The Raghavan Instincts

Finally covered the  The Great Living Chola Temples  as part of the  GoUnesco  challenge, which means, only  Nilgiri Mountain Railway  is left in Tamilnadu, which soon, hopefully! The route was simple: Banagalore-Hosur-Salem- Vridhachalam-Jeyankondam- Gangao_konda_Cholapuram- Dharasuram-Thanjavur . All done in one morning, around less than 7 hrs. Gangai Konda Cholapuram Built in the 11th century as a mark of the Chola King as mark of him conquering till Ganga, this still stands erect and invite people. And just after this, while waiting for a bus, got to taste for the first time in my life,  Kambu Koozh , a porridge made of a millet, with added buttermilk and  cluster_beans_fry ,  raw_mango_with_salt_&_chilli_ powder  and  green_chilli  - was super awesome! Airavatesvara Temple, Dharasuram Built in the 12th Century by another Chola king, this is famous for it...

After a roasting day @ Hampi , the night was spent in travelling to a place called Ilukkal & then to Hungund, where we got down at 2 AM - due credits to the stranger who misguided. But thankfully a co-passenger helped us get an accommodation, and I don't even remember if there were any dreams, for all I could see was SLEEP! Badami Cave Temples The next morning started a bit late; we got into a bus and were at Badami only by 10:30. The super-awesomely cut sculptures in all the 4 caves were intricate & beautiful! The designs patterns on the pillars deserve a special mention. Dancing Shiva Shiva & family Ganesha     Vishnu in Vamana Avatara Vishnu in Varaha Avatara Vishnu seated on Aadisesha         These are from Cave-4 & Maheshwari loved the hairstyle of this particular Theerthankara. So did I! Just after doing the caves, we got back down & inquired for the route to Pattadakkal ...