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La plage de l’Aber sur la presqu’ile de Crozon se situe dans la baie de Douarnenez face à l’île de l’Aber (que l’on peut rejoindre à marée basse) à l’Est de la pointe de Trébéron.
This is a fun story that I never told. When I went out to shoot this light painting, I had a totally different plan. I was going to place my stencil of the puffin in front of a small puddle of water within a snowy scene. I was actually getting close to nailing the shot when I started getting a bunch of texts from family members and friends about the northern lights. I looked up from my camera and I couldn’t believe my eyes. The aurora was visible to the naked eye. It was very dim and it took a bit for my eyes to adjust, but I could see the classic movements I had always wanted to see. Other than seeing them off in the distance from a moving car, I had never seen the northern lights in person, so this was a special moment. The fact that I was already out shooting night photography was so amazing. My plans immediately went out the window and I knew I had to try and capture the northern lights above my Puffin stencil. I shifted my camera position to face the north and got to work with test shots to align my stencil. It was a cold and long evening, but I eventually got to where I was hoping. Here’s the shot. Single image as per usual. I wish the aurora had looked a bit better but it still works. Let me know what you think.
I had a couple of days off earlier this week, so I went to the local park on a really cold day. The ducks didn't seem to interested in the bread we had for them, but the gulls sure did. After the feast they all aligned on this fence, and didn't seem to care about my presence, only a few meters away.
In-camera B/W with orange filter used for this shot. No further post processing has been done.
Well, there isn't much I can tell about this photograph. Some say, it's useless or meaningless, they don't see any sense in it. But I like the structure, the colours and stuff. That's what counts.
If you like it, like this: www.facebook.com/tafelzwerkphotography
Вкуснотеево Glazed Cottage Cheese With Kakao Flavour.
Curd snack, cottage cheese bar or curd cheese bar is a type of sweet dairy food made from glazed or unglazed curd cheese with or without filling.
They became ubiquitous in the Soviet Union, and nowadays curd snacks are popular in the former Soviet Union, such as the Baltic states, Russia and Ukraine, as well as in some former Soviet-aligned ones, such as Hungary (Túró Rudi), Poland, Romania and Mongolia.
The main part of a curd snack is made from curd cheese, which is mixed with sugar, sweeteners or other ingredients and milled into a homogenous paste that is pressed into the desired shape and filled with jam or other fillings. The formed bars then pass through the so-called 'glaze waterfall' that coats them in chocolate or another type of glaze. Finally, the curd snacks are cooled in a cooling tunnel and packed. The shelf life of curd snacks is only a few days, which can be extended to 1–2 weeks if refrigerated.
The mass production of curd snacks began in the 1950s in the Soviet Union and they quickly gained popularity. Initially, they were flavoured with simple ingredients, such as vanilla, cocoa and raisins, but since the 1990s the curd snacks have become more varied and also contain ingredients such as cookie bites, apricot, strawberry jam and boiled condensed milk.
In 2012, the Kārums curd snack was voted the favorite product by Latvian consumers, receiving 20% of the votes. Curd snacks have also remained highly popular in Estonia. According to a 2010 consumer survey, 74% of Estonians ate as much or even more curd snacks than before, with 57% preferring local curd snack brands over imported ones. In 2013, Estonia set the world record for the biggest curd snack, which weighed 537 kilograms. Curd snacks have also remained highly popular in Lithuania.
Some popular curd snack brands include Kārums from Latvia, Nykštukas, Magija and Pasaka from Lithuania.
Lined up from the botton right to top left are: Venus, Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon (well blown out).
Nikon D750, vintage 28mm f2.8 Nikkor lens (circa 1982) on static tripod.
A U.S. Army M1A2 Abrams tank and an M3 Bradley fighting vehicle of Bravo Company, 3rd Combined Arms Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division scan the area for opposing forces while conducting force on force training during exercise Combined Resolve IV at the U.S. Army’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, May 27, 2015. Combined Resolve IV is an Army Europe directed exercise training a multinational brigade and enhancing interoperability with allies and partner nations. Combined Resolve trains on unified land operations against a complex threat while improving the combat readiness of all participants. The Combined Resolve series of exercises incorporates the U.S. Army’s Regionally Aligned Force with the European Activity Set to train with European Allies and partners. The 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command is the only training command outside the continental United States, providing realistic and relevant training to U.S. Army, Joint Service, NATO, allied and multinational units, and is a regular venue for some of the largest training exercises for U.S. and European Forces. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Ian Schell/Released)
U.S. Army Africa photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Davis
U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) hosted its second annual C4ISR Senior Leaders Conference Feb. 2-4 at Caserma Ederle, headquarters of U.S. Army Africa, in Vicenza, Italy.
The communications and intelligence community event, hosted by Brig. Gen. Robert Ferrell, AFRICOM C4 director, drew approximately 80 senior leaders from diverse U.S. military and government branches and agencies, as well as representatives of African nations and the African Union.
“The conference is a combination of our U.S. AFRICOM C4 systems and intel directorate,” said Ferrell. “We come together annually to bring the team together to work on common goals to work on throughout the year. The team consists of our coalition partners as well as our inter-agency partners, as well as our components and U.S. AFRICOM staff.”
The conference focused on updates from participants, and on assessing the present state and goals of coalition partners in Africa, he said.
“The theme for our conference is ‘Delivering Capabilities to a Joint Information Environment,’ and we see it as a joint and combined team ... working together, side by side, to promote peace and stability there on the African continent,” Ferrell said.
Three goals of this year’s conference were to strengthen the team, assess priorities across the board, and get a better fix on the impact that the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command will have on all members’ efforts in the future, he said.
“With the stand-up of U.S. Cyber Command, it brings a lot of unique challenges that we as a team need to talk through to ensure that our information is protected at all times,” Ferrell said.
African Union (AU) representatives from four broad geographic regions of Africa attended, which generated a holistic perspective on needs and requirements from across the continent, he said.
“We have members from the African Union headquarters that is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; we have members that are from Uganda; from Zambia; from Ghana; and also from the Congo. What are the gaps, what are the things that we kind of need to assist with as we move forward on our engagements on the African continent?” Ferrell said.
U.S. Army Africa Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, welcomed participants as the conference got under way.
“We’re absolutely delighted to be the host for this conference, and we hope that this week you get a whole lot out of it,” said Hogg.
He took the opportunity to address the participants not only as their host, but from the perspective of a customer whose missions depend on the results of their efforts to support commanders in the field.
“When we’re talking about this group of folks that are here — from the joint side, from our African partners, from State, all those folks — it’s about partnership and interoperability. And every commander who’s ever had to fight in a combined environment understands that interoperability is the thing that absolutely slaps you upside the head,” Hogg said.
“We’re in the early stages of the process here of working with the African Union and the other partners, and you have an opportunity to design this from the end state, versus just building a bunch of ‘gunkulators.’ And so, the message is: think about what the end state is supposed to look like and construct the strategy to support the end state.
“Look at where we want to be at and design it that way,” Hogg said.
He also admonished participants to consider the second- and third-order effects of their choices in designing networks.
“With that said, over the next four days, I hope this conference works very well for you. If there’s anything we can do to make your stay better, please let us know,” Hogg said.
Over the following three days, participants engaged in a steady stream of briefings and presentations focused on systems, missions and updates from the field.
Col. Joseph W. Angyal, director of U.S. Army Africa G-6, gave an overview of operations and issues that focused on fundamentals, the emergence of regional accords as a way forward, and the evolution of a joint network enterprise that would serve all interested parties.
“What we’re trying to do is to work regionally. That’s frankly a challenge, but as we stand up the capability, really for the U.S. government, and work through that, we hope to become more regionally focused,” he said.
He referred to Africa Endeavor, an annual, multi-nation communications exercise, as a test bed for the current state of affairs on the continent, and an aid in itself to future development.
“In order to conduct those exercises, to conduct those security and cooperation events, and to meet contingency missions, we really, from the C4ISR perspective, have five big challenges,” Angyal said.
“You heard General Hogg this morning talk about ‘think about the customer’ — you’ve got to allow me to be able to get access to our data; I’ve got to be able to get to the data where and when I need it; you’ve got to be able to protect it; I have to be able to share it; and then finally, the systems have to be able to work together in order to build that coalition.
“One of the reasons General Ferrell is setting up this joint information enterprise, this joint network enterprise . . . it’s almost like trying to bring together disparate companies or corporations: everyone has their own system, they’ve paid for their own infrastructure, and they have their own policy, even though they support the same major company.
“Now multiply that when you bring in different services, multiply that when you bring in different U.S. government agencies, and then put a layer on top of that with the international partners, and there are lots of policies that are standing in our way.”
The main issue is not a question of technology, he said.
“The boxes are the same — a Cisco router is a Cisco router; Microsoft Exchange server is the same all over the world — but it’s the way that we employ them, and it’s the policies that we apply to it, that really stops us from interoperating, and that’s the challenge we hope to work through with the joint network enterprise.
“And I think that through things like Africa Endeavor and through the joint enterprise network, we’re looking at knocking down some of those policy walls, but at the end of the day they are ours to knock down. Bill Gates did not design a system to work only for the Army or for the Navy — it works for everyone,” Angyal said.
Brig. Gen. Joseph Searyoh, director general of Defense Information Communication Systems, General Headquarters, Ghana Armed Forces, agreed that coordinating policy is fundamental to improving communications with all its implications for a host of operations and missions.
“One would expect that in these modern times there is some kind of mutual engagement, and to build that engagement to be strong, there must be some kind of element of trust. … We have to build some kind of trust to be able to move forward,” said Searyoh.
“Some people may be living in silos of the past, but in the current engagement we need to tell people that we are there with no hidden agenda, no negative hidden agenda, but for the common good of all of us.
“We say that we are in the information age, and I’ve been saying something: that our response should not be optional, but it must be a must, because if you don’t join now, you are going to be left behind.
“So what do we do? We have to get our house in order.
“Why do I say so? We used to operate like this before the information age; now in the information age, how do we operate?
“So, we have to get our house in order and see whether we are aligning ourselves with way things should work now. So, our challenge is to come up with a strategy, see how best we can reorganize our structures, to be able to deliver communications-information systems support for the Ghana Armed Forces,” he said.
Searyoh related that his organization has already accomplished one part of erecting the necessary foundation by establishing an appropriate policy structure.
“What is required now is the implementing level. Currently we have communications on one side, and computers on one side. The lines are blurred — you cannot operate like that, you’ve got to bring them together,” he said.
Building that merged entity to support deployed forces is what he sees as the primary challenge at present.
“Once you get that done you can talk about equipment, you can talk about resources,” Searyoh said. “I look at the current collaboration between the U.S. and the coalition partners taking a new level.”
“The immediate challenges that we have is the interoperability, which I think is one of the things we are also discussing here, interoperability and integration,” said Lt. Col. Kelvin Silomba, African Union-Zambia, Information Technology expert for the Africa Stand-by Force.
“You know that we’ve got five regions in Africa. All these regions, we need to integrate them and bring them together, so the challenge of interoperability in terms of equipment, you know, different tactical equipment that we use, and also in terms of the language barrier — you know, all these regions in Africa you find that they speak different languages — so to bring them together we need to come up with one standard that will make everybody on board and make everybody able to talk to each other,” he said.
“So we have all these challenges. Other than that also, stemming from the background of these African countries, based on the colonization: some of them were French colonized, some of them were British colonized and so on, so you find that when they come up now we’ve adopted some of the procedures based on our former colonial masters, so that is another challenge that is coming on board.”
The partnership with brother African states, with the U.S. government and its military branches, and with other interested collaborators has had a positive influence, said Silomba.
“Oh, it’s great. From the time that I got engaged with U.S. AFRICOM — I started with Africa Endeavor, before I even came to the AU — it is my experience that it is something very, very good.
“I would encourage — I know that there are some member states — I would encourage that all those member states they come on board, all of these regional organizations, that they come on board and support the AFRICOM lead. It is something that is very, very good.
“As for example, the African Union has a lot of support that’s been coming in, technical as well as in terms of knowledge and equipment. So it’s great; it’s good and it’s great,” said Salimba.
Other participant responses to the conference were positive as well.
“The feedback I’ve gotten from every member is that they now know what the red carpet treatment looks like, because USARAF has gone over and above board to make sure the environment, the atmosphere and the actual engagements … are executed to perfection,” said Ferrell. “It’s been very good from a team-building aspect.
“We’ve had very good discussions from members of the African Union, who gave us a very good understanding of the operations that are taking place in the area of Somalia, the challenges with communications, and laid out the gaps and desires of where they see that the U.S. and other coalition partners can kind of improve the capacity there in that area of responsibility.
“We also talked about the AU, as they are expanding their reach to all of the five regions, of how can they have that interoperability and connectivity to each of the regions,” Ferrell said.
“(It’s been) a wealth of knowledge and experts that are here to share in terms of how we can move forward with building capacities and capabilities. Not only for U.S. interests, but more importantly from my perspective, in building capacities and capabilities for our African partners beginning with the Commission at the African Union itself,” said Kevin Warthon, U.S. State Department, peace and security adviser to the African Union.
“I think that General Ferrell has done an absolutely wonderful thing by inviting key African partners to participate in this event so they can share their personal experience from a national, regional and continental perspective,” he said.
Warthon related from his personal experience a vignette of African trust in Providence that he believed carries a pertinent metaphor and message to everyone attending the conference.
“We are not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, but the one thing that I am sure of is that we are able to do something. Don’t know when, don’t know how, but as long as our focus is on our ability to assist and to help to progress a people, that’s really what counts more than anything else,” he said.
“Don’t worry about the timetable; just focus on your ability to make a difference and that’s what that really is all about.
“I see venues such as this as opportunities to make what seems to be the impossible become possible. … This is what this kind of venue does for our African partners.
“We’re doing a wonderful job at building relationships, because that’s where it begins — we have to build relationships to establish trust. That’s why this is so important: building trust through relationships so that we can move forward in the future,” Warthon said.
Conference members took a cultural tour of Venice and visited a traditional winery in the hills above Vicenza before adjourning.
To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil
Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica
Official YouTube video channel: www.youtube.com/usarmyafrica
Pas grand chose à reprocher à l'alignement de ces ceps de vigne. L'occasion d'une perspective de verdure.
#WCPIWednesday
In 1881, the unnamed creator of this image stood somewhere in what is today The Forks, looking west, to take this picture of Upper Fort Garry. That was ur-Main Street running along the wooden wall in view, which was soon to be straightened to align the bridge with infant Winnipeg's downtown, sealing the fort's fate.
In reference to the holiday this Province just enjoyed, this fort -- although already well in decline at the time of this photograph -- was the central stage of the Red River Rebellion in 1970 that led directly to the formation of our province.
WCPI 59687
Miscellaneous Collection.
"Upper Fort Garry As Seen From A Distance," 1881.
© Andy Brandl (2015) // PhotonMix Photography
// Don´t redistribute - don´t use on webpages, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
See some of my favorite images here:
Don´t redistribute - don´t use on webpages, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
For this episode, director Jared Eberhardt and editor Forrest Borie worked with New York-based video artists Brendan Harman and Aurora Halal to create a kaleidoscopic inner world of Dadaist non-sequiturs and Tron-esque dreamscapes. For maximum listening pleasure, we recommend playing these live tracks through a massive PA, preferably with a few thousand close friends as dawn breaks across an open field. Enjoy.
BIO
Led Er Est was formed in early 2007 by Samuel Kklovenhoof and Shawn O’Sullivan. Drawing from the dire, aggressive textures of first-wave industrial music, the craftsmanship and ambiance of cold wave and post-punk, and the primal kinetics of old school house and techno, the project was initially an outlet for song fragments and delirious baubles. As their sound took a more structured turn, Owen Stokes was enlisted to bring an additional synth to the minimal electronic arsenal. The New York 3-piece, as reclusive as the snow leopard, was captured for this episode while on their first tour down the west coast. Thanks, gentlemen.
COMPONENTS
Video
• YouTube: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC4EEUwd7e4mQ3oPcfQNUZnSeNvwgGjvB
• Vimeo: vimeo.com/album/2240473
Photos
• Flickr: flic.kr/s/aHsjyCfnn2
Music
• SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/goincase/sets/led-er-est-at-room-205
CREDITS
Executive Producer
• Incase: goincase.com
Producer
• Arlie Carstens: disastercasual.typepad.com
Director
• Jared Eberhardt: jaredeberhardt.com
Set Designer
• Tamarra Younis: union-of-art.net
Video Artists
• Brendan Harman
• Aurora Halal: aurorahalal.com
Audio Engineer
• Jon Gilbert: facebook.com/jonathan.gilbert.7796
Camera
• Aaron Farley: aaronfarley.com
• Jared Eberhardt: jaredeberhardt.com
Editor
• Forrest Borie: vimeo.com/forrestborie
Photos
• Arlie Carstens: disastercasual.typepad.com
Performing Artist
• Led Er Est: lederest.com
Label
• Sacred Bones Records: sacredbonesrecords.com
Room 205 Theme Song
• Cora Foxx: theheapsf.com
when we went concrete bothering at this very cool outdoor venue (if you know the name of it please tell me) near the Berlin Wall (West side).
Badami formerly known as Vatapi, is a town and headquarters of a taluk by the same name, in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It was the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas from 540 to 757 AD. It is famous for its rock cut structural temples. It is located in a ravine at the foot of a rugged, red sandstone outcrop that surrounds Agastya lake. Badami has been selected as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
- Dravidian architecture - Badami Chalukyas
- Hindu temple architecture - Badami Chalukya architecture
- Political history of medieval Karnataka - Badami Chalukyas
- Architecture of Karnataka - Badami Chalukya architecture
- Chalukyas of Badami
PRE-HISTORIC
Badami is surrounded by many pre-historic places including Khyad area of Badami, Hiregudda, Sidlaphadi and Kutkankeri (Junjunpadi, Shigipadi and Anipadi), there we can see the rock shelters megalithic burial sites and paintings.
BADAMI CHALUKYAS AND OTHER DYNASTIES
MYTHOLOGY
The Puranic story says the wicked asura Vatapi was killed by sage Agastya (as per Agastya-Vatapi story), the area in which the incident happened so named as Vatapi. At Aihole there was a merchant guild known as Ayyavole Ainuravaru lived in the area have reformed. As per scholar Dr. D. P. Dikshit, the first Chalukya king was Jayasimha (a feudatory lord in the Kadamba dynasty), who in 500 AD established the Chalukya kingdom. His grandson Pulakeshin Ibuilt a fort at Vatapi.
BADAMI CHALUKYAS
It was founded in 540 AD by Pulakeshin I (535-566 AD), an early ruler of the Chalukyas. His sons Kirtivarma I (567-598 AD) and his brother Mangalesha (598-610 AD) constructed the cave temples.Kirtivarma I strengthened Vatapi and had three sons Pulakeshin II, Vishnuvardhana and Buddhavarasa, who at his death were minors, thus making them ineligible to rule, so Kirtivarma I's brother Mangalesha took the throne and tried to establish rule, only to be killed by Pulakeshin II who ruled between 610 A.D to 642 A.D. Vatapi was the capital of the Early Chalukyas, who ruled much of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Few parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh between the 6th and 8th centuries. The greatest among them was Pulakeshin II (610-642 AD) who defeated many kings including the Pallavas of Kanchipuram.
The rock-cut Badami Cave Temples were sculpted mostly between the 6th and 8th centuries. The four cave temples represent the secular nature of the rulers then, with tolerance and a religious following that inclines towards Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. cave 1 is devoted to Shiva, and Caves 2 and 3 are dedicated to Vishnu, whereas cave 4 displays reliefs of Jain Tirthankaras. Deep caverns with carved images of the various incarnations of Hindu gods are strewn across the area, under boulders and in the red sandstone. From an architectural and archaeological perspective, they provide critical evidence of the early styles and stages of the southern Indian architecture.
The Pallavas under the king Narasimhavarma I seized it in 642 AD & destroyed the vatapi. Pulakeshin II's son Vikramaditya I of Chalukyas drove back Pallavas in 654 AD and led a successful attack on Kanchipuram, the capital of Pallavas. Then Rashtrakutas came to power in Karnataka including Badami around 757 AD and the town lost its importance. Later it was ruled by the Hoysalas.
Then it passed on to Vijayanagara empire, The Adil Shahis, Mughal Empire, The Savanur Nawabs (They were vassals of Nizams and Marathas), The Maratha, Hyder Ali. The Britishers made it part of the Bombay Presidency.
