Shiva-Ganga (ಶಿವಗಂಗೆ)

Shiva-Ganga (ಶಿವಗಂಗೆ) has been one of my favourite destinations.



Directions: Travel in Bangalore - Tumkur Highway.



Route: Bangalore -> Nelamangala -> Dobespet. Take a left turn at the fly-over (avoid going up the fly-over), travel about 7 kms further to reach sleepy village of Shiva Ganga.

 


Stone carving beside the road en route Shivaganga

 

View from atop Shiva-Ganga



Saavana Durga [ಸಾವನದುರ್ಗ]

Have scaled Saavana Durga [ಸಾವನದುರ್ಗ] thrice in the past :)

That was a breathtaking view (en route Magadi) . . .

View of Savana Durga (Route: Rama Nagara - > Saavana Durga).

Hoarding erected by the Dept. of Tourism, Govt. of Karnataka at Naayakana PaaLya.

Cactus on Savana-Durga !

How to reach Savana Durga?

There are 2 routes: Via Rama nagara (Bangalore - Mysore Highway) OR via Magadi.

Route 1 - via Rama nagara: Savana Durga is 26 kms from RamaNagara. Travel towards Magadi. Take a right turn at naayakan paaLya, which belongs to Hanchikuppe Village Panchaayat, and travel 4 kms further to reach Savana Durga.

Route 2 - via Magadi. There's a Lakshmi-Narasimha Swamy Temple here.

Meghane [ಮೇಘಾನೆ]

That was a long & a physically demanding Trek in the Sharavathi Valley.

View of 'Meghane' from a hill-top.

Have a closer look at the above pic & locate Meghane in it !

That's Meghane. Had been to Basavana Baayi [ಬಸವನ ಬಾಯಿ] (translated, it means Bull's Mouth) from there.

Frog in 'kalla marige' [ಕಲ್ಲ ಮರಿಗೆ] at the Lord Ganesha Temple at Basavana Baayi !

Canis familiaris (the domestic Dog).

Canis familiaris, the domestic dog, is a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_dog

The dogs posed for me at Kanva Reservoir [ಕಣ್ವ ಜಲಾಶಯ]. The Reservoir is at the border of Ramanagara and Channapatna.

Lemon lamps at Banashankari Temple, Bangalore

"tamasOmaa jyOthirgamaya" goes a saying.

It means - "Lead me from Darkness to Light" / "from ignorance to knowledge"

Lighting a Lamp has always been considered sacred in India. Lamps or diyaas come in all shapes and sizes. Happened to see a different form of diyas at Sri Banashankari Temple, one of the popular temples of Bangalore. Here, the lamps are made out of Lemon by devotees and offered to Goddess Banashankari. The lemon is cut into two pieces. The pulp is then removed, inverted, filled with oil and then, lit !

Sandals of biLigiri ranganaatha swamy [ಬಿಳಿಗಿರಿ ರಂಗನಾಥ ಸ್ವಾಮಿ] !

Happened to visit K.Gudi (kyaatha-dEvavara guDi; ಕ್ಯಾತ ದೇವರ ಗುಡಿ) and BR Hills [ಬಿಳಿ ಗಿರಿ ರಂಗನ ಬೆಟ್ಟ] on 1st & 2nd of Sep 07.

I was fascinated by a pair of sandals at biLi-giri ranganaatha swaamy temple. This temple is atop BR Hills.

Legend has it that Lord biLi-giri ranganaatha uses a pair of outsized sandals to roam the adjoining forests. The sandals measure more than 2 feet ! As a coincidence, sandals wear out over a period of time ! Villagers then replace them with new ones.
Isn't that interesting?

Route from Bangalore:
Bangalore -> Kanakapura -> maLavaLLi -> koLLegala -> YeLLandur -> BR Hills -> K GuDi {-> Chamarajanagar -> Mysore}

Be prepared for a bumby ride in a stretch between Kanakapura and maLavaLLi.
Alternately, you could travel via Mysore Road (40 kms of extra journey) and save atleast 1 hour.
Bangalore -> kengEri -> biDadi -> Ramanagara -> ChannapaTna -> Maddur -> (deviation from Mysore Road) -> maLavaLLi -> koLLegala -> YeLLandur -> BR Hills.

Tiger Dance [ಹುಲಿ ವೇಷ] [ಪಿಲಿ ವೇಷ-ತುಳು]

I confess having "SHOT" the Tigers on 15-Aug-2006 at 5:25 PM, when they were performing a "dance' live at a house near Katapadi, Udupi ;-)

Tiger Dance is a unique form of Folk Dance in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Districts of Karnataka, that fascinates young and old alike.

It is called 'huli vEsha [ಹುಲಿ ವೇಷ]' in Kannada, 'pili vEsha [ಪಿಲಿ ವೇಷ]' in Tulu (the native language), and 'waagaa vEsu [ವಾಗಾ ವೇಸು]' in Konkani.

This dance is performed during "Dasara (Navaraatri) Festival" and "Krishna JanmaashTami".
This folk dance is prevalent in other parts of our country too.