A few views of Ginjee

Ginjee is a couple of hours drive from Chennai. An hour or so before Tiruvannamalai.

On the way from Chennai to Tiruvannamalai, one passes the town of Ginjee (a.k.a Senjee) and two ancient forts, built on top of hills on either side of the road. One is called the King’s fort and the other the Queen’s fort and the two together are referred to as the Ginjee Fort. Originally a small fort built by the Cholas in 9^th Century AD, it has later been expanded and strengthened by other dynasties viz, the Vijayanagara empire, the Nayaks, the Marathas…The most famous occupant though, was Raja Tej Singh, known locally as Tesingh. So brave was he that his life and exploits have become a part of Tamil folklore - and to this day, ballads are sung about him…

This Ginjee fort was considered impregnable and has been compared to legendary city of Troy. Chatrapati Shivaji’s son, Chatrapati Rajaram stayed here, when he fought with the Mughals. So safe was the fort that although Aurangazeb’s forces laid a seven years long siege of this fort, they could not succeed in getting Chatrapati Rajaram.

Lets cut to some pictures now.

A picture that I took this May. The fort is on top of the hill seen in the background. The hill is around 800 feet high, and the fort has a massive moat around it.

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Here’s a closer view of the hill and the fort, from a different angle.

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And below are a few photographs I took a couple of years ago.

Here’s another view of the hill. The building on the right is the Kalyana Mahal - a multi- storey marriage hall, which is a part of the palace complex.

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One really walks back in time when one visits the fort complex. Ruins and ancient trees. Here’s a tree-and-he picture.

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It’s a hard climb up the hill. But is worth the strain. And you can find lots of place to step off from the steps and relax on the rocks….The outer wall of the fort can be seen in the back…

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And the view from top is real cool. You could just take a deep breath and take off. Hang-gliding anybody?

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Next stop - Tiruvannamalai….

…. To be contd …

Another day’s outing from Bangalore - 4

The Kesava temple has three shrines in the sanctum. The main one is Kesava Perumal. The other two are Venu Gopala (Krishna) and Janardana.

Here are a few pictures of the outer wall carvings…

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The one below looks like a carving of Hanuman, carrying a Siva Linga. But I am not sure, for the icon also has hands carrying Shankha and Chakra…

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The temple reminded me of the Kailasanatha Temple at Kancheepuram. That temple too has a fabulous architecture and sublime carvings. Like that temple, this one too has an open corridor along the outer path, which is said to have housed some sixty four idols - once upon a time…

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Have a look at this picture of the pillars in near the entrance. Just look at the smooth finish - looks like it has been carved on a lathe….

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So that was Somnathapura. Driving back to Bengaluru, we stopped at Maddur. Maddur was earlier known as Arjunapura, named after the Pandava hero Arjuna, who is said to have come here. The town is famous for ‘vadai’ and and for the Ugra Narsimha temple, also of Hoysala period, that we came to visit. Time was around 7 pm, and the sanctum sanctorum had been curtained for some ritual. The priest asked us to visit the Varadaraja Perumal temple nearby and come back. And what a temple that turned out to be. A massive idol of Varadaraja Perumal. Some devotee had organized a big Abhisheka ceremony that day… And then we came to Narsimha temple…Curtains  were off… A large black stone idol of Ugra Narsimha… After Darshan, we had some divine “curd-rice” prasadam from the temple…

And then we were off to Bengaluru.

Before I log off from this post on Somnathapura, I would like to leave you with a picture of the outer garden of the Somnathapura temple.

So that was the day trip. Started from Bengaluru around 11 am… Stopped at Ramohalli Banyan tree..then Bidadi banyan tree… then off to Somnathapura… Maddur on the way back. Back to Bengaluru by 10 pm or so….

A nice day indeed!

Another day’s outing from Bangalore - 3

On the Mysore highway, we stopped at a nice “cafe coffee day” restaurant. After a decent refreshment, we started for Somnathapura. We had to take a left before Sri Ranga Pattina… Soon we had left the urbanity of the highway behind, and eased into bad roads and good fields… Here’s a picture of the landscape that we drove through.

 

 

The Somnathapura temple is not a formal place of worship now. It is a monument maintained by ASI (Archeological Survey of India). That being so, I was anxious that we reach the place before 5 pm, as the premises might be closed at the end of office hours. The approach road to Somnathapura wasn’t very good, and we had to struggle along. We managed to reach the village by 4:30 pm or so.