INSCRIPTIONS
Badami has eighteen inscriptions, among them some inscriptions are important. The first Sanskrit inscription in old Kannada script, on a hillock dates back to 543 CE, from the period of Pulakeshin I (Vallabheswara), the second is the 578 CE cave inscription of Mangalesha in Kannada language and script and the third is the Kappe Arabhatta records, the earliest available Kannada poetry in tripadi (three line) metre. one inscription near the Bhuthanatha temple also has inscriptions dating back to the 12th century in Jain rock-cut temple dedicated to the Tirtankara Adinatha.
VATAPI GANAPATI
In the Carnatic music and Hamsadhwani raga the Vatapi Ganapatim Bhaje by the composer Muthuswami Dikshitar. The idol of Vatapi Ganapati brought from Badami by Pallavas, is now in the Uthrapathiswaraswamy Temple, near Thanjavur of Tamil Nadu.
In 7th century, Vatapi Ganapati idol was brought from Badami (Vatapi - Chalukya capital) by Pallava who defeated Chalukyas.
TOURISM
Landmarks in Badami include cave temples, gateways, forts, inscriptions and sculptures.
- A Buddhist cave in a natural setting that can be entered only by crawling on knees.
- The Bhuhtanatha temple, a small shrine, facing the lake, constructed in 5th century.
- Badami Fort situated on top of the hill.
- Many Shivalayas including the Malegatti Shivalaya with 7th century origins.
- The Dattatreya temple.
- The Mallikarjuna temple dating back to the 11th century, built on a star shaped plan.
- a Dargah, a dome of an Islamic place of worship on the south fort side.
- Vista points on top of the North Fort for the view of the ancient town below.
- Temple of Banashankari, a Kuladevata (family deity) for many families, is located near Badami.
- Archaeological museum, that has collection of sculptures from Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal.
BADAMI CAVE TEMPLES
The Badami cave temples are a complex of four cave temples located at Badami, a town in the Bagalkot district in the north part of Karnataka, India. They are considered an example of Indian rock-cut architecture, especially Badami Chalukya architecture initiated during the 6th century. Badami was previously known as Vataapi Badami, the capital of the early Chalukya dynasty, who ruled much of Karnataka from middle of the sixth until the middle of the eighth centuries. Badami is situated on the west bank of an artificial lake filled with greenish water dammed by an earthen wall faced with stone steps. Badami is surrounded in the north and south by forts built in later times from the ramparts that crown their summits.
The Badami cave temples represent some of the earliest known experimentation of Hindu temple prototypes for later temples in the Indian peninsula. Along with Aihole, states UNESCO, their pioneering designs transformed the Malaprabha river valley into a cradle of Temple Architecture, whose ideas defined the components of later Hindu Temples elsewhere. Caves 1 to 3 feature Hindu themes of Shiva and Vishnu, while Cave 4 features Jain icons. There is also a Buddhist Cave 5 which has been converted into a Hindu temple of Vishnu. Another cave identified in 2013 has a number of carvings of Vishnu and other Hindu deities, and water is seen gushing out through the cave all the time.
GEOGRAPHY
The Badami cave temples are located in the Badami town in the north central part of Karnataka, India. The temples are about 110 km northeast from Hubli-Dharwad, the second largest metropolitan area of the state. Malaprabha river is 4.8 km away. Badami, also referred to as Vatapi, Vatapipuri and Vatapinagari in historical texts, and the 6th-century capital of Chalukya dynasty, is at the exit point of the ravine between two steep mountain cliffs. Four cave temples have been excavated in the escarpment of the hill to the south-east of the town above the artificial lake called Agastya Lake created by an earthen dam faced with stone steps. To the west end of this cliff, at its lowest point, is the first cave temple dedicated to Shiva, followed by a cave north east to it dedicated to Vishnu but is at a much higher level. The largest is Cave 3, mostly a Vaishnava cave, is further to the east on the northern face of the hill. The first three caves are dedicated to Hindu gods and goddesses including Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The fourth cave, dedicated to Jainism, is a short distance away.
HISTORY OF CAVE TEMPLES
The cave temples, numbered 1 to 4 in the order of their creation, identified in the town of Badami, the capital city of the Chalukya kingdom (also known as Early Chalukyas) are dated from the late 6th century onwards. The exact dating is known only for cave 3 which is a Brahmanical temple dedicated to Vishnu. An inscription found here records the creation of the shrine by Mangalesha in Saka 500 (lunar calendar, spanning 578 to 579 CE). These inscriptions are in Kannada language, and have been the source for dating these rock cave temples to the 6th-century. The Badami caves complex are part of the UNESCO inscribed World Heritage Site under the title "Evolution of Temple Architecture – Aihole-Badami-Pattadakal" in the Malaprabha river valley which is considered a cradle of Temple Architecture, which formed the template for later Hindu temples in the region. The art work in Cave 1 and Cave 2 exhibit the northern Deccan style of 6th- and 7th-century, while those in Cave 3 show a simultaneous co-exhibition of two different ancient Indian artistic traditions – the northern Nagara and the southern Dravida styles. The Cave 3 also shows icons and reliefs in the Vesara style – a creative fusion of ideas from the two styles, as well as some of the earliest surviving historical examples of yantra-chakra motifs and colored fresco paintings in Karnataka. The first three caves feature sculpture of Hindu icons and legends focusing on Shiva and Vishnu, while Cave 4 features Jain icons and themes.
TEMPLE CAVES
The Badami cave temples are composed of mainly four caves, all carved out of the soft Badami sandstone on a hill cliff, dated to the late 6th to 7th centuries. The planning of four caves (1 to 4) is simple. The entrance is a verandah (mukha mandapa) with stone columns and brackets, a distinctive feature of these caves, leading to a columned mandapa – main hall (also maha mandapa) and then to the small square shrine (sanctum sanctorum, garbhaghrha) cut deep into the cave. The cave temples are linked by stepped path with intermediate terraces looking over the town and lake. Cave temples are labelled 1–4 in their ascending series even though this numbering does not necessarily reflect the sequence of excavation.
The cave temples are dated to 6th to 8th century, with an inscription dated to 579 CE. The inscriptions are in old Kannada script. The architecture includes structures built in Nagara style and Dravidian style which is the first and most persistent architectural idiom to be adopted by the early chalukyas There is also the fifth natural cave temple in Badami – a Buddhist temple, a natural cave, which can be entered kneeling on all fours.
CAVE 1
The cave is just about 18 m above the street level on the northwest part of the hill. Access is through series of steps which depict carvings of dwarfish ganas (with "bovine and equine heads") in different postures. The verandah with 21 m length with a width of 20 m in the interior, has four columns all sculpted with reliefs of the god Shiva in different dancing positions and different incarnations. The guardian dwarapalas at the entrance to the cave stand to a height of 1.879 m.
The cave portrays the Tandava-dancing Shiva, as Nataraja. The image, (1.5 m tall, has 18 arms, in a form that express the dance positions arranged in a geometric pattern, which Alice Boner states, is a time division symbolizing the cosmic wheel. Some of the arms hold objects while most express mudras (symbolic hand postures). The objects include drums, trident and axe. Some arms also have serpents coiled around them. Shiva has his son Ganesha and the bull Nandi by his side. Adjoining to the Nataraja, a wall depicts the goddess Durga, depicted slaying the buffalo-demon Mahishasura. Elsewhere, the two sons of Shiva, Ganesha and Kartikkeya, the god of war and family deity of the Chalukya dynasty are seen in one of the carved sculptures on the walls of the cave with Kartikkeya riding a peacock.
The cave also has carved sculptures of the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati flanking Harihara, a 2.36 m high sculpture of a fused image that is half Shiva and half Vishnu. To the right, Ardhanarishvara, a composite androgynous form of Shiva and his consort Parvati, is sculpted towards the end of the walls. All the carved sculptures show ornaments worn by them, as well as borders with reliefs of various animals and birds. Lotus design is a common theme. On the ceiling are images of the Vidyadhara couples. Through a cleavage in the back side of the cave is a square sanctuary with more images carved.
Other prominent images in the cave are Nandi, the bull, in the sculptural form of Dharmadeva, the god of justice, Bhringi, a devotee of Shiva, a female decorated goddess holding a flat object in her left hand, which are all part of Ardhanarishvara described earlier. The roof in the cave has five carved panels with the central panel depicting the serpent Shesha. The head and bust are well formed and project boldly from the centre of the coil. In another compartment a bass-relief of 0.76 m diameter has carvings of a male and female; the male is Yaksha carrying a sword and the female is Apsara with a flying veil. The succeeding panel has carvings of two small figures; and the panel at the end is carved with lotuses.
CAVE 2
Cave 2, facing north, to the west of Cave 3, created in late 6th century AD, is almost same as cave 1 in terms of its layout and dimensions but it is dedicated primarily to Vishnu. Cave is reached by climbing 64 steps from the first cave. The cave entrance is the verandah, divided by four square pillars, which has carvings from its middle section to the top where there are yali brackets with sculptures within them. The cave is adorned with reliefs of guardians. Like the Cave 1, the cave art carved is a pantheon of Hindu divinities.
The largest relief in Cave 2 shows Vishnu as Trivikrama – with one foot on Earth and another – directed to the north. Other representations of Vishnu in this cave include Varaha (boar) where he is shown rescuing Bhudevi (symbolism for earth) from the depths of ocean, and Krishna avatars – legends found in Hindu Puranas text such as the Bhagavata Purana. Like other major murti (forms) in this and other Badami caves, the Varaha sculpture is set in a circle, the panel is an upright rectangle, states Alice Boner, whose "height is equal to the octopartite directing circle and sides are aligned to essential geometric ratios, in this case to the second vertical chord of the circle". The doorway is framed by pilasters carrying an entablature with three blocks embellished with gavaksha ornament. The entrance of the cave also has two armed guardians holding flowers rather than weapons. The end walls of the outer verandah is occupied by sculpted panels, to the right, Trivikrama; to the left, Varaha rescuing Bhudevi, with a penitent multi-headed snake (Nag) below. The adjacent side walls and ceiling have traces of colored paintwork, suggesting that the cave used to have fresco paintings. The columns show gods and battle scenes, the churning of cosmic ocean (Samudra Manthan), Gajalakshmi and figures, Brahma, Vishnu asleep on Shesha, illustrations of the birth of Krishna, Krishna's youth, Krishna with gopis and cows.
