Venugopalaswamy Temple, Devanahalli

Devanahalli is a small town located at a distance of 35 kms fro Bangalore. There is lot of history associated with this place and there exists a beautiful Fort. There are many temples in the fort dedicated to Venugopalaswamy, Nanjundeshwara, Chandramauleshwara, Veerabhadraswamy, Ranganathaswamy etc., which belong to various era.The Venugopalaswamy temple is the oldest temple. It has a tall Rayagopura at the entrance and has a spacious inner Prakara with Garuda Stambha. At the entrance are placed two Vishnu statutes of Ganga times.

Rayagopura

the shikara on inner prakara and garuda stambha

On the pillars of the main entrance stand two horsemen with swords unsheathed. On these pillars on all other sides there are beautiful sculptures like dancing females, and warriors etc.,

Pillars at the entrance

The Garbhagriha has a standing Venugopala image of Vijayanagara style. The Navaranga in front of Garbhagriha has four black stoned pillars carved with fine relief sculptures on all sides.

One of the pillars in the Navarang

There are many sculptures on these pillars, such as Hayagriva, dancing female figures with attendant musicians, a conch blower, a Kinnara with the lower portion of his body in bird form, a huntress removing a thorn from her leg, etc.

dancing female

kinnara

The outer walls have a frieze of large images illustrating scenes mostly from the Ramayana and the feats of Lord Krishna as a child.

scene from Ramayana

How to Reach There

This place is located on Bangalore - Hyderabad National Highway 7. On this road do not take a deviation to the airport. But still proceed until you reach a junction with circle on the road.

Lady from Village

This is one of the numerous paintings one can shop in the markets Rajasthan.

The painting here depicts a lady waiting for her man to return from the field who has gone to the farm to earn the bread.

Devanahalli Fort

Devanahalli is a small town located at a distance of 35 kms from Bangalore. It has been in the news in the recent times for the Bangalore International Airport that has come up there. As of now it happens to be the second largest airport in the country.

This is not the only reason for town's fame. There is lot of history associated with this place and it happens to be the birth place of Tippu Sultan known as Tiger of Mysore. He was born here in 1750 A.D

But the history of this town is much older than this. Here exists a fort built by Mallabairegowda in 1501 A.D. It remained in the hands of his decedents till 17th century and later occupied by Tipu Sultan family. The present fort is not the original one, but rebuilt by Hyder Ali and Tippu by stone in the 17th century. It is spread over a total area of 20 acres with roughly oval east orientation of fortification. A spacious battlement is provided towards the inner side of the fortification. Like Jaisalmer Golden Fort this is a living fort where many families live inside the fort.

The fort has as many as 12 semi-circular bastions. The bastions are provided with gun points built with lime and brick.

The fort has entrances decorated with cut plasterwork at the east and west. The entrances are quite small, comfortable enough for the horses of yore.

There is a memorial located about 150m south-west of the fort, is traditionally identified as the spot where Tippu Sultan was born. A four pillared arched structure which rests on a square platform within a masonry enclosure having entrance from the east is the only remains available.


The fort has several beautiful temples.

How to Reach There

This place is located on Bangalore - Hyderabad National Highway 7. On this road do not take a deviation to the airport. But still proceed until you reach a junction with circle on the road. At this junction right and immediate right again. This will lead to the fort via Tippu Memorial.

Amber Fort, Jaipur

Along with palaces, and other attractions we set our eyes on exploring the most important tourist attractions of the city i.e., the forts. The third fort in Jaipur we followed after the Nahargarh Fort and Jaigarh Fort is Amber Fort.

Built in 1592 on barren ridge by Raja Man Singh, it is one of the finest examples of Rajput architecture. It provides impressive views over a deep narrow valley and the wider plains beyond. It is located on the hills that surround Jaipur. The fort that sprawls along the Maotha Lake, is composed of a massive complex gateways, courts, stairways and pillared pavilions, and palaces.


From the bottom of the hill one can reach the fort over the hill either by using stairways or elephant ride. For a nominal fee they carry two to three people on elephant to the top where front courtyard of the complex exists.

The entire fort complex, is constructed of white and red sandstone. The imposing rugged outlook of the fort is of the stark contrast to to the inside, a lavish ornate interior which is combination of both Hindu and Mughal styles of architecture. Some of the interior walls of the fort are covered with murals, frescoes, and paintings depicting various scenes from daily life. Other walls are covered with intricate carvings, mosaic, and minute mirror work. The front yard is adorned with the marvelous, pillared hall of the Diwan-i-Am, and the two - tiered painted gateway Ganesh Pol. Once you enter through the Ganesh Pol, the structure of special interests inside are Sheesh Mahal, Jas Mandir.

