Lingaraj Temple Complex, Bhubaneswar

Lingaraj Temple Complex in Bhubaneswar is the oldest in the city is more than 1100 years old. Here Lingaraja Temple is the largest temple in the city. The temples in this complex are built based on the Kalinga Architecture.

The temple complex has 50 other shrines and is enclosed by a large compound wall. This is maintained by the Temple Trust Board and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI).

The huge complex also houses the temple of Parvati and several other structures.  The entire temple complex is a sculptural marvel.

Sadly photography is strictly prohibited in the complex. An elevated platform, offering grand view of the temple complex, is just outside the compound wall surrounding the temple complex.  The platform was built by Lord Curzon, as the entry to the area is prohibited to non – Hindus.  This platform comes to the rescue of all the photography enthusiasts.

Images of India - 12

A glimpse of India in black and white. Here we see one of the towering office complex in Bangalore.

Anegudde Vinayaka Temple

Kumbashi or Anegudde is a small village located at a distance of 31 kms from Udupi. Anegudde is the combination of two words - 'Aane' meaning 'Elephant' and 'Gudde' meaning 'hillock' as it is the abode of the elephant-headed god, Lord Vinayaka.

Here on the hillock there is the famous Shri Varasidhi Vinayaka Temple. The main sanctum enshrines the magnificent image of Lord Vinayaka in a standing posture. It is also believed that the statue of Lord Ganapathi is growing every year, and certainly the reputation also wide spreading.

All around the shrine there are sculptural depictions from the Bhargava Purana. 

How to Reach:

This is on the National Highway from Udupi to Kumdapur. This comes on the right side of the road with a huge gate as entrance to the temple.

Glimpses of Hebbal Lake & Park

Hebbal Lake in north Bangalore has been my favorite place for the park by its side. The park has lot of flowering plants and trees that are of interest to nature lovers. Below is one of the flower in the park.

There are also lot of birds that visit the lake and park. Below is the Cormorant.

Bardari, Devgiri Fort

The 14th century Devgiri Fort is one of the most complex and intricate forts of India  There are various structures inside the fort that are worth attention. 

Bardari is an octagonal building at the summit in the Devgiri Fort. It has dome shaped roof and nicely carved windows. This can be reached only after climbing 200 to 400 steps.

When this fort was under the control of Mughal dynasty this place was home for Mughal Governor. 



The complete area around the fort can be seen from the top here. 

Images of India - 11

A glimpse of ancient sculptures of India in black and white and are showcased museums for the benefit of interested people.

The 12th century sculpture of Jain Thirthankara Adinath at Archaeological Museum in Shimoga

Poetry in Stone - 16

This is sixteenth in the series on the rich cultural heritage of ancient temples in India. There are various intricate sculptures in each of these temples where each one of them is better than the other.

The 14th century Jain Tempe at Ranakpur is beautifully carved in marble. Every inch of the temple is exceptionally carved. The pillars are intricately carved withe the craftsmanhip that are unmatched. Here top part of one of the pillar in temple is shown. 

There is a beautiful sculpture of Hanuman in Hampi.  This is more than 6ft big sculpture has ornamental decorations carved beautifully around the body. This was kept in one of the small rooms there near an excavation site.

The 14th century Sri Ranganathswamy Temple at Srirangam is a sculptural marvel. There are various sub-shrines that are carved beautifully in the temple. On one such shrine there are various sculptures on the external wall from left to right: a maiden with a parrot, Lord Krishna playing the flute and a maiden playing the vina.

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Mysore Zoo - Vulturine Guineafowl

Mysore Zoo is the most popular zoo at Mysore in India. There are various wild animals and birds at the zoo. One among them are Vulturine Guineafowl.

Vulturine Guineafowl is a large bird with a round body and small head. It is longer in the wings, neck, legs and tail than other guineafowl. 

The adult has a bare blue face and long bare black neck and head. The slim neck projects from a cape of long, glossy, blue and white hackles. The breast is cobalt blue, and the rest of the body plumage is black, finely spangled with white. 

Maharashtra Police Headquarters, Mumbai

The present headquarters of Maharashtra Police in Mumbai is a heritage structure at Colaba close to Gateway of India. They moved into this place in the year 1982. 

