ADHVAGATI

He has been sitting almost right in our backyard all along .  But its only now , on an unplanned visit at a darkening twilight hour , that i was destined to see him : all dusty and grimy , but not one bit diminished in beauty or majesty . Thanks to a chance meeting with the priest who takes care of him in a small, quiet village beyond the famous  Brindavan Gardens in Mysuru.  It was pure good fortune, getting to see  the fabulous murthi  up close . Real close !  The UmaMaheshwara stele , Kanveshvara Temple , Hosa Kannambadi . Kannambadi ,  a large village ( Ooru ) on the bank of River Kaveri  , was taken over by King Raja Wodeyar of Mysore  from the palegara , Dodda( /Hebba)yya in 1608, and became an extension of the City.  But this Ooru has a longer lore going back to puranic times when Rsi Kanva is said to have built his hermitage here to  do penance - a penance so intense that it  “ did not waver even when K...

This is a guest post by Yosee's daughter to keep the comatose blog alive. ------------------------ Yesterday's newspaper carried the picture of the Krishna Raja Sagara Reservoir, brimming after the recent rains. A sight to behold. And how many times we have beheld the same ! Always with awe and excitement. Especially the great GUSHING that issues out of the opened sluice gates. The reservoir was worth a visit even when there was dearth of water too. For, that was when we could see the pagodas of some ancient temples that were submerged when the reservoir was made. The ancient walls, pillars and spires lying desolate in the river mud were both picturesque and heart breaking. While the temples of Abu Simbel in Egypt were relocated before the Aswan Dam flooded that area, no such measures were thought of when Sri Visveswaraiah designed this great Dam near Mysore. But a couple of years ago we were all happy to hear the news that some industrialist had taken up the gargaunt...