Musafir

With all the temple touring the first day on my trip, this is a nice break. I had to get up very early and started off at 8 AM. It was a nice drive for about 50 minutes. The roads for the most part is good with tree branches covering the sky to give a pleasant experience. There are nice bamboo plantations and coffee estates and are a sure signal that you are entering a nice hill station.

Sakleshpura is at a distance of 40 kilometres from Hassan town and located in a picturesque location. This town lies on National Highway 48 which connects Mangalore with Bangalore.

The Manjarabad Fort is located just outside Sakleshpura. This fort is reputed to have been constructed by Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore as a strategic defensive location as it commands the approach to the plateau beyond. It is constructed at a height of 3420 feet above sea level with stone and mud in the form of an 8-pointed star with a large moat around it as you see in this Google Earth Image. The fort is constructed in a nice location above a hill and is not visible from the main road. We need to ask the locals for the way to go up. My cab driver was well versed with the area, so i did not had to ask anyone. After a short muddy path uphill, there are a fleet of 250 stairs to the fortified walls.

The wall of the fort spans the entire hill and one can have a glimpse even when climbing the stairs. After the stairs, there is a muddy road with walls on either side and the path turns narrow and zig-zag as we move along. This is a very good defensive strategy so that the enemy, not knowing what lay ahead can be attacked by surprise. This kind of construction can be found in forts like Daulatabad (Maharashtra) as well. After passing around 100 metres further, we reach the main entrance of the fort. The entrance is of a typical Mohammedan architecture with nice design on the parapet. There are elevated platforms on either side under the entrance.

Once i passed through the main entrance, i enter into a wide passage with small dungeon like enclosures all around. This is one more strategic location where soldiers can hide. The insides of the dungeons are filled with sand with all the ill maintenance all these years. This fort, being in an elevated place receives a lot of rainfall and the walls are always damp with moss growing everywhere. The Archaeological Survey of India need to look into it soon to prevent the walls from collapsing. In front, you will need to pass one more entrance to enter the open area. Even the ceiling of this entrance is damp with water dropping from it. I saw that some renovation had been done but clearly that is not enough to protect this monument. Once i passed this entrance and entered the fort, i understood its beauty.

It is said that one of the reasons that Tipu Sultan chose this location is because of the atmosphere. It was 9 AM by the time i was on the top and i still see think fog all around and it looked wonderful. In fact, the fort is said to have named for the fog (“Manju” in the local language means Snow). I was the only human being in the fort at that time, save for a couple of dogs. I should admit that i was a little scared. I walked around capturing some nice shots. There are strategic view points to keep an eye on all the entrances and also the road down below. There are also nice view points where the Western Ghats are visible clearly.

Clearly this fort was never meant to be a residential place as there are no basements or palaces. This was an ammunition dump during Tipu’s reign. You will see small enclosures on two sides which may have been used as a sleeping area. There are stairs that take you to the top of the dungeons near to the wall. There is a wide well in the middle with stairs on all the four sides, which most probably was a fresh water one. Now coming to the interesting part. There are two structures which lead to an underground passage. It is said that these two tunnels lead to the Tipu’s fort in Srirangapatna, which was used in danger. However, the passageways are closed now because of low oxygen levels and some instances of homicides.

One need just an hour or so to leisurely roam around this fort. After a relaxing morning, i returned back to continue my temple journeys across the Hassan District. My next destination was again rarely visited place, but historically important.

Believed to be the second strongest fortification in India, Srirangapatna Fort (Tipu's Palace) is one of the prominent Monuments in Karnataka. It is from this fort that Tipu Sultan charged at the British soldiers with his legendry sword. Unfortunately, it is within Srirangapatna Fort in Karnataka India that Tipu finally lay dead - betrayed by one of his own men.

As we pass towards the Fort Area, we see the magnificent outer walls standing at a height of almost 20 feet. There are four gates to the Fort namely the Bangalore, Mysore, Delhi and Water and Elephant Gates. We enter the fort  through the  Bangalore Gate.

The design on the gate are still intact but the external sides were destroyed during the plunder of 1799. It is a pity that advertisements and posters are put on these heritage monuments. The entrance to the city is narrow from this gate as it is with any fort. This actually gives additional protection not allowing enemies to enter at once. The fort is actually double walled providing additional protection.

As we move along the road, we see the Jama Masjid. The most notable feature of this structure are the twin minarets which were a gift from Tipu and they dominate the eastern skyline. The minarets were a favourite subject matter for many contemporary European artists in their depictions of the British campaigns against the capital of Mysore. As we move on, we come across the place where the body of Tipu Sultan was found after the siege of Srirangapatna by the British. A small stone marks the exact location. 

As we move on we come across a large subterranean room in the northern rampart wall popularly referred to as the "Bailey’s Dungeon". Allegedly this is the place where British soldiers were imprisoned in the years 1780-1784; more likely, it served as a bomb-proof powder magazine. The area has been heavily restored. A large iron cannon lies embedded in the floor - it fell through the roof and was too  heavy to remove.

Also in one of the corners, there is a small underground chamber. A local guide tells that there are three secret passages which lead to Mysore, Bangalore and Manjarabad in the Hassan District of Karnataka where there is an other Fort commissioned by Tipu.

Near the Fort area, we also see the Wellesley Bridge, a very old bridge through which Colonel Wellesley attacked Srirangapatna. This is also called the Delhi Bridge. Also, here we see the second Gate to the Fort, the Delhi Gate. It is very small and we can go around the Fort from outside. It was very dark by then, so we could not venture out.  There is also a commemorative obelisk here in memory of the British forces that fell during the final siege of Srirangapatna on the 4th of May 1799.

We sat there for some time viewing the setting sun in the distance. We were really tired by then with the strenuous travel that we had done since morning. We then had nice coconut water and the moved on to the last destination in Srirangapatna, the Ranganatha Temple.

The temple is much older than the town and fort having been founded in A.D. 894 by the Ganga king, Tirumalaiya; and later enlarged by a Vijayanagar viceroy in the 15th Century A.D. The island shrine is dedicated to Ranganatha and is a centre for the Vaishnava faith. The temple is also referred to as Paschima Ranganatha  Kshetra, to distinguish it from another island temple on Srirangam further down the Cauvery near Trichy and which is referred to as Purva Ranganatha Kshetra. 

It was already dark then and we were really tired. We started off to Mysore and stayed in Mysore for the night.

There is one common feature in the tombs of Mohammedan rulers and it is that there will be a garden around the mausoleum and a path with trees on both sides lead to the tomb. You can notice this in many monuments like The Taj Mahal or Humayun’s Tomb. Islamic belief says that the way in front of the mausoleum will lead the the dead to the Heaven and the trees on either side provides a pleasant travel. The Gumbaz is no exception.

This tomb and mosque was built by Tipu Sultan as a tribute to his illustrious father, Hyder Ali (1782 - 1784 A.D), after his death. The Gumbaz is situated at the eastern end of Srirangapatna. It enshrines the cenotaphs of Hyder Ali, his wife Fakr-Un-Nisa and Tipu Sultan, after his death in 1799 A.D.

Once you go near the building, you will be welcomed by a cool breeze and once you raise your head to look at the top of the dome, you will see the true beauty of the tomb, the exquisite designs carved. It is built on a stone plinth, with polished black granite pillars that run around the corridor around the inner chamber.  There are tombs of many of the family members inside this corridor.

A special mention need to be made about the entrances to the chamber. They are made of stone with very intricate carvings on them. There are several verses written in Urdu on the top panels. The doors are made of ebony and inlaid with ivory. When we go inside we see that the entire walls decorated with stylised tiger-stripe babri decoration. The doors were given by Lord Dalhousie in the 18th century. 

Inside there is a small enclosure in which the Tiger of Mysore and his parents lay in peace. We can easily identify Tipu’s tomb by the tiger striped-cloth laid on it. Just beside Tipu lies his father and then his mother.  A magnificent dome crowns the building. Just beside the mausoleum there is the Masjid - E - Aksa. It resembles the Gumbaz in terms of the architecture but the most notable feature of this are two long minarets.

At the eastern entrance of the Mausoleum is a tablet in Persian script that speaks of the martyrdom of Tipu Sultan in 1799 A.D.

There are numerous cenotaphs of the relatives of Tipu family inside the same compound. More than 100 family members of Tipu are buried over here including his seven sons and his sisters. Even the garden outside is a house for the numerous tombs. Not only this family, but also his chief generals are buried here.  This is a place best visited in the evening for the cool breeze and the gardens are a pleasure.

We then proceeded towards the Srirangapatna Fort.

As mentioned in the previous post, we all had lunch after a tiresome visit to Shivanasamudra and moved on to Srirangapatna. Before i start talking about the places, let me talk about its history.

