It had been a long time since I went on a trip on my own. An I, Me, Myself kind of trips which I enjoy the most as it gives me the freedom to do what I want to do, how I want to do, and when I want to do was long due.

I wanted to visit the Mandaragiri jain temple and the Jayamangali Blackbuck reserve forest ever since I read about these on www.payaniga.com more than a year ago. And, I was very keen on making this a Dio trip (instead of taking the car out) as they were less than 200 kms from Bangalore. I discussed about this a couple of times with my cousins and friends but somehow the trip never materialized.

Finally the time had come. The trigger was that my Dio had to go on a long drive before I give it to the next service. I decided to go on my own. 

The start…

Even though it was a short distance trip I started early at 6.30 so that I can get back to the city limits before it gets dark. The PES College-side entry of the NICE road was closed for some repair work. So I reluctantly took the Outer Ring Road route towards Tumkur road for the first time. I was very surprised that the road was pretty good and except for couple of signals, I could easily zip through all the way to exit. After that I took the flyover to Tumkur Road. Soon, it was breakfast time and I was weighing my options if I had to skip the overcrowded Kamat. Much to my delight, I noticed couple of new restaurants — Kamadhenu and Vrindavan.  I stopped over at the Vrindavan restaurant. The taste was good and staff was quite courteous (probably because they had started just 20 days back).

Mandaragiri

Mandaragiri is also known as Basadi betta and Basti betta. It is on the way to Tumkur.  

A climb of 438 steps took me here.

Some pics in and around the temple. 

 

 

 

 

In search of the Blackbuck…

My next destination was the Jayamangali Blackbuck reserve (village name is Maidanahalli). This is on the Madhugiri – Paruvoor – ID Halli route. Though the blogger on Payaniga had clearly mentioned this route, I forgot the “Paruvoor” part of it and headed towards ID Halli directly from Madhugiri. After almost reaching ID Halli, when I asked for this Maidanahalli, villagers asked me to take a drive further take right and right again till I see this board, which effectively meant an U-turn towards Madhugiri!

On reaching Jayamangali, another disappointment awaited me. The officials there told me that blackbucks will be taking rest now and asked me to wait till atleast 3 pm. Anyway, I persuaded them to take me around and this is what we saw.

As expected, I hardly saw some 5-6 blackbucks. Otherwise, it was mostly deer. But this blackbuck fight made up for all the disappointment till now.

After a wonderful, but tiring day (caused mainly due to driving through bad roads), I was back where it all started by 6.30.

Route

Mandaragiri: Take a right about 8-10 kms before Tumkur (look for the arch on your right) and travel further for about 3 kms to reach the foothill of this centuries old Jain temple.

Jayamangali: From Madhugiri, take the Paruvoor route and ask / look for the “forest department jinke board” (Forest department’s board with a Deer picture on it). Take a right about 8 kilometers after Paruvoor and drive along a very uneven, gravel-ridden road for 3 kilometers to reach the gate. The forest department organizes a Scorpio safari to take you around the area.

Sidewing:

The last leg of 3-km road leading to the Jayamangali forest gate has been in that condition for years now. If you think your vehicle can’t handle it, don’t venture.

The priest of the Jain temple was walking down after closing the temple for the day. But he was kind enough to give me the keys to look around on my own.

Last time I was on the Tumkur-Korategere-Madhugiri route, the entire stretch was among the worst roads I had ever seen. Now, the Tumkur-Koratagere part is very good now and I zipped through it. The Koratagere-Madhugiri road is under construction.

Jayamangali forest reserve has rooms to stay overnight. One has to book the room at the forest department office in Malleshwaram, Bangalore. I think it is worth it because the blackbucks and other other animals apparently come to the man-made drinking water facility near the guesthouse early in the morning. Also, one can go on the safari as early 6.30 in the morning. If you love photography, this is something you wouldn’t want to miss.

The forest driver got “permanent” on his job recently. He was a temp worker for 25 years!

Lepakshi has been in my mind for quite a long time. Though it is very close to my native place in Pavagada taluk and I have heard its significance from my parents since my childhood, I somehow never had a chance to visit it. In fact, few months back when I read an article about this place in Deccan Herald; I decided to go the very next weekend. But somehow things didn’t materialize then.

But the photos from an ex-colleague’s photowalk group on Facebook changed that. Thanks to the high-end cameras, some pictures were enhanced so much that I felt they lost their natural colors. So, I decided to go and check out on my own.

