KRISHNAGIRI & VELLORE TRIP

                                 

Vellore Golden Temple, was a long pending trip. And was postponed couple of times.. We had Leave on  Tue for May 1st.. So  decided to  make it as a 1 day trip, including  Krishnagiri's  Padmavati temple & Jalakanteshwara temple with Golden temple Vellore...

We started around  7:00am, and drove non stop to Krishnagiri via Hosur. It is about 100 KMs from Bangalore. And  stopped for breakfast  around  9:00am in Kamat Restaurant Krishnagiri..  After breakfast we continued our  journey to  "Shree Parshwa Padmavathi Shaktipeet "  which was  first on our  Itinerary of the day..

                                  


Shree Parshwa Padmavathi temple :

We reached  Padmavati temple around 10:00am..  Individual temples for Naagraaj, Bhairav, Padmavathi Devi & and of Sri Parshwanath Bhagwan(23rd Thirthankar of Jain.) is spread across a big Land in the same  compound... This teerth is established by  Shri Vasant Gurudev Swamyji. Photography is is not allowed in temple and  people wearing Black dress is not allowed,Luckily none of us wearing Black dress .Temple is still  under  construction  in the main sanctum as well as outside.

We first visited  Naagraj temple, where you can find  Huttham (Snakes house).It is believed that, at Naagraaj temple one can make a wish and after it comes true, should tie a coconut in a red cloth and present it to Naagraaj. We could see lottts of  Coconuts hanged there.. Next to Naagraaj temple is Bhomyaji (Bhairav) temple. He is said to be the protector of Krishnagiri Teerth.

 
We then  went to Main temple  Parshwa Padmavathi.  The roof, walls and pillars of the sanctum is decorated with broken bits of coloured glass, which looks attractive.. The presiding deity is  Shri  Parshwanatha and Padmavathi.. 

PIC FROM JAIN SITE

Krishnagiri Dam:

We then left to Krishnagiri dam, which is around 20kms from Padmavathi temple.. It was  around 12:00pm and was sun was its peak.  Unfortunately there was no water flow in Dam,  making us disappointed. Krishnagiri dam  surroundings has a good garden. we could see many localities, with there families  cooking and  eating in the park. we were wondering  how did they manage to sit and cook,  in this hot sun..

Ramesh dint show any interest in  going to park.  Compared to KRS dam of mysore, this was nothing. But after going that far, i just wanted to go inside and see if  theres some water other-side of the park.  We all walked  inside the park, and climbed the steps, where we got some good view of water and beautiful  garden.. Because of  hot sun, we  returned soon, taking some snaps...

Ramesh got angry that i wasted  40kms(to/fro) and  made them walk in hot sun for nothing...And he insisted me that i  suggest, its better to  exclude this place:)... It was Peak summer (March) and  Mid-noon making it worse. But if you are not expecting much and  May be in winter and evenings this Garden would be good  place for picnic for Localities..

Vellore Fort :

Vellore is  around 150kms from Krishnagiri. The Fort is situated in the centre of Vellore town opposite to Old Bus stand.  It was around 2:30pm. we decided to have lunch before exploring Fort and Temple. We had  meals in near by Restaurant. And  started to fort...

Vellore Fort is 16th Century fort, built by Vijayanagara empire. It spreads over an area of 133 acres. The fort is surrounded by a moat which was once used as an additional line of defence in the case of an invasion. It includes an escape tunnel leading to Virinjipuram about 12 km away, which could be used by the king and other royals in the event of an attack. Vellore Fort has housed several royal captives including Tipu sultan and his royal family and , sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Srilanka..

PIC FROM Internet

The fort houses a Temple, a Mosque and a Church and many other buildings that are now used as public offices. As soon as we enter,  we saw a ground, where  local kids were playing cricket in hot sun,  and to the left we saw  Jalakanteshwara temple . We  first visited Jalakanteshwara temple.


Jalakanteshwara Temple :

Jalakanteshwara temple was built in the year 1550 A.D. The temple was considered a masterpiece at the time of its construction and now it has become a marvel on this land of Vellore.  During mughal period the idol was removed and kept away from the town, forgotten by the generation. Later in 1983, group of people gathered together,placed the idol and started their prayers.

The temple has a large wedding hall adorned with elegant reliefs and monolithic sculptures. It is said that the ship coming from England to carry this sank in the sea and hence the idea was dropped. This mandapam is adorned with elegant reliefs and monolithic sculptures.

