Lakshminarayana Temple, Hosaholalu

Hosaholalu is a small village just 2 kms away from KR Pet in Mandya district. By road, this place is 50 kms from Mysore and 160 kms from Bangalore.

Lakshminarayana Temple here is one of the finest example of Hoysala architecture. This temple at a later stage has additions from Vijaynagar style of temple building. Though the date of construction is unknown, historians believe this temple to be built in the middle of 13th century, taking into consideration the style of architecture. 

It is a Trikootachala or a three shrined temple built on a star-shaped, raised platform using soapstone. On the platform the temple has a pillared hall in the center and the three shrines around it. 

The main shrine containing the idol of Lakshminarayana is the only one that has a tower. The tower on the central sanctum  is a five-stepped tower that is intricately carved.

The base of the temple has the six layers of decorative bands that comprise of swans, elephants, horse riders, leafy scrolls, various gods and goddesses and scenes from Hindu epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharatha.

The mid section of the temple is richly decorated with sculptures of various Gods, There are totally 120 sculptural images and being a Lord Vishnu temple there are 32 images of him in various forms.  

Apart from this there are also dancing Saraswathi, Brahma, Ganapathi, dancers, musicians and many other deities. I could not see the beautifully carved interiors as I was not open when I visited there.

Birds in Neighbourhood - 11

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 Common Tailorbird. 

They have greenish upper body plumage and rust colored forehead and crown. They are unique because of their long upright tail.

They are easy to identify even if they are hidden vegetation, by their loud calls. These birds are insectivorous. 

They get their name from the way their nest is built where the edges of a large leaf are pierced and sewn together with plant fibre or spider silk in the form of cradle.

Rameshwar Temple, Bhubaneswar

During our trip to Orissa we visited Rameshwar Temple at Bhubaneswar,  an ancient temple just 2 kms away from the Lingaraj Temple. Other name of the temple is Mausi-maa Temple.

Lord Shiva is the deity of this temple. The temple is built using sandstone on a platform. Architecture of the temple follows Kalingan style and built in the early 12th century A.D. 

The temple is decorated with beautiful architectural motifs. There are beautiful sculptures on the external walls of the temple like Gajanan, Bhairava on window like structure.

This is the last temple we visited here on the day as it was cloudy and rainy in the evening.

Images of India - 29

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

Rajabhai Tower in Mumbai

Konark

Konark a small town on the coast by the Bay of Bengal, is 65 kilometers from Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. 

Annually Konark hosts dance festival devoted to classical Indian dance forms popularly known as Konark Dance Festival.

The name Konarka is derived from two he Sanskrit words Kona meaning angle and Arka meaning Sun. The most important tourist attraction in this place is Sun Temple (1).

Interesting tourist places that I have visited near by are:

• Chandrabhaga beach
• Kuruma
• Puri
• Chilika
• Bhubaneswar
• Chaurasi

Birds of Hebbal Lake - 2, Bangalore

Hebbal Lake in north Bangalore is favorite spot for joggers, photography enthusiasts and birds. It occupies around 150 acres and has beautiful garden on one side of the lake.

One of the popular bird at the lake is Egret. Here are few images of the bird that I spotted in one of my visit to the lake on the early morning hours.

Chathurmukha Basadi, Manjeshwar

Chathurmukha Basadi at Manjeshwar is a Jain temple. I am told this is an ancient temple, but I am not sure how old. This is very close to the another ancient temple Anantheshwar Temple.

This temple has a very unique architecture. The temple derives its name Chaturmukh as there are four entrances to the temple in the four directions. Inside the temple there are four idols of Vardhamana Mahaveera, the founder of Jainism, facing the four directions.

Images of India - 28

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

Cenotaphs at Devikund in Bikaner

Jagadish Temple, Udaipur

The Jagadish Temple in Udaipur is located on the northern side of the City Palace within a proximity of 150 meters. Built in Indo-Aryan style it is the largest temple in the city. The temple construction was initiated by Maharana Jagat Singh, King of Udaipur in 1651. 

The temple is slightly above the ground level and to reach the temple one has to climb 32 marble steps and top the entrance is guarded by 2 huge stone elephants. 

It is a three-storied temple with marvelous architecture comprising of beautifully carved pillars, decorated ceilings. The architecture of the temple boasts of a pyramidal spire, prayer hall and a porch. The first and the second storey of the temple possess 50 pillars each. 

The external walls of the temple are intricately carved with sculptures of musicians, dancers, and various animals such as elephants and horsemen.

In the main shrine there is a huge black stone idol of Lord Vishnu with 4 arms. This idol is carved out of single piece of black stone. At the four corners of the main shrine there are 4 smaller shrines dedicated to Lord Ganesha, Sun God, Goddess Shakti and Lord Shiva.