The Journey

Lepakshi is about 120 kms from Bangalore. So, I started at about 6.30 in the morning on July 21st with plans of coming back early in the evening. One can take the Gowribidanur-Hindupur route or the Chikkaballapur-Bagepalli route to reach Lepakshi. I took the latter as I knew that the roads were good (I was on that road a week before while visiting my native).

But what I didn’t know was that there is only one good food complex on that entire stretch. The food complex had Kamat Upachar (and Nandini restaurant, as I learnt later) which was too crowded when I reached. I skipped that with a hope that I would find something decent in Bagepalli. When I reached Bagepalli, I found that though it has many street-side food huts, none of them had a seat where I can lean my back on and take a much needed break. Disappointed, and with grumbling stomach, I went ahead hoping that I will find something near the temple at Lepakshi.

As soon as I entered Andhra Pradesh, I noticed their tourism department’s restaurant and barged in with a huge smile on my face. But then, the joy melted when I was served idli with cold sambar. When I asked the supplier, his excuse was that it was too late in the morning. Seriously? 10 a.m is late for a hot idli-sambar?

Lepakshi

Lepakshi is about 20 kms from that restaurant. I reached Lepakshi at about 10.30, almost an hour later than my planned time. My first stop was the Nandi.This is India’s largest monolithic Nandi. It was carved by well-known sculptor Jakanachari.

The main temple is about 500 meters from the Nandi. I went around the main temple for about an hour and was about to leave when I saw a guide explaining the history of the temple to a group. I joined them and here is what I learnt.

The name of this town is derived from Ramayana. While Ravana was taking away Sita, an eagle by name Jatayu tried to stop him. During the fight, Ravana cut one of its wings and the bird fell in this place. Later, when Rama came in search of Sita, he saw this bird and said “le, pakshi” (which means “get up, bird”). Hence the name Lepakshi.

This temple was constructed by Virupanna, a chieftain under the Vijayanagara king Achyutaraya. The theme of this temple is Shiva’s marriage with Parvati. The sculptures and paintings on the ceilings depict various events of marriage.

Most of the paintings on the ceilings are still clear.

Shiva being welcomed for his marriage

Parvati getting ready for her marriage

And the marriage begins…

The highlight of the hall is the hanging pillar which supports all other pillars. Once the British got curious on how this pillar can stand without any support at the bottom and tried to move it. They had hardly moved this by few centimeters and all the pillars of the hall started moving along with it. They feared that the temple will collapse and stopped it there. Even today, one can see the pillar is tilted by about 10 degrees.

The pillars around this are also tilted slightly.

Once, when the laborers came to the dining hall for lunch, the cook asked them to wait for some time. Instead of wasting time, these laborers carved out a serpent (shown below) in front of the dining hall. When the cook came out to invite them inside, she was so shocked and the idol cracked in three places. As per Hindu tradition, a broken idol cannot be worshiped. So the chieftain installed a Shivalinga below the serpent’s hood.

And because every Shiva temple should have a Nandi facing the statue, Nandi (mentioned earlier) was carved out outside the temple premises. Today, even though lot of houses and shops have come up between Nandi and the main temple, one can see the serpent’s hood from one corner of the Nandi statue.

King Achyutaraya died while the construction was on. People who disliked Virupanna complained to new king (forgot his name) that Virupanna was wasting money by constructing a temple on some hilltop. The king immediately ordered that his eyes be gouged out. When Virupanna learnt about this order, he pulled out his eyes on his own and threw them on a wall. The spot where his eyes hit the wall still bear the red color blood stains.

The temple construction stopped after Virupanna’s death. He completed the main hall and the temple. and got the pillars and sculptures ready for the marriage hall. These pillars have Lord Brahma at the entrance of the hall ready to welcome guests and Saptarshis on the platform giving company to Brahma.

In what appears to be the inner part of the hall, the Gods have taken positions as per Vaastu shaastra. For example, Yama is in south and Kubera is in the north.

Apart from these gods, other carvings on these pillars include two acrobats, two monkeys carved in such a way that they look like four monkeys in various positions, and a woman showing the right way of keeping bindi.

Outside the hall, there is huge footstep of Sita which has water all through the year. Apparently, Sita was considered a dwarf as the average height of human beings in that era was about 25 feet. Later I learnt that Lord Krishna was 150 feet tall!!! Further up, we saw a plate with 10 bowls around it. Here again, while we were wondering if this plate was shared by multiple people, guide clarified that it is one laborer’s plate. Laborers in that era were as tall as 15 feet and they needed THIS to keep them strong and healthy. Phew!Walking towards the exit of the temple, we saw one Brindavana carved out of stone with a tiny tulsi plant, and some neatly barricaded scriptures in Kannada. I finally left the place at 12.30 and reached home by 4 p.m.

