Something paranormal spotted in Kuldhara, a haunted and deserted village in Rajasthan, India

Indian Roadie follower Neeraj Pandey from Gurgaon, loves driving around India, a huge and fascinating country in his small Maruti car.
During his solo road trip to Rajasthan in August 2016, he clicked a photo at Kuldhara, infamously known as a deserted and haunted village.
He claims that there was no one around for miles when the photo was clicked. However, when he looked at the photo later, he spotted the paranormal, wherein he saw a group of people in a huddle!

(Photo & content credit: Neeraj Pandey)

Homes across Kerala, India

Homes across Kerala, India have a very different look and feel than the rest of India.
This home seen in the attached photo was clicked from a moving bus by @foxonfeet (on IG) while traveling from Kochi to Munnar.

JOIN the Facebook 'groups' #IndianRoadie, #BackpackingIndiaOnRoad, #ShetravelsIndia, #GlobalRoadie for all your queries about India and please invite your friends to join, too.

India is a representation of everything beautiful that one can crave to see around the world.
Traveling by road is the best, safest & most economical option for wanderlust expatriates and Indians to get the true essence of India.

Who are the expatriates visiting India and willing to be my car travel buddy?

As a corporate marketing strategist and visiting faculty at b-schools pan-India, I gather out of the box marketing inspirations while driving around this huge and fascinating country with expatriate travel buddies in my own VW car.
Let's drive entire India or a part of it (and even Bhutan, Nepal) together in my own car absolutely hassle free and as travel buddies in total safety, comfort, flexibility and affordable cost.

However, this friendly offer/ invitation to expatriates worldwide should not be misconstrued as a business proposition.
Interested? I am all ears. Please revert to roadieglobal@gmail.com or WhatsApp +91 82408 49300.

Fernhill Palace, Ooty, India

The first Fernhills bungalow was built in 1844 by Capt. F. Cotton. It changed hands over a period of time till mid-1860 when it was temporarily named Moonesami and served as one of Ooty's earliest country club. During the time of the British Raj, the English elite would flee the hot and muggy plains of the Madras Presidency and take sanctuary in the refreshing cool climes of Ooty, with its expanses of undulating hills and terraced tea gardens.

Fernhill Palace was the erstwhile summer residence of the Maharaja of Mysore. The palace resembles a Swiss Chalet. Its carved wooden bargeboards and ornamental cast iron give it that characteristic appearance. The palace grounds accentuate the alpine look of the place with its manicured gardens, firs and cedars. There is an interesting church like indoor badminton court on the grounds.

The Palace is spread out over 50 acres (200,000 m2) of green lawns, stylized gardens and dense woods with spectacular views of terraced tea gardens and lush verdant valleys.

Presently its a luxury hotel in Ooty named WelcomHeritage Ferrnhills Royale Palace.

The National Library, Kolkata, India

The National Library on the Belvedere Estate in Alipore, Kolkata is the largest library in India by volume and India's library of public record. It is under the Department of Culture, Ministry of Tourism & Culture, Government of India. The library is designated to collect, disseminate and preserve printed material produced in India. The library is situated on the scenic 30-acre (12 ha) Belvedere Estate in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is the largest in India with a collection in excess of 2.2 million books. Before independence, it was the official residence of Lt. Governor of Bengal.

The National Library of India collects book, periodicals, and titles in virtually all the Indian languages, with Hindi, Kashmiri, Punjab, Sindhi, Telugu, and Urdu. The Special Collections in the National Library of India house at least fifteen languages including "Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, etc with many rare works. The Hindi department has books that date back all the way to the nineteenth century and the first ever books printed in that language.

Interesting statistics about National Library:
Over 2,270,000 books,
Over 86,000 maps,
Over 3,200 manuscripts,
Over 45 kilometers of shelf space,
Reading rooms can accommodate over 550 people.

