Khidrapur: Grandeur Carved in Stone

Khidrapur Temple

Khidrapur was one of the primary reasons why I took my bike to Sangli on the last weekend of 2011 and the first of 2012. I had been wanting to check this place out for a long time, but it just didn't come through. This time I was determined to make it happen. It was primarily for such outing-cum-photography excursions that I had bought a new mono-pod, since historical places strictly dont allow tripods. Especially if they are being managed by Archaeological Survey of India. Now this ASI is seemingly one rare govt organization which appears damn serious about its work. They not only maintain their sites impeccably well, but they are quite strict while enforcing their rules too. I hear the Khidrapur temple was also in a state of disarray before it was handed over to ASI, and since the handover, there has been a sea-change in the way it's maintained and projected.

The road to Khidrapur from Sangli is, for the most part, straight-forward. Sangli-Jaysingpur-NarasobaWadi-Kurundwad. In Kurundwad, it's better to ask for the correct turn. Another place where it's better to ask before proceeding is Sainik-Takali where the road is quite small and bad.

Paddy-fields along the way

Also, this is where it might get a bit troublesome to maneuvour a car. Otherwise rest of the road is wide-enough and in excellent condition. Once you cross Sainik-Takali, you have a straight road to Khidrapur, you can't miss it. The fields along both sides of the road, span the horizon as long as your gaze reaches. The occasional string of high coconut trees in the midst of these fields give the whole scenary a bit of Goan touch. They stand very pretty. Typical of a village setting, you will find quite a bit of birds sitting on the wires along the roads, or wading in the ponds alongside. Egrets, herons, kingfishers, swallows, drongos etc. An occasional drongo would even let you come quite close, enough to fill the full frame of your camera. The region is well endowed with water all year round, and consequently the prosperity shows.

Khidrapur itself is a clean village.

Museum being built by ASI

The area around and inside the temple is very cleanly maintained. Right in front of the Temple, there is an attractively shaped structure being built by ASI. From what I learnt from the locals, it's going to be a museum. Wonder what the museum is going to be of. Just beside the musium, flowing Krishna river is visible and the bank as well as its approach is quite pleasant to just relax and watch the grebes, spot-bills floating on the water while a brahmini kite soars high up in the sky.

Now on to the main attraction - the Kopeshwar temple. The temple, supposedly, was built in the 12th century by Chalukya kings. The architecture is majestic and carvings on the walls, pillars, ceilings are insanely detailed and intricate.

Side view of the Kopeshwar Temple

You can't help but wonder about the skills of those who carved such intricate, yet beautifully balanced carvings on those planks of stone. The temple, maybe because it's from a relatively recent time period, or maybe because it somehow remained out of sight of those rampaging Mughals who were on temple distruction spree, has managed to remain in an impressively good shape.

After clicking the architecture and carvings till I felt content, I moved out towards the river bank. The bank was bustling with bird activity. I spotted a grey wagtail alongwith a pair of white-wagtails - lifer for me. A pied wagtail was not to be seen anywhere there though. On the left of the bank, I saw a male Indian Robin sitting pretty on an offshoot and giving a pose like only a Robin or a Bushchat does. These birds are a photographer's delight. They let you come close, and besides a lot of time they will find an exquisitely positioned solitary spot to sit on and observe you. Such a spot allows you to seperate them very beautifully from the background. This is how it was sitting that time. I focussed on it and was about to click, when I saw some activity in the frame. Initially I thought it was a pigeon that was ruining my frame. A moment passed, and then with a bang, like a Nana Patekar entry, there emerged a Hoopoe in focus. I was stunned. I had never seen a bird like that before. It was a lifer for me. A Hoopoe is one of those very elegant birds with a long, down-curved, pointed beak and a magnificent crest. It's very pleasing when you get to see this bird for the first time. It allowed me to come moderately close and I managed a few okayish shots before it flew away.

Green Bee Eater with a caught bee

White Wagtail

Common Hoopoe

Due to presence of fields, the place was teeming with birds. Later that day, I also managed to get a sharp shot of a Green Bee Eater eating a bee. There were bats, larks, few water birds (spot-bills and grebes mostly), bramhini kites, Robins and ofcourse this Hoopoe. Quite a bit variety, when I hadn't even considered any birding angle to this trip.

After my lens started labouring while hunting for focus, due to lack of sufficient light, I packed my gear and started back towards home.

The sunset with the foreground of fields, trees, bridges was quite pleasing on the way back. Got few shots for HDR, as well as a few that highlighted the converging lines formed by roads, field/crop boundaries, bridges etc. Some turned out good.

The change from hustle-bustle of Pune to the relaxed, lazy life in these small villages, is quite significant. Photography as a hobby, is an enabler that pushes one to roam around, travel, visit unknown places, appreciate peculiarities and see the same things in a different light - literally. It gives purpose to the life. Khidrapur probably wouldnt have happend, had I not have a camera to capture such stuff that appeals to the creative instinct.