After purchasing entry tickets (just a few rupees each), we entered the neatly maintained temple garden…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking through the portal of the temple, I had my first glimpse of the Kesava temple inside. And I must say it was an awesome sight….A masterpiece of Hoysala architecture…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below, is a side-view of the temple…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And as I walked around the temple, I told myself, ‘If there was ever poetry on stone, it is here, it is here, it is here….’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a close-up of the carvings at the bottom…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                               … To be contd…. 

Another day’s outing from Bangalore - 2

We leave the Ramohalli Banyan tree, and get back to the Mysore highway.

Driving down the highway, we come to Bidadi, and go past the turn that leads ‘Dhayanpeetham’, Swami Nityananda’s Ashram. A little further in the highway, I notice a sign that points to another Banyan tree. We drive past, and after a few kms, decide to trun back to visit this Banyan tree as well.

The Banyan tree signboard pointed to a kutchcha road, that went under a bridge…and there was some road repair going on as well. So we gingerly made our way across…On the other side, the road was no better. It had its ups and downs, and rain water troughs. Some real estate development work was going as well…Some years down the line, you could expect to see lots of apartments out here, I think. Well…well…

Right out there was the Banyan tree.

Here’s a picture.

I then realized that the Banyan tree was a part of the Dhyanapeetham Ashram that I had visited a few months ago. The tree is at the back of the Anandeshwara temple.

The tree was beautiful. Beneath the tree, on one side, was a large idol of Dakshinamurthy - Lord Siva as the Silent Preceptor.

The tree was something else. There were all sorts of birds out there. So many types of birds. Perhaps it was the fruiting season for that tree. The ecosystem was magic out there. Right in the base of the tree trunk was an opening that led to a hollow. An ideal sort of meditation cave, The Ashram priest mentioned that the hollow was the Samadhi spot of some sage of yore. And that a Siva Linga had been in existence there. That Siva Linga has since been shifted to the Anandeshwara temple adjacent to the tree, and has been consecrated there.

Here is a picture of that tree cave.

It’s a real nice tree. And if you are driving down the Mysore highway, it is barely a couple of minutes off the main road. It is worth stopping here, and just sitting in peace for a while…Enjoy the shade…Watch the birds…Savor the sounds and silence of nature….

…. To be contd…

Another day’s outing from Bangalore - 1

We started at around 11 a.m or so.

The idea was to head to Somnathapura, near Mysore, to see the Kesava temple, considered to be one of the masterpieces of Hoysala architecture… A part of the Hoysala triad of temples Belur-Halebid-Somnathapura, it is not as well known as the other two, but is considered to be ‘right up there’ along with them…

So here we were, in a Hyundai Santro, proceeding in a ’snooze’ sort of way, that comes so naturally once one leaves the crush of metro (which takes an hour or so) and eases into the timelessness of old Mysore…

It was sometime past noon, when we noticed a sign tha said “Big Banyan tree” and pointed to the right… We drove past that… And some five minutes later, after a tete-a-tete, we decided to U-turn and go see that tree. So we drove back, and turned into the road leading to Ramohalli, where lives that tree.

On the way, we crossed “Shubham Karoti”, a residential school for girls… The medium of conversation in that school is Sanskrit. Interesting place.

We imagined that the tree would be somewhere nearby. But that wasnt so…Some twenty minutes of driving brought us to the “Tree”.

It was a beautiful, large, Banyan tree. It sure did appear to be as large, if not larger, than the Adyar Banyan tree of Chennai. (The Adyar Banyan tree is in the campus of Theosophical Society at Adyar. A ‘notice board’ near that tree says that the tree is one of the largest in the world. It measures 238ft from north to south and 250ft from east to west. The total area exceeds 59,500 sq ft’.).

I dont know if the Ramohalli tree is just one tree (like the Adyar tree) or is more. But that Banyan cluster that one sees there, sure is huge….I read somewhere that it is spread over 4 acres…

Here are a few pictures in and around the tree. 

 

The picture below gives some idea of the depth. The person at the far end is hardly noticeable.

 

The open areas in that cluster were awash with bright sunlight…Made a nice picture of sun and shadows.

We had picked up some ‘bhutta’ (Corn) and ‘mungfali’ (peanuts) from the vendors around there. But we had to be wary of other beings who were keen to disposess us…Like this one who is poised on top of the pillar. 

