[StarVegabond]

On way to nandi, we saw a panaromic view of Mysore. I have attached a snap. Please note that this can not be viewed when one is retruning from Nandi as the road is different.

Nandi is very huge, we were told this is the nandi of the shankara temple on the hill top. There is also a cave temple behind the nandi. one has to really struggle to make an entry and exit into this temple. myself and my friend had to vertually crawl into the cave.

I have attached few snaps of Nandi and the entry to the cave temple.

[StarVegabond]

After all this "Religious Experience", we (most importantly me) had lost apetite to go to Somnathpura or K.R. Sagar. It was almost 12:00 noon.

Ladies remembered that their shopping was only half done and wanted to continue the same. So Asif bhai drove us to one of the shopping mall. We were told that it was owned by the famous Kannada actress who used to play the leading actress roles in 1990s. But we found that everything was at European prices and soon exited the shop. Ladies decided to go back to the the shop visited last evening. Asifbhai again started driving. I took couple of snaps on the way (i have attached here)

Two ladies and my friend went into the shop, kids and myself stayed in the vehicle. It took almost 45 minutes for the shoppers to return. Kids were very bored. they wanted to get out of the vehicle. The DVD film ended and soon they became restless, started complaining of heat and no air etc.

I told them to take the news paper and make it a hand fan. after couple of minutes the complaint was air is not enough. I told them one more idea. I asked them to do it along with me and promised them it will bring more air.

Me : "Hold your news paper in your hand like this..straight"
Kids : Did exactly done by me (no air is coming !!!!..uttered a kid)
Me : "It will come.. now bring the news paper + hand in front of your face"
Kids : Did exactly like me
Me : "Now shake you head left to right and right to left very fast"
Kids : Started shaking their head very fast
Me : Do it faster.. more air will come if you do it faster
Kids : two of them started doing faster..one of them realized something fishy
Kids : after several tens of seconds, all three realized that they are being taken for a ride and started laughing..

Here is a snap to capture that moment.. I would call this a real golden moment.

[StarVegabond]

Soon the ladies and the gentleman returned from the shopping. Clock was inching towards 1.30 PM.

We were all hungry. Started looking for the good resturant. After a long round of the city, we eventually landed at OM Shanti Resturant again. This time we opted for non AC section. Thali lunch was RS 60/- here, but couple of vegitables less and ofcourse minus the desert. It took quite a while for the lunch to be served. Experience was also not so great, with all those people waiting for you to finish the lunch so that they can occupy your chair.

I was quickly out, bought the masala pan again, and found the handycraft shop nearby. It was full of shoppers, so started a small walk on the bylane. Soon i found a handycraft factory which made the wooden paintings. The person was more than willing to explain the stuff to me. I returned to resturant, took the rest of the gang to the workshop. I will let the pictures speak itself.

The artisan shown in one the picture has been working since he was about 8 years old and now he was 30 years old, that makes 22 years experience.

The paintings shown were excellent. I was facinated by a paintings depecting several aspects of the village life. So after going through several varient, decided on a particular one. My friend also bought an arrary of Elephants in different sizes. We were told to wait for some 20 minutes so that they can polish the painting/frame and elephants.
We also saw a sleeping ganesha made of sandlewood costing approx RS 40000/- I had to get satisfied with a snap of it.

We were brought to the same handycraft shop near OM shanti resturant and billing was completed. In 20 minutes the packages arrived.

Soon we boarded the chariot. Watch was showing 3 PM. So we decided to move towards Srirangapattana, Asif bhai was happy that he was on his last leg of the trip. I captured some glimpes on the way as well.

[Cheeronwheels]

Ooty, Coonoor, Madikeri, Mysore and still going..!

I am tempted to see the latest from you, each time when I open this site , these days..!

