KarnaTaka... and TakaTak Times on the road...my photo story ... and info from Google

Ready for our holidays to take off...

Landed in Bangalore

My daughter and I started our holiday to South India with a red eye flight to Bangalore on 15th early morning ...  

In Bangalore we booked an uber from the airport since Ola taxis were far more expensive than the latter ... So We landed at MM's home at 5am and were greeted vv warmly at that early early hour by MM & DU ... had some choi and chatted till 6.30 am and then it was shut eye till noon...

The same day was an easy day with meeting friend's in the evening at the most happening club...

17th.early morning we left for Mysore with my dost K from my biking group... we met last year and kind of mutually decided that we like to spend time with each other and can tolerate each other's differences too ... so this year since I was coming to B'lore with my daughter and bestie , I thought a small quick 2 nights 3 days trip will calm the gypsy within me... So along with my dost K who is also a biking enthusiast and loves to visit places in her free time agreed to take holidays and chalk out a route ... A plan was formulated on the basis of my likes and as I was very keen to visit Halebidu... I conveyed the same to her... and since we had the time and inclination we included the Mysore palace, with Somnathpura... a 12th century ancient temple...

 our Breakfast was at a lovely homely place on the way to Somnathpura at Thotada Mane... 

the Thaalipeeth made from rice flour and dil leaves for seasoning is a must which is only made in homes in this part of the country.

 ...this place is a bit off the main road but a must visit place for breakfast if going to Somnathpura... it closes at 10.30am ... so better not be late...!

Somnathpura ...our first stop for the day...

Amazing and eye popping carvings on the roof insides at all the places we visited

Details below are from Wikipedia pix are all mine.

The Chennakesava Temple, also referred to as Chennakeshava Temple and Keshava Temple, is a Vaishnava Hindu temple on the banks of River Kaveri at Somanathapura, Karnataka, India. The temple was consecrated in 1258 CE by Somanatha Dandanayaka, a general of the Hoysala King Narasimha III. 

The inside roof

KarnaTaka... and TakaTak Time on the road had started for us...

Location: Somanathapura, Karnataka, India

Temple complex overview

I have always loved the symmetry they create in all the marvels we have in different parts of India

Temple Completed in year: 1258

Next halt was for lunch at KTDC owned Mayura chain of restaurants...

Lunch at 3 pm

After lunch we headed for the Mysore palace...

Mysore, the city of royalty, heritage and culture is also the home of the royal family of Wadiyars. The Wadiyar dynasty ruled over the city of Mysore for over 500 years and resided in the magnificent Mysore Palace.

The Mysore Palace also known as the Amba Vilas Palace located at the centre of Mysore city facing the Chamundi hills was built in 1912 when Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV and his mother Maharani Kempananjammanni Devi commissioned the British architect Henry Irwin to build this palace after the Old Palace was set ablaze.

Saw it from the inside and outside...

The palatial mansion has few Darbars and the two well-known ones are darbar-e-khas and diwan-e-khas.

The palace at present is owned by 27-year-old Yaduveer Krishnadutta Chamaraj Wadiyar who is the family head.  In 2013, his uncle Srikantadatta Wadiyar died without a child and there was no successor. Rajmata adopted Yaduveer as their son and turned him into the king making him the sole heir.

the breath taking interiors and exteriors take you into an era that's long gone and done away with. 

Just jaw dropping for me ... I must have visited the palace maybe 2/3 times and everytime it amazes and enchants me

We were there for exactly 60 seconds before the twinkling lights went off

Lights off...

entrance was Grand... for the local fair...Dasara Expo.

some of the stuff in the stalls

colourful dolls

Fair (mela) was accross the road... we visited and spent the evening there and got lucky to see Mysore palace all decked up in sparkly lights like twinkling stars...we got to the palace gates and within 60 seconds lights shut... so I say we got very lucky...

Mysore palace all lit up

A bit hazy pic of the statues you get to see in Mysore city.

Day 2

We spent the night 7 kms away from Namdrolling Monastry... the only one in South India... it's my 2nd visit and it feels like it is my first visit... but I immediately recalled once we were at the gate...

The number of kms driven since we left B'lore city for Namdrolling Monastry

our breakfast 

Entrance into the Monastry

just jesting

the Monastry

Info below from Wikipedia pix are all mine

The Namdroling Nyingmapa Monastery or Thegchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargye Ling(བོད་ཡིག ཐེག་མཆོག་རྣམ་གྲོལ་བཤད་སྒྲུབ་དར་རྒྱས་གླིང་།) (Wylie: theg mchog rnam grol bshad sgrub dar rgyas gling), or ನಮ್ಡ್ರೋಲಿಂಗ್ ವಿಹಾರ (Namdroling Vihara) is the largest teaching center of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in the world. Located in Bylakuppe, part of the Mysuru district of the state of Karnataka, the monastery is home to a sangha community of over five thousand lamas (both monks and nuns), a junior high school named Yeshe Wodsal Sherab Raldri Ling, a religious college (or shedra for both monks and nuns) and hospital.

The monastery was established by the 11th throneholder of the Palyul lineage, Drubwang Padma Norbu Rinpoche in 1963, following his 1959 exit from Tibet as the second seat of the Palyul Monastery one of the six great Nyingmapa Mother monasteries of Tibet prior to annexation.

(pic by my daughter Z)

The monastery's full name is Thegchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargyeling, called "Namdrolling or Namdroling" for short. Its initial structure was a temple constructed from bamboo, covering an area of approximately 80 square feet (7.4 m²). It is carved into the jungle that the Indian government granted to Tibetan exiles. The initial challenges included rampaging elephants and other tropical dangers.

