Stucco splendour

KALALE LAKSHMIKANTHA GUDI

While well crafted stone sculptures make our ancient temples marvelous monuments of art, Stucco sculptures add a lot of vigour and vitality . Often coloured vividly, they become tableaux illustrating myths, graphic documentation of general public life of the time and showpieces of craft .

Stucco figures, called Sudhai in Tamil, were individually hand crafted without moulds , with a core of metal rods and broken bricks . Specially prepared lime plaster was then slapped over the core and shaped , much like clay. Ingredients like tamarind seed paste, tree resin , sea shell powder etc were mixed into the lime plaster for good finish and strength. Nowadays however, cement has replaced all that.

Nanjangud temple has awesome stucco figures crowning all its walls. The craftsmanship and artistry are of very high order. While the majority of southern stucco figures are painted with all colours of the rainbow and more, Nanjangud has maintained an elegant monochrome which adds to the majesty of the ancient craft.
One other place , close to Nanjangud, that has wonderful stucco decorations on its temple walls is KALALE.

Dedicated to Lakshmikantha, this sprawling temple's mythic origin is credited to Sage Kapila, who chose this place for penance because of the spiritual peace and serenity it exuded. Historically, the temple was built in three stages from the 1300s to 1500s. The Kalale Dalavoys , feudatories of Vijayanagar empire were a powerful lot, who continued to serve the Yaduvamshi dynasty of Mysore till mid 19th century. The Mysore kings endowed this temple richly and their emblems are seen all over the monument.
The high walls of the outer prakara are lined with enchanting, intricate stucco figures of the dikpalas, the devas, the avatars and parivaras. The alcove of each diety is painstakingly decorated with foliage, birds and floral designs to stunning effect. Here too, there is no coloured paint to diminsh the effect of the light and shadow play on the moulded details.
Below : some Dikpalas( Guardians of The Directions)

Guardian of North , Kubera on Nara Vahana

North East - Isana on Vrishabha vahana

North West, Vayu on Mriga Vahana

South East, Agni on MeshaVahana and East, Indra on Gaja Vahana

There is plenty of stone carvings too, inside the temple and some lovely vahanas. The Ratha, stationed outside, under open skies, has graceful wood carvings , which , however, have a weathered look. perhaps they are replaced periodically.
If you love temple art, its well worth spending a day in this quiet , uncrowded temple.