Skywatch Friday–Jordan is all Greek and Latin to me

I was in Jordan a couple of years ago and we went to Jerash, which was an ancient Greco Roman city called Gerasa. The ancient city was buried under the sands of time, until excavations discovered it less than a century ago.

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Skywatch Friday–Dhanushkodi

A village swept away almost 40 years ago by a tsunami, Dhanushkodi was once the only land link between India and Srilanka as a train and a ferry used to connect these two countries from this village

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Flashback 2012 – A Perspective for Skywatch

Bekal Fort – A view of the Arabian Ocean

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Skywatch Friday–Badami from the caves

Everybody goes to Badami to see the caves. But here is a perspective of the ancient town from the caves.

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Skywatch Friday–Dawn and dusk at Kanatal, Uttarakhand

Standing from my balcony at the Club Mahindra resort in Kanatal, this is how the dawn looked.

And this is how it was at dusk

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Skywatch Friday–Another bright day at Amsterdam

I love summers in Europe..well, who wouldn’t ? Such crisp weather, blue skies and bright blooming flowers..But of course it poured in Amsterdam for a day but the sun returned quickly giving us this view .What about you – are you a summer or a winter person ?

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Skywatch Friday–The Roman Aqueduct in Segovia

Everywhere you go in Segovia in Spain, you cannot miss this imposing Roman aqueduct built around the 1st-2nd centuries. The Romans had a military base here and they built this aqueduct to source water from the mountains to their base. Restored and reconstructed, this aqueduct is the symbol of the city. More on it soon.

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Skywatch Friday

I would probably be in Madrid, Spain when you read this post. And a month ago, I was in Barcelona , going gaga over Gaudi.. Here is his Sagrada Familia .

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Skywatch Friday– a haunting tale in Coorg

This Skywatch, we visit Coorg to hear a haunting tale behind an ancient temple. For more lovely skies around the world, do visit Skywatch every Friday.

I was gazing at the reflection of the dome in the waters when the temple bells shook me out of my reverie. It has now become a habit with me. Almost at every portal of a temple, I stop by to hear sagas of intrigue and passion and tales of Gods and demons. I often lose myself in these myths that lend an air of mystery to these monuments. A haunting tale , I believe echoes from the silent walls . But I wasn’t prepared for this story. “ This temple was built because of a ghost ! “exclaimed my driver a while ago as he pulled into the parking lot of the Omkareshwar temple.
It was dusk in Madikeri and there was a slight nip in the air .” You mean, its haunted ? “ I asked giving him a quizzical look and looking up at the domes of this early 19^th century temple built in the Indo sarcenic style. The lights came on giving it an ethereal feel as the reflections danced in the waters of the tank below. I felt a slight shiver although I dismissed the ghost story and went right in.
The temple dedicated to Lord Shiva , however did resonate with a tale of a king haunted by a ghost . It was the early 19^th century, when Coorg was ruled by the Haleri king Lingaranjendra, whom the history books paint as a tyrant. Violent, whimsical and with an eye for women, the king hardly fought wars during his reign. Instead he hunted tigers and women with equal vigor and was known to have a veritable zoo in his court and an ever increasing harem.
Our story starts one summer morning when a poor Brahmin comes to Madikeri with the intention of giving his daughter away to the Raja’s harem, as he was unable to take care of her. He however changed his mind and left Madikeri after listening to stories about the king from Subarasaiah, another Brahmin who lived in the town. When the king heard about the incident, he mercilessly beheaded Subarasaiah’s sons besides slaughtering the Brahmin as well.

Lingarajendra went to sleep that night only to be woken up by Subarasaiah staring at him .The visits continued as the king became distraught as the spirit hovered around him. The dead Brahmin had become a demon or a Brahma Rashasa . Tantriks finally advised the king to build a Shiva temple and bring a linga from Varanasi to appease the demon . The king however did not recover fully and died within a year.
The temple built in IndoSarcenic style has domes and turrets and overlooks a beautiful pond with a mandapa in the middle. A light they say perpetually glows from the sanctum. Even today, I hear, the spirit of the demon roams freely in the sacred grove within the temple premises where the Brahma Rakshasa resides.
The twilight hour slowly turned dark as the starry night sky reflected in the waters as I left the temple. The story left me wondering why mortals sometime behave more like demons.

Skywatch–my village down south

 

My ancestors come from a beautiful village called Kallidaikuruchi located down South in India in a district called Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu district. I visited this place early this year and I am still mesmerised by the trip . All around you are views like this with The Western Ghats for company. This is no picnic spot or destination..just a piece of natural beauty on the road enroute to Manimuthar Falls/Dam.

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Skywatch Friday–a view of a town from atop a temple

In India, small towns and villages are often defined by their temples. The moment you walk into any town, your eyes turn upwards as you scan the height of the Gopura or the tower of the temple. Most photographs will show you the montage of sculptures carved on these tall Gopuras, but very rarely you see images of the town itself .  The temple in Suseendram is the nucleus of the town and as we climbed up the gopura, I saw a different perspective of the town with the Western Ghats bordering it. The town was getting ready for the temple festival and one could feel the energy .





Suseendram is one of the first places we visited in the Naanjil Naadu tour. For stories on Suseendram, click here. For posts on Naanjil Naadu, visit here.
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Skywatch Friday - Balancing under the Parisian sky

I was in Paris a few weeks ago and we had gone to see the Sacre Coeur Basilica. Sitting on the steps, I saw this performer enthralling the audience with his balancing acts against an evening sky which threatened to rain any moment.

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Skywatch Friday - An evening in Paris

A beautiful evening by the Siene, I was in Paris barely a few weeks ago..The memories are so fresh that I feel like it was yesterday .

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Skywatch - A sunset in Warsaw

Last week we were walking around in Warsaw old town, around sunset when I saw the sky above and it was so dramatic. We were late for dinner but I could not resist taking a picture.

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Skywatch Friday - Boulders in Tiger's Cave

I love Tiger's Cave near Mahabalipuram. Also referred to as Saluvankuppam,  it is barely five kilometres before the main site at Mahabalipuram. While the temples and the mandapas take all the attention here, I am fascinated by these boulders

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Skywatch Friday - Entry to ancient Warangal Fort

Warangal Fort is a settlement in old Warangal town in Andhra Pradesh. The capital of the Kakatiya dynasty more than 1000 years ago, Warangal is filled with beautiful sculptures, some of them in absolute ruins. However you can find the Kirti Toranas or the gateways, which are tall pillars that mark the cardinal directions around the fort area. You can read my story on Warangal here in Yahoo.

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Skywatch Friday - The Western Ghats from my village

Driving around my village Kallidaikurichi, views like these spring up on you. The Western Ghats border the open fields as you walk along the stretch .

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Skywatch Friday - A scene in rustic India

A vignette of life in rustic life . To see more skies across the world, visit Skywatch

And its Skywatch already ..There is no way like the highway

Rooted at home for the last few months , my wander lust is satisfied by just taking a good look at some of my old photographs. And I believe there is no way like the highway

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Skywatch Friday - Sunset in a barren field

There is beauty in barrenness. Many a time I have stopped in the middle of a road journey while journeying through obscure villages just for moments like this. 

This was photographed while driving through some cotton fields in North Karnataka. To see some amazing skies around the world, visit Skywatch. And if you like my photographs, you could join me on my Travel Page on Facebook.