The ceiling of Cave 2 shows a wheel with sixteen fish spokes in a square frame along with swastikas and flying couples. The end bays have a flying couple and Vishnu on Garuda.[8] The main hall in the cave is 10.16 m in width, 7.188 m deep and 3.45 m high and is supported by eight square pillars in two rows. The roof of this hall has panels which have carvings. At the upper end of the wall a frieze runs all along the wall with engravings of episodes from the Krishna or Vishnu legends.
The sculptures of Cave 2, like Cave 1, are of the northern Deccan style of 6th-and 7th-century similar to that found in Ellora caves.
CAVE 3
The Cave 3 is dedicated to Vishnu, and is the most intricately carved and the biggest. It has well carved giant figures of Trivikrama, Anantasayana, Paravasudeva, Bhuvaraha, Harihara and Narasimha. The theme on which the Cave 3 is carved is primarily Vaishnavite, however the cave also shows Harihara on its southern wall – half Vishnu and half Shiva shown fused as one, making the cave important to Shaivism studies as well. Cave 3, facing north, is 60 steps away from the Cave 2. This cave temple's veranda, 21 m in length with an interior width of 20 m, has been sculpted 15 m deep into the mountain, and an added square shrine at the end extends the cave some 3.7 m further inside. The verandah itself is 2.1 m wide and has four free standing carved pillars separating it from the hall. The cave is 4.6 m high, supported by six pillars each measuring 0.76 m square. Each column and pilaster is carved with wide and deep bases crowned by capitals which are camouflaged by brackets on three sides. Each bracket, except for one bracket, has carvings of standing human figures, under foliage in different postures, of a male and female mythological characters, along with attendant figure of a dwarf. A moulded cornice in the facia, with a dado of blocks below it (generally in 2.1 m lengths), have about thirty compartments carved with series of two fat dwarfs called ganas. The cave shows a Kama scene on one pillar, where a woman and man are in maithuna (erotic) embrace beneath a tree.
Cave 3 also shows fresco paintings on the ceiling, but some of these are faded, broken and unclear. These are among the earliest known and surviving evidence of fresco painting in Indian art.[14] The Hindu god Brahma is seen in one of the murals, while the wedding of Shiva and Parvati, attended by various Hindu deities, is the theme of another. There is a lotus medallion on the floor underneath the mural of four armed Brahma. The sculpture is well preserved, and a large number of Vishnu's reliefs including standing Vishnu with 8 arms, Vishnu seated on a hooded serpent called Sesha or Ananta on the eastern side of the verandha, Vishnu as Narasimha (half human – half lion), Varaha fully armed, a boar incarnation of Vishnu in the back wall of the cave, Harihara (a syncretic sculpture of Vishnu and Shiva), and Trivikrama avatars. The back wall also has carvings of Vidhyadaras holding offerings to Varaha, and adjoining this is an inscription dated 579 AD with the name Mangalis inscribed on it. At one end of the pilaster there is a sculpture of the fourth incarnation of Vishnu as Vamana shown with eight arms called Ashtabhuja decorated with various types of weapons. A crescent moon is crafted above his face, crown of Vishnu decorates his head and is flanked by Varaha and two other figures and below on his right is his attendant Garuda. The images in front of Vamana are three figures of Bali and his wife with Shukra, his councilor. Reliefs stand 4 metres tall. The culture and clothing embedded in the sixth century is visible in the art sculpted in this cave. The roof in the verandha has seven panels created by cross beams, each is painted in circular compartments with images of Shiva, Vishnu, Indra, Brahma, Kama and so forth with smaller images of Dikpalas (cardinal guardians) with geometric mosaics filling the gaps at the corners.
The front aisle's roof has panels with murals in the center of male and female figurines flying in the clouds; the male figure is yaksha holding a sword and a shield. Decoration of lotus blooms are also seen on the panels. The roof in the hall is divided into nine panels slightly above the level of the ceiling. The central panel here depicts a deva mounted on a ram – conjectured as Agni. Images of Brahma and Varuna are also painted in the central panels while the floating figures are seen in the balance panels.
CAVE 4
The Cave 4, to the east of Cave 3, excavated around 650 AD, is located higher than other caves. It is dedicated to revered figures of Jainism and was constructed last among all the caves. It also features detailed carvings and diverse range of motifs. The cave has five bayed entrance with four square columns with brackets and capitals, and to the back of this verandah is a hall with two standalone and two joined pillars. The first aisle is a verandah 9.4 m in length, 2.0 m wide and extends to 4.9 m deep. From the hall, steps lead to the sanctum sanctorum, which is 7.8 m wide extending to a depth of 1.8 m. On the back part of this, Mahavira is represented, sitting on lion throne, flanked by bas-reliefs of attendants with chauri (fans), sardulas and makara's heads. The end walls have Parshvanath (about 2.3 m tall) with his head decorated to represent protection and reverence by a multi-headed cobra, Indrabhuti Gautama covered by four snakes and Bahubali are seen; Bahubali is present to the left of Gautama shown with his lower legs surrounded by snakes along with his daughters Brahmi and Sundari. The sanctum, which is adorned by the image of Mahavira, has pedestal which contains an old Kannada inscription of the 12th century A.D. which registers the death of one Jakkave. Many Jaina Tirthankara images have been engraved in the inner pillars and walls. In addition, there are some idols of Yakshas, Yakshis, Padmavati and other Tirthankaras. Some scholars also assign the cave to the 8th century.
CAVE 5
It is a natural cave of small dimensions, undated, is approached by crawling as it has a narrow opening. Inside, there is a carved statue seated over a sculpted throne with reliefs showing people holding chauris (fans), tree, elephants and lions in an attacking mode. The face of this statue was reasonably intact till about 1995, and is now damaged and missing. There are several theories as to who the statue represents.
The first theory states that it is a Buddha relief, in a sitting posture. Those holding the chauris are Bodhisattvas flanking the Buddha, states this theory, and that the cave has been converted to a Hindu shrine of Vishnu, in later years, as seen from the white religious markings painted on the face of the Buddha as the 9th incarnation of Vishnu. Shetti suggests that the cave was not converted, but from the start represented a tribute to Mayamoha of the Hindu Puranas, or Buddhavatara Vishnu, its style suggesting it was likely carved in or before 8th century CE.
The second theory, found in colonial era texts such as one by John Murray, suggested that the main image carved in the smallest fifth cave is that of Jaina figure.
The third theory, by Henry Cousens as well as A. Sundara, and based by local legends, states that the statue is of an ancient king because the statue's photo, when its face was not damaged, lacked Ushnisha lump that typically goes with Buddha's image. Further, the statue has unusual non-Buddha ornaments such as rings for fingers, necklace and chest-band, it wears a Hindu Yajnopavita thread, and its head is stylistically closer to a Jina head than a Buddha head. These features suggest that the statue may be of a king represented with features of various traditions. The date and identity of the main statue in Cave 5, states Bolon, remains enigmatic.
OTHER CAVES
In 2013, Manjunath Sullolli reported the discovery of another cave with 27 rock carvings, about 500 metres from the four caves, from which water gushes year round. It depicts Vishnu and other Hindu deities, and features inscription in Devanagari script. The dating of these carvings is unknown.
OTHER TEMPLES AT BADAMI
On the north hill, there are three temples, of which Malegitti-Shivalaya is perhaps the oldest temple and also the finest in Badami, and has a Dravidian tower. Out of the two inscriptions found here, one states that Aryaminchi upadhyaya, as the sculptor who got this temple constructed and the other dated 1543 speaks of the erection of a bastion during the Vijayanagara rule. The lower Shivalaya has a Dravidian tower, and only the sanctum remains now.
Jambhulinga temple, situated in the town, is presumably the oldest known trikutachala temple in Karnataka. An inscription dated 699 ascribes construction of this temple to Vinayavathi mother of Emperor Vijayaditya.
The place also has Agasthya Tirtha, temples of Goddess Yellamma, Mallikarjuna, Datttreya and Virupaksha. Bhuthanatha group of temples are most important in Badami.
BADAMI FORT
Badami fort lies east of the Bhuthnatha temple, atop a cliff right opposite the Badami cave temples. The entrance to this temple is right through the Badami museum. It is a steep climb with many view points and dotted with little shrines. The path is laid with neatly cut stone, the same that adores all the architecture around.
ETYMOLOGY
The name Vatapi has origin in the Vatapi legend of Ramayana relating to Sage Agastya.There were two demon siblings Vatapi and Ilvala. They used to kill all mendicants by tricking them in a peculiar way. The elder Ilvala would turn Vatapi into a ram and would offer its meat to the guest. As soon as the person ate the meat, Ilvala would call out the name of Vatapi. As he had a boon that whomsoever Ilvala calls would return from even the netherland, Vatapi would emerge ripping through the body of the person, thus killing him. Their trick worked until Sage Agastya countered them by digesting Vatapi before Ilvala could call for him, thus ending the life of Vatapi at the hands of Ilvala. Two of the hills in Badami represent the demons Vatapi and Ilvala.
It is also believed that name Badami has come from colour of its stone (badam - Almond).
CULTURE
The main language is Kannada. The local population wears traditional Indian cotton wear.
GEOGRAPHY
Badami is located at 15.92°N 75.68°E. It has an average elevation of 586 metres. It is located at the mouth of a ravine between two rocky hills and surrounds Agastya tirtha water reservoir on the three other sides. The total area of the town is 10.3 square kilometers.
It is located 30 kilometers from Bagalkot, 128 kilometers from Bijapur, 132 kilometers from Hubli, 46 kilometers from Aihole, another ancient town, and 589 kilometers from Bangalore, the state capital.
WIKIPEDIA
Parc del Poblenou
Aquest parc, a cavall entre la darrera línia d'edificacions del Poblenou al front marítim i el mar, és un dels espais verds del litoral amb un accés més directe a la platja. Arreu hi ha camins que ens porten fins a la sorra, tot passejant per un indret ombrejat per una vegetació molt mediterrània. És un lloc que reprodueix el paisatge propi d'algunes franges de trobada entre el mar i la terra: platges, dunes i arbredes.
El Parc del Poblenou, situat al final de la Vila Olímpica, és una gran pineda, i a mesura que ens acostem al mar, un espai ple de dunes, que defensen el parc dels vents de llevant. El primer tram, a tocar de l'accés pel carrer de Salvador Espriu, segueix breument les acaballes del Parc de la Nova Icària, clarament identificable per un dels seus ponts de fusta.
