Mallur: Experience tranquillity near the busiest of highways

Overview: One of my friends suggested me to visit this place often missed by everyone as its on the Bangalore-Mysore highway and people usually zip past this without noticing. So we decided to specifically visit Aprameya Swamy temple and Nadi Narasimhaswamy temple. We started post lunch and after Channapatna, the temple is visible at the left side of the highway. One has to get into the arch to reach the temple. The temple is an ancient site and is built by the Cholas. The crawling Krishna or Ambegalu Krishna is very adorable and attracts everyone. Basking in the evening sun, the temple was in all its glory with vendors selling Sri Krishna idols outside. A place definitely is a protected monument but needs more signboards on the highway pointing to this place.

On the other side of the highway is another ancient temple dedicated to Nadi Narasimhaswamy. The name of the place is derived from the Kanva 'Nadi' or river as it is situated on the banks. It is believed that Sage Kanva had meditated at this place thousands of years ago. This temple is known to have lot of powers and many people visit this place to seek blessings. Around this place there is plenty of greenery and the rural scene makes us stay there forever.

How to reach: Bus: KSRTC buses ply from Bangalore to Maddur regularly. From Maddur, auto can be hired to reach Aprameyaswamy temple in DoddaMallur.
By Car: Travel towards Mysore and between Maddur and Channapatna, one can see the Aprameyaswamy temple at the left side of the road. Its around 65 kms from Bangalore.
Food/Accommodation: Plenty of options of food available on the Bangalore-Mysore highway.
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The forgotten story of a migration: Nacharamma of South India

This is a story of Nacharamma (fictionised by me to some extent), which is not documented in any inscriptions or ancient texts, but has been told by the ancestors of the community, and also been researched by some historians like M Keshavaiah, Dr Pranarthiharan and a few others.

Overview: Around the early 17th century, the Pilgrims set to sail across the Atlantic to become the first settlers of America. Much before this, a small but no less interesting migration took place in the Southern India of a community called the 'Sankethis'.
It was the summer of 1420 CE, in a place called Sengottai, in Tamil Nadu, along the foothills of the Western Ghats bordering Kerala. The place was flourishing with knowledge of the Vedas where Agraharams were set up. One of the prominent communities of learned people was the Sankethi Iyer community, also known as Sangeethi, derived from the name of the place- Sengottai or Shankotta. Another theory says that they were The group followed Adi Shankara…

Clock Towers of Bangalore

Overview: In the middle of the 18th century, when home clocks and watches were not so common, there was the practice of having huge clocks on top of iconic buildings or religious places having visibility from all the corners. Clock towers were in fashion all across the globe in the 18th to 20th centuries, and some of them had bells as well, which used to ring at every hour. Bangalore too, has had its share of clock towers, though the city has never been known for its clock towers. The iconic Clock tower once stood at the Russell Market in Shivajinagar, which no longer stands today as it was brought down sometime during the middle of the 20th century.
A few standing clock towers can be seen at the City Market, Baldwin Boys school, Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic, Central College, Police training grounds, St John's Church, Corporation office and the newly constructed towers at South End circle and Omkar Hills. Most of these clocks have been provided by HMT.

Know your neighbourhood-3: Madivala, Agara, Koramangala, Bellandur

Overview: Now famous for high rises, branded showrooms and startups, the villages of Madivala, Agara, Koramangala and Domlur are the villages which have seen an ancient past.

Madivala village was a flourishing agrahara under the Cholas and Hoysalas. There is an ancient Chola era temple, which was later expanded by the Hoysalas behind the road opposite to the Silk Board. This Someshwara temple is of high historical importance, with Tamil inscriptions all along the outer walls of the temple. The most important being the 1247 CE inscription which talks about the grants of some lands near the big tank of Vengalur (2nd inscription of the city name after the one in Begur). This inscription is by an official Pemmataiyar of Veppur (Begur) for the deity Sembeshwaram (Someshwara) at Tamaraikkirai (Tavarekere).

Agara is situated at the junction of the ORR and Sarjapura Road, and is in existance since the Gangas. A 870 CE Ganga inscription mentions about the fixing of sluices to 2 tanks (Agara Lake…

the light baggage

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