Trip to Talakaddu-12 Sept 2010

Talakad (also known as Talakadu) is a desert-like town on the left bank of the Kaveri river at a spot where the river makes a sharp bend. It is 45 km from Mysore and 133 km from Bangalore in Karnataka, India. A historic site, Talakad once had over 30 temples that today are buried in sand. Now it is a scenic and spiritual pilgrimage centre. Here the eastward flowing Kaveri river changes course and seems magnificently vast as here the sand on its banks spreads over a wide area.

Talakad is also tagged to the curse called “Curse of Talakad” by Alamelamma on the Wodeyar dynasty (erstwhile Maharajas) of Mysore.

I started around 6.30 am from and picked up Achin at his place on Kanakapura road. Drove on Kanakapura road via Kanakapura, Melvelli to reach Talakkadu--about 140 kms. the town has been developed now and there is more infrastructure available this time around compared to the last time i visited in 2003.

 The temples have also been surrounded by walls and there is renovation work going on. the expanse of sand is huge now and we hired a guide and paid 70 rupees to him to show us the five temples or panchlingas as they call them here. had a quick breakfast of 2 fulkas and a tomato sabzi from a local dhaba..not much variety available...

The return journey started around 12 noon and we kind of lost our way and backtracked and then went via Melvelli-->Maddur, Mysore road to Bangalore. We stopped at the Adigas on the Mysore road and had lunch around 2.30 pm. started after lunch at 3pm and made our way back quickly to bangalore via the Nice road, dropping Achin at his house on Kanakapura road. Did 307.6 Kms overall from door to door.  Great day trip.  There is a resort also in Talakad where one can stay overnight and decent accomodation is provided.

An ode to the temples and boulders of Hampi

Hampi is a village in the northern region of Karnataka, located within the ruins of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Hampi is bounded by the Tungabhadra river on one side and surrounded by defensible hills on the other three sides.

Hampi is identified with the historical Kishkindha, the Vanara(monkey) kingdom mentioned in the Ramayana. It is an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple- a shiva temple situated in the Hampi Bazaar, Vittala Temple complex -which houses the famous Stone Chariot, as well as several other monuments belonging to the old city. The ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as the Group of Monuments at Hampi.

I was first introduced to Hampi in 2002, when i was looking for a place for a long weekend outing. My colleague mentioned Hampi, located at a distance of 350 kms approx from Bangalore. Since then i have visited Hampi twice with my family and have really enjoyed the beauty of the place. The temples are exquisite and one can roam around endlessly in the town admiring the beauty of the sculptures. The landscape around the temples is amazingly beautiful, being decorated with boulders or various sizes and colours. Its a photographers delight. Over the years i have fallen in love with the place and long to go back once more to see and photograph the temples and the boulders. Bouldering, a new sport in india has found an ideal place in Hampi. I only wish that the monuments are well protected so that the generations to come can admire the beauty of the temples and the surroundings.

Mahabalipuram and around

Mahabalipuram was a 7th century port city of the South Indian dynasty of the Pallavas around 60 km south from the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The name Mamallapuram is believed to have been given after the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I, who took on the epithet Maha-malla (great wrestler), as the favourite sport of the Pallavas was wrestling. It has various historic monuments built largely between the 7th and the 9th centuries, and has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


When we visited during the last week of January, the Mahabalipuram dance festival was being staged. The stage was set in front of the Arjuna's Penance Bas relief rock. Arjuna’s Penance made on the worlds largest Bas relief rock measuring 27 meters by 9 meters. The huge whaleback shaped rock contains figures of gods, demigods, men, beasts and birds and in fact can be said to represent creation itself. Measuring 96 feet long by 43 feet high, the bas-relief is also known as The Descent of Ganga. The dance performances at night with the Arjuna's penance bas relief rock as back ground was a great setting.

Tiger's Caves is near the coastal village of Salurankuppam which is only 5 kms to the north of Mahabalipuram. This amazing mandapa contains a shrine that is dedicated to the goddess Durga. There are large and impressive figures located in front of the caves. There is a well developed park around the caves. Many huge boulders, some shaped like Obelisk can be found in this park. I was really impressed by these huge boulders and felt like painting them and climbing them. This is a relatively quieter place compared to Mahabalipuram with a quick access to the beach on foot from here.