The Calcutta Public Library:
The history of the National Library began with the formation of the Calcutta Public Library in 1836.
That was a non-governmental institution and was run on a proprietary basis. People contributing ₹300 (US$4.60) in subscription became the proprietors. Prince Dwarkanath Tagore was the first proprietor of that Library. ₹ 300 at that time was a significant amount, so poor students and others were allowed free use of the library for some period of time.
Lord Metcalfe, the Governor General at that time, transferred 4,675 volumes from the library of the College of Fort William, Kolkata to the Calcutta Public Library. This and donations of books from individuals formed the nucleus of the library.
Both Indian and foreign books, especially British, were purchased for the library. Donations were regularly made by individuals as well as by the government.
The Calcutta Public Library had a unique position as the first public library in this part of the world. Such a well-organized and efficiently run library was rare even in Europe during the first half of the 19th century.

The Imperial Library:
The Imperial Library was formed in 1891 by combining a number of Secretariat libraries in Calcutta. Of those, the most important and interesting was the library of the Home Department, which contained many books formerly belonging to the library of East India College, Fort William and the library of the East India Board in London. But the use of the library was restricted to the superior officers of the Government.

Amalgamation of CPL and Imperial Library:
In 1903, Lord Curzon of Kedleston, the Viceroy of India, conceived the idea of opening a library for the use of the public.
He noticed both the libraries, viz. Imperial Library and Calcutta Public Library were under-utilized for the want of facilities or restrictions. He decided to amalgamate the rich collection of both of these libraries.
The new amalgamated library, called Imperial Library, was formally opened to the public on 30 January 1903 at Metcalfe Hall, Kolkata. Metcalfe Hall had earlier been the home of the Governor-General; Wellington, Cornwallis and Warren Hastings had lived in the building, and the last-named had fought a duel with a member of his governing committee on its grounds.
The Gazette of London reported, "It is intended that it should be a library of reference, a working place for students and a repository of material for the future historians of India, in which, so far as possible, every work written about India, at any time, can be seen and read."

Declaring the Imperial Library as the National Library:
Formal opening of the National Library was on 1 February 1953.
After the independence the Government of India changed the name of the Imperial Library as the National Library, and the collection was shifted from The Esplanade to the present Belvedere Estate. On 1 February 1953 the National Library was opened to the public.

Discovery of hidden chamber:
In 2010, the Ministry of Culture, the owner of the library, decided to get the library building restored by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). While taking stock of the library building, the conservation engineers discovered a previously unknown room. The ground-floor room, about 1000 sq. ft. in size, seems to have no opening of any kind.
The ASI archaeologists tried to search the first floor area (that forms the ceiling of the room) for a trap door, but found nothing. Since the building is of historical and cultural importance, ASI has decided to bore a hole through the wall instead of breaking it. There are speculations about the room being a punishment room used by Warren Hastings and other British officials, or a place to store treasure.
In 2011, the researchers announced that the room was filled entirely with mud, probably in an effort to stabilize the building.

A day's drive to Kotilingeshwara Temple, Kolar, Karnataka which boasts of the tallest Shivalinga in Asia

The Kotilingeshwara Temple lies in a very small village named Kammasandra in the Kolar district. The temple is extremely famous because of the largest and the tallest Shivalinga present in Asia. More than 2 lac devotees visit this temple every year.

Maha Shivaratri is a special occasion and a large number of devotees make it a point to be there on this auspicious day. The temple can be easily reached from the gold fields of Kolar.

Kotilingeshwara. Image courtesy Mithila

The Shivalinga is 33 mts tall. It has an accompanying Basava statue which is 11 mts tall and is surrounded by a large number of Shivalingas spread across the area. The project involves an establishment of one crore shivalingas hence it is named Kotilingeshwara and currently, there are about a hundred lakh shivalingas.

