DURGA PUJA ( PART III )

HUMAN FIGURES  - IN  LINES & VOLUMES - ADORN  PUJA PANDALS OF BEHALA CLUB & ABASAR SARBAJANIN DURGOTSAB COMMITTEE

 Deities with 'different' look  @ Behala Club @ Banamali Naskar Road.

(Acknowledgement  - Website of Behala Club  * )

Both these Puja organisers have used human figures - plenty of them - to adorn their Puja pandals.  The similarity ends here. BC  has   brought in two 'Saura' artists from Odisha   and  Installation art - an ambiance which looked magnificent when lighted up in the night. The installation looked good even during daylight. Very colourful , very arty.  Tribals' life - hunting ,cultivation, domestic scenes and festivity - with abstract designs -  enliven the ambiance. The deities have been given very distinctive look. Almost human faces, little or no ornaments. A remarkable effort by BC and Rupak Bose.

The entrance of Behala Club.

 The central piece is placed in such a way 

that neither its details nor the 'Garbhagriha' is not visible.

Huge display of 'Saura' Art.

(Acknowledgement  - Website of Behala Club )

View of the same, under soft light of the rising sun.

For a few minutes,the morning sun allows the Dancers  an opportunity 

to dance  with their shadows !

Scenes  of Hunting

(*) I would like to mention to  Behala Club's Puja Committee that they could have kept the 'Garbhagriha' better illuminated during daytime as well - few details could be viewed during daytime.

The 'Torana' @ the entrance of Abasar Sarbajanin. 

It has guards with spears on the top rung, musicians on the  lower rung.

The competitors , with their instruments, line up the side walls.

Musicians traveling on carts pulled by strange-looking animals.

 The whole of right-wall has musicians - mostly drummers & flutists -

lined up to entertain and/or compete.

While Behala Club used mostly paintings  of figures to  decorate the 'Installation', Abasar Sarbajanin deployed human figures created from junk to decorate theirs. It is an arena where people were sitting on top of a huge mound to enjoy competition between two groups of musicians, standing and siting along the left and right walls. The 'torana' had musicians too along with armed guards, with their spears high up.  People were coming in strange carts, pulled by stranger animals. The cacophony  disrupted peace and birds were flying away. The cart pullers were also made of junk while birds are were made of ceiling fans and hoses.

Viewers' Gallery atop the 'Garbhagriha'.
Birds irritated by cacophony fly away !

Well, to other viewers, the interpretation of the 'Installation' may be another  'story' , but, it was  not  a  3-minutes enter-click-with-mobile-depart 'Installation'

 Duga by Gouranga Kuila - awarded 'Sharad Samman'

The deity, made with jute, was a piece of art. The 'Garbha-griha' is decorated with hanging red threads, small artifacts connected with  Hindu rituals. Very simple, very tasteful.

 Decoration of interior of  'Garbhagriha'.

Very special faces. Very special background,
made of weaving red & yellow threads.

Not much well-publicised, these two pandals stole my heart.

THOSE ASTOUNDING HOYSALA TEMPLES : JOURNEY BEGINS

BLACK-OUTS AT CHENNAKESAVA TEMPLE, BELUR.

Closed door of Gopuram at 7.25 am. Thin crowd started gathering 

on the steps to attend to early morning prayer. 

ChennaKesava temple, Belur.

 During my early days in school, I used to  be teased  as a 'char-chokho' ( person with 4 eyes) , a common term for boys/girls with specs. By an extension of that logic , Ruby and I can be called 'paanch-chokho' (person with 5 eyes) during our travel, the '5th eye' being our camera.

On our 1st day out  at ChennaKesava temple, Belur, both our '5th eyes' went blank , due to  mal-functioning of batteries , though fortunately not at the same time.

 Ruby and her '5th eye', sitting near

 'Swarga Dwara' of ChennaKesava temple, Belur.

 I use a square battery for my DSLR.Ruby uses 4 pencil batteries for Powershot - a Canon s3is. I carried no spare battery. Ruby had  4 spare Duracell  batteries in her suitcase . After 6 clicks, her camera stopped functioning. We were stuck at the Gopuram. We had 2 choices - walk back to the Hotel ( Mayur Velapuri) and collect the Duracell batteries or buy fresh ones from one of few the  shops just opposite to the Gopuram.

 The shop which helped to keep our '5th eye'  functioning !

Opposite ChennaKesava temple, Belur.

I took the easier option - purchased 4 nos of 2100mAH Kodak batteries for Ruby's Powershot. Well, this move saved our day.Not only Ruby  could keep on clicking till the day-end, this shop-keeper came to my rescue when my camera's battery got discharged and gave me successive shocks.

1st shock came after I clicked only 102 shots. It was around 9.30 am. We decided to return to the Hotel for break-fast and charging the battery. On our way back to the Hotel, we found Canon's LP-E5 battery will have no supplier at Belur. I rang our photographer friend Mr Swaminathan Natarajan of Bangalore who confirmed that for  such a battery , I may have to go to Chickmagalur - 90+ km away !

