dewees island ferry from the 3rd century AD and depict scenes from the Buddha s life, interspersed with mithuna (paired

from the 3rd century AD and depict scenes from the Buddha dewees island ferry s life, interspersed with mithuna (paired male and female) figures languorously looking on. The reassembled monuments are spread around the hilltop outside.

Minerva Grand HOTEL $$$ (Map p 896 ; %66117373; www.minervagrand.com; SD Rd, Secunderabad; dewees island ferry s/d incl breakfast from 4000 /4400; aiW) It s rare to find a hotel that has genuine style; this place has nailed it. Standard rooms (one wheelchair-accessible) have striking deep-fuchsia walls, white furniture, tasselled bedspreads and piles of pillows. More-expensive rooms are also bold in design, and all rooms have hardwood floors, gentle lighting and sleek, spacious bathrooms. A diamond in the rough of Sarojini dewees island ferry Devi Rd.

Tirupathi s bus station (%2289900) has buses to Chennai (deluxe/Volvo 70/155, four hours) and Hyderabad (deluxe/Volvo 408/717, dewees island ferry 12/10 hours). Tonnes of APSRTC and KSTDC buses go to Bengaluru (deluxe/Volvo 153/365, six/five hours), and seven buses go to Puttaparthi daily (express/deluxe 165/227, eight hours).

When he was 14, Sai Baba declared himself to be the reincarnation of another Sai Baba, a saintly figure who died in 1918 (p 764 ). His millions of devotees regarded him as a true avatar dewees island ferry and believed he performed miracles. Coming for the program of darshan (here that meant seeing Baba though since poor health in 2005 his appearances were increasingly sporadic), they packed the ashram twice-daily for chanting and prayer. The sight of clean, well-paved streets lined with internet cafes might come as a surprise here, as will the prevalence of robed foreign devotees.