En aquesta zona del Parc del Poblenou hi destaca un llac i una gran esplanada que permet fer esport. Tot plegat està situat al principi d'una llarga franja pavimentada que ressegueix el parc de punta a punta i que toca a un ample carrer amb tres noms, segons on ens trobem, i a un trànsit de vehicles considerable.
El passeig
El parc queda separat dels cotxes per aquesta mena de passeig d'accés on hi ha plantada una llarguíssima filera d'àlbers molt ben alineats i nombroses tanques vegetals no massa llargues i en forma de rectangle, atapeïdes i curosament retallades. Com que les tanques vegetals estan escampades irregularment permeten crear una progressió d'espais d'allunyament de la circulació rodada i d'apropament a la tranquil·litat del parc. Aquí ja hi trobem bancs de fusta, bàsicament cadires amples, que conviden a seure una estona. També hi ha pistes de botxes.
Anant des de l'esplanada cap al mar a través d'un dels molts camins pavimentats que comencen al passeig d'accés, a l'alçada del llac i de l'esplanada, el terreny s'eleva lleugerament. Aquí hi ha grans praderies i espais de repòs separats per murets sota la capçada protectora dels arbres, sobretot dels pins.
La pineda
Al final d'aquest primer tram del Parc del Poblenou trobem el carrer de la Llacuna, que el creua, amb circulació de doble sentit i vehicles que van i tornen de la platja. És aquí on comença la part més naturalitzada del parc.
Es tracta d'una gran pineda situada sobre una extensa praderia travessada per petits camins. Quan arriba el bon temps, molts usuaris busquen un lloc a l'ombra -o al sol, per bronzejar-se- per poder estirar-se i gaudir de l'olor dels pins i del mar, que és una barreja excepcionalment grata.
Les dunes
Estan situades sobretot en una peça una mica separada del conjunt del parc per l'avinguda del Litoral. La més gran de totes acaba a la platja, al punt on es fonen el parc i la platja de la Mar Bella. És un espai molt assolellat, cobert amb l'escassa vegetació capaç de resistir la salinitat d'un mar que té a tocar. És, amb diferència, l'indret més natural, i també el més feréstec. Les altres dues platges veïnes del Parc del Poblenou són les de la Nova Icària i el Bogatell.
Vegetació
L'espècie més destacada d'aquest parc, que abunda arreu, és el pi pinyer (Pinus pinea). A la zona del passeig exterior, els àlbers (Populus alba) comparteixen espai amb les tanques vegetals fetes, moltes d'elles, amb bambú (Phyllostachys sp). També són abundants arreu del parc les tanques vegetals de troana (Ligustrum lucidum), llorer (Laurus nobilis) i llentisc (Pistacia lentiscus).
A la zona propera a l'estany, entre els pins pinyers, hi trobem pins blancs (Pinus halepensis) i algun garrofer (Ceratonia siliqua). A mesura que ens acostem a les dunes, ran de platja, comencen a sovintejar les palmeres datileres (Phoenix dactylifera) i les washingtònies (Washingtonia filifera). El parc també conté uns quants eucaliptus (Eucalyptus globulus), i als camins que hi ha a l'altre costat del parc, paral·lels al passeig, són abundants les espècies aromàtiques, com la farigola (Thymus vulgaris), el romaní (Rosmarinus officinalis) i grans mates d'espígol dentat (Lavandula dentata) i sàlvia microfil·la (Salvia microphylla).
Art i arquitectura
Repartides entre les dunes del parc hi ha les restes d'un vaixell de bandera libanesa, l'Ashraf II. Es tracta de la xemeneia i dos trossos de la popa, un amb una part de la coberta del vaixell i l'altre amb l'hèlix de bronze i el timó. Aquestes restes van quedar força temps abandonades a la platja, fins que els arquitectes Manuel Ruisánchez i Xavier Vendrell, autors del projecte del Parc del Poblenou, van decidir aprofitar-los com a elements destacats d'aquest espai verd.
Història
El Parc del Poblenou és, juntament amb el del Port Olímpic, el de la Nova Icària, el de les Cascades i el de Carles I, un dels cinc grans espais verds que es van construir en els antics terrenys industrials del Poblenou a principis de la dècada de 1990.
Barcelona va recuperar aquests terrenys i en va dedicar una part a la creació de nous espais verds públics. Aquesta actuació va formar part de la important renovació urbanística que es va realitzar a la façana litoral de la ciutat amb motiu dels Jocs Olímpics de 1992.
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Poblenou Park
This park, located between the buildings on the seafront in Poblenou and the sea, is one of the coastal green spaces with the most direct access to the beach. In all parts of the park there are pathways that take us to the sand, passing by a shaded area provided by the typical Mediterranean vegetation. A place that recreates the landscape of some spots where the sea meets the land: beaches, dunes and groves.
Poblenou Park, located at the end of the Olympic Village, is a great pine forest, through which we can get close to the sea, and a space full of dunes that protect the park from winds. The first stretch, next to the Carrer Salvador Espriu entrance, briefly follows the end of the Nova Icària Park, which is clearly identifiable due to its wooden bridges.
In the Poblenou Park area, a lake and a large esplanade where sports can be played stand out. In short, it is located at the beginning of a large paved strip that covers the length of the park from one end to the other, next to a wide street with three names, depending on where we are, and a considerable amount of traffic.
The path
The park is separated from cars by an access path with a very long row of perfectly-aligned White Poplar trees and numerous hedges, which are not too long and are rectangular, dense and carefully cut. The hedges are irregularly distributed, which means that a progression of spaces that move away from the traffic and closer to the tranquillity of the park has been created. Here we find wooden benches, essentially wide chairs, which invite us to sit down for a while. There are also French Bowls courts.
From the esplanade towards the sea, passing by one of the many paved pathways that begin at the access path, at the height of the lake and the esplanade, the land begins to rise slightly. Here we find large meadows and rest areas separated by small walls under the protective cover of the trees, in particular the pine trees.
The pine forest
At the end of this stretch of the Poblenou Park we find Carrer de la Llacuna, which the park crosses, with traffic going in both directions and vehicles coming and going to the beach. Here is where the more natural part of the park begins.
This part is a great pine forest located in an extensive meadow with small pathways. When the weather is good, many users look for a space in the shade - or in the sun to get a tan - to stretch out and enjoy the smell of the pine trees and the sea, which is an exceptionally pleasant mix.
The dunes
These are essentially located in a part which is somewhat separated from the park by the Avinguda del Litoral. The larger of the dunes end in the sand, where the park and Mar Bella beach merge. It is a very sunny space, covered with the little vegetation that is capable of withstanding the salt water from the nearby sea. It is, by far, the most natural and wild place in the park. The other two beaches parallel to Poblenou Park are the Nova Icària and Bogatell beaches.
Vegetation
The most notable species in this park, which is abundant in all areas, is the Umbrella Pine tree (Pinus pinea). In the exterior path area, the White Poplar trees (Populus alba) share space with the hedges, the majority of which are Bamboo (Phyllostachys sp). Also, Chinese Privet (Ligustrum lucidum), Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis) and Mastic (Pistacia lentiscus) hedges are abundant in the entire park.
In the area next to the pond, between the Umbrella Pine trees, we find Aleppo Pine trees (Pinus halepensis) and Carob trees (Ceratonia siliqua). As we pass through these to get closer to the dunes, next to the beach we begin to find Date Palm trees (Phoenix dactylifera) and California Fan Palm trees (Washingtonia filifera). The park also has some Tasmanian Blue Gum trees (Eucalyptus globulus) and, on the pathways on the other side of the park, parallel to the path, aromatic species such as Thyme (Thymus vulgaris), Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and large French Lavender (Lavandula dentata) and Baby Sage (Salvia microphylla) shrubs are abundant.
Art and Architecture
Spread out amongst the dunes of the park, we find the wreckage of a ship with a Lebanese flag, the Ashraf II. The wreckage consists of the funnel and two pieces of the stern, one with part of the ship's deck and another with the bronze propeller and the rudder. This wreckage had spent a long time ashore on the beach, until architects Manuel Ruisànchez and Xavier Vendrell, in charge of the Poblenou Park project, decided to use it as a prominent element in the green space.
History
Poblenou Park is, along with Port Olímpic Park, Nova Icària Park, Les Cascades Park and Carles I Park, one of the five large green spaces that were built on old industrial grounds in Poblenou at the beginning of the nineties.
Barcelona recovered this land and designated a part of it to the creation of new public green spaces. This formed part of the significant urban regeneration that was carried out on the city's seafront for the 1992 Olympic Games.
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Este parque, situado entre la última línea de edificaciones del Poblenou del frente marítimo y el mar, es uno de los espacios verdes del litoral con acceso más directo a la playa. En todas partes hay caminos que nos llevan hasta la arena, paseando por zonas sombreadas con una vegetación muy mediterránea. Un lugar que reproduce el paisaje propio de algunas franjas de encuentro entre el mar y la tierra: playas, dunas y arboledas.
El parque del Poblenou, situado al final de la Vila Olímpica, es un gran pinar y, a medida que nos acercamos al mar, un espacio lleno de dunas que protegen el parque de los vientos de levante. El primer tramo, junto al acceso de la calle Salvador Espriu, sigue brevemente el final del parque de la Nova Icària, claramente identificable por uno de sus puentes de madera.
En esta zona del parque del Poblenou destaca un lago y una gran explanada que permite hacer deporte. En definitiva, está situado al principio de una larga franja pavimentada que recorre el parque de punta a punta, junto a una calle ancha con tres nombres, en función de dónde nos encontremos, y un considerable tráfico de vehículos.
El paseo
El parque queda separado de los coches por esta especie de paseo de acceso donde hay plantada una larguísima hilera de álamos blancos muy bien alineados y numerosos setos vegetales no demasiado largos y en forma de rectángulo, tupidos y cuidadosamente recortados. Los setos vegetales están distribuidos de forma irregular, lo que permite crear una progresión de espacios de alejamiento del tráfico y de acercamiento a la tranquilidad del parque. Aquí ya encontramos bancos de madera, básicamente sillas anchas, que invitan a sentarse un rato. Y también hay pistas de petanca.
