Around Mysore - Nanjangud and Somnathpur

A couple of interesting places to visit around Mysore, for those who are making their nth trip to Mysore, n not being equal to 1. I am sure the first trip is always reserved for the palace, Srirangapatna and Chamundeswari temple - rightfully so. If you are done with the routine visits, then a couple of places worth checking out are Nanjangud and Somnathpur.

NANJANGUD: Nanjangud Sri Kanteswara temple is dedicated to lord Shiva. It is located at a distance of about 25 kms from Mysore. It is located on the banks of river Kabini, one of the tributaries of Kaveri. Nanjangud also has a rail head.

The best part of the temple is its proximity to the river bank. When the river is in full flow, like the time I had been there in August, it is a wonderful sight. Pilgrims throng the temple after taking a holy dip in the river, which in itself is a very pleasant experience. No great facility for a dress change though. We need to adjust with some make-shift arrangements.

Apart from taking a dip in the river, one could also go boating on the river in country made boats, Parisal. That again has its own charm. Taking a ride through the small, but beautiful, bamboo grooves in Parisal was one of the memorable experiences of my life.

The temple in itself is quite a massive structure with a 7-tier temple tower greeting you at the entrance. Sandstone colour of the temple tower adds its own touch of beauty to the structure. The temple compound walls are also wonderfully structured with fascinating carvings, both inside as well as outside the temple. The Primary lord, Nanjundeswarar, signifies Shiva who drank poison for the benefit of the world.

The place is considered to be a very sacred one and is revered as Dakshina Kasi. Apart from Shiva, the temple houses sanctums for lordess Parvati and Vishnu among others. There are innumerable wonderfully carved sculptures adorning the temple. There is also a section on sculptures of lord Shiva in various forms, which again speaks volume on Indian craftsmanship. Outside the temple one would also find a huge statue of Shiva in human form, in a sitting posture. The statue, although a recently established one, adds its own touch of sanctity and religious fervour to the atmosphere.

Near-by Nanjangud one could also find decent eating options.

SOMNATHPUR: Quite in contrast to Nanjangud, is Somnathpur or Somnathpura. It used to be a fully functional temple in the good old days, but it is now restricted to tourist interest. Built during the Hoysala period, it is the less known relative of Belur and Halebid temples. In fact, the structure of Somnathpura is quite similar to Halebid, which is so very unique to the Hoysala architecture. This temple too is dedicated toChennakesava. The temple is under the maintenance of Archealogical Survey of India (ASI) and is reasonably well-maintained. It is located at a distance of about 35kms from Mysore in the route to Bannur.

The temple has faced limited destruction compared to Belur and Halebid and hence offers more splendour for the eyes. Words are quite limited to express the beauty of the place. If you are one fascinated by history, architecture and sculptures, then Somnathpur should be definitely on your agenda of places to visit. Such is the treasure trove of sculptures and wall carvings here.

Inside the main temple, you would find three sanctums, dedicated to Kesava, Janardhana and Venugopala. Each of the sanctum has an elaborate entrance with intricate carvings that you could just adore for hours. Each of the pillars inside is uniquely carved and you are left wondering how did they manage to construct such wonders. The layered stone dome that resembles a chandelier beats the pillars in its own way. Unfortunately, the inner sanctums are not well-lit preventing one from taking decent pics.

While you relish the beauty of the inner sanctum and are left awe-stuck, the carvings on the outer wall transport you to a totally different world. You are sure to stretch the memory of your camera, just going on a clicking rampage. Even after that, you are likely to feel whether you have made full justice to the place by clicking enough pics. No camera or camcorder can amply capture what is on display. Probably your eyes are the best possible camera and your brain the best storage medium of all these memories.

One could spend several minutes just adoring the beauty of one sculpture and there are thousands and thousands of them lined all across the walls. Where do we start and where do we end? Well this is the question you will keep asking yourself and probably pass the blame on available time.

Sculptures are presented in three layers. To put very simply, the lower section with innumerable small ones, the middle section with reasonably big ones and the top (vimana) section with its own set of decorations. Leaving aside the main portion of the primary sculptures, one could be left wondering even at the beauty of the simple niceties that adorn these sculptures. Be it the tools on hands of the lords or the umbrella like covering above the head of each lord or the intricacies of leaves in a sculpted tree. The list is endless. One has to view it in person to rejoice it all. My words and pics are only like a small drop in a ocean of architectural treasure trove. Be there to check it out yourself.

