Hanuman Temple. Durga Temple: Anegundi

Situated on the other side of the Tungabadhra River, Anegundi heritage village offers nothing in particularly to see however it does make a great bike ride around the ancient town which can be seen in flat 10 minutes! Interestingly around the town there are few sites that might tempt you to explore.

HANUMAN TEMPLE:

As mentioned earlier, Hampi has a close association with the incident of Ramayana. One of the important evidences that pinpoints this fact is the Monkey Temple, which is located at a serene spot on Anjanadri Hill in Anegundi on the other side of Virupaksha Temple crossing the Tungabadhra river.

This Hanuman Temple is located 4 km from Hampi and is believed to be the birth place of Lord Hanuman. This Monkey Temple is basically a small concrete structure consisting of a granite carved statue of Lord Hanuman along with a small shrine of Lord Rama and his wife Devi Sita. As you reach the main site after climbing 500 odd steps you will come into a courtyard with a breathtaking view of the surroundings. On you left there are few rocks. Climb them for more better view. Supposedly one of the best places to see the sunset, we could not stay that long due to our journey back to our hotel.

Carry enough water, tit-bits to much and yes a hat to cover your head!

Some of the other places to visit near the Monkey Temple include Pampa Sarovara Laxmi Temple, Bukkaâ Aquaduct, Anegondi Fort and Rishyamukha Sarovara.

DURGA TEMPLE

Located on a small hillock, and almost out of sight from the road, the temple is dedicated to the Goddess Durga. However, since this temple is situated at the base of a fort, it is also believed to derive its name from the local word for fort, which is ‘Durg’. At one time, it seems to have been a deity installed by the kings for the protection of the fort.

The temple is a small one, and from what we heard, was largely ignored by the local populace after the decline of the Vijayanagar Empire.

Look out for the huge banyan tree in the main courtyard of the temple, a stunning sight for photographers, with colourful clothes hanging from the tress tied by people for blessings. This is one of the top Hampi temples located on Hippie side. 

4 New Menswear Designers from India!

Fashion for Indian men is mostly related to women. Confused? Well it means that the men think fashion (unrelated term) is not for them at all. Here we are not discussing about festive or occasion wear or even seasonal ramp wear rather some basic day to day wear. More perplexing, right? Mostly sticking to formals in shades of black, white, greys and blue, I really think its high time that the men starts to explore a bit. And lets not forget that there are few who need help while shopping their regular wear.  ah! Now thats another post I assume!

With brand like FabIndia, Khadi Bhandar opening up lots of possibilities in colors, mix and match specially in traditional wear segment, the western side too heating up thanks to brands like UCB, Zara, Forever21 and many invading the Indian market. The choices are many for sure.

While browsing and looking for a change I bumped into many up coming menswear brands/designers catering to casual, semi-casual and Indian look for the experimenting men.

Over to these Fantastic Four!

1. Antar Agni by Ujjwal Dubey https://www.facebook.com/antaragnibyujjawaldubey/?fref=ts 
http://www.ujjawaldubey.com

It was love at first sight with his collection. It was also like I have already seen something like this before. In my thoughts. Or dreams. Launched at the LFW 14 in GenNext, Ujjawal Dubey took the space easily as the new talent to watch out for. The collection, which got sold-out, consists of wonderful mix of dhoti intertwined with pant, kurta camouflaging with a shirt with isometrical cuts and style just like a beautiful marriage of two different personalities. His collection is for those who loves experimenting with ease.

He believes in exploring and making garments at their natural best. Khadi Cottons are his most favourites. aimed to create a fashionable balance, Ujjwal plays with natural pastel hues but his blacks dominates the collection.

In their dhoti/arabian style pants

Ujjawal Dubey at LFW 2015

2. The Pot Plant - http://thepotplant.in/mens-wear/ 

Me in one of their cotton shirts.

Their add to detail buttons are just gorgeous

Started by Resham Karmchandani and Sanya Suri, both grads from The Pearl Academy, New Delhi co-founded the brand to realise their dream of making cotton the essential textile. Their love for repurposing materials, handwoven textile and natural fabrics just makes them as a 'must-have' into your wardrobe.

I bumped into them at an event in Mumbai and instantly fell in love with the texture and style and now proudly owns a custom made shirt by them.


3. Tath https://www.facebook.com/tatbydesign/?fref=nf 

A Mumbai based menswear brand launched in December 2013. The proud owner of the brand Prasad Ramamurthy uses traditional Indian techniques to create modern easy breezy collection exclusive for men.

Made again mostly in cottons, Prasad insists on easy cuts and breathable fits. His placement of pockets are on the shirts are very interesting.

He mostly sells through exhibitions or via his FB page.

4. PREETHAM JUKALKER  
https://www.facebook.com/Preetham-Jukalker-355879034582647/?fref=ts

Artist Syed Ali Arif in his creation

Barely three months old, Preetham Jukalker (the brand goes by the same name) has taken the womenswear and menswear by storm. Dedicated strictly to Andhra Ikat, his brand consist of clothes which are easy breezy. 

Hailing from Hyderabad, Preetham was into heavy embellishment kids wear that he used to supply to a store in Mangalore. All this while living in Mumbai for a brief time before he got his calling back home and decided to put up a workshop to shift from glamorous wear to everyday sustainable contemporary wear.

He works closely with the textile and handloom industry allover to bring back the lost glory of cotton to where it belongs!

This brings us to an end, not literally thou, as we are hoping to see many designer gets into making interesting style for men which are easily wearable as well.

Have a sneak peek at what I love to see the men adorn, before signing off: