Vaikuntha Perumal Temple, Kachipuram

Vaikuntha Perumal Temple in Kanchipuram (State: Tamil Nadu) is one of the oldest and largest sandstone temple. It was built sometime in the 6th century by Nandivarman, the ruler of Pallava Dynasty.

This temple is devoted to Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi. The temple is built in Dravidian style of architecture. The outermost walls of the temple are carved with lions standing on the hind legs at regular intervals.

Similarly the main temple is surrounded by a colonnade, with rear wall is carved with sculptures all around the temple. These columns in front of these walls are also have lions sitting on the legs.

The carvings on the walls are done beautifully and passing time has resulted in some wear and tear. Still the carvings in these all around the temple are still in a presentable state and impressive.

St. Aloysius Chapel Paintings, Mangalore

This beautiful St. Aloysius Chapel in Mangalore (State: Karnataka) was built sometime in 1899-1900. The interior walls and roofs of the chapel are covered with the paintings of Bro Anthony Moscheni of Italy.

This Chapel was dedicated to the St. Aloysius Gonzaga. On the wall above the alter, the paintings depict the life of Aloysius. The center picture shows him serving the people suffering from plague in Rome.

On the rear walls there is a huge painting where Jesus is shown as the friend of children. This is considered as the masterpiece from the artist.

The paintings on the ceiling.

These paintings here belong to two categories.

Fresco, where the painting is made on fresh wet lime plaster walls. As the lime plaster dries up the colors are embedded. There are about 600 square meters of walls with fresco paintings.

Canvas, where oil painting is done on the pure linen of strong close weave. There are about 400 square metes of canvas paintings.

ASI Museum Garden - 1, Shimoga

In Shimoga (State: Karnataka) the ASI Museum has a beautiful garden. The garden along with flowery plants has lot of sculptures.

With these flowers one can see lot of butterflies flying around.

This butterflies are colorful and have different patterns on them.

Saras Baug Ganesh Temple, Pune

Saras Baug is an important landmark in Pune (State: Maharashtra). In the 18th century Shrimant Nanasaheb Peshwa started the development and beautification of this area which is about 25000 Sq.ft. To start with this region was once occupied by a lake. But as the time passed the lake dried up and was later developed into a garden named as 'Sara Baug'.

Here, in the year 1750 under the direction of the Sawai Madhavrao Peshwa and Mahadji Shinde a temple for Lord Ganesh was constructed. It got completed in 1784.

This temple is painted in red color externally and one can reach the temple by climbing a series of steps.

Since then several renovations were done to the temple and the area surrounding area so far.

Exploring Keladi & Ikkeri

Keladi and Ikkeri are the two historically important locations in Shimoga district (State: Karnataka). They are at a distance of 70 to 80 kms from Shimoga. Both Keladi and Ikkeri were once the places where kings ruled large areas in the ancient times for many centuries. It is hard to imagine this as they are today small villages.

Since 1500 AD, Keladi has been ruled by several dynasties across centuries. Keladi was the birthplace of Keladi Dynasty and at a later point the capital was shifted to Ikkeri, just a few kilometers away, which remained their capital for more than a century.Rameshwara Temple of Keladi built in Dravidian style around 1500 AD. The temple has excellent craftsmanship.

Aghoreshwara Temple, the magnificent temple of Ikkeri is a Shiva Temple.

Due to heavy rains, I was able to spend very less time here and click only few shots. There was rain water everywhere. We shall still explore these unexplored places or little known places a bit more in detail very soon.

Lalbagh Flower Show - Merigold

At flower show in Lalbagh Gardens at Bangalore on January 2011 there were exclusive collection of various flowers on display. A wide variety of Merigold flowers were also there on display.

Junagarh Fort, Bikaner

Junagarh Fort in Bikaner (State: Rajasthan) is one of the few land forts in the state, while most of the others are hill forts. It was constructed sometime between 1588 and 1593 by Raja Rai Singh, the ruler of Bikaner.

This fort has a 986m-long wall with 37 bastions, a moat and two entrances. The fort walls are 14.5 feet wide and 40 feet in height. The Surajpol or the 'Sun Gate' is the main entrance.

The palaces within the fort are on the southern side and make a picturesque ensemble of towers, courtyards, balconies and windows.

There is a small garden in the fort complex on one side of the palaces.

On the side of the main entrance there is lot of free space in front of the palace. Kids who come to see this fort complex love this space with birds flying all around.

Jalakanteshwara Temple Kalyana Mandapam, Vellore

The Jalakanteswara Temple in Vellore Fort at Vellore (State: Tamil Nadu) is the home for exquisite Kalyan Mandapam (marriage hall). Built approximately between 1542 - 1565 AD, the architecture is a mix of Dravidan and Chalukyan style of architecture.

It is believed that, British had planned dismantle this and export it to their land to be kept in the museum before the independence of India. Fortunately for India, they did not succeed.

Here, on the outer pillars there are sculptures of soldiers riding the horse who belonged to Vijayanagar infantry.

Each pillar has upon its faces, figures from one to two feet in height. They are well proportioned and magnificently carved.

The very ornate pillared pavilion has a raised central platform used for the reception of the deity and his consort during the annual celebration of their marriage. The base of the platform is also engraved with sculptures.

The inner pillars are of different designs and highly artistic. Each of these pillars in the Kalyan Mandapam has a unique and different carving.

Lalbagh Flower Show - Yellow Stargazer Lily

At flower show in Lalbagh Gardens at Bangalore on January 2011 there were exclusive collection of various flowers on display. A wide variety of Lily flowers were grown with mix of colors.

One among them is yellow stargazer lily.

Bangalore Public Transport

Bangalore (State: Karnataka) has reasonably good public transport system. The main mode of local transport are auto rickshaws and buses. People who can afford can also choose variety of metered taxis. The local travel by train is still in infancy stage with the construction of Metro still in progress.

Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) runs bus services for traveling within the city. It has added or replaced its fleet of buses with the introduction of new buses. The service has been upgraded with the introduction of air-conditioned buses.

If one knows time required to travel before hand and are familiar with the routes, then these buses are the best mode of transport. The air-conditioned Volvo or Marcopolo buses are favorite mode of transport for people especially those who travel long distance to reach the office. These buses run on time and people can reach office at the right time.

Daily and monthly passes are available for regular and Volvo services. Different passes are also available for Senior citizens.

Poetry in Stone - 4

This is fourth in the series. Temples all over India represent the rich cultural heritage. The ancient temples are richly carved and they behold ones attention for their craftsmanship.

One such temple is Jagdish Temple of Udaipur (State: Rajasthan). This temple is located close to the City Palace. Built in 1651, the temple following Indo-Aryan architecture is richly carved externally. The carvings are examples of master craftsmanship.

Here in the frame above one can see musicians and dancers carved on the external wall of the temple. Even minute details like crease of the dress is taken care.

There are several bands of numerous tiny carvings at the base of the temple. There are bands of people, flowers and animals.

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Lalbagh Flower Show - Pink Stargazer Lily

At flower show in Lalbagh Gardens at Bangalore on January 2011 there were exclusive collection of various flowers on display. A wide variety of Lily flowers were grown with mix of colors.

One among them is pink stargazer lily.

Mysore Zoo - Giraffe

Mysore Zoo is the most popular zoo at Mysore (State: Karnataka) in India. There are various animals and birds at the zoo. One among them is Giraffe.

They have been provides lot of space to move around. There are around 2 to 3 of them moving all over the space.

This is a nice place for the kids to get know about the various animals in the wild. The trip through the zoo consumes more than half a day.