INTERVIEW
Ever heard of Dancing Hall of Sun Temple–the larger-than-life installations
of “Gaja-Simhas,” elaborate poses of musicians, dancers and each carving
outshining the other? Catch a glimpse of the Konark Dance Festival, held every
year in December on “My India Travels.” Take a tour of Rajesh’s blog and discover
the hidden gems of India.
“Halebidu is known
for 12th century
Hoysala Temple.
But very few people
know about ancient
and beautiful places
such as Hilikere and
Doddagaddavalli that
lie close to it.”
angle was perfect to capture the red tower
against the blue sky.
Ponda. These temples are now renovated
and maintained well.
Which blogs, travel photographers and
writers do you admire and why?
The travel photographers that I admire
are:
• Siddhartha Joshi (The Wanderer) for
amazing travel photography (sidthewanderer.com)
• Joshi Daniel (Joshi Daniel
Photography) for each image is a
masterpiece (joshidaniel.com )
• Dhiraj and Amrutha (TeamGSquare)
one of the best offbeat travellers
(teamgsquare.blogspot.com)
What’s the secret of successful travel
blogging?
One thing I learned over a period is not to
blog about the same place post after post.
Also, make sure your content is original.
Varanasi is an obvious choice, but where
else in India do you think one should go
for an eat-pray-love experience?
Varanasi is our ancient city that has
everything including old world charm.
Goa also offers an eat-pray-love experience
if one starts looking beyond the beaches.
Other than the resorts, beaches, churches,
food, Goa houses some magnificent
temples which are more than 500 years
old. Unfortunately they are not as
famous. These temples mostly belong to
GSB Community and their architecture
is slightly different when compared to
temples in other areas as it is a mix of
Islamic, Christian and Portuguese style.
During the Portuguese invasion the
temples in Goa were subject to rampant
destruction and hence these temples were
relocated to interior Goa area such as
One India travel secret the guidebooks
don’t tell you
Popular travel guides only share
information about famous destinations.
But in India every famous destination
has two or more offbeat places nearby.
For example Halebidu is known for
12th century Hoysala Temple. But very
few people know about destinations like
Hilikere and Doddagaddavalli in close
proximity to it. Hilikere has an ancient
sacred pool built below the ground level
and is beautifully carved. Doddagaddavali
has 12th century Lakshmi Devi Temple.
Also, around Gwalior there are scores
of places of historical importance. One
among them is Mitavali located at a
distance of 40kms from Gwalior. The
temple is on a small hill. You need to
climb roughly 150 to 200 uneven steps to
reach the temples, carved out of the hill.
One travel mistake you would never make
again
Do not book tickets for connecting flights
on two different airlines. I did this and
one of the flights got cancelled, forcing
me to buy a costlier ticket on a different
airline.
Connect with Rajesh Prabhu:
Blog: myindiantravel.blogspot.in
Facebook: myindiantravel
Twitter: twitter.com/ashrajpr
Rajesh Prabhu spoke to TS intern Khushboo Tiwari
Goa Temple
September-October 2015 Travel Secrets 79