outings in and around Bengaluru: November 2010

Thursday, November 25, 2010

check out this give away by "fortheloveoffashionandotherthings"

fortheloveoffashionandotherthings is having 1 of her give aways which is a sony ericsson mob... Its open to all residing in India...

For more info on how to participate check out the link below

http://fortheloveoffashionandotherthings.blogspot.com/2010/11/big-fat-sony-ericsson-giveaway.html

Friday, November 19, 2010

Big Banyan Tree ( Dod Aladamara )

on the way

it was a beautiful day... perfect for a long drive :-)) ... wide roads... good view..

many nursery (plants) on the way... if you are a plant lover then must look around...

finally we reached Big Banyan Tree :-)) ...

watch out for monkey's (if they are hungry and see some food in your hand then might try to grab it from you) and dogs (they were very nice just wagging their tails for some food)....

on our way back from Big Banyan Tree

ABOUT:
As the name suggests, its a pretty huge banyan tree... Its a typical park...
Nice place to unwind and skip all the city buzz and pollution...
A familiar setting for many romantic movie sequences....
Maintained by a public sector bank..
The tree is about 400-year's-old & it seems to have reached the end of its life span as they have not maintained that well.... This is the fourth largest banyan tree in India... As any typical banyan tree does it spreads over the years and so has this one, its spread out widely with several aerial roots or prop roots...To support the growth of the tree the prop roots are given support as they reach the ground. There are around 400 to 500 prop roots growing on this tree....With number of such roots spread out, the tree covers an area of three to four acres.... The entire tree area is fenced and one can walk alongside the labyrinth of roots, which create a cool, shady environment....
It is believed that the tree is symbolic of the trinity with the roots representing Brahma, the stems and the bark representing Vishnu and the branches symbolising Maheshwara...The Banyan Tree has its place in Buddhism as well as Lord Buddha attained his enlightenment under a Bodhi Tree which is also a Banyan Tree of the species Sacred Fig...
There is also a small Shiva / Lord Muneshwara temple in the enclosure...

LOCATION:
Ramohalli, 25 to 28 kms South-East bound from the City...
Situated in Kethohalli village..

ROUTE:
You can reach the spot either from Kumbalgod on Mysore Road or from Chennenahalli on Magadi Road....
OR
Drive on Mysore Road beyond Kengeri, take a deviation to the right at Kumbalagod junction and proceed for seven kms. If approaching from Magadi Road, turn left at a spot with a clear indication between Tavarekere and Chennenahalli, and continue for about six kms...
OR

Drive down Mysore road and take a right turn near Raja Rajeshwari Dental College.. Country club is also situated on this road. Continue to drive until you reach the Big Banyan Tree..

Many buses reach the place from the City...

HAS:
Upon reaching the place you will find a few small snack shops and roadside vendors, hotels including Hotel Mayura belonging to the KSTDC that come to view as one drives into the place.. So no need to worry about food & water unless you are specific in eating....

ENTRY: Is free... Wont be charged for camera, etc...

NOTE: Watch out for the monkey's....

Saturday, November 6, 2010

BANGALORE Palace

ABOUT:

BANGALORE PALACE, built in 1887, belongs to the “Wodeyars” , they are considered to be the real kings of Mysore. And the Wodeyars have three palaces, the Bangalore Palace, the Mysore Palace, and Fern Hill Palace in Ooty. This Bangalore Palace was built using Windsor Castle as the model… Its surrounded by a huge garden which was once very beautiful now due to lack of care its holding on by a thread...

I went by car to the palace… Nowadays it’s so easy to get directions from Google Earth… Reached their about 11am & as always I was 1 of the early birds… Upon entering, the first thing that really took my breath was the head of the elephant, it was pretty HUGE!!!...

Earlier, guides would take the visitors around but now they have modernized their system… Each individual is given a device and a headphone..

You wear the earpiece and a pre recorded narration you shall hear… Its available in a couple languages. You have to give them an identity proof or else 2000/- Rs as a refundable deposit for the gadget, (per group 1 deposit)…They will also guide you on how to use the machine… It’s really easy…

You will find numbers on the walls and according to that press the number on the gadget and just listen to the narration…

Best part is all the guards are outside the palace so no 1 will follow you around (I totally hate that) but there are cameras everywhere...

So don’t think you’re not been watched…

The full palace takes you back into into history and tells you about what the kings did back then till the present king…

We had no idea but at the ending route we came to know that some puja was been done and we could also look… At the end of puja everyone was taking the blessing of someone and thats when I noticed that the present king was right there in front of me… You can easily spot him as all the serious guys dressed in grey suits were near, I guess they were his security guards…

Finally we reached the exit & as usual the crowd started… Four groups entered then ..

Another juicy info for all the movie buffs out their..

Those of you who have seen Chandramukhi movie will understand what I'm trying to say... Many room were rented for shooting of this movei. The palace was rented out for about Rs. 1.5 lakhs... The dance master's house is actually a quarter for officers to stay which cannot be seen now by the public, they have closed it and its private now... Chandramukhi's room is actually the King’s room and from one of the windows, is where Jyothika looks in to the dance master’s (Vineeth’s house), we could not make out exactly which window it was as they were shut...

I recognized the stairs they show in the movie, which leads to actress's (Chandramukhi) room... In reality, this set of stairs and the room where Malavikha faints and falls are at a distance from Chandramukhi's room... Now the staircase path is filled with paintings (they are exotic ones and its only exit path so you have to go through it, this passage was a bit uncomfortable for me)... We could not find a particular door (which has all those sacred threads and is opened by a long key, that leads to Chandramukhi room) & upon asking we found out that it was a set that was placed in front of the original door for the shooting... I don't know why they did that... Apart from the door thing, the rooms are real it seems.

WHEN TO GO:

Any time for the month is fine…

DO'S: Make time... It will take about 2 to 3hrs to check out the full palace...
Best to leave luggage in vehicle..

DON'TS: Don't make loud noise..
Don't touch the paintings..

TIMINGS:

10:00 am to 5:30pm

open on all days except Sunday, but still best to call up and visit.

ENTRY FEES:

The cost per person is 175/- (Indians) , 350/- (foreigners)

500/- (for camera)
1000/- (for video camera)

NOTE: Food, beverages are not permitted inside

ADDRESS: