Where this photo was taken?
Virupaksha temple, Hampi - North Karnataka
Story of light and shadow of Virupaksha temple
This strikingly beautiful Virupaksha temple of Hampi has lot of surprises in store for an observant visitor. It starts right from the 9 floor Gopura - the entrance tower that is 50 feet high. Virupaksha temple will awe you with elegant sculptures, intricate carvings, mural painting and an antiquity that goes back to the 6th century AD. Beyond the grand ornamentation that meets the eyes, there are many architectural wonders hidden inside Virupaksha temple. One of them is the use of pin hole camera technique. Visitors can witness that an inverted image of the huge temple tower falls on a back wall of the temple, 300 feet away. During particular times of the day, this shadow is very clear and sharp. This well known phenomena draws devotees and tourist all alike. In mid 2011 October, Virupaksha temple also revealed a surprise effect. An inverted shadow of the small tower above the sanctum was falling inside the temple corridor. It was also a cleaver demonstration of pin hole camera by ancient Indian architects. This phenomenon can only be observed with a particular alignment of sun with earth. I am sure there are more engineering miracles hidden in the temple those would reveal in due course of time to a vigilant observer. These effect shows that ancient Indian engineers had a deep understanding of the planetary positions and they knew how to play with light and shadow!
References:
- http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/of-light-and-shadow/article2532899.ece
- http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report-virupaksha-temple-offers-another-sight-1598648
- http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getFiles.asp?Style=OliveXLib:LowLevelEntityToPrint_MIRRORNEW&Type=text/html&Locale=english-skin-custom&Path=BGMIR/2011/10/12&ID=Ar00200
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