THE ISHA FOUNDATION IN CHIKKABALLAPUR NEAR BANGALORE

Ahead of CHIKKABALLABUR on the Bangalore to Chikkaballapur turning left into the hills is the establishment called the ISHA FOUNDATION. It seems to me to be of recent origin and under the aegis of the SADGURU trust.

It is unique in many ways.. Point one it is set within a circular entrapment of hills. Point two it basically houses a modern day SHAIVITE SHRINE. Point three in the evenings there is a light show which shows nicely the various aspects of the deity.

There are good eat-outs that adorn this place. The entire lights here would be switched off during the light show and it would be preferable to be seated during the entire show any mis-adventure to walk in the darkness especially along the fringes of the seating area can result in accidental fall or trippings.

BANGALORE METRO PINK LINE INAGUARATION

 

BHOGANANDISHWARA TEMPLE AT THE FOOT OF NANDI HILLS NEAR CHIKKABALLAPUR

 

OH GORIYARE HINDI SONG

 

HINDI SONG GORIYA RE

 

THE ELEGANT TWO TIER BMTC BUS STAND AT YESHWANTPUR IN BANGALORE

 

One of the elegant bus stops of BMTC is the Yeshwantpur bus stand. It basically has two tiers an underground tier and the one on the surface. Both have well laid out routes pertaining to various destinations and stairs to go from one tier to the other.

When bus stands are constructed in the city the same model can be implemented largely for its compactness. The Yeshwantpur BMTC bus stand also houses administrative buildings and a large parking lot on one end. In next generation bus stops using this model escalators can be provided for crowd movement and the outfit could also be air-conditioned.

NANDI HILL DE-MYSTIFIED

 

NANDI HILL  is a hill formation close to the city of Bangalore and in many ways can be called BANGALORE HILL. The word NANDI refers to the NANDI bull of LORD SHIVA and this place has a very ancient SHAIVITE shrine. Technically it is taller than the CHAMUNDI HILL in Mysore.

It is definitely a modern day tourist attraction of this part of the world  with forests and parks atop. The unique aspect of the NANDI HILL is that it is surrounded by many such hill formations. The SATHYA SAI HOSPITAL institution building can be seen very clearly from the top of the hill which is at a place called MUDDENAHALLI and this village called MUDDENAHALLI is also the birth place of SIR M VISHWESHWARIAH. For all practical purposes it can be said that SIR M VISHWESHWARIAH  was born near to the NANDI HILLS.

NANDI HILL must be some 35kms from Bangalore. 25kms from Bangalore on the CHIKKABALLAPUR HIGHWAY (on Bellary Road)  there is the  Nandi cross junction from where on turning left  some ten kilometres ahead is the NANDI HILL. DODDABALLAPUR  and CHIKKABALLAPUR are twin towns   created by the monarchy of yore and  are adjacent to each other.

In the THIRD MYSORE WAR LORD CORNWALLIS seized this hill. He must have moved Cannons on the motor way up the hill and used Cannon fire to break upon the Fort gates. The modern day Bangalore is much cooler in and around the hill  than the Bangalore city plains attracting people both in the present and the past to this bastion. The hill and its activities are controlled by KSTDC Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation.

Let us see how modern day NANDI HILL looks like. Basically it refers to the plains on the top of the hill which has  some 30 acres of land to my understanding  with low ascent and is motorable. On entering the fort gates is a red building which used to be the palace and residence of rulers. Just behind this building is a lake which was renovated by the MYSORE kings.On driving upwards some one kilometer or slightly more is a place today called CIRCLE. Adjacent to this circle are many decent hotels and eat-outs. Adjacent to the CIRCLE is the ancient SHAIVITE shrine the most important component of this place..Just behind the shrine is a deep rocky descent which leads to a place called drop-point where prisoners were dropped to their deaths by the rulers. On the right of the CIRCLE  is a Victorian style park called the GANDHI PARK.

I have seen YERCAUD in SALEM in TAMIL NADU. What would be the similarity between NANDI HILL and YERCAUD. The most important factor is both of them are on the EASTERN GHAT ROCK FORMATIONS. But the key difference is the surface area of YERCAUD on the top must be twenty times that of the NANDI HILLS.

When  you visit NANDI HILLS it would be ideal to be part of  some organised  Tourist Services or your own mode of transport like car or two wheeler ;  any other  method carries high risk of getting forlorn and lost some-where in this part of the world.