The main deity here is Lord shiva. We took darshan of lord, and went around the temple. The temple is huge, having  lot more sub deities incuding Ganesha,Subramanya,Navagraha and more.. We spent some time in the temple then headed to  Golden temple, our final destination of the day...

 MahaLakshmi Golden Temple:

We then went to much hyped  Vellore Golden Temple. It was around 5:00 when we reached the temple.  Inside the temple No electronic goods {Mobiles, Handy cams, Digital Cameras} are allowed. So we kept everything in the car, and went near the complex. We saw  around 6 to 7 blocks similar to Tirumala Tirupati Q block. Security person said this common que would take around  2/3hrs, so we decided to take  ticket worth 250rs per person. (We dint want to spend 3hrs, as we had to return blore, which is around 4+ hrs journey).

PIC FROM Internet

We bought the tickets and started walking through a  star-shaped pathway, laid to a distance of 1.5 km. On either side of the pathway, the messages of 'Amma'(Founder of Golden temple is called  'Amma'  by his devotees) and quotes from Bhagavad Gita, Bible and Quran are displayed.Similar to Tirupati you can find  Drinking water taps, restrooms, Cofee shops all along the path way...

We first came across a  a huge and mind blowing  Idol of Chamundeshwari beautifully decorated and adorned richly with lot of jewels.  After that we walked further to see beautiful green landscape, artificial water fall and fountains and lots of idols of different Devis.

PIC FROM Internet

                   

The Golden Temple is situated in a 100 acre lush green landscape in the middle of a star-shaped path,  which was built in a short span of 7 years. It was inaugurated in 24, 2007. Since then, the temple has attracted hundreds of thousands of devotees; often breaching the 1 lakh mark on special occasions.Sripuram temple is open from 7am - 8pm all 365 days. Long waiting periods for the darshan on weekends and holidays.

                                   

 Twelve layers of gold foils have been pasted on copper sheets embossed with the designs of Gods and fixed on the walls.One-and-a-half tonnes of gold has gone into the design of the Sri Lakshmi Narayani Temple, which has been built at a cost of Rs.300 crore.According to Sri Sakthi Amma, the decision to have the temple coated with gold is only to attract visitors and enable them to get wisdom through the messages of the Vedas, which they will have to read before reaching the temple located on sprawling a 100 acre-site.

OOH LA LA WONDER, OOH LA LA WONDERLA

I had been to wonderla, couple of times with my parents and friends. With Ramesh i was planning to go to Wonderla from long time, but it hadnt materalised till date.

We decided to go to wonderla sunday, and was ready around 10:00am, plan was to be there by 11am.(11am is opening time on sat/sun).Last moment my dad and my bro also decided to join us..We 4 left around 10:30am and reached there by 11:30am.We were a bit unlucky as there was a huge gang of college students and we had to wait atleast 20-30mins for each rides.

                            

When we stood in first que it was around 11:45am. As expected with this college gang we ended up standing in queue for 20-30mins for each ride, which wasted most of our time...We made our plans to start with Dry rides  first and then have lunch and then enjoy the water games.

                                             

Every time we stood in the line for a ride, the topic was about how scary the ride would be and i used to tell omg, i cant play this, let me step back(but ended up playing all:)Post the ride it was always thrilling and would jump into the line again to go for other ride. It was almost 4pm when we decided to have lunch.


We had lunch, in a restaurant  near the water pool. Lunch was tasty and was not very expensive..

We then changed our dress and went into pool. We enjoyed a while in water tubes, and enjoyed a theme where bucket fills water and pours it over. Ramesh, Bro and Dad enjoyed a lot  playing in Slides in water pool. I am scaredof water slides, but Ramesh made me slide in a tiny slide.. I managed to slide thrice in that tiny slide and enjoyed it a lot. It has lot more water slides compared to Innovative film city theme park.

Later i also played in  slide which carries us in rubber rafts and make their way down, negotiating curves and loops on the way, to end up splurging in a shallow pool. Though i was scared to death, i enjoyed once we came down.By then Artifical wave started, we headed to wave pool, and enjoyed  a lot in wave pool..

Around 6:30pm we came out, got  dressed and played  Water splash ride and Musical Fountain & Laser Show till 7:30pm...


Here is list of rides we played...


