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Coorg(Kodagu), Karnataka,
India
Coorg lies in southwestern Karnataka, at
the southern end of the Western Ghats. Its name is probably a corruption of
the Kannada kodagu ("steepness"). Its 4,104 sq km area is rugged and hilly
with a high rainfall and a climate tempered by its altitude. The thickly
forested hills often exceed 5,000 ft. Notable summits, all above 5,300 ft,
include Tadramol, Pushpagiri, and Kottebetta. Coorg is drained by the upper
Cauvery River and its tributaries, which in legend have some of the
life-giving properties of the Ganges. Rice is cultivated on the valley floors.
Coffee plantations occupy hillside clearings. Other crops are tea, cardamom,
rubber, pepper, and millet. There are orange groves in the south and evergreen
timber forest in the west.
Coorg was an independent kingdom from the
9th century. A Hindu dynasty ruled almost continuously from the late 16th
century until overthrown by the British in 1834. The region became a province (a
state after 1950) of British India and because of its ruggedness was sometimes
referred to as the "Wales of India." Administered by the chief commissioner of
Mysore from 1881 to 1947, Coorg was absorbed into Mysore in 1953. The main towns
are the district headquarters, Madikeri, Somvarpet, Virarajendrapet, and
Ponnampet. A local hero is the former Field Marshal in the Indian Army, General
KM Cariappa. ♣
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Madikeri
In 1681 Mudda
Raja selected the central but inaccessible site of present day Madikeri for
the capital of the independent Hindu dynasty of Coorg. A fort built in 1812
by Raja Lingarajendra II and the hilltop Omkareshwara Temple overlook the
relatively quiet town. Raja's Seat, a picturesque little garden, commands a
panoramic view.
♣ |
Tile rooftops (more)
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On series of
ridges at 1200 m
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View from
Raja's Seat
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Madikeri town
square
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Madikeri fort
(1812 CE)
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Former church,
now museum
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| Built by Raja
Lingarajendra II
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Complex near
the fort
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| Omkareshwara
temple (1,
2)
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Temple tank
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Temple with tank
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Temple visitors
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Tibetan Settlements Around
Bylakuppe
Southwestern Karnataka is also home to the largest Tibetan settlement in
India outside the Himalayan belt. Both recent refugees
from Tibet and those born elsewhere, live here in a landscape and climate
that is a far cry from Tibet but, as one monk pointed out, with one crucial
consolation: they live without fear and practice their faith in
freedom. With the cross-border migration of thousands of monks in recent
decades, India also seems to have emerged as the destination for
higher Tibetan Buddhist studies. But unlike most Tibetan settlements in the
Indian Himalayas, the monasteries here appear to be larger and more opulent
(more ostentatious at any rate). The shiny Namdroling monastery even has
gigantic gold-plated statues of Tibetan deities which, in contrast with its
own teaching, must provoke
awkward questions in the mind of many a visitor.
Namdroling Monastery |
Padmasambhava
vihara
(more)
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Left (right)
of entrance
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Inside the
monastery (more)
About the statues: 1,
2
3
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Garden around
monastery
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Chanting monks
(more)
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Filming monk
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The Golden Temple
(more)
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Pilgrims from
Ladakh
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The Golden Temple
(more)
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Inside the
Golden Temple
(1,
2)
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Gold-plated
Avalokiteshwara
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Paintings
inside (more)
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Sera Je Monastic University |
Monastery building
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Buddhist temple / university
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Main entrance
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Inside the
monastery (1,
2)
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Sera Mey Monastic University
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Complex gateway
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Buddhist temple / university
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Steps to the
main entrance
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Murals at the front entrance
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The wheel of samsara
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An allegorical illustration
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Gathering hall (more)
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Praying monk in doorway
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Butter sculpture
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An isle in the
monastery
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Monks' residence
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Village around
the monastery
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Sera Thekchenling Lachi Cultural Society |
Main building
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Assembly hall
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Painting left
of the shrine
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Painting right
of the shrine
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Miscellaneous |
Hardhong
Khangtsen monastery
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Inside the
monastery
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Ngagyur
Nyingma Nunnery
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Monk rolling a
gas cylinder
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