Modhera Sun Temple - Gujarat

During our visit to Gujarat in February 2014, we happen to visit Modhera Sun Temple accidentally.
This temple was never there in our itinerary. After our stay at Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) we were about to set off for Patan to see 'Rani Ki Vav'. Knowing our interest in ancient monuments our last safari driver recommended us to visit this temple at Modhera which was actually on the way to Patan. We would have missed this marvelous creation of man, created in 1026 AD by King Bhimdev of the Solanki dynasty, unless our jeep driver insisted us to visit this temple.

This temple is a masterpiece of architecture and carving. The interlocking design of architecture is so rock solid that this temple is still standing in its glory after thousands of years and one can witness the exquisite piece of carving all over the temple. This complete work of artisan is feast to an eye who loves to visit historical monument or places.

My agenda is not to educate you on history of this temple here (google will surely help you in that) but to let everybody know that whoever is visiting Gujarat, your Gujarat visit is not complete unless you visit this temple.

There are two section of this temple. The first one adjacent to the tank (Surya Kunda or Ram Kunda) is Sabha Mandap (prayer hall) and besides that is a main temple. No prayers takes place in this temple now and also it is under care of Archaeological Survey of India .

   

Sabha Mandap has 52 pillars representing 52 weeks of a year, all of them are nicely carved with epic stories from Ramayana & Mahabharata etc. I would recommend to hire a guide if you are really interested in knowing the stories behind the carving and history of this temple.

Below are few such examples depicts the scene from Ramayana & Mahabharata :

Fight between Bali & Sugriv monkey brothers.

 Hanuman meets Sita at Ashok Vatika in Lanka

Kalia (snake) Mardan

I was never so sure about these epics, but such work will definitely makes you think twice.

This is definitely not to miss destination for any traveler who want to explore Gujarat in its true essence. 

Jaipur - City Palace

During our return journey from Delhi, we (me & Chandan) decided to visit major tourist attractions at Jaipur en-route to Mumbai. It took around three hours to reach us at Jaipur city palace one of the major tourist attraction in Jaipur. Also famous Jantar-Mantar & Hawa Mahal are in the vicinity. 

So we parked our car in the parking lot out side the city palace. Fist thing attracted my attentions was the cycle rickshaw stand, waiting for tourists. They will take you to Maharani Market, Hawa Mahal and Jantar Mantar with very nominal charges.



Parking lot out side city palace



It was Saturday, and the palace was full of tourist, so taking pictures without people moving and distraction was difficult task. So I decided to look for smaller objects and close-ups without much distraction.

Then the other thing grab my attention was the entrance doors, the work around the entrance, beautifully designed doors. So I decided to concentrate on these objects. Attached here are some of my picks, hope you will like it.

Venue - In and around Palace - Jaipur
Date - 30th March 2013
Time - Between 11am to 2pm





  

Peacock Gate





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Chandan in front of one such antique door



Visit to Zanskar Valley

It was in May 2011, when the winter in its peak at Kashmir Valley, we have decided to venture out at Zanskar valley in Kashmir.