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Showing posts with the label Mahabaleshwar

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Odisha Part 7: The Rajarani Temple, Bhubaneshwar

The Rajarani Temple in Bhubaneshwar gets its name from the stone used to build it - the red and yellow sandstone used here is locally called Rajarani. This temple was once known as the Indreshwara temple, which is mentioned in the Ekamra Purana, which tells us about the temples of Bhubaneshwar, which was then known as Ekamra Kshetra. Today, the temple stands in a well-maintained lawn, and is the only ticketed monument within the city. The temple is built in the typical Kalinga style, with the tall curvilinear shikara over the garbagruha , and a jagamohana connected to it. The temple is believed to date back to the 11 th century, and is most well known for its sculptures. The entrance to the temple has two pillars with a Naga couple protecting the sanctum, holding garlands in their hands. The base of the pillar shows 3 lions standing over 3 elephants, a typical motif in temples of this region during this period. On the other side of the pillar is a horse and rider, and the two mo...
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Faces in the Crowd - Business in the rain

The monsoon at Mahabaleshwar is a sight to see. The pouring rain, the dense fog, lush green valleys and mountains everywhere your eyes can see.... and vendors selling hot tea and corn at every turning. 
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Temples of Mahabaleshwar

The rain lashed at us, and the puny umbrella I was carrying was practically of no use. Once again I cursed myself for not carrying a raincoat, knowing well that I hated raincoats, and much preferred getting wet. It wasn’t getting wet that I really minded, but holding on to the umbrella and trying to walk. There were shops on either side, but most were closed. The few that were open offered us scanty protection from the rain, but at least I could concentrate on not slipping on the steps by walking under their awnings. We were walking towards a temple which is believed to be the origin of one of India’s great rivers, and, seeing the water flow beneath our feet, it was eminently believable!
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Memories of 2012 - Mahabaleshwar and around

July was a quiet month, but August saw us going off to Mahabaleshwar for a short visit... We stopped at Wai on the way to visit the temples there....
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Skywatch Friday - Yearning to be somewhere else!

The hectic days of the Navaratri festival are over, but the chaos in our house continues, with repair work going on. I find myself under a virtual house arrest, which, for itchy feet like mine feels like the harshest of punishments. Stuck inside the house, I yearn for the hills and open spaces.... and feel like getting away somewhere, even if just for a short while... This tiny village tucked in amidst the western ghats, surrounded by mountains, clicked somewhere near Mahabaleshwar, is just the kind of place I would love to escape to, at the moment! Meanwhile , my post on Wai, near Mahabaleshwar, has been featured on the Club Mahindra Blog!!! For more beautiful skies from around the world, go to Skywatch Friday!
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Wai - An image of Kashi in the heart of Maharashtra

Our first visit to Wai was by chance. We were on the way to Satara, to attend a festival at the temple there. I was then pregnant, and my tendency to throw up on the road was higher than normal, which led to frequent stops on the highway. One such unscheduled stop found us near a board that said, ‘Wai – 10Km’. My father-in-law suddenly remembered a visit he had made to the area almost half a century ago, on his first job in the PWD. “There is a river there, and lots of temples” he said, and we decided to take the turn and see if they were still there. The river turned out to be almost completely dry... and what was left of it, extremely dirty... but the promise of temples was true. The whole riverbank was dotted with temples of all shapes and sizes, and there were also tiny shrines on the bed of the now-dried-up river, which obviously would disappear when the river filled up in the monsoons. I made a second trip to Wai some years later, but the river was just the same. The te...
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Mahabaleshwar

As trips go , the unplanned ones usually turn out to be the most fun, and our trip to Mahabaleshwar was no different. Looking back, it seems unbelievable that we went at all! The visit was a short one, but we managed to pack quite a bit into the time we had, but what was really memorable was the heavy rain which dominated our stay at the hill station. I have been to Mahabaleshwar before, but never in the monsoon, and the season certainly added an extra bit of gloss to the entire trip! The Venna Lake is the highlight of Mahabaleshwar. I remember going boating on the lake on my first visit there, and it is usually packed with tourists... so packed that the last time I was there, we had to give boating a skip since the queue seemed to be never-ending! And here is my favourite photo of this trip - the Venna Lake in the monsoon! It was amazing how the clouds and the water seemed to merge.... That was just a glimpse of our trip. Read a more detailed account on my post on the Club ...
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