Faces of India - 41

He is a Vaishnavite, a follower of Lord Vishnu. The markings on his forehead indicates his faith. He is a pujari in a temple in Melkote, Karnataka.

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various characters of my country. See more here.

Yoga Narasimha Temple, Melkote

It was one good travel day today. I visited Melkote, 133kms from Bangalore, a sacred destination of Karnataka. The weather was good; roads were good and not so much of traffic too. This little village is located on the rocky hills known as Yadavgiri.

Shared below are photos of the temple of Yoganarasimha. The temple is dedicated to Lord Yoga Narasimha. It is believed that the image of Yoga Narasimha temple at Melkote was installed by Prahlada himself. More shots and stories will be posted soon.

SkyWatch Friday

Lily Reflections

A lily bloom from my balcony garden.

Wish you all a Very Merry Christmas!

Faces of India - 40

A young boy doing the job of his father as a purohit(priest) of a temple in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu.

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various characters of my country. See more here.

Grand Palace, Bangkok

Shots from my archives, these were taken at Bangkok Grand Palace. This was home to the King and his court, and also the entire administrative seat of government. Thai Kings stopped living in the palace full time around the turn of the twentieth century, but the complex remains the seat of power and spiritual heart of the Thai kingdom.

SkyWatch Friday

Door, at Pannonhalma Abbey

The Pannonhalma Abbey has one of the most beautiful doors at its entrance. Doors and door handles have always fascinated me and they are definitely a subject for my photography always. That particular day at Abbey, it was bright and sunny. The various statues on the arch of the door were throwing their own shadows.

Sheep are common symbols in both mythology and religion. The sculpted forms of sheep were cutely lined up over the arch. The metal door had forms and figures which depicted various mythological and religious characters and stories. The whole door made a beautiful picture. This is the main entrance it seemed, but we did not get entry through this. There was yet another beautiful door through which we got access to the interiors.

Our World Tuesday

Faces of India - 39

Ratnamma,working in a temple in Tamil Nadu, she was cleaning the lamps for deities. She is happy to pose and is saying Namaste to all of you.

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various characters of my country. See more here.

Pannonhalma Archabbey, Hungary

After Gyor, the next destination on our radar was Pannonhalma Abbey, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This spot is twenty kilometers south of Gyor. It is a 1000 years old monastery; today this monastery runs the best secondary school of Hungary. More than 300 students are boarders here and it is an important spiritual and educational center of Hungary.

One can get access to the interiors only if they take the guided tours. Guided tours are conducted every hour in English and local language alternately. We first watched a short movie on the life of monastic community there and history of this abbey; later a young student from the monastery guided us around telling us stories and significance of the place. The monastery is as old as Hungary itself; that makes it all the more a “precious heritage site”.

SkyWatch Friday

Shoes on the Danube Promenade, Budapest

A touching, yet powerful scene I sighted in Budapest was that of 60 pairs of iron shoes in a row, on the banks of Danube. It is in honor of the Jews who had fallen victim to Arrow Cross Militiamen. The incident happened sometime between 1944 and 1945. The fleeing Jews were ordered to take off their shoes, and were shot at the edge of the water so that their bodies fell into the river and were carried away. The sculpted shoes represent the shoes left behind on the bank when they fell into the river after they were shot dead. The memorial was created by Gyula Pauer, Hungarian sculptor, and his friend Can Togay in 2005.


My fourteen year old and ten year old (then) were shocked to silence learning about this incident. Such grim reminders are essential so that we know how we got a ‘peaceful present’ today.


Thursday Challenge: SHOES

Statue of Jedlik Ányos and Czuczor Gergely

Among the many things that fascinate me in a foreign country is the statues of great personalities put up in the squares. I thoroughly enjoy seeing, clicking and reading about these statues of such remote places in the world. They are the ones who have shaped up the future of their country, knowing them helps to know the country better.

At one end of the Szechenyi Square there are the statues of Stephen Ányos Jedlik and Gergely Czuczor. They are cousins. Both were professors at the school run by the Order of Saint Benedict. Gergely Czuczor born in 1800 was a Magyar poet. Stephen Ányos Jedlik was the inventor of the principle of dynamo self-excitation. He is well known for his contributions to the fields of science. But the invention of the dynamo is linked to Siemens' name because Jedlik's invention was not noticed by that time.


Did you know Hungary has excelled most in the field of Science and Technology? Ball point pen, Rubik’s cube are inventions from this part of the world.

Our World Tuesday

Gyor, Hungary

It is evident Gyor is spruced up well for tourists. The ancientness is well preserved in its buildings, all streets neatly paved; the one thing that was missing was the greenery. Along the Gyor streets it was concrete, stones and pebbles all along. Vehicular traffic is not permitted, so walking along the streets and pausing at will was not much problem. Each shop or building along the streets had their small green area, in planters, some had none at all.

A Gyorian taking flowers home.

Today's Flowers

Faces of India - 38

From Rajasthan.

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various characters of my country. See more here.

Széchenyi Square, Gyor, Hungary

After rambling through the roads of this historic town, Gyor, I settled down with ice cream in one of the benches in Széchenyi Square. Gyor has won Europe-award for the protection of the historic buildings, in acknowledgment of the reconstruction of the Baroque centre of the town. The square is surrounded by many historic buildings and museums with fine art works. A couple of days are surely required to tour this town and I had just two hours of hurried tour through the place. The museums were struck off the list unfortunately.



The weather was very friendly that day and the Maria Column looked most captivating. The statues of Mary with infant Jesus with golden crowns atop their heads looked brilliant against the bright blue sky.

SkyWatch Friday

Gyor Cathedral Interiors, Hungary

The exteriors of Gyor cathedral is white and simple, the interiors surprisingly grand. The cathedral was rebuilt after being destroyed by the Mongols. After the Turkish period the interior was added in Early Baroque style. The interior was built from 1639to 1645.



One of the highlights of this cathedral is the ceiling fresco, masterpieces painted between 1772 and 1781 by Franz Anton Maulbertsch.


We saw Hungary’s most precious gold artifacts here. Saint Ladislaus' Herm a master piece creation is displayed here. This 65-centimetre-tall, gilded silver, cloisonné head reliquary was made between 1400 and 1425. The herm is one of the masterpieces of Hungarian goldsmithery.



The herm was taken to the Győr Cathedral in 1606 to protect it from the Turkish and is still displayed here.

Our World Tuesday

Planters and Flowers in Gyor, Hungary

The shoe shaped planters looked interesting and I wasn't sure whether the flowers looked beautiful or the planters.



Today's Flowers

Faces of India - 37

An idol maker at work.

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various characters of my country. See more here.

Gyor Cathedral, Hungary

Gyor existed since the ancient times. Being one of the oldest cities of Hungary, it held out the promise of being a treasure trove in terms of historic buildings. This town once flourished in trade due to its strategic location, at the banks of three criss-crossing rivers. Even today the city is ranked the third largest industrial complex of Hungary.



Sharing here a couple of shots of Gyor Cathedral, against the bright blue sky.

SkyWatch Friday

Door of Gyor Cathedral, Hungary

Gyor Cathedral, an old cathedral with foundations from the 11th century, damaged and rebuilt several times. It is famous for Weeping Icon of Mary.



Before I turned the door handle down to push it open, I had to pause to take shots of this door. It had a nice old feeling.

Thursday Challenge - DOOR