Sidewing:

The guide doesn’t charge any fixed price. He is happy with whatever the tourists offer. This was in stark contrast to my experiences in Chitradurga and Badami where the guides charged Rs.200 after much bargain.

The uniqueness of the temple is that it has both Shiva and Vishnu idols.

Next day morning I was up at 6 a.m. I wanted to be in Gol Gumbaz before anybody else. But it was pitch dark outside. I had some Badam Milk and asked people about what other places I can cover that day. Everybody recommended Almatti Dam, which was an hour’s journey from Bijapur. There was a direct train at 9.45 and the railway station was just 10 mins walk from Gol Gumbaz.

Back at room, I got ready and reached Gol Gumbaz by 7.15 a.m.

I was still the first visitor. I took the ticket and walked up to the Gumbaz. The security guard insisted I get a  ticket for the camera and he was no mood to listen to my explanations. I walked back to the counter and got the camera coupon.

As soon as I entered another security guard approached me. He offered to explain the significance of this place. He admitted that he was not a official guide and was ready to accept whatever money I was ready to pay. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I accepted with a wide grin on my face. 🙂

Naqqar Khana and the Guest House

The first building on the way to Gol Gumbaz is the Naqqar Khana, where king’s welcome party used to blow trumpets and announce his arrival. This is now converted to museum. The second one is the guest house complex where king’s guests used to join him. Not sure what this is now.  Finally, you see the gigantic Gol Gumbaz. Next to Gol Gumbaz is the mosque. Keeping in line with the Islamic tradition, a mosque was built next to the tombstone. Though the outer walls of the mosque look good, I was told that it is dilapidated inside and hence the public is not allowed.

Gol Gumbaz

Gol Gumbaz is the mausoleum of Mohammad Adil Shah. He is buried here along with his mistress Rambha Devi (a dancer), wife, and his two children. 

The Story

Earlier, this place used to be an entertainment center. The dancers performed in the central hall and the king sat at the rear end (opposite to the entrance). The musicians sat in whispering gallery area so that the music reverberated throughout the hall without any loss of clarity. This was also the place where the king conversed with his wife and mistress. The legend has that once the king casually asked his mistress if she loved him so much and can do anything for him, can she jump down from the gallery. Without a second thought she jumped in. When the crestfallen king asked for her last wish, she expressed her desire to be buried next to him. That’s how the tombstones are today. The original graves are a few feet below the tombstones.

Gol Gumbaz

King’s seating area

Tombstones

The guide demonstrated how exactly the whispering gallery works. Camera clicks, footsteps, drop of a coin, and of course the words we speak (whisper, to be precise), every action we did there echoed 7 times. It was amazing. I was awestruck, absolutely speechless. Whatever I read in primary school textbook is actually real! Wow!

Whispering Gallery

The chain to the top of the dome — The tomb was originally made of stone. The king had a contest where he rewarded people who reached the top of the tomb using this chain and hoisted a flag.

Parrots whispering outside the gallery 😉

Some random pics 

I was done by 8.15. The guard-cum-guide’s duty was in the dome area that day. Since I still had time for the train, we discussed about lot of other stuff. He concurred with my decision of visiting Almatti Dam and skipping Jamia Masjid, Gagan Mahal and couple of other tourist spots. (My decision was based on my interaction with several people, including the guy manning the footwear and the auto driver.) He also showed me the Jod Gumbaz which was the built as a prototype for Gol Gumbaz. I couldn’t take a snap as it was covered with fog.

I finally came down at 9.15 a.m., went around the dome taking snaps. As I was walked towards the exit, I just could not hide the smile on my face. I was soooooooo happy!

I got into an auto and reached Bijapur Railway Station at 9.40 a.m. The Basava Express reached on time and I was off to my final destination. As usual, I spoke to people in the train. Everybody praised heaps about the dam. I couldn’t wait.

Almatti

I reached Almatti about an hour later. I was told that the dam is hardly a kilometer away from the station and the shared autos charge 5 rupees to drop me there. However, couple of auto guys I enquired demanded Rs.100!!! I was shocked. Somebody told me that it is better to walk up to the destination. I saw couple of college kids going in that direction and I followed them.

