Anegundi - relics from the past

A couple of langurs greet us as I listen to my guide Virupaksha gush about his hometown. “ Anegundi is older than Hampi – in fact this is the mother kingdom .” Indeed, Anegundi  is ancient,with cave paintings of prehistoric man, it is the mythical Kishkinta of Ramayana , it is holy as the Pampa Sarovar flows here and it is historic with ruins of forts, palaces , temples and gateways hidden around  the boulders. But the most important aspect of Anegundi is that it is a lively settlement, with a charming village that opens its doors to most tourists who visit Hampi

A fisherman and his wife are busy making nets  near the Tallarighata gate, as we sip tea in a small shack, talking to some old women who are lost in the passage of time. “You will find another gate in Hampi as well, “ says Virupaksha  and explains that these gates were used to collect tolls or taxes during the Vijaynagar dynasty from people entering from other kingdoms.

An auto driver decides to take us on a whirlwind tour of Anegundi . We see the village,  palace , the main entry gates and then climb up the old Durga fort listening to more stories . “ The Vijaynagar kings used to come here and pray before every battle, “says Virupaksha , and then they go to the holy Pampa sarovar lake and the lakshmi temple there. “  We climb further to see  an ancient entrance to the fort, ruins of a palace and tombs .

But Anegundi is ageless  -  be it the settlements of prehistoric man or the myths around the Ramayana, there is a mysticism around it. “ Kishkinta means a bush, a forest where monkeys lived, “ explains Virupaksha, telling me about the Hanuman temple atop the Anjanadri Hill where tourists climb more than 400 steps to reach there.

As we lose ourselves in the green fields below bordered by the boulders, Virupaksha warns us that the last coracle would leave for Hampi soon. A few minutes later, sitting precariously on the rim of the coracle , carrying  two bikes and a dozen people , I cross the river Tungabhadra .  My thoughts get carried away to a passage in Robert Sewell's book , " A Forgotten Empire , which narrates the observations of a 16^th century Portuguese traveler , Dominoes Paes who had visited the empire.

 He mentions that the coracle was used even then to carry ““ fifteen to twenty persons and even horses and oxen can cross in them if necessary . “Paes adds ,” People cross to this place by boats which are like baskets, inside they are made of cane and outside of leather…and the boats are always turning round, as they cannot go straight like others; in all the kingdoms where there are streams there are no other boats than these.”   It is interesting, I thought as we reached Hampi that a relic like the coracle lives along with the monuments from the Vijaynagar days.

This story was published today in Metro Plus in my column, The Inside Story 

The Old Dwarasamudra - Look beyond the Halebeed temple

A riot of colours interrupted my  journey. The golden sunflowers nudged each other as they carelessly tossed their heads in the breeze. A montage of lush fields bordered by hills with rotating windmills on their summits rushed past . The simplicity lent  a certain charm as I leaned against the trees and took in the silence. This was not a pleasure trip, but  a journey that took me down eons of history .  I was driving through  Malenadu or the hilly regions of Karnataka, in search of a capital town that remained lost amidst the huddled hamlets. 

More than 1000 years ago, sometime in the middle of 10^th century, a dynasty was born in the Malenadu regions of modern day Karnataka. They were called the Hoysalas. They were not born kings, but were tribal chiefs who rebelled against the then rulers Chalukyas and went on to establish their own kingdom. There were 14 rulers who ruled for more than 300 years and their reign spread as far as Madurai  in South to Lakkundi in the north . Their capital was initially Velapuri and then it moved on to Dwarasamudra . Today, we know the two towns as Belur and Halebeed. My destination however was the  ancient town of Dwarasamudra, where I was  looking for the remains of this dynasty .

My driver brought me to the 12^th century Hoysaleshwar temple in modern day Halebeedu  built by the aristocratic merchants, Ketamalla and Kesarasetti .The star shaped temple, a masterpiece of the Hoysala style of architecture was thronged by tourists who had probably just returned from the visit to the Chennakesava temple in Belur. Dedicated to Shiva and his pantheon of Gods and Goddesses, the main shrine here is named after  the Hoysala king, Hoysaleshwara, who commissioned the temple. 