Shrirangapatna (anglicized to Seringapatam) which is in the Mandya district of Karnataka is enclosed by the river Cauvery to form an island. The town takes its name from the famous Ranganatha Swamy temple. This town has since time immemorial been an urban centre and place of pilgrimage. During the Vijayanagara empire, it became the seat of a major viceroyalty, from where several nearby vassal states of the empire like Mysore or Talakad were overseen. 

The first monument that we come across when we visit Srirangapatna is the Dariya Daulat, “the wealth of sea”. This is referred to as the Summer Capital of Tipu Sultan and was built in the year 1784 A.D. The palace is square in plan, built on a raised stone plinth, with teak pillars running around the outer edge enclosing a corridor.

The entire building is actually hidden from outside. This could be to protect it from sunlight as the palace is made of wood.

There are two recessed bays on the northern and southern sides overlooking two large halls, through canopied balconies. The living spaces on the two floors of the palace are accessible by four staircases.

There are four cannons in front of the palace. These cannons should have been used in the final battle of Srirangapatna after which the British should have used them to proclaim their victory over Tipu. There is a nice garden in the compound and is a nice place to relax in the evening after the visit to the museum.

All the walls and ceiling of the entire palace are painted. The paintings depict the victories of Haidar Ali and Tipu over the British led by Colonel Bailey, the Nizam of Hyderabad arriving at the battlefield, and durbar scenes of Tipu’s contemporaries like the Rani of Chitore, the Raja of Tanjore, the Raja of Benaras, the Peshwa Balaji Rao II, Magadi Kempegowda, Madakari Nayaka or Chitradurga and Krishna Raja Wodeyar III.

After the death of Tipu Sultan in 1799, this palace was occupied by Lord Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington). This palace currently houses a Museum by the Archaeological Survey of India and consists Oil Paintings, Pencil Sketches, Aquatints, Engravings, Coins, Medals, Costumes, Furniture, Arms etc.

The storming of ‘Seringapatam’ an oil painting by Sir Robert Ker Porter in 1800 is one of the great historical paintings depicting the final capture of Srirangapatna on 5th May 1799. Tipu’s men are on the bridge offering stiff resistance. In the back ground behind the fort walls are part of Tipu’s palace, the minarets of the mosque and the gopura of the Ranganatha Swami temple.

Among the other exhibits, a special mention may be made of the costume of Tipu, a pyjama, a silk coat and a straw hat, two silver bowels presented by him to the Ranganatha Swami temple, a hand made paper manuscript in Persian dealing with the military code of regulations, furniture comprising of chairs, sofa with backrest, couch and a rosewood roundtable, a brass cannon, daggers, swords, pistols and muskets besides iron cannons.

It takes at least 2 hours to visit each article inside the museum. We spent some time in the nice lawn outside for sometime and we moved to The Gumbaz.

On the way from Nandi Hills towards Bangalore near the International Airport, you will find a structure which will seem to be a prison with high walls. On a nearer look once will understand that its a fort.

Devanahalli, located at a distance of 35 kms. towards north of Bangalore is a fast growing suburb having and antiquity right from pre-historic times down to the period of Tipu Sultan. It was part of Gangawadi and later came under the rule of the Rashtrakutas, Nolamba, Pallavas, Cholas, Hoysalas and the Vijayanagara rulers. During the time of Vijayanagara rule, one Malla Baire Gowda of Avati, a feudatory constructed the fort in 1501 AD with the consent of Devaraya at Devanadoddi - the earlier name of Devanahalli. Subsequently, in 1741 AD the fort passed into the hands of the Wodeyars of Mysore, which was conquered many times from the Marathas and later came under the control of Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan. The present fort is ascribed to Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan, and it was the favourite hunting place for Tipu, which incidentally was his birth place as well.

The roughly oval east oriented fortification veneered with dressed masonry has as many as 12 semi-circular bastions at regular intervals. As we near the fort, we see a road passing under the massive construction. The outer walls are made of heavy stones will a brick lining on the top. The fort is provided with entrances at east and west decorated with cut plaster work.

Once we pass through inside the fortification, there are steps on the left and right to move to the battlement area. As we move up the stairs, we see a long corridor on each side where hundreds of soldiers can be deployed during emergency. The inner side of the walls are constructed in brick and still intact. There are gun points through which the outside can be kept an eye on. The Devanahalli village still exists within this fortified area.

