Anand Photo Workshop: 2013

Belur - Chennakesava temple

A Hoysala architecture dedicated to Chennakeshava, meaning handsome Vishnu,surrounded by the Kappe Chennigraya temple built by Shantaladevi, queen of king Vishnuvardhana.

Temple was built by king Vishnuvardhana in commemoration of his victory over the Cholas at Talakad in 1117 CE

The Dravida style rayagopuram at the entrance which was a later addition by the Vijayanagar kings, who considered this deity as one of their Kuladevata or family god.

Darpana Sundari (Lady with the mirror) carved on walls of Belur Temple is one of major attractions in the complex

Legend has it that it took 103 years to complete and Vishnuvardhana's grandson Veera Ballala II completed the task.

Anantya Resorts - On the banks of Chittar lake,.......

Anantya Resorts, Kadayal Village, On the banks of Chittar lake reservoir...

It was the month of Aug 2013 & WE schoolmates decided to meet at banks of Chittar lake.(actually our friends resort),..

The South-West monsoons was about to be over than expected. The Sun was up in the sky, though acting coy most of the time in the morning.

When you look at a map of the town and adjoining districts of TVM and read between the lines, latitudes, one learns that Trivandrum sits pretty at the centre of a circle, along one of countries best getaways, one such place on the banks of Chittar lake is the Anantya Resorts.....

A view from the resort, Chittar lake ,.....

If you think you want to make a trip to Chittar lake, I suggest you be prepared to be thrown yourselves into the wilderness. With our travel base being Trivandrum, we were naturally spoilt for choice and our get-together had to happen at the banks of Chittar lake.

You get to feel the soft waves of the lake,...

By nightfall, after a mouth watering dinner, we happened to be invited by the moon at its best,...they say, when it is full moon,... you cannot take your eyes of them but for us we happen to see a glimpse but filled my lens,....

By night moon at its best,.....

By morning, the weather was perfect. The heart yearned to travel, explore and discover! But a swim in the swimming pool was much inviting and I jumped in,..

Sunrise @ Anantya,......

Infinity pool,.....

By night @ Anantya,......

But past 9-ish, friends had other plans in the pool and we few of us along with our hosts, we trekked into the estate for a knowledge sharing session on cultivation, landscape, history,.... … our friends DAD had his passion to share knowledge and keep us glued to the trekking experience. The trekking trail is pretty much an experience which calls for a overnight stay at the hill hock ,….

View from the hill hock,....

Water, blue clouds, creeping sun light often trying to wake you up, suddenly alert and full of life, and posed for the lens, as the shutter merrily clicked away. The distant hills and the clouds, it seemed wanted to get into my frame,.........

About Chittar River: its five tributaries and numerous other contributing streams originate in the Courtallam hills of Tirunelveli District in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. Together with its tributaries and streams, the Chittar River serves as an important source of irrigation for the region and is a major tributary of the Tambaraparani River along with the Manimuthar River. (Click here for another spectacular view of Manimuthar)

The Chittar River itself has 17 anicuts irrigating hectares of land. It eventually joins with Thamirabarani river

Rainbow,.....

Compared to other Indian states, Kerala lies closer to the equator. Yet Kerala is bestowed with a pleasant and equable climate through out the year. This is because of the land's nearness to the sea and the presence of the fort like Western Ghats on the east. Kerala would have been a dry land because of the dry winds blowing from the north, but for the Western Ghats which prevent this wind from entering the land.

Unlike Tamilnadu which is located on the east coast of India, which is also known as the Coromandel Coast. Chennai is largely dependent on NE monsoon, as 65% of rains are received in this season.

During this rainy season, both the places Kerala and Tamilnadu are very plasent in nature and we can see some rare seens of huge rainbows,......

You can have view of such rainbows while traveling in train to Kerala from Tamilnadu, I see somebody glued to reading

And by evening, the sunsets and the water body shines,.....

Velachery by Night

The Jawaharlal Nehru Salai the 100 ft road or Inner Ring Road passes along the MRTS line and connects near the airport the GST road, an arterial road in Chennai.

Lot of traffic moves through the inner ring road

When the traffic moves the light travels with it,...

View of early morning moon from my house,.....

Panna National Park

Panna National Park and the surrounding territorial forest area of North and South Panna forest division is the only large chunk of wildlife habitat remaining in North Madhya Pradesh in the otherwise fragmented forest landscape of the region.

Significant part of the catchment area runs the Ken river which runs northeast through the park.Terrain in Panna National Park is forested with many streams and waterfalls.

Water at its best

Significant part of the catchment area runs the Ken river which runs northeast through the park.Terrain in Panna National Park is forested with many streams and waterfalls.

Khajuraho Group of Monuments in Khajuraho

The Khajuraho Group of Monuments in Khajuraho, a town in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, located in Chhatarpur District, about 620 kilometres southeast of New Delhi. Khajuraho has the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous for their erotic sculptures.

In the 19th century, British engineer T.S. Burt arrived in the area, followed by General Alexander Cunningham. Cunningham put Khajuraho on the world map when he explored the site on behalf of the Archaeological Survey of India and described what he found in glowing terms. The Khajuraho Group of Monuments has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site