A guide gathered his group of tourists and announced that there are more than 500 relief sculptures on the outer wall of the temple. I paused by to see the miniature friezes of elephants, horses and the mythical yalis .Stories from the Hindu epics and puranas were carved in stone here. As the tourists posed against the Nandi mantapas, I made my way inside into the temple, where another guide explained the importance of a Garuda pillar. There were carvings of soldiers with swords cutting their own heads.

“ These are not just dedicated to Garuda, the vehicle of Vishnu, but to loyal subordinates of kings who faithfully served them. The pillars are memorials  to those who were like garudas to the kings.” Narrating a story from the pillar, he referred  to the sacrifice of a devoted aide Kuvara Lakshma who along with his wife Suggala and thousand followers  ended their lives  after the death of the king, Veera Ballalla II.

The Hoysala kings are known for their style of  temple architecture, but most of the temples  today are either in ruins or  in an obscure village waiting to be discovered .Historical records say 1521 temples were built  while today 434 temples survive across 238 centres. My search for Dwarasamudra took me to some of them. There were ruins of old temples, Jain basadis and even the remnants of an old fort and a palace.

Halebeedu means ancient abode and I found myself in the old village which was once the  mighty Dwarasamudra . The Benneguda hill is a witness to the once powerful empire which ruled from the 11^th century capital. An ancient inscription in the village speaks of a battle fought here against the Kalachuriyas by Veera Ballalla II. A few tourists went boating on the lake. Interestingly that seemed to be the foundation of Dwarasamudra, which probably means Entry by Ocean.

The ancient Hoysala kings were ruling from Velapuri or Belur which was on the banks of the Yagachi river. When Vinayaditya decided to move to Dwarasamudra in the 11^th century ,he decided to build a canal to channelize water from Yagachi to the new capital. A tank was built and the Hoysaleshwar  temple was later constructed on the banks of the tank. An inscription on the tank gives away the name , Dwarasamudra which later became known as Halebeedu.” It means the old abode and we call it the old residence of Dwarasamudra, “ echoed the voice of the guide as I walked away from the throes of tourist into the bylanes of the ancient capital.

Hardly a stone’s throw away but cut off from the tourist circuit is a nonchalant hamlet Basadihalli with three Jinalayas . Dating to the period of king Vishnuvardhan, who was earlier a Jain called Bittideva , the basadis or Jinalayas are enclosed in the old Dwarsamudra town. A family enjoyed their picnic lunch as the watchman conversed with them .I walked inside amidst the rows of ornate pillars and realized the basadis have become the abode of bats.

The ASI board gave us some information. Dedicated to Parshwanatha, Shantinatha and Adinatha, these Jinalayas were built in memory of Ganga Raja, the army commander by his son, Boppadeva and to celebrate the victory of the king in the battle of Bankapura .The 16 feet tall sculpture of Parshwanatha with the four teerthankaras was a highlight of this basadi while the ornate pillars reminded you of the glory of the Hoysalas. Another tall pillar with a sculpture of Brahma stood outside one of them while the ancient well here was almost dry.

The afternoon breeze lifted my spirits as I followed the empty road in front of me .  It ended in a much smaller temple called Kedareshwar constructed by Vira Ballalla II in the 13^th century .Ironically, just a stone’s throw from the Hoysaleshwar temple, this shrine was devoid of tourists. An Indian grey hornbill perched on a branch overlooking a water body.

I took a detour and walked past a small hamlet. The Pushpagiri hill looked down upon me hidden by a cluster of small village homes. A gentle breeze led me down a small lane covered by a canopy of trees. As I strolled aimlessly, I stumbled upon an ancient kalyani, or pushkarni or a step well. A bunch of kids played on the steps and looked at me with a tinge of curiosity. The village was called Hulikere.

