Horsley Hills

Travelling down the memory lane, my encounter with Horsley Hills was in Mid Eighties.  I remember we travelled from Chittoor one saturday evening to play cricket match at the famous Rishi Valley School.  We had M L Jaisimha in our team playing for Nutrine against the school team.  I remember i opened the innings against the school and managed to score 20 odd runs and in came the Lion and scored a blistering 60 odd runs.  We managed to set up a total of more than 200 odd runs which the school team fell short by 20 odd runs.  It was a wonderful feeling staying in the school hostel and experiencing the cool atmosphere at the hill station.  We celebrated victory on the way back since we restricted from having liquor in the school premises.



This time around after visiting Kadri temple we quickly rushed to Marimaru baniyan tree and than moved towards Horsley Hills.  The location is named after the collectorate W.D Horsley who was the collector of Cuddapah district during the British rule.  He visited this location in 1840 and was charmed by the environs and he ordered for building a summer residence, which is currently serving as Governor's Bunglow.  The AP tourism has built a number of cottages and rest houses in the premium category.  A double room is minimum Rs 2200 per head.



The beauty of this hill station is that it is maintained with a pristine condition which is not found anywhere in India as per my knowledge.  There are not many commercial establishments in this hill station.  I hope it remains so with pressure for commercial exploitation.  It is located 1290 meters above sea level.

Tourist Attraction :  One of the major tourist attraction is the winding drive upto the peak amidst eucalyptus  and gulmohar trees.  Environmental park is located in a separate complex, which has enclosure for few birds, and rabbits.  Adventure sports such as trekking and rapelling is conducted by the department.  A good swimming pool complex is located wherein a air ballon can used to roll across the waters. Apart from this there is lake and museum to add to the tourist attraction.


Horsley hills can be reached from Bangalore Via Chintamani, Madanpalle 160 kms.
It can be reached from Hyderabad and Chennai too via Chittoor and Palamneer. The nearest airport is Tirupati.

If one wants to live with nature in peace for a day Horsley hills is highly recommended.  It can be treated as one day getaway from Bangalore too.

Gorantala Madhavraya Temple

 

This temple is located just before one reaches Kadri Lakshminarasimha temple.  The temple can be easily missed in the melee to reach Kadri.  We stopped at Gorantala to have cup of tea and to our pleasant surprise we found this ancient temple which is resurrected and maintained in good condition. This temple is named as Madhavaraya temple, built in the Vijaynagar style.  The nautre and elements are beautifully combined to provide the temple with plenty of wind and solar energy.  The architecture of the temple has a combination of Chola lion symbol.  The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu.



The sculpture on the pillars are finely carved with Ugra Narasimha and dancing posture of artisans of the period.  The life style prevalent during the times have been well portrayed.  However the artefacts on the of the temple wall is missing either due to vandalism or kept in safe custody of the museum.


The gopuram of this temple is incomplete, even the unfinished monolith speaks volume of its size and conception.  In the case the edifice was complete it would have been a wonderful and famous monument of its era.  The landscaping obviously is of recent origin.



I was lucky to capture all these images without the help of flash in the camera due to bright sunlight.
I am sure travel buffs will enjoy visit to this place which gives an idea how an ancient temple was conceived and executed to combine all elements of nature.


Location : This temple is located approximately 130 kms away from Bangalore.  One can reach this destination from Bangalore NH7 towards Bagepalli, and take a right deviation on NH7 towards Kadri, One reaches a junction point wherein one has to take a right turn towards Kadri just 2 kms at the bus stand one can find this temple at Gorantala.

  

Kaivara Confuses

Like the proverbial Jatinga birds committing harakiri at Assam due to magnetic and wind energy fluctuation, Kaivara too can cause confusion among human beings.  It was a first hand experience that prompted me to come to a conclusion.  After covering most of the tourist places at Kaivara and Alamgiri instead of taking the Bangalore route we proceeded towards Madanpalle with signposts too misdirecting us.  It was hunch to enquire with natives that re confirmed that we were travelling in opposite direction.  We reversed our drive in the right direction and realised that Kaivara has a potential that can cause confusion in the minds of tourists.

