My India Travel

Facade of Naulakha Palace, Gondal

2017-12-20T09:06:00.004+05:30

The 18th century Naulakha Palace at Gondal is one of the oldest palace in this town. It has a beautiful sculpted facade.

The palace has magnificent stone carvings with balconies, a pillared courtyard, delicately carved arches.

The facade of the palace is carved with sculptures of real and mythical animals.

Veera Narayana Temple, Belavadi

2017-12-04T09:27:00.002+05:30

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.

Lakshmi Narayana Mandir, Somnath

2017-11-30T09:34:00.001+05:30

These are group of temples at Somnath situated on the banks of a Hiren river. This is a calm and serene place just 5 kms away from the Someshwar Mahadev Temple.

Lakshmi Narayana Mandir is modern temple built by Birla family in 1970 very next to Gita Mandir.

It is dedicated to Lord Lakshmi-Narayan (Vishnu) and is said to be a replica of Lakshmi-Narayan Temple of Badrinath.

Brick Monastery, Udayagiri

2017-11-27T07:00:00.000+05:30

At Udayagiri, the Buddhist site in Orissa, ASI have excavated many interesting structures that were created any time between 7th and 12th century. One such excavation has brought to light the remains of a huge monastic complex comprising a Mahastupa and an east facing square monastery.

This monastery has the mountains as its backdrop giving it a majestic look. The monastery measures about 35 M sq. and had 21 cells.

At the back-end of the courtyard, in the sanctum there is a huge 12 feet statue of Buddha in Bhumisparsha Mudra. On his either side are Vajrapani and Padmapani.

The door frame to the sanctum is beautifully carved. The detailing with flying apsaras, pupil climbing vines, elephants are simply beautiful. The eyes, nose and lips of a miniature human forms are crafted with at most care.

Archaeological Museum, Lothal

2017-11-25T10:30:00.000+05:30

The Archaeological Museum at Lothal was setup in 1976. In the museum it displays artifacts recovered from the excavation conducted from 1952 to 1961.

It showcases beads, terracotta ornaments, shell and ivory objects, copper and bronze objects, tools and potteries yielded from excavations. There are about 800 objects are on display in the museum.

Sadly photography is not allowed inside the museum. Outside the museum there is a tree and there I spotted a new bird that I had not seen before.

Shri Shiddeshwar Temple, Bijapur

2017-11-22T22:53:00.001+05:30

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.

Temi Tea Garden, Ravangla

2017-11-20T06:30:00.000+05:30

The Temi Tea Garden in Ravangla, considered one of the best in India and in the world. It is established in 1969 by the Government of Sikkim.

It is the only tea garden in Sikkim. The garden is laid over a gradually sloping hill covering an area of 177 hectares.

Organic tea is produced in this garden based on the guidelines issued by the Institute of Marketology (IMO) of Switzerland.

Top quality tea is produced, which has great demand in the international market.

Flowers at Sim's Park - 1, Coonoor

2017-11-16T10:02:00.002+05:30

Sim's Park in Coonoor is one of the major attraction that is feast for the nature lovers. Here one can see variety of beautiful and colorful flowers.

Here are a few of them.

ASI Museum Sculptures - 2, Shimoga

2017-11-13T07:00:00.000+05:30

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.

Redstart at Gir

2017-11-11T10:27:00.004+05:30

In Gir Sanctuary went for Safari in an open jeep and we could see some birds flying around. We spotted the Redstart in open areas of the forest.

The adult male has overall dark grey to black on the upper parts and a black breast. The lower rump and tail are orange-red, and tail feathers dark red-brown.They have bright orange-red tails. The wings are blackish-grey.

They are rarely seen on the ground. They are usually seen on the trees.

Parvati Temple, Kurudumale

2017-11-08T22:34:00.001+05:30

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.

Ravangla

2017-11-06T06:30:00.000+05:30

Ravangla is a semi town that lies between Pelling and Gangtok. It is an elevation of 7000 ft and experiences snowfall during winter.

This picturesque place is a must visit for who tour Sikkim. When we reached this place in the late afternoon it was very cold and covered in mist.

The places of interest here are:

Monastery
Buddha Park
Temi Tea Garden

How to Reach: It is at a distance of 65 km away from the state capital Gangtok. From this place we drove a distance of 49 kms from Pelling.

Red Vented Bulbul at Coonoor

2017-11-04T10:30:00.000+05:30

In Sim's Park of Coonoor among the various plants and trees one can also see a lot of birds. During tour of the park we also spotted many birds and one such bird is Red Vented Bulbul.

Their body is dark brown with a scaly pattern while the head is darker or black.

The rump is white while the vent is red. The black tail is tipped in white.

Sinquerim

2017-11-01T16:00:00.000+05:30

Sinquerim is a coastal village in North Goa. This is a beautiful village around 16 kms from the state capital Panaji close to Candolim.

This village has pristine Sinquerim Beach and huge Fort Aguada that flanks it’s southern tip.

Great Masjid - Qutub Shahi Complex Hyderabad

2017-10-30T06:30:00.000+05:30

Great Mosque in Hyderabad is one of the grandest masjid in the city. It is popularly known as the great masjid of the Golkonda tombs.