“ Huli means tiger and kere refers to a pond,” explained the watchman there.” This is Queen Shantala Devi ‘s private pond,” he added with a tinge of flourish. “You know, the security was so steep that even a tiger could not walk in to see her- that’s why its called Hulikere.” I took in the irony of security guards protecting the queen and her maids from tigers while bathing and pottered around. Small shrines adorned the steps of the well, while the fluffy clouds reflected in the waters . Frogs hopped around with the fish swimming blissfully in this heritage pond. Historians feel the shrines probably represent the cosmos with the zodiac signs and constellations.

An ASI guide book referred to a Bhuvanabhurana Catteshwara temple built at Hulikere by Cattaya, a subordinate of King Narasimha , one of the Hoysala rulers. When the king was going to Belur from Dwarasamudra , his carriage driver , Bittideva noticed a desolate temple and asked the ruler to give grants and renovate it. The king gave away dry and wet lands, a tank, oil mills for supply of oil to burn lamps and established a Saivite settlement with two rows of houses . Bittideva also received grants and built the Maideshwara temple and Bittideshwara temple in the vicinity. The area is today identified around Hulikere and Pushpagiri at the periphery of the Dwarasamudra.

A shrill cry of parakeets interrupted my reverie. The children  got over their shyness and were all willing to pose for pictures in return for chocolates .I continued my quest until I see the ruins . With the Bennegudda hill looking down on them, the remnants of the old city stood silently. Around it a strong fort was probably built. The fragments indicated that there seemed to have been a palace here as well, The Archaeology Survey Site also mentioned there were three temples in this complex, of which some friezes still remained.

 A few pedestals, including one with a Linga is in the centre surrounded by carved stones, while a few headless sculptures lay strewn around. This was the capital of a dynasty that once defeated the  Chola,  subdued the Chalukyas , overthrew the Kadambas and Pandyas and controlled the Kalachuryas before being destroyed by internal strile and finally ravaged by the Muslim invaders in the 14^th century.

The sky changed colours as dusk set in lending a purple glow. I sat on the steps of the ruined temple and ruminated over the dynasty’s end. Somewhere in the middle of the 13^th  century, the Hoysala kingdom was divided between two brothers, Narasimha III who ruled from Dwarasamudra ,and Ramanatha from Kannanur. The brothers fought over Dwarasamudra even as Narasimha III’s son Veera Ballalla III came to the throne. He eventually became the last king of the dynasty. Although he defended his capital , fought his uncle and kept the neighbouring rulers at bay, the final blow came in the form of Malik kafur, a general of Alauddin Khilji who invaded south in the 14^th century.

The invaders forced Ballalla III to submit and looted him of 312 elephants, 20,000 horses besides jewellery of gold and pearls.  Dwarasamudra was plundered and the temples destroyed as Ballalla fled to Belur and further south. A few years later, the king returned and attempted to rebuild Dwarsamudra , but the Muslim onslaught continued. As Dwarasamudra was further destroyed, the king fled to Tiruvannamalai , but died in Madurai while fighting the invaders. It is said the cruel blow came when “ the captured king was slain and skinned , his skin was stuffed with straw and hung from the top of the walls from Madurai. “ Ibn Battuta, the Morroccon traveler who was in the court of Muhammad bin Tughluq, the reigning Sultan at the time records this as I put the history book down  with a heavy heart.

Outside the air became solemn as twilight set in. As the dynasty ended , Dwarasamudra disappeared into the dusty annals of history . Halebeedu took over from  Dwarasamudra and found its place in another map – the tourist’s agenda. The lights came up at the Hoysaleswara temple as the last set of tourists posed for a picture against the monument  and grabbed a piece of history unknowingly with them. The sun may have set on the dynasty a 1000 years ago, but they made sure they left their glory behind in the temples they have built. 

This story was published in Windows and Aisles, the inflight magazine of Paramount Airlines. If you would like to be a part of the Hoysala trail, leave a comment here , with your email ID and we will let you know when we plan the trail. If you would like to go on your own and need a help in planning an itinerary, do let me know as well. 

