Mahabalipuram Trip - Part 3 : Arjuna's Penance, Krishna's Butter Ball, Varaha Cave Temple and Tiger's Cave

Arjuna's Penance : The huge relief structure, Arjuna's penance is also called the Descent of the Ganga. Story from Mahabharata, where Arjuna performs tapasya(penance) to get Pashupatastra from Lord Shiva is depicted here. In addition, the story of Bhagiratha's efforts to bring divine river Ganga to earth finds place here.

Arjuna's penance, Mahabalipuram

Arjuna's penance is a structure measuring 30m (100ft) long by 15m (45ft) high, quite huge compared to human figure. Near to the Arjuna's penance, you can find the Krishna Mandapa. Walls of the Mandapa tell the story - how Lord Krishna lifted Mount Govardhana to protect the villagers when the rain god Varuna vented his anger by bringing incessant rains.

Lord Ganesha Temple, Mahabalipuram

Varaha Cave Temple and Krishna's Butter Ball : Moving on we spotted Varaha cave temple next. On way to cave temple, one finds Lord Ganesha temple, where unlike many temples in historic places, poojas seem to be conducted. But surprisingly, there was no statue of the god in the Varaha cave shrine. But one could find carvings of Varaha on temple wall. On the rocky hill nearby, Krishna's butter ball is a huge mounted rock, with virtually no support. People posing for photos as if they are holding it from rolling down was a common sight. Well, we did take our turn in doing so too! Down the hill, we found one more cave temple but dedicated to Lord shiva.

Varaha Cave Temple, Mahabalipuram

Tiger's cave : That brought an end to the visual treat we could have at Mahabalipuram town. But I had read in a travel guide about the Tiger's cave which is located 5 km before entering the Mahabalipuram town. So, I made sure to ask the driver to stop there. Apart from the cave, it is surrounded by trees, making it an ideal place for picnic.

Krishna's Butter Ball, Mahabalipuram

Chennai Bits : Don't know is it because of the part of Chennai we explored, I noticed only few big commercial complexes or modern glass buildings, a far cry from a city like Bangalore. Of the few, Hilton Chennai caught my attention for a while! Chennai traffic which greeted us on that day morning did say bye in the evening too, again in the same fashion - traffic jam. We had to get down from the Volvo bus we boarded to reach CMBT and walk to catch the KSRTC Corona to reach Bengaluru next day morning.

Hilton Chennai

Afterthoughts : After completing a series of posts on Mahabalipuram, I felt that any documentation on India's heritage site always leaves genuine readers wanting for more, purely because of the intricacies of architecture and not to forget the history and mythology associated with the place and the work of art. Here, I have tried to highlight only few aspects. If it arouses interest in the minds of readers about the rich heritage of India, I would consider my efforts fruitful. For more details on Mahabalipuram, click here. Also, another thought passes by - if Mahabalipuram trip travelogue has to be stretched into 3 parts and required as much effort, what it would take to document the vibrant Hampe(Hampi)? :)

Carvings on wall of Varaha Cave Temple, Mahabalipuram

Cave Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, Mahabalipuram

Tiger's Cave, Mahabalipuram

Sunset at Chennai

Mahabalipuram Trip - Part 2 : Pancharathas and Hill Temple

Back from Shore Temple, we went to Pancharathas(literally meaning five chariots). These monolithic structures which date back to 7th century, are named after the five Pandavas and Draupadi. Knowing a bit history of the place whenever you visit a tourist place can add to the excitement and thrill of the trip! Well, I have experienced it when I visited Chitradurga fort. I had read the Kannada novel, Hamsageethe. Though it is a work of fiction, historical elements are nicely blended, which makes you feel it is a real story. Now, lets turn back the pages of history about Pancharathas.

Pancharathas, Mahabalipuram

Bit of history about the Pancharathas : This is what ASI(Archaeological Survey of India) plaque at the place had to say about the Pancharathas - "These monolithic temples are known as Rathas as they resemble wooden chariot and they are an innovation of Pallava king Narasimhavarman I (Mamalla)(630-668 AD). A huge rock sloping from south to north was utilized judiciously to cutout different forms of temples, besides few animal sculptures. Though these monolithic temples are termed as Panchapandava rathas, they have nothing to do with Mahabharata. These rathas with their ekatala to tritala vimanas and different in plan and elevation exhibit splendid forms of south Indian art and architecture.

Draupadi Ratha, Mahabalipuram

The Nakula-Sahadeva ratha has apsidal vimana. A relief sculpture of Ardhanariswara on the wall of Dharamaraja ratha with perfect balancing of the masculine and feminine features is considered to be one of the finest specimen of early Pallava plastic art. The ratha also contains pallava grantha inscription recording the titles of Narasimhavarman I. The group of five rathas were executed as models of south Indian temples and were not consecrated as their stupas are still attached with the bedrock."