This beautiful masjid is next to the tomb of Hayat Bakshi Beguminside inside the Qutub Shahi Tomb Complex. It was built in 1666 A.D. by Hayat Bakshi Begum's son, the 7th Sultan Abdullah.

The architecture has a distinctive style that blends Persian, Pashtun and Hindu forms. The Prayer Hall is 76 feet wide and has three bays which are 51 feet deep. The front has a five arched facade.

Fifteen cupolas decorate the roof and the prayer-hall is flanked by two lofty minarets. The inscriptions in the masjid are in calligraphic art.

Coot at Jakkur Lake, Bangalore

2017-10-28T16:22:00.000+05:30

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.

Bhedaghat

2017-10-25T22:14:00.002+05:30

Bhedaghat is a small town is just 20 kms from Jabalpur by the side of the river Narmada. It is ideal getaway for people looking for a peaceful time from their busy schedule. The place is known worldwide for huge marble rocks found here.

The other places of interest here are:

Pemayangtse, Perfect Sublime Lotus

2017-10-23T06:00:00.000+05:30

Pemayangtse is located in the South Western part of Sikkim at a distance of 9 kms from Pelling. It is at a height of 6,000 feet above sea level.

The weather in this place is amazing with mild and short summer followed by monsoon and cold winter.

The name of the town means the “Perfect Sublime Lotus” as indicated by the name it is beautiful place with full of greenery. It is also a important Buddhist religious center.

Pemayangtse Monsastery located on the hill top is a beautiful place. One can also get a magnificent view of Ruins of Rabdentse Palace from here.

Happy Diwali

2017-10-18T23:57:00.000+05:30

Friends wish you all
HAPPY & PROSPEROUS
Deepavali

Diwali, the Festival of Lights is favorite among kids because they get a chance to light fire crackers.

My kids have grown up and no more lighting crackers as they are aware of air and noise pollution.

But, the sky is lit with fire crackers of various colors and shapes.

And to top it all homemade sweets for Deepavali.

Thread Garden, Ooty

2017-10-16T06:30:00.000+05:30

Thread Garden at Ooty is located by the side of North Lake Road, opposite the Boat House. This beautiful garden is created by Anthony Josheph with the help of 50 skillful and proficient craftsman. This garden is a first of this type that is so colorful and lovely.

It exhibits some of the most magnificent and exquisite collection of artificial flowers and plants.

To create this wonder one has not used a stitch of a needle or any other machinery. Stiff cardboards are used for flowers and petals, steel and copper wires are used for stem. Along with this they generously used variety of colorful threads to create these visual delights.

More than 400 different shades and plain natural colored embroidery threads have been used to create artificially made flowers that remain fresh for a long long time.

It has wonderful display of flowers, plants and lawns fabricated entirely from thread, canvas and wire. They look very natural and fresh forever.

Rani Sipri's Tomb, Ahmedabad

2017-10-11T16:00:00.000+05:30

Rani Sipri's Tomb is located in the old area of Ahmadabad within the same complex as Rani Sipri Mosque. It is one of the ancient monuments that has a combination of Indo-Islamic architecture.

Constructed some time in 16th century the tomb has a large dome in the central part surrounded by 4 small domes in the 4 corners. The tomb has screens made of stones have been carved beautifully.

Siddhesvara Temple, Namchi

2017-10-09T06:30:00.000+05:30

Siddhesvara Dham in Namchi is a unique pilgrim center that has replicas of the twelve Jyotirlinga. It is atop Solophok hilltop occupying an area of 29.9 hectares, just 5 kms from the city.

It was consecrated by Shri Jagadguru Sankaracharya Swami Swarupananda Saraswati on 8th November, 2011 and is now open to public. Before one can reach the main area after buying the entry tickets, you enter into a large hall that showcases miniaturized versions of various structures in the complex that gives an overall orientation.

The one that catches the attention of all from a long distance is gigantic statue of Lord Shiva and a tall statue of Kirateshwar who is an incarnation of Lord Shiva.

The other main attractions are fantastic replicas of 12 Jyotirlingas like Jagannath, Dwarika, Rameshawaram, Badrinath etc.,

This well maintained place has a beautiful flower garden which is visited by little sparrows.

Nadankanan Zoo - Peacock

2017-10-07T16:10:00.001+05:30

Nadankanan Zoo at Bhubaneswar is one of great zoo in India. There are various animals and birds at the zoo.

We went on a safari to nearby forest and we could see the beautiful peacock sitting on a tree.

Drive from Lachen to Gurudongmar Lake

2017-10-05T06:11:00.000+05:30

We managed to get some sleep in the very cold night at Lachen. We were up very early in the morning by 4 a.m for a drive of 67 kms to Gurudongmar Lake.

We passed through a beautiful valley Chopta Valley. It is located in-between Lachen and Gurudongmar which gets covered with flowers in spring and with snow during winter.

As we go up the high altitude one can distinctly see the change in foliage. From green forests or large trees, the foliage changes to mostly smaller bushes. On either side of the road on come across beautiful snow covered peaks.

Beautiful Gurudongmar Lake which is located further up at an altitude of 17800 ft near Indo-Tibet border.

Kadari Manjunatheshwara Temple, Mangalore

2017-10-02T06:30:00.000+05:30

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.