NEAR-BY TEMPLES TO VISIT: Apart from Nanjagud and Somnathpur, if you are covering Mysore from Bangalore, then a couple of places you could cover en-route are Maddur and Mallur. Maddur is famous for its vadas and you should definitely try them when you are there. It is located at almost half way between Bangalore (Bengaluru) and Mysore. This apart, Maddur has an Ugra Narasimhar temple where Narasimha is in a state of anger and is seen here in the form of killing the demon Hiranyakashyap. There is a small Varadaraja Perumal temple near-by where the main statue is about 12 ft tall and is a divine sight.

Mallur or Dodda Mallur has a temple for lord Rama in the name of Aprameya. It is at a distance of about 50 kms from Bangalore. It is quite an old and historically recognised temple. Apart from the primary lord, the temple is more famous for Navneet Krishna. In fact, more people now know the temple only by this name. The most interesting aspect of the Navneet Krishna here is that it is in the posture of a child crawling. We have seen pictures of the same several number of times. But, to find statue of Krishna as a crawling child in a stone form is quite unique and you could catch the same here.

Ellora and Ajanta Caves - Wonders that never cease to excite

Many would have visited the Ajanta and Ellora caves and I am sure there are many blog posts already on how amazing these caves are. I am not sure if this post adds much of a new information to what is available already. But, having visited the place recently, I want to document my amazing experience. So, here you go.

REACHING THERE: Ellora and Ajanta represent a series of caves in Maharashtra in Western India. The nearest town is Aurangabad. Aurangabad is relatively well connected with all major cities around Western India. It is located at a distance of around 215 kms from Pune and over 400 kms from Mumbai. Nashik, a famous religious town is also around 218 kms from Aurangabad. For more on Nashik, visit my previous blog post at http://travelwithguru.blogspot.com/2010/04/nashik-good-old-religious-town.html

Ellora caves are located at a distance of around 30 kms from Aurangabad. Ajanta is a further 100 kms from Ellora. Both these caves can be covered in a day from Aurangabad, provided you remind yourself that you would not spend too much time exploring the beauty of a single cave. It is definitely not without good reason that there are tourists spending a week at each of these wonderful caves to explore it in detail.

ELLORA CAVES: The sheer sight of the Ellora caves leaves you floored. The cave structure is so mighty extending over a significant landscape that you start to wonder where to begin. The signage which point to Cave 1-15 on to your right, Cave 16 straight ahead and Cave 17-36 to your left makes you feel all the more exciting. Yes, you heard it right. 36 caves collectively form the Ellora caves.

What is really intriguing is that the caves represent how well multiple religions thrived in the bygone era. Cave 1-12 belong to Buddhism, Cave 13-29 belong to Hinduism and Cave 30-36 belong to Jainism. But, what do these caves contain?... Well, Ellora is all about wonderful rock carvings. Each cave carries a treasure load of rock-cut sculptures that would leave you dazzled and speechless. These jewels seem to have been constructed over several centuries, some of them dating back to 6th century AD.

The biggest of them all is Cave 16, a monolithic Kailash temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. The entire temple is supposed to have been carved out a single mountain rock by drilling holes right through. A simple carving out of a rock is by itself a real tough task and to have a full fledged temple carved out of a mountain is something well beyond imagination. How did the kings and craftsmen manage to achieve such a mammoth task in those days with hardly any technological advancement? How many people worked on this project? Who had the glorious vision to shape this wonderful piece of work? All these were some questions that crossed my mind as I kept staring at the entrance to Cave 16, the Kailash temple.

The entrance was gigantic in size, with among others, life size carvings of the 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu. Once you step inside, you are welcomed with huge statues of gods and goddesses. There is an intricately carved stone pillar on one side and gigantic elephant statue at the other end. To the left, is a two-storeyed cave with huge rock cut statues of goddess Lakshmi. The hall at the upper floor of the cave is huge in size with magnificently worked pillars. Straight on is a series of steps that take you to the sanctum of lord Kailash, an amazing linga. You could move around the sanctum of lord Kailash to find more sculptural wonders.

As you walk around the building of the Kailash temple, you would find the exterior walls filled with exquisite carvings depicting the story of Ramayana and Mahabaratha, apart from depicting numerous other gods and goddesses.

