ADHVAGATI

  There are things in life which seem part of  humdrum growing up years , but someday , suddenly, you come to realise what a wonder that thing is . And then , you  want to go grab it once again .   Its about Bahubali , the  colossal Gommateshwara of Sravanabelagola . Yes, been there , seen him. But in such a distant past that there is no sharp memory of anything , no recollection of the impressions he made on the mind . No photos . I cannot claim that my familiarity with this Icon comes from having met  and admired him in person , it is most certainly due to seeing pictures of him intermittently down the years  : in books , brochures, newspaper reports and later, on TV and The Net .  The personal connect , sorely missing .   One-day-excursions they were , in early 1960s . The excitement of seeing  the giant's torso bobbing into view even  from a good 7 kilometers away.....  the climb up the warm , shallow steps cut in...

Ramanathapura  Visited  a  biodiversity hotspot called  Ramanathapura  Fish Sanctuary    in  Arkalgud  Taluk , Hassan Dist . A variety of fish species facing threat of  extinction  are  protected  here  and propagation is facilitated. On arriving there , was pleasantly  pleasantly  surprised to  see  that  the sanctuary is not a tank or artificial pond, but  a  river bank   (  Vahni   Pushkarini  ) associated with a pilgrimage point  called  Rameshwara swami   Temple .  The  temple  stands on the bank of  Kaveri  , has stone  steps leading to the river, which at this point is considered a holy “   theertha  “  . The  fish here  have  always  been, by tradition, protected  as sacred to the Lord.   Fishing  has  always been prohibited and Pilgrims earn Merit, by ...

  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 , ...

PARAVASUDEVA TEMPLE  Gundlupet ( Chamarajanagar District , Karnataka , about an hour from Mysuru) was earlier known as Vijayapura,  a town  within a fort. After the Maharaja of Mysore Dodda Devaraja Wodeyar died  in 1673 at Hangala ( near Vijayapura) his son Chikka DevarajaWodeyar , cremated him on the banks of Gundlu River. He also  built an Agarahara near that site and enlarged the fortification of the place. With new settlements arising , commerce flourished there and it became an influential big-town ("pete") and eventually came to be called Gundlupete.  Chikkadevaraja built the Paravasudeva Temple in memory of his father and he endowed it with rich grants. Later , during the time of the brief Sultanate , the grants were cancelled and the Agrahara slowly disappeared . By early 1900s , the Temple too fell into decay.  The magnificent images of the garbhagriha , the bronzes and some parivara idols  were shifted to the ancient Vijayanarayana Temp...

Beemanakolli ruins  On a visit to Antharsanthe ( HD Kote Taluk , 70 Km from Mysuru ) , chitchat with lay villagers about this and that throws up an interesting info . Presence of an old temple in Beemanakolli village  referred to as Cholara-Gudi and Kallina -Gudi ( " chozha temple " and " Stone Temple" )by villagers. The term Chola is just an euphemism for " Ancient" in these parts.  Suitably fired up, we promptly land in the obscure Beemanakolli village , but finding that stone temple turns into a wild goose chase . It is just a tiny town with a colourful , rebuilt , 400-year old temple to Veerabhadra and a bunch of houses in two or three streets. Rest are fields and orchards on one side and the backwaters of Kabini Reservoir on the other . Where can an ancient monument hide ? Round and round we go , finding no spire or wall that can indicate a halfway ancient stone temple.  Finally , the priest of the Veerabhadra temple gets kind enough to guide us . He ...

The most attractive thing about Mysore is that it is " centrally located" , to use the estate agent's jargon. It is a very convenient base camp for so many one- day excursions , trips of all description : pilgrimage, adventure, historic interest, what have you. Bandipur Wild life Sanctuary has always been a favourite haunt of the family . Have enjoyed its really "wild " character ; and later despaired of its "garnished -for- tourists" avatar too. Time was when all that signalled the begining of the sanctuary was a length of log , barricading the road, weighted on end with some precariously fastened stone blocks, the other end tied , by cattle-rope, to an iron post. When the car stopped, a sleepy man in roomy khakhi shorts emerged from a shack next to the post, peered in prefunctorily, enquired if we were smuggling rice, never waited for an answer and untied the rope from the post ; whereupon ,the weig...

Bengaluru to Kolar : 71 Kms.   Gold Fields brought the place much fame . But even without the gold, some medieval  kings thought much of the region, Kuvalala or Kolahalapura , with its rocky hills and fertile lands . The Western Gangas made it their earliest Capital . When Kings from down South pushed northwards with   land-grabbing intentions, they targeted Kolar first   No surprise that temples sprang up around the region, commissioned by one or the other of the title holders. Temple building must have been a status symbol thing then. Now we have a good variety fare to savour , thank you.   A Kolahala Temple run – covering as much as decently possible in one day . No rushing.   1. KOLARAMMA TEMPLE .   She started out as one  of the  7 Guardian Mothers - Protectors of the village .    The Western Gangas set up CHAMUNDA in a special shrine, in Kolar Town , surrounded by the other Mothers. H...