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Temples of Kashi - The Kardameshwar temple

The absence of ancient Hindu structures in Kashi is something I have always lamented about. The shrines are certainly ancient, and that is something that has always attracted me to the city. However, I miss the beauty of the ancient structures that we see at other sites. This feeling is intensified when I see marble and concrete and tiles in temples that once would have been beautifully adorned with evocative sculptures, and worn by the passage of time, touched by the hands of seekers who came before. This time , this desire to see some remnants of an ancient Hindu structure in Kashi came true when I managed to visit the Kardameshwar Temple. The Kardameshwar temple is not one of the main temples in the city. It is part of the temples on the Pancha Kroshi yatra, a pilgrimage which takes one on a circumambulatory tour of the whole city. The temple is located on the outskirts of the city, on the western bank of a tank called the Kardama Kund. The Kardameshwar temple is one of the...

Gajanur Dam

Having had our fill of the Bhadra Reservoir , it was time to see the Tunga River in all her glory.

Shivappa Nayaka Palace, Shimoga

As Diwali approaches, I have been re-living our trip last Diwali to Karnataka. We started on a devotional note, visiting  Sringeri ,  Udupi  and  Kollur . But that did not stop us having  unexpected surprises  which had nothing to do with temples, as well as  adventures that we had not planned for . We eventually reached our final destination -  River Tern Lodge  at the Bhadra Reservoir, and after two wonderful days there, headed back home to Mumbai. However, before we called an end to our travels, we still had something to see.... The bus stand at Shimoga was clean, well organised, and had huge posters of all the places you could visit around the city. There were quite a few interesting possibilities, but time was a luxury we did not have. We were due to board a bus back to Mumbai in a few hours, and in that short time, wanted to explore Shimoga. I remembered reading about the Shivappa Nayaka Palace on a couple of friends’ blogs , and d...

River Tern Lodge, Bhadra

As Diwali approaches, I have been re-living our trip last Diwali to Karnataka. We started on a devotional note, visiting  Sringeri ,  Udupi  and  Kollur . But that did not stop us having  unexpected surprises  which had nothing to do with temples, as well as  adventures that we had not planned for . We eventually reached our final destination - River Tern Lodge at the Bhadra Reservoir, and now, continuing with the story... River  Tern Bhadra. ... the resort is named for the two things which make the place so special – the Bhadra Reservoir, where it is located; and the River Terns, birds which come here every winter, to breed and nest. Most visitors come here to observe the sight of hundreds and hundreds of these birds nesting in the islands from Feb to June each year. We visited in October, and saw a completely different sight – the sight of the reservoir filled almost to the brim, due to the heavy rains, the islands completely submerged. ...

Mookambika Temple, Kollur

The festival of Navaratri has begun. The nine days and nights celebrating the victory of good over evil are usually filled with events and this is one of the busiest periods for us. Since the last few years, you have seen photos of the Navaratri Bommai Kolu we place in our house. This year, due to bereavement in our family, we cannot perform the festival. Instead, I have decided to post about some of the Devi temples we have visited across the temple. I begin this series with the Kollur Mookambika Temple in Karnataka. The temple of Mookambika at Kollur is one I have visited a number of times. Set amidst the picturesque Kodachadri hills of the Western Ghats, on the banks of the Sauparnika River, Kollur is today a bustling town, which has grown by leaps and bounds around the temple.

The Annapoorneshwari Temples of Horanadu and Hosanadu (Kodyadka) and Kalaseshwara temple at Kalasa.

The Annapoorneshwari temple at Horanadu is a famous one, and is on the itinerary of most people who visit Mangalore or Sringeri. Horanadu is about 2 hours away from Sringeri, and is an extremely beautiful temple. The idol of Annapoorneshwari is life size, and covered with gold from head to toe. This is quite an ancient temple, and is regarded as the kula devathai, or the household deity of many people residing in Chickmanglur district. The entrance to the Horanadu Temple Just half an hour away from Horanadu is the temple of Kalasa . This is a temple on a hill, on the foothills of which flows the Bhadra River. This place seems to be a picnic spot, as it was filled with people even in may when there wasn’t that much water in the river. One has to climb a few steps to get to the temple. At the entrance of the temple are the statues of two elephants, regarded to be Ganesha and a she-elephant, his wife. It is believed that there was an Asura here, to kill whom, Ganesha descended on earth. ...

Coastal Karnataka Temple Tour

Hello everyone, I back from another vacation, this time to Karnataka. My son, Samhith’s birthday falls on 6th May, and we wanted to spend it at some temple. So, this time, we visited many temples in coastal Karnataka. Look out for many interesting posts on all the places we visited. To give you all an idea of the places you can all soon read about, here’s the tour programme we followed: Day1 : 3:00PM departure by Bombay- Mangalore bus. Day2 : 3:45 AM Arrival at Kumta. Car to Gokarna. Visit to Gokarna Mahabaleshwara Temple Performing the sacred rites for our ancestors. Evening- Trip to Sajjeshwara Linga Temple near Karwar Night halt at Gokarna Day3 : Dhareshwar Gunavanteshwar Idagunji Ganapathy Murudeshwar Kollur Mookambika Temple Annegudde Ganapathy Temple Udupi – Sri Krishna Temple Night Halt at Udupi Day4 : Viswaroopa Darshan and KsheerAbhishekam to Lord Krishna at Udupi Kundapura – Kundeshwara Temple Darshan and Pada Puja to Sringeri Acharya...

A Proposed trip to Mangalore

Writing a travel blog is tough at times. I have written about travel experiences that were fresh in my mind, and now have nothing much to write about. Memories of older tours are faded, and I am not confident of doing justice to them at this point, and as of now,school's in full flow, and there is no chance of travelling anywhere. And yet, I cant seem to manage without writing something... So here goes.... My sister in law asked me to make a travel plan for temples around Mangalore during January, and I have done my best by researching all the places on the net. Now, I am putting my plan up online, so all of you out there who have been there , done that, can look over it and tell me if it is possible to cover all the places, the way we have planned. SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME