World of Books and Travel

Last week we had a week end trip from Bangalore to Kanchipuram, one of the seven sacred cities of India. Kanchipuram is also known as  the City of Temples and the Silk City, located in Tamil Nadu, South India.  Kanchipuram is a historical, cultural and religious city located on the banks of  River Vedavadi. Kanchipuram (Kancheepuram) is also one of the most important spiritual centres of Hinduism and a major pilgrim destination.  The ancient temples located here are built by Pallava and Chola kings.  Getting into Kancheepuram -  Kanchipuram can be accessed by train, bus, and car. From Chennai, it is only 75 kms away and from Bangalore 278 kms. We went by car and it took us nearly 4 hours. The roads were excellent and the drive was pleasant. Accommodation - We had booked our accommodation in  Pine Tree, one of the good hotels in Kanchipuram. We had a comfortable stay in Pine Tree. On reaching there we enquired about visiting the temples; they h...

We made a sudden plan for a short trip to  Lepakshi Temple in Ananthapur Dist of Andhra Pradesh. It was a weekend, and it happened to be on a Sankranthi Festival Day.  We left early morning by 7.00 from Bangalore. It was a foggy morning and the drive was pleasant. We  took 3 hours to reach there which is inclusive of our break for breakfast on the way. First we stopped at the huge monolithic Nandi, and clicked some snaps. This structure is carved out of a single granite with finely carved ornaments, and smooth contours.   The colossal structure is 27ft in length and 15 ft in height and is the largest monolithic of Nandi in India. After a few feet away, lies the main ancient Lepakshi temple on a rocky hill. Veerabhadra Swamy temple at Lepakshi  was built in 16th century by two brothers (Virupanna and Veeranna) during the period of King Aliya Rama Raya of Vijayanagar kingdom.   The temples of Papanatheswara, Raghunatha, Srirama, Veerabha...