| A local fair at Banashankari |
[Jun. 16th, 2008|11:48 pm] |
Flute seller: at a fair in Banashankari, near Badami, Karnataka.
The cattle fair is supplemented by another fair, a place for shopping, some entertainment and when you can combine it with a visit to a temple, it is a sure hit for the locals from all around.
( read on with more photos... )
and that ends the series of posts from the 'North-Karnataka, January, 2008' trip. |
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| Cattle fair, Badami |
[Jun. 12th, 2008|01:24 pm] |
Show me your teeth: a potential buyer checks the teeth to gauge the health of the animal; at a cattle fair near Badami, Karnataka.
The road to Badami from Gadag looked like it had been resurfaced recently going through a small town called Ron. My intention of going to Badami was to see the old temples at Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal and Mahakoota, but a few kilometers before reaching Badami there were more interesting events taking place: a village fair(Jathre) at the temple town of Banashankari and a cattle fair on an open field closer to Badami. Checked into the Mayura hotel in Badami and later in the evening went out to the cattle fair.
( read on with more photos... )
North-Karnataka, January, 2008 |
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| Lakkundi, Gadag |
[Jun. 4th, 2008|08:48 am] |
Front of a home: Lakkundi, Gadag, Karnataka.
As I was about to leave for this trip, there lay an article on the Chalukyan era temples in Gadag, on top on a heap of old newspapers; there were a few places mentioned and I had a quick glance before leaving and Lakkundi was one place that remained in memory a week later. So after kayaking on the Kali I was on my way from Dharwad to Gadag via Hubli. Staying in Gadag I made a small trip to Lakkundi in the evening.
( the temples and life in the village... )
North-Karnataka, January, 2008 |
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| Kayaking on the Kali |
[May. 30th, 2008|05:45 pm] |
Ready: a sunflower ready to open; taken in a sunflower field somewhere between Bijapur and Dharwad, Karnataka. We stopped here to get a closer look at the sunflowers in a sunflower field adjacent to a groundnut field. All the sunflowers were facing east, while the sun was to the west.
( We know tea, but what is KT? )
( Problems finding a hotel in Dharwad... )
( Kayaking on the Kali... )
We rode back to Dharwad and bought some Dharwad pedhas on the way to the hotel; the two packets were supposed to last the next week and the journey back home but got over the very next day in Gadag.
North-Karnataka, January, 2008 |
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| By the water |
[May. 25th, 2008|08:22 am] |
Where one dream ends and another begins: taken at Manchinabele, Karnataka.
Try coming up with your own titles for these photos.
( more photos... )
Took this set of photos on a short trip to Manchinabele on a Saturday morning. A few things have changed since the last time: the waters and the surrounding terrain is being used by the army as a training camp, an antenna array is coming up on the way to Manchinabele for India's Chandrayaan and because of this the road is being widened and tarred. |
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| Begur |
[May. 21st, 2008|10:30 am] |
Naganatheshwara temple: the 1300 year old temple which has five shiva lingas among other idols; Begur, Karnataka.
( read on with 14 more photos... ) |
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| Bidar, and on to Bijapur |
[May. 20th, 2008|10:39 pm] |
There were a few more interesting things we explored in Bidar other than the Bidri work, the fort and the tombs:
Biryani : A large percentage of the population in Bidar are muslims and there are quite a few small hotels on the main road serving biryani. We asked for a recommendation from a automobile spares vendor where we bought some engine oil and ended up having delicious biryani for lunch in a jam-packed(!) hotel.
The Jharani temple : This temple is inside a cave(looked man-made) but the unique thing is that you have to walk through about 50ft of waist-deep water to get to the sanctum where there is a statue of Narasimha and a Shiva linga. We were asked to visit this place by one of the guys at the hotel we stayed in; water sprouts out of the cave year round and it is considered holy to have a bath here. There are lockers and towels outside for rent and it is better to take a change of clothes if you plan to walk inside the cave wading through the water.
Gurudwara: Supposedly Guru Nanak came here and pushed aside a rock from where water sprouted for the water starved people living here and according to a local this is the second most important place for the Sikhs after the Golden temple at Amritsar. Free lunch is provided to people visiting the place and we were there at around lunch time.
To Bijapur: We started early the next day and took the route to Homnabad. Asking a couple of people at the junction where we had tea, we found that the shorter route to Bijapur via Gulbarga was not quite in very good shape while the NH to Sholapur and then another NH to Bijapur from there was in excellent condition though it was a bit longer; we decided to take the later route going through a bit of Maharastra and reaching Bijapur late in the evening. The clothes people wear did not change much across the different state: all whites to make the summer heat bearable.
North-Karnataka, January, 2008 |
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| Bahamani tombs |
[May. 19th, 2008|02:00 pm] |
Wishing tokens: the care-taker of the tomb tells us that you tie a token with a horse if you wish for good health and a token with a cradle if you wish for a baby; tomb of Ahmad Shah Bahamani; Bidar, Karnataka.
( more-6 )
North-Karnataka, January, 2008 |
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| The long way to Bidar |
[May. 12th, 2008|11:04 am] |
Bidar is farther than Chennai, Hyderabad, Goa and Kanyakumari from Bangalore: 735 kms, a long distance even though it is in Karnataka.
( read on... )
North-Karnataka, January, 2008 |
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| My name is Mariamma |
[Apr. 2nd, 2008|03:47 pm] |
the enterprising lady who accompanied us as our guide; Talakaad, Karnataka.
A rough road from Somnathpur led us to Talakaad, with a few canals visible on the way, where women were busy washing clothes. As we parked in front of the Vaidyanatheswara temple, a guide approached us wanting to offer his services and followed us around the temple and finally decided to go in search of other people to guide. We started walking up the sand when Mariamma started walking along side us, we told her we did not need a guide, but she was not one to be deterred so easily as she started telling us about one of the temples; it turned out to be a good experience as she talked non-stop about herself and a little about the temples. A few things we learnt from our guide:
( the curse of Talakaad and more ) |
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| Somnathpur |
[Mar. 29th, 2008|01:06 am] |
the exterior of the Keshava temple along with one of the three gopuras; Somnathpur, Karnataka.
The rain in Tadiyendamol had us back in Mysore for the night and on our way to Somnathpur the next morning. We took the deviation just outside Mysore towards Bannur, the road being well layed, but it only lasted for a while as the road got worse and we were reduced to going at low speeds all the way to Somnathpur. What greeted us was a large lawn with the temple hidden inside another walled compound.
( read on with more photos ) |
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| Experiments in the rain |
[Mar. 24th, 2008|03:37 pm] |
Enchanted Path : the path to Tadiyendamol; wet, fresh and green in the rain.
( read on... ) |
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| Losar at Bylakuppe : Part 2/2 |
[Feb. 16th, 2008|11:20 am] |
a synchronized dance as part of the Losar celebrations, Namdroling monastery, Bylakuppe.
( the celebrations-16 )
Losar at Bylakuppe |
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| Kotilingeshwara |
[Jan. 14th, 2008|03:58 pm] |
Kotilingeshwara temple, near Kolar, Karnataka.
Kotilingeshwara means 1,00,00,000 lingas; there are not that many, but still more here than in any other place. We being there on a Sunday, it was quite busy as scores of people -pilgrims on a tour, families making it a picnic too- queue up to enter the complex and get blessings, hoping probably to get more from the number of lingas.
( 10 more pictures ) |
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| Water + Kids = Fun & Joy |
[Jan. 11th, 2008|10:39 am] |
Having Fun: Antargange, Kolar, Karnataka.
( 0 words, 9 pictures ) |
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| Antargange |
[Jan. 10th, 2008|07:38 pm] |
Antargange: people taking the holy water home, at Antargange, Kolar, Karnataka.
AntarGange : Ganges from the gap/deep; where the holy ganga rises up from the rocks and flows, and this is where we were heading to last Sunday morning. The sun rose, invisible, trying to clear the morning mist, as we drove towards Kolar, and it was successful in less than an hour as clear blue skies appeared as we neared Kolar. A bus-load of pilgrims got down and started walking up the steps to the temple, in a hurry, probably their first stop on a busy travel day. The local kids were already busy collecting the fresh water in 5/10 lt cans and taking it to their homes, it is sweeter than the tap water they say, while a few monkeys linger around hoping for some food. At the temple, the pujari is still in the process of preparing the shiv-ling, while outside the water flowing out a basava is being continuously collected by kids and pilgrims alike, and in case you do not have anything to collect the holy water, there are empty bottles for sale too.
( 14 more pictures ) |
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