were approaching a bird sanctuary. My friend had visited Lepashi before and hence we din’t have problem decided how to proceed further. We had to take a left turn at the Stork models, and we reached Lepakshi. It was just 10 kms away.

We reached the Nandi first. It is considered to be one of the Largest Nandi’s in India. The temple was about 1 km away, and is constructed on a huge stone platform. When we reached the temple is was about 5 pm and was slowly getting dark.

The scene outside the temple was just like any other temple in India. Small shops selling flowers, coconut, incense, pilgrims in really colourful sarees, toys of all sizes, and of course the ubiquitous guides.

We din’t want to engage a guide, as we entered the temple. A guide followed us and kept a distance at first. Then, he came close to us and started speaking to us very politely. He told us in Telugu that Lepakshi is a very beautiful temple, and he would explain every thing about it, and in the end, we could give him anything we wished. He was not demanding, but, we felt sad for him, and decided to engage him to take us around the temple.

The temple is about 500 yrs old, is built in Vijayanagar Architectural style, and was built by Viranna and Virupanna brothers, who were Nayak chieftains of the Vijayanagar ruler , King Achutaraya. In the times of the Vijayanagar empire, the king split the country into different districts, and each district was given to a Nayak for Governance.

Virupanna, who was Achutaraya’s treasurer, had lot of money at his disposal, and he wanted to build a temple dedicated to their family diety – Veerabhadra. Some parts of the temple is incomplete, and there is a sad story behind it, which I will explain later.

So, our guide, how silly was I, I din’t ask him name at all. He was wearing a white shirt and white pant, and must be in his 50’s. Or may be, he was in his 40’s, but looked much older because of the hardships in his life.

He accompanied us right from the time we entered the complex. The complex has a large exterior wall, with a narrow verandah attached to the compound wall. These verandahs served as resting places for pilgrims who came from far off places. The outer walls and adjacent hall is called Nithya Mandapa or Mukha Mantapa.

Inside the Nithya Mantapa, is another small complex, called the Artha Mantapa. The main sanctum sanctorum or Garbha Graha is in the Artha Mantapa.

In the exterior verandahs and the open halls, there are are lots of inscriptions on the floor. There are names of the king and all the sculptors who worked there to build the temple.

Inside the main complex, there is a huge Ganapati idol, there is a large Shiva Linga, which is protected by a 7 headed snake. There are sculptures of many Shiva Lingas also. The guide told us that they are replicas of the Lingas of Sri Kala Hasti temple.

There are waiting halls, dance and music halls and wedding halls in the complex.

The wedding hall or Kalyana Mantapa has 38 carved pillars, without a roof and hence I think it was never completed. According to mythology the marriage between Lord Shiva and Parvathy is supposed to have happened here. The pillars of the wedding hall have images of Shiva and Parvathy and Parvathy father, and lots of guests, but, I could recognize who the rest of the people on the pillars were. It was easy to identify Shiva with his third eye.

There is a bathing tank with water in it.

Inside the main sanctum, there is a idol of Veerabhadra. There is also a idol of Goddess Durga which is decorated and is painted. There are smaller sanctums for Lord Shiva and Vishnu.

There are several beautiful pillars in the main hall, and the ceilings are painted with scenes of Ramayana and Mahabharatha. These paintings are called Lepashi paintings. These paintings were done with vegetable dyes other natural materials. At many places, the paint has peeled away due to weather and age, but, in some places, there are very nice and clearly visible. Models of these paintings, and paints done in this style are available in all Andhra Pradesh Handi Crafts showrooms.

The wedding hall is incomplete. There are pillars, but no ceiling. The guide gave us a very interesting story. Virupanna Nayak is supposed to have constructed this temple, without taking permission from the king, and is also supposed to have defaulted on paying the taxes. The king felt that Virupanna was using the money to make the temple. The king sent his men to punish Virupanna and ordered that his eyes be taken away. On hearing the kings orders, Virupanna became unhappy. In obeyance to the King, he voluntarily pulled away his eyes, and threw them at the walls. Even to this day, one can see the blood stains on the wall. To me, these two marks looked like rusting iron. I took this story with a pinch of salt, but, it may be true.

After going around the temple and clicking some snaps, we left the complex. We went to spend some time near the Nandi. The Nandi is huge, and is well decorated. From this place, we could see the main temple complex. At 6 pm, the flood lights were put on and the Nandi looked beautiful in the light.

We left Lepakshi at about 6 pm. We stopped by to have Chai. The drive back home was scary. We could not see the pot holes on the road, and went into all of them. The lorries heading the opposite direction, as they came closer, almost blinded us, and it was tough to drive.

If one is planning a single day trip, it is advisable to start early in the day, so that we can get back home when it is bright enough, and it is safe to drive.

Getting There

Road – 480 kms from Hyderabad. 140 kms from Bangalore.

The route from Bangalore is Bangalore – Chikballapur –drive on Bangalore Hyderabad Highway - cross the Karnataka Andhra Check post – immediately take the left turn at the model of Painted Storks – Lepakshi is just 10 kms from there.

There are also regular buses and taxis from Hindupur and Ananthapur.

Rail : The nearest rail head to Lepakshi is Hindupur at a distance of 16 kms.

Air : Bangalore airport is the closest. 140 kms.

Trip duration – 1 day

Best time – Any time of the year

Accomodation – As it is a day trip from Bangalore, one can return on the same day. There are several dhabas on the route, where one can stop for hot parathas or a hot cup of chai.

But if you do wish to stay, for what ever reasons, to take snaps of temple during sunrise, sunset etc…these are the places where you can find accommodation.

Hindupur Tourism Complex, Abhya Guest House at Lepakshi maintained by State Tourism Dept, AP Tourism’s motel at Hindupur, Travellers Bungalow at Hindupur, PWD travelers bungalow at Demakepalli – 5 kms from Lepakshi.

Srirangapatnam

2005-10-14T16:55:00.000-07:00

I have passed through Srirangapatnam several times, but, never really took notice of the historical momuments there.

Like how Delhi, Jaipur, Jodhpur in the north are full of history and stories of brave warriors and kings…Srirangapatnam in the south is full of stories of the bravery and valour of one ‘Tipu sultan’ who fought against the mighty British.

He would have been successful and would have pushed the British out, if only the Nizam of Hyderabad was with him. The British were extremely successful with their divide and rule policy, which resulted in the Marathas fighting against Tipu, and Tipu against the Nawab of Hyderabad etc, each one fighting the other, and in the end, all of them losing to the British.

Srirangapatnam was the capital of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. Hyder Ali the son of a peasant who joined the army of the King of Mysore, and rose in the ranks due to his valour and bravery. Slowly, he commanded more respect than the Maharajah himself, the king by then had become a salve to wine and women and spent all his time in his harem. Hyder took the lead and began to take care of the governance and became the King himself. He established his capital at Srirangapatnam, and got involved in 3 wars with the British, with the help of the French.

When Tipu inherited the throne, he also herited the war that his father left un-finished. Tipu gave his life fighting for his ‘mulk’ or ‘quam’ as he would call it. The entire country at that time was afraid of Tipu and he was called ‘Sher – e – Mysore’. He was terror for the Nawab of Hyderabad, Marathas and also the Mughals. With so many enemies, survival was difficult, and in the end, lost everything, kingdom, treasures and life to the British.

Now about Srirangapatnam, predominantly a Hindu dominated state, Tipu was religiously tolerant, and let the Hindus live their life and let them follow their religious practices. He did not really insist on converting to Islam. In fact, Srirangatnam, has a large temple dedicated to Lord Sriranga…which enjoyed a lot of importance during the time of Tipu.

Srirangapatnam has been a silent witness to all the wars fought. It is in fact, a small island formed by the river cauvery and its tributaries. Tipu fortified the island portion. Inside the fortified walls, are the palace ( which is mostly in ruins ), Darai Daulat Bagh ( Tipu’s summer palace ), Gumbaz ( Tomb of Hyder Ali, Tipu’s and his mom ), the Juma Masjid, Colonel Bailey’s dungeon, The obelisq where Tipu’s dead body was found, the war memorial and the Sriranganatha temple.

The fort has high walls and watch towers. It has Bangalore gate and the Delhi gate, which I could see and passed through as I entered the fort complex.

We left Bangalore at 8 am in the morning, and reached Srirangapatna at about 9.30 am. We went straight to the Daria Daulat Bagh which is the summer palace of Tipu. Tipu was very modest and dint do any thing lavish, unlike the Mughals. The palace is a 2 storey complex ( ground + one ), and has rooms inside. It has a corridor that has wonderfully painted frescos. One side of the building has the painting of a battle scene. On the other side are the paintings of all the important kings of the time. The paintings are made of dyes and have survived the years. The battle scenes are gruesome. In the inside rooms, is the museum, you can coins, paintings, portraits, furniture, clothes, articles, all used by Tipu. There are also photographs of the turbans and the many swords, jewelry of Tipu, which were taken away by the winning British forces, as loot. They are now in the all the various museums in Britian and other parts of Europe. This building is maintained well, and the Archeological society is taking effort to restore the rest of the paintings. The gardens are also well maintained.

Next, we went to the Gumbaz. It is about a km from the Summer palace and is close to the cauvery sangam. The Gumbaz was built by Tipu for his father Hyder Ali. Later, which Tipu died, he was also buried in the same place, by his people.

A quick visit to the cauvery sangam was refreshing. After the heavy monsoons this season, the Cauvery has more than its regular share of water. We went in a coricle ride and there were a lot of people performing pujas.

It was noon by then, we broke for a quick lunch and the places next on the agenda, were the fort, the palace, mosque, dungeons and the memorial. All these places are inside the fort walls and are close together, spread across a area of about 3 sq kms.

We entered the fort through the Bangalore gate. The fort walls have survived the times, and inside the Fort, Srirangapatnam is a buzzling and busy town. In between all this is the mosque of Tipu. The masjid, again is a simple structure, and is home to several parrots and pigeons.

Tipu’s fort is in a dilapidated condition. It got destroyed in a fire, may be it was set on fire after the war. Dunno.

The barracks called the Colonel Bailleys Dungeon was a secret Dungeon. Tipu kept his prisoners of war here and among them were several Brits, and Colonel Bailleys was one of them. Bailleys died of a mysterious disease after many years. The entire barrack called the Suntan Battery in those days, always had a battalion of Tipu’s best soldiers and the structure was impregnable. It has the river on one side, and was completely hidden, as it is constructed at a level below the ground level…it is in the basement actually. There is a hole on the ceiling of the dungeon…during the war against the British, a canon rolled over, and fell into the barracks. It lies there, even now.

Close to the dungeon is the place..where the dead body of Tipu was found.

A little away is the war memorial. It was erected by the British in memory of all those who laid down their lives fighting against Tipu. The irony is that, the soldiers in the British army were again, all Indians. The location of the memorial is fabulous. Here, at this part of the fort, one can see the Cauvery on all the 3 sides and the location is fabulous.

Srirangam temple is open to visitors and devotees in the evening at 4 pm. We waited for the temple to open. In this temple, the Lord is in a reclining position. This is the only other temple, other than the Sriranganatha temple in Trichy….where the Lord is in this position. Incidentally, Sriranganatha temple in Trichy is also built on a island, made by the river Cauvery.

We had darshan and performed puja at the temple.

After this, we were free to get to the hotel for relaxing. Our plan for the next day was to visit Mysore Palace, Zoo and the Somnathpur temple.

There are lot of hotels in Srirangapatna, but, there are expensive as they call themselves Fort View resort and River View resort etc.

Srirangpatnam is just 16 kms from Mysore, and Mysore has a lot of hotels. I hada booking at Chandra Palace for the overnight stay. We checked into the hotel at about 5 pm and I had sufficient time to relax before Lost serial starts on Star TV.

I finished the day with a glass of wine and spicy Chicken sixer.

At the end of this trip, I only kept thinking, why Indian rulers had to keep fighting against each other. If they had formed a Axis..the Nawab of Hyderbad, Marathas, Mughals and all other Indian princes, then, together they could have flushed the British out.

Getting There :

Air : Nearest airport is Bangalore ( 120 kms )
Road : Srirangapatnam is well connected by road from Mysore, Bangalore, Hassan and Chennai.
Rail : Srirangapatnam has its own rail head.

Best time : Any time of the year

Trip duration : 1 day

Accomodation : I stayed at Chandra Palace in Mysore, and it is great place to stay.

Chandra Palace : 150, KT Street, Mysore. Ph : 0821 2421333 / 444
Bombay Tiffany : 0821 2435255 / 2435257

I will suggest Chandra Palace, as the place is good, economical and the staff are really friendly. But, just remember that they have place for just 2 cars to park. Chandra Palace does not really have a large parking space. They have a travel desk, and can arrange tours or cars if you want.

Note : Also read my travelogues on Mysore and Somnathpur.

The picture is that of Tipu's Tomb at Srirangapatnam.

Somnathpur

2005-09-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

This weekend I visited the Somnathpur temple. I had not heard of this place at all. Before a few days, one of my friends casually mentioned that she had visited this place, and it is a must. She also told me that this temple was another temple in the Hoysala Architectural style. I must admit that in the last few months, I have become a fan of this architecture style, because of the simplicity of the layout, but the sculptures are exquisite and intricate in detail.

I planned a 2 day weekend trip to Srirangapatnam. I have visited Tipu’s fort, palace and the other monuments that are related to him. So, the idea was to visit Srirangapatna on a Saturday and visit Somnathpur temple on Sunday. My husband has not visited the Mysore Palace, so we planned to visit that place as well. In this travelogue I focus only on Somnathpur.

We had checked into a comfortable hotel on Saturday evening, after the Srirangapatnam visit. I had got details pertaining to this hotel called Chandra Palace from Indiamike ( Indiamike.com ) and the person who posted reviews about the hotel was in all praise for the hospitality extended to the guests by the hotel staff. The reviews were completely correct. The deluxe room cost us rs. 390 plus taxes per day, had TV, phone and 24 hrs running hot water in the bathrooms. So, after a nice hot water bath, I settle to watch Serial LOST on Star Movies. I have become a big addict of the idiot box and I will do anything to ensure that I catch LOST at 7 pm. So, I was ready with my bottle of wine in front of the TV, and ordered the best food available Chandra Palace does not have a attached restaurant, but they offer room service facilites. The food is supplied by a restaurant nearby – Sangeeta restaurant. The food was great. We kept eating and drink, Lost serial was intriguing with suspense. And, I dunno when I hit the bed.

I woke up the next morning at 7.30 am. The Mysore palace would open only at 10.30 am. We din’t want to waste time, and hence getting to Somnathpur first was the right thing to do to save time. So, after the hot cup of tea ( I would give 6 on 10 for tea here, Most hotels make milky sugary team, which I don’t like ), after the early morning sundaes and the hot water bath, we left the hotel to get to Somnathpur at about 8.30 am. We were pretty quick.

