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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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Collaborative Posts

My blog seems to continue on the 'silent mode' while I am busy with so many things...... On one hand, as I mentioned earlier, I have been travelling quite a lot, on the other hand, I have also been busy writing about things other than travel...... Most interestingly, for the first time, I have been part of two collaborative posts on two different sites.....
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An occasion to celebrate

Last week when I returned from Delhi, the foremost thing on my mind was to update my blog. There are reams of things I want to write, but I found myself unable to write anything at all. The only thing I wanted to share was about the function I attended at Delhi, but then again, it wasn’t easy, since I haven’t really written much about my family. So, after a lot of thinking, here I go…. To give you people a brief background, I grew up with my mom’s side of the family, since my dad passed on when I was five. I have 3 mamas (maternal uncles) and one chitti (maternal aunt). The use of the traditional Tamil names is simply because each one of them has an important place in my heart, and to call them by the universally used name of uncle/aunt somehow doesn’t ever fit.
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Sky Watch Friday - Qutub Minar

The whole of last year, I complained that I was unable to travel, and thus couldn't think of anything to write. Someone up there seems to have heard my complaint, because this year, the situation has reversed. I am travelling almost every month, sometimes even twice a month, and have tons to write, but no time at all to sit down and pen down my thoughts. Those of you who are wondering where I disappeared to, I was at Delhi, attending a family celebration, meeting relatives aged between 6 months and 97 years! It was a wonderful experience, besides which, it was a wonderful trip also because I managed to get in a bit of sightseeing with all the catching up with my cousins! Here is one of the images from my trip - the Qutub Minar. We visited the place in the afternoon, in the searing heat, and wandered about for an hour, realizing that I remembered practically nothing of the place from my earlier visit, which was sometime when I was at school. One thing was certain, though -...
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Anegundi Part 1 - Navabrindavanam

Hampi is associated with the rise and fall of the Vijayanagar Empire but the town of Anegundi on the opposite bank of the Tungabhadra has seen not just the rise and fall of dynasties, but even the evolution of mankind! In scientifically documented terms, Anegundi is said to have the oldest plateaus on the planet, estimated to be about 3000 million years old – according to Wikipedia.  In terms of Indian mythology, this is translated to be the home of Bhudevi, the goddess of Earth! Home to our ancestors from the Neolithic Era (Stone Age), Anegundi has their imprints in the form of cave paintings; which lie among the rocks, which mythology tells us were homes of the vanaras – the monkey-men – who aided Lord Rama on his quest for his wife. Anegundi is a blend of history and mythology, making it in some ways even more interesting than Hampi itself! Our first sight of Anegundi
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Mumbadevi Temple

It’s one of the most crowded areas in Mumba i, and even in the afternoon heat, the road is filled with people shopping. The place attracts all – from middle class housewives stocking up on household necessities to shopkeepers buying stuff at wholesale rates. The area between Masjid and Metro cinema is a mass of lanes and by-lanes, with names such as Kalbadevi and Bhuleshwar , Zaveri Bazaar and Lohar Chawl . The names themselves seem to take us back in time, and indeed, in some ways, it feels as if time has indeed stopped here. There is no trace here of the huge showrooms which now make up our colossal shopping malls. Instead, there are tiny shops filled with goods bursting from every nook and cranny, articles piled up against every wall.
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Hampi Part 12 - Assorted memories

There are just too many things to see in Hampi, and a day is too short to take it in. I knew, even when I planned the trip that I would barely skim the surface if I gave it just one full day, but chose to go ahead simply because I wanted Samhith to get an idea about the greatness of our heritage. Besides, roaming around ruins with a frisky and hyperactive seven year old can get rather tiring, especially if he is not interested, and at that point of time, I didn’t know how he would take it. From that point of view, my trip has certainly worked. On the down side, we now have a thirst for more, (and from experience, I know that the thirst will never be appeased). Further exploration will have to wait till he grows older and can understand things in much more depth than he does now. I am happy that I have at least sparked an interest! So, we did miss out on quite a bit… the two Ganeshas, for instance, the riverside path from the Virupaksha temple to the Vitthala temple, which is filled w...
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Hampi Part 11 - Zenana Enclosure and Elephant Stables

I have almost come to the end of my Hampi trip reports. Here are the last two enclosures we visited.. The Zenana Enclosure The zenana enclosure is a large walled area, thought to be the royal women’s quarters, so named, because it was built in the Indo-Islamic style of architecture.
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