Yoganarasimha Temple, Devarayan Durga

The rocky hills of Devrayan Durga near Bangalore is surrounded by forest. The hill is dotted with several temples and at the top is Yoganarasimha Temple.

This temple is believed to be 1000 years old. The temple has beautifully carved tower on the  tower.

The tower of the main shrine at the back of the temple is beautifully carved. 

Birds in Neighbourhood - 6

I get to see variety of birds around my parents house in Udupi. I have captured few of them in my camera and here they are. One such beautiful bird is Rufous Treepie. 

It is found mostly in Indian subcontinent. The main color of the body is cinnamon with a black head and the long graduated tail is grey and is tipped in black. The wing has a white patch. The bill, legs and feet are black.

It is an agile bird clinging and clambering through the branches. 




This is a omnivore bird that feeds almost completely in trees on fruits, seeds, small reptiles and the eggs and young of birds. 

Kengal Anjaneya Swamy Temple, Vandaraguppe

Vandaraguppe is a small village, 55 kms from Bangalore on the road to Mysore. Here by the side of highway we can see Kengal Anjaneya Swamy Temple.

The reigning deity of the temple is a five-and-half-foot tall Hanuman sporting a moustache. As per legend few 1000 years ago this deity was installed here by sage Vyasaraya.

The original temple was build by the Hoysala kings, but it did not last long as enough care was taken. The present structure is newly built and now it has been maintained well.

Images of India - 15

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

Sahastrabahu Temple inside Gwalior Fort at Gwalior

Kamala Nehru Park, Mumbai

In Mumbai at the top of Malabar Hill is the beautiful park, Kamal Nehru Park. It is named after Kamala Nehru, the wife of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

It covers an area of 4,000 square feet. The park has a lot of greenery with a small play area for children. 

Here, the interesting structure is a shoe-shaped structure, called Boot house. Other noteworthy structure is Ashok stumba. The shoe lace is beautifully tied in 'X' style.

From the park one can have the great view of Chowpatty Beach and also Marine Drive (Queen's Necklace). The panoramic view of the city attracts lot of visitors all through the year.

White-browed Wagtail at Hebbal Lake, Bangalore

Hebbal Lake in north Bangalore is favourite spot for various colourful birds. On one of my visits to the place, I saw a new bird, White-browed Wagtail.

It is a medium-sized bird. Their body color pattern is back above and white below, along with a prominent white brow, shoulder stripe and outer tail feathers. It is a slender bird, with the long wagging tail. At 21 cms it is the largest in species of wagtail. 

It is a resident breeder in India and is endemic to the Indian subcontinent. They are seen in pairs or small groups near open water.

Lalitha Mahal Palace, Mysore

The Lalitha Mahal Palace is located on the outskirts of Mysore city near Chamundi Hills. The palace was built in 1921 at the orders of His Highness Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore.



This magnificent palace in the middle of the garden is the second largest palace in the city. The two storied palace was designed by E.W. Fritchley, and constructed by Munivenkatappa. The palace built in Renaissance architectural style resembles the St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. 

It has a projecting porch in the front. Spherical domes with the dominating central dome sets the front elevation of the palace. Painted in pure white color with green color in the background it looks elegant.

It has been converted into a heritage hotel in 1974. However, the splendor of the palace has been maintained.

Images of India - 16

A glimpse of India in black and white. Here we see  a goods train stationed at Aluva railway station in Kerala. The railway platform can be seen at a distance.

Shivanasamudra Waterfalls

I had done this trip a few years back but had not written about it so far. This place is about 130 kms from Bangalore and we left home after breakfast to this place. The road to this place via small villages and scenic fields.

The dazzling Shivanasamudra Waterfalls is formed by River Kaveri. Here river creates two natural waterfalls named as Gaganchukki and Bharachukki where water flow is broken into two or more channels before dropping over a cliff. The falls are considered to be one among the 100 best waterfalls in the world.

It has an average width of 305 meters, a height of 98 m, and an average volume of 934 cubic meters/sec. The sight of these two falls is mesmerizing and the best time to visit them is during the monsoon the rainy season. This waterfalls can be reached from Bangalore via Kanakpura Road towards Mysore.

Purple Heron at Hebbal Lake, Bangalore

Hebbal Lake in north Bangalore is favorite spot for various colorful birds. People have identified nearly 100 spices of birds here.

