Laxmi Vilas Palace, Vadodara

The sole purpose of traveling to Vadodara during a family trip to Ahmedabad was to visit Laxmi Vilas Palace and Tambekar wada. If you have missed reading about Tambekar wada, read it here. 

A less than two hours drive from Ahmedabad through the immaculate Expressway had taken us to the city of 'Banyan trees'. Vadodara- is believed to be a corrupt form of the Sanskrit word 'Vatodar' that means belly of a Banyan tree. The British changed its name to Baroda to ease the pronunciation. But, in1974 it was renamed Vadodara. The wide and clean roads of  Vadodara that sit on the banks of Vishwamitri River had welcomed us to our first stop of that day- the Laxmi Vilas Palace. 

Built on a whopping 700 acres of land, the Laxmi Vilas Palace is reputed to be four times the size of Buckingham Palace. The palace was built during the reign of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III in 1890 with an estimated cost of 180,000 pounds. Interestingly, Maharaja Sayajirao was the first Indian ruler to introduce compulsory and free education in 1906. 

The Maharaja named the palace after his third wife, Rani Laxmibai from Tanjore. Set inside a sprawling ground replete with greenery and golf courses, it was initially designed by Major Charles Mant who had designed the palace in Kolhapur. However, the Major committed suicide out of guilt later convinced that the palace would not be stable but the palace withstood the tests of time and proved Mant to be wrong. Later, the palace was completed by Robert Fellowes.

It was originally built for only two people-the royal couple, with astonishingly 170 rooms in it! The palace architecture is a perfect blend of Indo Sarcenic architecture- with Mughal styled domes, Hindu and Jain motifs, and towers that resemble European style. The stones came from as far as Pune, Ajmer, and Agra. The palace's façade is made of golden stones from Songarh mines that give it a distinctive golden shine in dark and in the early morning. It is an amalgamation of details from nativity with a room for modern comfort and amenities. 

The royal family still resides in the palace, hence only a few sections of the palace are open to the public. About 10 sections to be more precise. The sections that are open to the public include the Durbar Hall, Gaddi/Coronation Hall, the Royal Armory/ Pratap Shastragarh, the Museum, and the Gardens. 

The Durbar Hall is exquisite with chandeliers (sadly they were all covered in white cloth)and bright Belgian stained glass windows. This engineering marvel which is 95 feet long was built without any supporting pillars. The first floor of the hall has intricately carved jharokhas.  

The Coronation Hall is special as it has some of the most sought-after paintings from Raja Ravi Verma. In 1881, Raja Ravi Verma was invited by Sir. R. Madhavrao, the British Regent of the State of Vadodara, to paint the ceremonial portrait of Sayajorao III, the Gaekwad of Baroda. A special studio was created for him in the palace. During this stay, Raja Ravi Verma painted two dozens of paintings depicting episodes from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and a good number of life-like portraits of the royal family. Paintings like Nala-Daayanthi, Radha-Madhava, Shantanu-Matsyagandhi are some of the examples that are on display in the Coronation Hall. Check out the family portraits created by Raja Ravi Verma in the following link 

The armory or Pratap Shastrgar houses some unique sword collections. There are charts depicting different parts of a sword. The Sunken Gardens, is the famous garden located just outside the mansion. A little walk in the garden, and pass through the fountain to get a panoramic view of the entire palace. 

Some facts to be aware of for planning  a visit to the palace

Photography inside the palace is strictly prohibited.

Audio guides are available that take you through  the rooms and corridors of the palace as well as back in time to tell you stories about the rajas.

The entrance ticket is exorbitantly priced! Can't expect it to be reasonable like the Government property. WE have had similar experiences at Bangalore Palace. 

The staff is very rude.

Stakna Monastery- a picture perfect wonderland

If there was one photograph that was etched in my memory of Ladakh even before visiting it was that of Stakna Monastery. Soon after the first glimpse, I had looked up for information and various other photographs about the monastery and it seemed to have emerged from a wonderland.

I got the first glimpse of the stunning monastery on our way to Pangong. Sadly, our 'not so friendly' driver had brushed us aside saying that would be our stop on our way back from Pangong. And I knew that would be only after two days. Cursing him, I had only wished that I wouldn't miss seeing the beauty of monastery as well as that of Indus river which makes it a popular view point for tourists.

