STUMBLES @ FAMOUS TEMPLE SITES, INDIA.

AS MURPHY'S LAW CATCHES UP WITH ME .....

Ranganayaki temple @ Belur. 

100th photo at this temple complex when 

battery of 1000D  rang the 1st alarm-bell !

Photography in India's temple sites has so many problems -  I recount here some of the problems I have come across personally . Trustees do not allow photography at several temples . Example - Jagganatha temple ,Puri, Lingaraj temple complex,Bhubaneshwar . The idols @ Srinathji temple , Nathadwara and Jagdish temple ,Udaipur  are so exquisite ! But, photography is strictly prohibited at Nathdwara . Deity's photograph at Jagdish temple also cannot be clicked. I visited Ranakpur 2nd time after 2009 in November,2014. The core area of Chaturmukha/Adinath temple was out-of-bounds for photographers, thus robbing the photographers from clicking  best of the wall-reliefs!  Well - the Trustees here has not yet been as restrictive as those of Jain temple of Mount Abu. Such restrictions take away the joy of being among architectural wonder like Chaturmukha/Adinath temple or Lingaraj temple complex,Bhubaneshwar

  Rich engraving   on pillars - total 1444 nos* -

of Chaturmukha/Adinath temple, Ranakpur.

The double-line chord is there to restrict photographers ! 

@ Belur, Halebid and  Ranakpur , I have faced major glitches  To-day, I can look back with  some amusement  and a lot of regrets. I might have avoided these problems with better planning which have left big gaps in my collection of photographs. It may be interesting to write a few lines on each of the incidents  as a part of my travel diary .

Panel of Kedareshwar temple Halebid.

Last shot before battery of 1000D went  to sleep !

 Batteries of  my Canon 1000 D and Ruby's s3is almost simultaneously reached 'zero' level within 10 minutes   of  our reaching the temple site.Both the cameras faced 'Low Battery' situation with freshly charged ones - indicating  drained out batteries  s3is needed 4 pencil batteries which could be easily obtained  from a local shop just across the temple. But, Canon's LP-E5, that started malfunctioning after only 5000+ shots, continued to trouble me till I  could purchase a new battery at Mysore day after next , i.e, after we covered both Belur and Halebid.While at Belur, I managed  370 shots with 3/4 intermediate charging @ slightly far away Hotel room and from the temple-adjacent shop from where I purchased pencil batteries in the morning.

My sincere thanks to this shop-keeper 

( Opp. to Belur temple)

@ Halebid, I could manage 150 shots through 3 re-charges. Thank goodness - Canon s3is continued to function smoothly. So, we could leave with photos of all that caught our eyes.

But, at Ranakpur, both in 2009 and 2014, we were not so lucky. We reached Ranakpur after 4pm in 2009. By the time we booked our accommodation , bought tickets and entered the  Chaturmukha/ Adinath temple, it was 4.25 pm. We found out, after 5 pm, the authorities do not allow photography inside this temple ! Bad 'cops' were after my camera from 5.05pm - but a good 'cop' allowed me to click a few more photos till it was 5.15pm . Outside , in three other temples, we could continue till sunset, but, I still have regret for not having reached the location by 3 pm ! That was when I thought I should return here to click without tension.

From  Chaturmukha/Adinath temple 

- image-size only 1.03 MB !

This year in November,2014, we were @ Ranakpur again. Reaching there by  11 am to find we cannot take photographs inside the temple till 12 noon. So, we had an early lunch and covered the smaller temples After completing photography @  Suryanarayan temple, I realised  I had an incorrect camera setting.I corrected the same, shot some more  photos  ,but,  during the re-setting, mixed up the sizing. After reaching Jodhpur in the evening, I realised that the photo size selected was  'SMALL' !!

 This Bhairava-like deity'photo was taken 1n 2009. 

Would have loved to visit him in 2914 too !

My regret compounded when I realised  I completely missed one of the smaller temples - Parsvanath temple - which has exquisite examples of Hindu/Jain Iconography. This was covered no doubt  by Ruby, but not 100% .Some of the wall-reliefs I wanted to click were not there !

  Ravana emerging from Lanka  - 

painting @ Raghunatha temple, Mandawa. 

Needed heavy dose of PS to bring out clarity.

