India's own Stonehenge: Manipur's Willong Khullen

-
Overview: Around 115km north of the Manipur's capital of Imphal, near the village of Willong Khullen, there is this mysterious set of monolithic stones assembled to look like Stonehenge. Around 60 stones (or more) can be seen installed very close to one another, and the exact history of setting these stones is still unknown.
It is believed that it is impossible to count the exact number of stones and according to one legend, the person who attempts to count the stones would be distracted by some external force. There are stories of these stones being a part of an ancient tradition of the Maram tribes who live in these parts, though they no longer practice anything related to these stones. The archaeologists date these stones to the Megalithic period, and was possibly a burial place, or something used as a celestial device to predict time.

Willong Khullen
Willong Khullen

Willong Khullen
Willong Khullen

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Specialties from Districts of Karnataka

-
Image
Overview: In a post-Covid world, people will not wish to travel far and wide pretty soon. However, they may wish to explore some good places in their neighborhood. While its very good to visit local attraction, its great if one can help buy local crafts and local food to help the artisans and boost the economy. Highlighting the specialties from each district of Karnataka: 1. Bagalkot: Aminagad in Hungund taluk is famous for a sweet savoury Karadantu, made out of edible gum, dry fruits and jaggery. Guledagudda Khana is a unique textile, and is a 4000 year old fabric, and is handloomed in the small town of Guledagudda. Ilkal sari is a traditional form of sari which is a common feminine wear in India. Ilkal saris are woven using cotton warp on the body and art silk warp for border and art silk warp for pallu portion of the sari. Amingad Kardant Shop Ilkal Saree Weaver 2. Bangalore Rural: Bangalore Rose Onion, having a GI indicator, is grown in 16 taluks of Bengaluru rural.
Read more

Tibetan Settlements in Karnataka

-
Image
Overview: I have always been overwhelmed with the welcoming smile and warmth of the Tibetan people. There are a few pockets in Karnataka where we can find Tibetan settlements, or we can call them 'Mini Tibet'. One of them is the popular Bylukuppe in Mysore district. The Namdroling Monastery of Nyingma, which is also popular as the Golden Temple, is the biggest monastery here.   Further south of Bylukuppe is the Dhondenling settlement at Odeyarpalya in Chamarajanagar district, where few of the prettiest monasteries can be seen in the backdrop of the BR Hills. The biggest monastery here is the Dzogchen Monastery.   Moving a few hundred kilometres towards North of Karnataka is the Doeguling Tibetan Settlement of Mundgod in Uttara Kannada district. One can see Tibetans chanting their prayers and living peacefully in these areas.   The monasteries are a place where the Buddhists offer their prayers, so it is better to maintain silence while visiting these places. A fr
Read more

A visit to my native place: The Village of Music, Rudrapatna

-
Image
Overview:  Situated on the banks of the river Cauvery, Rudrapatna is a beautiful small village in Hassan District of Karnataka with rich history, and happens to be my ancestral village too. This is one of the places where the people from the Sankethi community initially settled around 700 years ago, and were instrumental in modelling this as a 'village of music' or 'Sangeetha Grama' as it is known today. The village is also known for its Sanskrit Paathashaala, at Shankara Math near the Rama temple, which is trying to keep the traditions alive in the village. Rudrapatna Rudrapatna Sankethi community is known for music, and this village has produced many Carnatic musicians like R.K. Suryanarayana, R.K. Srikantan, Rathnamala Prakash, R.K. Padmanabha and several others. The Tamboori shaped temple is a tribute to all the musicians from this village and was built under the leadership of Vidwan Shri RK Padmanabha in the 2000s. Tamboori temple, Rudrapatna Rudrapatna Another gre
Read more