[StarVegabond]

I am attaching here the description of Srirangapattana found in the wikipedia

About Srirangapattana
------------------------
Although situated a mere 19 km from Mysore city, Srirangapattana lies in the neighbouring district of Mandya. The entire town is enclosed by the river Kaveri to form an island, northern half of which is shown in the image to the right. While the main river flows on the eastern side of the island, the Paschima Vaahini segment of the same river flows to its west.
The town takes its name from the celebrated Ranganathaswamy temple which dominates the town, making Srirangapattana one of the most important Vaishnavite centers of pilgrimage in south India. The temple was built by the Ganga dynasty rulers of the area in the 9th century; the structure was strengthened and improved upon architecturally some three centuries later. Thus, the temple is a medley of the Hoysala and Vijayanagar styles of temple architecture.

Tradition holds that all the islands formed in the Kaveri River are consecrated to Sri Ranganathaswamy, and large temples have been built in very ancient times dedicated to that deity on the three largest islands.

These three towns, which constitute the main pilgrimage centers dedicated to Ranganathaswamy, are:

Adi Ranga - at Srirangapattana
Madhya Ranga - at Shivanasamudra
Antya Ranga - at Srirangam

The presence of the Kaveri River is in itself considered auspicious and sanctifying. The Paschima Vaahini section of the Kaveri at Srirangapattana is considered especially sacred; the pious come from far and wide to immerse the ashes of the departed and perform obsequies to their ancestors in these waters.

History of Srirangapattana
-----------------------------
Srirangapattana has since time immemorial been an urban center and place of pilgrimage. During the Vijayanagar empire, it became the seat of a major viceroyalty, from where several nearby vassal states of the empire, such as Mysore and Talakad, were overseen. When, perceiving the decline of the Vijayanagar empire, the rulers of Mysore ventured to assert independence, Srirangapattana was their first target. Raja Wodeyar vanquished Rangaraya, the then viceroy of Srirangapattana, in 1610 and celebrated the Navaratri festival in the town that year.

It came to be accepted in time that two things demonstrated control and signified sovereignty over the Kingdom of Mysore by any claimant to the throne:

1. Successful holding of the 10-day-long Navaratri festival, dedicated to Chamundeshwari, patron goddess of Mysore;

2. Control of the fort of Srirangapattana, the fortification nearest to the capital city of Mysore.

Srirangapattana remained part of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1610 to after India's independence in 1947; as the fortress closest to the capital city of Mysore, it was the last bastion and defence of the kingdom in case of invasion.

Hyder Ali & Tipu Sultan
-----------------------
Srirangapattana became the de facto capital of Mysore under Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. When Tipu finally dispensed with the charade of deference to the legitimate Wodeyar Maharaja who was actually his captive, and proclaimed the "Khudadad State" under his own kingship,
Srirangapattana became de jure the capital of that short-lived political entity. In that heady period, the state ruled by Tipu extended its frontiers in every direction, encompassing a major portion of South India. Srirangapattana flourished as the cosmopolitan capital of this powerful state. Various Indo-Islamic monuments that dot the town, such as Tipu Sultan's palaces, the Darya Daulat and the Jumma Maseedi (Friday congregational mosque), date from this period.

Battle of Srirangapattana between British (+Nizam) & Tipu Sultan
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Srirangapattana was the scene of the last and decisive battle fought between Tipu Sultan and a combined force of 50,000 men provided equally by the Nizam of Hyderabad and the British under the overall command of General Harris. This battle was the last engagement of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. The Battle of Seringapatam, 1799, was truly momentous in its historic effects.
In any event, Tipu Sultan was killed within the fort of Srirangapattana, betrayed infamously by one of his own confidants; the spot where he ultimately fell is marked by a memorial. For the last time in history, Srirangapattana had been the scene of political change in the Kingdom of Mysore. The joint forces of the victorious army proceeded to plunder Srirangapattana and ransack Tipu's palace. Apart from the usual gold and cash, innumerable valuables and objets d'art, not excepting even the personal effects of Tipu Sultan, his rich clothes and shoes, sword and firearms, were shipped to England.