Somnathpur is about 35 kms from Mysore and 140 kms from Mysore. For the most part of the journey is roads are good, but it is really bad in small patches. Say for about 5 kms in all, the roads are bad. The scenary of the country side is really green. This part of the year, due to the good monsoon, and may be also because the Cauvery flows here, the fields were green with newly transplanted paddy crop. The entire stretch was green. The scene of the paddy fields, with the occasional coconut trees in the middle, the farmers removing the weeds and the several cranes, the scenery was perfect.

We reached Somnathpur in about 1 hr 15 minutes. The temple was build in the 13th Century, in yr 1268, by Hoysala King. At this time, the Hoysalas had already ruled over the region for over 250 yrs and were in the peak of their dynasty. A stone slab at the base of the entrance clearly states that the temple was commissioned by Hoysala King Narsimha 3.

However the temple was actually built by Narasimha 3’s Military Commander Somnath, on the west bank of the river Cauvery and hence this place is called Somnathpur. The size of the complex is much smaller in comparison to Halebid, but it has lot of open halls or verandas all around the temple and a huge walled enclosure which is absent in the Halebid complex. It looks like a small fortification. There is a huge entrance gate, with a small gopuram, and the entire structure stands on a star shaped platform, the Hoysala style magnificiently. The river Cauvery flows to the right of the temple.

This temple is dedicated to Lord Keshava and has only 1 entrance, unlike Halebid temple that has 4 entrances. There are three Sanctum Sanctorums. On the left there is the Sanctum of Lord Venugopal with a flute and lots of cows around him are carved, the center Sanctum ( the one opposite to the entrance ) is for Lord Keshava and this idol also had a Garuda carving at the bottom, and the Sanctum on the right side is for Lord Janardhana, another form of Lord Keshava. These 3 idols are beautifully carved . The entire sanctum has a large squarish hall with the 3 sanctums on the 3 sides. The pillars have carvings, but nothing much to write about, but the entire roofs is beautifully carved. There are many figures of gods and goddesses, and flower designs are carved. The Archiological society has provided lights inside that provides for better visibility and helps for taking photographs as well.

The enterior of the temple is also great. As mentioned, the entire complex stands on a star shaped platform, and there are steps provided to get on top. There are apsaras guarding the entrance, and the carved elephants at every stairway. The temple has carved panels, with rows of elephants, horsemen, musicians, floral patters, lots of men and women, and in some places, the artisans have engraved sexual positions as well. In one place, they have depicted a orgy. Over these carved panels are beautifully carved figures of Lord Keshava, Vishnu, Narayana and many beautiful apsaras, about 190 of them. There is one beautiful carving of Ganapati. There is also the sculptures of the 10 avatars or reincarnations of Lord Vishnu. I could not recognize most of them, all of the other sculptures looked like different forms of Lord Vishnu or Narayana..may be I am right, coz it was the Keshave Temple. 5 of the best craftsmen of the time were invited to do the temple and the sculptors are said to have signed under each sculpture their respective names. Since I don’t know to read Kannada, I could not locate the signatures.

Over these sculptures was Jali work, and then the gopuram or vimana, very short one, but had many beautifully carved sculptures.

After going round the temple, and observing every thing, I quickly made a note of what I wish to photograph. I did a second round for photographing all my favourite sculptures and panels.

The over all temple is is good shape and is well maintained. Some parts of the scultures are missing, but, most of the carvings are fine. The panel are also fine, the gardens are maintained well.

It was 11 am then. 2 busses full of school children just came into the complex. The kids started walking in pairs, and they were monitored by their teachers who kept telling them ‘walk with your partner’ or ‘where is your partner ?’ It was really cute to see that all the kids were praying to all the sculptures on the exterior of the temple. The whole place was getting noisy, and just them, another bus load of children reached the place.

Just outside the temple, there is a small shop, we had tea there, and ate Brittania Good Day Biscuit. We did not have break fast, and hence we were felling really hungry. The next destination was Mysore Palace, and we wanted to finish the sight seeing fast, coz we also wanted to leave Mysore by about 4 pm so that we can reach Bangalore by about 7 pm.

Getting there

Road : Somnathpur is about 140 kms from Bangalore and 35 kms from Mysore. It is well connected by bus services from Bangalore and Mysore.
Rail : Srirangapatnam and Mysore are the closest railway heads
Air : Bangalore

Trip Duration : 1 day

Best time : Any time of the year.

Accomodation :

One can do Somnathpur as a single day trip from Bangalore or Mysore. There are good places in Srirangapatnam and Mysore if you wish to stay overnight

Chandra Palace : 150, KT Street, Mysore. Ph : 0821 2421333 / 444

Bombay Tiffany : 0821 2435255 / 2435257

I will suggest Chandra Palace, as the place is good, economical and the staff are really friendly. But, just remember that they have place for just 2 cars to park. Chandra Palace does not really have a large parking space. They have a travel desk, and can arrange tours or cars if you want.

Mahabalipuram

2005-09-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

Being a Chennaite has its own advantages. The beach side is free and one can get there for any reason – birthday get togethers, to celebrate a new job or sulk about not having got good marks in the exam. The beach is just open to all.

And, Mahabalipuram is just about 43 kms away. Whenever any relatives or friends visit us from other cities, we take them to the beach and to Mahabalipuram. The drive on the East Coast Road, is by itself a very refreshing experience.

Mahabalipuram is on the East coast of India and it is a World Heritage Site, and you will know why when you get there.

Mahabalipuram are shore temples, a group of monuments by the sea. It is not just one structure. The group contains Rathas or chariots, mandaps or carved caves, and beautiful carvings on vertical rocks and bas reliefs. All these form the Mahabalipuram complex.

These temples were built by the Pallava King Mahadra Verma Pallava in the 7th Century.

There are several caves in the complex. The Varaha cave is independent carved structure and houses the carved statues of Varaha ( Boar ) and Vamana ( Dwaft ) – two incarnations of Lord Vishnu.

There is a cave for Dharmaraja Yudhisthir, which is separate.

There is a cave for Mahishasura, and has carved panels and bas reliefs with scenes from Hindu mythology.

The Krishna mandap is set aloof and has on it, carvings of Lord Krishna lifting the Govardhan Hill. The bas relief here, is over 27 meters long ( may well be the largest bass relief in the world ) shows the image of Lord Krishna lifting the Govardhan mountains with his finger. This also shows the river Ganga descending to Earth. On this relief are two beautifully carved elephants, beautiful carved women with clothing style of those days, there is also a carving of a cat, trying to meditate with its eyes shut with several mice running around it.

The Pandava rathas or Chariots are by the shore. There are 5 in all, rathas for Arjuna, Dharmaraja, Draupati, Bhima and one ratha for Nakul and Sahadeva.

The most beautiful temple of this complex is the Shore temple, which has 3 temples. There is a temple for Lord Vishnu which is in between 2 Shiva temples. The compound of this temple has carved Nandi’s.

The sculptures in this temple are not finely carved with intricate designs like the Hoysala temples of Karnataka. That is because of the nature of the stone on which the temples are carved. Hoysala temples are made of soap stone that are easy to carve and it is easy to draw out intricate patterns with them. But, the stones at Mahabs and Tanjoreare very hard and hence the statues do not have a smooth finish.

Though these temples are beautiful, in my opinion, they are not maintained well. In comparison to other heritage sites like Hampi and Tanjore that are also in the south, the maintenance at Mahabs needs a lot of improvement.

There are several goats in all the temple complexes. Be prepared to inhale the smell of goat shit and walk through their droppings while climbing the hillock to the Shiva temple. The view from the shiva temple, which is at a higher altitude is breathtaking.

The other important sites here are Krishna’s butter ball. It is a big round boulder, just standing on a large rock. Is it amazing how it is just standing there. A walk to the lighthouse is good, coz the views from there are beautiful.

There are a lot of places around Mahabalipuram that one can visit. They are Crocodile bank, Kanchipuram – the City of temples, Pondicherry and there are several resorts by the sea, where one can stop by for break fast or for Lunch.

Moonraker restaurant in Mahabalipuram is very popular among the localites and among the tourists. The best sea food is available here.

At Mahabalipuram, carving and sculpting is the main occupation of people. One can see many artisans making beautiful sculptures in their work shops. These pieces are expensive, but they look really beautiful. One can pick up several pieces of these for give aways.

There are several fishing hamlets around Mahabalipuram. If you wish to go for a catamaran ride, all one has to do is befriend a local fisherman. It must be remembered that it is not too safe. There is no safety equipment and no floating jackets. You will just be tied to the catamaran, and off you will go with the fisherman. As the catamaran glides over the waves, 90% of the time, you will find yourself in water, with only your shoulder sticking out. A ride for 1 hr can cost Rs. 100, but the experience is well worth it.

Getting there

Road : Mahabalipuram Is well connected by Road from Chennai and Pondicherry. It takes 1 hr to reach Mahabs from Chennai, and 2 hrs to reach from Pondi. There are several buses available to reach Mahabs.

Air : Chennai is the nearest airport

Best time : As Mahabs is by the coast, it is sultry and hot most time of the year. The winters between Oct and March can be very pleasant

Trip Duration : 1 day

Accomodation : There are several beach side resorts on East Coast Road, where one can stay to visit the Mahabalipuram at sunrise.

Eat Outs at ECR
Basera , 146, 2/169 East Coast Road, Vettuvankeni, Chennai, Tel: (044)24492361. Food Village, 1/81 East Road, Injambakkam, Chennai – 41, Tel: (044) 24492692, 24493309. Hot Kitchen , 78,79 Injambakkam Village, , Chennai – 41, Tel: (044) 24490730, 24493139

Accomodation :
GRT Temple Bay Beach Resorts, Mamallapuram – 603104, Tel: 04114-242251,242254 Quality Inn MGM , No. 1/74, New Mamallapuram Road , Muttukkadu – 603112, Tel: 04114-245435 . Fisherman's Cove Covelong Beach , Mamallapuram - 603112 , Tel: 04114-272304-310 . V G P Golden Beach Resort, East Coast Road , Injambakkam, Tel: 044-24491101

Kushalnagar

2005-09-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

First, I thought Coorg was a small town. When I actually decided to go there, I realized it is a district. It is one of the 22 districts in Karnataka.

Coorg has a large cover under forest, and has coffee and pepper plantations. The district is rich as Cauvery’s source is at TalaCauvery in the Coorg District. The river flows around through the district, making the place fertile for rice cultivation. Also, the mountaineous terrain ( western ghats ) brings in rains from the South West monsoon, which makes this place perfectly right for coffee and pepper plantations also.

The Kodavas the local people, are of the warrior class. Indians first Field Marshall was General Cariappa, who is a Kodava ( I hope I got his designation correct ) All the rulers of the time, had their eye on this beautiful and rich region, and wanted to make it a part of their territory, this resulted in a lot of wars. Tipu Sultan is supposed to have waged a lot of wars against the Kodavas, lots of them were taken to Mysore as prisoners of war, and were converted to Islam. I thought Tipu was religiously tolerant, but, I am sure, all of them had their wicked side.

As Tipu was helped by the French, the Kodava King sought the help of the British for support. The Brits stationed their troops in Coorg. The most important King of the Kodavas was King Muddanna, he was responsible for the progress. It was the British who encouraged the localites to start coffee and pepper plantations, as the climate and terrain is conducive. From then on, Coorg is a cash rich district, as it is one of the largest coffee producing districts in India.

The Kodavas are the only people who are permitted to carry a gun without license. This permission was given to them by the British those days, as there were a lot of raids by Tipu and other rulers. That legislation stayed. A small daggar is part of the traditional dress of the Kodavas. Kodavas pray river Cauvery and they consider it their mother, from where all life originates. They do not believe in idol worship, and pray their ancestors, and hence all homes have photos of all the elders in the family, who are no more. A oil lamp is lit every evening, in the honour of the deceased.

I got 3 days off during Independence Day, and hence I thought I will go to Coorg, to check out Kushalnagar. I have already been to Coorg, and hence this trip was not so much for the walks in the estates.

I stayed in a home stay called Alath Cad, about 240 kms from Bangalore. We started early at about 7.30 am. The route is simple, Bangalore – Mysore – Hunsur – Thitimathi – Polibetta – Alath Cad Estate on Ammithi Road. Driving through the estate is a great experience though the roads are bad. The greenery takes over. There are lot of Tata Estates here, and they have a golf course also. It took 6 and hrs to cover the distance, and we reached Alath Cad at out 2.30 pm.

Alath Cad is a 100 acre coffee / pepper estate. River Cauvery flows right through. Due to the abundant rainfall this year, the river was full and flowing at full force. Alath Cad has deluxe, super deluxe rooms and family suites. I travel budget and opted for the deluxe room, which cost me Rs. 1200 per head for bed, breakfast and dinner.

Mr and Mrs Muddiah run this place, and they are a very warm couple. This home stay is nice, coz, they have made walkable pathways through the estate with clear direction boards to the river, trekking route and the picnic spot. There are a few cycles available, you could take one of them and go around on your own.

The property also has a sports room with a good table tennis table, carom board, basket ball net and tennis / badminton court. At the lunch room aptly called ‘The Granary’, local delicacies are served for break fast, lunch and dinner.

Fortunately, it dint rain too hard. So, I was able to go off on long walks through the estate, and got some very impressive pictures of the spiders, there were just too many of them all around. We played in the river water for a while.

My entire purpose of getting to Coorg this time was Kushalnagar, and hence the next day, we set out fairly early. Kushal nagar is about 28 kms from Alath Cad, we took about 1 hrs to reach this place. Kushal nagar is the 2nd largest Tibetan settlement in India, and the monastery is called the Namdroling Monastery. There is a large hostel for the monks, a shopping complex selling every thing that you can imagine, and 2 temple complexes.

The first complex has a very ornate top, like the gopuram of a temple, but in Buddhist style. It had many Buddhist symbols on it. Even the floor had many paintings. Inside the monastery we found exquisite Buddha statues and the saints in golden colour. The walls all around had paintings in the Potala Style. Exquisite and intricate. I went click click.

The 2nd complex is the place where the Monks do their prayers. There are 3 large Buddha statues, dragons etc and a whole lot of sparrows I have not seen for many years. The chirping of the sparrows was really nice. On the floor, there were reading desks and small independent mattresses. Each desk has a book with scriptures and bell. There were large bells in this hall and large trumpets, dunno want to call them, they were nearly 30 feet in length.

The Buddhas in this hall were just huge, and massive. You will understand when you see my pictures of this place, I am not really finding the right words to explain. The walls here are again painted with Potala style paintings.

After Kushalnagar, we headed back to the estate. Nisargadhama, Harangi Dam and Dubare Elephant camp were on the way.

Nisargadhama is a place where river Cauvery turns and hence a small island is formed. There is a suspended bridge across the river. After you cross it, there is a park, you can spend some time and get back.