The story of how Dwarasamudra became Halebeedu

The villager gives me a vacant look when I ask him the route to Dwarasamudra, the 11^th century capital of the Hoysalas. I try again and this time I add Hoysala capital and temple as well. He responds with a toothless grin and rapidly gives directions in Kannada to my driver.

My search for Dwarasamudra however takes me to the portals of a famous tourist site, the 12^th century  Hoysaleshwar temple in modern day Halebeed .To the many tourists here, Halebeed is the capital , but Dwarasamudra is still alive in the ruins scattered in the old village

I walk beyond the bylanes of the temple into the old village where Dwarasamudra comes alive in the ruins . An  inscription here speaks of a battle fought here against the Kalachuriyas by Veera Ballalla II. A few tourists go boating on the lake, which was once the foundation of Dwarasamudra, which means Entry by Ocean.

A rustic calls me over to see another inscription .It says the Hoysalas were ruling from Velapuri or Belur from  the banks of the Yagachi river. When Vinayaditya shifted to Dwarasamudra in the 11^th century ,he built a canal to channelize water from Yagachi to the new capital. A tank was built and the Hoysaleshwar  temple was later constructed on its bank. “ And then , it was renamed as Halebeedu, meaning old abode, “ explains the villager as we walk together to see the ruins.

With the Bennegudda hill looking down on them, the remnants of the old city stood silently. A fortified palace and a pedestals of temples lie scattered. There is a Linga with some headless sculptures and some broken friezes  .This was the capital of a dynasty that once defeated the  Chola,  Chalukyas , Kadambas and Kalachuryas before being destroyed by internal strile and  ravaged by the Muslim invaders in the 14^th century.

I sit  on the steps of the ruined temple and read about the saga about the dynasty’s end. Somewhere in the middle of the 13^th  century, the Hoysala kingdom was divided between two brothers, Narasimha III who ruled from Dwarasamudra and Ramanatha from Kannanur. The brothers fought over Dwarasamudra even as Narasimha III’s son Veera Ballalla III came to the throne. He eventually became the last king of the dynasty as the final blow came in the form of Malik kafur, a general of Alauddin Khilji who invaded south in the 14^th century.

The invaders forced Ballalla III to submit and looted him of 312 elephants, 20,000 horses besides jewellery.  Dwarasamudra was plundered as Ballalla fled to Belur. A few years later, the king returned and attempted to rebuild Dwarsamudra , but the Muslim onslaught continued. As Dwarasamudra was further destroyed, the king fled to Tiruvannamalai , but died in Madurai while fighting the invaders. It is said the cruel blow came when “ the captured king was slain and skinned , his skin was stuffed with straw and hung from the top of the walls from Madurai. “ Ibn Battuta, the Morroccon traveler who was in the court of Muhammad bin Tughluq, the reigning Sultan at the time records this as I put the book with a heavy heart.

Outside the air became solemn as twilight set in. As the dynasty ended , Dwarasamudra disappeared into the dusty annals of history . Halebeedu took over from  Dwarasamudra and found its place in another map – the tourist’s agenda. The lights came up at the Hoysaleswara temple as the last set of tourists posed for a picture against the monument  and grabbed a piece of history unknowingly with them. The sun may have set on the dynasty a 1000 years ago, but they made sure they left their glory behind in the temples they have built.

This was published in The Hindu, Metro Plus in my column, Inside Story. Coming up next - what to see in Dwarsamudra besides the famous Hoysaleshwara temple in Halebeedu.

Welcome to Pallava cave hunting

A small rusty board brings our car to a sudden halt. Surrounding us are lush paddy fields set against massive boulders . A lone woman is working on her crop, as we cut through the thorny bushes and walk across the fields. Following the path, we meet a huge hill loaded with boulders , standing precariously, one on top of each other. The hill seems to open out to us, as we walk through the narrow opening to reach our destination- the cave temple at Mandagapattu carved out of a 100 feet hillock.

