yuhi chala chal rahi

We went to Brindavan Gardens during the long weekend (but just for 1 night). We drove and that meant having the kiddo trampling on me for a good 3-4 hours! :-) Was fun showing him cows, birds (even imaginary ones to distract him!), trees, cars, buses etc.

We stayed at Royal Orchid Hotel, which is inside the Garden itself. So you get a good view of the garden from the sit-out area of the hotel. It was a pretty good place and decent food, so no complaints! Although it rained in the evening, which meant our trip to the garden to view the musical fountains was washed out! (literally ;-))

The garden was in full bloom, and the colors were very pretty. Couldn't dedicate much time to photograph them though, so managed a few quickly before leaving the next morning.

Some pics from the trip below.

Dhund

There was a movie by that name, think in the 70s. It was a murder mystery and I remember my father telling that its a good movie. and I watched it, a long time ago! With wooden actors like Sanjya Khan, Zeenat Aman and Danny Denzongpa, I did not have much hopes, but it was a really good attempt at a thriller!

Well, am not blogging now to talk about this movie. I just remembered it while trying to find a title to this post. It suits it the best you see! You don't? Hmmm, then check out the pic below.


Taken a couple of weeks back at Gopalaswamy beTTa. We left Bangalore around 3.30 in the morning, which is kinda record for me! Reached the Bandipur forest area around 7.00 and the top of the hill around 7.30. I was greeted by the same weather that I had experienced a few years back, when I had come here with my friends. It never ceases to amaze me. We waited for an hr and a half, and the weather didn't clear. So we couldn't explore the surroundings and we came back to Bangalore after a brief stop at Mysore for lunch.

Ok, enough of the tippani, more pics,which mostly glorifies the mist, follow!


On the way to the hill



First look around the temple after we climbed the hill




Himavat Gopalaswamy temple


Freshness

Into the unknown!


Lonely tree



It must be a dream!



Around the hill, while coming down


Greenery



By the way, Dhund in Hindi means mist!

Randomness

The phone camera, in most cases, is of good use when you want to take pics and your bulky camera is not around :) It also serves as a great timepass.

For example, when stuck in a traffic tam, and its raining. No more boredom and frustration. Just click and experiment with diff modes and effects of the phone camera. Of course, you should be a passenger and not the driver for this ;-)






Waiting for food in a restaurant? Different or colorful surroundings? Chance to kill time again with the phone camera.

The 2 pics below are at one of the Mast Kalandar outlets, near Whitefield.





The below pic is from the jungle theme restaurantat Hotel Pai Vista in Mysore.

Patthar aur paani!

Relatives visiting from the US meant a fun day out visiting places near Bangalore. So, on a saturday, we, a merry gang of 11, went to Shivanasamudra, Talakad and Somnathpura on a Saturday.

The weather was awesome throughout the day and made up for the pityful water level that Shivanasamudra has right now! This place can be totally avoided until the monsoons come and go.

Some of the monkeys there kept us on high alert what with their food-grabbing spree! They however made good models for portraits. :)

Next we went to Talakad. The peaceful and surprisingly clean Cauvery river invited us and some of us (excluding me of course) went for a brief trip in a coracle. It looked like fun :)

After a brief stop at a Tea shop where we had a refreshing break, we went to visit the 5 temples at Talakad. On the way to the second temple, we saw this structure being restored.

We visited 2 out of the 5 temples of Shiva, and continued our journey towards Somnathpura.

Aah! The Somnathpura temple.


Brilliant architecture very similar to Belur/HalebiDu. The entire temple is built with sandstones and there is a unique lock mechanism to join 2 carved stones together. For the first time, I actually realized the value of a guide (certified by the Archaelogical Survey of India, I think) while visiting places of historical importance. Very enlightening it was.

All the deities carved had their noses broken! The result of plundering by the Muslim invaders.

The symmetry of the temple is mind-blowing. The temple is on a star shaped platform and the entire structure converges at the top of the temple in perfect symmetrical lines.

Made a mental note to take the assistance of guides during temple and monument visits and also read up on it after coming back. :-)

Then we headed back to namma Bengaluru. On the way, we saw this lovely lake filled with lily (i think) leaves glowing in the setting sun's rays. Apt end, I must say!

Work and play

Team outing to Manipal County happened yesterday. The place is beautiful with lots of trees, plants and gardens. It was a fun day and on my way home, there was heavy rain too! Apt end to the day. :)
Some pics below.

The rabbits were in a fenced area and they were huddled up only where there was shade. Not one of them was found moving around.

Stairway to yonder skies

Against all odds

Retro mode pics begin!!
-----------------------

Ek kachua..aur ek waterfall..

Shadow play

Reminds me of the chess sequence in HP - Philosopher's stone.

Life

Light..

and a bright happy pic to end the post.

picnic by the lake

On Dec 24th, the usual suspects went out on a 1-day trip. Some of them dropped out, but we were a merry gang of 6, so we continued with the plan. (In a 13-seaterTT, I must add!!)
After the UNO games, leg-pulling, and nausea-inducing ride, we arrived at the first destination - Melkote. After a short walk to the temple base (the temple of Challuva Narayana is in a fort on a small-hillock, Mel-koTe..get it?!), that included photo shoots of people, animals, trees, flowers, as always, we reached the steps. More pics followed.

For a change, D got busy with phone calls, and not K. :-) Refreshing change it sure was! After a short climb, we reached the fort. We arrived a little early for the puja, so we spent some time admiring the fort and the view it had to offer.


Then, after the darshan, we set off to thannur lake. It is quite huge and very nice. A little dirty, due to the mindless plastic-spewing humans! Seriously, what joy does carving names or a-loves-b on walls, roofs of public places?!? Anywaz, we had puliyogre and sweet pongal parceled from a shop in melkote and had that by the lake, picnic-style :-)

A closer look

We then headed to the other side of the lake. The place was very dirty and can be easily avoided. Sans, Sudks, josh and Dkoya went climbing a small hillock. Kartha and I played badminton to while away time.

After a brief stop at Mysore for dinner at 'Mane', dropped Sans at her place and we reached Bangalore and home at 12.00!! All in all, it was a pleasant, nice and fun-filled day with friends. Aah, life's small joys.. :-)
A few more pics.

I also went to Coorg with parents,sis and her family during the long weekend, and that will be another post by itself, well, at least the pics. Til then, ciao!!