We have always wanted to take a trip to Nimishamba Temple in Srirangapatna for a long time, but somehow it never happened until recently when we decided that we would head to Srirangapatna just before my daughter’s school opened after Christmas vacation.  Enthused after doing a long journey by car to Pondicherry and Chennai, hubby was only too willing to lug us all to Nimishamba. 

So one Sunday morning, for a change we were all up early, and hit the road by about 7.00 AM.  We wanted to leave even earlier so as to beat the Sunday traffic.  It did delay us by a good 30mts, but we hit the Mysore road with gusto after the initial lull.  The changing landscapes, the green fields, the coconut trees all cheered us up and thanks to the government the road right upto Mysore has been made a fourway lane and is considered one of the best highways in Karnataka now.    

Cruising at an average speed of 75kms per hour hubby took us safely to Kamat a little after Ramanagaram and a little before Channapatna at 9.30 AM for our breakfast.  The place is cosy with red-slated bricks and thatched roofs and caters to hungry travellers from all over the country who are on a visit to Mysore.  We decided to have a mini tiffin comprising of small masala dosa, idly, vada, some pongal, chow chow bhath and finally washed it down with both juice and coffee.  The yummy breakfast costs a little over Rs.60/- and is absolutely filling.    

After the breakfast we again hit the road and within about 45 mts we had reached Srirangapatna.  Srirangapatna was the power centre of Tippu Sultan, or the Tiger of Mysore as he was called.  He was one of those few kings who dared the British and had to pay heavily for his courage and bravery.  The British walled his two young children alive and I could imagine the pitiful wails of his two young sons as we headed towards the Ranganathaswamy Temple.  Unlike the other Muslim rulers Tippu did not destroy any of the Hindu temples.  Instead Hyder Ali and Tippu are said to have made a lot of endowments to the Ranganathaswamy Temple.  This temple is dedicated to Maha Vishnu.    

In fact Srirangapatna is one of the Pancharanga Kshetras on the river Cauvery.  The other four are Srirangam near Tiruchirapalli (Trichy), Tiruvindalur near Mayiladuthurai, Kumbhakonam and Koyiladi near Trichy again.    

This huge temple has walls like that of a fortress and exhibits the Vijayanagar and Hoysala style of architecture.  The lord Ranganatha is in a reclining position on the Adisesha.  The temple dates back to the period of the Ganga ruler and it is said that this temple was constructed in the 9^th century AD.  

After praying to the Lord and after partaking the prasad we wended our way to the next temple, the Nimishamba Temple.  This temple is on the banks of the river Cauvery in the village of Ganjam.  It is only 2 kms from the town of Srirangapatna and the scenery is beautiful.  The temple is about 400 yrs old and the chief deity is Goddess Parvathi.  There is a belief that the Goddess Parvathi will wipe away all the problems of her devotees in a minute and that is why she has the name Nimishamba – Nimisha in Kannada means minute and Amba means Mother   After praying to Goddess Parvathi we sat on the steps of the temple and breathed in the delicious pristine air, faraway from the madding world and the traffic snarls and all problems were happily forgotten as we took in the views of the Cauvery gurgling nearby.   

Srirangapatna is also famous for the Sangam or the confluence of the rivers Cauvery and Lokapavani.  This is also the place where people come and immerse the ashes of their near and dear ones.  The place is absolutely beautiful with greenery all around and the swift Cauvery river flowing by hurriedly. Except for the twittering of the birds and the chanting of the mantras by purohits (priests) Sangam is a silent place. It is an ideal place to relax with a book in hand on the stone steps leading to the river or better still do nothing but revel in the scenery.  

The other must place to visit is the Ranganathittu Bird sanctuary.  Since we had run out of time, we could not make it, but the sanctuary is a must visit for bird lovers. You can spot herons, kingfishers, spoonbills, storks, cranes, cormorants, egrets etc.   

It was way past three before we managed to locate a hotel on our way back home and settled for a good lunch.  It is better to go to Kamat well after 3.00 PM or a little earlier than 1.00 PM for lunch, for the place gets very crowded and the next decent hotel on the Mysore road after Kamat is only at Bidadi.  We reached home at 5.00 PM, very happy with the darshan and for taking a trip which was long overdue.  

How to get there:  

1. From Bangalore take train or bus, or better still hire a taxi as it allows the traveller to visit all the places mentioned in this travelogue.
2. If you are going to use the KSRTC bus then take the Luxury bus or the Volvo and hire an auto from the main road to go to all these places.

Distance:  

Srirangapatna is about 125 kms away and it takes about 2.5 hrs to journey one-way.