Kaivara seems to be well known for Thathaiya ( grandpa ) who was born in this town in 1726 AD and lived upto ripe old age of 110 years. Narayan Thathaiya is famous for his miracles and practical predictions He attained his samadhi in 1836 at the brindavan.  But one of the intriguing fact is that a fortress has been built on top of the hillock opp the Vaikunta temple by feudatory of the Vijaynagar Empire.  The route to this fortress is unclear, when we enquired with the forest department staff, they were evasive in their reply quoting the zooming of the land etc.  Some stated that nobody is allowed to visit the fort after January because of shrubs and thick vegetation.  But the fact remains that most of the hideouts are literally rented out to lovers to spend their time.  Kaivara is rated as one of the best trekking routes around Bangalore, maybe commercial considerations is compelling to keep it of regular tourists radar. The Mysore Gazetteer states that the ancient fort was renamed as Rehman Durg by Tipu Sultan who renovated the fortress to an extent after he lost possession of  Nandi Durg to the British in 1791.

Legendary importance of  Kaivara mentions that Bheema killed Bakasura in bitter battle and buried the demon inside the crevice of the hillock.  On every Shivarathri blood oozes from the demons skull according to belief  held locally.  This hillock is located bang opposite the Thatiayya's place and Bheemeshwari temple.  If one has to have a closer look than one has to ascend around 150 steps on to the hillock.

Vaikunta Temple :  This temple is situated approximately 2 kms away from the Thatiaya's complex.  It seems to be ancient temple which has been renovated with and additional modern concrete structure.  The temple complex is supposed to dedicated to  Thatiaya who is supposed to have gained yogic powers in the cave situated in the complex.

Tapovan :  This complex is maintained by the Forest department, one can have long walk upto 2 km inside the green enclosure.  There is a party cottage at the end of the route inside the Tapovan.  The place seems to be for hire.  The hillock leading to the fortress too can be ascended from this base camp as it were.  There are few enclosure containing rabbits, peacocks, and other birds along with monkeys.



Kailash Giri :  A recent cave temple developed by the local MLA, which may be crass commercialisation. The grilled gates on the hillock is dampner considering that they wanted to ape other cave temples. The architects should have avoided such contraptions to secure the temple.  Instead the doors to the sanctum could have been gated.   The first entry hall resembles the Belum cave, which maybe eventually used for marriages and ceremonies i presume.  The lake which is under development once it is filled with water would  turn this location into a good picnic spot.  Parking places are under development.

Alamgiri temple :  This Venkateswara temple is completely renovated, it is alleged to belong to Ganga period who were earlier rulers of the territory.  All the idols seem to have been dismantled on the facades of the temple premise.  The pillars are left with some crude carvings only.  The soap stone platform reveals that Hoysalas too may have been involved in the procession of expansion of the temple complex.

Thatiya's Prediction :  He predicts that eventually world will come to an end, with wild animals surviving and 2/3rds water will vanish.  Eventually world will be rebuilt with integrity learning from the past mistakes.

Overall Kaivara is one day trip from Bangalore, it is just 80 kms and a round trip of 200 kms maximum including Chintamani.  One has to be cautious regarding the confusion in the route on the return, guys if you have covered most of the getaways around Bangalore this is worth a visit.

Bandalike Heritage

What better way to spend weekend getway and series of holidays to dig into our legacy and heritage. It is worth traveling a 1000 kms on a round trip from Bangalore to Bandalike. Enroute if one can enjoy the nature and adventure of trekking it is an added bonus.  Many of these ancient heritage locations seem to have used the nature to the optimum.  Vastushastra has been adopted to blend air, sky, water, land and space to perfection.



