the light baggage

Overview:  I have been to Mysore several times, but it was mostly for family functions or as a transit point to other destinations. This time I decided to spend some time in Mysore city and soak into the rich culture. We started off from Bangalore very early morning and headed towards Gommatagiri Kshetra, near Ilvala, and around 10kms from Mysore city. The 20 feet statue of Bahubali, known as Gommateshwara, is the main attraction here. The statue can be approached by climbing a series of 50 steps. The statue is attributed to the Vijayanagara period dating back to the 15th century. This is one of the 6 Gommateshwara statues in Karnataka. Others being in Shravanabelagola, Venur, Karkala, Aretippur and Dharmasthala. Gommatagiri From Gommatagiri, we visited the Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion, which is a heritage building and a museum. The building is named after Jayalakshmi Ammani, the first princess of the Mysore Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar. The mansion has over a 100 rooms, with exq...

Overview: I had heard a lot about the pre-historic site of Arabikothanur near Bangalore. The site is a bit difficult to find as the roads are very narrow and there are no proper signboards. We reached Kendatti-Garudapalya road at first and were amazed to see Menhirs of different shapes pretty close to one another. These Menhirs which we spotted were anywhere between 6 feet to 12 feet in height. These are mostly megalithic structures, roughly dating back to 1000 BC, which are found in many parts of India, as well as other countries. For more details on Menhirs, please refer to the wiki page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menhir There were also some rocks arranged in a a circular shape, and also a few Dolmens. We then proceeded towards Arabikothanur, around 5kms from Garudapalya. I saw one big Dolmen there, popularly known as Pandavara Gudi. This dolmen can be seen right in the middle of the village, totally ignored and not protected. Menhir near Kendatti Menhir near Kendat...

Overview: Hidden between the hustle and bustle of the Bangalore Pete is the Manchi Someshwara temple, built in the 19th century, by the then Diwan of Kodagu, Manjayya. Manjayya was the Dewan under the king ChikkaVeera Rajendra, who ruled Coorg in the early 19th century. The Raja was exiled by the British in 1834 and he took refuge in the Nalknad Palace in Kodagu. The Manchi Someshwara temple is a simple structure, with a 12 feet long Dhwajastambha opposite to it. The inner mantapa has Vijayanagara like carvings, now painted in silver. The main diety has a small Shivalinga, with Nandi bull facing it. The idols of Ganapathi is also seen next to it and an idol of Devi on the right side. The Kannada inscriptions mentioning the Kodagu Dewan's description of ChikkaVeera Rajendra is seen inside the temple. Manchi Someshwara temple Manchi Someshwara temple Manchi Someshwara temple Manchi Someshwara temple Manchi Someshwara temple Manchi Someshwa...