There were quite a few of his pack around. No one was bothered. There is place for all beings under the Big Banyan tree. 

So folks! Ramohalli banyan tree is a good place to drive out to for a family outing from Bangalore. Its like logging off from time for a while… Had this tree been in Singapore, they would have packaged a complete tourist package around this tree. And you would have had to shell out top dollars to enter its shade. But this is India.. The tree is for free…

 And a good snooze is priceless… 

                 … To be contd…

Panaiyur Visit - A picture post

This was on 23 April 2008.

An ancient Siva temple was being re-consecrated. The temple is the abode of Lord Trikaleshwarar and Goddess Kokilambal, and is in a village named Panaiyur. Panaiyur is in Arani district, and about 45 kms from Kancheepuram.(An old post about this temple renovation can be seen in this blog, and a later one here).

We left Chennai by around 7:00 am or so. Stopped over at Kancheepuram for Darshan of Kamakshi Amman. Had breakfast at Saravana. Drove down past the dry river (sand mine) Palar, turned towards and drove past Aiyangarkulam….Drove past Kalavai…And by 10 am or so, we were approaching Panaiyur village…

The whole village was decked up for the kumbabishekam…

The temple was right amidst the fields…And the road from the village proper to the temple was a one-horse path…And the whole village was walking up or down that path…Somehow, we squeezed the car through the crowd, and reached the temple….

The main kumbabsihekam function had just concluded. A shamiyana had been put up near a big Banyan tree…

Heres a part-picture of the entrance of the temple…

The temple is said to be 700 years old…It was pretty much in ruins till some years ago … And then, through some oracles and such, some people were enthused to renovate it…And that saga finally culminated in the Kumbabishekam function, this day…

The whole place was given great character, by the presence of that holy banyan tree (Arasa Maram)..

The day was hot…The shade of tree was a welcome refuge…

Stopped by for some delicious lunch at the house of one of the local hosts… A typical village house…With a ‘thinnai’ in front…

Left Panaiyur by 2 pm or so…

We took a slightly different route on the way back…We went to Arcot instead of to Kanchipuram…The roads were better… And then drove down the Vellore-Chennai highway, bypassing Kancheepuram… Stopped at a highway restaurant for a tea break… And found some other interesting travelers parked there… Heres a picture…

India! Incredible India!

Kozhiwakkam kudamuzhukkam - 1

(contd from ‘First Day of Sarvadhari’…)

Back to Kozhiwakkam village…also called Kozipakkam, Koliwakkam, koziwakkam…referred in Sanskrit as Kukkutapuri…

Pralayam-kaatha-amman….the Goddess who saved all during the deluge…

Perhaps at one time the Palar must have burst its banks and flooded the village, and maybe this deity saved the people. Palar must have been a majestic river…Just the breadth of the dry river bed is awesome…Interestingly, there is a shrine to the same deity in the Ekamabranatha temple, the main Siva temple of Kanchipuram. As per mythology, when Kamakshi Amman was offering worship to Ekambranatha, the river rose in spate, and was about to wash away all of that place. When Durga, manifesting as Pralayam-kaattha-amman, came and halted the river….The same deity exists in Kozhiwakkam village.

As per the directions of the mystic, Sivakumar took it upon himself to build a new temple for the Goddess. He rallied his extended family, got in touch with all he could who hailed from that village ‘once upon any time’, mobilized the current village folks…He is a one man army…He got a new idol made, exactly along the lines of the idol at the Ekambaranatha temple…All this took a period of a few years….And on 16th April, 2008, the consecration (kudamuzhukkam) of that temple, as well as that of main village temple of Muktishwara and Muktambal, had been arranged….

The next few pictures were taken during the Kumbabhishekam (kudamuzhukkam) ceremony on Apr 16th.

Heres a picture of the newly made idol…

An elaborate ceremony was held for consecration of the koziwakkam village temples.

Vedic Yagya ceremonies were conducted in the simple yaaga-shaala made in the field. Several fire-altars were simultaneously being used for worship…A group of priests chanted mantras, energizing the waters kept in Kudams (kalashas…special vessels…).

Heres a picture of that yagya.

And after the purnahuti, the final offering made to the deities, through the medium of the fire-altar, the consecrated waters were carried, for ritual abhisheka of the metal kalashas on top of the temple domes, and on the idols themselves.

