Skywatch Friday... History amidst nature

This was a journey we had embarked on nearly a year ago, but for some strange reason i was reminded of it today! And so, decided to unearth the photograph and share it as part of the Skywatch post!! 

We had just crossed Vandavasi when the friend who was also the guide told us we need to do a U turn and go into the village to reach our destination. We were headed towards Seeyamangalam, part of the Thellar Taluk in  Tiruvannamalai District. There were a few small houses and we spotted a crowd in front of a house. As we drove by, we noticed there had been a death, hence the crowd. Within a few meters, we spotted the temple on our left, and decided to explore the premises. 

Situated at 80kms from Chennai, Seeyamangalam is home to Stambeshwarar Temple [an avatar of Lord Shiva], After the main temple was constructed, the rulers who came in later [Chola and Vijayanagara rulers] added a few extensions- the mandapam and Gopuram. 

The temple was shut, and when we investigated, we discovered the temple would be open only after the funeral was done with[the death we saw down the road]... Knowing we had nearly an hour, we took a trip to another temple nearby -Thirumalpadi... 

We returned once the priest gave us the Green signal and spent some time wandering the interiors of the temple in Seeyamangalam. On one of the pillars inside, we were shown Shiva in the Ananda Thandava posture, which is one of the early interpretations. On the other side was a carving of Shiva Parvathi on Rishaba[bull]. The priest told us we were free to take photographs inside... 

A few steps from the main temple is a small temple atop a rock decidated to Lord Muruga. There were steps carved out of the rock, going 3/4th of the way. We decided to give it a pass after attempting the 1st few steps... The temple premises was huge, opening out to empty land and the blue skies.

 

After an hour or so, as we walked towards the car, we wondered what other stories were hidden within these walls. 

For more beautiful skies, visit Skywatch..

Akka Thangi Betta

These are two giant boulders that seem to be leaning against each other in the middle of nowhere in Hampi. When i saw these rocks while driving back from near the Underground Shiva temple, my tour guide and naturalist Virupaksha started narrating the tale... 

Akka Thangi Betta literally means ‘sister stones’ in the local language. Local folklore has it that centuries ago there were two sisters who came to Hampi were weary from the heat and sat down to rest on the side of the road. On hearing them complain about Hampi, and the city Goddess placed a curse was placed on them and they were converted into rocks/boulders. 

Infact, in Hampi almost all the rocks and boulders have a story hidden within them. Are they really true? Well, they do make for interesting tales while visiting such a rustic town.. 

Update on 22nd Oct:- Indrani mentioned that the rocks collapsed in May, and so i snooped around the net to see if i could find some news on this and sigh... i did find this link-  

Part of Sisters Stone collapses in Hampi  [The story below...]

BELLARY: One of the two gigantic boulders, popularly known as Sisters Stone and considered one of the important land marks at the Hampi heritage city, was found broken on Wednesday.
The middle portion of the boulder on the right side has fallen down. Official sources told The Hindu that the boulder, which had withstood the ravages of time, split into two because of a natural process and ruled out any human intervention.
Crack
A crack was noticed in the boulder some time ago. Due to extreme weather conditions, with mercury shooting up during summers and dipping during winter, the vibrations caused by heavy vehicular traffic and the sinking of the soil, the crack might have widened and split into two.
Sisters' Stone was among the major tourist attractions here. Tourists used to get themselves photographed near the stone. These stones were also used to organise adventure sports – rock climbing, rappling and the like – during the Hampi Utsav.