Harangi Dam is beautiful and due to the excess rain, the sluice gates were opened, and water was gushing out. The fizz of the water was creating rainbows and the splash was making every one wet. We climbed the dam structure, and on the other side of the dam, the Lake was like a sea. Photographs were not permitted here, security reasons. Ticket Rs. 2.

Dubare Elephant camp is a place were people can observe the life of elephants from dawn to dusk, starting with the bath in the river to eating and then their siesta. This camp which is a Jungle Lodges Property ( a Govt of Karnataka Enterprise )has 13 elephants. You have to cross Cauvery to get to the other side. As the river was full, we got into a ferry. I am told, otherwise, people can cross on foot. The star of the camp was a 2 year old elephant calf. She knew fully well she is more energetic than most of us grown up adults. The mahout allowed us to play with it. It kicked all of us and was hitting us with its trunk. It would give its truck to us, and when we hold it, it would shoo us off with force, with a thud. It was such a darling. It was getting dark, we wanted to leave.

Kushalnagar, Nisargama, Harangi dam and Dubare elephant camp can be done as a single day excursion from Alath Cad or Madikeri.

We dint’ go to Madikeri, due to lack on time. I should make a trip again, and stay specifically at Madikeri, so then, I will be able to visit Talacauvery and Omkareshar temple.

After we got back to the estate, we sipped hot Coorg coffee, ate sumptuous pakodas. I was glad we got back, just before it started pouring. We met up with the other couples who were staying at the estate, and had a big booze party. Men can think of no other way of enjoying life.

The next morning, I took a long stroll into the estate, clicked some more snaps of spiders and coffee berries. It was raining, and I took my umbrella. Went to the picnic spot. The trip was complete, when my brother acquired a leech.

At about 1 pm, we started driving back towards Bangalore. We reached at 7 pm. The trip was good fun. It was raining every night at Coorg, and also during the day. It din’t deter us, we really enjoyed it.

Getting there

By Road : Alath Cad is about 236 Kms from Bangalore and 113 Kms from Mysore. If you are going by car or biking, take Bangalore – Mysore – Hunsur – Thithimatti – Polibetta route. Alath Cad is on Ammithi Road. It takes 5 and hrs to drive from Bangalore.

Trip Duration : 3 days

Best time of the year : Throughout the year. Even the monsoons are enjoyable, if you love the rain.

Where to stay : If you wish to visit Kushalnagar and the other places I mentioned above, and want to have the coffee estate experience, try Alath Cad home stay. http://www.alathcadcoorg.com/

Mysore

2005-09-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

This is not a travelogue, just a write up for those interested in going to Mysore.

People who come to Bangalore, definitely go to Mysore.

I have been to Mysore several times. I had gone there for an excursion, along with my classmates. After moving to Bangalore, I have crossed this place several times. If you wish to go to Kabini, BR hills, Madikeri or any other place to the west of Bangalore, Mysore is most likely to be on the route.

Mysore to me, is like any other city – Madurai, Trichy or Tanjore, they all look the same. But, they have their own history, and their own monuments for the tourists. Today of couse, Mysore is decoming swank – with IT majors like Wipro and Infosys coming up with world class development and training facilities. Hence Mysore is getting hot.

Situated 770m above sea level, Mysore has a warm and cool climate throughout the year. Mysore can be a single day trip, and it is not necessary to stay there as such. There are couple of places to see here – the Palace, Brindavan Gardens and Zoo in Mysore proper. Srirangapatnam used to be the strong hold of Tipu Sultan. You will find here Tipus’ fort and his tomb.

A little history about Mysore is essential to appreciate the place, the Palaces, the forts and the people in general.

Mysore was the Capital City of the Wodeyar Dynasty. The Wodeyars ruled Mysore from 1399 A.D to 1948 A.D. The name 'Mysore' has been derived from 'Mahishasurapura', name of the demon who was slained by Goddess Chamundeshwari. The glory of the Wodeyars can be seen in the palaces, vast gardens, shady avenues and temples which are present even today. Wodeyars have contributed a great deal towards arts and culture. Mysore was the only highly industrialized and progressive native state in India in steel, silk, soaps and also hydro-electricity. The kingdom was benefitted from visionaries like Sir Mirza Ismail and Sir M. Vishweswaria who served under the Wodeyars. In fact, they had their own private railway lines and 3 main stations, to move Gold from the Kolar gold fields to Mysore. The old stations at Kolar, Bangalore and Mysore belongs to the Wodeyar kings.

Talking about Mysore’s history, can we forget Srirangapattana . The two are not only geographically closer but almost fused together historically. Mysore became independent after the fall of the Vijayanagar empire(1565) and remained so till the independence of (rest of) India in 1947.

Hyder Ali and Tippu Sultan were Mysore Rajas based in Srirangapattana.

I usually go deep into history, and do it this time again. If you want to get to the ‘where to go, what to do’ part, skip to the bottom most part of the travelogue.

Haidar Ali Khan [1722-82] was a warrior chieftain. A Muslim from a peasant family, he rose to command the army of the Hindu state of Mysore. By 1761 he was virtual ruler of Mysore and began expanding the dominions of that kingdom at the expense of the Maratha states and Hyderabad. In 1767 the British, in alliance with Hyderabad and the Marathas, took the field against Haidar. They were soon deserted by their allies. Haidar, after some initial reverses, took his army to the outskirts of Madras and dictated the peace (1769).

Angered by the British refusal to honor a defensive alliance (formed in accordance with the 1769 peace terms) in 1772 and by their seizure of Mahé from the French in 1779, Haidar invaded the Carnatic with 20000 men, in 1780 and routed a British force under Colonels Braithwaite and Baillie . In 1781, a year after this, the two armies met again, and Hyder Ali’s forces were defeated by Sir Eyre Coote at Porto Novo, on the Madras coast, and at Pollilore.

Haider Ali died a year after this.

Tipu Sulta [1749-99] succeeded Haider Ali and was a genius, rather different in nature from his father. It is claimed that Haidar was of the Sunni or Orthodox Islamic faith. Tipu was a mystic, with a mystic's fervour. Tipus personal library consisted of more than 2,000 books in different languagesFrom the first, Tipu took the tiger as his personal symbol, and upon his accession to the throne in 1782, he made it the official emblem of the state of Mysore. Throughout India, he was known as 'The Tiger of Mysore'. Even the stripes upon his clothing, and upon the upholstery of his throne and the cushions of his chamber, represented the stripes of the tiger. His throne had eight corners, surmounted by eight tiger heads, and the whole throne was set as though across the back of a tiger, whose huge gold head projected in front. His canons, pistols and other artillery also carried the tiger symbol.

Tipu had inherited the war against the British from his father. He continued the war, and defeated them in 1783.

Tipu Sultan was a farsighted person who could foresee East India Company's design to get entrenched in India. He therefore negotiated with the French for help and also sought assistance from the Amir of Afghanistan and the Sultan of Turkey. The British were scared of Tipu's growing strength and after their defeat in 1783 they formed an alliance with the Nizam of Hyderabad and Marathas. The French, however, deserted Tipu after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The British availed the chance with the help of the Nizam and the Marathas, and started the third Anglo-Mysore war in 1790.

As long as the British fought alone, Tipu always defeated them. But he could not come over their diplomacy, conspiracy and intrigue. Thus he was defeated in his capital, Seringapatam, and was forced to sign a humiliating treaty on March 22, 1792. As a result he had to concede half of his kingdom and pay an indemnity of 33 million rupees to the British and their allies. The alliance between the adversaries was soon broken and in 1795 the British, after defeating the Nizam, once again turned their attention towards Mysore.

After the treaty at Seringapatam, Tipu Sultan did not waste his time and made extensive preparations against the British. He had rebuilt his war machine in the shortest possible time with the help of the French. The British regarded it as a violation of the treaty. This led to the start of the fourth Anglo-Mysore war in 1798 with the help of the Nizam. The French were unable to provide the needed support to Tipu Sultan. Tipu Sultan retreated to his capital and continued fighting till he breathed his last in May 1799. Tipu Sultan is buried at a mausoleum that he himself had built, along with his father Haider Ali and his mother Fatima Begum.
After the death of Tipu, the centre of gravity shifted to Mysore and the kingdom was returned to the Wodeyars by the British in 1799 A.D.

At this point, I am forced to think, how successful the British were with their divide and rule policy. Had Tipu, joined hands with the Marathas and the Nizam and Hyderabad, the combined forces could have moved the British out of India.

Mysore City with its ambience and splendour, remained for the British as a well-earned conqueror’s resort in which they could patronise their royalty and build a few comfortable buildings for themselves.

Mysore was the political capital of the Wodeyar dynasty which ruled the state of Karnataka for some 150 years till the independence of the country from the British. These kings were great patrons of art and culture and Mysore was the cultural capital of the south under the rule of the Wodeyars. The Wodeyars made the Dasara festival an event.

As you go around Mysore and Seringapatna, you will find several palaces that showcase the splendor of these rulers.

Mysore Palace - The Maharaja's Palace is one of the important sights in Mysore. Built in Indo-Saracenic style, the Palace is a treasure house of exquisite carvings and works of art from all over the world. It was re-constructed in 1912, coz the old palace was destroyed in a fire accident. It took 15 yrs to build it. Intricately carved doors open on to luxuriously furnished rooms. The majestic Durbar Hall has an ornate ceiling and many sculpted pillars and paintings depicting scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharata. The magnificent jewel studded 200 KG golden throne of the Wodeyars is displayed here during the Dasera festival. Illuminated on Sundays and public holidays ,the palace presents a spectacle of breathtaking beauty.

Daria Daulat Bagh - Tipu's Summer Palace, built in 1784, is located here. Made of teak, this Indo-Sarcenic structure has ornate and beautiful frescos. It is now a museum and tells eloquently of Tipu's valor and his losing battle against the British.

Fort - It is here that Tipu charged at the British soldiers with his legendary sword. An obelisk in the fort marks the place where he fell -betrayed by his own men. The fort holds within it, a mosque and the Ranganathaswamy Temple. Outside the fort is the Gumbaz, Tipu's tomb with splendid ebony doors inlaid with ivory.

Chamundi Hills - Chamundi Hill can be reached by a 13 km road or by climbing up the 1,000 steps laid out by the Mysore Maharaja in the 17th century. Half-way up along the stone steps is Nandi, Lord Shiva's Bull, a majestic 4.8 metre monolith. At the top is the 12th century temple of Chamundeshwari, the patron goddess of the Wodeyars.Close to the temple is the gigantic statue of the demon Mahishasura. The summit offers a panoramic view of Mysore's lakes, parks and palaces.

Brindavan Gardens - Located at the KR Sagar Dam [Kannambadi], Brindavan Gardens is one of the best gardens in South India. Spread over 150 acres, Brindavan Gardens has since the 1960s provided the backdrop for many Indian films. Special attractions include the 'Dancing Fountains'. In Dec 2004 the entire garden was revamped with new fountains and lights.

St. Philomena’s church, Mysore Zoo and the Art Gallery are also worth a visit. There are lots of places around Mysore that may be of interest. They are Himvad Gopalaswamy Hills for trekkers and has a temple at the top, Melkote ( 50 kms ), Talakad ( 48 kms ), Sivasamudram Waterfalls ( 85 kms ), Nagarhole National Park ( 93 kms ), Kabini River Lodge ( 83 kms ), B. R. Hills ( 120 kms ), Mekadatu and Ranganna Thittu bird sanctuary.

Getting There

Mysore is a important city in Bangalore and is well connected by Rail and Roads.

Road : 130 kms from Bangalore.

Rail : Mysore has its own railway station. There are several trains to Mysore from Bangalore. There is also a Shatabdi Express between Chennai and Mysore via Bangalore.

Air : Bangalore – 130 kms

Best time : Throughout the year

Trip Duration : 1 or 2 days

Accomodation :
Dasprakash Paradise, 104, Vivekananda Road, Yadavagiri. Phone: +91-821-410366/515655 . Fax: +91-821-514400
Hotel Kaynes (3 Star), 85 - 87, Hootagalli, BEML Road (Off Hunsur Road), Mysore - 571186. Phone: +91-821-402931/403104. Fax: +91-821-402934
Hotel Metropole, J.L.B.Road. Phone: +91-821-520681.
Hotel Mayura Hoysala, 2 Jhansi Lakshmi Bai Rd, Mysore - 570005. Phone: +91-821-423492.
King's Kourt, J.L.B. Road, Mysore - 570005. Phone: +91-821-421142, Fax: +91-821-422384

Halebid

2005-08-02T13:47:00.000-07:00

Everyone talks about Belur alone. But Halebid temple is in a class of its own. If you asked me, I would say that I find Halebid temple more beautiful than the one at Belur.

Shravanabelagola, Belur and Halebid can be covered as a single day trip from Bangalore, Mysore or Hassan. Or Hassan, which is just 27 kms away, can be a good central point to visit these 3 places.

Halebid ( pronounced Halebeedu ) was called Dwarasamudra, and it used to be the capital of the Hoysala kings during the 12th Century. The Hoysalas shifted the capital to Belur due to 2 reasons. Halebid was attached very often by the invaders from the north. In 1311 Malik Kafur invaded Halebid and carried away all the treasures. In 1326, Muhamad Bin Tughlak invaded and took away what was left. After the death of King Ballalla – 3, the city was reduced to poverty.

In the 17th Century, King Vishnuvardhan abandoned Halebid. He defeated the Chola Kings at Talacad, and built his new capital Belur to commemorate his victory.

Halebid’s temple is one of the finest examples of the Hoysala style of architecture. It is made of soap stone, is a homogeneous structure that stands on a star shaped platform, and has beautiful carvings on the inside as well as the outside of the temple. This temple has 4 doors, and is unique coz it has 2 Garbha Grahas or Sanctum Sanctorum. In both these sanctums are large Shiva lingas. Puja is not conducted here.

I wonder why the king made 2 sanctums in one temple, in one large hall. I am told one is temple of Vishnuvardhan Hoysaleshwawra Linga and the other is of Shantaleshwara Linga. To me, both looked the same.

So, for each of these Shiva Lingas, there is a Nandi which is right in the front, facing the diety. The Nandi’s also have their temple, called Nandi Mandaps, smaller but equally beautiful.

Behind the Nandi Mandap is the Surya temple, the Surya idol is over 2 metres tall, and is beautiful.

The exteriors of these temples are beautiful, decorated with panels of warriors, dancers, horses, elephants, mythical creatures. There are beautiful apsaras, and there are several sculptures of hindu deities, and scenes from Mahabharat, Ramayan and Bhagavat Gita. The sculptures here are larger than the ones you will find at Belur, and are carved on both sides of the stone.

There are other temples in Halebid, They are Kedareshwara temple, Trikuta Temple, Hoysaleswara Temple, Sri Ranganath temple and the Jain Mandir.

