Incredible India - Video of Karnataka Temples in Belur and Halebidu

#SridharPeddisetty #IncredibleIndia #Karnataka #Temples #Historic #WorldHeritageSites #Heritage #Hindu #Belur #Halebidu #PlacestoVisit
As part of Incredible India series, this video is of Temples in Belur and Halebidu in Hasana district of Karnataka, India.

Incredible India - Bird Watching

As part of Incredible India series, this post is for some incredible birds seen in India.










 
As part of Incredible India series, I had earlier shared blog posts on Karnataka Road Trip, Qutub Minar, Golconda Fort, Humayun's Tomb & Temples in Delhi. 

Incredible India - Humayun's Tomb

As part of Incredible India series, this post is for Humayun's Tomb located in New Delhi, India. 

Humayun's tomb is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun who was born on 1508 AD and died in 1556 AD. Humayun was the son of Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur, the first Mughal Emperor and father of the great Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar. 

Humayun's tomb is the first colossal monumental mausoleum and considered to be an early masterpiece that was to decisively influence the design of the later Taj Mahal, the high point of Mughal architecture. Tomb was commissioned by Humayun's first wife Bega Begum in 1569-70, and designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyas, a Persian architect chosen by Bega Begum. When Humayun had died in 1556, Bega Begum was so grieved over her husband's death that she dedicated her life thenceforth to a sole purpose: the construction of the most magnificent mausoleum in the Empire, at a site near the Yamuna River in Delhi for the memorial of the late Emperor. 




Humayun's tomb is open on all days including Mondays when most of the other historical monuments are closed. Its not usually crowded and is a must see place when visiting Delhi. Place is spread out, well maintained and atmosphere very serene considering the traffic chaos just outside. Its a majestic place and a delight for photographers and history buffs.



 
As part of Incredible India series, I had earlier shared blog posts on Karnataka Road Trip, Qutub Minar & Golconda Fort. 

Incredible India - Qutub Minar

As part of Incredible India series, this post is for Qutub Minar, which is located in New Delhi, India. 

Qutub Minar is a 73 m-high tower built in 1193 by Qutab-ud-din Aibak. Tower has five distinct storeys & measures from 15 m diameter at base to 2.5 m at top. It is considered among the tallest & famous towers in the world and has some incredible carvings. 

Qutub Minar is made of red sandstone and marble with intricate carvings and verses from the Qur'an. The stairs of the tower has 379 steps leading to the top but a stampede of school children and presently for security reasons, visitors are not allowed up the stairway. If you wanna understand how Qutub Minar is from inside then you can watch this beautiful song from one of the old hindi (bollywood) movie featuring Dev Anand and Nutan in the movie 'Tere Ghar Ke Samne'.    

Inside the complex, there is the iron pillar which is said to have stood the test of time without getting rusted. The pillar has attracted the attention of archaeologists and materials scientists and has been called "a testament to the skill of ancient Indian blacksmiths" because of its high resistance to corrosion. The height of the pillar, from the top of its capital to the bottom of its base, is 7.21 m (23.7 ft), 1.12 m (3 ft 8 in) of which is below ground

Qutub Minar is a short auto rickshaw ride (~ ₹40) from either metro stations Saket or Qutab Minar and is conveniently located and easily accessible via public transport. 

Place has been well preserved considering it was built around 12th century and surrounding place also kept neat. These photos were taken on a very cold winter day during noon so the fog is visible in the snaps. On a clear day, I am sure this place is a photographer's delight with so many spots to take some amazing pictures of this glorious structure that has stood for so many centuries. 

It certainly is one of the must visit world heritage sites in the world and an incredible, breathtaking experience. 

Incredible India - Karnataka RoadTrip

India has so much to offer in terms of incredible world heritage sites and it was a privilege to visit couple of them (Halebidu and Belur) recently.  

Took a roadtrip from Bangalore to Hassan via NH 48 covering 215 kilometers taking approximately 4 hours to reach Halebidu. Drive is beautiful and the road conditions excellent.

Halebidu (Reference Wikipedia) is located in Hassan District, Karnataka, India. Halebidu (which was previously called Dorasamudra or Dwarasamudra) was the regal capital of the Hoysala Empire in the 12th century. It is home to some of the best examples of Hoysala architecture. Most notable are the Hoysaleswara and Kedareswara temples, which are lord Shiva’s temples.
In Belur (Reference Wikipedia) is the Chennakeshava temple complex which contains the Chennakesava Temple (dedicated to Chennakeshava, meaning handsome Vishnu) as the centre piece, surrounded by the Kappe Chennigraya temple built by Shantaladevi, queen of kingVishnuvardhana.

It is very difficult to describe in words how poetic the stone carvings are and the perfection with which each sculpture is given life. In front of each temple, there are monolithic Nandi statues 

One can find Mahabharatha epic depicted in the scultpures, which is really amazing. It includes the one depicting Arjuna fighting with Bheeshma while Krishna is the charioteer and under the same, depiction of Bheesham lying on the bed of arrows. 

You can also see in the pictures, a sculpture of a young couple in which the head of the young woman is of a donkey, which according to our guide depicts that when in love, even a donkey headed girl looks beautiful.