Sky-catchers of India

India is home to plenty of big tall buildings. Unlike other nations, these big tall ones were built in an ancient era. Wonderful to view, these places are a pleasure to visit. I don't call them skyscrapers, they are some of the sky-catchers of India.

Time to plan your vacations!

When Kempe Gowda established Bangalore, he built four towers across the city. This one is today in Lalbagh (a botanical garden) in the heart of Bangalore.

 The Vijaya Vittala temple in on the Bangalore-Tumkur National highway. This place also has an indoor statue of the Vishwaroopa darshan of Lord Krishna.

The St Philomina church of Mysore is a regular on the tourist visits. This massive structure resembles the Spanish church in Barcelona.

 The Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar statue is one of the symbols of Mysore, Karnataka. The golden color top with the majestic Wodeyar at the centre is a prominent place of the city.

 Chamundeshwari temple of Mysore, Karnataka is a must see when you visit this beautiful city. To sit and watch the city from the hill is a pleasant experience. 

The rich and marvelous Mysore palace is unimaginably vast. It's a visual treat to watch this during Dussehra. Lights and cultural events make the palace special during this time. I have not seen a richer palace than this anywhere else.

On the way to Mysore from Bangalore, there is a place called Sangam. This place is where Kaveri meets one of her tributaries - Lokapavani. This temple is at the junction. A thrilling boat ride (called locally as theppa) will entertain you here.

Srirangapatna is a small town on the way to Mysore from Bangalore. This was the capital of the HyderAli and Tipu-Sultan during their reign of Mysore. Their tomb is a major attraction of the place. The wooden palace and the Sriranganatha swamy temple are a pleasant watch.

Coorg, in Karnataka is the birthplace of the famous river - Kaveri. There is a small Tibetian settlement nearby called Bylakuppe. The monastery here is famous. This is the entrance to the Golden temple there. Visit the place when the monks start their prayer and get amazed at the music they create.

Close the hill station of Chickamagalur, Karnataka - there is this small and beautiful temple in the place called Heremagalur. The priest recites the mantras and shlokas that are translated to Kannada.

The towering Murudeshwara temple in coastal Karnataka stands right on the edge of the Arabian Sea. This is the tallest gopuram in Karnataka (if not in India). This was under construction when we caught it in our camera. Murudeshwara also has a huge Shiva statue. The sea-side restaurant is a pleasant eatery. 

  The main temple in Murudeshwara has the smaller gopuram, painted in gold.

The massive Madurai Meenakshi temple in Tamil Nadu is a treat to watch. It's hard to believe but true that we need a guide to roam inside the temple.

Srirangam is an island formed by river Kaveri, in Trichy (Tamil nadu). This populous land is the home to a big temple. This sky catcher is the main entrance to the temple.

The Brihadeshwara temple of Tanjavur, Tamil Nadu is famous for its massive Lingam and the big bull. There is a special significance to the gopuram here. If I remember right, the shadow of the gopuram does not fall on the ground. Be careful about the temperatures and burning hot stones in the courtyard.

Tiruavanamalai in Tamil Nadu is a unique place on special days. People visit the temple but also take a walking tour around the malai(hill) on special days.

The Bhandsagar Jain temple is a famous temple in Bikaner, Rajasthan. When I reached the place at around 1pm, I caught this snap.

Ranakpura Jain temple (in Rajasthan) is a massive marble temple. The sculptures are great and you can easily spend half a day out there.

The towering Jaisalmer fort(in Rajasthan) is a treat to watch. This is a living fort with houses and shops within the fort. A walking tour is recommended.

The Gadisagar lake of Jaisalmer(in Rajasthan) was almost dry when I went. But the center tomb, which was the kings, summer retreat was a treat to watch. The black fishes are amazing in this lake.

Jaswant Thada, in Jaisalmer is the place to watch the sunset. Here we capture the moon rise over the place.

The Umaid Singh palace of Jodhpur, Rajasthan is now a star hotel. This massive structure was built to create employment when the place had a drought.

Uff!!! - You know that you have a lot to cover in India. And damn sure that this is just the tip of the Iceberg.

"Offense"sive driving

Day - Sunday, 23rd May 2010

Time - around 5 pm.

Drove 27kms in 42 mins.

From: Hosakerehalli

To: Yelahanka rly station (both places are in Bangalore.)

Route -Watch it

Weather - Pleasant (It impacts the driving speed)

Mode - My Hyundai Santro

 

People who have seen\heard about the notorious Bangalore traffic would appreciate the feat. I mean, it was fast. Very fast. There was the need to do it. My sister realised that she has to catch a train at 1745 from Yelahanka at 1640.

 

That was the problem. I was at-least 20-30 km/hr faster than the limit. The police with the guns caught me. Let me be precise, the TRAFFIC POLICE with the SPEED GUNS caught me.

It was at the Kogilu cross, Yelahanka that the police had laid a plot for me. 

 

Till we approached the Kogilu cross signal, there was heavy traffic with cars overtaking each other at great speeds. After the signal, I was the only guy flying on the road. Then I saw the dreaded men. This was when I realized that the others were just not fast, but were smart. They slowed down at the right place knowing that the men with the guns are trying to catch a bakra.

 

The moment I saw the men in uniform, I remembered my friend telling me about the speed guns on the airport road. But it was too late. 300 bucks gone. A blackberry recorded the offense with my car number and license number.

 

This is the 3rd offense with my car and license (Yes, both are not mapped). After 2 offenses, I was careful not to get the 3rd ticket. But urgency took over me. It was a sick feeling yesterday.

  

Words of wisdom from volvo conductor

Day before yesterday night, Mr Ashok the honorable Transport minister of Karnataka had a dream. In the dream he thought he can make moolahs by drastically and irrationally increasing the tariffs in BMTC volvo buses. So he woke up in the midnight and sent a SOS to his officials in the department. Frantic activities started in the night and by morning of 28th April, printouts of the new tariffs were released to all the volvo conductors. Sleepy, confused conductors were surprised (to put it mildly). 

The officials forgot that the ticket vending machines are not adopted for this fare change. But quick action was taken and the conductors were given the traditional paper bundle tickets for the day. The officials had done their job. And done it in good secrecy. The press and hence the public were clueless about the hike in fares.

I took the volvo bus in the evening. It was chaos inside the bus. The passenger gives some money, conductor gives ticket and no change back. Passenger argues, scolds the conductor, abuses Yeddi (the honorable CM), conductor has his counter arguments.....and this almost happened with every passenger. Our conductor devised a new strategy. He said to the passengers that the fares are increased from today. He said "I will give you at a discounted price and pulled the tickets out of his bundle at the older price or older price + small delta (still less than the increased fares)". 

There were some interesting quotes in the bus from the conductor.

• The frustrated conductor was speaking loudly to the driver. He said "the officers who took the decisions are in ac rooms in the safe zone. We conductors are in the danger zone, getting all the abuses from the passengers."  He continued "we are the jawans and the officers are the politicians who take decisions so that the jawan faces war". Lovely words of wisdom!

• One passenger suggested that the conductor gives the phone number of the officers who took the decision on fare hikes. The witty conductor replied "this is govt bus, not your company cab. There are no mobile numbers printed anywhere on the bus". Interestingly I had never noticed this...how true! 

BMTC website has a call center number published.