Wildlife enthusiast, fascinated by avian world and consumed by wanderlust.
Search This Blog
Blue city wonders - Jodhpur - I
The blue hues of the city is due to its vivid blue-painted houses around the Mehrangarh Fort often perceived from an aerial view from the fort.
The colossal Mehrangarh Fort
Blue city as seen from the fort
The city has to offer a very few but fascinating attractions, first of which we explored was the Mandore gardens. It is often neglected and skipped by many tourists, but i feel it is one of the must visit if you are an aesthete.
Mandore Gardens
Inside the Mandore Garden there are cenotaphs, built with red sandstone in the style of Hindu temple instead of the typical of Rajasthani chhatri-shaped cenotaphs. Some of them are four stories high.
Mandore Gardens
Mehrangarh fort & Palace:
The next day morning we were most excited to visit the mighty Mehrangarh fort, we started early and took the trek route instead of the usual roadway, so that we could enjoy the views of the fort and the city at various altitudes.
Mehrangarh fort
After reaching the fort gate had some refreshments which was very much required after the short trek.
Main entrance of the fort
There is an elevator available next to the ticket counter which takes you directly to the Palace, much advisable to buy a one-way ticket. Unlike the Jaisalmer fort this one is completely inhabited and is under the maintenance of the fort authorities.
The fort stands on a hill with its tall standing walls over 100 feet in height, originally started in 1459 by Rao Jodha. The fort consists of interconnected network of palaces, courtyards and halls. Most prominent among them are the Sheesh Mahal, Phool Mahal, Takhat vilas and Moti Mahal, which are not to be missed,
The first one we came across was the Sheesh mahal or the “The Hall of Mirrors”. It was then Maharaja Ajit Singh’s bed chamber, decorated with mirror work.
Ravishing interiors of the Sheesh Mahal
The Phool Mahal or “The Palace of Flowers” was the Hall of private audience built during 1724-49 AD. Watch out for its ceiling in gold filigree & mirror, its stained glass windows, and paintings on its walls, which makes it the grandest room of the Mehrangarh palace.
Phool Mahal
Gold filigree ceiling of Phool Mahal
Further inside the palace is the Takhat vilas, which is the bedchamber of the king Takhat singh. The room is decorated on its walls, ceilings, columns and even its floor.
Takhat Vilas
Jhanki Mahal, where the royal Cradles and Jhulas are kept
Each of these Mahal's are connected through wide open courtyards with exquisite sculptured windows, Jharokas, Jali screens and walls.
One of the beautiful courtyards inside the Palace
Then comes the Moti Mahal or “The Palace of Pearls”, which is one of the oldest rooms in the fort built by Sawai Raja Sur Singh during sixteenth century. The lime plaster used to build the hall is mixed with finely crushed shells, to give the surfaces of the room a pearl-like luster, hence the name Moti Mahal. Another interesting feature of this hall is the five secret balconies on its right wall, they were meant for the queen's and royal ladies to listen to the proceedings in the hall without being noticed.
The ceiling of which is delightfully embellished with mirror and gilt and the doorways with colorful glass windows.
Moti Mahal
At the end is the Zenana enclosure for the queens and ladies of the royal family.
Queens apartments, Zenana enclosure
Once exiting the palace take the right which takes you through the ramparts of the fort with the canons protecting the fort then, overlooking the blue city below.
Canons along the ramparts of the fort
Ramparts of the fort
The Mehrangarh is one of the best preserved monument and largest fortification found in India, definitely the best attraction of Rajasthan.
