Great Masjid - Qutub Shahi Complex Hyderabad

Great Mosque in Hyderabad is one of the grandest masjid in the city. It is popularly known as the great masjid of the Golkonda tombs.

This beautiful masjid is next to the tomb of Hayat Bakshi Beguminside inside the Qutub Shahi Tomb Complex. It was built in 1666 A.D. by Hayat Bakshi Begum's son, the 7th Sultan Abdullah. 

The architecture has a distinctive style that blends Persian, Pashtun and Hindu forms. The Prayer Hall is 76 feet wide and has three bays which are 51 feet deep. The front has a five arched facade. 

Fifteen cupolas decorate the roof and the prayer-hall is flanked by two lofty minarets. The inscriptions in the masjid are in calligraphic art. 

Coot at Jakkur Lake, Bangalore

At Jakkur Lake in north Bangalore you can come across many colorful birds. One of them is Coot.

Coots are small water birds. They have predominantly black plumage with red to dark red eyes and colored bills.

Bhedaghat

Bhedaghat is a small town is just 20 kms from Jabalpur by the side of the river Narmada. It is ideal getaway for people looking for a peaceful time from their busy schedule. The place is known worldwide for huge marble rocks found here.

The other places of interest here are:

• Dhuandhar Falls
• Chaunsath Yogini Temple

Pemayangtse, Perfect Sublime Lotus

Pemayangtse is located in the South Western part of Sikkim at a distance of 9 kms from Pelling. It is at a height of 6,000 feet above sea level. 

The weather in this place is amazing with mild and short summer followed by monsoon and cold winter.

The name of the town means the “Perfect Sublime Lotus” as indicated by the name it is beautiful place with full of greenery. It is also a important Buddhist religious center.

Pemayangtse Monsastery located on the hill top is a beautiful place. One can also get a magnificent view of Ruins of Rabdentse Palace from here.

Happy Diwali

Friends wish you all
HAPPY & PROSPEROUS
Deepavali

Diwali, the  Festival of Lights is favorite among kids because they get a chance to light fire crackers.

My kids  have grown up and no more lighting crackers as they are aware of air and noise pollution.

But, the sky is lit with fire crackers of various colors and shapes.

And to top it all homemade sweets for Deepavali.

Thread Garden, Ooty

Thread Garden at Ooty is located by the side of North Lake Road, opposite the Boat House.  This beautiful garden is created by Anthony Josheph with the help of 50  skillful and proficient craftsman. This garden is a first of this type that is so colorful and lovely.

It exhibits some of the most magnificent and exquisite collection of artificial flowers and plants. 

To create this wonder one has not used a stitch of a needle or any other machinery. Stiff cardboards are used for flowers and petals, steel and copper wires are used for stem. Along with this they generously used variety of colorful threads to create these visual delights. 

More than 400 different shades and plain natural colored embroidery threads have been used to create artificially made flowers that remain fresh for a long long time.

It has wonderful display of flowers, plants and lawns fabricated entirely from thread, canvas and wire. They look very natural and fresh forever.

Rani Sipri's Tomb, Ahmedabad

Rani Sipri's Tomb is located in the old area of Ahmadabad within the same complex as Rani Sipri Mosque. It is one of the ancient monuments that has a combination of Indo-Islamic architecture.

Constructed some time in 16th century the tomb has a large dome in the central part surrounded by 4 small domes in the 4 corners. The tomb has screens made of stones have been carved beautifully.

Siddhesvara Temple, Namchi

Siddhesvara Dham in Namchi is a unique pilgrim center that has replicas of the twelve Jyotirlinga. It is atop Solophok hilltop occupying an area of 29.9 hectares, just 5 kms from the city. 

It was consecrated by Shri Jagadguru Sankaracharya Swami Swarupananda Saraswati on 8th November, 2011 and is now open to public. Before one can reach the main area after buying the entry tickets, you enter into a large hall that showcases miniaturized versions of various structures in the complex that gives an overall orientation.

The one that catches the attention of all from a long distance is gigantic statue of Lord Shiva and a tall statue of Kirateshwar who is an incarnation of Lord Shiva.

The other main attractions are fantastic replicas of 12 Jyotirlingas like Jagannath, Dwarika, Rameshawaram, Badrinath etc.,

This well maintained place has a beautiful flower garden which is visited by little sparrows.

Nadankanan Zoo - Peacock

Nadankanan Zoo at Bhubaneswar is one of great zoo in India. There are various animals and birds at the zoo. 

We went on a safari to nearby forest and we could see the beautiful peacock sitting on a tree.

Drive from Lachen to Gurudongmar Lake

We managed to get some sleep in the very cold night at Lachen. We were up very early in the morning by 4 a.m for a drive of 67 kms to Gurudongmar Lake.

We passed through a beautiful valley Chopta Valley. It is located in-between Lachen and Gurudongmar which gets covered with flowers in spring and with snow during winter. 

As we go up the high altitude one can distinctly see the change in foliage. From green forests or large trees, the foliage changes to mostly smaller bushes. On either side of the road on come across beautiful snow covered peaks.

Beautiful Gurudongmar Lake which is located further up at an altitude of 17800 ft near Indo-Tibet border. 

Kadari Manjunatheshwara Temple, Mangalore

The Manjunatheshwara Temple at Mangalore on the hills of Kadri is a popular temple. It is very old temple, but the present structure built in complete stone dates to 14th century.

The temple has various statues of Gorakanatha, Machendranath, Shringinath, Manjushri, Lokshewara and even Buddha apart from Lord Manjunatha. 

In front of the temple, at an height there are a number of water ponds and there is also a huge light pole. 

There is a natural spring at an elevated location at the back of the temple. The water from this spring is let into nine ponds of different sizes adjacent to it. 

One visiting this simple temple can have a good time in the serene and calm surroundings.