Excellent place to take young generation to educate them on Hindu mythology. Great place to learn & hear stories of mythology.
Ambiance of place is green & has a mix of south-north India cuisine.
Good one day trip for family.
It's a great place to visit. It was very well maintained. I liked it very much. Place was very neat and clean.
A wonderful treasure-house of sculpture and paintings about 50 km from Bengaluru off Magadi road, it is a place to see a mix of modern sculpture with older paintings and panels bringing alive many of the most popular tales from various Puranas.
The musuem has 6 levels of displays - showing Krishna's childhood in Brindavan at the lowest level, progressing through Balaji's marriage, the Dashavatara, Natarja in 108 poses, to forest/tribal art with a meditation room at the very top. The guides tell the tale behind each panel in great detail, befitting the vision of Anantharam Iyengar, (and the initiator of Amar Chtitra Katha series) who built up the place over 20 years of effort. The sculptures are as good as any one sees in Hoysala or other medieval temples ; the paintings alone merit a separate viewing for exquisitely detailed depictions in room sized panels.
In case a visitor is not interested in the details of each and every panel/story; one should discuss with the guide before starting so that one selects either a deity or a story -and then learns about it -without the narration becoming tedious.
Only drawback is the climbing up and down involved, making it difficult for many people to participate wholeheartedly -since toilets are only on ground level- while dining area is on the 3rd level. Lift and perhaps a toilet on the 3rd level will make a visit easier, more so for the elderly.
Situated in Basavanahalli Village, on way to Neelamangala from Peenya, this impressively built multistoried resort surrounded by vast land mass, is easy to locate on Google map. The distance from MG Road, Bangalore could be around 50 km.
Almost 100% of the exhibits here is a spiritually-oriented Hindu's dream-cum-true. The person-in-charge/guide Mr. Padmanabha is pleasant and humorous from the word go and will take you on a tour of the entire building comprising of 4 floors, starting from the exterior which is adorned by beautifully carved statues of Gods and Goddesses s from Hindu and Buddhist scriptures.
Every floor from Level 0 to 4 opens into beautiful paintings, statues, and depictions of Ayodhya, Haridwar, Brindavan, Tirumala and so on.
The facets that fascinated me most:
1. The guide himself - a walking-talking dictionary of Hindu culture and tradition
2. The Dasavatharam light and sound show, simple yet well thought-out, and the profound voice of the speaker.
3. The sumptuous vegetarian lunch at Annapoorna Restaurant (aptly named)
4. The Snake and Slide show that's rib-tickling.
Other facilities include music to which you can groove or just chill, young and energetic employees ready to play the guitar or show a dance move; swimming pool, evening tea/snacks etc.
However, I would give a 4.5* rating because this place is most suitable for a crowd who has deep interests in our mythology. Those who are unaware of this vast Indian heritage might find it a little boring.
Also, there should be some more additional fun for young children so that families can plan a trip.
Suggestion: If the planners could arrange overnight stays, it would be more fun as traveling up and down takes up a huge part of this one-day trip.
To sum it up, our group of seniors and not-so-seniors just loved the trip
Folks, if you want a break from the hustle and bustle of Bengaluru and want to enrich your minds please visit Om Tara. It is a day trip from Bengaluru, easily accessable and is in a very serene, peaceful setting. Built with love and passion by late Mr. G Ananthram it has been taken to another level by his family. Hindu culture, mythology as well as the vedas have been depicted in the form of carvings and paintings. There is a sound and light show which provides a very good understanding of the Hindu culture. They also provide a very healthy vegetarian lunch. Overall a great experience and a day well spent.
