Admirable Architecture of Badami Caves
My idea of taking a break from routine life is to witness the beauty of history. Art and creativity inspire me to live the life in a different way and if it is of a historical place, it will be like icing on the cake.
This winter I planned to visit my childhood friend Amogh, who lives in Badami, Karnataka. This beautiful town was listed in my must visit places from the very beginning for its Indian Rock cut architecture. I took a flight from IGI airport, Delhi to Bengaluru international airport. It took around 3 hours. From Bengaluru I hired a private taxi to reach Badami.
Badami Caves
After reaching Badami, it was difficult for me to wait till morning as I was extremely excited to visit the famous caves of Badami but we planned to leave early morning. So, I took the rest for that day.
The very next morning, we left the home to witness the beauty that is a part of history and posses a unique art form, rock cutting. Imagination and perfection in implementation make the things unforgettable; I realized this as we reached at the entrance of cave temple. The entrance is made up of stone columns and brackets, leading to main hall of the cave. The hall further leads to four-squared shrines.
After entering cave no 1, a five feet high figure of God Shiva simply locked my eyes. It was amazingly designed. Tandava dancing pose with 18 arms was irresistible. Images of Nandi, dancing Ganapati, Mahishasuramardini, Kubja Ganas, Nagaraja and Vidhyadhara couple together made me feel of the divine presence of God Shiva.
From there we moved towards the next cave which was cave no 2. On its front we saw figures of guards with lotus in their hands. After entering, beautifully carved images of different Gods took me in a spiritual mood. This cave was one of the finest model of architecture I have ever seen.
The beauty of cave no 3, which is dedicated to God Vishnu is of that level, which I cannot explain in words. Breathtaking beauty of the statues and figures creates a spiritual environment. Natural almond( badami) colour makes it look more graceful.
After that, with Amogh, I moved in the next cave, which is a Jain temple. Apart from the beauty and architecture, what fascinated us was, the old Kannada inscription. This 12thcentury A.D. inscription registers the death of one Jakkave.
Agastyatirtha Tank
Our next destination was Badami Fort that gives a bird-eye view of Badami. Archaeological Museum is just 5 km away from Badami and is located near Agastyatirtha tank, which is considered as a tank with heeling power, so we covered both the attractions in one day.
My tour was over and I came back to my routine life but this time with an amazing experience and some lovely memories of quality time spent with Amogh and his family members.