Bhima Ratha, Mahabalipuram

The first structure you find here is named after Draupadi, is different from other rathas as there are less carvings and the dome resembles the roof of a hut. Also, this is the smallest ratha. Next you can find the Arjuna Ratha. Further Bhima Ratha covers a large area, seemingly attributed to the large built of Bhima. Dharmaraja Ratha, is a larger version of Arjuna Ratha. You will find Nakula-Sahadeva Ratha on your right. For more info on the Rathas, you can visit this link. Apart from these structures you will also find statues of Nandi(bull), lion and elephant.

Nakula Sahadeva Ratha, Mahabalipuram

From Pancharathas, on way to Arjuna's Penance, you will find the hill temple. You can walk up the hill, to get a nice view of the Mahabalipuram town and sea nearby. I felt the hill temple similar to the Stone chariot at Hampi though the wheels are not present here.

Dharmaraja Ratha, Mahabalipuram

Nandi Statue, Mahabalipuram

Hill Temple, Mahabalipuram

Mahabalipuram Trip - Part 1: Shore Temple

First Impression: It was my first visit to Chennai and the first sight when we(me, Manju and Harish) reached Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus or CMBT at Koyambedu on a Monday morning was not a pleasant one. Several bays in the bus stand full of plastic and garbage made it an eyesore. Coming out from there, we were greeted by several auto drivers making a beeline for potential passengers, a familiar scene in any Indian city. Well aware of the fact that Chennai auto drivers do not use meters for charging customers, we went to the prepaid counter to get an auto to Virugambakkam. Though the guy at the counter issued a receipt which was half the price others were quoting right at the gate, we soon realized that was more than double the price we would have paid in Bangalore for the same distance(around 3-4 km's)

Shore Temple amidst greenary

Oh no, Traffic Jam here too! : Jammed traffic was an inconvenience which did delay the process of reaching our venue. When asked about the jams, auto driver maintained that it was only on Mondays. But roads dug up for Chennai metro work indicated it was not a weekly affair. Having a Tamil speaking guy(Harish) in our group made things simpler when we had to inquire with the hotel receptionist in Tamil about the booked rooms. We had come for a friend's wedding which was scheduled in the evening. So, we had a whole day free to explore in and around the city. With my interest in historical places, I already had Mahabalipuram in mind. After checking into our room, we got a call from our bridegroom-friend. First thing he asked was whether the AC is working properly. We thought it was the right question to ask in a city like Chennai, where temperatures can rise up to 42 degree Celsius. On the other hand, Harish's friends in Chennai advised against going to Mahabalipuram because of two reasons, chief being the hot weather and the time it will take to reach there tackling Chennai traffic. But we had already made up our mind. Soon, we called up a taxi guy for a day's rental.

Close up of Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram

ECR : When we started from Virumbakkam, it was around 11 30 am. Though we had to counter the Chennai traffic again, once we reached East Coast Road(ECR), it was a smooth drive. ECR running along the sea coast is dotted with resorts. Thought it would be good option to try next time. 60 km distance was not a long one and after one and half hours, at around 1 pm, we were at the outskirts of Mahabalipuram getting down for lunch. Ready to experiment with the East coast sea food cuisine, I ordered a fish curry only to find it not good:( Oh! Forgot the name of the fish too!

Front view of Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram

Shore Temple : Entering Mahabalipuram, first we stopped at the Shore temple, picture of which you will find in travel brouchers or in google image results! This is the first historical temple, I have seen at the sea shore. Amazing sight it is - with sea waves on one side and an architectural wonder on the other. Green pasture around the temple is well maintained by Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) and gives the temple the unique look. Unlike the temples in the main land, temples at the sea shore suffer from erosion. It was evident from the lack of fine carvings, if you see the temple today. But it should be noted this has been in existence for more than 1300 years now. The temple dates back to 700-728 AD during the reign of Pallavas. Though it seems like there are 2 shrines looking at the 2 gopuras, there are in fact 3 shrines.

Main sanctum sanctorum of Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram

2 of the bigger shrines with gopurams are dedicated to God Shiva and the smaller shrine in between is dedicated to God Vishnu, thus honoring the beliefs of both Shaiva and Vaishnava sects. This is very rare as you will find either temples dedicated to either God Shiva or Vishnu in other historical places in India. Main sanctum sanctorum (garbha gudi) houses big Shivalinga. But as I clicked flash on my camera there, I could hear some creaky sounds from inside the temple. When we went to see what is it, battalion of bats was hanging from the roof. It seemed ironical that even after being one of the World heritage sites in India, place was in such a pathetic condition. Then we went to the Vishnu shrine where a reclining Vishnu idol is carved. Yet to find the significance of the carving of reclining Vishnu.

