Finally I made up my mind to visit kolar after so much
obstructions in past. I had plans to go by bike however it would be too much
tiring with hot sun out. If it was a four wheeler then it really makes sense
for me. So how did it start? On
19-Feb-2012, I started around 9:30 AM from majestic and reached Kolar around
11:15AM. My goodness, got bus early. I
could have taken the bus from KR-Puram however I would end up not getting seat. Same thing happened though as bus entered KR-Puram. The day was crystal clear
and non hazy which makes it ideal environment for photography.
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| ROCK HILLS NEAR KOLAR |
So what are the spots I visited? Through the blogs I read
about Antaragange, Kolaramma temple and Someshwara temple. My primary intention
was to visit these places and later ask the locals for others. As I alighted in
Kolar bus stop, caught up an auto-rickshaw for 200 rupees to make me visit the
places. This included waiting charges too. The driver of auto-rickshaw was
polite and answered to my curious questions patiently. His name is Azim.
Antaragange is 4km from Kolar bus stop. It is in middle of rock hill. You need to
climb around 100 steps to reach there. On the way you can find lots of monkeys
so beware if you are exposing any eatables! (Better carry a long stick) As per
driver, government feeds monkeys with MUDDE (a solid food made of raagi) every
day (not sure about frequency).
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| ANTARAGANGE ENTRANCE |
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| STEPPING TOWARDS ANTARAGANGE |
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| BEWARE OF MONKEYS |
The main attraction here is the water coming
out from small outlet. It is believed that water comes from Ganga
(not sure about mythology behind). There are three temples here. One is Ganesha
temple in middle of small pond, the other is shiva temple while another is
Navagraha temple. There are Nandi idols near the outlet where water comes out.
It seems the water flows round the clock and 365 days in a year. There has been
no instance of water being stopped flowing as per driver’s explanation. You
could see people carrying loads of can to fill it with the flowing water.
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| TEMPLE PREMISES |
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| GANESHA TEMPLE |
The
water is so sweet that you will be tempted to catch a bottle for you (I did taste
it). If you don’t have one well no problem there are vendors selling bottle for
2 rupees near by temple. Don’t ask me about the cleanliness of bottles or their
source. It is up to you to decide. If you are reading this blog definitely you
will carry from your home. I presume that some people may carry so much water
even to sell them (I saw water pouches similar to milk pouches in bus stand).
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| THIS IS WHERE WATER COMES FROM |
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| PEOPLE FILLING WATER TO CANS |
There
is lot queue for the water. Some even take light shower near since Ganga is considered holy. I went another way to capture
some pictures. On the way to AntaraGange there is a platform where you can take
pictures of rocky hills. There are lots of honeycombs too. So beware!
After AntaraGange, the auto-driver carried me to Kolaramma
temple. It is beautiful stone temple and very old too. The temple is protected
by Archaeological Department of India (ASI) as heritage place. You can also
enjoy beautiful sculptures on the pillars and walls. The place is well
maintained. Here are some pictures and story about temple.
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| CLICK TO VIEW |
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| KOLARAMMA TEMPLE |
Next we went to one more heritage place called Someshwara
temple. Similar to Kolaramma temple the place is also protected by ASI and
there are warnings about tampering with the place. The temple is very close to
Kolaramma temple.
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| CLICK TO VIEW |
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| SOMESHWARA TEMPLE |
The main attraction here is Shiva-Linga which is faced by
Nandi. There is a Kalyana Mantapa, Parvathi temple and a Yaaga Shaale. Outside
the temple there is a chariot as well as a pushkarini (a small pond near temple
is called pushkarini. In coastal areas, the people who do pooja in temple have
to take bath in here before entering deity’s place).
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| SOMESHWARA TEMPLE |
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| MAIN ENTRANCE |
Irony was with next day
being Maha-Shivaratri not much celebration was seen here. May be restrictions
by ASI? The photos speak about mythology and temple look. Again the sculptures
and architecture is mind blowing.
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| PUSHKARINI NEAR SOMESHWARA TEMPLE |
That’s it I was getting too much hungry. The auto-driver
said, there are some beautiful temples atop the rocky hills. However I did not
have time. I could have gone there if I had a private vehicle. Nevertheless I
was satisfied to see the main places in here. Others I have made note to visit
next time probably when I bring my own vehicle.
Only AntaraGange is bit far from town while the other two is
within town limits. Many people visit AnataraGange while not much people were
seen in other two temples. The auto driver showed me one more shiva temple in
one of the streets. After that he dropped me in a hotel and I handed over the
money. He was very polite to me throughout the journey and did not complain
about the waiting time. I had some light lunch and left to bus stop to return.
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| KOLAR TOWN |
Kolar as town is still under-developed. It seems that
development is restricted to Bangalore
only while the near by places are still backward. The only development here is
the highway widening which runs as bypass to town. The roads were in deplorable
condition too with too much dust around town. Other than that the rocky hills
surrounding the town is really wonderful to watch. The lunch was also good
since I was hungry.
Kolar is about 70kms from Bangalore (from KBS terminus). The ordinary
bus fare is 50 rupees and varies where you catch up (may be it is bit less from
KR-Puram). The road joins Chennai via Chittoor. The NH-4 runs outside the town.
While it is 6 lanes from KR-Puram to Hoskote, it is 4-lane thereafter. Seems
like highway was recently completed (the toll plaza is still not functional). For
people who travel by taxis or private vehicles, there are lots of dhabas and
restaurants on the way (KAMAT is also there).
One thing I forget every-time is pen and a scribbling pad to
document journey as and when I visit places. I bought a pen and sheet of paper
and documented inside the bus. So I started back at around 2 PM from Kolar and
got down at KR-Puram to catch ring road bus. Thereafter I traveled to HSR BDA
and reached home at 3:45 PM. The weather was hot but the memories are still
persistent.