Desde la explanada hacia el mar, pasando por uno de los muchos caminos pavimentados que empiezan en el paseo de acceso, a la altura del lago y la explanada, el terreno se eleva ligeramente. Aquí encontramos grandes praderas y espacios de descanso separados por pequeños muros bajo la copa protectora de los árboles, sobre todo de los pinos.
El pinar
Al final de este primer tramo del parque del Poblenou encontramos la calle de la Llacuna, que lo cruza, con circulación en doble sentido y vehículos que van y vienen de la playa. Aquí es donde empieza la parte más naturalizada del parque.
Se trata de un gran pinar situado en una extensa pradera con pequeños caminos. Cuando llega el buen tiempo, muchos usuarios buscan un lugar con sombra -o al sol para broncearse- para poder estirarse y disfrutar del olor de los pinos y el mar, que es una mezcla excepcionalmente agradable.
Las dunas
Están básicamente ubicadas en una parte algo separada del conjunto del parque por la avenida del Litoral. La mayor de todas acaba en la arena, donde se funden el parque y la playa de la Mar Bella. Es un espacio muy soleado, cubierto con la escasa vegetación capaz de resistir la salinidad del mar que tiene justo al lado. Es, con diferencia, el lugar más natural y más salvaje. Las otras dos playas vecinas al parque del Poblenou son las de la Nova Icària y la de Bogatell.
Vegetación
La especie más destacada de este parque, que encontramos abundantemente por todas partes, es el pino piñonero (Pinus pinea). En la zona del paseo exterior, los álamos blancos (Populus alba) comparten espacio con los setos vegetales hechos, muchos de ellos, con bambú (Phyllostachys sp.). También son abundantes en todo el parque los setos vegetales de aligustres (Ligustrum lucidum), laurel (Laurus nobilis) y lentisco (Pistacia lentiscus).
En la zona próxima al estanque, entre los pinos piñoneros, encontramos pinos carrascos (Pinus halepensis) y algún algarrobo (Ceratonia siliqua). A medida que nos acercamos a las dunas, junto a la playa empezamos a encontrar palmeras datileras (Phoenix dactylifera) y washingtonias (Washingtonia filifera). El parque también cuenta con algunos eucaliptos (Eucalyptus globulus) y, en los caminos que hay al otro lado del parque, paralelos al paseo, abundan las especies aromáticas, como el tomillo (Thymus vulgaris), el romero (Rosmarinus officinalis) y grandes matas de Lavandula dentata y Salvia microphylla.
Arte y arquitectura
Repartidos entre las dunas del parque, encontramos los restos de un barco con bandera libanesa, el Ashraf II. Se trata de la chimenea y dos trozos de la popa, uno con una parte de la cubierta del barco y la otra con la hélice de bronce y el timón. Estos restos quedaron bastante tiempo varados en la playa, hasta que los arquitectos Manuel Ruisánchez y Xavier Vendrell, autores del proyecto del parque del Poblenou, decidieron aprovecharlos como elementos destacados de este espacio verde.
Historia
El parque del Poblenou es, junto con el del Port Olímpic, el de la Nova Icària, el de las Cascades y el de Carles I, uno de los cinco grandes espacios verdes que se construyeron en los antiguos terrenos industriales del Poblenou a principios de los noventa.
Barcelona recuperó estos terrenos y dedicó una parte de ellos a la creación de nuevos espacios verdes públicos. Esta actuación formó parte de la importante renovación urbanística que se llevó a cabo en la fachada litoral de la ciudad con motivo de los Juegos Olímpicos de 1992.
Badami formerly known as Vatapi, is a town and headquarters of a taluk by the same name, in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka, India. It was the regal capital of the Badami Chalukyas from 540 to 757 AD. It is famous for its rock cut structural temples. It is located in a ravine at the foot of a rugged, red sandstone outcrop that surrounds Agastya lake. Badami has been selected as one of the heritage cities for HRIDAY - Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana scheme of Government of India.
HISTORY
- Dravidian architecture - Badami Chalukyas
- Hindu temple architecture - Badami Chalukya architecture
- Political history of medieval Karnataka - Badami Chalukyas
- Architecture of Karnataka - Badami Chalukya architecture
- Chalukyas of Badami
PRE-HISTORIC
Badami is surrounded by many pre-historic places including Khyad area of Badami, Hiregudda, Sidlaphadi and Kutkankeri (Junjunpadi, Shigipadi and Anipadi), there we can see the rock shelters megalithic burial sites and paintings.
BADAMI CHALUKYAS AND OTHER DYNASTIES
MYTHOLOGY
The Puranic story says the wicked asura Vatapi was killed by sage Agastya (as per Agastya-Vatapi story), the area in which the incident happened so named as Vatapi. At Aihole there was a merchant guild known as Ayyavole Ainuravaru lived in the area have reformed. As per scholar Dr. D. P. Dikshit, the first Chalukya king was Jayasimha (a feudatory lord in the Kadamba dynasty), who in 500 AD established the Chalukya kingdom. His grandson Pulakeshin Ibuilt a fort at Vatapi.
BADAMI CHALUKYAS
It was founded in 540 AD by Pulakeshin I (535-566 AD), an early ruler of the Chalukyas. His sons Kirtivarma I (567-598 AD) and his brother Mangalesha (598-610 AD) constructed the cave temples.Kirtivarma I strengthened Vatapi and had three sons Pulakeshin II, Vishnuvardhana and Buddhavarasa, who at his death were minors, thus making them ineligible to rule, so Kirtivarma I's brother Mangalesha took the throne and tried to establish rule, only to be killed by Pulakeshin II who ruled between 610 A.D to 642 A.D. Vatapi was the capital of the Early Chalukyas, who ruled much of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Few parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh between the 6th and 8th centuries. The greatest among them was Pulakeshin II (610-642 AD) who defeated many kings including the Pallavas of Kanchipuram.
The rock-cut Badami Cave Temples were sculpted mostly between the 6th and 8th centuries. The four cave temples represent the secular nature of the rulers then, with tolerance and a religious following that inclines towards Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. cave 1 is devoted to Shiva, and Caves 2 and 3 are dedicated to Vishnu, whereas cave 4 displays reliefs of Jain Tirthankaras. Deep caverns with carved images of the various incarnations of Hindu gods are strewn across the area, under boulders and in the red sandstone. From an architectural and archaeological perspective, they provide critical evidence of the early styles and stages of the southern Indian architecture.
The Pallavas under the king Narasimhavarma I seized it in 642 AD & destroyed the vatapi. Pulakeshin II's son Vikramaditya I of Chalukyas drove back Pallavas in 654 AD and led a successful attack on Kanchipuram, the capital of Pallavas. Then Rashtrakutas came to power in Karnataka including Badami around 757 AD and the town lost its importance. Later it was ruled by the Hoysalas.
Then it passed on to Vijayanagara empire, The Adil Shahis, Mughal Empire, The Savanur Nawabs (They were vassals of Nizams and Marathas), The Maratha, Hyder Ali. The Britishers made it part of the Bombay Presidency.
INSCRIPTIONS
Badami has eighteen inscriptions, among them some inscriptions are important. The first Sanskrit inscription in old Kannada script, on a hillock dates back to 543 CE, from the period of Pulakeshin I (Vallabheswara), the second is the 578 CE cave inscription of Mangalesha in Kannada language and script and the third is the Kappe Arabhatta records, the earliest available Kannada poetry in tripadi (three line) metre. one inscription near the Bhuthanatha temple also has inscriptions dating back to the 12th century in Jain rock-cut temple dedicated to the Tirtankara Adinatha.
VATAPI GANAPATI
In the Carnatic music and Hamsadhwani raga the Vatapi Ganapatim Bhaje by the composer Muthuswami Dikshitar. The idol of Vatapi Ganapati brought from Badami by Pallavas, is now in the Uthrapathiswaraswamy Temple, near Thanjavur of Tamil Nadu.
In 7th century, Vatapi Ganapati idol was brought from Badami (Vatapi - Chalukya capital) by Pallava who defeated Chalukyas.
TOURISM
Landmarks in Badami include cave temples, gateways, forts, inscriptions and sculptures.
- A Buddhist cave in a natural setting that can be entered only by crawling on knees.
- The Bhuhtanatha temple, a small shrine, facing the lake, constructed in 5th century.
- Badami Fort situated on top of the hill.
- Many Shivalayas including the Malegatti Shivalaya with 7th century origins.
- The Dattatreya temple.
- The Mallikarjuna temple dating back to the 11th century, built on a star shaped plan.
- a Dargah, a dome of an Islamic place of worship on the south fort side.
- Vista points on top of the North Fort for the view of the ancient town below.
- Temple of Banashankari, a Kuladevata (family deity) for many families, is located near Badami.
- Archaeological museum, that has collection of sculptures from Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal.
BADAMI CAVE TEMPLES
The Badami cave temples are a complex of four cave temples located at Badami, a town in the Bagalkot district in the north part of Karnataka, India. They are considered an example of Indian rock-cut architecture, especially Badami Chalukya architecture initiated during the 6th century. Badami was previously known as Vataapi Badami, the capital of the early Chalukya dynasty, who ruled much of Karnataka from middle of the sixth until the middle of the eighth centuries. Badami is situated on the west bank of an artificial lake filled with greenish water dammed by an earthen wall faced with stone steps. Badami is surrounded in the north and south by forts built in later times from the ramparts that crown their summits.
The Badami cave temples represent some of the earliest known experimentation of Hindu temple prototypes for later temples in the Indian peninsula. Along with Aihole, states UNESCO, their pioneering designs transformed the Malaprabha river valley into a cradle of Temple Architecture, whose ideas defined the components of later Hindu Temples elsewhere. Caves 1 to 3 feature Hindu themes of Shiva and Vishnu, while Cave 4 features Jain icons. There is also a Buddhist Cave 5 which has been converted into a Hindu temple of Vishnu. Another cave identified in 2013 has a number of carvings of Vishnu and other Hindu deities, and water is seen gushing out through the cave all the time.