I visited only the main temple. It took about 90 minutes to go around , and to look at each and every sculpture. You will recognize most of them as Shiva Parvathy, Bhrahma, Krishna, Arjuna, Ganesha etc. The sculptures are very beautiful. The temple is well maintained, but, as in the case of most monuments in India, there are many sculptures were the hands, parts of jewelry, head and other parts are missing. There are several notices placed here by the Archeological society at vantage points, indicating that it is prohibited to touch the sculptures. But, at many places, you will find scribblings by people, who have tried to engrave their names on the sculptures and on the pillars.

Never the less, whatever we are able to see today is because of the good work of the Archeological society. The lawn and gardens are well maintained. There are several dustbins, so the place is fairly clean.

There are several guides here, whom one can engage for an explanation for each of the sculpture…but, I think, it is better to avoid them.

Right outside the temple, there are several shops selling artifacts made in soap stone.

Halebid temple can get hot in the summer, as the stones get heated up. Wearing socks will be a good option as wearing footwear is not permitted inside the complex.

Getting There :

Road : Halebid is about 220 kms from Bangalore and is well connected by road from Bangalore, Hassan, Mysore and other important places.

For all those who visit Bangalore or Mysore on a vacation, I think visiting Belur, Halebid and Shravanabelagola is a must. Belur is 14 kms South West of Halebid.

Trip Duration : 1 day

Best time : Any time of the year

Accomodation : Hassan has good accommodation facilities. Belur, Halebid and Shravanabelagola can be covered as a single day excursion, either from Bangalore, Mysore or from Hassan.

Belur

2005-07-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

Belur. Belur. Beautiful temple, wonderful sculptures. Heard so much of it. So, one day I finally got there.

I went to Chikmaglur, and on the way visited Shravanabelagola and Halebid. On the way back to Bangalore, we visited the famous Chennakesava Temple at Belur. It does not justify doing a single travelogue for all the 4 places. And, hence, this one is on Belur.

We had already spent 2 days at Chikmaglur and were completely rejuvenated. On the way back, we halted at Belur. We has passed through the same way during the onward journey, and hence we knew exactly which place to turn to get to the temple.

The area around Belur temple, was like any other temple town. There was a large entrance gate with a gopuram, there was a Dhwaja stamba ( Pillar ) with colourful flags flying at the top. Nice scene.

The temple rose majestically on a star shaped platform. It is similar in architecture to the temple at Halebid. The Star shaped platform, short temples with beautiful sculptures without a gopuram at the top, is the hallmark of the Hoysala architectural style.

The kings of TamilNadu made temples that rose to the sky. They had really tall and colourful gopurams. They Chola kings showed their strength by making the tallest structures. The standards in Karnataka are quite contrary. The Hoysala temples are all short without gopuram, but the beauty and the intricate designs of the sculptures are unparalleled.

Yadava Kings defeated Chalukyas, Cholas and Pandyas and became the most powerful rulers of the south. The Hoysala dynasty originally had their capital at Haledid ( 17 kms from Belur ) where they ruled for over 150 yrs. Halebid was attacked continuously in the 14th Century by invaders, because of which it has to be abandoned. The seat of power was shifted to Belur.

King Vishnuvardhan was one of the powerful rulers, and to commemorate his conversion from Jainism to Vaishnavism, he built the Channakeshava temple at his Capital Belur. It is also said that he built the temple to celebrate his victory over the Cholas at Talkad.

In those days temples were not just places of worship. They had other purposes too, a temple doubled up as a justice court, treasure house, an institution to impart ethical education and promoted various art forms – dance, music and arts.

The temple has a main gate with a short rising gopuram. Right in front is the Dhwaja Stamba ( flag post. All temples have a flag post, and the colour and design of the flag is unique to each temple ) and then a statue of Garuda – the Vaahan of Lord Vishnu. Garuda kneels on the floor with his hands joined in submission to the Lord. He faces the sanctum sanctorum.

The main temple made is made of soap stone, and is a homogeneous unit on a star shaped platform. Every possible surface is covered with the most beautiful and intricate carvings of apsaras, elephants, bulls, army men on horses. There are sculptures indicating scenes from the Ramayan, Mahabhratha, other stories from Hindu Mythology, Puranas, Vedas and the Upanishads.

The main temple is surrounded by smaller temples – dedicated to Soumyanayaki and Ranganayaki – the consorts of Lord Keshava. There are temples for Narasimha and Anjaneya too.

On entering the interiors of the Channakeshava temple, you will find the carved royal emblem of the Hoysala dynasty, which is King Sala killing the tiger. This emblem can be found in all the Hoysala temples.

The temples interiors are as beautiful as the exteriors. The presiding diety is one of the Lord Krishna or Kesava and he is called Vijaya Narayana here. The statue is 6 feet tall and is in the sanctum of the main temple, it is said to be installed in 1117 A.D. There are several beautifully carved pillars, each one with a unique theme – one for Narasimha, there is a Mohini pillar and the ceiling has beautiful apsaras.

There is a water tank in the temple, which may have been used by pilgrims and tourists to bathe in the olden days. The temple has corridors attached to the high compound wall, which would have been used by travelers to rest. Currenly, a part of it is used by the temple adminstration.

The government is maintaining the complex well. I am sure, it would be a beautiful sight to visit the temple in night light, but, we did not have time for that.

It was sad to see several parts of the panels missings. Many of the carved warriors did not have heads, the dancers did not have hands, and this way, for every 4 feet of carved panels on the temple exteriors, there was 1 feet that was damaged.

There are several guides, whom you can engage while you go around the temple. It would take about an hour and half to go around the temple, if you spend time observing each of the beautiful sculptures.

We were to remove footwear to enter the complex. It was really hot to walk around. Water was poured on the floor continuously by the officials to ensure that visitors could have a comfortable walk around the temple.

I took about 1 and half hours to see the temple completely. I had visited Halebid earlier, and found Belur similar to Halebid. Outside the temple, there are several shops on the road where sculptures made of soap stone are sold. I bargained to purchase a Nandi. It was very expensive and I had to leave it.

We left Belur at about 4 pm and reached Bangalore at 7.30 pm in the night.

Getting There :

Road : Belur is about 220 kms from Bangalore and is well connected by road from Bangalore, Hassan, Mysore and other important places.

For all those who visit Bangalore or Mysore on a vacation, I think visiting Belur, Halebid and Shravanabelagola is a must.

Trip Duration : 1 day

Best time : Any time of the year

Accomodation : Hassan has good accommodation facilities. Belur, Halebid and Shravanabelagola can be covered as a single day excursion, either from Bangalore, Mysore or from Hassan.

Where to eat : Close to the temple, there is a restaurant called Vishnu Prabha. The serve thali meals in the afternoons…and there are several items on the menu. The food is good, and the rates are nominal.

Shravanabelagola

2005-07-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

I have seen pictures of Gomateshwara, and have heard that it is the largest monolithic statue in India. The more pictures I saw, the more I wanted to go to the place to see him for myself.

I had planned Shravanabelagola several times, but it never materialized. Finally we made it, but on the way to Chikmaglur. We visted Belur and Halebid temple complexes as well.

These three places can be visited from Bangalore as a single day excursion.

One can reach Shravanabelagola by road, and the route is simple. Drive from Bangalore – towards Hassan via Nelamangala. After Nelamangala, one has to take a 18 kms detour towards a small village on the left to reach Shravanabelagola.

You will find yourself driving through small villages, paddy fields and the scenery looks beautiful. I remembered that the Gomateshwara temple is on the top of a small hillock, but there were no hillocks at sight. I was wondering, if we were going in the right way. Then suddenly, we saw the statue of Gomateshwara rising high on top of the hillock.

A few hillocs appear in the horizon and one can see a temple at the top. The statue of Gomateshware can be seen as we drive closer to the temple premise.

We left Bangalore at about 7.30 am and we reached Shravanabelagola temple premises at about 9 am.

We parked the car in the parking lot. The scenery around was like that of any other temple town. There were rows of shops for pooja items – flowers, baskets with coconut, agarbathis, betel leaves, saffron, framed photos of the diety and religious books. As Mahavir is the God of the Jains, there were a lot of Jains in the area.

We had a quick breakfast in the nearby restaurant. Idlis are best when you travel. Coffee in these areas is also good, as we are now close to coffee country – Chikmaglur.

We deposited our footwear at the temple entrance. We purchased socks from a local vendor for Rs. 25 per pair. First we thought that it is not going to be of much use. But, we realized that as the time went by, the mountain steps started getting hot like a oven. The socks really helped.

There are 2 hillocks and a pond here - Chandragiri and Indragiri. Chandragiri has the Chandragupta basadi of the Gangas and the Parashwanatha basadi here is the biggest. The town below the hill has the Jaina matha whose walls have very old paintings.

Indragiri has the Gomateshwara monolith, 58' tall, installed by a Ganga general and scholar Chavundaraya, and also Siddhara basadi, Odegal basadi, Chennanna basadi and Chauvvisa Tirthankara basadi, and also the finely engraved pillar called Tyagada Brahma Pillar. The floral designs on it are excellent.

To the north of town is Jinanathapura which has the Aregal basadi and the Shantinatha basadi of Hoysala times.

Shravanabelagola has over 500 inscriptions, and some of them are recording death by starving (`sallekhana') by Jaina ascetics and laymen.

Indragiri has nearly 600 steps to the top, where the Gomateshwara statue is present. These steps are not steep like in the case of Tirupati steps, but, as you go higher, one tends to get tired. There are two sets of steps – one set to go up, and one set to come down.

We started climbing the steps slowly. We decided that we ought to finish the entire thing, climbing up, darshan and climbing down in 1 and half hours. We had to proceed to Halebid and Belur after this.

As we reached a little higher, we could get a complete view of the town below. It looked really beautiful with all the coconut trees and the terracotta tiled roofs on top of the buildings. Right in front of the temple is a small temple tank, and its view with the water and the reflection of the gopuram in the water, looked beautiful. Right in front of this temple, was another hillock - Chandragiri, with temple on top of it. We could see the steps and could see people climbing the stairs. We took a few quick photographs.

We found people of all ages climbing the steps. For old people who cannot climb, there were palanquin bearers, who would take carry you up on a chair for Rs. 150 ( one way ). We saw several old people using this service.

We reached the temple on the top in about 30 mins. We took a little rest as we were running short of breath. The temple had a larger entrance and had huge doors. It has statues of several dieties and several inscriptions in a language I could not understand.

We entered the premise and then the statue of the Gomateshwara appeared in front of us. He was so tall and beautiful. Wonderful features were chiseled on stone by master craftsmen. There were devotees performing puja.

We spend some time, outside the temple, looking at the scenery below the hillock - lots of coconut trees and beautiful fields.

I must say that the temple is being maintained quite well, and I felt glad that at last I could do this trip to see the Gomateshwara.

A special puja is held once in 10 years. At this time, Gomateshwaras statue is bathed with milk, honey, curd, ashes, sweets, ghee and other important ingredients. Special poojas are also performed here during Mahavir Jayanthi.

How to get there :

By Air / Rail : Bangalore ( 157 Kms )

By Road : Shravanabelagola is well connected by road from all important towns in Karnataka. You can here from Mysore, Bangalore or Hassan.

Best time : Any time of the year, but during summer, a pair of socks can come in handy. The boulders can get really hot in summer

Trip duration : 1 day

Places to stay : One goes to Shravanabelagola while visiting Belur and Halebid. The best places to stay at are in Hassan, Chikmaglur and in Bangalore. It is not really necessarily to stay at Shravanabelagola.

Madurai

2005-07-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

Madurai is a filthy temple city and is the 2nd largest in Tamilnadu. Off late it has become popular because it is home to one of the largest Hindu temple complex – the Madurai Meenaksi Temple.

Every time I went to Madurai, I took the Pandian Express, it leaves Chennai Egmore Station at 8 pm and reaches Madurai at about 8 am the next morning.

Situated on the banks of river Vaigai, Madurai has a rich cultural heritage passed on from the great Tamil era more than 2500 years old. Madurai was an important cultural and commercial centre even as early as 550 AD. It was the capital city for the great Pandya kings.

The Pandyan King Kulasekarar built a great temple – the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple and created a lotus shaped city around the temple. On the day the city was to be named, as Lord Shiva blessed the land and its people, divine nectar (Madhu) was showered on the city from his matted locks. This city was henceforth known as Madhurapuri.

The entire city of Madurai, is built around the Temple. Concentric rectangular streets surround the temple, symbolizing the structure of the cosmos.

As early as the 3rd century BC, Megasthanes visited Madurai. Later many people from Rome and Greece visited Madurai and established trade with the Pandya kings. Madurai flourished till 10th century AD when it was captured by Cholas the arch rivals of the Pandyas.

The Cholas ruled Madurai from 920 AD till the beginning of the 13th century. In 1223 AD Pandyas regained their kingdom and once again become prosperous. Pandian Kings patronised Tamil language in a great way. During their period, many master-pieces were created, Silapathikaram being one of them.

In April 1311, Malik Kafur, the general of Alauddin Khilji who was then the ruler of Delhi, reached Madurai and raided and robbed the city off precious stones, jewels, and other rare treasures. This led to the subsequent raids by other Muslim Sultans. In 1323, the Pandya kingdom including Madurai became a province of the Delhi empire, under the Tughlaks.

In 1371, the Vijayanagar dynasty of Hampi captured Madurai and it became part of the Vijayanagar empire. Kings of this dynasty were in habit of leaving the captured land to governors called Nayaks. This was done for the efficient management of their empire.
The Nayaks paid fixed amount annually to the Vijayanagar empire. After the death of Krishna Deva Raya (King of Vijayanagar empire) in 1530 AD, the Nayaks became independent and ruled the territories under their control. Among Nayaks, Thirumalai Nayak (1623-1659) was very popular, even now he is popular among people, since, it was he who contributed to the creation of many magnificent structures in and around Madurai. The Raja Gopuram of the Meenakshi Amman Temple, The Pudu Mandapam and The Thirumalai Nayakar's Palace are living monuments to his artistic fervor.

Madurai started slipping into the hands of the British's East India Company. In 1781, British appointed their representatives to look after Madurai. George Procter was the first collector of Madurai.After India's independence, Madurai is one of the major districts of Tamilnadu State. Later on Madurai district was bifurcated into two districts namely Madurai and Dindugul Districts.

The history of Madurai will not be complete without mentioning the name of Rani Mangammal, the woman of great skill and sagacity. History does not provide many instances of ruling queens in Tamil Nadu. Though it was considered that women were not suited to succeed the throne of a kingdom, Rani Mangammmal, however shines in almost solitary eminence as an able and powerful ruler in Tamil Nadu.

Madurai is famous for its temples. The Aappudaiyaar Koyil Tevara Stalam and the Koodalazhagar Divya Desam are the most important temples one should rarely miss to go. In the vicinity of Madurai is Tirupparamkunram, one of the 6 padai veedu shrines of Murugan (glorified in Madurai Sangam Nakeerar’s Tirumurugaatruppadai). Also is Alagar Koyil, one of the prominent Divya Desam shrines of the Sri Vaishnavite faith.