Heres a picture of the temple dome, of the new shrine of Pralayam-kattha-amman, taken during the consecration ceremony. Isnt it pretty….

   
So thats a brief tour of a typical kudamuzhukkam… First the divinity is transferred from the old idols onto a picture, which is kept in balalayam. temple is renovated.. new idols may be built… once all the preparation is done, kudamuzhukkam ceremonies begin… Divinity is transferred from the picture to waters kept in special vessels.  Special ceremonies are held…Eye of the new idol is opened…Yagyas are conducted… The waters are charged with energy of Mantras… They are then poured in special Abhisheka ceremonies, on the kalashas on top of the temple domes, and on the idols themselves…divinity is now transferred to the idols in the new temple…

Heres a picture of Abisheka of Pralayam-katha-amman…

                                                  ….. To be contd …

 

First day of Sarvadhari

The “K” in my grandfather’s name, “K Vaidyanathan”, stands for his native village - Kozhiwakkam, also referred to as Kozhipakkam. This is a village near Kanchipuram city, by that fossil-river, Palar. Like many Indians, the search for livelihood drove him out of his village… And now, seventy years later, none of his lineage has any real connection to that place.

My father did re-establish some connect some fifteen years ago, and renovated the village temple - of Lord Mukteeshwarar and Goddesss Muktambal. I had been there , sometime in early 1990s. Just once. And after all these years, the call came again. Sivakumar, another Kozhiwakkam descendent (who I have never met before), somehow got my number, and called me. To re-establish connect with that village.

And there we were, that very weekend. Saturday, 13, April. Tamil New Year, the beginning of the lunar year, Sarvadhari.

Started from Chennai at 6 a.m or so.

First stop Kanchi Kamakshi temple. What a magnificent temple.

Here is a picture of the outside Gopuram, taken from the inner courtyard.

And heres a picture of the temple tank, and the main temple towers in the background. The golden one in the middle is the gopuram on top of the sanctum-sanctorum of Kanchi Kamakshi amman.

After a good Darshan, circumambulated the temple, walking around the outer courtyard. Stopped at the elephants enclosure for a a trunk-call…

A word about Koziwakkam, and about this trip. To reach Kozhiwakkam, go across the bridge over Palar river. And turn right. You could go past Iyengarkulam, or Abdullapuram. Take one of the forks and reach the village, Kozhiwakkam. Must have been prime location at one time, when the Palar river was flowing. It used to be a perennial river a little over a hundred years ago. Dried up since. Now it is a tract of sand, that is mined…Hundreds and hundreds of trucks can be seen queueing up to carry the river-sand away….every day…

Sivakumar, is a businessman in Chennai. Some years ago, when he was facing some downhills of life, he consulted a mystic. That mystic told him that things would surely go better if he would revive the temple of his kula-deivam (family deity). Sivakumar, like most modern Indians, didnt have a clue about who that deity was. That mystic then told him that the deity was “Pralayam-kaatha-durgambikai” - “Goddess Durga, who had saved all during the deluge”. And gave general directions as to where the deity was to be found in the village. Sivakumar consulted some other mystic, and that oracle tallied. He went to Kozhiwakkam village, searched nook and corner, and couldnt find the temple. No one had heard of it. He spotted a Kali temple and called the mystic, and explained that he was at a Kali temple. “Does that idol have a broken leg?” asked the mystic, from Chennai. Sivakumar checked and found that to be right. “Thats not the one” said the mystic….”Go backwards….”…And guided by this remote seer, Sivakumar, came upon a little shrine, where there were three stones, worshipped by the villagers, as Mariamman. He called the mystic and described the idols, explained the location. “That the one” said the mystic.

Heres a picture of the idols in that shrine.

                            … To be contd …

 

Kurukshetra - A picture post

Date 6/April/2008. Sunday.

Ramey and I decide to visit Kurukshetra, which is a three hour drive or so from Delhi.

Kurukshtera - the land of Mahabharata battle…an ancient region that included Panipat, where three great battles were fought…A land that has absorbed so much blood…And also the land that gave the world the great wisdom of Song Celestial - The Bhagawat Gita…A land dotted by hundreds of Theerthas…A place visited by nine of the ten Sikh Gurus…

Ramey and I fixed to meet at 6 AM, at Rajghat, and drive from there. Rajghat, the resting place of the great Mahatma, seemed such an appropriate place to start from…The great Mahatma Gandhi, who was a living commentary on the Gita…The man who stood for Ahimsa…

Heres a picture taken at Rajghat…

It was a nice drive. Some two hours down the road, we stopped for breakast at a Dhaba. Everyone was eating Aaloo Parantha and Dahee. We did likewise. Ramey also bought some fresh milk cake.