While most of this is now to be found in the British Royal Collection and in the Victoria and Albert Museum, some articles have occasionally become available at auctions and have been retrieved for their native land. The sword of Tipu Sultan has been acquired by Vijay Mallya, a liquor baron from Karnataka, who purchased the same at a Sotheby's auction.

Attractions of Srirangappatana
------------------------------
The town is famous for a very ancient temple dedicated to Sri Ranganathaswamy, a form of Lord Vishnu. Other attractions include the Jumma Masjid (a Mosque) and the Daria Daulat Gardens. Near Srirangapattana is the Rangantittu Bird Sanctuary, which is the breeding site for several bird species, including the Painted Stork, Open-billed Stork, Black-headed Ibis, River Tern, Great Stone Plover and Indian Shag. The Karighatta (Black Hill) and its temple of Lord Srinivasa is situated a few kilometres from the town. The deity is that of Kari-giri-vasa (one who resides on the black hill). The famous Nimishambha temple is located in the near by district of Ganjam.The summer palace of Tipu Sultan is also a very interesting place.

We reached Srirangappattana by 3:30 PM. We were told that the temple would open at 4 PM, so we went on to visit Tipu's Death Place, Daria Daulat (=Tomb of Hyder Ali, His Begum and Tipu), Gumbaz, Jamia Masjid, Old Fort etc and Returned to the Temple by 4:45. Walked to the temple, visited some shops on the way.

At the temple, once again "Religious Experience of Chmundi hill" was repeated, only difference was there was no entry fee here and once you are inside the temple there was no stampade. But it took us about 30+ minutes in the queue.. Sriranganathaswamy (=shesha shayee posture) statue is very huge. We spent about 5-10 minutes inside the temple, returned to the chariot.

Clock was inching towards 6 PM. Kids still wanted to buy some toys for them. I convinced them that we would take them to Chennapattana which is famous for the wooden toys, So eventually we were on our last leg of the journey..towards home.

I am attaching here some snaps of Srirangapattana and its attractions.
i have named the pictures as well. one can read the names when the cursor / mouse pointer is moved to the picture (I learnt this trick from fellow bhpian Chevvy_Lover, thanks C_L)

[StarVegabond]

Clock was inching towards 6 PM. Kids still wanted to buy some toys for them. I convinced them that we would take them to Chennapattana which is famous for the wooden toys, But on reaching the Cauvery emporium store, the kids did not like the toys and eventually after spending some 20+ minutes in the shop, we left (ofcourse kids were disappointed), Asif Bhai wanted to pick up his son from Ramnagar, so we stopped for some 10 minutes. Eventually reached home at Yelahanka by 10 PM after driving through the bangalore city traffic.

After moving all the luggage, inside home, we settled Asifbhai's bill and also thanked (with tips) him for driving us safely over last 8 days, being part of the fun, taking care of the valueables while we were away. His next trip was already decided, he was to go to Subramanya-Dharmasthala-Udupi-Murudeshwar-Jog trip the next day evening. For him life seems to be always on road..

Bought some food from neighbourhood Dhabha by 11 PM. Plan for the next day was to go to Nandi Hills. Ladies and Kids excused themselves. So it was decided that myself and the friend would leave by 6:30 AM. By the time we retired for the day, it was almost 12:30 mid night

here is a picture of moon captured at the Cauvery Emporium shop at Chennapattana. I have also added below my evaluation of Hotel Dasprakash, Mysore

[StarVegabond]

As planned myself and my friend left for Nandi Hills at 7 AM, while the kids and ladies were still asleep. It was a quick visit arround. I am attaching here some info found on Nandi Hills as well as the photographs.

About Nandi Hills
----------------------
There are many stories about the orgin of the name Nandi Hills. During the Chola period, Nandi Hills was called Ananda Giri meaning The Hill of Happiness. Another story is that Yoga Nandeeshwara performed penance here, and so it was named after him. A temple of Yoga Nandeeshwara is situated on top of the hill. Nandi is also commonly called Nandidurga (Fort)
because of the fort build here by the ruler Tippu Sultan. It is also perhaps called Nandi Hills because the hill resembles a sleeping bull (Nandi).

Nandi Hills has been a favourite picnic place for young enthusiasts on a weekend. The pleasant climate appeals to the old and the young alike. Lovers and honey mooners, in search of a quiet, beautiful place, and families on economised budget prefer Nandi Hills. Historians can find a
wealth of information and the spiritual minded, peace and tranquility.

From Bangalore, Nandi Hills is a mere 60 kilometers. Nandi Hills offers a surprise of breathtaking scenic beauty and excellent climatic condition. Situated in the Chikkaballapur Taluk of Kolar District in Karnataka, Nandi Hills, at the height of 4851 feet above sea level is, the most popular picnic spot.

Accommodation
---------------
Nandi Hills provides modern, well-furnished accommodation for tourists. Nehru House, formerly Cubbon House, build by Lord Cubbon has 18 rooms and available for tourist. Gandhi House, where the Mahatma himself stayed, is under the management of DPAR (Protocol) Government of Karnataka and is reserved for the stay of important dignitaries. The Horticulture Department runs a vegetarian restaurant and the Karnataka Tourism Department runs a vegetarian / non-vegetarian restaurant "MAYURA". Nandi Hills has a well maintained road of 8 kilometers from the foothill to the top. Medical, postal, telegraph and telephone facilities are available on hill top.

Route to Nandi Hills
--------------------
On Bangalore Bellary road, reach Devanahalli cross, which is on the 36 th milestone. Take the deviation on the left and travel 11 kilometers to reach Nandi cross. The foot of the hill is 3 kilometers from here. On the Doddaballapur road, turn right to reach the road that leads to the top of the hill. From the foot is 8 kilometers of the top.

Places of Interest
-------------------
Tippus Summer Palace and Fort: During the Ganga period, the Chikkaballapur chieftains built a fort. Tippu strengthened it further and also build a rest house. This used to be Tippus summer bungalow.

Gavi Veerabhadra Swamy Temple : on the way to the Sultanpet, from Tippus palace, natural formation of huge boulders has been transformed into a temple.

Fort : The fort is on a sprawling area of 90 acres and is above 4851 feet above sea level. A soldier could hide in this well constructed fort and shoot in all four directions at the same time.

Horse Way : A stone doorway in the fort on the North-eastern side, is believed to have been the horse way for helping soldiers to climb the wall on horse back.

Palar River Origin: Palar river takes its birth as a small spring on the eastern side of the hill.

Brahmashrama : A serene place for the spiritual minded, this ashram is built by huge natural boulders.

Yoga Nandeeshwara Temple: A temple of exquisite, intricate carvings, it also has a beautiful Kalyana Mantapa.

Tippu Drop: During Tippus reign, criminals were pushed down from this point to their death as punishment.

Arkavathi River Origin: Arkavathi River takes its birth on the south-west of the hill.

Secret Passage : A secret passage on the west, is believed to have helped the Kings to escape during unforseen attacks.

Childrens Playground : The Horticulture department maintains a lovely garden for children to play games like the slides, merry-go-round, swings etc.

[StarVegabond]

We returned home by 10 AM, had our breakfast, kids were busy with their games. Ladies were busy with their summit talks along with preparation for the lunch. Soon we were refreshed, my friend and his wife started re-packing their bags. Kids returned from the garden where they were
playing.

It was lunch time. We had a sumptuous lunch. It was excellent feeling to return to home food after several days of eating out. There is nothing like Home..Sweet Home..

After Lunch, while having the desert, we started watching the photogrpahs taken during the trip. the 2.5 hours just simply flew by in watching some 3000 plus photographs.

It was 4 PM. Time to wind up the session. We left for airport by 4:30 PM. Kids were very sad to leave. Adults were also sad, but they had work to attend.

We bid them bye at the airport entry, waited for them to complete check in, wished them happy journey and slowly walking back towards the parking.