After an immensely satisfying experience in the morning, I was here for a major disappointment. The point after that “one kilometer” is a place from where I can just see the dam. I started thinking about my options. Can I leave this place now and visit something else? Is there a place nearby or should I go back all the way to Bijapur? I checked with some shopkeepers. They said there is nothing else nearby, but if want to take a closer look at the dam, I should visit Rama -Krishna Park and Lava-Kusha park. I decided to try that out. I remembered that one of my fellow passengers in the train had mentioned that these parks are beautiful as KRS Dam Park in Mysore.

There are no direct autos to those parks. I first had take an auto to the “highway” and from there get into another auto which will drop me at these parks. I reached the highway paying Rs.7. But the auto guy at the highway asked Rs. 70 one-way to the park. I walked out of the auto stand to have my brunch (and plan my next step) at a nearby hotel. The cashier at the restaurant told me that I can take a shared auto going towards Rampur, get down at some circle, and walk a couple of kilometers to reach the park. I thanked him and got into an auto. Fortunately, that auto was going somewhere beyond the park. So I got down at Rama-Krishna park, which was right opposite to the dam entrance. As I walked through the gates I thought of Anil Kumble, a person I always associate with perseverance.

But then, the joy was short-lived. Hardly few steps into the park, I realized that the guy who compared this with KRS park has definitely not seen it. Seriously, even the Basavanagudi Bugle Rock park (in Bangalore) is much bigger and more beautiful than this park. And most importantly, despite it being so close to the dam, I could not view even 60% of the dam gates from the highest point in the park. Colossal waste of time! The caretaker of the park suggested that I visit the Lava Kusha park (a kilometer away) to get a full view of the dam. I thanked him with a smile and walked out. I had enough.

Some pics from the park -By the time I came out of the park, it was 1 p.m. My return train was at 2.55. So I decided to walk back to the circle from where I can get the autos coming from Rampur. It served dual purposes. One, I could kill some time. Other, I can go to the river side of the dam, get my feet wet, and hopefully get a better view as well.There was some swamiji’s ashram near the power-generation unit of the dam. I wonder why he is not called “Current baba” (I have heard about some Visa baba or Visa god).

And this is the snap I took from the riverbed.

I reached the circle at 1.30. The sun was at its peak and all I could find was a stone to sit. An auto came by after almost half an hour and I reached “highway” at 2.15 p.m. Here again my woes continued. The auto guys at the highway asked for Rs.50 to drop me at the railway station. The 2nd option was to wait till he can get 9 more passengers so that it will come down to Rs.5 each. What the…!!! Anyway, since I had time, I decided to wait. By 2.40, we could get 4 more passengers. All of us were heading towards the railway station and agreed to pay Rs.10 each instead of waiting for more passengers.

The train was late by 15 minutes. I reached Bijapur at 4.30 p.m.

While searching for info on Bijapur, I had found out that Ilkal saree is a must buy here. A fellow passenger in the train to Almatti recommended SJ Bhavi and Sangameshwara stores near Gandhi Chowk for this.

I headed straight to these shops from the railway station. I finished my lunch and shopping and returned to my room at 6.00 p.m. I slept for a good half an hour and got into the bus at 7 p.m.

As I settled on my favorite window seat in the first row, I started looking back at my day. What a contrasting experience! One moment I was patting my back on my decision to revisit Gol Gumbaz. Few hours later, I was cursing myself for going all the way to Almatti.

But hey wait! It was not over yet. While booking the ticket, I was told that the journey duration to Bangalore was 11 hours in Rajahamsa. But now the conductor bluntly told me that they won’t reach before 7.30 a.m. that is, 12.5 hours. “Awesome! What next? Will the bus break down on the way? Bring it on!”, I thought.

Well, anyway, no such thing happened and I was back where it all started by 7.30 a.m.

ನೀವೆಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋದರು ಬರಲೇಬೇಕು, ನಮ್ಮೂರಿನಲ್ಲೇ ಬದುಕಲುಬೇಕು, ಪರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಥಳ ನಮಗಿಲ್ಲ, ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ ಊರೇ ನಮಗೆಲ್ಲಾ…

Sidewing:

The security guard at Gol Gumbaz is a postgraduate with 92% score.The best time to be in Gol Gumbaz is before 7.30 a.m. People start pouring in after that. In summer, they might be in earlier.

“Whisper” in the Whispering Gallery. If you want to shout to hear the echo, go to some hilltop. And yeah, no chorus please.

I bought an Ilkal saree from the Bhavi stores. Their range starts at Rs.550. I liked the Rs.850 saree more than the Rs.3500 saree.