The last of the glitch was at Mandawa when , for no apparent reason,  stitch on left side shoulder  of my relatively new shirt, tailored by Raymond's gave away. The  stitch was repaired by a tailor opposite to Raghunatha temple.I stayed put in the car as I felt shy about walking around with a camera in a vest. Therefore, Ruby went ahead with her canon s3is  - but, later I found , the temple was adorned  with excellent paintings of stories from Ramayana & KrsnaLeela, but, lighting was poor. Canon 1000D was indeed needed.

* Note - Reference taken from : https://thatandthisinmumbai.wordpress.com/2013/05/30/the-jain-temples-of-rajasthan/.

OCEAN IN HINDU MYTHOLOGY

OCEAN IN  HINDU TEMPLE ART - 

Three tales from Hindu Mythology

' Anantashayane Vishnu - Lord Vishnu resting on Ananta the Snake'  :

Painting exhibited in a Calcutta Gallery during February,2008 . 

Apologies to the painter from Andhra whose name I forgot to record.

From North to South , East to West ,  Lord Vishnu sleeping  - Yogonidra - on turbulent sea - pralaya jaladhi - on coiled snake Ananta , his hood providing shade to His head ,Devi Lakshmi  at His feet and Lord Brahma rising from his navel : this imagery has been the inspiration of sculptors and painters through centuries.

Above , we find a 21st century interpretation where white lotus blooms in the ocean ! And, Lord Brahma is not offering His obeisance to Lord Vishnu !! Colourful and decorative the imagery is - quite a traditional interpretation.

 Lord Vishnu rests with His head on His left hand,

holds none of His usual  attributes. 

Lord Brahma does not rise from His navel either.

Acknowledgement - Sourced from  Internet.

 The most famous  of the reliefs of this imagery is  the one from  Vishnu temple of Deogarh , UP.  According to Wikipedia, this temple is the 1st one built in India with a 'shikhar' . It was built between 4th and 7th centuries........ I have seen this imagery in many other  temples too - both on wall-reliefs as well as wall-paintings. A beautiful example is from   Radheshyam temple of Bishnupur , 1000 years younger than the Vishnu temple of Deogarh.

Stucco-on-stone work - among the few @ Bishnupur.

'Samudra Manthan - Churning of the Ocean of Milk'

 A collaboration  between gods and (so-called) demons ...... brought out from ocean's depth treasures  most which was usurped by the gods.  The world got Lakshmi - goddess of wealth , powerful horse and elephant , Parijaat - the beautiful flowering tree among others .... and elixir of immortality ! Lord Vishnu - incognito -  fooled the demons and let gods have the elixir .

Snake Vasuki , which was used as the chord for churning , spewed out poison when exhausted . Lord Siva saved the world by drinking this poison which turned His throat blue.Siva was subsequently revered as Neel-kantha - the god with blue throat.

This mythological tale has been cited in our great epics and Puranas. Also, featured in Temple art and Patas .  I have come across  wall-reliefs of Samudra Manthan in temples  built during both Badami Chalukya as well as Hoysala regimes.

 

Wall relief in a temple of Pattadakal complex.

 A lot of details has been squeezed into this small-sized wall-relief  found in a temple of Pattadakal complex. The gods and demons  - four in each of the groups -  engaged in churning, Vasuki and mountain Mandar as well as the finds. The painting of Wikipedia is the best to view the details of the finds which is being copied here : 

Painting in Wikipedia page - Lots of details regarding  what emerged !

Wall-relief  , Kedareshwar temple, Halebid. 

Here also we find four representatives from ods and demons.

'Setu-bandhan from Ramayana - bridge across to Lanka'

Rama and Lakshana got a bridge constructed by banara-sena  - army of monkeys - to cross over to  Lanka with this army . The effort was not easy. God of ocean did not co-operate with banara-sena in the beginning. The bulk of stones deposited on the bed of the ocean was washed away.Then, Lord Rama picked up his bow and arrows and threatened the god of ocean with dire consequences.God of ocean then wilted and allowed construction work go uninterrupted.

 Wall-relief from Kedareshwar temple, Halebid.

In this context, I shall mention that in depictions of 'Ananata-sayana Vishnu', the ocean has  often not been given enough importance ! A notable exception is this one wall-relief of the Somnathpura temple :

WHEN ALL 'TASKS' @ HAND GET COMPLETED...