“Welcome to Pallava cave hunting. You will probably find it addictive , “ says Vijay Kumar, who had initiated me earlier into the world of  Pallava and Chola temples through his website poetryinstone .  At Mandagapattu, I realize that I am already lost in the world of stone. A flight of steps leads us to the cave temple, carved  for the trinity, flanked by the door guardians or the dwarapalakas. The shrines are empty . “This is the first prototype of the Pallava rock cut cave temple, built by Mahendravarman 1 in the 7^th century, “ says Vijay .

 To me , Pallava architecture has always been synonymous with Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram or Kadal Mallai , as it was originally called . Built by Narasimha varman or Mamalla, the rock cut cave temples here , I am told ,owe their inspiration to the early Mahendravarman  caves shrines ,which are  strewn around Ginjee, Tindivanam, Kanchipuram, Arakonam , Chengelpet among other districts . “ The early pallava style has bulky pillars, not too many embellishments either in the form of relief sculptures, even the door guardians are not too bold in their depiction, but later on you will find the architecture being more evolved as they move towards building structural temples, “ explains Vijay.

Our companion Arvind shows us the Sanskrit inscription. Here , Mahendraman declares that he is not building the temple from any perishable material – brick, wood, metal  and limestone or stucco.  “ That is why he is titled as Vichitrachitha, an innovator in many ways,” he explains. The temple in the inscription is referred to as Lakshita Yathaanam .

“Mahendravarman showed leanings towards Jainism initially and then he moved towards Hinduism- which is probably why one would find jain settlements near his cave temples” adds Vijay. We are at Thalavanur, closer to Mandagapattu where the temple, Shatrumalleswaram is carved at the edge of another hillock, overlooking boulders. 

 The temple houses door guardians flanking a linga.  “Note the advancement in art here, “ mentions Vijay ,” as we take in the makartoranas in the front façade .” A small flight of rock cut steps carved on the hill takes us to the shelters of Jain monks who probably meditated here and used this as their beds.

An old man walks up to us from across the fields and proclaims he is the caretaker.  A stray dog follows him, his howls echoing through the hills, as we retrace our steps .

The story was published in Inside Story, my column in the Metro Plus, The Hindu. A detailed travelogue will soon be published in Windows and Aisles, the inflight magazine of Paramount Airlines

On the road again

I am travelling again and this time I am exploring a new destination in India. They say this district has forts, beaches, forests , mango orchards, old temples and also promotes rustic tourism.Whats more , its very close to a destination which is almost everybody's favorite..any guesses ?

While you are at it, this is one of my favourite pictures from the Hoysala trip . A Kalyani called Hulekere which is in Dwarasamudra, the capital of the Hoysala Dynasty , what we today call Halebeedu. Most of us know of one temple in Halebeedu, but in our weekend tour, Arun and I took the group to almost 8 of them including ruins.

Of kings and empires

Here is a portrait of a map depicting the empire of the Chola Dynasty that ruled South India and parts of South East Asia under Rajendra Chola 1 in the 11th century. This map lies lost in a thatched hut which houses the museum as well. And the thatched hut is in a forgotten town called Gangaikondacholapuram, the erstwhile capital that once ruled over this entire empire. Today the town doesnt exist, except for an unfinished massive Brihadeshwara temple that resembles the one in Thanjavur, built by Rajendra's father, Raja Raja Chola . Here is a painting of the king , Rajendra himself - in the same museum .

Please click on both the pictures to see the enlarged versions

Kumbalgarh Fort-Voices from the past

Travelling to me is all about the sights and sounds of a place. The Cerebrate team visited the Kumbalgarh Fort after a brainstorming session and here I am celebrating the heroics of Rana Kumbha who built the fort in the 15th century.The wall of the fort at 36 kms is supposed to be the second longest continuous wall after the Great Wall of China.

Im leaving you with some videos, pics and audio clips of the place..The clips were recorded on my mobile as the guide narrated the stories..Im just posting a couple of them here with our own English translation as well, courtesy Rashmi who was one of the participants at Cerebrate .


One talks about how the fort was built -the legend talking about the sacrifice of a priest who asked Rana to build the fort . The second talks about the war between Rana Pratap and Akbar and then the many gates of the fort..


