Rat temple of Deshnok

There is a small town in Rajastan called Deshnok, which is 30 KM from Bikaner town.  This place is famous for something unusual – A rat temple!

There is a temple called Karni Mata Temple in this town. There are more than 20,000 rats in this temple. I have never seen so many rats in a single place in my life! Not even in the animal house of my college or in the R&D wing of my company! The temple is dedicated to Goddess Karni, who is regarded as the incarnation of Maa Durga.

I am posting  some of the pictures taken in this temple here:

A treasure house in ruins!

Yes! The Ghanpur group of temples is a treasure house of 13th century which now lies in total neglect!

The temple complex is falling and it is in shambles. But if you take a close look at the fallen structures, you can find numerous sculptures of outstanding quality! It is absolutely pathetic to see this group of temples deteriorating day by day. At this rate, in a few years from now, nothing will be left of these great temples!

The scattered ruins of the Ghanpur Temple complex is locally known as Kotagullu and now it looks like a huge open air museum, with crumbling structures and scattered sculptures!

The Ghanpur group of temples was supposedly built by Ganapati Deva of Kakatiya dynasty in the early 13th century.

Kakatiya dynasty was a great patron of architecture with very similar architectural style as that of Hoysalas. In this region they have built several temples with superb sculptures. 

Ghanpur, once the citadel of power of the mighty Kakatiya dynasty, was plundered during the invasion of the Giyasuddin Tughlaq in 1323.

The main Shiva Temple at the centre is the prime attraction and it is built on a high star shaped platform. The roof of the temple has long collapsed!

It is pathetic to see a sole Nandi (bull) at the centre of the courtyard which would have witnessed the glorious days of this temple. 

I understand that this temple was built for lord Shiva. The main shrine contains exotic freezes, including a intricately curved granite door frame leading to the inner sanctum. The walls contain several sandstone freezes of elephant and lotus.

There is a mandapam (hall) on the South side. The roof of this mandapam has survived the test of time and remains precariously balanced on tumbling pillars! 

Each of the pillars consists of three sections, consisting of square, octagonal and circular parts. Some of the squared sections contain sculptured panels.

The complex also contains several other structures, including the six minor Shiva Temples at the entrance.

The entire complex is littered with large slabs of sandstones, several of which contain intricately carved freezes.

This place requires the immediate attention of Archeological Survey of India. If a renovation is not done immediately, we will surely lose this group of temples!

This place is located about 65 km South West of Warangal. 

Somnathpur Chennakesava Temple

Somnathpur, which is around 25 KM from Mysore, was earlier under the rule of Cholas of Tamil Nadu. It was conquered by Hoysala Vishnuvardhana in 1117 AD. Subsequently it became a part of Karnataka.

The Chennakesava Temple / Chennakeshava Temple located at Somanathapur is one of the finest example of Hoysala architecture. The temple was built by Soma, (commander in 1268 C.E.) under Hoysala king Narasimha III, when the Hoysala Empire was the major power in South India.

This temple was built 151 years after The Chenna Kesava temple of Belur (1117 C.E.)  There are three shrines in this temple and this temple is not under worship now. It is under the care of Archeological Society of India. This is a Vaishnava temple and there are no depictions of any forms of the Hindu god Shiva.

The temple stands on a platform and has three towers. This temple is the last, and best-preserved, of the major Hoysala temples. Entire carvings in this temple are made of soapstone. They are preserved reasonably well. As usual Archeological Society of India (ASI) is doing a wonderful job of keeping the premises clean. Of all the governments departments in India, I am a great fan of ASI as they preserve all the monuments under their care very well with the shoestring budget under their command!

There is something interesting for philatelists also here. There is a post box outside the temple and if you post letters in that box you will get a special cancellation! 

Toli Masjid - Hyderabad

Toli Masjid or Damri Masjid is a mosque built in the year 1671 in the Karvan area of Hyderabad. It is between Golkonda Fort and the Charminar. This is a protected monument and declared as a heritage monument by Archeological Survey of India. After Mecca Masjid this mosque is considered as a grand architectural structure at Hyderabad.

They say that when the royal architect was building Mecca Masjid, he was given one damri/damdi (coin) out of every rupee spent on it. The sum of money thus collected was used by Musa Khan to construct the Toli Masjid. Hence, this masjid is also called Damri Masjid.

The mosque is on a raised platform. It has a series of steps on the east, north and south. The prayer hall of the mosque is located to the west of the courtyard. The Masjid is decorated with beautiful stuccowork. On the south east of the courtyard, there is a tomb of Musa Khan. The mosque is also a prominent landmark of this region owing to its location close to the road and is one of the major landmarks in Karwan region of old city.

Megnificient Mosque of Hyderabad, India

Standing between Chowmahalla Palace and the iconic Charminar, Mecca Masjid is equally a magnificent structure as its neighbors! It is the biggest and the most spectacular mosque in Hyderabad and one of the biggest mosques in India. It is so big that it can accommodate ten thousand people at a time for prayer. 

The entire mosque is built of granite stones. It was built by Muhammad Quli Qutub, the fifth ruler of the Qutub Shahi family. This is named after the Grand Mosque of Mecca at Saudi Arabia. 

According to history, Sultan Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah began the construction of Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad under the guidance of Choudhary Rangaiah and Daroga Mir Faizullah. The construction was completed by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1694 after 77 years and seven thousand workers were involved in the construction of this mosque. They say that some of the stones were brought from the Holy land of Mecca for its construction and hence the name.

The prayer hall is decorated with most expensive crystal chandeliers imported from Belgium. They are kept covered on normal days and the covers are removed on special occasions only.  

This mosque has two ablution ponds one at the front and the other at the northern side of the mosque. There is a separate entrance on the southern side of the mosque for Nizams to enter the mosque. It is believed that a strand of Prophet Mohammed’s hair is preserved in a room in the mosque courtyard.  

Inside the mosque, there are 5 passageways and tombs of the rulers belonging to the ‘Asaf Jahi’ dynasty. Ancient and rare artifacts and relics are treasured in a room located in the courtyard. 

Reclaimed temple

The main temple at Alampur - a small town about 23 Km from Kurnool Telangana is very unique. Unique because this temple has the distinction of being built TWICE from the foundation! 

During 7th – 8th century, the Chalukya Kings built this temple for Lord Shiva and called it Sangameshwar temple on the banks of the river Tungabhadra. This temple is a wonderful collection of some outstanding sculptures. 

When the Srisailam Dam was about to be built across Tungabadhra river, it was certain that this 7th century temple would be submerged in the waters of the catchment area of the dam. It was then the Archeological Survey of India came out with the brilliant idea of uprooting the entire temple from its original place of construction and rebuilding it far away in a safer place so that this wonderful temple could be saved for posterity! 

This was a herculean task for ASI. Whole temple was divided into several thousand blocks and each block was systematically marked. Then each block was carefully cut and all these blocks were marked and then transported to the new site. Superb care was taken to see that nothing was damaged during the cutting process or during the transportation. After extensive documentation of each block they were transported to the new site – the present one – which is 25 kms from its original place. Elaborate planning and care was involved in the transportation of these pieces. 

Once the entire temple was transplanted to the new site the reconstruction work began. It was now the extensive documentation they have made was put to its best use. Again piece by piece the entire temple was reconstructed from the foundation. Today what we see as Sangamesvarasvami temple was actually the one reconstructed by ASI. 

This involved work of gigantic proportions very similar to that carried out to Abu Simbel in Egypt! Thus the entire temple was reconstructed which was exactly same as it stood in its original place. After the reconstruction work was over they chemically washed all the markings and nothing is visible today.

Today Alampur Sangamesvarasvami temple stands as a testimony to the great skill and expertise that is available with our Archeological Survey of India.