Meenakshi - SundareshwararTemple - The enormous temple complex is dedicated to Shiva, known here as Sundareshvara and his consort Parvati or Meenakshi. The original temple was built by Kulasekara Pandya, but the entire credit for making the temple as splendid as it is today goes to the Nayaks.

The temple complex is within a high-walled enclosure, at the core of which are the two sanctums for Meenakshi and Sundareshwara, surrounded by a number of smaller shrines and grand pillared halls. Especially impressive are the 12 gopuras or towers and are covered with stucco figures of dieties, mythical animals and monsters painted in vivid colours.

Many festivals are celebrated in the Meenakshi temple which is known as the 'Temple of feasts'. The numerous festivals celebrated at the shrine almost around the year, represent the ideas and thoughts of the cultured and progressive people of that region in the field of philosophy, religion, science and art.

The other important features of complexes within the temple complex are the Ashta Shakthi Mandapam, Meenakshi Nayakkar Mandapam, Potramaraikulam ( Golden Lotus Pond ), Oonjal Mandama ( Swing Mandapam ), Swami Sundareswarar Shrine, Velli Ambalam or Silver Hall, 1000 pillar mandapam with the musical pillars, Vasantha Mandapam,Thirumalai

Nayakars Palace - Nayaka's architectural masterpiece was his own palace. Even in its present remnants show, what a marvellous building it should have been when it was completed in 1636 A.D. There is a tradition that Chokkanatha Nayaka, his grandson, dismantled portions of the palace and its golden decorations and other ornamental structures and transferred them to Tiruchirapally. The great palace was allowed to be neglected and go to ruin. In 1886 A.D., when Lord Napier was the British Governor of Madras, he ordered to preserve this palace as a historical monument.

Vaigai Dam – This dam on river Vaigai is a very beautiful picnic spot, obviously, it is across the Vaigai river.

Kodai Kanal – Kodai is a hill station and is about 120 kms from Madurai.

Getting there :

Air : Madurai has a airport.

Road : Madurai is well connected by Road from all the other major cities.

Rail : Madurai has a railway station

Trip Duration : 2 days

Getting Around : Autos or Taxis

Best time to get there : August to November

Accomodation :

Hotel Royal Court , 4, West VeliI Street, Madurai - 625 001 , Opp: Railway Station,
Phone: +91-452 - 5356666(Hunting Lines) , Fax: 0452 - 5373333 , Email: royalcourt@eth.net

Hotel Best Western Germanus, 28,Bypass Road, Arasaradi, Madurai-625 010. Phone : 91-452-2382001 (7 LINES) , Fax : 91-452-2381478

Hotel Madurai Residency, 15,West Marret Street, Madurai -1. , Phone : 0452 2343140

Madura Park Inn, 38, Madakulam Main Road, Palanganatham, Madurai - 3. Phone:2371155

Taj Garden Retreat, Pasumalai Hill, Madurai-4 , Ph:2371601 (8 lines)

Madurai Meenakshi Temple

2005-06-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

This write up is a feature on the Madurai Meenakshi temple. The size of this temple amazes me. And therefore, decided not to make it a part of the Madurai travelogue, but, cover it separately.

Madurai city is famous for its Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple and the Jasmine flowers.

The Pandyan King Kulasekarar built a great temple and created a lotus shaped city around it, which is the modern day Madurai. Concentric rectangular streets surround the temple, symbolizing the structure of the cosmos.

The enormous temple complex is dedicated to Shiva, known as Sundareshvara and his consort Parvati or Meenakshi. The original temple was built by Kulasekara Pandya, but the entire credit for making the temple as splendid as it is today goes to the Nayaks. The Nayaks ruled Madurai from the 16th to the 18th century.

The temple complex is within a high-walled enclosure, at the core of which are the two sanctums for Meenakshi and Sundareshwara, surrounded by a number of smaller shrines and grand pillared halls.

Especially impressive are the 12 gopuras. Their soaring towers rise from solid granite bases, and are covered with stucco figures of dieties, mythical animals and monsters painted in vivid colours.

Temple Towers - There are 12 temple towers(Gopurams). The outer towers are the landmarks of Madurai. They are:

1. East Tower (Nine Storeys). Height 161'3". This Gopura has 1011 sudhai figures. 2. South Tower (Nine Storeys). Height 170'6". This Tower has 1511 sudhai figures. 3. West Tower (Nine Storeys). Height 163'3". This Tower has 1124 sudhai figures. 4. North Tower (Nine Storeys). Height 160'6". This Tower has lesser figures of sudhai than other outer towers.

These towering gateways indicate the entrance to the temple complex at the four cardinal points, while lesser gopuras lead to the sanctums of the main dieties.

Ashta Shakthi Mandapam - A visitor who enters the temple through the eastern gateway, first enters this Mandapam(Hall). It was built by Thirumalai Nayakar's wives Rudrapathi Ammal and Tholimamai. In this hall food was once distributed to the devotees who came from far off places.

Meenakshi Nayakkar Mandapam - This big hall is adjacent to Ashta Shakthi Mandapam, consisting of 110 pillars carrying the figures of a peculiar animal with a lion's body , and an elephant's head called Yalli. It is used for shops and stores. And this hall has a votive lamp-holder with 1,008 lamps, which are lit on festive occasions and present a spectacular sight
The sculptures on the pillars here relate some of Lord Shiva's Thiruvilayadals (miracles) and also the story of Meenakshi's birth and her life as the princess of Madurai.

Potramaraikulam (Golden Lotus tank) - This temple tank is an ancient tank where devotees take bath in the holy water. The area around this tank was the meeting place of the Tamil Sangam - the ancient academy of poets.

Oonjal Mandapam - The Oonjal (swing) Mandapam and Killikoontu (parrot cage) Mandapam are on the western side of the tank. Every Friday, the golden idols of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar are seated on the swing in the Oonjal Mandapam and hymns are sung as the deities gaily swing to and fro.

The parrots in the Kilikoontu Mandapam have been trained to repeat Meenakshi's name. But more interesting are the 28 pillars of the mandapam which exhibit some excellent Sculptures of figures from Hindu mythology.

Swami Sundareswarar Shrine - Lord Sundareswarar (Shiva) the consort of Goddess Meenakshi is to the north of Kilikoontu Mandapam . On your way you can worship a gigantic idol of Sri Ganesh called Mukkurini Pillaiyar. When the king Thirumalai Nayakar excavated a temple tank 3 km from Meenakshi temple he unearthed this idol of Vinayaka and erected the same here.

In the outer pragaram (corridor outside the main shrine) there is stump of the kadamba tree, which is said to be a part of the same tree under which Indra worshipped Shiva linga.

Also in the outer corridor there are the Kadambathadi Mandapam and big hall called Velli Ambalam. Here, an idol of Nataraja (Shiva as the Lord of Dance) is seen. This idol of Nataraja is covered with silver leaves. Hence this hall is named as Velli Ambalam (Silver Hall)..

The Thousand Pillar Mandapam - It is the 'wonder of the palace'. Actually the number of pillars count to 985 beautifully decorated columns. Each pillar is sculptured and is a monument of the Dravidan sculpture. There is a Temple Art Museum in this 1000 pillars hall where you can see icons, photographs, drawings, etc., exhibiting the 1200 years old history. There are so many other smaller and bigger mandapams in the temple.

The thousand pillar mandapam is supposed to have been built by Arya Natha Mudaliyar , the Prime Minister of the first Nayaka of Madurai (1559-1600 A.D.) and the founder of 'Poligar System'. An equestrian statue of the Mudaliyar flanks one side of the steps leading to the 'mandapam'.

Just outside this mandapam ,towards the west, are the Musical Pillars. Each pillar when stuck, produces a different musical note. The kalyana mandapa, to the south of the pillared hall, is where the marriage of Shiva and Parvati is celebrated every year during the Chitirai Festival in mid- April.

Vasantha Mandapam - This mandapam was built by Thirumalai Nayakkar. Vasanthosavam - the Spring festival-is celebrated in this mandapam in Vaikasi (April/May). Its pillars contain elaborate sculptures of Shiva, Meenakshi, scenes from their wedding as well as the figures of ten of the Nayak Kings and their consorts. This is also called Pudhu Mandapam.

The hall's other statues explore the entire range of human emotions. In the corner is the statue of the fierce Bhadrakali. Small balls of butter are hurled at the deity by the devotees to appease her anger.

The monolith figure of Rati(goddess of love) is a marvellous sculpture. The slightly elongated Pandyan beauty wears large earings. Her arms, neck, waist, bosom and feet are encrusted with swirls over thighs, calf muscles and ankles. She has long hair done in a loose knot. She sits astride a swan. The foot of the flag shaft is guilded with gold and faces the shrine directly.
Being in the heart of Tamilnadu, Madurai has fostered through centuries, an essentially Dravidian and Tamil culture. It was in Madurai that three successful Tamil academies, known as Sangams flourished under the benevolent royal support.

Madurai is famed as one of the five traditional dance halls of Shiva where in his aspect as Nataraja, he is standing on the right foot, while in all other four halls, he is standing on his left foot. The famous hall ,is known as the 'Rajatha Sabha' {Silver Hall) or Vasantha Mandapam, as contrasted with 'Ponnambalam', the 'Hall of Gold' in Chidambaram.

The Sangam period poet Nakkeerar is associated with some of the Thiruvilayaadal episodes of Sundareswarar - that are enacted as a part of temple festival traditions even today.

Additions were made to the temple several times, and it was also renovated several times. During the year 1960A.D., some of these figures were completely rebuilt and painted with gorgeous colours at great cost by Nattukottai Chettis. The northern 'gopuram' long known as "Mettai " is no there longer since a courageous Chetty endowed it with the plaster top; still it carried terracotta figures.

No one enters or leaves the temple by the eastern tower which has become a taboo since a temple employee flung himself down from its top in the reign of Chokkanatha nayaka as a protest against an unjust levy. Visitors generally enter by the Ashta Lakshmi Mandapam.

An interesting incident is revealed by the local people which happened during the time of renovation work in 1923 A.D. While depicting the coronation of Meenakshi, the artist out of his own imagination included the figure of Mahatma Gandhi among the figures of audience. Some British officers who noticed it seem to have taken objection to it. It is understood that the figure of Gandhi was altered to depict a sage with a long beard.

Many festivals are celebrated in the Meenakshi temple which is known as the 'Temple of feasts'. The numerous festivals celebrated at the shrine almost around the year, represent the ideas and thoughts of the cultured and progressive people of that region in the field of philosophy, religion, science and art.
Click here to see the layout of the temple : http://www.madurai.com/layout.html

Getting there :

Air : Madurai has a airport.

Road : Madurai is well connected by Road from all the other major cities.

Rail : Madurai has a railway station

Trip Duration : 2 days

Getting Around : Autos or Taxis

Best time to get there : August to November

Accomodation :

Hotel Royal Court , 4, West VeliI Street, Madurai - 625 001 , Opp: Railway Station,
Phone: +91-452 - 5356666(Hunting Lines) , Fax: 0452 - 5373333 , Email: royalcourt@eth.net

Hotel Best Western Germanus, 28,Bypass Road, Arasaradi, Madurai-625 010, Phone : 91-452-2382001, Fax : 91-452-2381478

Hotel Madurai Residency, 15,West Marret Street, Madurai –1, Phone : 0452 2343140

Madura Park Inn, 38, Madakulam Main Road, Palanganatham, Madurai - 3., Phone:2371155

Taj Garden Retreat, Pasumalai Hill, Madurai-4 , Ph:2371601

Trichy

2005-04-11T14:00:00.000-07:00

Trichy is on the bank of river Cauvery, and is the 4th largest city in Tamilnadu, and it is mountaineous. There are mountains inside the city, and you will be driving around mountains, small ones though, if you want to get to any place.

You can get to Trichy from Chennai by train or the road. Train is preferred, coz it takes just about 5 hrs to reach, and it is a over night journey. You need to take the Rock Fort Express from Chennai Egmore Station. Trichy is called Rock Fort City, coz there is a temple fort on top of a small hillock, that is dedicated to the favorite God of Hindus, the Ganesha.

I had gone to Trichy on work, and i stayed back there for the weekend, so that I can go around and see the places around. The Ranganatha Swamy temple and the Uchi Pulaiyar Temple ( Summit Ganesha ) ie the Rock Fort Temple on top of the hillock are a must see.

Tiruchirappalli, was a citadel of the early Cholas which later fell to the Pallavas. Trichy is a fine blend of tradition and modernity built around the Rock Fort. Apart from the Fort, there are several Churches, Colleges and Missions dating back to the 1760s. The town and its fort, now in Trichy were built by the Nayaks of Madurai. This city has given great Tamil scholars whose contributions to the Tamil literature have been very significant.

Rock Fort Temple - The most famous land mark of Trichy is the Rock fort and Temple. It is perched on a massive 83 m rock which rises abruptly from the plain to tower over the old city. The actual centre of attraction is not the fort itself, of which very little remains, but the temple at the summit.

The Nayaks made use of its naturally fortified position, but the temple was built by the Pallavas as a small cave temple. ( The same Pallavas, who did the Shore temples in Mahabalipuram, near Chennai ). It is a stiff climb, up the 437 steps cut into the stone to the top but well worth the view. There are inscriptions dating back to the 3rd century.B.C. Hardly anything remains of the ramparts but the Main Guard Gate is still intact.

It was one of the main centers around which the wars of the Carnatic were fought in the 18th century during the British-French struggle for supremacy in India. And according to an inscription, this place contributed to the British laying the foundation of their Empire in India.

At the top of the rock is the Uchipillaiyar Koil, a temple dedicated to Lord Vinayaka from where one can enjoy a panoramic view of Tiruchirappalli. A flight of steps leads to the Mathrubutheswarar of Thayumanaswami temple, dedicated to Lord Siva where the lingam is a projection of the rock itself. Below the Siva temple are the two Pallava cave temples that have beautiful sculptures of the 6th and 7th centuries.

Non-Hindus are not allowed into the Vinayaka Temple at the summit and at the bigger Sri Thayumanaswamy Temple dedicated to Siva, halfway up.

From the top of the hillock, from the temple, the view of Trichy is beautiful, with Cauvery flowing on one side. All along the river, you will find women washing clothes, kids playing in the water, men bathing their buffaloes, the sight is wonderful – so very Indiaish.

At the foot of the Rock Fort are a tank and a pavilion which are used during the float festival of the temples. Near the tank is the house where Robert Clive lived when he was in Tiruchirappalli and there is an 18th century Church built by Reverend Schwartz of Denmark.