I do not have a high end gadget..so I do hope the quality of video and audio is fine..Im also a bit lazy now and I do not want to write too much..but will soon do another post on the fort soon.

This is My World for now..To view different parts of the world please click here

Trails in Andhra Pradesh

Lepakshi

We visited several temples in 2008 and I have posted most of them. Some like Shibi, Madurai Meenakshi temple are yet to be posted. However coming back to the trails - the last legs of my 2008 heritage trails were in Andhra Pradesh..Two different dynasties this time and neither of them complete though - the Vijaynagar in Lepakshi and Kakatiya in Warangal and around.Im leaving you with two collages, one of Lepakshi and the other of the old Warangal Fort..Lepakshi was a day trip from Bangalore while Warangal was an overnight trip from Hyderabad. We covered a lot of places enroute to Warangal and then travelled onwards to Palampet. I missed Bhongir as it had become dark, but I hope to get there again sometime..Some of my stories on these destinations have been published recently.

Warangal Fort

I hope you liked the collages from all three posts from all three states - Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Let me know which one you liked the best ( you could even choose any one collage ) and I would be glad to help if you plan to follow any of these trails in 2009.

The Chola Trail - roads taken in 2008

Gangaikondacholapuram

The Chola trail gave me something more than just an dose of history. A sense of identity as well. It is very difficult to be objective and write about the trail , so I am not even trying as of now. I am just putting down some raw information to help you understand the might and the glory of this dynasty, which was one of the most powerful in South India and they established its supremacy in South Asia as well.

This ancient Tamil dynasty held sway for more than 1500 years and its origins are mired in myths and poetry as the chronology matches the reign of Emperor Ashoka (273 BC-232 BC). Literature heralds the rulers to be descendants of the Sun God.Historically though the reign is divided into three distinct eras –the early Cholas (2nd century BC-9th century AD), the medieval Cholas (9th -11th century AD) and the later Cholas (11th -13th century AD).Our story starts somewhere in the middle of 10th century and moves on to the 12th during the reign of Raja Raja Chola 1 and his son Rajendra Chola 1 and later on to Raja Raja Chola II

Darasuram

All that remains today as a witness to their might are The Great Living Chola temples . The Brihadeshwar temples in Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram and the Airaveteshwar temple at Darasuram built by these kings are part of UNESCO World heritage Site and this is where the trail actually begins .

The Big Brihadeshwara Temple, Thanjavur

We start with Thanjavur, the original BIG Brihadeshwara temple , or the Periya Koil built by Raja Raja Chola 1 in the 11th century in Thanjavur.This was the moment I was waiting for, a moment that defined this trail for me.My eyes follow the Vimana of the temple as my neck crane to capture its height. It is an understatement to call it big. It is larger than life .Consider this . At a height of 216 feet the towering Vimana is the tallest of its kind in the world dwarfing the Gopura, or the outer tower. The shikara or the golden dome replete with numerous stucco figures weighs 80 tonnes . Elephants were apparently used to draw this single granite block on a 6 km ramp to place it on top. The Nandi weighs 27 tonnes and is the second largest in the country while the main deity, the Shivalinga is at a height of 8.7 metres, the largest in the world. Life size representations of Gods and Goddesses fill the sculptured panels and the temple is a repository of records for posterity . 108 Bharatnatyam dance postures are depicted here and the corridors and ceilings are a colourful blend of fresco and mural paintings –unique to this dynasty.Architecturally the temple is the most ambitious structural granite temple to be ever built in the world and hence it is the first to become a Great Living Chola temple and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site .There is so much to say, but I will end here for now about this temple.