Reclined Vishnu Idol, Mahabalipuram

Camera Fiasco : Soon after that we had the inevitable photo sessions at the historical place, some for Facebook and some for the memories!! When we had to take a group photo, we handed over the digital camera to a guy who sincerely told us he does not how to take a picture using it. As usual, we insisted to hold the click button for a few seconds. To our surprise, he held the camera in opposite direction about to take a picture of himself without knowing where the click button was. Now, we were sure that we gave the equipment to the wrong guy. It also made us feel we should not take things granted like this - assuming everyone in the world knows how to operate a digital camera! Fortunately we found another person who knew how to use it.
Bang on Target : After the shore temple visit, our immediate destination was the beach nearby. On the way, we could spot a Thiruvalluvar statue. Nearby that we saw few people standing around the balloon shooting place. We took a plunge. Harish was the first to pick the gun for the shots and he had all six bullets on target - six balloons busted. When our turn came, me and Manju drew blank - none of the bullets made an impact! Walking on the sand, we went on to touch waves of Bay of Bengal. Till today, I have seen only Arabian sea. So, to have a glimpse of Bay of Bengal in Mahabalipuram was special. Though the sea, the waves were the same here too :), sun over the top was hotter than West coast of India. Without spending much time, we headed back to our next destinations - Pancha Rathas. While returning from the sea shore, inspired by Harish's performance, I picked the gun again - this time the score was better - 3 out of 6 shots were on target!

Thiruvalluvar Statue, Mahabalipuram

Bay of Bengal, Mahabalipuram

Idols on display, Mahabalipuram

To be continued...

Ooty Trip - Part 3 : Botanical Gardens, Dodda Betta, Shooting Medu

We had stayed in Coonoor the night before. So, on May 3 morning, plan was; two of us will go and park the car in Ooty. Then, those two will come back to Coonoor by bus. In case, you are wondering what is it all about, this was our arrangement to make sure that everyone in our group gets to enjoy the travel in Nilgiris Heritage train from Coonoor to Ooty. Shrinidhi and Deviprasad went to Ooty to park the car. Me, Suhas and Atheeth stayed back in Coonoor.

Nilgiri Heritage Train, Ooty

Nilgiri Heritage train(also called Nilgiri Toy train) from Mettupalyam arrives at Coonoor at 10 30 am and departs from there at 10 40 am. Tickets for the train are issued only half an hour before the departure. Anticipating the rush for tickets, two of us stood in the queue as there was a restriction that only 4 tickets will be issued per person. There were 2 types of seats - I class and II class, priced at Rs.76 and Rs.3 per person. We had bought tickets for I class, but did not find any drastic differences between the classes - each row of I class seats had 4 seats and II class row had 5 seats. Apart from that, I class seats were little more cushioned than the other.

Train Entering a tunnel

As the train from Mettupalyam did not arrive on time, Coonoor railway station officials arranged for another small train starting from Coonoor which left at 10 45 am. Journey in the train which passes through tunnels, travels in middle of hills, was a nice experience though I would not term it as great. May be the hype around it created lot of expectations in me. In this journey, we took snaps of the landscapes of Ooty and of course, of the heritage train. I also shot several videos of the train travel, which eventually made me run out of camera batteries. Train travel was just over an hour, thus reaching the Ooty railway station at 11 50 am.

Train on bridge[Photo courtesy : Shrinidhi]

Ooty Lake :We had visited the Ooty lake on Day 1 of the trip in the evening. After hearing from boating co-ordinators that we need to wait for an hour for our turn, we dropped the idea of boating there. When Heritage train was reaching Ooty, we could spot the famous lake. After purchasing some books at Higgin Bothams at Ooty Railway station, we headed towards Ooty Botanical Gardens after picking the four wheeler, we had parked in Ooty.

Ooty Lake

Ooty Botanical Gardens : As it was a Sunday, entrance of famous Ooty Botanical Gardens was crowded. Ooty botanical gardens was full of trees of various heights, flowers of various colors and people from various backgrounds! Well, this makes an ideal picnic spot for family crowd. My camera batteries dried up after taking few snaps of the place. Now, only Nidhi's camera was operational.