As you move ahead towards the other caves, you are filled with great wonders. We obviously did not have the time to explore all caves in detail. So, we had to take the help of the officials there to suggest us the best caves to visit. They suggested caves 14 and 21 among the Hindu caves. These caves had breathtaking carvings of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganapathy apart from several other mythological characters.

Then, we proceeded towards the Buddhist caves, which had their own charm. The officials suggested not to miss Cave 10. The cave had a huge statue of sitting Buddha in self realisation posture. The hall was well decorated with intricate carvings and had a well-ornamented dome. Then, we visited a few other Buddhist caves that carried various postures of Buddha and images from Jathaka tales. Quite a few of the Buddhist caves were arranged in multiple storeys and most of them seemed to appear like a prayer hall.

The Jain caves from cave 30 to 36 are relatively smaller ones and we quickly covered all of them. Interesting ones among them being cave 30 and cave 32. Cave 30 too is a monolithic temple structure similar to the Kailash temple. Cave 32 is probably the most magnificent of the Jain caves with beautiful sculptures of Mahavir and Tirtankara.

AJANTA CAVES: After immersing ourselves in great architectural splendour at Ellora, we pushed off to the Ajanta caves. Unlike Ellora, your vehicle cannot directly take you to the caves. The caves are located inside the forest, where one cannot take his own vehicle. We need to alight at a particular point from where we are take to the foothills of the cave by a special bus. The journey takes about 20 minutes and is a very interesting ride. The jungle environment definitely adds to the excitement.

Once we descend from the bus, we need to do quite a bit of climbing up the hills to reach the caves. The pathway is a bit steep and long and may not be ideal for the faint hearted. But, once up there, one would realise all the pain was worth it. While Ellora was all about sculptures, Ajanta is all about wonderful mural arts. Unfortunately, unlike Ellora which have stood the test of times, Ajanta cave paintings have deteriorated over time and we see now are sadly only a few shades of masterstroke that still remain. However, having said that, the authorities are doing their best to keep the existing painting remains well-preserved.

Ajanta has a cave structure of 29 caves spread over a vast area. Most of the caves carry a strong Buddhist influence. The caves are supposed to have been excavated between 2nd century BC to 7th century AD and were primarily used by Buddhist monks. However, these caves had been almost forgotten over time, until a British hunter managed to discover them around the 19th century AD.

The first few caves appear to be in better shape compared to the later ones. In order to protect the images from further damage, the caves are mildly lit and flash photography is strictly prohibited. So, the only real way of capturing the beauty there was through my eyes. Although, a touch disappointing to see the murals in the disintegrated state, I could not help fantasising how they would have looked in full splendour. The guides in each of the caves are well knowledgeable and guide you to important aspects that needs to be noticed in the caves.

Overall, a visit to Ajanta and Ellora is architecturally a very rewarding experience and given an option, one should never miss this UNESCO World Heritage wonder.

ADDITIONAL NEAR-BY VISIT: When at Ellora, one should not miss a visit to Grishnesvara Temple. It is one of the 12 jyothirlingas dedicated to Lord Shiva and is located just a few kms away from the Ellora caves. The temple is constructed out of sandstone and has a wonderfully designed vimana that is worth many a clicks. The shiva linga inside is a small one where one could offer pooja directly with milk and flowers.

SCHEDULING YOUR TRIP: The best way to schedule your trip is to reach Aurangabad the night before. You could complete a visit to Nashik and Shirdi and could halt at Aurangabad. The next day, you should be well on time to cover Ajanta and Ellora.

Have a great trip!!!

Patan Stepwell - Epitome of Indian Craftsmanship

Moving away from Tamil Nadu, in this post I wish to discuss about Patan, a small town in Gujarat, India. The place does not not boast of great infrastructure nor it is termed a must visit destination in tourist itineraries. Yet, this place boasts of Rani-ki-Vav (Queen's well) that is undoubtedly among the finest examples of Indian craftsmanship.

STEPWELLS IN GUJARAT: Vavs or stepwells are quite unique to western India, located predominantly in Gujarat and Rajasthan. A stepwell is basically a well where one has to descend several steps to fetch water. Apart from providing water, the stepwells also served as a place of leisure for the royal families. When ever the summer heat used to be scorching, it is believed that kings and queens used to spend a few hours chilling out at the stepwells. Stepwells could be in various shapes (circular, rectangular, oval) and could have several tiers. Tiers largely signify the depth of the step-well. As one descends each tier, one can easily feel the sudden drop in temperature and things turning cooler. The walls of most of these stepwells were also adorned with wonderful sculptures to help the royal family members spend time admiring the work of art. Gujarat has hundreds of stepwells of which the one in Patan called Rani-ki-vav is regarded the largest.

