Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi

Veera Narayana Temple located in Belavadi is an ancient 12th century temple carved in soapstone. This temple comprising of three shrines was built during the rule of the Hoysala King Veera Ballala II.

In this temple with unique architecture each  of the three shrines has a complete by itself with tower on top of the shrine. Among the three shrines, two of the shrines face each other and are located on either side of a wide and spacious open hall with thirty seven bays.

The central shrine is much older and its inner walls are plain with well decorated roof. In all, the temple complex has fifty nine bays that is exhibited by many pillars. While most of these pillars are lathe-turned and bell shaped, some have decorative carvings on them. 

The outer wall of the temple has many eaves running around the temple. Below this are miniature decorative towers on pilasters. A panel of Hindu deities and their attendants are below this eves followed by a set of five moldings that form the base of the wall.

All shrines have sculptured decoration on the towers, and the sculptures on the walls are bold and are visible from a distance. These beautiful sculptures represent various forms of deity of the temple.

Shri Shiddeshwar Temple, Bijapur

Shri Shiddeshwar Temple in Bijapur is located at heart of the city.

It is on behalf of Solapur Shree Siddarameshwar of Basav's Saints. This is a relatively new temple when compared to other ancient structures of the city.

ASI Museum Sculptures - 2, Shimoga

In Shimoga in the fort area is the 16th century Shivappa Nayak Palace  has been converted into a A.S.I Museum. There are many sculptures in this museum which were excavated from various regions. Some of them are sculptures of Bodhisattva. 

In early Indian Buddhism, Bodhisattva was primarily used to refer specifically to Gautama Buddha in his former life. Here is sculpture of 2nd century Gandhara style Bodhisattva Head excavated from Taxila.

Here is another sculpture of 5th century Gupta style Bodhisattva Head excavated from Saranath.

Tara in Tibetan Buddhism, is a female form of Bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism. Here is sculpture between 11 - 12 century Gupta style Tara female Head in black stone from Alwar. Another is sculpture between 9 - 10 century Prathihara style Tara female Head in white stone excavated from Saranath.

Parvati Temple, Kurudumale

At  Kurudumale there are many temples that are known for their architecture and spiritual importance. Here  Ganesha Temple and Someshwara Temple are very ancient.

Parvati Temple is one of the ancient temple here that is very simple. The temple was closed when we were in this place. 

However, we could see the deity from the window.

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.

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.

Birds of Jakkur Lake - 9, Bangalore

Jakkur Lake in north Bangalore you can come across many colorful birds. 

Here is glimpse some of the water birds of different species.

Butterflies in Hebbal Park - 2, 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 can see different colorful butterflies hovering over the flowers here. 

Indian Roller on the Highways

While travelling on the highway from Bangalore to Mangalore one can see beautiful bird perched on the electric wires by the side of the road. One such colorful bird is Indian Roller.

It is a stocky bird. The breast is brownish where as the crown and vent are blue. The primaries are deep purplish blue with a tail that is sky blue with a terminal band of Prussian blue and the central feathers are dull green.

The neck and throat are purplish lilac with white streaks. The bare patch around the eye is ochre in color. They have a long and compressed bill with a curved upper edge and a hooked tip.

These birds can be seen perched along roadside trees and wires. They can also be seen in open grassland and scrub forest habitats. 

Bellibagilu,Shravanbelgola

While one climbs up the Indragiri Hill at Shravanbelgola there is a fort enclosure. From the structure it looks like this fort might have been built during the 18th century or it  might have been renovated around this time.

The fort enclosure has a gate known as the ‘Bellibagilu’ meaning Silver Gate. In one of the literary works of 1780 A.D.  the gate has been referred by this name.

Boganarasimha 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 at the foot of the hill is Boganarasimha Temple.

This ancient temple is of the Chola period and has been renovated recently. This temple enjoyed the patronage of many kings from various dynasties and also is well known for its simple but beautiful architectural marvel. 

Lord Narsihma is main deity of this temple and The idol of Goddess Lakshmi devi  is also seen here. The temple has beautifully carved tower. Also adjacent to the tower in the temple is beautifully carved sculptures showing various avatarts of Lord Krishna.

Birds of Hebbal Lake - 17, Bangalore

Glimpses of birds at Hebbal Lake in north Bangalore.

Red-necked Ibis at Talkad

We came across many birds during our visit to Talkad. We spotted many birds around the temple in this small village. One of them is Red-necked Ibis.

It is a medium sized bird, measuring 60-70 cm in length. It has bright reddish warts on the crown and the nape. It is a black bird with a patch of white near the shoulder. 

These birds inhabit grasslands, meadows, marshes, riverbeds and irrigated farmland. They build nest in trees.

Bangalore Palace

Bangalore Palace, is a magnificent palace located in Bangalore that still retains its old world charm. Construction of a palace building was started in 1874 and completed by 1878 on a land of area 454 acres.

The palace with a floor area of 45000 sqft was built in Tudor style architecture with fortified towers, battlements and turrets. In the later years, Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wadiyar added some portions outside of Durbar Hall during his reign. 

All together there are 35 rooms in palace and most of them are bed rooms. The first floor has an elaborate hall known as the Durbar Hall that can be reached by climbing a decorated staircase. The walls along the staircase are adorned with paintings.

Durbar Hall is a sprawling hall where the king used to address the assembly. One side of the hall contains stained glass windows in Gothic style. The yellow color is used profusely and the walls and the sofa set in the hall are in yellow. 

The furniture are neo-classical, Victorian and Edwardian in style. They were bought from John Roberts and Lazarus. 

The interior walls of the palace are adorned by 19th century old paintings. Some of those are also Greek and Dutch paintings.

The interiors were decorated with elegant wood carvings, floral motifs and relief paintings on the ceiling. The palace also has beautiful  work of arts and crafts on display.

Sri Gangamma Devi Temple, Bangalore

Sri Gangamma Devi Temple in Bangalore is located in Malleswaram region. It is built very close to the Kadu Mallikarjunswamy Temple. The temple has beautiful and colourful tower at the entrance.

The main deity of the temple is Gangamma representing the river Ganga. Other sub shrines inside the temple are for Sri Ganapathi and Sri Subramanya.

Ashta Mathas, Udupi

The Ashta Mathas of Udupi are a group of eight mathas. It was established by Hindu philosopher Madhvacharya, the chief proponent of the Dvaita school of Hindu thought. For each of the eight mathas, he also appointed one of his direct disciples to be the first Swami, head of the matha.

These ashta mathas are named after the villages in which they were originally located and today they are located surrounding the Krishna Temple.

They not only work to propagate the Dvaita philosophy, but also administer the Krishna Temple by way of a formal rotation. They take care of the temple in pairs.

The four pairs of mathas are: Palimaru and Adamaru; Krishnapura and Puttige; Shirur and Sodhe; and Kaniyooru and Pejavara.

Birds of Jakkur Lake - 8, Bangalore

Jakkur Lake in north Bangalore you can come across some colourful birds.  Here is glimpse some of the birds.