ADHVAGATI

Memorial stones erected in honour of people who died heroic deaths are found  all over Karnataka and parts of neighbouring states. Beautifully sculpted, with graphic details about the heroic deed, these Veera Kallus ( Veeragals )often show a moon and a sun in the top panel to indicate the wish that the name of the hero shall shine till the sun and the moon shine in the sky. But sadly, not all Veeragallus have the name inscribed. Only some do.  Veeragallus ( Hero Stones ) are classified according to the nature of the documented death. Yuddha or Kote Kalaga : hero died in war Ooralivu : Hero died defending his town/village   Gadi Kalaha : Hero died preventing entry of invaders Gograhana or Thurugol : Hero died defending cattle during a cattle heist Pendirudeyurch : Hero died defending honour of women Bete : Hero died during a hunt. Memorials similar to Veergallus were also put up for women who comitted sati ( Masti Kallu ), for people who voluntarily gave

Begur is not far from Bangalore city, but was not exactly Bangalore historically. Yet ,it turns out to be the place where the oldest inscription to name our city was found.  And no, it has no story about the boiled beans. There never was a boiled bean , except in old wives tales. Bengaluru was Vangalur in the inscriptions .And, it would seem, not some great place either, compared to Begur's own importance ! Bengaluru was just a place where some soldier, Buttana Setti by name, had died in battle. (The Begur Inscriptions are secure in The Bangalore Museum) . Not much is known about the Western Gangas, though they ruled for long. But they  have left us some nice religious monuments, among them , The Naganatheshwara ( or Nageshwara) in Begur, which has later evolved into Panchalingeshwara with added shrines. One doesn't expect a shrine of such great antiquity and architectural style to pop up suddenly in a busy semi rural market street. At first, its  disorienting. Bu

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 m

One  can live for half a century in a place and not know of  little treats that lie in the backyard. How is it that one never heard of Hedathale and Hemmaragala, when one was younger and hopping over to Nanjangud at the drop of a hat ? Half a hop beyond it lie two precious little shrines , centuries old . Renovated recently. And widely made known recently too.    Hemmaragala A shrine of modest size and design, this little temple houses an absolutely charming idol of Santhana Venugopala in Tribhanga pose . Strangely, he is also called Hucchu Gopala because of a curious legend in which  a  royal couple pray for offspring and Gopala obliges , but when the child is born its gender keeps doing a flip flop between male and female . Thats some leela on the part of gopala to tease the couple itseems. Which sounded quite idiotic to me . At the end of the story, the obviously bored infant settles on a male identity and the grateful couple build this temple in gratitude. But they dint forge