REACHING THERE: Patan is located at a distance of around 110 kms from Ahmedabad, the most prominent city of Gujarat. The best means to reach Patan is by road. The road from Ahmedabad to Patan is well-laid and one can have a comfortable ride. On reaching Patan, locals should be able to easily guide you to the step-well. There are also signboards placed en route for your convenience.

HISTORY: For those interested, this stepwell is said to have been constructed under the Solanki dynasty and is said to date back to the 11th century AD. The well has seen some testing times and part of it stands damaged. The stepwell is now maintained by ASI (Archaeological Survey of India). They have undertaken maintenance work and ensured whatever remains is well-protected. It also stands among the tentative list of UNESCO world heritage sites.

RANI-KI-VAV: Rani-ki-vav is a 7-tier structure and arguably one of the biggest stepwells in the country. From afar, the place is hardly appealing. It even looks a bit dilapidated. However, as one moves closer and closer to the structure one is sure to have a sudden change of heart and as one starts descending the well, one is bound to get lost in great architectural splendour.

The walls in each of the tiers are filled with amazing sculptures. It is always tough to choose when you have too many options. Likewise, when the entire wall is filled with wonderful carvings, you are just not sure where to begin and what to observe. Only four of the seven tiers were accessible when I visited the well, but still it was just too many sculptures to sight at one go.

I would notice something interesting and as I try and come to terms with it, my friend would point me to something more interesting, an other friend to an even better spectacle while other fellow tourists would be marvelling at a totally different piece of art. This kept going on for hours and I was just not able to say, I'm done. Finally, it was the fading sunlight that eventually forced me to move out of the place.

There are several sculptures dedicated to Lord Vishnu and his dasavatars. There are also sculptures of other gods, warriors, kings and queens. Interestingly, there are also some stone carvings associated with South India like Lord Ranganathar from Srirangam in Tamil Nadu. Apart from real-life sculptures, there are also some very fascinating designs carved out of stones that carry their own charm. As I looked at the enormity of the architectural work, I kept wondering how many sculptors would have been involved in this mammoth exercise and how long would this have taken.

A truly breath-taking experience that I would cherish all my life.

ADDITIONAL NEAR-BY VISIT: If you visit Patan, you should definitely make a visit to the Patola silk making unit. Patola silk materials are one of the finest hand-woven silk materials of the country. One Patola silk saree is said to take anywhere between 3 to 6 months to make. It is said that only two families still are aware of the exact know-hows of making it and previous attempts to replicate the process using machinery have failed to yield the desired quality. The unit members are very friendly and they take you through the entire production process. It is a nice experience to familiarise with one of the oldest arts of the country.

SCHEDULING YOUR TRIP: A trip to Patan is best combined with a trip to the Motera sun temple, which is along the way as one proceeds from Ahmedabad. The sun temple is an other piece of architectural wonder and is very well maintained. The temple pond in front of the temple is also a great attraction with amazing sculptures. For those, who may not be able to make it to Patan and are keen to visit a stepwell, you could visit the Adalaj stepwell in Ahmedabad. It is a four-tier well and is again (sorry for being repetitive, but truly deserving) a great architectural marvel.

Chitra Sabhai - The Dance floor of Lord Shiva

In this post, I introduce you to one of those places in India that illustrate how wonderfully arts flourished in India in the past. The place is however yet to receive its due share of recognition and tourist interest. The place is known as Chitra Sabhai, located in South Tamil Nadu and is one of the five significant locations where Lord Shiva is said to have performed his cosmic dance. The name, Chitra Sabhai, literally means Hall of Paintings. The place is indeed a treasure trove of wonderful mural art.

THE FIVE SABHAIS: Lord Shiva, in the form of Nataraja, is said to have displayed his dance in various locations, of which five of them stand out and are highly revered. In each of these locations (sabhais), he is associated with a particular dance form or Thandavam. The five sabhais are termed: Por sabhai (hall of gold) located at Chidambaram, Rajatha sabhai (hall of Silver) located within Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple, Rathina sabhai (Hall of ruby) located at Tiruvalangadu, Thamira sabhai (Hall of Copper) located within Nelliappar Temple in Tirunelveli and Chitra Sabhai (Hall of Painting) located in Kutralam. The best part about these five locations is the fact that each of these dance floors is decorated in a fashion that perfectly matches its name. Accordingly, Chitra Sabhai is all about wonderful wall paintings.