Bandalike is currently under final stages of resurrection or renovation by the ASI. After involving in refurbising Angor Wat in Cambodia, ASI has gained substantial experience in bring back the crumbling edifices to unravel the story of the times.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND :

According to the Gazette Bandalike is considered to an ancient ruined and deserted village north of Shikaripur. The missing link to unearth the history of Bandalike is provided by an inscription, which mentions that the place was ruled by wise old Chandragupta. There are more than 30 odd inscriptions written in old Kannada and Sanskrit ranging from 834 to 1369 Saka era. The inscription found dates back to many dynasties associated to this place. They are Rashtrakutas, Chalukyas, Kalachurias, Hoysalas, Yadavas and Vijaynagar Empire. After the defeat of Vijaynagar empire in 1565, Bandalike was subject to rampant arsenal and looting plundering all its wealth. Most probably the earlier vandalism took place at the time of Malik Kafur in 1321 AD, who was a general famous for raiding looting the wealth of all South Indian temples.

My surmise is that Chandragupta Maurya ( 324-298 BC ) when he abdicated his throne in favour of his son Bindusara in 298 BC. due to his conversion to Jainism. His guru happened to be Bhadrabahu. The guru through his nimitt gyan could forsee the advent of a decade filled with famine in the near future in Magadh empire. He alongwith his followers decided to relocate down south. Chandragupta migrated towards south along with huge followers of Saint Bhadrabahu. They migrated first to Bandalike . During their stay they got Basadis constructed in and around Bandalike. They spent 2 years at Bandalike meditating and teaching in the schools. In the meanwhile they were looking for a safe place and they re-located Chandragiri down further south to establish their base. An advance party was sent to establish the infrastructure at Shravanbelagola to settle down. Thus Bandalike is an important heritage centre and deservedly needs resurrection and maintainence.

The location is spread over 40 acres of landscape in Sorab taluk of Shimoga dist. which happens to be constituency of our ex CM Bangarappa and our current CM too is elected from nearby Shikaripur taluk. When two heavy weights are present we hope the infrastructure will be developed for tourists to conviniently reach the elusive destination. One has to definitely enquire his way to reach this destination. One approach road is through Shiralikoppa route, next approach is from Belligavi and the final approach is from Chikri route if one is travelling from NH 4. The roads can be treacherous in monsoon with vehicle taking a hit on the underbelly or getting stuck in the muddy swamps.  We reached this destination from Banavasi through kubetoor, Kotipura, Balligavi, Talagunda and Bandalike.  We confirmed our route with the ASI guide at Balligavi who confirmed the location of  Bandalike.

Veerabhadra Temple : On the north east corner Veerabhadra temple who is an avataar of Lord Shiva is built. This temple is dated 14th century obviously belonging to the Hoysala heritage. The image of the diety seems to be well embellished with weapons of destruction such as arrow, sword and protective shield. The image of mahisasuramardhini is located on the the mound along with another goddess with four hands.

Someswara Temple : This temple is constructed in old Chalukyan style. It is built in 1274 AD as per inscription. Boppasetti ( to be read as Boppaya Shetty ) is credited with the construction of the temple. This temple has two beautifully well sculpted perforated window channel. It served the dual purpose of protection against vandalism and cross ventilation. The window has various dieties, swans, lions etc adorning the panel. Episodes of Ramayana and Mahabharata are also featured on the facade of the temple.

Just behind the temple there is a mahanavami mantapa is located. This mantapa was used during the dusherra celeberations to rever the DEVI on an elevated platform. The idol is missing. It was constructed by Malla Dandanayaka in 1209 AD as per instructions of the Hoysala queen Abhinava ketaladevi ( wife of Ballala II )

Trimurthi Temple : A triple cellular structure belong to the later chalukyan era and constructed during 1160 AD. ( It may even belong to the Rashtrakuta era if datelines are little off track ) If we go by dateline than Western Chalukyan emperor Tailappa III ( 1151 to 1164 AD ) can be credited to the construction of the temple. The towers of the temple do not possess the Hoysala symbol, and the western gopuram has collapsed. Two other gopurams have withstood the ravages of time and ransack. One projection is of the simhalalata. This temple has a close resemblence to the Chatteshwara temple at Chatachattahalli near Halebid. The temple has been completely resurrected with a small Nandi adorning the enterance on the east. A figure of lord Vishnu adornes the north cell.


