Talacaud

You can read about how we reached and Somnathpur here. 

There are no decent places to eat near Somnathpur. It is better if you pack a picnic lunch. The journey from Somnathpur to Talacaud (around 25 km) was quite uneventful except for the fact that we had biscuits lunch in the car. If you search online for Talacaud, there is a long history readily available in wiki. Talacaud, on the banks of River Cauvery was once home to more than 30 temples. And it was a curse from the wife of a Mysore Wodeyar, Rani Rangamma, when she drowned herself in the river cursing the place to bury under sands. True to that, the place has sand dunes and many temples have been submerged under sand.

Somnathpur Temple

You can read about how we reached Somnathpur here. 

After 2 hours from Bangalore, the journey across greenish landscape took us to Somnathpura. For a structure maintained by Archeological Survey of India, I was surprised that it was maintained very well. Entry cost is INR 5 for Indians and INR 200 for foreign nationals.

A brief history into the Temple - This temple was constructed by Somnatha, an officer under the rule of Hoysala Kind Narasimha III (1254 A.D - 1291 A.D.). It follows three celled structure (Trikutachala) consisting of three Garbagrahas with images of Keshava, Venugopala and Janardhana, three Antaralas and a Navarang. Mallithamma, Masanathamma, Chameya, Bhameya are few sculptors whose names have been carved on the images with Mallithamma carving majority of the sculptures.

The porch with spectacular view of the temple

Somnathpur and Talacad

Ever stared at sculptures for one full day? Or rather, taking photographs of them? And that too while visiting Bangalore!! Well, that is what I did on my first trip to Bangalore! How I ended up choosing a historical site instead of malls/shopping is still a mystery :) 

Me and my dear friend planned for this two-days trip - one day dedicated to Enrique Iglesias concert and other for Somnathpur and Talacad. Being our first trip as a women travellers, we weren’t quite sure whether it was safe for us to travel around Bangalore alone. So, we invited a friend to be our bodyguard (:P) and voila, problem solved!! It was because of him we were able to make it and I dedicate this post to him and my fellow Enrique fan :)