Ranganath Swamy Temple - This superb temple complex at Srirangam is on an island, surrounded by the Cauvery and its tributary Kolidam. It is about three kms from the Rock Fort, is a 600 acre island-town surrounded by seven concentric walls with 21 gopurams and is probably the largest in India. Most of it dates from the 14th to 17th centuries, and many people have had a hand in its construction, including the Cheras, Pandyas, Cholas, Hoysalas and rulers from Vijayanagar. The largest gopuram in the first wall on the southern side was completed as recently as 1987, and now measures 73m

The main temple is dedicated to Vishnu. Even muslims are said to have prayed here after the fall of the Vijayanagar Empire. Non-Hindus are not allowed into the gold - topped sanctum, but they are allowed into the sixth wall. The whole place is fascinating. Bazaars and Brahmins' houses fill the space between the outer four walls, and you don't have to take your shoes off or leave your 2 wheeler until you get to the fourth wall. Just past the shoe deposit is an information centre, where you buy the ticket to climb the wall for a panoramic view of the entire complex. There's also a small museum containing sculptures.

Ivory sculptures of Lord Vishnu in various poses and the images of Nayak Kings with consorts donated by Nayak kings who ruled Madurai during the 17th century are available here.

Pavai lamps of Marati period who ruled Thanjavur, the rest of the period, made the Nataraja image in a pearl made screen. Coins of British, Dutch, Tiruvanquor, Hyderabad, Gwalior, princely states are available. Firm leaves inscriptions, stone sculptures, very big temple lamps, copper plates of Vijayanagara Kings are available .

After visiting these places, the Rock fort and temple, the Srirangam temple and the museum, you will feel completely elated. You can take a walk around the city, and get back home.

Getting There :

Trichy is well connected.

By Air : Trichy has an airport (5 kms from the city). Indian Airlines connects Trichy with Chennai, Sharjah, Kuwait and Colombo. Air Lanka Service connects Tiruchirapalli with Colombo.

By Train : Trichy is an important junction on the Southern Railway

By Road : Trichy is well connected by road with important places and Southern Cities

Getting Around : City Bus service, Tourist Taxis, Auto Rickshaws and Cycle Rickshaws are also available.

Trip Duration : 2 days

Accomodation :

Jenny’s Residency, 3 / 14, McDonalds Road, Trichy, Ph : 2461301, 2414414
Femina Hotel, 14 – C, Williams Road, Trichy, Ph : 2414501, 2414274
Hotel Abirami, 10, McDonalds Road, Trichy, Ph : 2415001
Hotel Ajanta, 6 – A, Rockins Road, Trichy, Ph : 2415501
Hotel Anad, No. 1, Racquet Court Lane, Trichy, Ph : 2415545

Tanjore

2005-04-06T14:01:00.000-07:00

Tanjore Paintings, Brahadeeshwara Temple, Tamil literature, Paddy fields….this is Tanjore for all of us. Tanjore is originally Tanjavur in Tamil. The British could not pronounce the name, and made in Tanjore…which is its anglisized version. Tanjore is in the Cauvery river delta, with rich alluvial soil, making it the Granary of the South. Needless to say, Rice is chief crop that is cultivated by the people here.

If you see today, Tanjore is like any other sleepy town in TamilNadu. The two main attractions are the Bhradeeshware Temple and the world famous Tanjore paintings. Tanjore has about 93 temples, and most of them were built by Raja Raja 1 – the Chola Emperor, and was the capital of the Chola Dynasty from 9th to the 13th Century. It was the center of learning, culture and architecture.

I went to Tanjore by bus, from Trichy. It is a 40 minute ride in the local buses. Tanjore is a very important city in Tamilnadu, and hence it is well connected from all places, by buses and trains.

The Bhrahadeeshware temple and Fort in Tanjore is a World Heritage Site. It is very beautiful. This temple stands inside a fort, and hence has huge walls with monstrous entrance gate, watch towers, and also has a moat. It seems, during war times, people of Tanjore hid inside the temple fort, and the doors were closed.

Chola emperor Raja Raja I – The sailor king of India, (AD 985 - 1012), built it in 1010, just a few years before the Kajuraho temple was completed. Raja Raja 1, ruled most of Tamilnadu at that time. Appropriately called Brihadisvara and Daksinameru, this famous Saiva temple was inaugurated by the emperor himself in his 19th regal year (AD 1009-10) and named it after himself as Rajesvara Peruvudaiyar. It has the reputation of being the most ambitious structural temple built of granite ever. The fort like features, were added later during the 16th century. This monument is a culmination of temple architecture of the Dravidian style. Raja Raja was deeply involved in the temple construction, and hence one can find several inscriptions in the temple basement, in praise of the King.

The temple has its entrance in the East. As per Vasstu shastra, a East facing entrance was the best. The entrance gate has a huge vimana or gopuram. This entrance structure is aligned to the inner temple itself. The sanctum sanctorum has the hugh Shiva Linga.

This temple is beautiful and is an architectural marvel in more ways than one. It has a pyramid or vimana, which is 70 metres high, and is done in such a way, so that the shadow of the vimana does on fall on the ground at any point of the day.

There are smaller temples for Lord Subrahmanya, Lord Ganesha and Lord Nataraja ( the Dancing form of Lord Shiva ). Shiva’s vahan, the Nandi’s ( Bull ) shrine is right in front of the Shiva temple.

There are many cute stories attached to the Nandi here.

It seems several years ago, during the time of Kings, there was no rain at all. People prayed to Lord Shiva, but the prayers were not answered. The situation was getting grim. People assumed that the Lord must be in deep penance, and hence their prayers did not yield any response. They felt that the only way to get his attention was by tormenting him. The Nandi was very dear to the Lord. So, the people of Tanjore, applied lots of pepper powder on Nandi’s back. As time went by, Nandi could not tolerate the burning sensation on his back, and began to run helter skelter. Nandi’s cries woke up the Lord. The only solution that Lord Shiva had was to pour water on Nandi’s back to reduce the burning sensation, and relieve Nandi of the problem. It started pouring rain like never before, and the people of Tanjore were pleased.

After this, it became common practise at Brihadishwara temple, that all those who came to Worship Lord Shiva, went to Nandi, and repeated all the prayers into its ears. The reason being, if the Lord was in penance, then he would not yield, then Nandi would remind him. Interesting isn’t it.

The Palace was built partly by the Nayaks of Vijayanagar in 1550 AD, and partly by the Marathas. Adjacent to the temple the palace is a series of large and rambling buildings of fine masonry.

Tanjore paintings are very famous. It is a unique art, where images of Hindu Gods and Goddesses are drawn and also mythological characters. Gold leaf and precious stones are used in the paintings to make the jewelry and the clothing of the gods and Godesses depicted. Therefore, Tanjore paintings are very expensive.

How to get there :

By Air : Trichy – 65 Kms. Madurai – 200 kms. Chennai – 350 kms

By Rail There is a railway junction in Thanjavur. It's well connected with Trichy, Chennai and Nagore.

By Road Thanjavur is well linked with all the major towns in Tamil Nadu and is also connected with Kochi, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram and Bangalore.

Trip duration : 2 days

Best time to travel : Throughout the year

Accomodation :

Oriental towers hotel, 2889, Srinivasam Pillai Road, Thanjavur

Parisutham Hotel, 55 Grand Anicut Canal Road, Thanjavu

Sangam Hotel, Trichy Road, Thanjavur

Delhi

2005-02-24T14:03:00.000-08:00

Cow in the middle of a traffic jam, beggars in the road signals, ill mannered taxi drivers, filthy markets, railway stations, beautiful forts, mosques, palaces…all of this is a part of the experience called Delhi. Don't let your first impressions of Delhi disturb you. Go ahead and explore this city, rich with culture, architecture and human diversity, deep with history and totally addictive for all those bitten by the travel bug.

Delhi obviously has 2 parts…Old Delhi or Purani Delhi with the Moghul past with all its narrow labyrinth streets. It was the capital of Muslim India between the mid-17th and late 19th centuries, is full of formidable mosques, monuments and forts, lively area of colourful bazaars, narrow streets and uncontrollable chaos. In contrast, New Delhi has wide open spaces, orderly government homes and green avenues, which was created by the British Raj, and has a sense of order absent from other parts of the city. New Delhi was the brain child of Sir Edwin Lutyens.
It's an excellent base for visiting Agra and the Taj Mahal, Rajasthan, Jaipur is less than five hours away. If you're heading north to the Himalaya or east to the ghats of Varanasi, Benaras, Mathura, Allahabad, Prayag you'll probably pass through Delhi.

Popular Hindu mythology claims that Delhi actually the fabled city of Indraprastha, which featured in the Mahabharata over 3000 years ago, but historical evidence suggests that the area had settlers for around 2500 years. Since the 12th century, Delhi has seen the rise and fall of seven major powers. The Chauhans took control in the 12th century and made Delhi the most important Hindu centre in northern India. When Qutab-ud-din Aibak occupied the city in 1193, it was the start of six and a half centuries of Muslim rule. The Delhi Sultanate lasted from 1206 to 1526, despite its inconsistent rule, and was followed by the mighty Moghuls from 1526 to 1857. The basis of what is today Old Delhi, including the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid, was built during the reign of the Moghul emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658).

In 1803, the British captured Delhi and installed a British administrator. Delhi was not the capital of India at the time, but it was an important commercial centre and had a population of 150,000 by the start of the 20th century.

When the British decided to make Delhi the capital in 1911, they built New Delhi in a grandiose imperial style, and I have indicated earlier, Lutyens was the master Architect. Only 16 years after the city was inaugurated as the nation's capital, Delhi was torched during the trauma of Partition. In a matter of weeks it was transformed from a Muslim-dominated city of less than a million inhabitants to a largely Hindu city of almost two million. Delhi became the home for all the Hindu’s to came to India after the partition in 1947.

Well, all this history was in the back of my head, and Delhi was on the agenda. May 2003. It is the peak of the summer in Delhi, and I was there. After a 10 days trek in the Himalayas, the hot gangetic plain was the next destination. Very contrasting.

Me and my brother had 2 days in Delhi. So, we decided to see the Lotus Mandir, Qutab Minar, Red Fort, the Museum in Delhi and if there was time, we wanted to drive around the place..so we could see India Gate.

We had our accommodation booked in a guest house – called Bhagat Inn. It is a residence, where a couple of rooms are rented out to travelers for about Rs. 1400 for double occupancy.

We hired a cab, and decided to visit all the places in one day…it was a single day trip.

We first reached the Lotus Mahal. The only information I have about it, was that it was commissioned by the late Prime Minister of India, Shri Rajiv Gandhi and was meant to be a temple of peace, with no idol, and is meant for people of all religions. It has prayer hall inside it, where about 300 people can pray at a time. It is made of marble…and as the name of the place goes, it is in the shape of a lotus. It was really nice to see from outside.

The next destination was Qutab Minar.

Qutub Minar was built by Qutub-ud-din Aibak of the Qutub dynasty to commemorate his victory. Qutub-Minar in red standstone is the highest tower in India. It has a diameter of 14.32m at the base and about 2.75m on the top with a height of 72.5m.

Qutb-u'd-Din Aibak laid the foundation of Qutab Minar in AD 1199 for the use of Mu'azzin (crier) to give calls for prayer and raised the first storey, to which were added three more storeys by his successor and son-in-law, Shamsu'd-Din IItutmish (AD 1211-36). All the storeys are surrounded by a projected balcony encircling the Minar and supported by stone brackets, which are decorated with honeycomb design, more conspicuously in the first storey.

Numerous inscriptions in Arabic and Nagari characters in different places of the Minar reveal the history of Qutub. According to the inscriptions on its surface it was repaired by Firoz Shah Tughlaq and Sikandar Lodi (AD 1489-1517). Major R. Smith also repaired and restored the Qutub Minar in 1829.

Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, near the Minar was built by Qutbu'd-Din Aibak in AD 1198. It is the earliest extant -mosque built by the Delhi Sultans. It consists of a rectangular courtyard made from the carved columns of 27 Hindu and Jain temples, which were demolished by Qutub Ud-Din Aibak as recorded in his inscription on the main eastern entrance.

The Iron Pillar in the courtyard bears an inscription in Sanskrit in Brahmi script of 4th century AD, according to which the pillar was set up as a Vishnudhvaja (standard of Lord Vishnu) on the hill known as Vishnupada in memory of a mighty king named Chandra. A deep socket on the top of the ornate capital indicates that probably an image of Garuda was fixed into it.

The other interesting buildings inside the Qutub premises are tomb of Iltutmish, Alai Minar, Madrasas, tombs, mosques and other smaller buildings. The next destination was Lal Quila or Red Fort. In 1638, the them emperor Shah Jehan, moved the capital of India from Agra to Delhi, and a new royal palace was constructed. Known as the Red Fort (Lal Qila), it was begun around 1640 and completed by 1648.

The name comes from the massive red sandstone walls, some up to 110 feet high, which surround this magnificent piece of Moghul architecture. The palace is made of white marble and decorated in gold and precious stones. Shah Jahan's throne lay in the middle of the palace, and on the ceiling above was written in gold lettering "If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this." The Red Fort is one of the most magnificent palaces in the world. India's history is also closely linked with Red Fort.
The Red Fort served as the center of the Mughal Empire for more than 200 years. Lal Qila (Red Fort) is actually a series of individual pavilions, each with a specific purpose. The individual buildings are Diwani Khas, Diwani Aam, bathroom or Hammam and Moti Masjid.

The other places in Delhi are Jama Masjid, Purana Quila, Humayuns Tomb, Coronation Durbar site, Shalimar Bagh, Chandi chowk and spice Market.

We got extremely tired, as it was really hot..We went to a chat shop to have Delhi chat.. we had good fun. We were back at our rooms.. took a little rest. In the evening, we were ready to leave Delhi….it was a enriching experience.

Getting There :

Air / Road / Rail – Delhi is the capital city of India, and is well connected from any city in the world by Air. Air, Road and Rail ways connect Delhi to all other major metros in the country.

Trip Duration : 3 days

Best time : Between August and October. Delhi can get extremely hot and cold, due to this location.

Getting around : Taxi

Places to stay :

I stayed in Bhagat inn, which is a home stay. I think, you all must stay in some friends or relatives place…coz Delhi is a big city and I am sure, all of you have someone or the other there.

Note : All the history about Delhi and its monuments, I read it in books and on the web before writing the travelogue. Before visting Delhi, the only info I had, was from my 10th standard history book and from the TV serial ‘Main Dilli Hoon’.

Agra

2005-02-17T14:04:00.000-08:00

The Taj Mahal attracts people from all over the world. It is one of the 7 wonders along with the Pyramids, the Grand Canyon, the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House and the Houses of Parliament, but it's so much more beautiful than the others: as it was built for love. Only when you get there, you will realize why the Taj Mahal is the Taj Mahal, un-paralleled in beauty and magnificence.

Agra is accessible from Delhi by Road, Air and Rail. Government has laid out wonderful roads to reach Agra and Jaipur from Delhi, and this is called the Golden Triangle. One can reach Agra from Delhi by road in 4 hrs. I happened to be in Delhi for a few days in May 2003 and I knew that 1 day was enough to visit the Taj Mahal. I was traveling with my brother. We hired a cab, and left Delhi in the morning. Our agenda was fixed - Taj Mahal, Sikandra and Agra Fort in one day.

