Skip to main content

Posts

Featured Post

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...

Monsoon in Mumbai - Time for snails and mushrooms....

It has been raining off and on , and when it rains, it pours!!! Here's what we saw as we waited for our bus to arrive.... Some umbrella-like mushrooms dripping with water.... and our first snail of the year !!!

Skywatch Friday - Blue and White

Looks like the perfect kind of sky, doesn't it? This is what we were blessed with, throughout our Morachi Chincholi trip.. ..  For more skies around the world, go to Sky Watch Friday

Morachi Chincholi - Part 3 - The Natural Potholes at Nighoj, and much, much more...

Please read the first two parts of this series at Morachi Chincholi – Part 1 Morachi Chincholi – Part 2 – Peacocks galore! Having had enough of peacocks for the moment, and sated with the delicious Pohe , we turned to some other activities our hosts had lined up for us – the first of these was a bullock cart ride, which we adults enjoyed as much as the kids did! Amidst squeals of delight, we all managed to climb in and have a tour of the farmhouse, probably making the bullocks wonder why we humans were making so much of noise! The one thing we missed was milking the cows, since that was done early at dawn, even before we awoke. But we made the most of the other resources at the farmhouse, walking on the fields and seeing the irrigation mechanism and in general, learning more about rural life! Samhith and his new-found friend even had a wonderful bath with well water pouring out of the motorized system. Hurrying them up and getting them out of the water was a difficult task, but ...

Morachi Chincholi - Part 2 - Peacocks Galore!!!!

Please read the first part of this series at   Morachi Chincholi - Part 1 It was difficult to sleep considering how excited we were, but the wonderful weather and the sounds of the night lulled us to sleep, and we were soon lost to the world. Not for too long, however… we were awakened at the crack of dawn by the peacocks emerging from their hideouts and calling out to their mates. Rushikesh knocked on our door to tell us that there was one just outside our window and we rushed to peep out, scaring the poor fellow away! One by one we filed out of the room, cameras in hand, ready to spot and capture the birds on film. It wasn’t so easy, however….. The villagers were so used to them that they hardly paid any attention, going about their morning duties as usual. The peacocks therefore felt comfortable around them, and went about their feeding and other chores without any fear. A group of ten enthusiastic city dwellers was another matter, and they were rightfully scared of us. Th...