1. Wonderla Bamba
A high thrill 18 seated with the wonder la mascot, which takes you up and down in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions, with sudden, unexpected accelerations and abrupt drops from a height of 5.5 meters.

                                  


2. Crazy wagon
Crazy Wagon is the massive family ride themed like a horse-wagon. . It is an insanely oscillating wagon that swings in every possible direction. It moves to an amazing height of 21mt and appeals to riders of all ages, offering a huge orbiting sensation, with alternating movements of varying speed, both clockwise and anti-clockwise. The ride uses imported drive train and mechanical parts.

                                              

3. Equinox
Riders on this ultimate thrill ride sit in outward-facing suspended seats of 5.5 meter diameter that can seat maximum of 25 adult riders. The suspended seats mean that the riders’ legs dangle freely, and each seat has an individual shoulder harness with a lock sensor. The ring is suspended on a big arm of length 9 meters and this arm swings back and forth when driven by powerful motors in a seemingly pendulum motion. Mean while the ring of the seats starts rotating on in its axis as well. At its peak, the arm swings at a maximum speed of 70km/h, riders are upside down 16mt above the ground and experience a multitude of thrilling forces.

4. Y- Scream
Eight seats of capsules, each seat holding four riders, are suspended from a blow-like structure from a height of 20 meters. The bow swings and turns like a joint wheel, while the capsules themselves turns on their axis, making the occupants scream.



                              

5. Mixer
This is a ride that gives you the feeling of being caught in a mixer/blender. The capsule gyrates and moves in all possible directions giving you a ride you won’t forget in the immediate future.

6. Insanity
This is a four-armed giant of a robot with ‘four fingers’ to each arm. Each fingers has two capsules into which rides are safely harnessed. Using sophisticated hydraulics, the machine moves each arm and each finger independently, turning, twisting, and swiveling in every direction possible, giving you a ride that’s sure to drive you insane.

7. Drop Zone
If bungee jumping is what you fancied, here’s something just as exhilarating. Securely seated around a vertical column, Drop Zone hoists you up to a dizzying height of 17 meters, and then just let’s go, plummeting you to earth with all the force that gravity can muster. Up and down, up and down, till you’ve had all the free-fall you can handle for a day. Pneumatic dampeners cushion the fall and ensure you have a safe landing.

7.Hang Glider
Hang Glider is an adventurous ride that takes the riders a trip on the air at a dizzying height on steel cables and glides down at speed giving a feeling of flight. The movements are computer controlled using a complex system of hydraulic lifts and pulleys, and ensures the international safety standards. The ride gives an opportunity to have a sight on the whole Wonderla and its surroundings.

8. Pirate Ship
This is a swing in a shape of a wooden craft as a gather of momentum; it swings to an arc of 1800, giving you an accelerating rush of adrenaline. Riders are safely harnessed in their seats. Not for the week hearted.

                                           

9.Skywheel
Firmly straddling a 13-storey-high tower, the giant wheel with a diameter of 30 meters, gives riders a bird’s eye view of the park and its surroundings and the city beyond, as it slowly turns on its axis. Spacious lifts carry visitors to the top of the tower, which is a landmark that can be seen from miles around.

                                                 

10. Techno jump
This ride has 14 spokes arranged radically around a hub. At the outer end of each spoke is a capsule that can seat three. The spokes are raised and lowered hydraulically, while the whole contraption spins like carousal.


                                

                              

11. Wondersplash
This ride is an absolute must for every visitor to Wonderla. A bogie that resembles a raft made of logs is hauled up a hill using a conveyor and taken through a tunnel. On emerging from the tunnel, it hurtles down a steep incline at a dizzying speed and splashes into a shallow pool, sending a glorious spray of water and drenching the riders in the process. This is the fun ride suitable for all the age groups.

12. Termite Coaster & Train
Inside what appears to be a gigantic termite mound with a witch’s mouth for entry, are two popular rides – the Termite Train and the Termite Coaster. The Termite Train winds along a crazy track with sharp curves, steep climbs and dizzying drops. If that sound tame to you, try the Coaster. It will take you screaming, up and down hair-raising loops at break-neck spee

13. Musical Fountain & Laser Show
Wonderla boasts of India’s only indoor musical fountain where you can watch a colourful display as water takes centre stage and dances gracefully to the accompaniment of music and brilliantly choreographed lighting. This is followed by the enthralling spectacle of a hi-tech laser show. A not-to-be-missed extravaganza. Check with park assistants for show timings.

14. Water Rides:

Water rides include Wave pool,  Lazy river with water tubes,  Slides, and different
themes of water pouring from huge bucket, huge umbrella and many more..
Ramesh enjoyed water rides to core..

Below are the things, which we missed, because of time constraints..
Planning to visit them on our next trip to Wonder La....


3d (MISSED THIS)
Using high definition 3D video, multi-channel surround sound, high power blowers and hydraulics-assisted seats that move in perfect synchronisation with the visual content, rolly-polly monkey Chikku takes you on a adventurous treasure hunt journey through the dense forest, enjoying the serenity and beauty of it and facing the challenge of deadly cobra and other stiff challenges at the end achieves is goal. Cine magic 3D is an absolute family thriller that brings you the essence virtual reality cinema.

Hurricane (MISSED THIS)
This is a ride that looks like a giant three-bladed fan that rises to a height of 20 meters. Riders sit in secure capsules that form the blades of the fan. Each capsule can seat eight persons. As the fan turns, each capsule also rotates on its own axis, giving you the feeling of being caught in a whirlwind. Recommended age: 12 years and above. Not recommended for heart patients or people suffering from high BP.

Toon Tango (MISSED)
This is the ride for all the age groups where twosomes (or threesomes if you can squeeze yourselves in) are seated in one of the four capsules that emanate from a central pivot and are gently spun around as if in a waltz. There are multiple units.

Dungeon Ride (MISSED)
The Dungeon Ride is an intense and exiting ride though a dungeon hunted by its notorious jail warden’s ghost. The ride is based on a fictional account of a savage jail warden – Amarjeeth Rane. The ride explores the darkest recesses of a tormented mind and employs the most sophisticated computer technology to make the peoples blood run cold. This is one ride that challenges rider’s wits. This unique ride combines complex hydraulic and pneumatic controlled attractions and the entire attraction works automatically without any human interference.


Maverick (Missed)
Maverick, like the name suggests, is a ride that doesn’t go by the rules. It turns. It twists. It tilts. It swivels. It turns you upside down and every which way possible. It defies the rules of motion and momentum. The 21-seater raft hinged to an independently acting vertical column at either end does everything to drive you crazy. When you are on it you’ll scream for it to stop, but after you are done with it, you’ll want to do it again. Safety harnesses hold you securely in place while the machine goes through its paces.


                                    


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MELKOTE - NAGAMANGALA - BASARALU - KMDODDI

My parents had once visited Melkote  but could not have darshan as they reached there @  closing time(1:00pm).. Since then my mom wanted to visit  Melkote.

We decided to accompany them.I  checked  places around Melkote and  got  address and route map of couple of places near Melkote..

Sunday as planned, we reached  our parents house by 6:45am. And  my parents Us, and my elder brother Mahesh started our journey @ 7:00am.. We hit  Maddur around 9:30am, stopped by  a restaurant for breakfast and  later  continued travelling in  Pandavapura taluk of  Mandya District...

We reached temple around 10:00am.And decided to first visit  Yoga Narasimha temple which is on hills and then CheluvaNarayana temple which is in Village..

DESTINATION 1- Melkote :

Melkote is around 133kms from Bangalore which is famous for  Yoga Narasimha temple and  CheluvaNarayana temple.. The standard timings for the Melkote temples are Morning 8.00am to 1.00pm and evening 4.30pm to 7.30pm.

Pond/Kalyani of the temple

Yoga Narasimha temple , seen from near the pond..

Yoga-Narasimha Swamy Temple
Yoga-Narasimha Swamy Temple is located on top of the hill, steps are Steep and quite a climb,but You can finish it under 30-40 minutes. It is believed that the image of Yoga Narasimha temple at melkote was installed by Prahlada himself. Krishnaraja Wodeyar III presented a gold crown to Lord Yoga Narasimha.(Narasimha is an Avatar of Lord Vishnu). 

Steps to Yoga Narasimha temple

Entrance of main temple - Yoga Narasimha temple

Once you enter the temple,in place of Garbhagudi you will find huge Bronze Image of Lord Narsimhar, and opposite wall of  the  Bronze Image, you will find Actual Idol of Lord Narsimhar and  you can find a  dark cave right below the deity where Prahalada  is said to have meditated in this cave.