Heres that dhaba.

Past Panipat, Karnal….we reach the turn to Kurukshetra.

An arch welcomes all to the holy land. A narrow busy bazaar road leads one to the heart of the town. Heres a picture of one of the statues that one saw on the road. A statue of the might Pandava, Arjuna.

Our first stop at Kurukshetra is the Brahma Saras, a.k.a Brahma Sarovar…the sacred water tank…We find a festive atmosphere, and lots of people…The Amavasya (new moon) is about to end…People come to Brahma Saras to do Shraaddha (offer libations to their forefathers), especially on Amavasya day…

We went to the Saras, and had a refreshing dip;

Heres a picture of Ramey in front of the lake.

This is my second visit to Kurukshetra. I was here a couple of years ago, for the first time. With Ramey and his sons…Now, the second time, courtesy Ramey too..Long live Ramey!

There is a small temple of Goddess Katyayani near the Saras. A traditional Veda Paathashaala was functioning here. A group of pilgrims were sitting around a fire, and some priests were conducting a Havan…It was a Chandi Homam…And they were chanting the Devi Mahatmyam…In chaste Sanskrit…The pronunciation was perfect…Amavasya, was moving on, and the first day of Vasanta Navaratri was commencing…

I wanted to do Shraaddha, but hadnt brought any Til (sesame seeds)…I asked one of the young Brahmachari lads at the temple, and he went in and brought a small packet of Til, which I gratefully accepted. Went to a nice, quiet part of the huge garden next to the Saras, and did the Shraaddha. Ramey did his Sandhyavandanam.

In that huge garden, we saw a big statue of the Gita Upadesha scene. This wasnt there the last time we had come here. Just been made, and not yet inaugurated…It was still half-wrapped in plastic sheets…

Heres a picture…

We then hired an Auto Rickshaw and visited a few places. We first went to Jyotisar, the place that marks where Sri Krishna is said to have given the exposition of Gita…A holy tree marks the sacred spot…A Sarovar (bathing tank) has been built here…We walked down the ghat steps and sprinkled some water on ourselves…

Heres a picture of the tree that marks the Gita Upadesha place.

A nice statue of Gita is enclosed in glass, behind the tree.

Heres a closeup picture.

From Jyotisar, we go to Baan-Ganga…A temple marking the place where the mighty Bhishma lay in the bed of arrows…From there we went to the Bhadrakali temple, one of the sacred Shakti Peethas in the subcontinent. The place where Sati’s ankle fell…As per the local lore, this was where Arjuna offered worship to Durga, just before the commencement of the great war…Just prior to the exposition of Gita…

The last time around, we had visited a few more places…the Sthaneshwar Siva temple, and also the tank where Duryodhana is said to have hidden, before his final mace battle with the mighty Bheema…

Heres a picture of the towers of one of the many temples of Kurukshetra…

We left Kurukshetra around noon. Had lunch at one of the hotels on the highway. Stopped for a quick visit to the lake Karnal…Karnal, named after Karna, one of the key heroes of Mahabharata…The man immortalized as Daan-Veer, the King of those who Give…The man who could not say no to any seeker of help…

From Karnal, back to Delhi…5 pm or so…With Ramey getting a message on his cell phone…”Aaj ghar aanaa hai ki naheen?”

A days outing from Bangalore…Part-2

This is in continuation of this picture post…

Date Mar 22, 2008.

From Kokrebellur, we drove down to Melkote. Its one of the most venerated places of Vishnu worship. Ranks up there along with Sri Rangam and Kancheepuram.

Driving down the countryside, we drove back in time, and soon saw the hilltop temple of Narsimha, Melkote.

   

Here is a picture of the temple.