Ooty Botanical Gardens

Dodda Betta : Dodda Betta is 8km from Ooty Botanical gardens. Though the vehicles reach till the peak of the hill, people also prefer to walk to reach Dodda Betta peak. When we went there, we were welcomed by the traffic jam. So, after parking the vehicle some way behind, we climbed the hill. Dodda betta peak also has asphalted roads.

View from Dodda Betta

This was a surpise for me as I had always imagined ground at peaks of hills to remain natural. A telescope installed here, enables you to view the distant Coonoor town from here. After Dodda Betta, we are returning back to Bangalore, thinking thats the end of trip and no more places to be visited. But soon after leaving Ooty, we got down at Kamaraj Sagar dam and Shooting Medu. Realizing the difficulties in Kalhatti Ghat road, we had now chosen the Gudalur route to reach Mysore.

Another view from Dodda betta

Kamaraj Sagar Dam : Also known as Sandynallah Reservoir, this apart from being a picnic spot, is also a good place of study for enviromentalists.

Kamaraja Sagar [Photo Courtesy : Shrinidhi]

Shooting Medu : As suggested by its name, numerous Indian films have been shot here. Particularly, this place is ideal for song sequences. Surrounded by forests and mountains, this is a wonderful place. After that, Ford Fiesta was zooming towards Mysore. We realized after few minutes of drive that we had missed Pyakara lake, another shooting spot, seeing its board on our way.

Trip gang at Shooting Medu[Photo by Shrinidhi]

Ooty Specialities :

Masala Tea : When in Ooty, you would notice tea shops almost everywhere. Why not, since it is home to numerous tea factories. Also, one wonders at the variety of tea flavours provided - Masala, Chocolate, Cardamon, Lemon and the list goes on. Well, we prefered Masala tea everywhere we went and the price is also uniform - Rs.5 per cup. So, surely wet your taste buds with variety of tea flavours when you visit Ooty.

Shooting Medu [Photo by Shrinidhi]

Ooty Chocolates : We had received numerous requests from friends and relatives to bring Ooty home-made chocolates while leaving Bangalore. In Ooty, we had a difficult time in choosing the flavours! - Milk chocolates, Pista, Fruit and Nut - like tea flavours list goes on, here too. Once somebody in my office had brought Ooty chocolates which did not have any particular shape. But when we looked for them, they were are all in regular shape though not neatly cut - times are fast changing!

Vegetation at Shooting Medu [Photo by Shrinidhi]

Language : Conversing with the locals is never a problem in Ooty. You can talk to them in Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi or English. People are very hospitable, indicating that they are good hosts.

Eucalyptus Oil : Nilgiris are also known for production of Eucalyptus oil. You can find it being sold virtually in every shop in Ooty.

Beautiful images from Ooty had filled our memory, when we were returning to Bangalore. It was around 12 15 am that night, when we reached home.

Thanks nidhi for some of the photos featured here.

Raveesh

Also read,
Ooty Trip Part 1 - Road to Ooty
Ooty Trip Part 2 - Coonoor, Kotagiri, Kodanad Viewpoint

Ooty Trip - Part 2 : Coonoor, Kotagiri, Kodanad View point

We first wanted to cover tourist places near Coonoor and Kotagiri (they are the other 2 popular hill stations after Ooty) before exploring Ooty, as it was crowded. Coonoor is 17 km away from Ooty and the first major attraction we covered here was Dolphin's nose.

View from Dolphin's Nose

Dolphin's nose : It is a view point 10km from Coonoor, which we covered on May 2nd in the morning. Though we did not find anything resembling its name, it is a great place with one half of the place offering a panoramic view of the surrounding hills and the other half filled with greenary of tea estates. Also, we could spot Catherine falls among the hills, which we were about to visit in later part of the day(though human accessible portion of the falls is different from what you see here).

Tea Estates, Dolphin's Nose

Lamb's Rock : On our way back to Coonoor from Dolphin's nose, we visited Lamb's rock, which is yet another view point. It is just 2 km from Dolphin's nose. It provides view of the Coimbatore plains. We could spot a river from the telescope kept there. Now, don't ask me which river it is! After a brief interval there we were heading back to Coonoor.

View from Lamb's rock

Sim's Park : At the heart of the Coonoor town is the Sim's park, which is believed to be home to many flowering plants, pines, ferns and shrubs. Gigantic trees here, will catch your attention. Boating in the lake inside the park is a hit with the tourists. Otherwise, it is a place to just lay down in the grass and relax. After spending some time here and finishing our lunch in Coonoor, our next destination was Kotagiri.

