Mamallapuram

Mahaballipuram Lighthouse

SADRAS Fort, Alambara Fort Ruins ECR, Chennai

My Students and I went to Sadras Fort and Alambara Fort ruins around ECR (East Coast Road) between Chennai and Pondicherry.




The matter below is picked up from some website some months ago and I forgot to keep the link. I am sorry but then how does one pick up information? From somebody else, right? Except the first person who wrote about something first time. We just need to give the URL.. and if anybody gives it to me I will post it here.

The ruins of Alamparai Fort lie near Kadapakkam, a village 50 km from Mamallapuram on the land overlooking the sea. It was constructed by musilm rulers during 1746 AD by Nawab of Carnatic Dost.Alikhan during the Mughal era.

The Alamparai Fort once had a 100-metre long dockyard stretching into the sea, from which zari cloth, salt, and ghee were exported. In around 1760, the British destroyed a major portion of the fort and more recently the structure was damaged in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Presently it is a picturesque and serene spot with backwaters and cool sand. Local fishermen assist tourists in a pleasurable boating experience around the fort. The fort can be reached on driving down the East Coast Road, about 100 kilometers from Chennai, 50 kilometers from Pondicherry.

However, by 1760, this fort was destroyed by the Britishers. This fort was also destroyed by 2004 tsunami. Alamparai fort is one of the major spot controlled by State Archaeological Department. On the east side of the fort is a marvelous view of the backwaters. The waters lap gently against the edges of the fort, and you can see the sea in the distance. The hypnotic blue of the sky and the sea are soothing. A boat ride along the backwaters is another exciting possibility. Some recent history - parts of the Vikram-and-Surya-starrer "Pithamagan" were shot at the fort, says a chatty local. Fresh fish from the fisherfolks' evening catch is on sale in the village of Kadapakkam.

Sadras Fort [I have the link to this matter copied below]

http://www.parentree.in/sathya/journal-203/Sadras-Fort---Day-trip---Chennai.html

Sadras (Saduranga pattinam) is an old Dutch fort that is located just past Mahabalipuram, near the Kalpakkam atomic power plant.
It is next to the beach and is a nice place to have a small picnic with children. The fort is not large (only about 100m wide and 100m long) and has only a couple of small rooms inside it. It has thick walls though. At the gate, there are couple of old cannons and inside the fort is an interesting Dutch cemetery and a gallows.
There is a granary building on the far right corner of the fort. You can climb to the roof of the granary and have a small picnic while seeing the waves crash on the beach. Children can learn about history and old forts also. The place is reasonably well maintained and is not crowded at all. If the gate is locked, just cal out and the caretaker will open the gate for you.
How to get there?
Drive on the East Coast Road. Go past Mahabalipuram and then just as you see Kalpakkam power plant (which is far to your left), there is a left turn to go towards Kalpakkam township. Follow that road for a couple of miles and it will lead you straight to the fort. You will go past the Kalpakkam atomic plant.
It is at most 5 to 10 minutes, after you cross Mahabalipuram. So it is an easy drive from Chennai and will not take more than a few hours.

Padmanabhan Palace, Kannyakumari

The capital of Travancore until 1333, Padmanabhapuram is known for its fort which encloses, among other buildings, a palace and a temple. I visited the Padmanabhan Palace which is built fully from wood! Huge two storied structure & a sight to behold!!
This was my last visit at Kannyakumari and after that I drove down to Kodaikanal.

Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Here are a few photos of Jaipur City. Since I went for work there I could only take photos wherever I went. I had visited this place as a tourist when I did not have a digital camera and so all my old photos still need to be scanned (dont think it will ever happen-- or maybe after I retire !!)

The Road to Jaiour from Delhi

The gate to Pink City -Hawa Mahal (the palace ) and the market. They are trying to maintain the colours. The Hawa Mahal (Hall of Windis- the umpteen windows were for the several queens to look out from their chambers and the design is such that during the heat of Summer in Rajasthan air circulation was maintained and hence the name.)

The busy market place during off period. This market was the bomb blast target recently.

The last one is a National Library I think, if I am remembering correctly. Or maybe the University.

I need not tell anyone about Jaipur. Foreign tourists know more of this than me!! LOL! They can be seen here in plenty. I have heard that some women fall prey to local love and marry locals - some of them just guides [who in Indian society are from the lower strata in terms of economic and educational status) (half of these women do not know probably that the locals marry to go abroad and of course the fascination Indians have for white skin (Alas!).

Gingee Fort, Tamilnadu, India

Gingee [Pronounced as Chee-n-jee here] Fort.