Title page of my Dissertation

Now that the course on 'Appreciation of Indian Art' at RMIC,Golpark is over, dissertations of Ruby and mine has been submitted , a photo-feature on Dancers of Chennkesava Temple, Belur and Surya Temple, Konark for 'AISHEE' is written and pushed out to Banani's comp., my hands are free and  I can spend some time on this Blog.

Title Page of Ruby's Dissertation

Well, last blog was written on 22/02/13 which means  I am back to this section after about 14 weeks. During this period, my hips and legs were at war-path with me. Long sitting posture = more acute pain. A good part of  dissertation writing/editing was done on my laptop with me in a reclining posture on a divan.

 One of the photo-combo from my article for 'AISHEE'

Dissertation writing and editing was an exposure to MS Publisher software, which is quite indequate for preparing two 7000-words-30to40-photos ensembles. Anyway, managed the task, with 'n' nos of revisions of the two dissertations .Last month, I discovered a set-up for digital printing @ Hazra Road crossing. Colour was not very good for  photos of Belur/Halebid. Just about OK for the purpose we went to them.But, very co-operative people they were. And... I did not have to run to Surya Sen Street what I thought at one stage unavoidable.

Time to start work on photos taken during 2012 Puja . The note on Sanatan Dinda  and Shib Shankar Das is lying on my desk unattended ! Soon, the Powerpoint presentations will start taking shape.

'YANTRA' @ Barisha Club, creation - Sanatan Dinda. Puja- 2012

SAVOURING 'ART' OF HOYSALA TEMPLES

CREATIONS EXTRAORDINARY - II

'Built from the wealth amassed from the sword' 

- King Vishnuvardhana, 

in context with his having built ChennaKesava temple,Belur.

To enjoy the temple art of Hoysala dynasty, homework before the trip is a MUST. There are lots of articles in Internet, giving history/timeline and photographs of the  more popular temples around Hassan and Mysore. I  even found a suggestion about a guide  of Belur temple - though  I could not locate him when we were  there during November,12.  Please search for Prof S Settar  and do not miss his interview in Frontline,April,2003.

Trikuta Kesava temple at Somnathpura.

Simply stated, Hoysala temples have a complex building plan with artistic projections aplenty, a 'scroll' of wall-reliefs of deities and other characters unfurling on the 'parikrama' , dazzling female dancers and musicians together with mythical animals staring down at you, rows of  human figures on animals and chariots fighting mythological and real battles. These temples are virtually a  gallery created to educate viewers of  Hindu Iconography and 'naba-rasa' as well as dance   plus music .

Rich wall frieze of Kedareswar temple of Halebid.

Kirat-Arjuna &  Bali-Sugriva duels, Hoysaleswara temple,Halebid.

Vishnu rests on Seshanaga - Lakshmi 'serves' at his feet, Yogamaya sitting near his head. He rests within  a pavilion, with roaring vertical waves filled with fish and tortoise - Vishnu's incarnations.
Kesava temple,Somnathpura.

Note : Interesting to watch one small part in each of the last two panels - Sugriva's right leg & Sheshnaga's tail - sneak out of the frame ! Typical Hoysala style .

And .... not-to-miss the exceptionally carefully executed  layout and 'art-work' in the  interiors of temples.Some of the secular ceiling art , round and serrated ends  of load-bearing columns, female bodies serving as brackets on  top-ends of columns almost hidden in the darkness of 'Mantapa' will not fail to mesmerise discerning viewers. Topping the list are the principal deities wherever we can view their splendour not hidden under silk robes and garlands.

Venugopala, one of the three deities of

Somnathpura temple.

Dancer on one of the four pillars within 'Garbhagriha' of 

ChennaKesava temple, Belur.

Hundreds of figures and motifs curved on famous 'Narasimha' pillar within'Garbhagriha' of 

ChennaKesava temple, Belur.

Notes :1.  It  is said  that this pillar used to revolve on its vertical axis.  

2. Comparable are stone pillars of Vitthala and Hazara Rama temples, Hampi.

Once  a person spends time among the temples built by Hoysala dynasty, it becomes clear that a martial spirit had worked in bringing these temples into being. The name  king Vishnubardhana chose for his lineage and also the symbol are result of this military spirit. We all know, 'Hoysala' means 'Kill Sala', reportedly the uttering of  a sage whose life Sala, a tribal leader and ancestor of the king , saved by slaying a pouncing lion.