Sim's Park in Coonoor [Photo courtesy : Shrinidhi]

Catherine Falls : Kotagiri which is 23 km from Coonoor is a small town. We needed to go past it to reach Catherine falls. After parking your vehicle in one of the tea estates, you need walk about 1-2 kms to reach the falls. This walk is one of the best as you will be walking along the area covered with greenary, hills and trees on one side and tea estates on the other. We travelled further to reach Kodanad viewpoint in the evening.

Catherine Falls, Kotagiri

Kodanad Viewpoint : This place is a must visit for tourists. You can almost see the details of the geographical map of the region come to life. You can see the huge valley which dips down below and rises again. Also, one can see the Moyar river flowing, Karnataka Tamil Nadu state border and they say, you can also witness the point where Western and Eastern ghats meet.

Kodanad View Point, Can you spot Moyar river?

One can also enjoy the view of Rangaswamy peak which is conical shaped peak and is also considered sacred according Hindu legends. As we had gone in the evening, plateaus below looked misty in sight. So, to get the clear picture I would recommend to go when there is bright sun. That was end of day 2 on our Ooty trip.

Part 1 of Ooty trip is here.
Part 3 of Ooty trip is here.

Raveesh

Rangaswamy Peak

Another view from Dolphin's nose

Beautiful landscapes, on way to Kotagiri

Amidst greenery, on way to Catherine falls

Ooty Trip - Part 1 : Road to Ooty

3 day long weekend on May 1, provided us with a perfect opportunity to explore the Nilgiris. On Friday morning, we were on our way to India's popular hill station, Ooty. As we did not wish to reach our destination in a hurry, we stopped, exclaimed at various places we found interesting, allowing the Ford fiesta to breathe easy.

First among these places was Nanjanagudu. After getting past royal city of Mysore, on way to Gundlupete you will find Nanjanagudu famous for its majestic Nanjundeshwara Temple. Bridge across river Kabini is what caught our attention. Well, there is not one but 3 bridges across river Kabini - two railway bridges one of which is not functional and one for motor vehicles to pass through. Railway bridge which is not used now, looks like a series archs.

Nanjanagudu Railway Bridge

Information board by South Western Railway near the bridge says - "It was built by Dalvoy Devraj in 1735 with brick, sand and stone adopting ancient Gothic style. It was strong and wide enough to carry road traffic as well as metre guage trains, which started running in 1889. This ancient bridge today stands as an engineering marvel, which bears testimony to the skills of those who built it. This bridge now over 270 years old and could very well be the oldest railway bridge in the world because the first railways was built only after 1825 and there were no other known cases of ancient road bridges having been used to carry railway traffic".

Roads inside Bandipur forest

After Gundlupete, one enters the Bandipur forest. Nice roads in middle of the forest - it was place to take those photographs for Desktop backgrounds! Soon after crossing the Tamil Nadu border at Kakkanalla, travelling via Mudumalai forest area, we witnessed an area covered with gulmohar trees. Ground covered with Gulmohar flowers, giant trees and a stream nearby was a treat to our eyes.

Gulmohar Trees near Tamil Nadu border area

Not only green pastures, a barren land on backdrop of hills was also on our visited list. We happened to see the Cactus flower there! On way to Ooty at Theppakadu junction, we had the option of choosing two roads to go to Ooty - shorter one via Kalhatti Ghat road or longer one passing via Gudalur. We chose the former without knowing the obstacles ahead. Kalhatti ghat road is the one where you have to negotiate 36 hair pin turns and the drive was daunting to say the least. With it started raining, it was more difficult. After crossing ghat road, we were cruising to Udhagamandalam going past road between tall, lanky trees - scenes most shot by Indian film fraternity.

Kalhatti Ghat Road

First thing I could notice in Ooty was that it was very crowded place. But well, Udhagamandalam, Ootacamund, Whadacamund, Wotkymund or simply Ooty, is an exquisite place for tourists. Metaphors too fail to capture its vastness in words - Scotland of the East, Big Queen of the Nilgiris hardly suffice. More on Ooty and surrounding places in upcoming posts.

Here is the route we followed from Bangalore to reach Ooty : Bangalore - Mysore - Nanjanagudu - Gundlupete - Bandipur Forest - Mudumalai Forest - Theppakadu - Kalhatti Ghat - Ooty (for a easy drive you can avoid Kalhatti and go via Gudalur route)

Click here to read the Kannada version of this article.

Also read,
Ooty Trip : Part 2 - Coonoor, Kotagiri, Kodanad Viewpoint
Ooty Trip : Part 3 - Ooty Botanical Gardens, Dodda betta, Shooting Medu

Raveesh

Kalhatti Ghat Road [Thanks nidhi for this picture]

Cactus flower

Trip gang with Ford fiesta

Ooty is nearing