One among them is Purple Heron. It is a wading bird in the heron family. It is a large slender bird. 

It feeds in shallow water, spearing fish, frogs, insects and small mammals. It will often wait motionless for prey, or slowly stalk its victim.

This is a migratory bird that comes to here from outside India, may be Africa or Europe. 

Chotahati Gumpha, Udaygiri

Chotahati Gumpha is located on Udayagiri hill near Bhubaneswar. This natural cave is of the period 1st century B.C. when Mahameghavahana Chedi dynasty ruled the place.

This is a small cave of sandstone with a low ceiling. The facade of the cave has remarkable carvings on it. 

The facade is decorated with plants, floral motifs, elephant figures, pilaster crowning with winged animal. 

Images of India - 14

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

Jain Temple inside Golden Fort at Jaisalmer

Sri Venkatramana Temple, Karkala

This is an ancient temple belonging to Gowda Saraswath Brahmina Samaj in Karkala and it has a history of over 550 years. This temple is popularly known as  ‘Padutirupati’.

The temple is built in a traditional style and in the year 1450 the idol of Lord is installed here. From the records available it is clear that re-installation ceremony was performed in the year 1537 A.D. There are around Sub shrines of other deities around the main sanctum.

The temple looks very simple by its external appearance.  In front of the main sanctum there are four beautiful granite pillars. The each of these four pillars in-turn are made up of many more pillars, so there are in total more than 16 pillars.

The pillars are artistic and intricate carvings by the Late Shri Ranjal Gopal Shenoy, a master sculptor.

Birds In Neighbourhood - 5

I get to see variety of birds in the back yard of my parents house in Udupi. I have captured few of them in my camera and here they are. One such beautiful bird is Purple-rumped Sun bird.

It is found mostly in Indian subcontinent. They are small in size less than 10 cms long, feeding mainly on nectar but sometimes take insects. They have medium-length thin down-curved bills. 

David Sassoon Library, Mumbai

The David Sassoon Library is located in the Fort Area of Mumbai and it is the first building constructed in this area in the Southern part. 

A group of young mechanics and foremen of the Royal Mint and Government Dockyard established a museum and library for mechanical models and architectural design, in 1847, and this led to the creation of the Sassoon Library. Sir David Sassoon, contributed majorly for the cause and this was completed in 1870.

It has Venetian Gothic styled structure and is built using yellow Malad stone.  Above the entrance portico is a white stone bust of David Sassoon.

It is the oldest living Library and Reading rooms that is still in use in Mumbai. It houses a large collection of very rare old books. 

Images of India - 13

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

Jagadambi Temple at Khajuraho 

Udupi

Udupi is a small town 58 kms from Mangalore in the Southern state Karnataka. This beautiful city with old world charm has beautiful mountains on the east and on the west  Arabian Sea. Even though city is getting modern there is still laid back atmosphere where one can take it easy. 

The place is known as the seat of Madhwa renaissance, founded by the sage Madhwacharya. This led to the birth of Ashta Mathas, surrounding the Sri Krishna Temple. The city has diverse cultural heritage and lot of eminent personalities come from this region.

The place has excellent transport services and one can go around either by auto, taxi or bus. The places of interest in the city are:

• Sri Krishna Temple
• Anatheshwar Temple
• Madhva Sarovara
• Malpe Beach
• Ambalpadi Temple

The places of interest around the city are:

• Manipal End-point
• Mangalore
• Karkala
• Vinayaka Temple at Kumbashi
• Moodbidri
• Kundapur
• Kapu Beach
• St. Mary's Island
• Kollur
• Kunjarugiri
• Barkur

Apart from the various places of interrst in around the city, it is also famous for the food. It never ceases to amaze the people with its exceptional taste not only from length and breadth of the country but also all over the world. The above preparation is known as "Nire Dosa".

Birds In Neighbourhood - 4

I am the few of the fortunate who occasionally get to see few birds of different variety around my house in Bangalore. I have captured few of them in my camera and here they are. One such beautiful bird is White-cheeked Barbet.

It is found mostly in southern India. It has a distinctive super-cilium and a broad white cheek stripe below the eye. The head is brownish streaked with white, sometimes giving it a capped appearance. The bill is pale pinkish.