I live in the oldest part of Bangalore to be exact South Bangalore. We are blessed with the greenest tree cover dense like a canopy over the roads. I live in the midst of heritage that I love to show off to any out of town visitors that we get.
So there is always a walk around Basavangudi that my visitors are treated to and I don't seem to tire of these places. There is something soothing about walking around these temples and Basavangudi in general. If you are in Bangalore and you haven't seen the Big Bull then you must go there now.
The Big Bull is perched on a hillock and you have to take a flight of stairs to reach there.This bull is 15ft tall and 20ft wide. The area has lots of trees for shelter so even at peak noon this is not a big task. In the evenings and at dusk Basavangudi comes live with chirping of all sorts of birds and bats.
At the foot of the hillock is huge Ganesha. This idol is called DoddaGanesha or simply the big Ganesha. At times it is covered in fresh butter and decorated colorfully for special occasions.
A little down the road is another modern temple which has is designed like a cinema set. On the outside you see a cave like structure. As you walk into it you pass thru narrow corridors that open into a large hall, in the center is an idol of Krishna balancing the Govardhan on his little finger. Here it is the ceiling.
As you walk around you find depictions of Krishna's life stories on the artificial stone walls, of Putana feeding the baby Krishna, The Kalia mardan, Sudama's visit and the Vishwarup darshan!
Once in a year everything in Basavangudi comes to a halt and this busy area with its college campuses and traffic make way for the Kadalekai Parishe, the groundnut fair. My friend Kiran has captured it beautifully, go over to check it out.
After the walk around Basavangudi you can go further down to the garden and Lunch at Bugle Rock Kamat.