Prior to that this heritage structure was known by the name Royal Alfred Sailors Home and it was built to accommodate seamen. Its construction was initiated by Maharaja Khanderao Gaekwad of Baroda  and completed in 1872. This 270 feet long and 58 feet Gothic structure was architected by Stevens and built using blue basalt stone. The roof is covered by red Mangalore tiles.

But when one passes in front of this structure that catches everyone's attention is magnificent sculpture of Neptune in the top portion. This sculptures were crafted by students of the J J School of Art under the supervision of John Lockwood Kipling, a Professor of Architecture.

Neptune, the Roman God of the sea, is seated in a shell surrounded by mythical creatures, sea horses in the waves of water.  On either corners are well crafted sea lions looking in opposite directions.

Images of India - 10

A glimpse of heritage monument of India in black and white. Other posts will give you more details about this monument.

Lakshman Jhula bridge and temples in the backdrop at Rishikesh 

Rajarani Temple, Bhubaneswar

Rajarani Temple in the middle of well maintained gardens is located in Bhubaneswar. It is an 11th century Saiva temple. This temple was built using dull red and turbid yellow sandstone. 

This temple is built on pnahcratha style on a raised platform with two structures; a central shrine with the curvilinear spire over its roof raising up to a height of 18 m and a viewing hall with a pyramidal roof. 

At the entrance of the temple on either side there are round thick columns entwined by naga (snake). Other interesting sculptures are saiva dwarapalas on the entrance door jambs and sculpture of Lakulisa on the lintel of entrance above which is the architrave of Navagrahas.

The best preserved sculpture of the temple are the standing astadikpalas clad in diaphanous drapery on the central facade of the tower.

Scenes of marriage of Siva, Nataraja, Parvati are the cult images present in the temple. There are tall slender sophisticated nayikas gracing the walls of the sanctum depicted in various roles and moods. The scroll motifs are the foliages, creepers and vines.

Big Birds of Mysore Zoo - 5

Mysore Zoo is the most popular zoo at Mysore in India. There are various wild animals and birds at the zoo. One of the birds is below:

Thayumanaswami Temple, Tiruchirapalli

At Trichy, the Rock Fort is a a huge 83 meter rock which is approximately 3800 million years. Thayumanaswami Temple is located close to the base of the rock  and was constructed by the Pallava king Mahendravarman I in the 6th century AD.

This temple has a  tower covered with gold.  It is dedicated to Lord Siva where the lingam is a projection of the rock itself. The temple can be reached by a flight of steps on the way to Ucchi Pillayar Temple which is at the top of Rockfort.

The temple has a 100-pillar wall and there are beautiful sculptures carved on the pillars.

Images of India - 9

A glimpse of heritage monument of India in black and white. Other posts will give you more details about this monument.

Yoganarsimha Temple on hilltop at Melkote 

A Short Trip

It is hot summer here and for kids schools are closed for vacation. As I had not planned for any holiday in advance no bookings were done either by flight or train. So only option left for us was to drive down by car to where ever we wanted to go. 

As it is summer here we decided on a trip to hill station. It is a short trip of 5 days covering temples, palace and cool locales of hill station. We stated from Bangalore on 1st of May and headed to Mysore. On the way we visited temples at Somnathpur and Talakad. We were in Mysore by the afternoon and visited the palace after a brief rest. We visited this palace again for kids even though we were here earlier.

On 2nd May we left early morning for Najangud to visit an old temple. We were in Ooty, the "Queen of Hills" by 11 a.m via Bandipur, Madumalai and Masangudi enjoying our drive through the forest. It was delight watching the birds and animals in the forest. This road is through the 36 hair-pin curves up the hill.

After Checking into the hotel we drove to Coonoor another hill station nearby. We were back in Ooty in the evening after visiting gardens and couple view points. Next day 3rd May was dedicated to Ooty for tour of gardens and viewpoints. In the afternoon we had the company of rain.

Next day morning on 4th May we visited some more places in Ooty including boating in the lake. We left this place by 11 a.m for Mysore after seeing some of places on the way. This time we took a different route to Mysore via Gudalur, Madumalai and Bandipur. On 5th May we visited Karanji lake and zoo before starting on our way back to Bangalore.

Images of India - 8

A glimpse of heritage monument of India in black and white. Other posts will give you more details about this monument.

Barah Kaman at Bijapur