 Melkote is a little temple town in Pandavapura region of Karnataka. The town is also known as Tiru-Narayanapuram, after the presiding deity of the temple town. And our first stop was the temple of that deity - The Tiru-Narayana temple… also known as Selva Narayana temple, the temple of Narayana of Glorious Wealth. Who is also known as Sampath-Kumar.And we had arrived at Melkote during the time of the famous Brahmostavam. Purely by happenstance.And when we reached the temple of Selva Narayana, we were told that the Lord had left on the festival procession, and would be camping near the Pushkarini water tank. So there we went. Lots of pilgrims had gathered there. Many were sitting on the steps of the tank.

            

     

And heres another picture of the Pushkarini. The lateral side of the tank. The tree in the background was striking to see..

           

     

And now, a little note about Melkote.

    

The great Sri Vaishnava sage, Sri Ramanajucharya, had established the temple here. He had come to this area, in order to get away from the persecution of a Saivite Chola King. When he came here, to this region of Mysore-Melnadu, he cured the daughter of the local Hoysala monarch, King Bitti Deva, who was suffering some ailment that seemed beyong any remedy. The King then adopted Sri Vaishnava faith, and was renamed as Vishnuwardhana by the Acharya. This King then built five great Vishnu temples - the Channiga Narayana temple at Belur, Nambi Narayana temple at Thondanur, Keerthi Narayana temple at Talakad, Veera Narayana temple at Gadag and Chelva Narayana temple at Melkote.Today, at Melkote, the Utsavar (the ceremonial icon of the temple) had been brought to the temple tank. In a pillared hall near the tank, worship was being offered to a small idol, and the main Utsava-idol was in a shrine in the hall.

                  

        

The small idol that was being worshipped was perhaps ten inches or so in height. Here is a close up picture of that idol.

After the rituals of worship were completed, the priests took that idol down the tank steps, and the idol was given a ritual bath. Lots and lots of devotees jumped in as well…some swam, while some were content to stand and take a dip in the waters. Yours truly joined the latter group. Felt really wonderful. Sky was overcast. Weather was wonderful. The atmosphere was electric. This was heaven.

The Brahmostavam at Melkote is an annual festival. On the first day of the festival, the idol is adorned with ‘Vairamudi[ - a priceless crown, whose origin is so ancient, that it is a part of mythology. Hundred thousand and more pilgrims gather at Melkote to have a glimpse of the Lord wearing the Vairamudi. This adornment is on display only for a day. On the day that we had come to Melkote, the Lord was adorned with Rajamudi - another spectacular crown, made of Gold and inlaid with precious gems. This crown was given to the temple by King Raja Wodeyar who ruled here during the 16th-17th century AD.

Here is a picture of the Utsava idol - Lord Selva Narayana with his consorts. See the Rajamudi crown on the idol of Tirunarayana in the middle.

After Darshan, we had lunch at the house of one of the priests. Delicious.

Around 3 pm, we went to the main temple that had reopened. Here is a picture of one of the carvings in the temple, Narsimha in a pillar.

Then we climbed up the hill, to visit the Narsimha temple on top. It was a stiff climb, and left us quite breathless. It started raining as well, more than a drizzle, but not very heavy either. Sharing one umbrella between the two of us, taking shelter here and there, we made our way up. Here is a picture from somewhere up there….

We had darshan of Lord Narsimha, and collected a packet of Tamarind-rice as Prasada. We climbed down, and even as we reached the car, the skies really opened up and it started really pouring…

        

Driving back to Bangalore, we visited Thondanur…where Ramanujacharya had stayed… a nice village with some beautiful temples… The main temple of Nambi Narayana had just closed. We could have Darshan of Lord Parthasarathi though, in the temple opposite the Nambi Narayana temple. Wading through the rain water, having Ekanta darshan, seeing the idols in the sanctum sanctorum in the light of the Aarati… Felt so peaceful…

                  

Then on the way back to Bangalore, we halted at Srirangapattinam and had darshan of Sri Ranganatha. Panguni Uttiram festival had just concluded, and the temple had fine decorations…

      

Somewhere along the way, in the sugarcane counrtryside, we spotted a little workshop where they were crushng cane…We stopped by, had a tall glass of sugarcane juice each, and boiught some freshly made ‘gud’ (jaggery)…Life is sweet…

   

Night, by 9 pm, we reached Bangalore….

   

A fine days outing….Starting early morning from Bangalore…Bidadi-Dhyana Peetham…Aprameya Swami temple just past hennapatna …. Kokrebellur… Melkote…. Thondanur… Srirangapatna… Back to Bangalore by night… 

    

Try it sometime… Cheerio…