My favourite 'Sala slaying the lion'. Sala is in pain , yet he pierces right ear of the beast with his long dagger, held in his left hand !

Wall-reliefs of Vishnu and Kamadeva in the background.

ChennaKesava temple, Belur.

This may be a myth,established  firmly by king Vishnubardhana , while adopting the 'Sala' symbol and sculptures of  'Sala and the lion' in the entries to ChennaKesava temple's 'Mantapa'.


While working within the limitations of 'canon', some of the artists broke ground in their efforts to stand apart among the 'many'.Collectively, the following characteristics will immediately draw attention of the viewer :

Krsna tames 'Kaliya-the-snake'. One of his wives asks for forgiveness 

on behalf of her husband.

Kedareswar temple, Halebid.

• the decorative features of the wall-reliefs, e.g. the dresses , ornaments and other attributes are carved so meticulously that one feels s/he is viewing a wood, and not a stone-carving.
• a toe here, a finger there overflow  the frame , just to add drama to the 'scene'.
• the fierce manifestations of Siva and Shakti are often  not stiff, but in smooth postures of dance.

I end here with ten. nos of photos . More will follow.

DOWN MY MEMORY LANE TO HOYSALA TEMPLES

RECOLLECTION OF  BELUR, HALEBID ... AUGUST 1977.......

NOTE - These scanned  1977 photos have been retrieved  from my wife Ruby's album.Please do not copy.

Kedareshar temple (?), Halebid.

UMA-MAHESHASHWARA.

HOYSALESHWAR TEMPLE , HALEBID.

'Those who have  not seen the temple of Belur have not seen one of the finest in India'  : advised me  Pritish Ghosh, an erstwhile colleague of mine in August ,1977, when I was planning our visit to Bangalore, Mysore and Ooty .On his advise, I added Belur, Halebid and Sravanabelgola to my itinerary. The visits were indeed very rewarding. My wife Ruby and I were charmed by the beauty of the bracketed figures of  the main temple of Belur and the wall-reliefs of Hoysaleshwar temple of Halebid.

SIVA AS  NATARAJA ,DANCING ON APASMARA  & BHAIRAVA. 

HOYSALESHWAR TEMPLE , HALEBID.

I am not a person who  remembers small details of a trip decades ago - the smaller impressions are lost. I recollect that we  started from Bangalore early, reached Hassan and Belur around lunch-time and hung around  till sun-set. We reached Halebid  couple of hours after  sun-set. The only food-stall of Halebid was closed for the night and we could not have even  a cup of coffee. Next morning , we started our day early. We reached the temple before eight 8 AM, after a decent break-fast of tea and toasts. The morning was just crisp! There were very few visitors around. And ... the splendour of Hoysala architecture was in front of us , almost taking our breath away.

 SIVA AS NATARAJA. CLEARLY DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE ABOVE. HE IS  DANCING ON A LOTUS , WITH GANAs JOINING HIM IN REVELRY !

HOYSALESHWAR TEMPLE , HALEBID.

Though I carried my SLR  camera and the accompanying lenses with us, I could not locate any photo of Belur temple in our album ! But thankfully, a few photos of Halebid has survived. I have scanned these photos of my 1977 trip . Surely these will  compliment our future collection during the forthcoming trip of November,12.

VAIRAVA

HOYSALESHWAR TEMPLE , HALEBID.

During 1970s, within the 1st few years of our marriage, we visited temples of Puri, Bhubaneswar, Konark, Belur and Halebid. Those days, we  had no formal or informal exposure to temple art , yet, we realised that  temple art of RajaRani temple,Konark and , Belur  and Halebid need re-visits. I recollect  having visited temples of Belur and Halebid 2nd time  during February,2003. I had a day free from official work while on tour in Bangalore which I utilised  in paying a visit to these great sites. But, I had  no camera and could not bring back anything but memory with me.

 A SECTION OF THE FAMOUS STAR OF

HOYSALESHWAR TEMPLE , HALEBID.

 Our February,12 visit to Bhubaneshwar and Konark was really very enjoyable. We had  good amount of time - but, more studies for preparation and thrice the time we spent at each of the temples would have satisfied me.During the coming visit to Karnataka, I would like to return with a good collection from Kedareshwar temple of Halebid and Keshava temple, Somnathpura.