To my utter dismay, on the way back from Pangong the weather turned so bad that it was extremely cloudy at one end and snowy on the other! It even drizzled at few places. I was convinced that the moment I was waiting for wouldn't be the same. Surprisingly, as we approached the vicinity of the monastery the clouds cleared, the drizzling stopped and there was the brilliance of sunshine ahead of us! My joy had no limits. I then realized, because of the rain and the sunshine that followed the whole area was illuminated as if emerging from a magical land. The slow moving water of Indus, the autumn colors on the Poplar trees stood out in that light. As we stepped out of the car, we witnessed a rainbow right next to the monastery. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. 

The following photographs do no justice to equal its beauty but am sure they will take your breath away. 

 View of the monastery from across the view point

The sky after the rain...can you spot the monastery?

A closer look at the monastery

P.S. Ignore the zip line rope that runs across in each photograph. It's just an example how natural beauty can be ruined in the name of tourism.

Unfortunately, we did not visit the monastery from inside but I did not feel it was necessary too. The view that I had encountered had given me enough satisfaction.

Some quick Facts about Stakna Monastery:

- It is about 25 kms from Leh city.

-It was founded in the 16th century by a Bhutanese scholar Chosje Jamyang Palkar.

-Stakna literally means 'a tiger's nose'. Since it was built on a hill that shaped like a tiger's nose, it was named so.

Thiksey Monastery

Visiting numerous monasteries for almost 10 days that we spent in Ladakh hadn't brought down our spirit to look at one more on the last day; each and every 'Gompa' beckoned us with something different in its store. Every monastery in Ladakh has various forms of Buddha depicted in them- Maitreya, Avalokiteshwar, Sakyamuni and so on. The shades of red, white and ochre painted on each quarters of the monasteries appealed to us every time we looked at a cliff from which they literally 'hung'. It was like the cliffs wanted to disrobe themselves of their barren cloaks and wanted to be painted in colours so there came up a monastery but with as much simplicity as possible. But Thiksey cannot be termed simple; it is grand. It is grand in scale-it is one of the largest monasteries in Ladakh and it is grand in its beauty- the colourful mural arts with contrasting pillars and paintings are proof of it. The drive to the top of the hill where it is located is an example of it's grandeur. Situated at an altitude of 11,800 feet with 12 storied structures cannot be called 'simple'. 

Thiksey Monastery view

Mural paintings on the wall

Colourful walls and pillars

This picture-postcard perfect monastery was founded by the Gelupka sect in 15th century and built under the guidance of Tsongkhapa by his disciple Sherab Sangpo. Overlooking the vast Indus valley, Thikey is called as 'Mini Potala' as it resembles the Potala palace in Tibet. The main attraction of this 'Gompa' is the 49 feet (covers two stories) Maitreya Buddha statue built in 1970 to commemorate the visit of Dalai Lama to this monastery. 

According to popular legend, Sherab Sangpo along with his disciple Paden Zangpo was performing a ritual by offering 'torma' (made with flour and butter) when a crow grabbed the torma and flew away. After searching, they found the torma at a hill but in same order and not consumed by the crow. This was considered auspicious and they decided to build the monastery on the exact location. Thiksey means 'perfect order', in accordance with the order in which the crow had placed the torma.

The huge prayer wheel

Smaller prayer wheels on the way

Ascending the monasteries in Ladakh is a breathtaking experience- in two ways. Breathtaking it is because of the landscape that you get to experience as you go up and breathtaking it is also because you literally have to stop ofttimes  to catch your breath! Each time we climbed one flight of stairs, we would stop to take few minutes to enjoy the view and catch up with some air too. There is a new dimension added to the beauty of colourful poplar trees of autumn against the clear blue skies and snow capped mountain ranges at every corner of the monastery. 

The main attraction of the monastery is the Maitreya Buddha statue built in 1970. It took four years for the craftsmen to build the statue that stands at a height of 49 feet covering two stories (we get to see only face of the Buddha as entry is denied for the first storey). The statue is made of clay and copper and painted with gold. The interiors of the hall are completely filled with mural paintings depicting life events of Buddha. A quiet peace filled our hearts as we entered the Statue hall and the tiny window in front of the statue filled our eyes with awe-inspiring landscape. 

Maitreya Buddha statue

Window of happiness

No sooner had we come out of the Buddha statue hall than we entered another hall where there was plenty of Ladakhi 'butter tea' offered to all the visitors. The butter tea had failed to impress me all those 10 days and I knew this day would be no different but my husband had acquired the taste for it and wasn't ready to miss a cup or two. 

There are two main temples in Thiksey- the Tara temple and Lomakhang temple. Tara (also known as 'Mother of Liberation') is an important figure in Mahayana Buddhism who is appears as a female Bodhisattva. There are 12 images of Tara placed in wooden shelves in this temple.

Lamokhang temple is repository of scriptures where only men are allowed. 

View from the topmost point of the monastery

The mountains and the poplar trees

The more higher we went up the monastery, the beauty of the monastery looked miniscule as the overlooking landscapes took its place. Every corner gives a stunning panoramic view of the mountain ranges with patches of green and yellow poplar trees. And, we had decided to absorb all the beauty in our eyes and hearts leisurely as it was our last day of our trip!

Ellora Caves- Part III

A single blog post to describe the grandeur of Ellora caves in Aurangabad doesn't do justice. Keeping this thought in mind, I had classified the posts into three different categories- the Hindu, the Buddhist and the Jain cave temples. This is the third and last part of the series that talks about Jain Caves.

Read about Part 1 and Part 2 in my previous posts. 

Cave No. 30- 34 in Ellora are dedicated to Jainism specifically to Digambara sect. These cluster of caves are located away from the bustle of other Hindu and Buddhist caves. Though they are smaller in size and grandeur compared to Hindu and Buddhist caves, their beauty is still equally blinding as that of other caves. These caves were excavated between 9th and 10th century. They share architectural and design similarities with that of some Hindu caves with the exception that these are dedicated to twenty- four Jinas (spiritual conquerors who have attained Moksha) of Jainism. These temples also depict carvings of gods and goddesses, yaksha (male nature deity) and yakshi (female nature deity) and other human devotees from Jain mythology.  

Path that leads to Cave No. 32-34

View from outside the caves

Earliest of the Jain caves is Cave No. 30 or what is referred to as Chota Kailash due to its resemblance to Kailash temple in Cave no. 16. Built in the Dravidian style, it has a monolithic shrine as well as a gopura just like cave no. 16 but it does not have a 'nandimandapa'. It gives the impression of an 'unfinished temple' yet the interiors of the temple are well carved and complete. It houses two larger-than-life-size reliefs of dancing Indra that resembles a dancing Shiva (as Nataraja) usually depicted in Hindu temples.

Chota Kailash

Cave 32 and 33 are called as Indra Sabha (mainly called so because of its assembly hall) and Jagannata Sabha respectively. An idol of Vardhamana Mahavira Swami resides in Indrasabha with a yaksha and yakshi idols guarding outside. This elaborately decorated cave has beautiful pillars, large sculptural ceilings and panels. 

Most of these caves are architecturally very fine with decorative pillars, exquisite paintings and ceilings. Eye- catching among the ceilings is the lotus sculpture on the ceiling in Indra Sabha. 

A panel outside Cave no. 32

Lord Mahavira with Yaksha and Yakshi

Lord Bahubali

Lord Mahavira

The lotus relief on the ceiling and square pillars inside Indra Sabha

Sculpture of Matanga Yaksha in cave no. 33

Carvings on pillars

We did not visit Cave no. 34 as the walk across the vast area had both exhausted and famished us. Exploration of these caves means mental endurance and resilience as well as physical stamina. And, we were quite happy that we had missed only one/ two caves and rest all had been tick marked from the list. 

P.S: While in Aurangabad, do not miss the jalebi and rabdi that is served in Green Leaf restaurant that is absolutely delectable. 

Ibrahim Rauza in Bijapur- a photo blog

Ibrahim Rauza was our last destination of Bijapur trip, the first two being Gol Gumbaz and Bara Kaman. 

It is a mausoleum complex built in 1627 A.D by Adil Shahi ruler Ibrahim Adil Shah II. It was built by a Persian architect Malik Sandal with obvious Turkish influence. I could draw various similarities between this and Qutub Shahi tombs back in Hyderabad. The tomb is built on a square platform with a mosque facing it. Both tomb and the mosque are separated by a small tank with a fountain. Here are some photographs from the visit:

First glimpse of Ibrahim Rauza from the main entrance...

A closer look...

The exteriors of Adil Shah's tomb...

Corridors around the mausoleum...

Persian Calligraphy and lattice work on and around the door...

View of the tomb from the mosque

The brilliant sun behind the mosque...

The cliched designs of Persian architecture...

Mosque as seen from the tomb complex...

Exteriors of the mosque...

A hanging from the ceiling...

Inside the mosque...pillars that form into beautiful arches and domes...