Kotilingeshwara Temple. Image courtesy pponnada

Quick Facts about Kotilingeshwara Temple, Kolar

The best time to visit: between July and January.Address: Kodilingam Temple Road, Ghattakamadenahalli, Kolar-563121 (Map)Timings: 6:00 AM- 9:00PMEntry Fee: INR 20 per personCamera Fee: INR 100 per cameraParking Charges: INR 30Linga Installation Fee: Starts from INR 6,000

Panoramic View of Kotilingeshwara Temple. Image courtesy Visurao4all

History of Kotilingeshwara Temple, Kolar

This temple has been constructed by Swami Sambha Shiva Murthy in the year 1980. The first linga was installed in 1980 and since then there have been many lingas present in the temple. There is also a huge and tall Nandi installed beside the linga. The Nandi is 11 mt tall and sits over a huge platform.

Within the premises of the temple, there are about eleven other temples for different deities. The first of them includes the temple of Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma, and Lord Maheshwara temples. This is followed by a temple of Lord Kotilingeshwara.

Kotilingeshwara Temple. Image courtesy Pponnada

The temples include Goddess Annapoorneshwari Temple, Goddess Karumaari Amma Temple, Lord Venkataramani Swamy Temple, Lord Panduranga Swamy Temple, Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshmana Temple, Lord Panchamukha Ganapathy Temple, Lord Anjaneya Temple, and finally Goddess Kannika Parameshwari Temple.

The Government has declared this temple as a tourist spot so that hundreds of tourists from across the World can come and pay their respects to the largest Linga in Asia. Two flower trees, named one Nagalinga and Cannon Ball are located here, and many unmarried women pray for a blessed and happy married life.

Kotilingeshwara Temple. Image courtesy Pponnada

Poojas at Kotilingeshwara Temple, Kolar

Daily poojas are performed at all the installed Shivalingas by the priests every day. The pooja is carried out with music and drums and all the priests recite mantras as well as pour water on the lingas.

The devotees can also offer special poojas by installing the lingas. These lingas can be installed on any day chosen by the devotees in their names. Regular poojas will be carried out and offered to all the lingas installed.

Kotilingeshwara Temple. Image courtesy Pponnada

Facilities at Kotilingeshwara Temple, Kolar

There are rest houses constructed for devotees in the temple premises. In addition, free mass marriages are performed here every year. This is carried out by priests with drums, music and chants. Currently, there are around twenty weddings performed every week. There is also a meditation hall built for devotees who wish to meditate in peace.

Kotilingeshwara Temple. Image courtesy Mithila

How to Reach Kotilingeshwara Temple, Kolar

By Road

If you want to reach the temple by road, you need to head through Kolar. Kolar is at a distance of 2.5 hours from Bangalore. Kotilingeshwara Temple is a day's drive from Bangalore and back.

Be my car travel buddy in India

That's me, Deep Banerjee (founder of Indian Roadie and Global Roadie) at Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary, the land of leopards in the state of Chattisgarh, India while driving solo from Pune to Kolkata.
I love to see India while travelling together with wanderlust backpacking travellers from throughout the world. 3 to 4 persons at a time from across the world are invited to travel with me in my car (SUV or sedan) at a very low cost (we will go Dutch!) in total comfort and absolute safety.
In the process, my travelbuddies get a true feel of entire India, its culture, topography, people, food, etc, etc. I get them to talk to the local populace in villages/ towns/ cities, school students, and also engineering/ business school students at various locations to understand the true India.
Multiple numbers of driving circuits have been planned for all weather round the year drives. However, we strictly do not drive during the night.
For students, researchers, bloggers, photographers, friends, couples, backpackers this will be one cherished and unforgettable holiday. This is not a business proposition. We simply embark on a journey and drive around as friends!

Does this sound interesting? Do you have friends who could be interested in joining me?

Email me on: roadieglobal@gmail.com
Call/ WhatsApp: +91 82408 49300

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Explore Kolkata - South Park Street Cemetery, also houses the grave of poet ‎Michael Madhusudan Dutt

South Park Street Cemetery is in the heart of the City of Joy, viz. Kolkata. It's near the crossing of Park Street and AJC Bose Road, opposite Assembly of God Church School. The busy road intersection is popularly known as Mullickbazar crossing. The great Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt was buried there. His statue is erected just outside the gate, where few Bengali lines from his works are written.