Carnelian

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Carnelian

History. Culture. Travel. We are a young heritage-based company, passionate about anything to do with culture and heritage!
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Our history, archaeology & culture tours go beyond the ordinary to dig deep into the distant past. They are backed by impeccable research and expert guidance, and are especially designed for small groups - we like to keep it personal, interactive and insightful! Our handmade souvenirs and gifts are inspired by the gloriously diverse craft traditions of India. They are sourced from artisan groups a

nd design studios that practice traditional and environmentally responsible methods. We also provide heritage interpretation – whether for sites, monuments or crafts – through signage, brochures and audio tours.

08/10/2023

Announcing a trip to the Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas, India's newest World Heritage Site!!

Three Hoysala temples in Belur, Halebidu and Somanathapura were added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites on 18th September. We will visit the three WHS temples, plus two lesser-known Hoysala gems. We will 'read' the stories in the sculptures. We will talk about the artisans who worked on the sculptures. We will understand exactly what makes these temples World Heritage. (Hint: It's not only the stunning sculpture!) And we will get a tour of a coffee estate and taste some freshly brewed estate coffee!

Why should you do this trip with us? Because our walk leaders led the team that wrote the 500-page nomination dossier that was the basis for UNESCO declaring these temples as World Heritage!!

When: Leaving Bangalore on Saturday 28th October 2023. Returning Monday night, 30th October 2023. (2N/3D tour)

To register, or for more information, email us at [email protected]

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06/10/2023

We had the privilege of taking children's writer and Caldecott Award winner Robin Page and her friend around Mysore, Srirangapatna and Somanathapura recently. A privilege and an absolute delight to introduce our history, living heritage and culture to these two adventurous, curious and lovely people. Eating on a banana leaf, block-printing, looking closely at palaces and temples - they enjoyed it all!

02/09/2023

Some pics from a recent trip taking skmd guests from the US, Mumbai and Bangalore to the stunning temples in Lepakshi and Nandi.

15/08/2023

Some pictures from our trip to Hampi a few weeks ago with students and a few professors from Princeton University.

10/08/2023

Hampi in the rains is magical. The dramatic landscape with its medieval monuments set amidst boulders seems mirrored by the sky. We took a group of enthusiastic travellers who loved every moment of it - the temples, the stepped tanks, the river, the stories.

26/06/2023

Carnelian invites you to explore the beautiful and evocative landscape of Hampi.

The old city of Vijayanagara was one of the most largest and wealthiest capitals in South India, and also one of the most cosmopolitan, whose fame spread far and wide.

Join us as we unravel the historic tales of Hampi, and explore its magnificent art and architecture, wondrous water systems, and captivating landscapes of rocky granite hills, punctured by the serene waters of the Tungabadhra river.

When : 24th - 26th July 2023
For further details please email us at [email protected]

11/05/2023

‘Poetry in stone’

At the Channakeshava Temple in Belur, several madanikas (decorative figures) are seen adorning the brackets supporting the sloping eaves of the temple.

Exquisitively carved, these madanikas are known for their graceful elegance, sensuality and intricate details of their costume, ornaments and accompanying figures.

Some of the madanikas have detailed inscriptions at their base pertaining to their sculptor, a feature not so common in Indian temples. From these inscriptions, we get to know how some of them hailed from Balligavi, Gadag, and other Kalyani Chalukyan towns, or that they worked under the Chalukyan kings. We also get to know that some of them hailed from Nandi and nearby regions of Tamil Nadu.

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22/03/2023

Some pics from a few weeks ago on our visit to Gujarat where we explored some interesting World Heritage sites, a salt desert, a sanctuary and Harappan/Indus Civilisation settlements!

Our enthusiastic participants had some very encouraging words to say... "A very biiiig biiig thanks to you all for such a great trip. Really pushed our understanding of our ancestors."

"hoping to do more trips with Carnelian! Thank you for the seamless organisation, wonderful conversations and all the food through the bus journey! Will treasure the memories!"

📷 : Kartik Kalyanaraman

16/02/2023

When excavations were carried out at the site of Dholavira in the late 1980s and 1990s, what came to light was a remarkable city with an elaborate layout, monumental structures, urban markers and an amazing water management system.

“Unlike in most modern Indian cities, wastewater would certainly not have run down Dholavira’s streets, nor would sewage have mixed with stormwater.”

Today, this ancient Harappan site dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE, holds great clues for the study of the Harappan / Indus Civilisation, one of the oldest known civilisations in the world.

Dholavira was inscribed onto the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 2021.

15/01/2023

Our American guests had a wonderful time in Bangalore, Mysore, Belur, Halebidu and some other places that we visited over the last few days. They enjoyed experiencing the region's living history and heritage including its palaces, temples, coffee, theatre and more 😊

As Brian said, "Without your expertise, we would not have known or understood any of these places. Thank you!"

11/12/2022

Having lived and worked in several continents, our guests on our recent, specially-curated trip to Bidar and Gulbarga were able to make connections with what they've seen elsewhere, be it Samarkand, Cordoba or Hyderabad. They were blown away by the many unique places, stories and things they saw and experienced here over the last few days: forbidding forts, a madrasa built by a fascinating 15th century Persian diplomat, beautiful Bidri craftwork, the tomb of a sultan revered as a saint by both Hindus and Muslims.

"Without you guys, we wouldn't have experienced any of this!" said Prakash. 🙂

A stimulating trip all around!

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04/07/2022

We had a great time exploring a lesser known side of Srirangapatna!

From traversing the historic landscape to the unravelling of stories, while stumbling upon ruins and monuments, it was an amazing walk.

Thank you to all the attendees for making it memorable.

15/12/2021

We had a great trip to Hampi, Badami, Pattadakal and Aihole with the Heritage India group, a bunch of enthu cutlets from Pune.

Itching to go back there again!

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+919845013031

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http://www.carnelian.co.in/

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And it's a wrap!! We had a wonderful time organising a south India experience for members of the Society of Asian Art @societyforasianart

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