GEOGRAPHY
The Badami cave temples are located in the Badami town in the north central part of Karnataka, India. The temples are about 110 km northeast from Hubli-Dharwad, the second largest metropolitan area of the state. Malaprabha river is 4.8 km away. Badami, also referred to as Vatapi, Vatapipuri and Vatapinagari in historical texts, and the 6th-century capital of Chalukya dynasty, is at the exit point of the ravine between two steep mountain cliffs. Four cave temples have been excavated in the escarpment of the hill to the south-east of the town above the artificial lake called Agastya Lake created by an earthen dam faced with stone steps. To the west end of this cliff, at its lowest point, is the first cave temple dedicated to Shiva, followed by a cave north east to it dedicated to Vishnu but is at a much higher level. The largest is Cave 3, mostly a Vaishnava cave, is further to the east on the northern face of the hill. The first three caves are dedicated to Hindu gods and goddesses including Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The fourth cave, dedicated to Jainism, is a short distance away.
HISTORY OF CAVE TEMPLES
The cave temples, numbered 1 to 4 in the order of their creation, identified in the town of Badami, the capital city of the Chalukya kingdom (also known as Early Chalukyas) are dated from the late 6th century onwards. The exact dating is known only for cave 3 which is a Brahmanical temple dedicated to Vishnu. An inscription found here records the creation of the shrine by Mangalesha in Saka 500 (lunar calendar, spanning 578 to 579 CE). These inscriptions are in Kannada language, and have been the source for dating these rock cave temples to the 6th-century. The Badami caves complex are part of the UNESCO inscribed World Heritage Site under the title "Evolution of Temple Architecture – Aihole-Badami-Pattadakal" in the Malaprabha river valley which is considered a cradle of Temple Architecture, which formed the template for later Hindu temples in the region. The art work in Cave 1 and Cave 2 exhibit the northern Deccan style of 6th- and 7th-century, while those in Cave 3 show a simultaneous co-exhibition of two different ancient Indian artistic traditions – the northern Nagara and the southern Dravida styles. The Cave 3 also shows icons and reliefs in the Vesara style – a creative fusion of ideas from the two styles, as well as some of the earliest surviving historical examples of yantra-chakra motifs and colored fresco paintings in Karnataka. The first three caves feature sculpture of Hindu icons and legends focusing on Shiva and Vishnu, while Cave 4 features Jain icons and themes.
TEMPLE CAVES
The Badami cave temples are composed of mainly four caves, all carved out of the soft Badami sandstone on a hill cliff, dated to the late 6th to 7th centuries. The planning of four caves (1 to 4) is simple. The entrance is a verandah (mukha mandapa) with stone columns and brackets, a distinctive feature of these caves, leading to a columned mandapa – main hall (also maha mandapa) and then to the small square shrine (sanctum sanctorum, garbhaghrha) cut deep into the cave. The cave temples are linked by stepped path with intermediate terraces looking over the town and lake. Cave temples are labelled 1–4 in their ascending series even though this numbering does not necessarily reflect the sequence of excavation.
The cave temples are dated to 6th to 8th century, with an inscription dated to 579 CE. The inscriptions are in old Kannada script. The architecture includes structures built in Nagara style and Dravidian style which is the first and most persistent architectural idiom to be adopted by the early chalukyas There is also the fifth natural cave temple in Badami – a Buddhist temple, a natural cave, which can be entered kneeling on all fours.
CAVE 1
The cave is just about 18 m above the street level on the northwest part of the hill. Access is through series of steps which depict carvings of dwarfish ganas (with "bovine and equine heads") in different postures. The verandah with 21 m length with a width of 20 m in the interior, has four columns all sculpted with reliefs of the god Shiva in different dancing positions and different incarnations. The guardian dwarapalas at the entrance to the cave stand to a height of 1.879 m.
The cave portrays the Tandava-dancing Shiva, as Nataraja. The image, (1.5 m tall, has 18 arms, in a form that express the dance positions arranged in a geometric pattern, which Alice Boner states, is a time division symbolizing the cosmic wheel. Some of the arms hold objects while most express mudras (symbolic hand postures). The objects include drums, trident and axe. Some arms also have serpents coiled around them. Shiva has his son Ganesha and the bull Nandi by his side. Adjoining to the Nataraja, a wall depicts the goddess Durga, depicted slaying the buffalo-demon Mahishasura. Elsewhere, the two sons of Shiva, Ganesha and Kartikkeya, the god of war and family deity of the Chalukya dynasty are seen in one of the carved sculptures on the walls of the cave with Kartikkeya riding a peacock.
The cave also has carved sculptures of the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati flanking Harihara, a 2.36 m high sculpture of a fused image that is half Shiva and half Vishnu. To the right, Ardhanarishvara, a composite androgynous form of Shiva and his consort Parvati, is sculpted towards the end of the walls. All the carved sculptures show ornaments worn by them, as well as borders with reliefs of various animals and birds. Lotus design is a common theme. On the ceiling are images of the Vidyadhara couples. Through a cleavage in the back side of the cave is a square sanctuary with more images carved.
Other prominent images in the cave are Nandi, the bull, in the sculptural form of Dharmadeva, the god of justice, Bhringi, a devotee of Shiva, a female decorated goddess holding a flat object in her left hand, which are all part of Ardhanarishvara described earlier. The roof in the cave has five carved panels with the central panel depicting the serpent Shesha. The head and bust are well formed and project boldly from the centre of the coil. In another compartment a bass-relief of 0.76 m diameter has carvings of a male and female; the male is Yaksha carrying a sword and the female is Apsara with a flying veil. The succeeding panel has carvings of two small figures; and the panel at the end is carved with lotuses.
CAVE 2
Cave 2, facing north, to the west of Cave 3, created in late 6th century AD, is almost same as cave 1 in terms of its layout and dimensions but it is dedicated primarily to Vishnu. Cave is reached by climbing 64 steps from the first cave. The cave entrance is the verandah, divided by four square pillars, which has carvings from its middle section to the top where there are yali brackets with sculptures within them. The cave is adorned with reliefs of guardians. Like the Cave 1, the cave art carved is a pantheon of Hindu divinities.
The largest relief in Cave 2 shows Vishnu as Trivikrama – with one foot on Earth and another – directed to the north. Other representations of Vishnu in this cave include Varaha (boar) where he is shown rescuing Bhudevi (symbolism for earth) from the depths of ocean, and Krishna avatars – legends found in Hindu Puranas text such as the Bhagavata Purana. Like other major murti (forms) in this and other Badami caves, the Varaha sculpture is set in a circle, the panel is an upright rectangle, states Alice Boner, whose "height is equal to the octopartite directing circle and sides are aligned to essential geometric ratios, in this case to the second vertical chord of the circle". The doorway is framed by pilasters carrying an entablature with three blocks embellished with gavaksha ornament. The entrance of the cave also has two armed guardians holding flowers rather than weapons. The end walls of the outer verandah is occupied by sculpted panels, to the right, Trivikrama; to the left, Varaha rescuing Bhudevi, with a penitent multi-headed snake (Nag) below. The adjacent side walls and ceiling have traces of colored paintwork, suggesting that the cave used to have fresco paintings. The columns show gods and battle scenes, the churning of cosmic ocean (Samudra Manthan), Gajalakshmi and figures, Brahma, Vishnu asleep on Shesha, illustrations of the birth of Krishna, Krishna's youth, Krishna with gopis and cows.
The ceiling of Cave 2 shows a wheel with sixteen fish spokes in a square frame along with swastikas and flying couples. The end bays have a flying couple and Vishnu on Garuda.[8] The main hall in the cave is 10.16 m in width, 7.188 m deep and 3.45 m high and is supported by eight square pillars in two rows. The roof of this hall has panels which have carvings. At the upper end of the wall a frieze runs all along the wall with engravings of episodes from the Krishna or Vishnu legends.
The sculptures of Cave 2, like Cave 1, are of the northern Deccan style of 6th-and 7th-century similar to that found in Ellora caves.
CAVE 3
The Cave 3 is dedicated to Vishnu, and is the most intricately carved and the biggest. It has well carved giant figures of Trivikrama, Anantasayana, Paravasudeva, Bhuvaraha, Harihara and Narasimha. The theme on which the Cave 3 is carved is primarily Vaishnavite, however the cave also shows Harihara on its southern wall – half Vishnu and half Shiva shown fused as one, making the cave important to Shaivism studies as well. Cave 3, facing north, is 60 steps away from the Cave 2. This cave temple's veranda, 21 m in length with an interior width of 20 m, has been sculpted 15 m deep into the mountain, and an added square shrine at the end extends the cave some 3.7 m further inside. The verandah itself is 2.1 m wide and has four free standing carved pillars separating it from the hall. The cave is 4.6 m high, supported by six pillars each measuring 0.76 m square. Each column and pilaster is carved with wide and deep bases crowned by capitals which are camouflaged by brackets on three sides. Each bracket, except for one bracket, has carvings of standing human figures, under foliage in different postures, of a male and female mythological characters, along with attendant figure of a dwarf. A moulded cornice in the facia, with a dado of blocks below it (generally in 2.1 m lengths), have about thirty compartments carved with series of two fat dwarfs called ganas. The cave shows a Kama scene on one pillar, where a woman and man are in maithuna (erotic) embrace beneath a tree.
Cave 3 also shows fresco paintings on the ceiling, but some of these are faded, broken and unclear. These are among the earliest known and surviving evidence of fresco painting in Indian art.[14] The Hindu god Brahma is seen in one of the murals, while the wedding of Shiva and Parvati, attended by various Hindu deities, is the theme of another. There is a lotus medallion on the floor underneath the mural of four armed Brahma. The sculpture is well preserved, and a large number of Vishnu's reliefs including standing Vishnu with 8 arms, Vishnu seated on a hooded serpent called Sesha or Ananta on the eastern side of the verandha, Vishnu as Narasimha (half human – half lion), Varaha fully armed, a boar incarnation of Vishnu in the back wall of the cave, Harihara (a syncretic sculpture of Vishnu and Shiva), and Trivikrama avatars. The back wall also has carvings of Vidhyadaras holding offerings to Varaha, and adjoining this is an inscription dated 579 AD with the name Mangalis inscribed on it. At one end of the pilaster there is a sculpture of the fourth incarnation of Vishnu as Vamana shown with eight arms called Ashtabhuja decorated with various types of weapons. A crescent moon is crafted above his face, crown of Vishnu decorates his head and is flanked by Varaha and two other figures and below on his right is his attendant Garuda. The images in front of Vamana are three figures of Bali and his wife with Shukra, his councilor. Reliefs stand 4 metres tall. The culture and clothing embedded in the sixth century is visible in the art sculpted in this cave. The roof in the verandha has seven panels created by cross beams, each is painted in circular compartments with images of Shiva, Vishnu, Indra, Brahma, Kama and so forth with smaller images of Dikpalas (cardinal guardians) with geometric mosaics filling the gaps at the corners.
The front aisle's roof has panels with murals in the center of male and female figurines flying in the clouds; the male figure is yaksha holding a sword and a shield. Decoration of lotus blooms are also seen on the panels. The roof in the hall is divided into nine panels slightly above the level of the ceiling. The central panel here depicts a deva mounted on a ram – conjectured as Agni. Images of Brahma and Varuna are also painted in the central panels while the floating figures are seen in the balance panels.
CAVE 4
The Cave 4, to the east of Cave 3, excavated around 650 AD, is located higher than other caves. It is dedicated to revered figures of Jainism and was constructed last among all the caves. It also features detailed carvings and diverse range of motifs. The cave has five bayed entrance with four square columns with brackets and capitals, and to the back of this verandah is a hall with two standalone and two joined pillars. The first aisle is a verandah 9.4 m in length, 2.0 m wide and extends to 4.9 m deep. From the hall, steps lead to the sanctum sanctorum, which is 7.8 m wide extending to a depth of 1.8 m. On the back part of this, Mahavira is represented, sitting on lion throne, flanked by bas-reliefs of attendants with chauri (fans), sardulas and makara's heads. The end walls have Parshvanath (about 2.3 m tall) with his head decorated to represent protection and reverence by a multi-headed cobra, Indrabhuti Gautama covered by four snakes and Bahubali are seen; Bahubali is present to the left of Gautama shown with his lower legs surrounded by snakes along with his daughters Brahmi and Sundari. The sanctum, which is adorned by the image of Mahavira, has pedestal which contains an old Kannada inscription of the 12th century A.D. which registers the death of one Jakkave. Many Jaina Tirthankara images have been engraved in the inner pillars and walls. In addition, there are some idols of Yakshas, Yakshis, Padmavati and other Tirthankaras. Some scholars also assign the cave to the 8th century.
CAVE 5
It is a natural cave of small dimensions, undated, is approached by crawling as it has a narrow opening. Inside, there is a carved statue seated over a sculpted throne with reliefs showing people holding chauris (fans), tree, elephants and lions in an attacking mode. The face of this statue was reasonably intact till about 1995, and is now damaged and missing. There are several theories as to who the statue represents.
The first theory states that it is a Buddha relief, in a sitting posture. Those holding the chauris are Bodhisattvas flanking the Buddha, states this theory, and that the cave has been converted to a Hindu shrine of Vishnu, in later years, as seen from the white religious markings painted on the face of the Buddha as the 9th incarnation of Vishnu. Shetti suggests that the cave was not converted, but from the start represented a tribute to Mayamoha of the Hindu Puranas, or Buddhavatara Vishnu, its style suggesting it was likely carved in or before 8th century CE.
The second theory, found in colonial era texts such as one by John Murray, suggested that the main image carved in the smallest fifth cave is that of Jaina figure.
The third theory, by Henry Cousens as well as A. Sundara, and based by local legends, states that the statue is of an ancient king because the statue's photo, when its face was not damaged, lacked Ushnisha lump that typically goes with Buddha's image. Further, the statue has unusual non-Buddha ornaments such as rings for fingers, necklace and chest-band, it wears a Hindu Yajnopavita thread, and its head is stylistically closer to a Jina head than a Buddha head. These features suggest that the statue may be of a king represented with features of various traditions. The date and identity of the main statue in Cave 5, states Bolon, remains enigmatic.
OTHER CAVES
In 2013, Manjunath Sullolli reported the discovery of another cave with 27 rock carvings, about 500 metres from the four caves, from which water gushes year round. It depicts Vishnu and other Hindu deities, and features inscription in Devanagari script. The dating of these carvings is unknown.
OTHER TEMPLES AT BADAMI
On the north hill, there are three temples, of which Malegitti-Shivalaya is perhaps the oldest temple and also the finest in Badami, and has a Dravidian tower. Out of the two inscriptions found here, one states that Aryaminchi upadhyaya, as the sculptor who got this temple constructed and the other dated 1543 speaks of the erection of a bastion during the Vijayanagara rule. The lower Shivalaya has a Dravidian tower, and only the sanctum remains now.
Jambhulinga temple, situated in the town, is presumably the oldest known trikutachala temple in Karnataka. An inscription dated 699 ascribes construction of this temple to Vinayavathi mother of Emperor Vijayaditya.
The place also has Agasthya Tirtha, temples of Goddess Yellamma, Mallikarjuna, Datttreya and Virupaksha. Bhuthanatha group of temples are most important in Badami.
BADAMI FORT
Badami fort lies east of the Bhuthnatha temple, atop a cliff right opposite the Badami cave temples. The entrance to this temple is right through the Badami museum. It is a steep climb with many view points and dotted with little shrines. The path is laid with neatly cut stone, the same that adores all the architecture around.
ETYMOLOGY
The name Vatapi has origin in the Vatapi legend of Ramayana relating to Sage Agastya.There were two demon siblings Vatapi and Ilvala. They used to kill all mendicants by tricking them in a peculiar way. The elder Ilvala would turn Vatapi into a ram and would offer its meat to the guest. As soon as the person ate the meat, Ilvala would call out the name of Vatapi. As he had a boon that whomsoever Ilvala calls would return from even the netherland, Vatapi would emerge ripping through the body of the person, thus killing him. Their trick worked until Sage Agastya countered them by digesting Vatapi before Ilvala could call for him, thus ending the life of Vatapi at the hands of Ilvala. Two of the hills in Badami represent the demons Vatapi and Ilvala.
It is also believed that name Badami has come from colour of its stone (badam - Almond).
CULTURE
The main language is Kannada. The local population wears traditional Indian cotton wear.
GEOGRAPHY
Badami is located at 15.92°N 75.68°E. It has an average elevation of 586 metres. It is located at the mouth of a ravine between two rocky hills and surrounds Agastya tirtha water reservoir on the three other sides. The total area of the town is 10.3 square kilometers.
It is located 30 kilometers from Bagalkot, 128 kilometers from Bijapur, 132 kilometers from Hubli, 46 kilometers from Aihole, another ancient town, and 589 kilometers from Bangalore, the state capital.
WIKIPEDIA
20 Pine Street (intersection of Cherry & St. Paul Streets), Burlington, Vermont USA • According to UVM's Historic Burlington Project: In 1973, shortly after the devastating fire, the congregation of the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception decided to rebuild their church. Prominent New York architect Edward Larrabee Barnes was selected to design the new cathedral. Barnes is known for his wide range of geometric civic, educational, and ecclesiastical structures that respond heavily to building site and local building materials. His monumental yet simple structures combine formal order and careful detailing to result in powerful and effective buildings.
Inspired by H. H. Richardson’s Billings Library at the University of Vermont, Barnes’s design draws upon local references to the library building through the exterior banding of glazed green and dark brown brick, while accommodating the challenges of a declining Catholic population in the community. The new, angular, five-sided church was designed on a smaller-scale to seat 450 people in the sanctuary and oriented on an east-west axis to capture sunlight at sunrise and sunset.
Barnes collaborated with prominent Vermont-based landscape architect Dan Kiley to design the site. Kiley is noted as being one of the most important landscape architects of the 20th century, having worked and studied under notable Warren Manning and later Walter Gropius at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He became of the first modern landscape architects in the country using geometric and ordered forms in landscapes, often collaborating with contemporaries Eero Saarinen and Louis Kahn. His works include numerous public spaces, often designing plazas, but despite the popularity of his work during the 1970s, Kiley’s built landscapes are being lost, altered, and redesigned at an alarming rate.
Kiley sited the building in the center of the city block reorienting the main entrance to be located off Pine Street, instead of Cherry Street. Kiley also used Barnes’s angular design for the new Cathedral to dictate new circulation patterns and vegetation throughout the site. The building sits within a grove of 123 honey locust trees (Gleditsia triacanthos) that align to the exterior angled façade of the Cathedral, while two sidewalks parallel the trees and criss-cross the site. The historic bell was salvaged from the ruins and placed in a free-standing steel belltower at its former location of the corner of Cherry and St. Paul Streets, serving to recall the former Cathedral building that burned. On March 13, 1977, the new Cathedral reopened to parishioners, and was dedicated two months later on May 26, 1977.
Today the Cathedral and surrounding landscape remain unaltered from their 1970s appearance. However, in June 2006 the city of Burlington approved a feasibility study regarding a new public transportation facility located along St. Paul Street, which would effect the Barnes building and Kiley landscape. Since the transportation center is currently in the initial design phase, awareness about the building and landscape are being raised, in hopes of designing a facility that is compatible with the adjacent landscape and minimally obtrusive to the Barnes and Kiley design.
☞ Part of a series of photos documenting my new home & neighborhood, in the heart of Vermont's largest town: Burlington 05401. • After almost a dozen years in rural Cornwall, 40 miles to the south, I have moved to one of the true outposts of optimism, on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain (the 6th Great Lake).
Using my Cut-Align and my MISTI with Simon Says Stamp Sentiments.
I'm joining the Simon Says Stamp Flickr Challenge with a sentiment from Simon Says Stamp Tiny Words Faith (I stamped the entire Stamp set at once using my MISTI and then cut them apart with my Cut-Align).
My corner of blogland for more pictures & details:
ingeniousinkling.typepad.com/ingenious_inkling/2019/04/cu...
I was invited to shoot some pictures at the former PTT (PTT, Nederlands) NCO Arnhem communications atomic bunker, built under the "De Leuke Linde" playground during the Cold War (Koude Oorlog). After the Cold War ended, it was used as a high-secure relay station for the Nationaal Noodnet emergency communications network.
Some of my photos will be used for the Stichting NCO Arnhem & Nationaal Noodnet website, brochures and other PR stuff.
I have spent many hours underground, the place is a treasure-trove of history, science, (communications) technology and architecture. It is absolutely amazing. The place will be opened to the public in 2014 and I can highly recommend taking the guided tour.
I have made a couple of mistakes during the first photography session; I should have made more use of my white/greycards, my lenses gathered quite a bit of dust, which I failed to notice.
I think I could spend a week inside, photographing every little detail and awesome piece of technology and history, but you should really go and see for yourself.