ADHVAGATI

Vasantha Vallabharaya Temple, Vasanthapura, Bangalore Rural. You read about 'an ancient monument' , note that it is located on a hillock with valleys around it , its vast extent , of kings , sages ,holy springs, divine dreams and stuff. You get a mental picture . Imagination runs amok. And , you HAVE to visit it. But dreams are made to fall apart .............. Late Chola period temple to Vishnu . Fully redone.  Hillocks, valleys all reduced to urban sprawl, so the setting is nothing to sing about.  Only the sanctum seems old, and a few bas relief panels on the pillars of the porch. Oil painted walls . And a very new cement Rishi in a small  kitschy alcove. Shayanotsavam going on at 10 am ! Ladies singing to a dazzling god on a razzle dazzle swing . Quite an eyeful . Giant sized sweet balls as offering, highlighted with some dancing disco lights focussed on them. The Dwarapalakas are well dressed and decorated, looking quite lovely. (Wanted to photograph the beau...

TIPU's SUMMER PALACE , Fort, Bangalore The first impression : Its so modest, for a royal retreat ! Designed somewhat like the Dariya Daulat palace in Srirangapatna , this one is smaller, has fewer rooms and fewer decoration. Flooring is simple grey stone, no fancy mosaics.   The mouldings of the pillar capitals  looks elegant , reminding of some central Asian  structure , can't  put my finger on it. The best feature here is the mural art. The colour scheme and floral designs are exquisite . But sadly, peeling, chipped and marred by graffiti .     Pictures ( modern replicas and prints  of  old engravings ) from the time of Tipu are exhibited in the ground floor , along with some Tipu memorabilia, including a rocket . Ofcourse there's a replica of that mauling Tiger toy too ! The  picture of the famous throne is an eyeful . Reportedly, the Brits broke up this magnificent artefact and sold it off  by  bits and pieces a...

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 vo...

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  disorienti...

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 main...

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 g...

A thickly wooded rocky outcrop forms the  backdrop with lush tropical vegetation and gurgling brooks. A vast fort with sacred pools at the foothills. Would a  Prince Charming - an Azhagar - wish for a better address ? Azhagarkoyil or Tirumaaliruncholai  has everything going for it. Enchanting setting, wonderful architecture , great artistic flourishes .....and now, its a certified no plastic-bag  zone too ! Even in summer, it is breezy here , thanks to the hill, whose summit is 1409ft high.  Azhagarmalai has a very ancient history and the temple is considered  The Oldest Vishnu shrine in Tamil Nadu.( 3 to 4 BCE) It has been a place of worship since pre-sangam times , when  Mayon was the native  Guardian Spirit - he was later assimilated into the idea of Vishnu. Seyyon , who later became Murugan /Subramanya , also  had an abode  in these hills named Pazhamudirsolai.  Archeologists have found Jain and Buddhist vestiges in the hills...