Shasharlinga Temple : This temple was constructed by Macchayya Dannayaka in 1063 AD. It is obviously dedicated to Lord Shiv with a big linga. 999 square lines represent the multiple lingas.

The chief diety of Bandalike is Goddess Banashankari ( formerly called Mayadevi ) A small temple is dedicated to the goddess. According to traditional belief of the times Mayadevi was sent by goddess Parvati to meet Allama Prabhu, who changed her into a divine form. Chanchala Odeya is stated to be one of the sponsorers for the development of this temple according to inscriptions in 1387 AD. There is a sati memorial for two wives who burnt themselves alive on the death of their husband. Ruins of some unknown temple too can be seen.

At Rasabhavi temple there is an idol of Hanuman and a slayer with a chopped skull is witnessed, locally known as siditale koduvudu

Shantinatha Basadi : A prominent Jaina temple is located on the right side of the tank known as Nagara kere or Nagateerta. This is known as Shantinatha Basadi, which is probably controversial, since it belongs to 912 AD which refers to fabled emperor KRISHNA II ( 878 - 914 AD , who built the famous Ellora cave, reign of the Rashtrakuta empire. An inscription states one Jakkiyabbe gave donations for up keep of this basadi. The basadi title was incorporated due to the renovation of the temple in 1200 AD. The image in the sanctum sanitorium is missing. A mutilated Jain teerthankara is found here and two statues of Lord Vishnu is also found.

My premise is that Bandalike, Belligavi, Belur and Banavasi must have been an inspiration for Suryavarman to build the world famous monument of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. During his visit to India during the reign of King Vishnuvardhan from the Hoysala dynasty to attend his wedding must have opened his eyes to build an edifice for future generations to cherish. How I wish that Bandalike too is ressurected to that standard ? giving us a glimpse of an era which was rich in using the elements of nature to its hilt.

The complex consists of the main temple which can be a Shivalaya temple with trikuta or gopurams. One gopuram is partially missing. The enterance is guarded as it were by a crumbling Nandi which is hardly 3 feet in height. On the facade of the temple one gets to witness the elementary gopuram or mantaps at eye level, with figures of god and godesses missing as it were. There are inscriptions in old kannada and sanskrit for scholars to re-discover.

Apart from the main temple the complex consists of 3 other crumbling edifices which have been beautifully resurrected by ASI, one is distinctly of Jaina style, another is Shivalaya and last one is probably dedicated to Lord Vishnu. One complex is secluded from this multiplex as it were, which is supposed to be a basadi, which was locked, and i had to climb over the gates to re-discover. One may get mislead by this single monument, have patience to discover the main complex. Only the villagers can guide.........like a shepherd guiding the flock. In fact I found a shepherd herding his flock of sheeps grazing the landscape at Bandalike. Another strange feature i found a an old man almost like a ghostly figure in midst of the field.( On the hindsight the ghostly town has some history ) Inorder to confirm that he was not I shouted for direction for further clues, and in reply he replied move on. It was just an hunch I drove to the main complex which was the filled with monuments and inscriptions. The greenary and landscaping was a visual treat for the eyes. Eureka ! it was a heady feeling with heavens too showering us with its bounty of mild rain to literally clearing the bad light and thick cloud cover for photography.

It was an absolute thrilling rendezvous as it were to discover an exclusive destination, which has not been covered in any of the travelouges as on date except vaguely without pictures or details. I hope you all too will enjoy the journey to this destination called as Bandalike........a heritage unparalled in history. It is a pleasure to unravel the newest destination to travel buffs for previewing before it is officially thrown open to the public with full details by ASI. Some inferences are matter of conjectures based on historical dateline, which is an original contribution.

NOTE : Bandalike has a potential to be resurrected like Angor Wat with plenty of water channels available in the vicinity and good rainfall legacy. Maybe in olden days it was close to Angor Wat terrain.

