2 SUNDAY 29 APRIL 2018 travelogue Less than two hours from Hyderabad is Panagal, a quiet little town in Nalgonda district, that is home to the mysterious Chaya Someswara Swamy Temple. Panagal together with the Devarakonda Fort make Nalgonda an ideal day trip destination from Hyderabad for the thrill seekers as well as the religiously inclined omplex wara Swamy Temple C Panagal Chaya Somes Glimpse into age of miracles

NEEHARIKA SATYAVADA are also fabled for the exquisite There is a four-hundred-year water body just across the road sculptures carved into them. from the temple that is quickly turning into a picnic spot. The edicated to Lord Shiva, the There is a four-hundred-year wa- Panagal Tank, also known as Udaysamudram, is a balancing Chaya Someswara Swamy ter body just across the road from DTemple is an ancient temple the temple that is quickly turning reservoir that today meets the irrigation and drinking water built by the Kunduru Cholas in the into a picnic spot. The Panagal Tank, needs of over five hundred villages near here twelfth century. Considered to be an also known as Udaysamudram, is a exemplary model of ingenious balancing reservoir that today meets translated to mean the green Hindu architecture, the temple owes the irrigation and drinking water temple, is yet another ancient tem- known. Known as the Pachala Someswara Swamy temple. The tem- its fame and air of mystery to the fact needs of over five hundred villages ple dating back to the eleventh cen- Someswara Swamy Temple, the idol ple grounds here are also home to a that there is a constant and unwa- near here. tury and dedicated to the same pre- here is carved out of green onyx giv- museum that boasts of statues and vering shadow that falls on the main Also in close proximity to this siding deity, Someswara; albeit little ing this temple its name - literally sculptures from the Ikshvaku Dy- deity in the exact same manner all nasty of the first century. through the day, irrespective of the The Pachala Someswara Swamy Panagal is a hundred kilometers from Hyderabad and four kilometers position of the sun. temple together with the immensely from the district headquarters of Nalgonda on the Addanki - The origin of this chaya or shadow popular Chaya Someswara Swamy Narkatpally highway. Both the temples are open between 6 am to 12 is an unresolved conundrum and Temple nearby, attract devotees in pm and 4 pm to 8 pm. It is a sixty-four kilometer detour to over the years many have speculated droves during the festival of Shivara- Devarakonda from Panagal. The return to Hyderabad from over what could be the science be- tri. FACT FILE FACT Devarakonda is also a hundred kilometers but along a different route. hind this. While some have said it One can combine this trip with a could be the refraction of light and short detour to Devarakonda, where the peculiar positioning of the pillars a sprawling fort lies in ruins but pro- whose shadows unite to cast a single vides with ample opportunity for unchanging shadow on the idol, no hiking. Climb up the crumbling, dis- matter the time of the day and the appearing steps with a pleasant direction of the light. These theories breeze in tow to cross hillocks, come have remained as just that, theories across local herders with their sheep and the mystery of the shadow con- and kids playing which is in all like- tinues to be. So does the legend of lihood one of the toughest game of this ancient temple. It is this unique hide and seek; what with the feature - that the temple is named crevices, the short but steep valley after - which is considered a striking sides and the thick and distinctive testimony to the architectural bril- undergrowth of forest that covers liance of that era. These very pillars Udayasamudram Reservoir in Panagal the dark corners.

WHAT’S NEW B’wood-all-around at Madame Tussauds Bangkok! fter all the buzzes and long waits, the get fans reeling. Leaving the studio be- Aworld of Bollywood is finally in hind, fans, then, meet with the Bollywood Bangkok, Thailand! The launch of the Augmented Reality Dance. The dancing magnificent zone is a Bollywood dream challenge is a fun experience filled with comes true for the industry’s die-hard thematic grooves sung by the famous ac- fans. Featuring four Bollywood forever tor-turns-singer Varun Dhawan, and a stars: Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, cheeky gimmick of hidden cameras to Amitabh Bachchan, and Prabhas, capture fans’ fun moments and display Madame Tussauds Bangkok creates full them on the large backdrop of the area. Shah Rukh Khan Bollywood experience in their newest Led by the figure of the famous Shah zone. The immersive IIFA Awards expe- comed by the figure of Prabhas in the Rukh Khan, the AR Dance area is per- rience and the AR Dance the new zone flesh before entering the Bollywood Pro- fectly lit with sparkling Indian-style mir- o�ers are the highlights fans must not duction Studio, where real filming props, rors strewn in golden delicate frames. miss! the filming-in-process touch, and another Mahesh Babu will soon be joining the Prabhas Upon their first arrival, fans will be wel- superstar presence of Hrithik Roshan will others as his statue is in the making. Hrithik Roshan