Lakshmi Sharath |
| Posted: 01 Aug 2015 02:45 AM PDT Greetings ! This post is not about a destination or tips or travel tales or lists. It is a about a little perspective on a couple of things – one, on the blog itself, two, on blogging. I have been toying with the idea of an editorial of sorts every month, which gives you a bit of a sneak preview on the content coming up , but I also want to have some conversations with you , my reader on travel in general or my travels in particular or just a little thing that I want to share – could be an idea, a thought, an impression .. One of my readers asked me on facebook today – is blogging a “fair” profession ? Now, I was a little confused. So, I asked him what he meant. He asked me how does one become a top blogger – is it by merit or just luck ? Is it hard work or contacts in the industry ? Now, that got me thinking. In my opinion, any profession for that matter is a bit of both. But then, for most of us, blogging is still an emerging profession. Most people think that bloggers are hobbyists and they get a lot of freebies. The point is every freebie has to be earned. And to earn that, you need credibility and a lot of hard work is required to get that credibility. Yes, it is an industry where standards and ethics are being defined as we speak and what works for one blogger to make it big may not necessarily work for another. So, most of us do what we think works for us and for our audiences and in the meanwhile , we try to keep our juices flowing while working hard at what we do – travelling or cooking or reviewing and networking as well, at the same time. And that brings me back to my blog. In the last ten years my blog has published 850 posts but I have been trying to keep the content fresh by adding a few new themes and properties. Story telling has always been my forte and I have tried to include some tips and lists as well for easy reading. But I would like to launch a couple of new properties from this month onwards. Bangalore this month – Once a month, I will be featuring the city that I live in – could be a story, a travel experience, a piece of history, food or people. It is so easy to forget the city you live in, when you travel and hence I realized I would love to explore in my own backyard as well. Destination of the month – Once a week the blog will feature a destination of my choice – with posts , pictures, videos with a blast on social media . It was Turkey last month …where do you think we will be headed this month ? A monthly special on tips – I have been sharing a few tips with you on a lot of subjects – travel writing, professional blogging, budget travel and I thought I could try and make this a monthly feature. I am no expert but am happy to share what works for me and you can pick and choose from there. Besides this, Madras Day is around the corner, so I will be celebrating the city I grew up in – Chennnai aka Madras . And more lists, road trips and journeys …so pack your bags and travel with me this August to places far and near
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| Ancient capital towns of dynasties in Karnataka – 11 Posted: 31 Jul 2015 03:24 AM PDT India is a land of many cultures and every dynasty has left its mark on it . In Karnataka alone, I traced about ten dynasties and kingdoms and my love for ruins and heritage has taken me to a few of them. In the last post on ancient capital towns of dynasties in Karnataka, we visited Talakadu, the capital of the Gangas, Srirangapatna of Tipu and his father Hyder Ali, Mysore of the Wodeyars, Madikeri of the Haleri Kings and Dwaasamudra of the Hoysalas. Read – Ancient capital towns of dynasties in Karnataka – 1 Today, we visit the most famous and popular tourist destination in Karnataka , Hampi and Anegundi, besides the Chalukyan towns of Badami, Aihole and Pattadakkal Hampi The capital of the Vijaynagar Empire, Hampi, I believe cannot be explored in one lifetime. I have been here at least half a dozen times and yet, I feel I have barely seen anything beyond the tourist circuit. The story of Hampi takes me to Anegundi, the mother kingdom and the mythical Kishkinda of Ramayana where it all began. Two brothers, Harihara and Bukka, whom we have probably studied as Hakka and Bukka escaped from Anegundi as it was under the control of the Delhi Sultan, Muhammad Bin Tughlaq. On the banks of the Tungabhadra, they met a seer, Vidyaranya from the Sringeri Shankaracharya Mutt who guided them to build a town here called Vijaynagar . The brothers with a small army went on to defeat the Sultan and the rest of course is history. But how did Vijaynagar become Hampi ? Read on here ..  One of the many sculptures in Hampi I visited Hampi for the first time in 1995 when I was a student and then I have been going there repeatedly and in one of the many trips I decided to head to Anegundi, where it all began. An old fort, temples, ancient palaces greeted me as I went exploring this historic town. Read – Anegundi – Relics of the past  Gates of Anegundi Badami The ancient capital town of the Chalukyas , Badami is famous for its rock cut cave temples, the structural temples besides the fort and museum. My earliest memory of Badami was in 1995 when I visited it as a student and I went walking around the streets looking for a bell that was worn by cows around their necks. I visited Badami again a couple of years ago along with Aihole and Pattadakal and was completely taken in by these monuments which were built centuries ago.  People entering Badami Caves Badami or Vatapi as it was called was founded by Pulekeshi 1 who built the fort and the caves were constructed by his sons, Kirtivarman 1 and Mangalesha but the greatest ruler was Pulekeshi 11 who engaged in constant wars with the Pallavas. Vatapi is immortalised in a classical Carnatic song dedicated to Ganesha, as " Vatapi Ganapathim Bhaje " . Legends say that the sculpture of Ganesha was brought from Vatapi by the Pallavas who defeated the Chalukyas in one of the battles and it is now in Thanjavur. But the myth around the name " Vatapi" takes us down to the Puranic era where, the sage Agasthya killed the Asura or demon Vatapi by devouring and digesting him. Read here – The caves of Badami  A woman looks down from the caves However personally for me it was Aihole which was breathtaking . Out of the 125 temples here , we start with the Durga temple. The temple built between the 7th-8th centuries by the Chalukyas . Ironically it is not dedicated to Goddess Durga, but takes the name after "Durg" or fortress which may have referred to the proximity of the fort that was around . Built in a fusion of Dravidian and Nagara styles of architecture, the temple's apsidal design is also referred to as "Gajaprasta" referring to the shape of an elephant's back. But it was not just the shrines. Walking around the streets, I would be lost in a monument here and there. Sometimes old homes jostled with space with a cave temple. The village seemed to morph into this little site filled with monuments that were built centuries ago. It was simply overwhelming. You did not need to know the story or the history , but just being there was a great feeling.  Aihole – Durga Temple Get a visual high on Aihole with these virtual trips Temples of Aihole – A photofeature – 1 Temples of Aihole – A photofeature – 2 If you visit Badami and Aihole, then you cannot leave without heading to Pattadankal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. What fascinated me about Pattadankal was the fact that queens here commemorate their husbands’ victories by building tempes. Read – Pattadakal, where queens built temples
The connection with Pallavas and Kanchipuram has been around since the beginning and apparently the largest temple here – Virupaksha was inspired by the Kanchipuram Kailasanatha Temple  Mallikarjuna temple – built by another queen The list does not end here. I have visited Malked of the Rashtrakutas and Bijapur of the Adil Shahi Dynasty. But I still need to visit Banavasi of the Kadambas, Bidar and Belgaum. Can you add anymore towns to this list that have lost in the eons of time ?
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