This weekend, I decided to go around Bangalore and few places like a tourist. Though it was not being like true tourist, since I took my own car and didn't go by some tourist bus or KSTDC Bus. By going around in my own car I can make sure that I spend enough time at each spot instead of running from one place to another, just to cover places.
Our plan was to start at 7:00 AM and straight away head towards Mavalli Tiffin Rooms, commonly known as MTR. Have breakfast there, then head towards, Lal Bagh, Bull Temple, Gavi Gangadeshwara Temple, Tipus' palace and then to Bannergatta National Park.
Mavalli Tiffin Rooms Without MTR, Bangalore sight seeing is incomplete , so I think it was good idea to start trip at MTR. Though we had planned to start early but manage to start only at 7:30 AM and reached MTR at around 8:30 AM. On the way to MTR, since we had got late, my only worry was parking. When I reached there , I realized that there are new couple of parking places. One is Gaman Parking Center and there is one more. Gaman charges Rs. 5/- per hour for cars. As soon as we reached, we had to get our name listed in the waiting list. Had to wait for around 30 min before we could get in. Without saying Idly, Upma, and Dosa at MTR was delicious, followed by hot cup of coffee. This time I could not get the regular Rava Idly and I had to content with rice idly.When we got out of MTR, the new people who were coming for breakfast waiting time was around one hour. After MTR, we headed towards Lalbagh Botanical Garden.
Lalbagh Botanical Garden, generally referred as Lalbagh. One of the board in Lalbagh by Department of Horticulture Department, Government of Karnataka writes about Lalbagh as follows:
Lalbagh has been described as a pendant in the necklace of Garden's city parks. Quite appropriately it has also been called as 'Lung' of the teeming metropolis. So breathe long and deep. The oxygen here is free.
Lalbagh is a treasure house of plants. The rich floral wealth of Lalbagh extends over an area of 97 hectares (240 acres) accommodating 1854 species, 673 genera and 890 cultivars of plant.
The star attractions of Lalbagh are the famous Glass House, The Kemple Gowda Tower, The Rock, The Floral Clock, The Statue Garden, The Rosery (The Rose Garden), The Lotus Pond, The Lalbagh Lake, and the Island.
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Our Next Destination was Bull Temple. For more Pictures on Lalbagh please see my Photo Album.
Bull Temple Also known as Nandi Temple is one of the oldest temple in the city. It was build in 1586 by Kempe Gowda (founder of Bangalore City). The 4.6 meters tall and 5.10 meters in length statue, built from a single granite rock is typical example of Dravadian style of architect. It is located in Basvangudi. In Kannada, Basva means Nandi, which explains the name of the locality.
Gavi Gangadeshwara Temple: By the time we came out of Bull temple, it was already 12:30 PM and we have been told that Gavi Gangadeshwara Temple is already closed.Some information which I could gather from internet and people over there. Also known as cave temple, the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Dedicated to Lord Gangadeshwara and Goddess Honnadevi (i.e., Lord Shiva and Parvati), are two well known shrines. It has been designed in such a manner that, on the festival of Sankranti, a local festival, the rays of the sun pass between the horns of the Nandi placed outside the temple, illuminating the image of Lord Shiva. This rare phenomenon occurs generally on 14 / 15 January every year. It attracts large number of devotees. The precision of the event shows advancement in the technical and scientific knowledge of our ancestors. The architect of this temple combines 'Vastukala' with astronomy which gifts the world an amazing phenomenon.
Tipu Sultan’s Palace Transcript from the board in the palace:
This magnificent palace in wood, stone, mortar and plaster was started by Nawab Hyder Ali Khan in 1781 AD., and completed by Tipu Sultan in 1791 AD.. It is situated with in the fort walls of Bangalore, next to the Sri Venkataramana Temple.
Though it seems like a one storied pillared pavilion, it actually a double storied building of symmetrical plan, typical of this style of architecture. Built on a stone plinth, the façade has gigantic fluted pillars in wood with stone bases that support huge wooden beams constituting the structure. Cusped arches and brackets spring off the pillars in typical Indo-Islamic style, painted and polished in two different colors to accentuate the carvings on them.
The walls and wooden ceilings of the entire palace are painted in the floral motifs on madder red surfaces, in muted warm colors, gilded, in great detail and beauty.
The upper chambers and balconies can be accessed by four staircases leading to them. The central portion on the first floor is a large hall leading off to four smaller rooms at its corners. These rooms are considered the Zanana (ladies) quarters. Located on the North and South were the seats of State, where the Sultan held audience and conducted his affairs of State. There is an enclosed private space below this area that houses a museum.
An inscription on a stone found in the palace describes it best as an ‘adobe of Happiness and envy of Heaven’.
Bannerghatta Biological Park Spread over 250 acre (or 100 Sq.
KM), Bannerghatta National Park is home to panthers, tigers (including
white tiger), bison, wild boar, crocodiles, elephants and many more.
Other attractions are Zoo and India’s first Butterfly Park, Elephant
Joy ride, Long and Short Nature walk. Ticket rates are different for
weekdays and holidays and for children, adults and senior citizens. It
is closed on Tuesday. Ticket for Still camera is Rs.20/- and Video
camera is Rs.100/-. As per Safari driver, if we go for safari at around
3:00 PM, there is 100% chance of seeing lions, tigers and panthers,
since this is eating time for them. Always keep change (around Rs.20/-
or as per your discretion) to give as tip to the conductor of the
Safari.
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ISKON Bangalore on the west Chord road, established in 1997 in neo classical style of architecture, also known as Sri Sri Radha Krishna Chandra Temple is the world’s largest ISKON’s largest complex around the world. More about temple at http://iskconbangalore.org. Temple is closed between every day between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM. Best time is to go in the morning. Generally lot of rush during weekends especially in the evenings.
The Cubbon Park, officially known as Sri. Chamarajendra Park, is an historic park spread over area of 100 acres, located in the heart of city in the Central Administrative Area. The park provides sylvan surroundings to the State Legislature building- the Vidhana Soudha, the High Court Buildings – the Attara Kacheri and a number of other organizations located along the periphery and within the park which constitute the Central Administrative Area.
The Cubbon Park has a history of over 100 years. It was established in the year 1870 by Sri John Meade, the then acting Commissioner of Mysore. The vast landscape of the park was conceived by Major General Richard Sankey, the then Chief Engineer of the State. As a mark of honour to Sri John Meade, the park was initially named as "Meade’s Park" and subsequently it was called the Cubbon Park. Since the inception of the park, it was developed and improved by adding new structures and features. In the year 1927, the park was officially renamed as "Sri. Chamarajendra Park" to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Sri. Krishnaraja Wodeyar’s rule in Mysore State.
For more details on Cubbon Park visit http://www.horticulture.kar.nic.in/cubbon.htm.
The Vidhan Soudha is the seat of Karnataka's Legislative assembly. It is one of the most beautiful buildings, not only in Karnataka but also in India. People of Karnataka are is prod of this building. More details of this sites can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vidhana_Soudha and http://www.kar.nic.in/kla/vds.htm.
High Court
State Central Library
Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum
