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Introduction The village of Nandi at the foot of the Nandi Hills, about 60kms to the north of Bengaluru, is home to the beautiful temple of Bhoga Nandeeshwara. The temple, dating back to the 9th century, features elements related to the Dravidian, Hoysala and Vijayanagara schools of architecture. The temple is a fantastic example of the cumulative harmony of culture - each of the elements is distinct and yet is integral to the entire monument without over-riding any other element. This would be in direct contrast to monuments (especially those related to the Sultanates and Mughals) where older monuments were destroyed and their components used to create a new one. The Nandi hills and the beautiful Pinakini Kote The Bhoga Nandeeshwara Temple complex can be divided into four sections: the outer enclave, the temples, the halls and the tank. All sections other than the main temple bear a prominent Vijayanagara badge and are the more recent (about 16th century) additions to the co...

Introduction The town of Talakadu, located about 45km from Mysuru, is a curious place. It is located on the left (northern) bank of the Kaveri, surrounded by high mounds of sand. Under these sands, it is believed, lie the remains of over thirty temples that were a site of active worship and pilgrimage up to the 17th century. What had followed then can be best summarized as an ecological disaster. Or as the locals would have it - a curse. The sands of Talakadu A few of these temples have been unearthed (or, unsanded?). -x-x-x-   The Curse Of Talakadu The curse of Talakadu inflicted by Queen Alamelamma of Srirangapatanam on the Wodeyars of Mysore has three aspects which are translated as: "May Talakadu be filled with sand; Malangi (on the other bank) be a whirlpool, Mysore Kings shall not have offsprings". The first and the last aspect have held true over a course of three centuries. While one is unsure about the genetics of the Wodeyar Family, the first aspec...