Mahanandi (Nandyal district), Andhra Pradesh: Mahanandi is another sought-after pilgrimage centre in Nandyal district, Andhra Pradesh, commonly visited by Shaivaites. It is also part of the temple run circuit, along with Srisailam and Rachyoti. Nine Nandi shrines: By and large, devotees of Shiva prefer to pay obeisance to the main Nandi temple in Mahanandi, although there are eight other shrines of Nandi within a distance of 15 kilometres. Mahanandi is just one of the Nava Nandis, also known as Nava Nandulu. These nine temples are Mahanandi, Sivanandi, Vinayakanandi, Somanandi, Prathamanandi, Garudanandi, Suryanandi, Krishnanandi (also called Vishnunandi) and Naganandi. 1,500-year-old ancient stone marvel: The Mahanandiswara Swamy Temple in Mahanandi is an important pilgrimage centre, especially for the devotees of Shiva. This ancient temple dates back over 1,500 years. The inscriptions on 10th-century tablets speak of the temple being repaired and rebuilt several ti...
Bengaluru: Three women artists held a group exhibition of their paintings at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat here. A common bonding factor for all of them is that, unlike most of the present-day practitioners with professional degrees and postgraduate degrees in fine arts, they have learnt the art by doing some basic courses out of passion to excel in the art form. Excited at the response: Anjali Harlalka, one of the three artists, is excited about the 'lovely response' to the group show. She hails from Delhi, and I did my graduation in Textile Designing from Lady Irwin College. A lot of galleries near college: Anjali Harlalka recalls: Near my college, there are a lot of galleries like Triveni Kala Sangam, and in Connaught Place also, there are so many galleries, and from a young age, I used to visit these galleries and always be fascinated by, you know, the display there by big artists like M.F. Husain and Anjoli Ila Menon, and so many artists used to display ...