There is one temple probably of the 17th century inside dedicated to Lord Siva. It is a recent construction without much wear and tear. Even the architecture resembles the Vijayanagara style, it is more kind of an imitation than built at in that era.

We just had a small break near the temple and moved on to visit a place so important but it is thrown just on the road side without any importance or care. This is the place where the Tiger of Mysore, Tipu Sultan was born.

This memorial, located at about 150 mts. south west of the fort, is traditionally identified as the spot where Tipu Sultan was born. A four pillared arched structure which rests on a square platform within a masonry enclosure having entrance from the east are the only remains available.

There is nothing more to visit in this importance place called Devanahalli and we head back home in the scorching heat…

As we pass the gate towards the hill, we need to ascend some steps and we again come to a steep road up. It would be painstaking to walk the road especially for someone like me who carry some extra pounds.

We walk along and reach the top of the hill where there is more walking to be done. There are rocks everywhere and one has to walk on for 15 minutes to reach a flat patch of rocks which we have to ascend. The rocks are with dew and slippery to walk during early morning, so be careful while walking.  

Then we reached the place where everyone on Nandi Hills wants to visit early in the morning. After climbing up the man made steps shown in the picture here, we reach the summit where we can relax with a cup of hot tea. There is an old temple dated somewhere around 16th Century, which will come to later. Now we walk a little further where every visitor to Nandi Hills would want to be early in the morning.

We reach the edge of the hill where there is a vast valley in front and we face the rising sun. The Sun rises from within the clouds cover the valley and the nearby small hillocks. It is one scenery that is best viewed than said about. As the sun rises, the clouds become visible more and there is a cool breeze that refreshes the people.

This is one scene that fascinates even me, who prefer historical monuments over scenic beauty. We stayed there for almost an hour and started roaming around. The best way to move around is reach one end of the outer wall and walk along it and that's what we did. It is a nice trek with ups and downs. We became kids and climbed trees (Yes i did too.. :) ). The outer wall on the hill was built during Tipu Sultan's period and it is still very intact. There are some places where the wall fell and is is a little dangerous to go go to the end as there is slippery dry land. There are small crevices within the wall for every 100 metres or so probably for the soldiers to keep an eye outside. There are round bastions from place to place where the soldiers could hide them selves during attacks.

The whole view outside was amazing till noon when the clouds slowly lifted. We reached a place where again every visitor would visit. It is a small gap in the wall and we need to pass underneath it to go the edge of the hill. There are no barricades and its very dangerous.  This place is exactly in the middle of the circumference of the wall. We took some pictures and moved on.  We rested in a shady place for some time and started off again. There are two tributaries which are said to be starting from this hill but it did not seem likely after visiting the place. That water is more of a drain than a river. After some walking again, we reached the Nellikai Basavanna statue.

The idol of Nellikai Basavanna (Bull) measures 10 feet in length and 6 feet in height and carved in Chola style. This is called Nellikai Basavanna as there is a Nellikai Tree (Phyllanthus Emblica) in front of the statue. It is through this that this hill was named after (Nandi means Bull). It was noon then and we were really tired of the trekking. We came back to the point where we started, had some nice lunch and moved on to visit the old Vishnu temple on the hill.

This temple is old but raw. Not much of an art and architecture can be found here. With my knowledge of old architecture, i date this one to 16th century. The temple is clearly reconstructed in the 19th century as you can find cemented joints. As any  hilly place, this temple is also infested with monkeys. So please be careful not to carry any eatables with you as they snatch them sometimes injuring people in the process. There is a pavilion around the temple which offers a cool atmosphere during summer. The inner architecture is fairly decent with some beautiful sculptures on the pillars. We had a darshan and moved on to the Tipu’s Lodge.

Tipu’s lodge is a rectangular two-storied structure built in east west orientation measuring 12 x 7 mts. and is situation within a fortified area on the summit of the hill. Constructed of brick, mortar and wood, it has a series of compartments. Towards the eastern end there is a flight of steps leading to a verandah which in turn leads to the room built at north.

This building is now in a bad condition and its high time that the local government takes steps for conservation of this landmark monument. There are stone arches to this building and even though the building is plain and simple, it looks good. The rooms are all locked and inaccessible to the general public. A close look inside the rooms through the windows suggests that the rooms are empty with very simple designs inside.

The walls accommodate niches and originally appears to have been decorated with paintings. The verandah has pierced balustrades. Tipu Sultan is said to have stayed in this building whenever he visited the place during expedition/hunting.We spent some time exploring the place and moved on the most fearsome place on Nandi Hills, the Tipu’s drop.

