ADHVAGATI

  Looking beyond the usual Touristy sites of glamorous Bangkok :  At the street level ,  people are friendly and helpful , especially the hardworking women , though they dont smile much .  Some vignettes linger on in  memory :   Barbie-pink cabs ; noisy motorbike taxis ; chaotic traffic ; low hanging cables, in bunches ;   Brightly painted chubby monk statuettes with a bowl for  offerings , small plastic dolls, animal figures ( zebras ! why ?),  soft drink cartons etc left at the foot of any wayside shrine What happens to all those heaps of offerings ?  The magical appearance and disappearance of food vending kiosks at noon time on the pavements in residential localities  Shrines in the most unlikeliest places ; every nook and corner , each one popular for a particular reason like one could get you a driving license pronto, one could give success in a love affair , one to push through files easily in a government office , whatever .  Gods like Indra , Brahma and Ganesa  inside sparklin

  Yaarivanu ?  It is said that between the 10 th and 13 th Centuries,   the super busy Hoysalas commissioned scores of temples to be built , out of which , about a hundred are still standing , albeit in various states of preservation. The Hoysala artisans built   modest sized structures, but managed to   create more surface for decorative work by opting for the stellate plan with indented walls . The bhitti part , consequently ,   afforded ample canvas to mount innumerable icons of   Deities, demi-gods, celestial attendants, dancing nymphs, Purnaghata motifs and aedicules, not forgetting endless friezes of elephants, horses, hamsas and makaras. Inspite of the profusion of highly stylized accessories held in various arms, almost all the murtis are   recognisable by anyone with a basic   knowledge of the Hindu pantheon. Almost all.  One figure who cannot be slotted as a Deity or attendant or mythical being , stands right there , shoulder to shoulder, with the   Gods , but looki