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...
One would generally not associate Tirupati with anything other than temples, and neither did I, until I happened to read about a rare geological formation on the hills. I was impressed by the photographs I saw on the net, but wondered about how accessible the place would be, and whether it would be possible to visit. This was quite a few years back, and since then, my trips to Tirupati had been so hectic that I couldn’t even try to find out more about it. This year, with all the time I had at my disposal, this was one place I wanted to visit, and set off as soon as we got a brief respite from the rains. Sila Thoranam literally means ‘garland or festoon of rocks’. It is a natural stone arch which was found by archeologists excavating a geological fault in the area. Located just around 1.5 km from the Venkateswara temple, this arch is naturally compared to the divine serpent Adishesha. Legends have recently sprung up around the place, with comparisons made to the different rocks m...