REACHING THERE: Chitra Sabhai is located at the picturesque location of Kutralam in Tirunelveli District in South Tamil Nadu. Kutralam is a well-known town for its several beautiful falls. Chitra Sabhai is at a walkable distance from the Main falls of Kutralam, although not easily visible. It is on one of the adjacent lanes, but the locals should be able to easily guide you from the Main falls. The best way to reach Kutralam is by road. The nearest major towns are Tenkasi (5 kms away) and Tirunelveli (55 kms away). The nearest major rail head is Tirunelveli, where several trains from Chennai and from the neighbouring state of Kerala stop by. There is also a Tenkasi express from Chennai that stops at Tenkasi.

HISTORY: Chitra Sabhai has a long history. It is believed that once there was an imbalance on earth, as everyone flocked to the Himalayan range in north India to witness the divine sight of Lord Shiva marrying Parvathi. To stabilise the earth, Lord Shiva had requested sage Agastyar to head south. The sage came down to Kutralam but was depressed that he was not able to witness the divine wedding. Understanding sage Agastyar's desire, the Lord along with the Lordess is said to have presented himself before Sage Agastyar at Kutralam and to have performed the Thirupura thandavam along with Lordess Parvathi for the sage. Later on, the ruler of the region is said to have constructed the hall to commemorate the event.

THE PREMISE: From a distance, Chitra Sabhai may not appear to be a great spectacle. The hall has a simple rectangular structure with a wooden entrance and pyramid style of roofing that resembles temples in Kerala. This is not surprising given the proximity of Kutralam to Kerala. The real beauty, however, lies inside.

As you enter the hall, you get transported to a totally different world. There are broadly two compartments within the hall, in the form of two rings. So you can first tour the outer ring and then enter the inner ring. As you move through the two rings you are faced with wonderful mural paintings on the walls.

The paintings are of various sizes and forms. Each painting has its own story to tell. They represent the history of Kutralam, the divine marriage of Lord Shiva and Parvathi, Lord Vishnu in sayanam, form of various other gods and goddesses, scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharatha and the list is endless. One could easily spend an entire day if one gets immersed in the intricacies of these wonderful mural arts in detail.

Paintings are not restricted to the walls inside the hall. As one moves around the Sabhai, one can observe wonderful paintings on the outer walls too, including the doors and windows. Interestingly, the measuring scale that was used to construct the sabhai has also been left behind just outside the sabhai. However, it has been kept in such a way that one can only view it and would not be able to hold it.

HIGHLIGHTS: A couple of paintings that really attracted me strongly were that of Gangalanathar and Natarajar. Gangalanathar is a form of Lord Shiva as a human. The large size solo painting is so very real and soulful that for a moment you forget it is actually a work of art. Natarajar painting depicts the dance of the lord being watched by a huge gathering of people. This painting is a great example of detailed sketching. As one observes closely through the gathering in the painting, one could see that no two people have a similar feature. Each one in the gathering seem to be different from each other and one wonders how many artists were involved in this highest level of artistic exercise.

TICKET AND TIMINGS: Chitra Sabhai is open through out the day from morning to evening with no intermittent breaks. An entry fee of Rs.25 is charged per person. The ticket wala is quite knowledgeable and he can easily double up to be your guide. You can get to know a good amount of history about the region from him, in case you are interested.

ADDITIONAL NEAR-BY VISITS: If you visit Chitra Sabhai, you should not miss out taking a bath or at least a few snaps in front of the wonderful falls, although the falls do dry up quite a bit during off-season. Also, Kutraleeswar temple at the foothill of the Main falls is also a must visit. As you move around inside the temple you would constantly hear the sound of water gushing in the falls. However, you would be able to view the falls from only a single location inside the temple. The Lordess shrine here is also of great significance and is one of the 64 sakthi peedams.

SCHEDULING YOUR TRIP: A Visit to Chitra Sabhai is best combined with a visit to the Tirunelveli Nelliappar Temple and the Tenkasi Viswanathar temple. Both these temples are quite huge and deserve a post on their own. For those interested, one could add Papanasam temple, Agasthiar falls and Manimuthar falls to their schedule.

Do make a visit to Chitra Sabhai. I can assure that you would not be disappointed.