Travel | Vivek Dhage's Portfolio and Photoblog

Beach Tales

Posted on: February 19th, 2010 in Around Bangalore, Travel, Weekend Trips | 58 views

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Location: Mahabalipuram (Mammalapuram) Beach, Tamil Nadu

The Most Impregnable Fortress in India

Posted on: February 19th, 2010 in Around Bangalore, Travel, Weekend Trips | 48 views

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Gingee Fort also known as Chenji or Jinji in Tamil Nadu, India is one of the few surviving forts in Tamil Nadu, India. So well fortified was this place that Shivaji» ranked it as the “most impregnable fortress in India” and it was called the “Troy of the East” by the British.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gingee_Fort

More From Vivek Dhage's Portfolio and Photoblog

Popularly known as Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj; was a king of medieval India, who laid the foundations of the Maratha Empire.

Eclipse

Posted on: February 18th, 2010 in Around Bangalore, Experiences, Travel, Weekend Trips | 63 views

Date: 15 January 2010. Photographed near Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu during the the longest annular solar eclipse of the millennium, and the longest until December 23, 3043, with a maximum length of 11 mins and 7.8 seconds and a magnitude of 0.9190.

All that you touch
All that you see
All that you taste
All you feel
All that you love
All that you hate
All you distrust
All you save
All that you give
All that you deal
All that you buy
Beg, borrow or steal
All you create
All you destroy
All that you do
All that you say
All that you eat
Everyone you meet
All that you slight
Everyone you fight
All that is now
All that is gone
All that’s to come
And everything under the sun is in tune
But the sun is eclipsed by the moon.
There is no dark side of the moon really.
Matter of fact it’s all dark.

- Pink Floyd – Eclipse

The Glory of Hampi

Posted on: February 4th, 2010 in Around Bangalore, Experiences, Travel, Weekend Trips | 83 views

Hampi (Kannada: hampe) is a village in northern Karnataka state, India. Located within the ruins of Vijayanagara, Hampi is the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the city of Vijayanagara, it continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple, as well as several other monuments belonging to the old city.

As the village is at the original centre of Vijayanagara, it is sometimes confused with the ruined city itself. The ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed as the Group of Monuments at Hampi.

Hampi is identified with the historical Kishkindha, the Vanara (monkey) kingdom which finds mention in the Ramayana. The first historical settlements in Hampi date back to 1 CE.

Hampi formed one of the cores of the capital of the Vijayanagara empire from 1336 to 1565, when it was finally laid siege to by the Deccan Muslim confederacy. Hampi was chosen because of its strategic location, bounded by the torrential Tungabhadra river on one side and surrounded by defensible hills on the other three sides.

The site is significant historically and architecturally. The topography abounds with large stones which have been utilized to make larger than life statues of Hindu deities. A structure of historic importance appears every quarter of a mile.

The Archaeological Survey of India continues to conduct excavations in the area, to discover additional artifacts and temples.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampi