Dede Sophie

It is a 13th century Hoysala temple gem that is extremely well preserved and that takes the intricacies of Hoysala temple architecture to another level. The longer you stay at this temple, the more its beauty will unravel on you. Such is its wondrous architecture. And the best part about this temple is that it is located less than three hours from Bangalore city. I am talking about the Chenna Keshava temple located in a quiet little village called Aralaguppe in the Tiptur taluk of Tumkur district. Aralaguppe wasn’t always a quiet village. It flourished under the Ganga dynasty in the 9th century and then under the Kalyana Chalukyas and then the Hoysalas in the 13th century. It’s important place in these kingdoms can be seen through its spectacular temples. The older one, built by the Gangas is called Kalleshwara temple and the other is the Chenna Keshava temple that was built under the rule of the Hoysalas. Today, Aralaguppe is a peaceful village surrounded by lush farms and connected b

Have you ever picked up a book by an author you’ve never heard of, written in a genre that’s not your usual cup of tea and with a title that reminds you of a cheesy sci-fi movie…and then ended up loving it? That’s how it was with me and ‘The Martian’. The story is pretty straightforward. A manned mission to Mars goes wrong and the crew have to flee the surface in haste when a storm threatens to destroy their take-off vehicle. In the chaos, botanist/mechanical engineer Mark Watney is injured. Believing him to be dead, the crew takes off. However, Watney is still alive. And he has every intention of “staying alive” (a song our hero adopts as his theme song – yes, Watney is funny that way). Mark Watney becomes the first Martian – a good humored, resourceful and the one and only resident of Mars. How he survives on a freezing cold planet with no help in sight and no way to communicate with Earth makes for a terrifically compelling read and the suspense and drama of if/how he ever gets bac