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Showing posts with the label Srirangapatna

A Boat Ride on the Kaveri at Ranganathittu

We first visited the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary in May2014 , when Samhith and I spent a week at Mysore. We visited the sanctuary again this year, at the special request of Samhith, for his birthday! It is amazing how the sanctuary, and the river, never cease to surprise us, with the profusion and variety of avian life. This has been my only birding trip this year, so here are some photos from the boat ride on the Kaveri at Ranganathittu… Grey Heron

On Tipu's trail - Six Sights in Srirangapatna

He was called ‘The Tiger of Mysore’ , but it is Srirangapatna that stands a silent witness to his exploits. The town might be named for the reclining Lord, Sri Ranganatha, but it is Tipu Sultan, who made this small town his capital and the focal point of his multiple wars against the British, who is most remembered here. All over the town are scattered reminders of those momentous years, when the town and its fort bore the brunt of the British might, and survived, over and over again, till it finally fell, with its bravest king. Tipu’s life began near Bangalore, and took him across Southern India in his bid for freedom, and following his trail is not an easy task. However, a walk through Srirangapatna allows us to follow his footsteps to a small extent. Join me as I try to follow his trail, visiting 6 monuments connected to his memory.

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary - a Photo Blog

“Cranes” whispered Samhith, his voice filled with awe! “They are not cranes. They are Open Billed Storks ” replied our boatman-cum-guide. “When we go closer, you can see how their bills have a slight gap and seem to be open. That’s where they get their name from” he elaborated. Open Billed Stork (Asian Openbill)

Srirangapatna - Some thoughts

The serene environs of Srirangapatna hide among them, scars of not one, but four wars.

Dungeons of Srirangapatna

Where there is a fort, there usually are dungeons. Except, that these days we rarely get to see any. Which is why, when we saw a Karnataka Tourism board proclaiming the presence of two dungeons in Srirangapatna, Samhith was all agog with anticipation. The first dungeon, as it turned out, was very near the Ranganathaswamy Temple. The Colonel Bailey’s dungeon, as it is called, is where Colonel Bailey was held captive during the Second Mysore War, by Tipu Sultan.

Ranganatha Swamy Temple, Srirangapatna

In a time long, long back , even before temples were built, certain sites were considered sacred. Among such sites are the islands on the Kaveri, which were marked out as abodes of Lord Vishnu. It is said, that when the Kaveri flowed down from Agasthya’s kamandalu , free and unbound, she asked a boon from Lord Vishnu, that she be considered more sacred than the Ganga. And Vishnu agreed. He replied, “The Ganga flows from my feet. You, Kaveri, are my garland! And it is thus she flows, around these islands demarcated for Him, like a garland, sanctifying the land, and those of us who visit, with her mere presence. The first among these islands is Srirangapatna, near Mysore.