                                   



We  had darshan of Lord  Narsimhar and climbed down the hills. View from the hill is spectacular, we can also find a pond used by the temple. We bought Jack fruits and bowl of Puliyogre which was really tasty ..We climbed down in next 15mins and headed to  Cheluva Narayana temple, which is 5mins away..

Lord Narasimha in Yoga mudre....

Cheluva-Narayana Temple
Cheluva-Narayana means Beautiful. Narayana here in Melkote is  very beautiful.It is believed that this utsavamurthi belonged to and was worshipped by Lord Rama and the kings of the surya vamsa Dynasty for generations. Later the same idol was given to a king of Chandra vamsam (the dynasty of Lord Krishna) and was worshipped by Lord Krishna and many generations. So CheluvaNarayana is so unique that he was worshipped by both Rama and Krishna.

Lord Cheluvanarayana

According to a legend, this metallic image was lost and was recovered by Sri Ramanujacharya after which he renovated the temple.Legend is the processional idol of this temple had been lost for some time. Realizing that the idol was in the possession of the Muslim emperor in Delhi, Muhammed Shah, Sri Ramanuja decided to go there and get it back.Muhammed Shah was greatly impressed by the saint and granted him permission to take it back. So, the idol came back to Melkote. The daughter of Muhammed Shah, a young girl, was so attached to the idol that when Sri Ramanuja took it back, she followed him, unable to bear separation from her beloved doll. When she reached the temple at Yadugiri and saw the idol installed there, she collapsed in front of it and breathed her last. Sri Ramanuja moved by her unconscious Bhakthi in being so involved with the idol of Nayarana had an idol of her installed at the temple.Even today she is worshipped along with the main deities as Bibi Nachiyar. Her figure can be seen at the foot of the main idol and also beside her beloved Sampath Kumara, the processional idol. Some people confuse this and say  Lord Venkateshwara married a muslim(You can search this in google, many claim "Bibi Nanchari" was muslim wife of Lord).But Bibi Nachiyar (Became Bibi Nanchari over time) was just a great devotte like  Meera..

Krishnaraja Wodeyar III was a great devotee of this Lord and presented Lord  a crown known as Raja-mudi or Vajra-mudi.Along with this one more precious Crown is Vaira-mudi, which is  believed to be presented  by Lord Krishna.

Vairamudi, the diamond crown, was stolen from Sriman Narayana, when he was asleep at his abode in the Ksheera Sagara (Milky Ocean), by Virochana. Virochana was the king of demons and the son of Bhakta Prahlada. Garuda fought with Virochana and got custody of Crown and while flying back its blue gem on the crest  is believed to have fallen near Nachiar Koil, a temple town in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. The gem turned into a stream, called the Manimuttaru, which to this day flows in Thanjavur. On his way, he saw Bala Krishna playing with his friends in the mid day sun at Brindavana. Garuda protected the Bala Krishna from the sun by placing his wings as the shade & placed the crown on his head. The local legends of Melkote claim that Krishna presented Cheluva Narayana with this crown.

Vairamudi - Diamond Crown of Lord..(From net)

Vairamudi Brahmostava is an annual festival which gathers more than 3-4 lakh devotees of Lord Cheluva Narayana. Thirunarayana Puram another name for Melkote adorns a festive grandeur on this day when the Lord adorns the legendary diamond studded crown, the Vaira Mudi. The Lord is taken in procession on the golden Garuda with His divine consorts Sridevi & Bhudevi, around the main streets of the city.

Vairamudi Bhramavotsavam (From net)

 There was special pooja going on and we had to wait for mahamangalarti. We took Darshan of Lord Cheluva-Narayana and Mahalakshmi and went around temple to find some beautiful carvings on pillars near Lakshmi/Padmavati temple. By the time we came out it was around 12:30pm.


DESTINATION 2 - NAGAMANGALA:

Sowmya Keshava temple

 We asked couple of people about Hosaholalu,(Lakshminarayanaswamy temple) but was surprised that localites dint know this address. When asked about big temple in this village they spoke of Nagmangala(Which was next place on my list). It was already 12:30 n since most of temples close by 1:00pm,we gaveup Hosalholalu and headed towards Nagamangala which is around 30kms , Melkote

Soumyakeshava is believed to be around 1000yrs old.The temple was built by Hoysalas around 12th century. Main sanctum has Lord Soumyakeshava, and left  sanctum has Rukmini-Krishna and right sanctum has Lakshmi-Narasimha.