Sheesh Mahal is the palace of mirrors. The walls of this palace as the name suggests are inlaid with exquisite mirrors. 

The Jas Mandir, located on the upper floor, is a superb combination of Mughal and Rajput style of architecture, as can be seen from the exquisitely carved Jali screens, and fine mirror and stucco work.

Jaigarh Fort, Jaipur

Along with palaces, and other attractions we set our eyes on exploring the most important tourist attractions of the city i.e., the forts. The second fort in Jaipur we followed after the Nahargarh Fort is Jaigarh Fort.

This fort is very rugged in structure and is of very less artistic importance. It has huge fort walls, watch towers, palaces and temples. The palace is now converted into museum. This was built in 1726 by Sawai Jai Singh. This fort is also known as Fort of Victory. It was built mainly to safeguard Amber Fort from the enemy attacks which is more of artistic in nature. The fort is perched on a cliff and the walkways inside the fort provide the breathtaking views of the surroundings.

The World's largest cannon on wheel, Jaiban, is to be found here. There is a huge water pit close to the cannon at a lower level. It is believed that the sound generated by firing this cannon was so huge that people close by can become deaf. After firing from this cannon the person has to jump in the water pit to save himself.

View of cannon Jaiban kept under shade and covered by fence

Also of interest is the intricate water supply and storage system, which is considered a marvel of planning.

Next we will explore the Amber Fort.

P.S: December is the month when lot of tourists land in Rajasthan. So if you really want all the arrangements to be done properly this has to be done before October end.

Tonnur Kerre, a Picturesque Lake

Tonnur Kerre is a little known place when compared to the neighboring places like Mysore, Srirangpatana, Melkote. Never the less that does not reduce the beauty or charm of the place. This place does has historical significance.



The area is famous for the beautiful fresh water lake surrounded by hillocks. The lake occupies an area of around 2000 acres. About 1000 years ago Saint Ramanujacharya moved to this place from Srirangam. He had built the lake and then moved to nearby area Melkote. The lake is built between two rocky hills by constructing a dam. The source of water is by means of river and many streams running off the hills surrounding the lake.



Because of the crystal clear water in the lake it is also known as Moti Talab. This forms a ideal picnic spot away from the busy life of the city. People can also enjoy boating here in the local made round boats called "Theppa". In one corner of the lake there is a small beach where people can relax. It is a very calm and scenic place and words make no justice to it. It has to be only experienced to cherish.

The water from the lake is used for irrigation. Even fishing is done here for the variety of fishes. If one sits on the edge of the lake lot of small fishes come close to you in search of food.



This is not a place for sightseeing. This is more of a place where people can relax in the nature from their daily busy routines. The place is slowly getting popular and one can see steady increase in number of people coming here. I only hope that influx of tourists to this spot does not disturb the serenity of the place.

How to Reach There

This place is located interior to the Bangalore - Mysore 2 lane highway in the right side while going towards Mysore. Just after crossing Mandya one can see a road on the right and directions are available on highway for Melkote. It is approximately 35 kms from this highway and from Bangalore it is around 130kms. The roads are very good and people do drive here at good speed.

One Lovely Blog Award

I got this award from Christopher Raun Leth at Christopher's Photos. And a thousand thanks to her. I'm deeply honored!

The rules for sharing this award are different than other awards because instead of just passing it on to just anyone, you are supposed to pass it on to blogs you've recently discovered.

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. You can also make a comment about the person who gave the award to you by asking your readers to stop by their blog, pay them a visit, leave a comment, or even 'follow' their blog if they feel led to.

2) Pass the award on to other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Contact these bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award. Just go to their site and leave a comment to one of their posts telling them you have an award for them and to please come by your blog to get it. Just a little note: You pick the number of blogs to pass the award to, just give it to those you have recently discovered.

Even though I started my blog in 2007, I have been actively blogging from last 2 months. Hence from that perspective the blogs that I have discovered recently are:

These are my recently discovered blogs:

Travelling - Ταξίδια
Lazy Clicks
i Share
Sandeep's World
Blogtrotter
travelling
My Travelogue

Walk the Wilderness