Agra used to be the capital of the Moghul rulers who ruled India from the 15th Century to the 18th century, until the time of Bahadur Shah Zafar. The Taj Mahal was built in 1631, by Shah Jehan in memory of his dear Wife Mumtaj Mahal, who died during the birth of their 14th child. It took 20 yrs and 20,000 craftsmen to construct the Taj Mahal. There are several gory stories attached as well, apart from the romantic angle. It is believed that Shah Jehan got the best of the craftsmen for the job, but, after the job was done, the hands of the craftsmen were cut off, to ensure that they did not replicate the same elsewhere. How sadistic !! The architect was an Iranian and the original plan also included a Black Taj Mahal on the other side of the Yamuna , like a mirror image, which would house Shah Jehans tomb. But, the black one never got erected.

Shah Jehan chose this place on the bank of the river Yamuna, for a couple of reasons. The river curved in this place, and hence in the small island that was created, he wanted to make the Taj. The reflection of the building in the river would be a breath taking view. The river water was required for the gardens and the several fountains that were to be there. And, Shah Jehan could see the Taj Mahal from his fort in Agra. During the latter part of his life, Shah Jehan was imprisoned by his son, Aurangzeb, who emerged successful in the war of succession. Shah Jehan was imprisoned in a small room in his fort, from where he could see the Taj. After his death, he was buried near Mumtaj’s grave, and therefore this is the only asymmetrical part of the Taj. Shah Jehan wanted the Black Taj to be his tomb.

As all of us know, the Taj Mahal has a main dome in the center with 4 minarets. There are two mosques on both the sides, but only one of them is used now. The Entire complex is on a huge marble platform. There is a beautiful garden in front of the Taj, with several waterways and fountains. The faces of the walls have intricate designs with precious stones embedded in them. The Koran is engraved on it too, and it is done in such a way that all the verses are readable by a man standing in front of them on the floor, and they look like they are of the same size, no matter how high on the wall they are engraved.

There are lots of photographers and guides in front of the complex. You can get very fancy photographs of yourself, holding the minaret of the Taj in your hand and stuff like that, for Rs. 50 and you will get your snap developed immediately. There is bench in front of the Taj, most tourists get a snap of themselves in front of the Taj Mahal, even Princess Diana and Bill Clinton got themselves photographed this way.

One needs to be careful with touts in Agra and their attitude. They cheat you and you do not have a choice. You can take a horse cart from the starting point of Taj Mahal, after which no taxi or any other vehicle is allowed. Hence, you are at the mercy of these people. If you argue about the prices, within no time, you will find that you are surrounded by the locals who look nothing less than thugs.

There are vendors who will show you marble inlayed boxes, shawls, carved stuff, leather whips carpets and all kinds of things. They will tell you that they are all original. A marble carved and stone inlayed box, its first quoted rate would be Rs. 50 and in the end, you will be able to buy it for Rs. 15 if you bargain enough.

The other places worth seeing in Agra are the Agra Fort and Sikandra – the place where Akbar is buried. Akbar started constructing the fort, but additions were made by every successor. Shah Jehans additions were in Marble and you will see his marble obsession. But, I will agree that his buildings are most beautiful, because on white marble background, the inlay designs look magnificient. Inside the Agra Fort complex are Jehangir Mahal, Jodha Bhai Mahal ( Jodha Bai was Akbars Rajput Wife ), Moti Mahal, Shah Jehans Khas Mahal, Diwan – e- Khas ( Hall for Private Audience ), Diwan – e- Am ( Hall for Public Audience ) and others. But, this fort is on flat land, and hence there is no breathtaking view around it. There is a moat with huge entrances. There is lot of restoration work going on to keep the place intact for posterity.

Sikandra – Akbar Tomb was designed by Akbar, but was executed by Jehangir, his successor. The building is made of Red Sandstone and has intricate designs on it. It has a mosque, garden with deers and peacocks, and has a huge entrance. It am told that his entrance resembles the Buland Darwaza in Fatehpur Sikri. Surmounted by four minarets, it is overlaid with colored tiles that bear inscriptions from the Koran. Inside the vaulted roof was once done in gold and blue to resemble the heavens. (Only a single section has been restored but it is enough to suggest the beauty of what once was.) A chapter from the Koran runs around the cornices.

Akbar lies in a subterranean crypt inside the mausoleum across from an alabaster tablet inscribed with the 99 names of Allah. A single ray of light illuminates the sepulchre which is otherwise cloaked in a quiet darkness. This place is beautiful, and don’t miss it even if you have a shortage of time.

As Agra was the capital city of the Mughals, I am sure there are several others places, worth a visit. Agra is a very filthy town, and if not for the Taj Mahal, this place is not worth a visit. We had seen the most important places, and as it was already 6 pm in the evening, it was time to leave for Delhi. We knew leaving at 6 pm, we would reach Delhi at 10 pm, and if we delayed any further, it was going to more trouble. We bought a small marble box with a intricate inlay design for my mom. The drive to Delhi was smooth as the road was good. We had dinner in a dhaba on the way.

Getting There :

Air : 40 mins flight from Delhi

Road : 4 hrs drive. 203 kms.

Train : Delhi Agra Shatabdi is the best option. But, Agra is well connected from all the nearby cities. Getting to Agra is never really a problem.

Best time of the Year : Summers can get hot and winters can get unbearably chilly. Best time to visit is between March to October.

Trip duration : 1 or 2 days.

Accomodations : If you are going to Agra from Delhi on a single day road trip, then you can get back to Delhi in the Night. But, if you wish to say there in the night, you can stay at these places.

Taj View, Man Singh Palace, Amar Vilas, Trident, Holiday Inn are places one can stay in.

The government Of India Tourist Office - 191, the Mall, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. Tel. - +(91) - 0562 - 363959.
UP State Tourism Development Corporation - Tourist Bungalow, Raja-ki- Mandi, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. Tel. - +(91) - 0562 -350120
Tourist Information Center - UP tourist office, 64 Taj Road, Uttar Pradesh, India Tel. - +(91) - 0562 - 360517
Tourist Information Counter - Agra Cantonment Railway Station, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India Tel. - +(91) - 0562 - 368598

Hampi

2005-02-07T14:05:00.000-08:00

I had seen Hampi in a lot of Indian films song sequences and read a lot about its history. I was awed with what I had read, and so I wanted to go to the place and see for myself. Every journey is a search for something, but this time, we got more than what we asked for, lots of history, architectural marvels, and nice place to sit and see sunrise and sunset.

In November 2001, we ie me and hubby decided to go to Bijapur and Hampi. Bijapur was the 1st leg of the quest and Hampi was the second. This travelogue is about Hampi and hence I will stick to the topic. We took a bus from Bijapur to Hampi. As the bus moved from Bijapur towards Hampi, I could see vast expanses of barren land, really naked and completely exposed to the sun. There were no trees, not a blade of grass, no cattle and no village scenes that you will usually see during other bus or train journeys. This bus ride in this part of the country was unique– North Karnataka is dry, very contrary to the South. It is a large plateau. It takes about 4 hrs to reach Hampi by bus from Bijapur.

To visit Hampi and the places there, it is advisable to stay at Hospet, which is about 13 kms from Hampi. One can engage a cab for about 4 to 5 days. One will need that much of time to go around the place and admire the beauty. Hampi was a very rich kingdom and the entire place is strewn with temples, palaces and their ruins. This city of ruins is declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Hampi is a dry, hot and dusty place, and hence one must be ready for the ordeal. The place has lots of boulders and it seems like all the boulders were thrown from the sky on to the ground, and they have just occupied which ever place was available. The river Thungabadra flows through this terrain and hence there is a little green patch, the bank is cool and is a welcome treat to anyone who is wandering around the ruins. There are a lot of villages around Hampi.

Some dope about the history of the place. Vijayanagar was the capital of a wealthy empire that made its money out of spices. Its seven concentric circles of fortifications housed half a million people, but these were not enough to keep out the attacks of Deccan Sultans. The 200-year-old empire came to a sudden end in 1565 after the disastrous battle of Talikota. Excavations still continue and more is being discovered about this fascinating city.

There are no good hotels in Hampi and hence we decided to stay at Hospet. I had a booking in a hotel called Mallige. Mallige has 2 types of rooms. The Rs. 350 rooms have a double cot, attached bath, and is not so neat. They have rooms for Rs. 500 that are extremely good - good interiors, cots, study table, a small sit out, TV, good bathroom with geyser etc. The sit out has a garden too, and it is completely enclosed. So, you can have your privacy. Mallige also has a bar, swimming pool, cyber café & travel desk. Not bad for a small town eh ! But, with the constant flow of foreign tourists, all these are a must.

Lot of foreign tourists visit this place. Hampi is a hot destination for rock climbers now. There are a couple of rock climbing outfits that have sprung up all of a sudden, they charge about Rs. 250 for a climbing session. Hampi’s locals are not delighted about the hippies hanging out all over the place. There are a lot of rave parties that are held on the banks of the Tungabhadra. I am told that there is a Indian Guru on the other side of the river, who lives in his Kutir, and supplies unlimited dope to the hippies. There are a lot of tourists who come to Hampi from Goa on bikes. They spend a couple of days here and get back to their next destination.

Hampi has a lot of ‘must see’ places and hence 5 days is required. The entire ruins are scattered over a area of about 20 sq kms, and hence one can get really tired. The car cannot go to the actual spot. Once needs to leave it and then walk around, it can get tiring. The places that have to be visited are many.

Hampi Bazaar : Now that locals are occupying the ancient buildings lining the main street, Hampi bustles with activity and life again.

Virupaksha Temple : At the western end of Bazaar is the Virupaksha temple, built in 1442 with a 50 m high gopuram, and a smaller one added in 1510. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva his form as Pampapati or Virupaksha.

Kings Balance : The Tulapurusadana, is actually the scaffolding of the balance. It is here that the king was weighed on his coronation or after a victory, against gold or precious stones, which were then distributed to the brahmins or granted to a temple. The scaffolding faces the east and has a rough carving of the king and two queens being weighed.

Vittala Temple : A footpath from the eastern end of Hampi Bazaar leads to the Vittala Temple. This 16th century temple is a World Heritage monument. The temple was begun in the reign of Vijayanagar’s greatest king, Krishnadevaraya, but was never finished. The outer pillars are called the musical pillars because they reverberate when tapped. There are several sets of these pillars, and each set of pillars produces sound of a different instrument. There are 8 pillars in each set, one for each of the sapta swaras. The ornate stone chariot in the temple courtyard has an image of Garuda. I was told that, the wheels could turn. Now it is neatly secured with wooden logs.

The temple was never finished. King and queens added to it but it was never consecrated. The reason? It was a temple of Vithala. Before it was finished he came to pay a visit. The earthy god of villages and peasants took one look at it and decided that it was far too elegant for him. He was going to stay put in his temple at Pandharpur. He returned and the temple was left incomplete.

A lot of film song sequence shootings are held here. Our taxi driver cum guide told that he has seen Shilpa Shetty, Urmila, Sonali Bendre and several other heroines, skimply clad, dancing to the scores of the music directors in the temple complex and in the thungabhadra river..which is close by

Achutaraya Temple : It is at the bottom of the Matanga hill. Built by King Achyutaraya, it has some exceptionally fine pillars and handsome sculpture. You will find some beautifully carved unique animals.

In the north-western corner of the temple courtyard is a large kalyana mandapa where the wedding of the gods would take place.

It is a great to trek up the Mathanga hill and watch the sun rise and sun set. It is advisable to wear a good pair of shoes, and be extra careful while climbing up, as there are a few crevasses. These are so dark inside, and could be very deep.

The Royal Ruins : This area of Hampi looks different. The boulders are missing. There are several stone walls. The water work is sophisticated. Over the river is the old bridge built by the kings on which the army used to march. It seems there used to be water works who would fill water into the canals / pipe systems throughout the day. There is an aqueduct standing inside the citadel.

The Queens Bath : This is a simple structure with a plain facade and glorious interior. A narrow moat surrounds this building. Inside is a small tank or swimming bath. Around it is an arched corridor with many projecting balconies overlooking the tank. There's some pretty stucco work on the walls. It is open to the sky and surrounded by corridors with 24 different domes.

Hazara Rama Temple : This is supposed to have been the private place of worship for the kings. It is close to the ruins of the royal palace. Krishnadevaraya began the building by giving six tax-free villages to the god Ramachandra Deva on the occasion of a solar eclipse to gain merit for his parents.

The granite temple along with its attendant shrine is one of the most perfect specimens of Vijayanagar architecture. As it is dedicated to Lord Rama, the walls and pillars of the two shrines and the inner surface of the courtyard walls depict the main incidents in the Ramayana and a few scenes from the Mahabharatha.

The Zenana Enclosure : The Zenana Enclosure has some Indo-Saracenic buildings of note. The walls around it are far thin and tapering towards the top. Which means they were probably there for privacy, to protect the ladies from the prying eyes of the world. The main entrance faces the west. The Queen's palace is represented by a ruined basement. There is also a tower that has been misrepresented as a watch tower; its architectural style suggests that it might have been a place from which the ladies could peer at life passing by.

The Lotus Mahal : This is one of the prettiest buildings in the complex. It's an amazing synthesis of Hindu and Islamic styles in the great Indo-Saracenic tradition: while the pillars and arches are Islamic in nature, the base, the roof and the beautiful stucco ornamentation on this charming little pavilion are Hindu. The building is on a raised platform but the corners are doubly recessed which may account for its name. It had an early form of air conditioning: water-cooled air was driven through tubes to cool Krishnadevaraya's queen in the summer.

The Elephant Stables : This is a grand building, with 11 domed chambers that once housed the state's elephants. Only local tradition maintains that the architects adapted the domes used in the desert to cool palaces to keep their pachyderms cool and fighting fit. Now scholars believe it may have been living quarters and the rings in the wall were probably used to string up the punkahs. The central tower is in ruins but it was probably a stepped tower in the Hindu tradition. As it stands, the building is entirely Islamic in character: it faces west and the arches mark it as Western.

The underground temple : The temple was built so that the lingam would be around water. This is the temple of the Prasanna Virupaksha, the temple of the delighted Virupaksha.

The Statue of Narasimha : The statues arms have been lopped off and his legs cut off.
Narasimha, fourth avataar of Lord Vishnu dominates the village road, a monument to righteous justice. Originally, Narasimha's consort Shri Lakshmi must have been portrayed sitting on his thigh but the only remnant of her is the arm she had around his waist. An inscription on a stone slab in front of the enclosure records that Krishnadevaraya ordered it hewed out of a single boulder. On the base of the pedestal is a representation of the sun and the moon, an indication that the sculptor believed that it would last forever.

Other temples dot the area including temples to Krishna, Vishnu and Ganesha.