Mehrangarh Palace through the entrance
No wonder why so many Bollywood and Hollywood movies were shot here including the blockbuster The Dark Knight rises
Mehrangarh Fort Information:
Opening Times: 9am to 5pm, daily
Best Time to Visit: Aug to Feb
Duration: Half day
Explored By: Foot
Micromax Superfone Canvas 2 A110(Jet Black/Calm White): After using it for a week, I felt pretty good about my decision for going with a new brand like Micromax over the mighty Samsung Galaxy S Duos and Sony Tipo Dual. Particularly not sure about its reliability but the build quality looks pretty decent. Below are my ratings for the phone aka Phablet. Build Quality (8/10): The build quality was above my expectations keeping in mind of the price tag, from front it looks just like a Galaxy high end smartphone like SIII or Note II. It has a matte finished back cover which is good for protection towards scratches and there is a metal casing all around the phone, which adds up the beauty of the phone. One more advantage of this phone is it has a touch home button instead of a hard button as seen in iPhone and Galaxy phones. Camera (5/10): [8MP autofocus (Tap to Focus), dual flash, supports up to 3264x2448 pixels, Panorama] Don't fall for the specs as it is said...
Madanikas of Belur Chennakeshava temple: Most popular feature of Belur is its Shilabalike’s or the Bracket figures of different dance forms. Various poses of Madanika's at the Belur Chennakeshava temple. There are 42 Madanikas or Bracket figures on the corner out of which 38 are outside the temple and four are inside the temple. Each figure attracts on its own merits. They represent beautiful damsels in various moods representing feminine charm and grace, this perhaps are one of the best creations of the Hoysala sculptors of the Belur temple. There are a total of 40 pillars on the outer walls, each with a bracket figure of dancing girls (38 in total on outer walls). These sculptures are finely proportioned and exceedingly ornamented. Actual placement of the Madanika's op top of the columns Out of the 38 Madanikas on the outer walls, I've written a photologue on 25 and all the 4 interior Madanikas. Each one of these Madaniks are given a number to r...
Interiors of Belur Chennakeshava temple: Originally the interior received much daylight, but the added screens make it dark and mysterious. The interior of the temple consisting of a garbhagriha, Sukhanasi, navaranga and a mandapa takes us to a new world of sculptures with lathe turned pillars of various designs. The central square of the navaranga has four pillars decorated with bracket figures atop. These bracket figures are remarkably of superior workmanship in conception and execution. The Navaranga has raised verandah's on both sides of the three entrances. Sufficient space has been left out in the central hall (Navaranga) for musical performances and Puja (worship) ceremonies by large numbers of devotees and others. Sculptures on the entrance of Garbhagriha Pillars: There are a total of 48 pillars, while the four central pillars have been hand churned, the others had been lathe turned. One of the four Pillar's at the central square of the ...
How to update Micromax A110 Canvas 2 to V3 ROM: I've just updated my canvas 2 to Jelly Bean official update from Micromax. Before you proceed I would like to make sure that this site is nowhere guaranteed for your successful upgrade and we are nowhere responsible for any claims. This is just a tried and tested genuine way to upgrade to Jellybean only for Micromax Canvas 2 A110 users. Software release notes (from Micromax ftp site): 1. Operating system is upgraded from ICS to Jelly bean. 2. M! Store is removed. 3. New wallpapers are integrated. 4. Software is backward compatible with old TP available (BYD Make). Here is what you can do by yourself and it is simple too. First of all take a complete backup of your data, you can use the following tools from the play.google.com 1. App Backup & Restore: to backup all your apps as apk files which will store them on mnt\sdcard2\ app_backup_restore 2. G Cloud Backup from GENIE9: It c...
Chennakeshava temple of Belur: Some facts about the Chennakeshava Temple: Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana defeated the Cholas at Talakad & to commemorate this great event built many temples in 1117 A.D., of which Chennakeshava temple at Belur is the most important & beautiful , dedicated to Keshava one of the 24 forms of Vishnu. Although the temple was completed by Narasimha, it took over 103 years to finish the structure. Though the legends assign this temple to have been built by Jakanachari, as per the inscriptions the master builders of this temple are Dasoja and his son Chavana, other sculptors include Chikka-Hampa, Malliyana, Padari Malloja, Masada and Nagoja who bestowed their best in creating this masterpiece. Chennakeshava Temple, Belur Back to the travelogue: Most important aspect of these Belur Halebeedu temples is that Chennakeshava temple is famous for beautiful and intricate interiors and Hoysaleshwara temple is famous for the magnificent sculpture...
Comments
Post a Comment