Lakshmi Narasimha Temple at Bhadravati is one of the most ornate temple which was built during 13th century during the reign of Hoysala Dynasty.
The temple built on a raised platform the architectural style of comprises of three shrines: one the shrine is facing west and other two shrines are facing north and south. The material used for temple is soap stone.
The entrance to the temple is through an open pillared hall or porch. The porch is supported by very well carved very smooth pillars.
The temple is dedicated to Lakshmi Narasimha an incarnation of the Lord Vishnu. The outer wall of the temple displays exquisite two tier decorative plan. The inner wall of the shrine is plain where as the outer wall is star shaped with numerous recesses and projections that are used as decorative relief.
On the outer wall there are several carvings of Hindu deities in relief.
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 Common Tailorbird.
They have greenish upper body plumage and rust colored forehead and crown. They are unique because of their long upright tail.
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 fiber or spider silk in the form of cradle.
A glimpse of India in black and white. This picture was taken at my friends farm where people are busy in building a small cattle shed.
Bhadravati is a small town in the state of Karnataka just 20 kms from Shimoga. The place has got this name as the Bhadra River flows through the city. This city established itself as industrial town as various industries were setup here in the early days: iron mill in 1918 and a paper mill in 1936.
In the ancient times Hoysala Dynasty ruled this place and the sacred temples built in those days are still present in the city. One such ancient temple is Lakshmi Narasimha Temple. Other places of interest nearby is Shimoga which has several tourist attractions.
Another village near this city is Amratpura and here there is beautiful Amruteshwar Temple.
On the outskirts of Bhubaneswar at a distance of 6 kms there are two twin hills and one of them is Udayagiri and other is Khandagiri.
There are about fifteen caves that are inhabited by Jain scholars and hermits during the ancient periods. They were built during the rule of King Kharavela of Chedi dynasty in 2nd century BC.
The crest of Khandagiri is 37.5 m high, 3.96 m higher than that of Udayagiri. The prominent sites are:
These rock cut caves are exquisitely carved with beautiful sculptures. We shall soon explore more of this place.
The places of interest nearby are:
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.
Apart from various birds one can also spot butterfly here.
A glimpse of heritage monument of India in black and white. Other posts will give you more details about this monument.
In Haridwar one can reach top of the hillock to offer their prayers to Mansa Devi at Mansa Devi Temple.
From the top one can get top see the beautiful views of River Ganges and the plains.
Jain Temple at Ranakpur carved in amber stone is of exceptional beauty. This temple dates back to period anywhere between the late 14th to mid-15th centuries. Dedicated to Adinatha, the temple occupies an area of approximately 60 x 62 meters.
The temple, with its distinctive domes, shikhara, turrets and cupolas rises majestically from the slope of a hill. The construction of the temple and quadrupled image symbolize the Tirthankara's conquest of the four cardinal directions and hence the cosmos.
Entering the temple one is overwhelmed by the the lavish abundance of marvelous stonemason works on white marble. There are four subsidiary shrines, 24 pillared halls.
There are totally 1444 columns each from one piece and all rich decorated with most elaborate sculptures. The pillars, carved in exquisite detail, support the temple. The pillars are all differently carved and no two pillars are the same.
Carvings in the ceilings are not alike. There are approximately 6 big ceilings and many more smaller ones. The carvings in the big ceiling are amazing and they are very different from each other.
Hebbal Lake in north Bangalore is favorite spot for various colorful birds.
On one of my visit to the lake I spotted group of pelicans.
A glimpse of India in black and white.
Ambaji is an important temple town in the state of Gujarat. It is a historical town with and mythological connections that has lot of cultural heritage.
The place is known for the world renowned Ambaji Temple.
We reached this historical town from Patan via Modhera on the way.
We left Modhera in the afternoon to reach Ambaji in the evening.
At Shravanabelagola there are two huge hillocks and the larger hill is known as Indragiri or Vindhyagiri that rises about 470 feet above the plain.
The hillock has to be climbed barefoot through dual flight of steps of about 800 steps cutout of granite rock leading to the summit.
The entire area of this hill has been divided into two parts by a heavy wall at some distance close to the summit.
The places of interest on this hillock as one climbs up are:
A map of the monuments in this hillock are shown above.
Nadankanan Zoo at Bhubaneswar is one of great zoo in India. There are various animals and birds at the zoo. One among them is Barn Owl. It is the most widely spread species of owl.
The plumage on head and back is a mottled shade of grey or brown, the underparts vary from white to brown and are sometimes speckled with dark markings. The face is characteristically heart-shaped and is white in most species.
Unique nature of this bird it hunts in the day. They specialize in hunting small mammals which they locate by sound.
The 14th century Devgiri Fort has several interesting structures of historic importance. One such restored structure is Hathi Hauz which is 20 yards before Chand Minar. It is 47 m in length, 46 m in width and 6.6 m deep with arrangements for inlet and outlet of water through underground channels. But there was no water in this tank during our visit.
In olden days it was used for imparting training in skillful swimming, diving to the soldiers which was necessary for them during an action of defense or attack in the wet moat surrounding the main citadel.
We shall explore more on this fort through other articles.
A glimpse of India in black and white. This is a picture of Warli painting. They are folk paintings from Maharashtra and are very different from other folk and tribal paintings in India.
Halol is a small town situated just 5 kms from Champaner - Pavagadh Archiloegical Site. Even though city is now a industrial hub, it has lot of historical importance.
We covered this place when we had visited the famous archaeological site. It is a beautiful city with great opportunities for sight-seeing and here we visited Sikandar Shah Tomb.
Other places of interest nearby are:
