ADHVAGATI

 ( "Moscow Kremlin and The Red Square" is an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990 )   It was suffocatingly crowded during our visit . There was a country Fair ( Jatre) atmosphere . We were told that it was the fag end of the visitors season  and soon, everything would shut down for the harsh winter season.  The Red Square is the historic City Square that separates The Kremlin from a merchant quarter known as The Great Possad. It is the heart of Moscow , with all arterial roads of the city passing by it.  The left side of the Square is lined by a long palatial two storey edifice , with glass skylights , dating from the 1890s . Built as a posh super market during the time of Peter The Great in a grand neoclassical style , it still functions as a super market . Called GUM ( acronym for the Russian phrase meaning ‘Main Universal Store’, pronounced ‘Goom’ . )   Dozens of souvenir vending kiosks outside the  old Market building were  doing great...

 SITTANNAVASAL is a name one always hears as a sort of suffix to Ajanta , when talking of  the artistic heritage of our land . But, while Ajanta enjoys immense popularity and traffic, Sittannavasal largely remains a name in Art Books only . Many are not even aware of where it is located or what it has to offer , other than having a vague idea that it has got some frescoes. (  - the Ajanta connection ! ) Remote it is, undeniably. In Pudukottai District of Tamil Nadu , about  15Kms from Pudukottai town and 50 Kms from Trichy, in a dry landscape stubbled with rocks and patches of uncultivated land. Greenery , along the way, is sparse.  One huge , bald rock here , 70 meters tall, with natural caverns and shelters was chosen by Jain monks for their austerities from 2BCE to 10CE . Remnants of their life here remain, the most significant one being the Arivar Koil ( The  Arhat's Abode) , which house the frescoes. This rock cut shrine is situated at the base of the ...

 A place can charm . A few enchant.  These latter hold within them an indescribable element of mystery , a touch of the occult . Doddagaddavalli is a prime example . But before that was ....Avani . Barely two hours away from Bengaluru, just beyond Kolar , in a very scenic countryside of rocky hills and ponds sits the quiet town of Avani . A place of great antiquity and religious significance , finding mention even in the Epics, believed to be the place where Sita gave birth to her twins and where, too, she was taken back by Mother Earth ie, "Avani " . The Hermitage where Sita lived is situated on the hill top , which has some interesting rock shelters and springs too.  But the real attraction of the place is the group of hoary temples, huddled within a fort like compound at the foot of the hill, collectively called The Ramalingeshwara Group and protected by ASI. The individual temples are named after the characters from Ramayana and are a medley of different styles as the...

When you plan , it doesn’t happen . When you don’t plan , it happens !   It is one of those funny twists in life.   ( The Trikuta temple that looks like Ekakuta ) BASARALU is barely 25 Kms from Mandya , yet it took all these years to visit it – and that , only accidentally , because it was on the route taken for the return journey from another destination . What a happy accident !   As Hoysala temples go , this one is   a doll-house . Such a compact little   temple , almost invisible among   the surrounding dreary landscape !   Though   a small temple , it is endowed with   an outer entrance pavilion which is ornamented with well carved , though unmatched, pillars . The ceiling here shows the ashtadikpala grid arranged around a central  four armed Shiva.  Kings built ambitious , extravagant , immense complexes like the Hoysaleshwara of Halebid . Chieftains , lacking means,    did not shy away from temple buildi...

The weather of the day definitely has an effect on the first impression a place makes . I don’t know what Doddagaddavalli Mahalakshmi Temple would have conveyed at first glimpse on a cheerfully sunny day . After all, Mahalakshmi is all about auspiciousness, happiness, abundance and brightness.    But this silent, drizzly day , with the grey sky heaving with dense clouds, certainly imparts a touch of Gothic mystery to the high walled compound overlooking the tank at the very edge of a desolate hamlet .  Except for a few ladies washing clothes in the tank , there is hardly any buzz in the scenery . The ambience feels somewhat menacing , for no apparent reason . The stone walls of the compound are quite high , 7ft tall. Above the wall can be seen the tops of a cluster of vimanas . All similar, the Kadamba-Nagara style giving them a mesoamerican stepped pyramid look . Only one vimana shows a dravida finial ( Mahalakshmi’s) . Being a Protected Monument , the site ...

To begin with : “ Bellur Cross “ is one of those ‘you-are-here’ kind of pins on the Highway, a reference point for giving direction/ location:  'Left/Right of Bellur Cross .... so many Kms from Bellur Cross .... take turning after Bellur Cross '…..Everybody who takes that Highway out of Bengaluru  towards Hassan knows Bellur Cross .  But Belluru ? We had also crossed Bellur Cross that very morning to get to our destination of the day , without giving Belluru or the Cross any thought. But on return journey , late noon , Belluru beyond The Cross beckoned . All because Google Maps showed a temple icon above the name and we were on an ancient monument ‘collecting’spree . And so, into Belluru we rode , without knowing the second thing about it , after its name . A jaunt of discovery it turned out to be ! Belluru: A quaint little town where few are out and about . We follow the motorable road , keeping eyes peeled for the sight of any...

You think its a remnant of an old fortification ,as it is situated in the Old Town area.  It is not. You think it is the Bell Tower of the Trinity Church as it is part of the Church building, sharing a wall. It is not. You think it is an old  penitentiary where criminals were locked up , so dark and gaunt it looks . It is not. It is an Observatory. Astronomers of old stood on the top of the cylindrical tower and peered at the skies through telescopes. Visitors today stand on the top and enjoy a 360 degree view of  Copenhagen. The Rundetaarn or Round Tower is one of the most iconic edifices of Denmark and a quirky attraction no visitor should miss. At 34.8 meters, it is pretty  tall tower and has no elevator to take people up. But rest assured, going up does not involve any torturous climbing of  narrow ,  medieval stairways. The Round Tower's USP is its Spiral Ramp , the Equestrian Staircase , a special corkscrew kind of ramp that runs seven ...