Historians strongly believe that the Jains lived in Gingee from 200 B.C. to 500 A.D. Then Pallavas from 600 AD to 900 AD. Then under Cholas from 900 AD to 1103 AD. Then Gingee came under the supermacy of Pandya, Pallava and Hoysalas from 1104 AD to 1330. Therafter Gingee was under the sway of chieftains, Anandha Koan, Krishna Koan and Pullia Koan and Anandha Koan built "Anandha Giri" and afterwards it became "Raja Giri" His son Krishna Koan built "Krishna Giri" . Hence there are actually two forts -Rajagiri Fort and Krishna Giri Fort. The Chennai-Gingee road passes through the middle with two fort areas on both sides of the road. Then Vijayanagar Kings ruled the fort in 1400 AD. Then Nayakka Rulers for 150 yrs. Then Bijapur Sultans attacked and took over the fort in 1649 AD. Then Marathas in 1677 AD. Then Mughals in 1700 AD to 1750. Then the French took over in 1750 AD.


I could not reach the top of the Rajagiri Fort because it takes two hours to walk up, see and come down. You can estimate the height of the Hilltop portion of the Fort from this picture.

And the next two are shot by Telephoto at 300 mm from the road outside the fort

The next one was shot from outside the fort area against the sun with a telephoto again.

Where Eagles Dare ..Oops! Where crows dare!!

I reached Gingee via Tiruvannamalai but this can be reached from Chennai via Tambaram-Chengalpattu-Tindivanam (here one road goes to Pondycherry via the NH-45 and is 160 kms from Chennai. Visiting hours is 9 am to 5 pm. Try to reach before 2 pm if you want to visit the top. Old people may find it tough to walk that much. Youngsters will enjoy.

A terrace and the stairs to get onto it.

A water Tank. All Indian Forts have this type of tanks for bathing etc. The stairs to go down into it.

You can read more about it here. http://www.gingeefort.com/fort.asp

Mahaballipuram (Mamallapuram), Chennai, India

You can see three things at Mahaballipuram or Mamallapuram as they call it in in Chennai (City near this place in the State of Tamil Nadu, India):
1. Arjuna's Penance
2. Five 'Rathas' or 5 Chariots
3. Shore Temple (on the beach).

The slide show shows only the first two for now plus an additional site which I am not recalling now!!! hahahaha!! It also show the lighthouse area which is not listed above.

Ramar Sethu, Rameshwaram, India

You can read about Rameswaram here (the legend etc). This Shivastalam is considered to be one of the holiest shrines in India. It represents the southernmost of the 12 Jyotirlingams of India and has been a time honored pilgirmage center held on par with Banaras. The island-temple town is located off of the Sethu coast of Tamilnadu (south eastern). This shrine is regarded as the 8th of the Tevara Stalams in the Pandya region of Tamilnadu.
This temple is assocated closely with the Ramayana and Rama's victorious return from Sri Lanka. You can read further here.

For the photographer's eye there is this 2 km long Pamban Bridge also called Indira Gandhi Bridge (what the heck? Everything seems to be named after the Gandhi Family only in India) connecting Mainland with the island or Rameswaram lies on the Indian end of the Palk Strait. There is a road bridge on which I travelled and the one below is the railway bridge which opens up in the middle to let ships pass through.

Then there is Dhanushkudi the farthest point of India towards Ceylon now called Sri Lanka where the Mythological Bridge of rocks built by Lord Hanuman (in Hindu Mythology this big monkey is the follower of Lord Rama) to make it easy for Rama to walk into Lanka to rescue his wife Sita.. This gap between India and Sri Lanka is now a controversy between Tamil Nadu Govt and BJP the party. You can read about the Sethusamudram Project here.

At Dhanushkudi you will see the ruins of a British Railway Station !!!! on the beach near the sea. Just walk back into the past and think of those days.............................................. the road to Dhanushkudi is something to be seen. Sea on both sides as the road is narrow and is constant ly windswept from both sides and so covered by white sand. The beaches on both sides are white and vast. On the right side when you go there is the male sea and on the left side is the female sea as per the locals.. (male sea is rough and the female sea is not). It is a fantastic experience -- a desert near the sea!!

Here you can see the Railway Crossing System from British Times (India thanks British Rule for gifting us the wonderful Indian Railways which is the largest single entity in India in terms of people employed and in terms of efficiency considering the vastly spread tracks all over the country). This lever closes the gates when a train comes.

You can see the slide show of the road from Madurai, the Rameshswaram temple, the sea, and Dhanuskudi. You can see the Architecture, fishermen, people bathing in the sea which they consider Holy each place photographed as a Historical or Mytholiogical relevance. You can read about them elsewhere (like I said earlier, why not leave the writing to people who have already done so on the web?). There is a place inside the Rameshswaram Temple where you will see a square well and people are taking holy bath from that water. The water is full of algae & is green and this makes me wonder that Human beings are so overwhelmed by religion that they will do anything in the name of the same- even educated ones. Other photos you will see are of Salt Heaps at Devipattinam.

Red Fort, New Delhi, India

Red Fort, New Delhi, India. Just a few photos. It is a very famous place so lots of photos will be available on the web, I guess.

Plus if I tell you everything here what will be the fun of actually coming here and seeing it for real?

There are a few which have been taken at the beginning of the light and sound show and one during-so please pardon my camera shake in one/two.

Jodhpur Fort, Rajasthan, India-Part-1

Glimpses from the Fort at Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

Cradles for child princes/ princesses. The other is a writing table with the feather pen.

The ceiling decoration.