I had mentioned in Part 1 that we were staying at the Hyatt Place hotel which is located within a JSW residential layout in Toranagallu town of Bellary district in Karnataka 👉 Red Earth🌳🎈 (Part 1 of 2). Our agenda here was to visit the nearby historic towns of Badami and Hampi.

The residential layout called JSW Vidyanagar is green and beautiful; wide tree lined roads, manicured lawns, gardens and even a lake within the campus. During day, the look is bright, green and colourful; in the evening, the place changes to a beguiling beauty under the magic of lights. Take a look !!

Let’s start with the lake 👇. Simply seat yourself in one of the benches placed on the walkway along the lake’s perimeter and enjoy the peace and quiet.

On the way to the lake you will find this curious artefact 👇. It’s a vessel made up of two commonly used materials – terracotta on the outside and steel inside – titled Patra, which literally translates to vessel in a functional and spiritual context.

There is temple here made of white marble, you need to see it both during day and night. It’s beautiful !! It’s called Panchavati.

The next place to visit is right next to the hotel, it’s called Kaladham – a cultural centre. It had a VR show on Hampi, but closed since the lockdown. The pillars are reminiscent of the ones you are going to see in Hampi 😀. The place has an amphitheatre and an elegant shop, open in the evenings.

If you look closely in the picture below, you can see smoke emanating from a chimney at a distance. The residential township is fantastic, but the fact that it is an industrial town still stands. The development is at a cost; the mining has left irreversible scars on the land and it’s people. The red earth outside this beautiful campus tells the story.

We visited Badami and Hampi from here. There are lot of stories to tell, one at a time !!

Till next post, take care !!