(pic by my friend K)

First glimpse of the Bahuballi

670 steps to the TOP !

entrance... after the climb up

a small temple before we reach the top...

inside the temple dedicated to a disciple 

still some more steps to climb maybe 50 or so

some inscriptions carved on the rocks

the entrance into the main temple

first glimpse...

awe inspiring... perfectly chisseled...

cant get enough of the perfectly chisseled Bahuballi...

The priest said whole place has been carved from 1 rock

dont know the significance of the carvings but had to click my piscean sign 

walking around the complex...

an over view

Time to start going down... must be down by 1830 hrs.as the shop where our shoes are kept closes

intricate carvings

Sunset time

Footprints not diminished with time

Thats an acomplishment and happiness for Me ... !

Morning was spent at monastry afternoon we headed towards the Jain Holy site of Bahuballi... a 670 steps climb but was totally worth the effort,time and sweat...
Took me 30 minutes to climb up and 10 mints to return back ... was vvv fulfilling to visit this holy place which was built 1244 yrs.back...

Info below from Googleji and Wikipedia

The statue was commissioned by the Ganga dynasty minister and commander Chavundaraya; it is 57-foot (17 m) tall and is situated above a hill in Shravanabelagola, in the Hassan district of Karnataka.

The giant 58 foot statue of Bhagwan Bahubali at Shravanabelagola is housed within the Vindhyagiri Temple atop the Vindhyagiri hill.

Its a massive 57-ft high statue of Bahubali, which is the world's tallest monolithic stone statue carved out of a single granite block.
A monolithic statue of Bahubali referred to as “Gommateshvara” built by the Ganga dynasty minister and commander Chamundaraya is a 60 feet (18 m) monolith and is situated above a hill in Shravanabelagola, in the Hassan district of Karnataka. It was built in the 10th century AD.

Bahubali, a much revered figure among Jains, was the son of Rishabadeva and the brother of Bharata Chakravartin. He is said to have meditated motionless for a 12 years in a standing posture and that during this time, climbing plants grew around his legs. 

Timings to visit Shravanabelagola temple timings are 6.30 AM to 11.30 AM and 3.30 PM to 6.30 PM. At least half a day is recommended to explore the hills of Shravanabelagola.

Night fall and we were on the way to Hassan to spend the night ... as next day was the iceing on my cake kind of day for me...

Day 3

Belur and Halebidu... a place I have been waiting to visit for past 7 years...

entrance into Belur temple...

Parking lot is on the back side ...

the master piece in it's full glory...

the grand entrance

the famous sculpture of a woman with her make up kit

most of them are very well preserved or re done carvings on the outside of the temple as well as inside

Fascinating intricate carvings on the inside of the roof

Below Info from Google ji (pix are all mine)

Beluru (also known earlier as Velapuri, Velur and Belapur in olden times) is situated on the banks of Yagachi River and was one of the capitals of the Hoysala Empire.

Belur temple is remarkable for its architecture, sculptures, reliefs, friezes as well its iconography, inscriptions and history.

The temple was destroyed during Muslim attacks in the Hoysala kingdoms. The first attack was by Malik Kafur, Alauddin Khilji's general in 1311 and in 1326 Muhammad Bin Tughlaq destroyed the remaining structures. Some parts of the temples were restored by Vijayanagara Kings and later by Wodeyars of Mysuru.

Its construction started around 1121 CE and was complete in 1160 CE. During the early 14th century, Halebidu was twice sacked and plundered by the Muslim armies of the Delhi Sultanate from northern India, and the temple and the capital fell into a state of ruin and neglect.

This temple stands tall at a height of 37 meters. 

inside the temple

the deity

all pillars inside the temple had different designs

One of the more intricately carved pillar

the same intricate carvings taken with a bit of zoom

side view...in yellow is main entrance

a panromic shot of the temple complex

cant stop clicking

water tank within the temple complex

Both towns are 23km apart, it's easy to cover the two towns in a day!

Distance Between Bengaluru to Belur Halebedu Is 211 Kms .

first glimpse of the magnificient work of sculpting 

entrance

intricate, mind bogling sculpting

the young priest

Its magical to my eye ... bewilderment and awe...

It is the largest monument in Halebidu, a town in the state of Karnataka, India and the former capital of the Hoysala Empire. The temple was built on the banks of a large man-made lake, and sponsored by King Vishnuvardhana of the Hoysala Empire. Its construction started around 1121 CE and was complete in 1160 CE.

The Hoysaleswara temple is a twin-temple dedicated to Hoysaleswara and Santaleswara Shiva lingas, named after the masculine and feminine aspects, both equal and joined at their transept. It has two Nandi shrines outside, where each seated Nandi face the respective Shiva linga inside.^[11] The temple includes a smaller sanctum for the Hindu Sun god Surya. It once had superstructure towers, but no longer and the temple looks flat.^[12] The temple faces east, though the monument is presently visited from the north side. Both the main temples and the Nandi shrines are based on a square plan.^[13] The temple was carved from soapstone.

all these carvings have a story to tell...

the 12th century Hoysala era temples of Belur, Halebidu and Somanathapura in Hassan and Mysuru districts ... were recognized as the UNESCO World Heritage Site: 42nd in India and fourth site in Karnataka to get the world heritage tag.

till my next photo journey...

picture perfect !

Total kms.driven 744.6 from Bangalore to Bangalore round trip.