So the much planned, anticipated, thought about trip / vacation has eventually ended. Hope we will have such vacations again in future.

it took me about 39 days to pen down this story in bits and pcs, I really enjoyed doing this despite my erratic schedule. I am sure there are mistakes, typos, factual errors, so i would seek excuse from the readers for the same. I hope the readers enjoyed reading this or hope future readers (if any) would also enjoy.

Signing off with this photograph and comment.
This is the photographs of Karnataka Tourism Booth.. the slogan is "One State, many Worlds"

I would like to say.. India is one country, but several worlds within it
what we have seen is just a small part of this country.. we have miles to go before we say enough.

[laluks]

Amazing experiences star.
Wishing you a next one soon

[khoj]

@ StarVegabond

Very Interesting & Very Informative, enjoyed myself thoroughly, especially the bit with the paper fans.

BTW what camera did you use?

[StarVegabond]

Originally Posted by Cheeronwheels

Ooty, Coonoor, Madikeri, Mysore and still going..!

I am tempted to see the latest from you, each time when I open this site , these days..!

Hi Cheeronwheels, I am sorry to disappoint you, i have finished my story yesterday, thanks for visiting this thread, posting the comments.

Originally Posted by laluks

Amazing experiences star.
Wishing you a next one soon

Thanks Laluks, I am sure there will be more travels, but i am not sure whether i will be posting travelogues because eventhough i enjoyed posting this story, the efforts required are huge. I will decide depenind on my motivation level at that time.

Originally Posted by khoj

@ StarVegabond

Very Interesting & Very Informative, enjoyed myself thoroughly, especially the bit with the paper fans.

BTW what camera did you use?

Thanks Khoj for your appreciation, I have a Sony Point and Shoot Camera (7.2MP) and a Sony videocamera (DCR 19E). My friend had an point and shoot camera (8MP). some of the pictures are from his camera.
I have not posted any video's here eventhough i have 3 mini DV cassets of this trip.

[csateesh]

Some pics that I clicked during my Jan 25th Visit to BNP. The tigers look so beautiful I wish we can do something to protect them

Hope you like them

@ Star - Fantastic pictures and narration. Sorry to hijack your thread.

Cheers

Sateesh

[StarVegabond]

Originally Posted by csateesh

Some pics that I clicked during my Jan 25th Visit to BNP. The tigers look so beautiful I wish we can do something to protect them

Hope you like them

@ Star - Fantastic pictures and narration. Sorry to hijack your thread.

Cheers

Sateesh

Hey Sateesh,

Untill you do not hijack the thread out of T-BHP, i am okay with it
Thanks for your appreciation and the photographs of the Tigers. The white tiger looks amazing in your photograph.

These day there is a Save the Tiger Campaign on the TV as well.
It keeps reminding us that there are only 1411 tigers now left in India
The advertisement of the hungry tiger cub waiting for his/her mother is also an eye opener. Celebrity endorsements (e.g. Baichung Bhutia) also helps to increase the awareness about diminishing population of tigers.

As a common man, I can do only the following

1. Visit the Zoo / National parks as often as possible, this way we can contribute to the preservation of the santury for tigers

2. spread the word around about the need to save these predators.

3. Eventhough we homosepians are not designed to be a predator, we have turned out to be the most dangerous one for the ecology on the earth. It is true that we will become what we practice. I practice not to harm these animals in remote way as well.

4. By reducing our contibution to pollution and not abusing the natural resources, I can reduce the impact on these members of the ecology

there could be more.. You are welcome to join by doing your bit.

[StarVegabond]

Thanks Giving Season is here

Merry Xmas and New Year is approaching

Y2010 has been a mixed year.. Kuch Khatta Kuch Meetha.

Just now we remembered about this road trip we did last year between Xmas and new year day. We all went through this travelogue and refreshed our fond memories. My daughter could re-collect several fun moments she had with her friends, followed by a long telephone conversation with them.

Let me start by thanking "The Team BHP" for providing this platform so that we can re-live the amazing moments again and again.



This year too, my friend "Spirited One" and his family would join us for the vacation, we are looking forward to it.