the light baggage

Overview: I always wanted to visit this place called Hemavathi, which is on the thin strip of Andhra Pradesh surrounded by Karnataka on both the sides. Hemavathi was a very popular place during the 8th century and was the capital of Nolamba Pallavas, and was called Hajneri. The Hemavathi temple complex is a huge set of monuments, most of which have been destroyed, but the remains have been preserved in the museum, also within the temple complex. The first structure one would observe is an ash mound at the entrance of the complex, followed by a Dhwaja Stambha. The entrance opens up to a large courtyard with shelters provided for visitors. A small mantapa is built at the temple entrance, probably housed the Nandi bull, which is missing today. The main diety is of Siddheshwara, which has an idol of meditating Shiva. The temple priest was kind enough to explain us about the history of the place. The back of the Siddheshwara temple opens up into another set of temples, with a beautiful ...

  Overview: Thinking about offbeat places around Bangalore, I came across Kunti Betta, which is around 120 kms from Bangalore. Going by the name of the place, this place was visited by the Pandavas during their exile, with mother Kunti. The nearby town Pandavapura is also named after the Pandavas. This place was also called French Rocks by the Britishers. We set off from our place pretty early to avoid Mysore road traffic. We had our breakfast on our way at Maddur Tiffaney's. After crossing Mandya, there is a board which directs us towards the right to Pandavapura. We took that road. It was a heavenly ride with lot of twisted roads even though there is no climb. After riding for around 15 kms, we came across a board which leads us to Kunti Betta. We reached the base of the hill and visited a small temple and a kalyani there. We asked the villagers the way to start the trek. We were instructed to follow the pathway and watch out for a pump house which is the base for the climb. We...

Avani, Kurudumale and Mulbagal: Glimpses of Ramayana in Karnataka Overview: The journey of 120 kms from Bangalore takes us several centuries back. After reading a lot of blogs on Kolar district very rich in heritage, we decided to visit a few places the district has to offer. We started from Bangalore at 6am and very quickly crossed Hoskote as it was a Sunday and there was very little traffic. We had packed our breakfast and had it somewhere on NH4 highway. Below is the description of all the places we visited: 1) Kurudumale: We had to take a left deviation just before entering Mulbagal town to reach this place. Kurudumale is known for its Ganesha temple which has a 14 ft idol of Lord Ganapati which is believed to exist since ages. Around the idol a temple was built by Sri Krishnadevaraya. It is believed to have immense powers and the devotees are bound to be blessed with whatever they ask from the Lord. Along the same road we went to Someshwara temple which was again a beauty. The ...