2023 May. I was pleasantly introduced to Bonsai version of Baobab through my friend Pramod Potdar. The miniature Baobab Bonsai was seen at Shukavana, a garden of approximately 2500 bonsai plants. This bonsai garden is a part of Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Ashrama, Mysuru. Pramod had shared pictures of three Baobabs which can be seen at Baobab Bonsai of Shukavana.2024 February. I was on a ..read more

Little more than a month after discovering Baobab trees of Vasai, Vijay Menon discovered the Baobab near Korlai fort. The Baobab is situated next to Revdanda-Murud road. Not sure if this the only Baobab here or if it's more than one.Thanks to Vijay for noticing this living heritage and for sharing its photo.Here's the list of Baobab trees compiled over a few years of research:Hilltop ..read more

At the southeastern end of Bhootnath group is a cave shrine in which have rock-cut relief sculptures, the prominent one being of  Vishnu. Hence this is shrine called Vishnu Gudi. Just above the steps, the small opening between the floor and boulder is the temple entrance. One has to crouch to enter it.Once inside, adults cannot really remain erect because of the low ceiling. We had to remain ..read more

Right besides Bhootnath temple complex is this huge sandstone boulder on which relief sculptures are present.On the northern face are four Shivalinga, two of the Shivalinga have their own Nandi.Closer look at the sculptures. Shivalingas are housed in Garbhagudi, complete with Shikhara.Another view of the northern face. On the extreme left is an image of four-armed standing Vishnu.As we go around ..read more

Situated at one corner of Badami, Bhootnath group receives the least number of visitors. Of the tourists coming here, most are city folks or foreigners since the place is mostly free from hordes, most times it has a peaceful ambiance. The best part is the charm of the waterbody - Agastyatirtha. Then there are young couples looking for privacy find this place convenient. This group consists ..read more

Feb 12th 2024. The wait to meet the great traveler Pramod Potdar ended with his arrival at Dharwad. We met close to Pushpa's workplace, came home, rested for a while and planned to visit Yadwad village to see the sculpture of Chatrapati Shivaji situated inside a Hanuman temple. I was ignorant of this sculpture until Pramod mentioned it.Yadwad is about 16 km north of Dharwad, off ..read more

On the 30th of December 2022, Vijay Menon, my friend from Thane had shared pictures of the Baobab tree at Shirala fort. On the 1st of February 2024, Vijay surprised me with pictures of four Baobab trees at Vasai fort. The fort is situated on the northern side of Vasai creek and the Baobabs are opposite Mandvi Darwaza of Vasai fort. Here are the pictures, I'm very happy to be adding another Baobab ..read more

Chelur is a small town in Tumkur district. A small one but its location is strategic. Basically the town is a junction of five roads and known for it's coconut market. People traveling from Nittur to Sira have to pass through Chelur. I'd driven through it in Jan 2023 while driving from Bhogasandra to Dharwad. The town's commercial significance was obvious. I was ignorant of it's historical ..read more

Right besides Kaidala Chennakesaava Devalaya is Ganagdareshwara Devalaya, a relatively smaller structure. This too is a protected monument.A board planted in front of the temple describes this temple as below:Sri Gangadhareshwara temple, Kaidala, TumkurGangadhareshwara temple on the east of Chennakesavatemple is also of Dravidian style. Its Navaranga has nice pillars of black stone carved in the ..read more

continued from Gangadareshwara Devalaya, Gulur. Our next stop i.e. Kaidala Chennakesava was just 2 km away, about 5 minute drive by car. Since the temple is on the outskirts, we did not enter Kaidala village. Around the temple is plenty of open space and trees. We parked the car under and headed towards the Gopura. Honestly I hadn't expected to see such a well maintained monument. Good work by ..read more