ADHVAGATI

                                           Chengam Not an unknown name , for sure . But truth is, it had remained merely a name ; a signboard on the often traversed Bangalore - Pondicherry highway , never  a pit stop .  Chengam, then, meant only Chengam Road to me, a  stretch of  highway horribly potholed and  splattered with goo from the tamarind pods crushed under speeding wheels. ( glad to say,  that abominable stretch was made decent and  motorable sometime last year .   ) It took six decades and more for me to discover the true worth of the town behind the name on the green signboard. Thanks to a very enlightening tour , organised by Ratham Heritage , with Prof. Madhusudhanan Kalaichelvan helming it , and  the untiring  Mr. Madhavan V  taking care of the essential nitty-gritties.  A truly memorable trip. This ...

In the year 1971 ,  Lalitha Kala Akademi  hand picked 11 well trained artists  and commissioned  them to replicate the dying murals of a Jain hermitage in Shravanabelagola .        Mathada Basadi  ,located in the middle of Shravanabelagola Town  is not visited by many people , as only the hillocks with their awesome shrines are better known . But it has  a hoary heritage value too . Aslo known as Charukeerthi Matha, it  was founded by Chavundaraya in the eleventh century. The present structure, though,  was built only in late 18th century. This mutt houses a good collection of sculptures of jain divinities  .  The walls are the most eyecatching . They are richly decorated with murals narrating the lives of Jinas and Jaina kings.  These are the murals that were sought to be preserved by Lalitha Kala Akademi . The murals were created on wet plaster with mineral and vegetable  pigments , th...