Toy Train, Cubbon Park and Visvesvaraya Museum

I had ridden the train early 80s... goes without saying that I enjoyed every second of it. I remember seeing Suri & Co. at the back of the last carriage. Dad used to work for Suri Paper Mills, Delhi before we moved to Bengaluru. It seems the company had donated an engine and three carriages ...something like that. Shortly after the visit the train stopped working for many years. It must've disappointed many kids like me.

January 1, 2011.
I had promised to take Durga to take her to Cubbon Park for a ride in the train and also show her Vishweshwariah Industrial and Technological Museum. Here we are.

We got tickets. ₹5 for kids and ₹10 for grownups.

Ride lasted about 5 minutes. End of it I felt I seemed to have enjoyed it more than Durga. If I were in her place I would definitely asked for another ride. If you have never been in this train, do watch these videos.

We visited the science museum first since it is open to public at 8AM that's one & half hour before the train ride tickets are issued.

I think the museum has 4 or 5 sections. Most visitors start from the basement which exhibits antique machinery which includes a lorry, an aeroplane, a boiler, a printing press and many more interesting machinery. The good part of the museum are working models which help kids understand working concepts. I could Durga watch and observe, she definitely liked this place.

We rushed through the first and second floors.

Durga wanted to spend more time but I had some to catch up with some work. I told her to visit again sometime with Deepak.

Few videos I shot at Vishweshwariah Museum.

I wanted to take Durga to Government Museum and Venkatappa Art Gallery which are right next to the science museum :( some other day. The Government Museum has two floors and an open-air sections. The ground floor is mostly prehistoric stuff like neolithic artefacts (tools & pottery shreds), a small weapons collection, sculptures and hero-stones. In the first floor are ancient musical instruments and paintings. The open-air museum is again sculptures and hero-stones. Venkatappa Art Gallery basically is an exhibition of modern art-work.

If you are holidaying with kids at Bengaluru, my suggestion is; forget movie halls and malls, instead take a relaxing walk in Cubbon Park, enjoy the train ride, amaze your kids at the science museum, history museum and check out art work at the art gallery.

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Sudi

November 2010
I heard about Sudi while researching information about Gajendragad. Sudi, a village between Ron and Gajendragad, has two ancient temples, two stone Shiva Lingas, a Basavanna, Ganapati and a twin towered temple with a Basavanna and two Halegannada inscriptions.

Mallikarjuna Gudi

The temple is surrounded by houses. The temple is regularly used for a variety of activities by the village people. Some farmer did not bother to clear the heap of green-gram waste.

An inscription at the temple entrance. A local priest performs pooja everyday.

A little Basavanna sits opposite the sanctum sanctorum.

Architecture is Kalyani Chalukya, similar to the temples of Pattadkal and Aihole.

View of the shikhara.

Very close to Mallikarjuna temple are two eye-catching Eshawara Lingas, a damaged Basavanna, a huge Ganapati and an open well called Nagakunda- all enclosed within a compound.

Flat top Shiva Linga in a mantapa.

Curved top Eshwara Linga.

The Basavanna with a damaged snout.

Ganapati's belly is so big and round! The idol gives an impression that tummy is heavy with food. A snake is tied around the Lord's midriff.

A few feet from the Ganapati temple are two idols of two robbers who were punished for their evil deeds. This half buried statue is one of them.

The decorated stepped well. In the ancient times, every temple had one Kalyani. Water is an essential component of pooja items in any temple.

Jodu-Kalasa Gudi ~ Twin Tower Temple.

This Dwikutachala temple is located on the outskirts of the village right next to a high school... could be a pre-university college. I was shocked to see trash littered in & around the temple; playing cards, bottles, cigarette butts, gutka sachets, and what not. Utter disregard to the monuments.

However, this beautifully decorated Basavanna is pretty well preserved.

Two thick slabs with Halegannada ~ ancient Kannada inscriptions are defaced badly. Overall the entire temple is neglected.

I sent an email with a photo of the defaced inscription to an ASI official in New Delhi. No response until now.

A close look st the text... neat and well rounded. I cannot write, my mother-tongue, so neatly on a paper :( Makes me wonder how those guys sculpted such neat letters on stone.

Check out the canopy, looks as though it's carved out of wood.

I wish people of Sudi, especially the youth, take an initiative to preserve their monuments which have given an identity to their village.

Videos shot at Sudi.

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