3 Main idols of  Sowmya keshava temple...

                                              
 One more attraction of this temple is central hall roof top, is carved with Mandala where  Adhi Shesha is sitting on a big Shanku which appears as if it is placed on heap of 108 Shanku from 1 side. And from other side you can See Rahu & Ketu on other side..

Observe Hood of  Adisesha, from1 end we can see Rahu and Ketu from other end..

Preist told this temple is famous for solving  the Rahu-Ketu dosha and removes any blockade that is currently affecting someone.Keshava Klesha Nashana.(Keshava will destory Klesha means problems)..\


                                               

Purohit suggested we can do Naga pooja and they will lite lamp for 48days (1 mandala) behalf of us.. We did sankalpa and paid 300rs for this pooja. They took address to post the prasadam after 48days..(Have heard many people doing this pooja to remove Nagadosha if any..) It was already 1:00pm by then. We told Purohit we wanted to visit  Basaralu, mallikarjuna temple and but it will be closed by now.. He suggested we can ask  Basaralu temples purohit to open the temple saying we have come from bangalore.


DESTINATION 3 - BASRALU:

I was happy, as we had already missed Hosaholalu temple..We went to Basaralu which is 15kms from Nagamangala. Temple was closed as expected.. We went to purohit's house, which was next to temple, and explained we are from blore, and we have to visit temple then head to blore by nite.. He said he will come in 10 mins, by then a boy came and opened the temple. From outside the temple looks, just a empty structure without pillars and Gopuram. Once we go inside, we can find beautiful Hoysala Structure..

Main Entrance of the temple..

It was built in the 13th Century by Harihara Dannayaka, who was in charge of the armies under the Hoysala King Narasimha II. The temple is currently maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India

                                        

Hoysala structure , built in star shape...

                                                   
 The Presiding deity is Lord Mallikarjuna in form of Linga. In the left sanctum we can can find Naga-Nagini (male and female serpent God)carved in single stone, and in right sanctum we can find Lord Surya.

                                                                  

Other notable carvings in  Garbhagriha is  Mahishasura mardini, lord Ganesha, Saraswati.. Outside the Garbhagriha we can find Nandi. Like  many Hoysala structures, this is a star shaped structure and can find  carvings from Ramayana/mahabharata epics and different gods on pillars and stone walls around the temple.. We took some snaps, took Arati of Lord Mallikarjuna and headed to our last destination of the day..      

                        

Rows of  Mythological animal & stories from Ramayana & Mahabharatha

DESTINATION 4 - K.M DODDI:

 This place is renowned for the  holy bull of the Bhairaveshwara Temple.I had even seen in T.V about importance of this place.. Devotees of this bull believe that it cures illness, settles disputes, identifies thieves from among suspects, etc. Money and other offerings given to this Basavana by devotees is  adorned on the Basavanna, and once in week/month, it is removed and used to construct temple,school and kalynam mantapam.

Lord Basappa, as called by beloved Devotees.

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Aalamanes' or Jaggery-making unitS.

On the way we saw  Jaggery making units and stopped by to see how they make Jaggery..  Also mom wanted to buy some Jaggery.. When i asked  what is process of Jaggery making he explained below  process..The process of manufacturing jaggery involves crushing sugarcane using a crusher and extracting juice out of it. The sugar cane juice is then poured in a large shallow but thick iron vessels / pan (called Kadhai) and made to boil over earthen ovens. It is continuously stirred using large ladles to avoid sticking at the bottom of the vessel. This boiling and stirring goes on for hours until most of the water from the juice is vapourised and the juice starts to thicken, as the concentration of sugar increases in it.

Can u c huge kadhai @ back boiling sugar cane, then it is let flow in this filter...

 Slowly it becomes super saturated and assumes a golden to golden brown thick paste form. Now, this needs a lot of experience to decide the right moment when the jaggery is done, because any under doing or over doing may ruin the taste. Now, the thick paste obtained is poured in various molds, pertaining to different quantities. On further condensation, the jaggery solidifies and is taken out of the molds, wrapped in paper and packed in jute or plastic bags.  We tasted  Fresh Jaggery, Wow it was yummy....  Mandya district has  3000 such    "‘Aalamanes' or Jaggery-making units.....

Jaggery Moulds..

Yummy Fresh Jaggery is ready...

On the way stopped by McDonalds which is on Bangalore-Mysore Highway. Grabbed a burger and reached blore in next 2hrs..

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