Birds in Neighbourhood - 10

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 Asian Koel. 

It is a member of the cuckoo genus of birds. They are large, long-tailed, measuring 15 to 18 inches. The male and female are distinctive in their appearance. The male have glossy bluish-black, with a pale greenish grey bill, red eyes and it has grey legs and feet. 

They are omnivorous, consuming a variety of insects, caterpillars, eggs and small vertebrates. Adults feed mainly on fruits. They are unusual among the cuckoos in being largely frugivorous as adults.

The familiar song of the male is a repeated koo-Ooo. It is mostly seen in South East Asia.

Onam Flower Decorations

Onam is the rice harvest festival and the Festival of Rain Flowers. It marks the Asura King Mahabali's annual visit to the earth. It is in the honor of King Mahabali, affectionately called Onathappan, that Onam is celebrated. As part of the ritual people arrange the flowers in various patterns. 

Happy Onam

Sri Siddhivinayaka Temple, Hattiangadi

Sri Siddhivinayaka Temple of Hattiangadi is an eight century temple. The temple has undergone several renovations and in 1997 it was once again renovated and was built in granite.  So what we see today is the new structure.

The temple is devoted to Lord Ganapathi and this is the only temple where he sports a jata-hair and it is left loose at the back. 

There are also beautifully carved 32 Lord Ganesha idols installed in the temple premises. One can see the Lord in various styles.

Just outside the temple on its rear side is yagna shall of the temple and it can be seen in the above image.

Hattiangadi, about 8 km to the northeast of Kundapur in the Udupi district.

Images of India - 27

A glimpse of India in black and white. This week being the celebration of Ganesh festival, it is celebrated all over India. Here are few images.

Happy Ganesh Chaturti to all.

Someshwara Temple, Mulbagal

Historical town of Mulbagal has many temples of ancient period. One of the temple among them is Someshwara Temple.

This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The Shiva linga here is similar to that at sacred Kashi or Varanasi. Outside the temple there is a big Nandi.

The temple looks externally simple when compared to the pillars inside. The pillars are beautifully carved with simple yet elegant sculptures.

The pillars are carved with small carvings which depict stories from epics.

Black and Yellow Garden Spider in Hebbal Garden, Bangalore

Hebbal Lake in north Bangalore has a small garden on its banks. There are various flowering trees as well as small flowering plants in the garden. One one of my visits to the garden I noticed Black and Yellow Garden Spider.

The Black and Yellow garden spiders are commonly seen in fields and gardens. It spins its web like a circle. 

They have a small front body section with silver hairs on it. The abdomen is larger and is egg-shaped marked with a mix of black and yellow colors. Legs of these spiders are black with red or yellow bands. Female spiders are larger when compared to their male counterparts.

The spider hangs with her head down in the center of her web, waiting for prey to be caught. They eat flying insects that get trapped in the sticky web. The most common ones are flies, grasshoppers, bees, and wasps.

Sunset Sky at Devgiri Fort

The formidable 14th century hill fort, the Devgiri Fort is at Daulatabad, 15 kms away from Aurangabad. On our way back after a visit to Ellora in the evening the fort was engulfed by sunset sky.

The view of fort in the mild orange sky was  mind blowing. I could not resist myself from clicking a few snaps by stopping the vehicle.

Images of India - 26

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

Bombay High Court

Hoysaleswara Temple, Halebid

Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebid is one of the ancient temple of 12th century. This magnificent temple is a sculptural marvel in stone. Another prominent ancient place Belur is at a distance of 16 km from here. It was built during the rule of King Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysala Empire. The construction of the temple was completed in 1121 CE. The temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. 

The temple consists of two different sanctums, each with its respective vestibule navaranga and bull mantapa. These two different temples are symmetrically side by side and connected by a short corridor. The sanctums are star shaped and the halls have indented square plans. These two sanctums are known as "Hoysaleswara" named after the King and "Shantaleswara" named after the Queen. 

The plan of the inside of the temple is simple but the exterior looks different because of the many projections and recesses in the walls. On its outer walls are sculptural several thousands of figures and groups showing to us the world of imagination in which sculptor of those days allowed their minds to wander. On a platform which closely follows the contour of the temple rises the basement which is one of the most elaborately carved.

It is cut up horizontally into about a dozen bands each containing a sculptured frieze. The lowest of these bands has marching of war elephants; further up is the band of charging horsemen. Most interesting of all of them is friezes illustrating episodes from Hindu mythology Mahabharath and Ramayan.

The temple is known for its sculptures that run all along the outer wall, starting with an dancing image of the god Ganesha on the left side of the south entrance and ending with another image of Ganesha on the right hand side of the north entrance.

Opposite to each sanctum outside the hall on the east is a pavilion with a bull and to further east of the south pavilion stands a shrine for Sun-god.