A day in tumkur

On a day's picnic tour of Tumkur, we got to visit the Siddhaganga Math , Namada Chilume and Devarayanadurga. All these spots are in the close proximity to each other.

The Pinnacle of the temple at the Siddhaganga Math




Namada Chilume believed to be have been created by Lord Rama



A solitary lotus in the pond created by the oozing water from the chilume (spring)

Bastions at the entrance to the Devarayandurga fortress

Yoganarasima Temple at the top

A half finished job.Waiting to be sculpted at the precincts of a rebuilt 800 year old Shiva temple at Durgadahalli

Fields such as this surround the Durgadahalli temple

Chintamani, Kaivara

Place have interesting tales to tell, especially if you know a bit of Indian Mythology. I was in Chintamani and got to see the Kailash Giri caves, where a whole mountain is being drilled to house a temple, on the lines of Badami, Patadkal, but in these modern times a cave temple....... The Kaivara town I found was not only known for the 19th century saint Nayanappa, but also is the place where the duel between Bhima and Bhakasura took place.


This road leads to Kailashgiri


The Cave Temple

The Hillock where the duel reportedly took place ending in the fall of the Bhakasura from the top

Saint Narayanapp' s temple at Kaivara

Chintamani by Night-Shot from a nearby hillock

PODS

History tells us India had trade links with the Pharaohs, the Greeks and Romans for spices and which also was the main reasons for the Western occupation of our country.
Katapanna in the Idukki ranges is the trading town for the spices with all the trappings of a city. It is good to walk the streets filled with aroma of cardamon, tea, coffee and so many other exotic spices. Deep interiors will take you to the plantations, here are few the pods

Pepper

Coffee

Cardamom Pods

Chitradurga da kalina kote

This hair rising song from the Kannada movie " Nagarahavu", rings in your ears when you near the fort. Its a beauty but I am yet to admire it. This is my third visit to this fort and I am yet to explore the vast area and see for myself, the brave lady Obavva's kindi. Like always this time too I reached the fort around 6 pm, after a days work and had to be satisfied roaming around the periphery and take couple of shots promising myself a next visit.

The Bastions at the base of the mountains

The path to the summit of the fort

Harihareshwara Temple

After a hard days work in Harihara, we go to the Harihareshwara temple at about 7 pm.
The pillars of the temple are awesome and the carvings intricate , but almost total darkness and no tripod to shoot. This is probably the time one can hone their skills in photography.
For someone who loves history, this temple built by the Hoysala kings was great to admire , More so because I am yet to visit Belur-Halebidu - another beauty of Hoysala period.

Both this images were shot with the camera on a pillar with a shutter speed of 15 sec and a aperture of 4.0

The Entrance to the Temple



Lateral view of the temple