I went to the 11th century when Rajendra Chola 1 , the next ruler had moved beyond South India and invaded East upto the Gangetic Plain and created ripples overseas in Asia and overpowered all of today’s Srilanka, Maldives, Malaysia and Indonesia. Yet, his capital ,Gangaikondacholapuram that controlled this mighty empire for over 250 years has simply vanished from the face of this earth. When Rajendra Chola 1 conquered the Gangetic plain, he wanted to celebrate . He also wanted to portray to posterity that he was probably greater than his father Raja Raja Chola 1 who had immortalised himself with the Big Brihadeshwara temple in Thanjavur. So Rajendra took a step further. After all, he was the commander in chief in his father’s army as well. He moved away from Thanjavur , his father’s capital and built another Brihadeshwara temple in a new found capital called Gangaikondacholapuram which literally means the town of the Chola who captured even the Ganges. However he did not complete the temple. And he finally ensured that his father’s temple was bigger than his . Its tempting to delve deeper and share stories and information about the temple, but I wouldnt know where to end ...

The third destination was Darasuram at the Airavateshwar temple built by Raja Raja Chola II in the 12th century . Called Rajarajapuram , this is indeed a sculpture’s dream in stone. A temple shaped like a chariot drawn by horses and supported by 100 monolith pillars carved exquisitely greet us. And finally ,a Chola trail is incomplete if one does not refer to the golden Chidambaram temple .

Chidambaram
Do enjoy the pictures for now..I may at a later stage write in detail about these temples. However if you are eager to read more, my friend's Vijay's site , Poetry in stone will give you information on the temples. Vijay himself is a treasure house of knowledge when it comes to the sculptures and he along with Siva helped me a lot during this trail. My uncle and my mother who accompanied me shared a lot of their knowledge with me as well.

Hoysala Trail - The roads taken in 2008

A collage of all the Hoysala temples visited in 2008

The Hoysala trail was one of my best trips this year and it was done in two parts besides several other independent jaunts. My earliest tryst with the Hoysalas was probably as a kid when my parents and I had visited Belur and Halebeedu. A couple of years ago, I went to Belur again with my cousins and then Sharath and I took a day trip to Talakadu and Somnathpur, near Mysore.

At Mosale, another twin temples awaited us.

However the trip that got me interested was in January this year when I went with my uncle's family to the coffee estate at Bikodu near Belur.We covered just about three places - Belur, Belavadi and Nuggehalli which blogged about extensively. What I saw and read excited me to probe more that led to the trail a couple of months later. As the series has hardly been blogged, Ive decided to post some pictures at least to give you an indication of the trail .

At Marle , where the twin temples of Keshava and Siddeshwara stand built during the time of Vishnuvardhan

My cousin, Lalitha and I embarked on this trail with just 3 full days in hand and an agenda to see at least 20 villages. We made Bikodu, near Belur our base and drove all around the belt, looking at maps, losing our way sometimes .We were indeed the objects of curiosity in most of these villages, especially among kids .Some of the temples were maintained so well by the ASI, some were in complete ruins, some were opened by the villagers, some we opened ourselves. We heard stories at some temples, but at most temples, no one had any information to share.

At Hullekere near Gandasi, where we opened the doors to this beautiful Keshava temple.

The villages that we visited included Anekere, Shantigram, Marle, Javagal, Chatachatahalli, Halebeedu, Basadihalli, Hulekere,Pushpagiri, Adagur, Kondajji, Dodagaddavalli,Mudugere, Hullekere, Arsikere ,Haranahalli, Koravangala ,Mosale and Angadi where it all began. Later on Sharath and I went to Arekere and Kaidala besides Somanathpur.

Hampi Utsav

The annual Hampi Utsav (festival) starts from today and I am not going. I have been to Hampi many times before and it remains my all time favourite destination. I discovered Hampi in 1995 during a college trip . The Utsav was going on and the ancient Vijaynagar capital on the banks of the river Tungabhadra was completely colourful. The melange of tourists - foreign and domestic, the junkies and the folk artistes make this place special.The ruins, the temples , the rocks and the pillars have left an indelible mark in my mind.

Hampi is ageless. It even dates back to the days of Ramayana . This post is not about the story of Hampi, but about my tryst with this place. One of my favourite trips to Hampi was in 1999-2000 when I went there to cover the Hampi festival for a TV channel. It was a time when not many knew it was in the tourist map of India. The trip was very interesting for various reasons , one of them happens to be a man I met called Ceasar Baba .