Tipu Sultan is not only feared by others for his valour but also for his anger. He is known to feel pleasure when his enemies spies are killed. Tipu’s drop is the highest point of the hillock where there is a steep drop to the base. Tipu used to get the spies dropped down this and so the name. In all probability, a person used to die even before hitting the ground as the outer side of the drop is laden with rocks. This is one place where it is most dangerous as the ground is steep and there are no supports to hold. Be very careful as tourists are known to have gotten killed here.

Nandi Hills is often busy all through the year except in mid summers. People come for drives with friends, have a small barbecue and a couple of beers to go with.

It was around 3 in the afternoon and we decided to return back to Bangalore. We had tea and bid goodbye to the most nearest tourist destination from Bangalore,  Nandi Hills.

It was 4’o clock in the morning and 5 people get ready to travel on bikes in the chilling winter of Bangalore. I was picked up by Gopal near Forum Mall in Koramangala and Mahesh, Sudip and Raja joined us, and we set off to the most nearest tourism spot to Bangalore, Nandi Hills. We moved towards the New International Airport of Bangalore.

By the time we reached Majestic (the main Bus Terminus of Bangalore), we started feeling cold. There were very few vehicles on the road and so we drove fast. By the time we reached Hebbal and Yelahanka, we are almost driving at 100 kms per hour. Then the fun started. The whole palm started paining because of the cold weather. I still wonder how the bikes were ridden as it was extremely difficult to bend your fingers due to the chilling weather. We stopped in mid way to have some nice hot tea which generated enough warmth in our bodies to continue further.

There is a 8 kilometre stretch from the bottom of the hill to the entrance to the peak. As we ride up the hill we see the scenic beauty all round in the early morning sun. There is lot of mist and the beautiful rich vegetation looks wonderful in the morning. 

Finally, we reached Nandi Hills at around 6 AM. 

Nandi Hills is situated at 60 kms from the Bangalore City near the town of Chikkaballapur. There are various stories of the origin of the name of the hillock. During the Chola period, Nandi Hills was called Ananda Giri meaning the Hill of happiness. Another theory holds that the hill gets its name from an ancient, 1000 year old Nandi temple situated on the hill. Another story is that Yoga Nandeeshwara performed penance here, and it was named after him. It is commonly called as Nandi Durga(Fort) because of the fort built here by the ruler Tipu Sultan.

This hill raises to a height of 4850 feet (1478 metres). As many as six rivers like Palas, North and South Pennar, Chitravati, Arkavati and Papagni rise in and near this hillock. Traditionally, this place is called Kushmandagiri for, the sage Kushmanda performed austerities here. Gangas enjoy the epithet of the lords of Nandagiri after this hillock. The Jaina antiquities of this place is attested by a Shravana-Tirtha. The place name Anandagiri (Hill of pleasure) was changed to Nandagiri -hill of Nandi, the vehicle of Lord Shiva during the time of the Cholas. The hillock was extremely fortified by the chiefs of Chikballapur and further strengthened by Haider - Tipu duo after they took it over from Madhava Rao of the Marathas in 1770 A.D. Lord Cornwallis captured Nandidurga in 1791 A.D. Later on it was converted into a hill resort by the British officers.

Nandidurg was traditionally held un impregnable, and its storming by Cornwallis on 19 October 1791 was one of the most notable incidents of the first war against Tipu Sultan of Mysore.

A description of the siege is given in Browne's History of Scotland and the records of the 71st Highlanders.

NUNDYDROOG, a celebrated fortress and country of Hindustan, in the province of Mysore. The former is built on the summit of a rock, about 1700 feet high, three-fourths of its circumference being inaccessible. Our forces took it by storm in 1791, after a three weeks' siege. It stands in long. 77° 53' E.,and lat. 13° 22' N.

—London Encyclopaedia, 1829

It later became a retreat for British Raj officials during the hot season. Francis Cunningham built the summer residence here for Sir Mark Cubbon.

...this droog, one now used as a hotel, built by General Cubbon, sometime British resident; but the rock has a bad reputation for malaria, and except in the very dry months is shunned by visitors, in spite of its, to the senses, delightful climate

—Lt. Gen. E F Burton

By the time we reached over there, there were already hundreds of people waiting for the gates to open. We bought the entrance tickets and as the gates opened, we started the ascent to the top.

To be continued…