The Ganesh Moniliths : Oddly this one is named, Sasivikallu Ganesh or the stone like a mustard seed. Here is one of the best-loved gods of India, standing upon the open pillared mandapa on the rocky hillock above the shrine to Vishnu. His mount, a rat, is carved on a separate piece of stone, set in front of the image. Although this is not as powerful an image as that of the Narasimhan, it is an affecting image.

Inside a temple a few metres down the road, there is a companion image who is called the grain of gram stone Ganesh or Kadalaikallu Ganesh. From the temple, you get a wonderful view of the Hampi bazaar and the Tungabhadra beyond it.

The Archeological Museum at Kamalapuram : This has a small collection of sculpture, paintings, copper plates and coins which have been found at the site. The scale model in the courtyard will go a long way to help you orient yourself.

Dasara Bidda : Here the king sat as all around him his courtiers danced during the nine nights of Mahanavami or Navratri. Although it may now look like nothing more than a 12 m high platform, it was once the throbbing heart of the city, to which travellers came to see the glories of the Dussehra festivities. The small chamber in the centre of this huge platform is thought to be the place where the magnificently wrought throne was placed during the celebrations.

Anegondi : North of the river is the ruined stronghold of Anegondi. You take a boat - Rs 5 for a single trip - to get there. This was where the Viajayanagar empire was born. Harihara ruled here but many of the temples predate that founding since some of them clearly belong to the 10th and 11th centuries. The temples are dedicated to Vishnu who is worshipped here as Ranganatha (reclining on a serpent) and as Venkateshwara. The defensive walls are intact but the rest is all banana plantations. Check out the whitewashed Hanuman temple on the hill. There's also a Sri Aurobindo ashram there that offers courses in meditation and yoga.

The Thungabhadra Dam & Gardens : It is in Hospet and is on the Thungabhadra river. It is the longest masonary work in South India, 2 kms long and 40 m high. The gardens are well maintained and there there is a small aquarium also.

The only restaurant in Hampi is Bhuvaneshwari. It is good to have a simple lunch. Lime rice, tomato rice, curd rice, egg omelettes are available. Cool drinks are also available. It is not possible to stay here. But is a decent place to grab a meal in between the ruin trip. There are several other shacks where you can hazard a chai.

Getting there :

By Road : Once can reach Hampi from Bangalore road – 353 Kms. Hampi and Hospet are connected by Bus Services for all cities and towns in Karnataka.

Nearest railway station : Hospet ( 13 kms ). From Hospet one can get to Hubli, Mysore and Bangalore.

Nearest airports : Bellary ( 74 kms ) , Belgaum ( 190 kms ) and Bangalore ( 353 kms )

Going Around : To see the all the places around Hampi you may end up walking about 7 kms. Hence hiring a cycle will be a good option. If you are staying at Hospet, then one can engage a local taxi for the entire site seeing. The cab drivers also double up at guides, and they are very helpful. One can engage the cab for about 4 for 5 days for a fixed rate.

There are a lot of foreign tourists who get to Hampi from Goa on bikes. If you are one of them, then you can go around on the bike.

Best time : October to march.

Trip duration : 3 to 5 days

Where to stay :

Hotel Mallige : This is in Hospet. This is the only place where I suggest you can stay.
143/6, Hospet - Bellary Road, Hospet, Karnataka, India. , Tel: +(91) (8394) 428101~7, Fax: +(91) (8394)
Hotel Mayura Bhuvaneshwari : Hampi bus stop.
Kamalapur (Hampi), Bellary Dist - 583 221, Karnataka, India. , Tel: +(91) (8394) 441574, Fax: +(91) (8394) 428537

Bijapur

2005-02-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

When I was kid, I used to participate in a lot of quiz competitions. I used to go about reading a lot of magazines, news papers, and several of those printed GK books. My favorite chapter in these books was ‘Highest, Tallest, Biggest, Largest, Deepest’. This chapter would give details of all the living and non-living, man-made and natural entities that would fall into these categories and would give information about them as well. I had read – the worlds 2nd largest dome was ‘Gol Gumbaz’ and it was in Bijapur.

I had pondered about Bijapur a lot and had also read and lot about its places history, I was impressed, and I decided that I have to go and see Gol Gulbaz. I made the trip to Bijapur in Nov 2001.

Bijapur is not linked by rail directly, Gulbarga and Sholapur are the closest Railway stations. It takes about 4 hrs to reach Bijapur by bus from any of these 2 places. Since, we were in Chennai, we took the Chennai Mumbai mail. This train stops at Gulbarga as well as Sholapur. The train left Chennai central at 10 pm and reaches Gulbarga at about 2 pm the next day. Our co-passengers in the train told that it is better to get off at Gulbarga at 2 pm and reach Bijapur in 4 hrs, rather than get off at Sholapur at 6 pm, and take another 4 hrs to reach Bijapur. Gulbarga seemed the right place to get off.

There are several buses to Bijapur from Gulbarga, and as expected, we reached in 4 hrs. The terrain of North Karnataka is so different from the green Southern parts. It is dry here, and as the bus moves on the highway, you will see dry barren land without even a blade of grass. Never the less, the scenery is stunning.

Bijapur is a small dusty town. I had a print out of budget hotels, that I had taken from Traveljini. I did not have a booking, as I wanted to see the hotel before checking in. The first hotel that we went to, Madhuvan, was simple and nice. There was nothing lavish about it. It had simple rooms with basic amenities and charges a nominal INR 300 per day. This place also had a attached restaurant, and guess what, from the hotel room, we could see Gol Gumbaz. The receptionist was very helpful, she told us about all the places that are worth seeing in Bijapur. We took rest that evening, and we were prepared to explore every nook and corner of Bijapur the next day.

Bijapur is a historic fort city. You will know this only once you get there. When you get on top of the Gol Gumbaz, and when you look around, you will see a high fort wall, that was constructed all around the city with 4 watch towers. The fort walls are in ruins right now, but in many places it is intact. 3 of the watch towers are fine, and you can get in flash back mode and imagine what the place would have been like in its hey days during the time of Adil Shah.

Inside this walled city – is Gol Gumbaz, Juma Masjid, Barah Cumman, Ibrahim Rouza, Sher – e – Burj and several palaces. Most of the palaces are in a dilapidated condition, but, some palaces are well preserved. It is called Agra of the South – there is reason for this, and I will explain it later. Your visit to every monument will reveal yet another secret of this city's illustrious past. After all, Bijapur was not built in a day.

One can’t appreciate the beauty of the place, if you do not know about its history. The foundations of this city were laid during the Chalukyan dynasty of Kalyani between the tenth and eleventh centuries. They called it Vijayapura or the "City of Victory" from which comes its present name Bijapur. Bijapur came under Muslim influence, first under Allaudin Khilji, the Sultan of Delhi, towards the end of the 13th century, and then under the Bahamani kings of Bidar in 1347. In 1481, Mohammed III, one of the Bahamani Sultans, appointed Yusuf Adil Khan as the Governor of Bijapur.

Now about Yusuf Adil Shah – his is a story of rags to riches. He was a slave who became a Sultan. He was one of the sons of Sultan Mahmud II of Turkey. Adil Khan fled his country on the death of his father, to escape the massacre of crown prince in the battle for succession to the throne. He was purchased as a slave by Mahmud Gavan, the Prime Minister of Mohammed III.
With the decline of the Bahamani power at Bidar, Yusuf declared his independence in 1489 and thus became the founder of the Adil Shahi dynasty. Bijapur became the capital of the Adil Shahi kings (1489-1686), one of the five splinter states formed when the Bahmani Muslim kingdom broke up in 1482. Bijapur survived as a kingdom till its annexation by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1686.

Bijapur experienced a great burst of architectural activity under the Adil Shahi dynasty. The Adil Shahis encouraged building activity to such an extent that Bijapur itself has over 50 mosques, more than 20 tombs and a number of palaces. An interesting feature was the employment of large numbers of Indian craftsmen . Earlier Muslim rulers of the Deccan deployed Persian craftsmen and architects.

Bijapur is still strongly Muslim in character and it has many important monuments and historical ruins.

Bijapur's greatest attractions are architectural, especially Islamic architecture. Minarets, domes and echoing burial chambers all conjure up images of the Arabian Nights. Here are a few of the many monuments, you may want to visit , at the least.

Bijapur's greatest attractions are architectural, especially Islamic architecture. Minarets, domes and echoing burial chambers all conjure up images of the Arabian Nights. Here are a few of the many monuments, you may want to visit , at the least.

Gol Gumbaz – Gol Gumbaz was the first place we went to. The mercury was rising, and I had enough stock of sun tan cream to fight it. Literary meaning, 'round', it is the tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah (1627 -56) , the seventh ruler of Adil Shahi dynasty.

Built at his orders before his death, this gigantic mausoleum took 20 years to complete , which dominates the landscape of Bijapur for miles around. It is the 2nd largest done in the world, and stands unsupported by any pillar. Even the mildest of whispers can be heard across a distance of 37 m in the Whispering Gallery. The acoustical phenomenon of this dome is such that a sound is echoed eleven times over. You have to listen in silence to appreciate the Gol Gumbaz. Under the dome are the tombs of the Sultan, his two wives, his mistress Ramba, his daughter and grandson.

There are steps to go up the Gumbaz. Off the 4 minarets, 3 are closed. People interested can use the one that is open to get to the top. From the top, you can get the most beautiful view of Bijapur city, and you can also see the Citadel walls, with the watch towers are regular distances.

The building complex includes a mosque, a Naqqar Khana, a gateway and a dharmashala. The edifice in front of the tomb has been converted into a museum.

Archeological Museum - The Archaeological Museum located in the gatehouse of the Gol Gumbaz has a vast collection of Chinese porcelain, parchments, paintings, armoury, miniatures, stone sculptures and old Bijapur carpets are all housed here. The museum is open on all days from 10 am to 5 pm, except Fridays. Entrance is free.

Ibrahim Rouza - Rauza literally means a tomb with an attached mosque and garden. The square enclosure consists of 2 buildings, one housing the tombs of Ibrahim Adil Shah II & his family & the other a mosque.

The tomb, evidently executed under the orders of Ibrahim Adil Shah (1580-1627) is noted for its striking symmetry of proportion, minars and domes. It is supposed to have been an inspiration for the Taj Mahal at Agra. Yes, the Ibrahim Rouza is like two Taj Mahals and a garden and waterway in the middle. It is supposed to have been designed by a Iranian architect. The complex contains mosque, water ways with lake, basement quarters and secret passages. The gardens are well laid out. The architect is supposed to be buried close to the sultan.

An acoustic feature in this complex is worth mentioning. If you are standing at the mausoleum by the grave side of the Sultan, you can distinctly hear the prayers being said at the other end, in the prayer hall.

Burj-E-Sherz - Home to the famous 8.5 m-long Malik-e-Maidan cannon (Lord of the Battle field). It was used in the battle of Talikot, when the Vijayanagar Empire fell. It is one of the largest medieval guns ever made.

The muzzle is a lion's head with open jaws with an elephant being crushed to death inside. The weapon is said to keep a cool head even in the blazing heat of the sun. When tapped it gives out a soft humming sound. Legend has it that if you touch the gun and make a wish, it will come true!

Bara Kaman - This unfinished mausoleum of Ali Adil Shah, if completed, might have surpassed all others of its kind. Its 12 graceful arches which give it the name Bara Kamaan, makes one feel the power of time & death. These arches are amidst a public garden.

Juma Masjid - Called Jumma Masjid because the Khutba is recited here on Jumma ie. Friday, it is the largest & first constructed mosque in Bijapur. It was built in 1576, the largest mosque in India, by Ali Adil Shah, who acquired the land after defeating the rich Ramaraja of Vijayanagar.

The total area of the mosque is 10,810 sq m. Aurangzeb extended the mosque in the east, the south & the north verandah & built the eastern gate. The original gateway is on the northern side. The heavy curtain hangs over the "Mehrab", which has domes which are onion shaped, minarets, niches with books, flower vases & Persian writings in calligraphy ( Koranic Verses ) inscribed on it.

The other places that can be visited at Bijapur are Mahtar Mahal, Taj Bawdi, Assar Mahal, Gagan Mahal and the Citadel. I decided to spend just 1 day in Bijapur and the auto driver told us that there was no point visiting the mahals are they are in a very dilapidated stage. We did not visit them.

Bijapur is a great place for all those who read up the history books before going to a historic city. Simply landing up there is no fun at all. I had read about Adil Shah in the history books in school, but there was just one small paragraph about him. The Mughal era takes away the majority of space in Indian History books. The Archeological museum has a lot of stuff that Adil Shah used, his clothes, battle outfit, swords, daggers etc. This stuff is soo huge, I am sure Adil Shah must have been a tall and well built man. His sword is so big, if we were to even lift it today, 4 well built men would be required.

Apart from these palaces and mosques, there is nothing much. The town is small and the life here is laid back. There are lots of road side vendors who sell ceramic ware. If you are the type of person who loves to bargain and buy stuff, this is the place. I bought lots of ethnic porcelain my house.

All the monuments here are protected monuments, but they are not maintained neatly. There is gobar and goat shit all over the place. Apart from the mosques that are in use even today, most of the palaces are full of miscreants, just hanging out there. And, there are not many tourists who come here. None of the Indians have the inclination to go to a town like Bijapur. And the foreigners don’t think beyond Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Manali and Goa. So, unless the Karnataka Tourism Department does something to promote Bijapur, the monuments will not get better attention and care.

But, none the less, if you love to backpack, read up a history book, and wish to go in search of something, like in my case, I wanted to see the Gol Gumbaz, I suggest the next time around you get 3 days off, just go to Bijapur. You will realize, why India is rich in history, culture and diversity.

Getting There :

By Air : The nearest airport is Belgaum(205 kms), which is well connected to Mumbai and Bangalore.

By Rail : Bijapur is well connected to Bangalore, Mumbai (via Solapur) ; Hyderabad (via Solapur or Hotgi Jn); Hospet (via Gadag) ; Vasco da Gama (via Hubli and Londa).

By Road : Bijapur is well connected to many cities in south and west india, notably.
Sholapur ( 101 Kms ), Gulbarga ( about 120 kms ), Belgaum ( 205 kms ), Hyderbad ( 420 kms ), Mumbai ( 500 kms ) & Bangalore ( 530 kms )

Local Transport : Autos, Taxis

Trip duration : 3 days

Best time : North Karnataka is usually hot throughout the year. The best time is between Oct and Feb.

Where to stay :

Hotel Madhuvan - 08352- 55571, Hotel Samrat - 08352- 21620, Hotel Tourist - 08352- 20655. Megharaj - 08352- 25571, Rajadhani - 08352- 2334468, Sasnman - 08352- 21866. All of these are on Station Road.

Hotel Sagar - 08352- 59234. Barah Kaman Road

KSTDC's Hotel Mayura Adil Shahi – Anand Mahal Road

Note : The details pertaining to History and the monuments that I mentioned in this travelogue are from history books and websites that I have read. They are mostly accurate.