SIDELIGHTS : The surprise findings of Bandalike being associated with Kalamukha sect of Shaivism is an enigma of a forgotton practise. Kalamukha followers are basically tantriks who believe in appeasement of Lord Shiva with Human sacrifice.

Kalamukhas are considered to worship extreme form of Shiva known as Bhairava. Bhairava used to frequently visit the crematory completely nude with skulls hanging by their waist to protect their phallus. The skull sometimes acted as a begging bowl, and eating bowl. This ritual is supposed to be a pennace for slaughtering one of the heads of Lord Brahma in anger. The followers are accused of conducting surreptiously human sacrifice. Ujjain was a prominent centre for Kalamukhas and we derieve the information on the tantric practises from incriptions of Kaedeswara temple (1162 )AD.

Update : I happened to personally visit the ASI office and cullout more information on Bandalike on 13/10/2009, which i have updated. Acknowledge the help of ASI for this travelouge

Kodava Colleague RIP

Kodavas  have a unique tradition among the Indians probably because of their descent from Alexander the great.  The migration of  Chandragupta Maurya in 298 BC down to Sravanabelagola gives some credence to this theory. The etymology of the word Koda is mysterious, some identify it as west or hills.  My premise is that  it refers to the vessel with water carried by women folk during wedding ceremony.  The language of  Kodavas is a great blend of  Malayalam, Mapilla , Beary,  Tulu, Kannada & Tamil.  How did this occur ?  It is primarily because of the migration of workers from all the regions to work in the coffee plantation.  Coorgis loved hunting and protected their terrain fiercely.  The privilege of possession of gun without license in Coorg district makes their clan unique.

I was privileged to be exposed to coorgi lifestyle by default due to my colleague Ganesh.  During 1990 BJP had declared a state wide bandh and coorg district was totally blockaded.  The entire market was shut down, there were no vehicular movement and i was stranded.  Even though i was booked in a lodge there was no way i could have food anywhere in coorg.  Ganesh exhibited the hospitality of offering coorgi cusine cooked at home.  Akki roti, Kadabu, Avial, Rice, Pandi curry, Sambar etc were some of the foodstuff i relished for 3 days consecutively. 

We used to distribute Biscuits on ready stock operation in coorg district.  Ganesh was adventurous and he wanted to drive the matador van.  He managed to give me a shocker when he applied the reverse gear instead of forward gear while moving out of petrol bunk.  Luckily it was no major accident, he just managed to hit a jeep stationed in the queue.  The greenary around coorg was so inviting that every alternative month i used to visit the terrain.  

During one of the trips to coorg we just saw a leopard leap across the road, just 20 meters in front our matador van.  We were in a exuberant mood since we had managed to sell 12 k worth of factory fresh biscuits on the mysore highway dhaba.  We were carrying hard cash and woke up the distributor at 8 am with cash.  The distributor was thrilled to count cash so early in the morning.  He treated us with a good breakfast.   

After my marriage i lost touch with Ganesh for almost 15 years.  I managed to trace him in Mangalore.  He was running a boys hostel.  We caught up with our olden days when we were working to-gether.  He invited me to attend his brother-in-laws marriage in October 2010.  After attending the wedding i got a deep insight into their family tradition.  I participated in the wedding ceremony having their entire range of cuisine along with cocktails.  The elaborate ceremony of the wedding with traditional attire was a revelation.  I managed to click photos and some videos in the bargain.  One such photo i gifted Ganesh as a blow during my next visit for marriage of  his niece.



It was shocker when i received the news from his sister-in-law that Ganesh was no more.  She told me that he had passed away due to cancer within a month on 11th December 2010. I spoke to common colleague Nagabushan who told me that he used to be nicknamed as Mamoothy.  More than being handsome hunk he was down to earth, filled with empathy and co-ordial relationship.  The charm of  visiting coorg again will never be same for me my family.  We wish the departed soul to rest in peace.  Our sincere condolence to his family and relatives for the bereavement.




RIP GANESH WE WILL MISS YOU FOREVER ! May God bless your soul