He had come from Italy and he lived in Hampi for more than a decade. He spoke chaste Hindi and did not know much English. He took us to his little cave in the mountains , the entrance was a rock painted with a huge Shiva . He showed us his papers and passport and said he is not an illegal immigrant..although he shared with us stories of many ..including one "Meera" whom I will come to later.

Ceasar Baba willingly posed for our TV camera and allowed us to shoot him doing his usual routine. He gave us buttermilk and showed us around his humble abode which included a kitchen, a puja room, a small balcony/verandah and a bedroom with a makeshift toilet. All this on the rocks above a hillock . He had a roommate..a Scot who refused to speak to us. When we finished our shoot, we left Ceasar Baba and his Scot in a state of trance outside the puja room ringing the bell..

"Meera" according to Ceasar Baba was an illegal immigrant from Europe who came here as a tourist and then went on to be a travel agent.She befriended an Indian "swamy "and then lived in his " hermitage" after his death. When the Indian authorities went to chase her away, she chased them with her pets - a couple of dogs and snakes.

We went to meet Meera, and I really had to shake my fear of dogs to get there.. A small creaky gate opened as the dogs barked away and there was a woman with long matted hair wrapped in a towel. And she had a couple of fangs as well..she laughed saying that was to scare people away . Unlike Ceasar Baba, Meera refused to talk on camera or allow us to shoot her or even take a picture..But she didnt chase us away with snakes and dogs ..

The most interesting people I met were Susie Lumsden and her brother , Paul who had come down from London and had made Goa their home. It was Susie's 20th visit to Hampi as she knew every single nook and corner of the ruined town and every vendor as well. She was a familar face. They are bike enthusiasts and are ace riders. For a living, she brings foreign tourists to Hampi from Goa and they bike the entire route.

Needless to say, Susie became the "anchor" for one of my stories as it was through her eyes that I first discovered Hampi's little secrets . I went there again and every time I go, the place becomes magical. The stories from the Ramayana, the rise and fall of the Vijaynagar Empire echo from these rocks.

My husband went there last year with his colleagues and some of the pictures here are from his collection. I have lost the footage and the pictures, and just a couple of scanned pictures remain to tell the story. I hope to be going there before this year ends .

Warangal - a sneak preview

A sneak preview into the historic past of the old city , Warangal. The fort built by the Kakatiya rulers in the 12 century. The four Keerti Toranas (gateways of glory )which symbolise Kakatiyas architecture still stand today in the four directions...More than 30 feet high, these stone gateways enclose many sculptures and pillars ..more on this in a few days


Pls do click on the snaps to see them in their original size

Travel plans - Can you guess this destination ?

I did not travel anywhere in September . And October has been disappointing as travel plans were altered or canceled. I had already dropped out of two trips that were scheduled to happen this month and finally even today's plans got altered - a simple day trip. But an impulsive decision at 12.30 pm this afternoon took me to the above mentioned destination, a place where I have been wanting to go for ages - any guesses

Update - The guessing game is over and the answer is simple..all you need to do is to click on the picture and it will tell you the location. This Nandi is also the tallest Nandi sculpture in the country. I am talking about Lepakshi...

The Chola trail ..

July end will go down in my travel diary as one of the best trips Ive ever had this year. And I must thank a few people for this. First and foremost, my uncle, second, my mother and then, a couple of friends Sivaram and VJ Kumar and my father for not missing my mother's absence :)

So where did I go ? I was in interior Tamilnadu and was lured by the art and architecture of the Chola kings- Raja Raja 1, Rajendra Chola and Raja Raja 11 , all built between the 11th and 12th century. Words defy me as I stood near the Big or the Brihadeshwara temple at Thanjavur whose Vimana is a staggering 216 feet tall, the Brihadeshwara temple at Gangai Konda cholapuram, the forgotten capital of Rajendra Chola and Darasuram of Raja Raja II. When someone asked me how I felt, I said - humbled !