  Coitus ! 
 'Performers'  shed their ornaments away ! 

1st level of Gopuram ,ChennaKesava  temple,Belur.

 Well  - I managed the day with multiple charging. The Kodak batteries did fine with their pre-charge plus 2 hours charging in the morning while we had our break-fast and freshened up. But, I had a difficult day. Twice - during lunch-break ( we had just a fruit-juice each) and once more after that, I sought help from the shop-keeper  from whom we bought the Kodak pencil batteries to bail my camera out. ChennaKesava knows what I would have done without help from from this guy !

 Nataraja Siva , with all his attributes and in his full glory, 

dances on a lotus . Ganas, Bhringee and worshipers around . 

Hoysaleswar temple, Halebid.

At Halebid on 12/11, I stayed cautious - and therefore, selective .I  faced 2 'black-outs'. 1st one was when I was about to complete round-one and ready to embark on a 'cover-the-ones I -missed'. I focused on one of the many 'Dwarpals' and it was a black-out ! I borrowed Ruby's Powershot for the time being, completed round-one and returned to hotel for lunch, though with great disappointment.

  'Ananta-sayane Vishnu'. 

Wall -frieze  at Hoysaleswar temple,Halebid. 

Captured in mobile's camera after 1st black-out .

At the Hotel Mayur Shantala , after my hard prayer, power-cut was restored  while lunch was served. At Kedareswar temple, I chose only the best wall-reliefs and friezes for clicking. In any case , scope for photography was limited as the 'Garbhagriha' was shut and the northern face was almost inaccessible with bamboo scaffolding. Here, the black-out came when I aimed my camera at an interesting frieze !

  Nataraj dances on 'Apasmara' - one of my last shots 

at Kedareswar temple,Halebid.

After I reached Mysore on 12th evening, I breathed a sigh of relief  sensing that in a town like this a squre battery will not be difficult to get. Well, I missed my heart-beat, when on the morning of 13/11, 2 shops turned me away.It was the 3rd shop which gave me an equivalent make with at least Rs 300/- premium or 'opportunity profit' !

'TORANAS' OF HAMPI -I

EXQUISITE CONSTRUCTION - DECAYING RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR EYES !

Group photo - our 1st day @ Hampi -

RH of the 'Torana' of Vitthala temple.

 Our visit to Hampi  was  a great experience .The photos and notes we brought with us never  fail to surprise me whenever I go back to them. Trip to Hampi stays deeply etched in  my memory - somewhat like the trip I made to Loch Lomond decades ago.

 During  a recent 'visit' to my HDD, I thought of  doing a series exclusively on the architecture and details of the 'Toranas' of  Hampi's famous temples - not a very widely discussed subject  yet. In our HDD, we have many photos  from which the figures on the facades of these 'Toranas' can be extracted for display and discussion .But, comparatively less for a discussion on the architectural aspects of these 'Toranas'.

 Inside face of 3-storeyed 'Torana' of Malyavanta Raghunatha temple. Main entrance to  temple compound from eastern side, 

glowing in the light of setting sun.

 At Hampi, 'Toranas' are built according to  'Gopuram' style - tall pyramidal several story-ed structure with rectangular base. The top has a barrel vault with  decoration. The structure is often taller than the  temple - thus it comes to the notice of  pilgrims from a distance. Is the height  meant to be a lightning arrester too ?

A typical barrel vault on 'Torana's' top.   

Krishna temple, North gate.

I shall take up Krisna- , Vitthala-, Malyavanta Raghunatha- and Virupaksha temples  to cover 'Toranas' of Hampi. Hope, I  shall come across more details gradually  to enrich my repertoire. The current state of  these 'Toranas' are due to the fact that  brick and stucco construction has suffered major erosion and decay over the centuries - only parts of one 'Torana' at Vitthala  temple, two at  Krisna temples and most of Virupaksha temples' Gopuram are intact. Rest  can be termed  black & white photographers' delight ! But, the details of once-beautiful artwork in stucco are lost.

  Lofty - 52m tall - 9-storyed East Gopuram/'Torana' , 

Virupaksha temple, Hampi.

 Krishna temple was built by King Krishnadeva Raya in 1513 AD as a shrine to an idol of Balagopala (child Krsna) he brought from Udayagiri. Very likely, it was a  monument to commemorate  his successful Orissa campaign. It has three 'Toranas' - East, North & South. Inside face of the East gate has a scene of an army leaving for  battle which  is believed to be associated with King Krishnadeva Raya's Orissa campaign. Among the other two, south 'Torana' is left with  few details. North 'Torana', though not in good shape, offer clear details when viewed from within the temple compound.

  Entrance to Krishna temple, Hampi. The stone structure and parts of only 2 storeys are standing.  Right-hand wall is gone.A small portion of left-hand wall stands. 

Far right - we can see the  barrel vault of north-side 'Torana'.

All these 'Toranas' are built with stone till the  roof-height of the gates' openings - and the decorative portions are  built with brick & stucco . I give here detailed views  of the artwork on East and North 'Toranas' of Krishna temple.

 

  View of the East-side 'Torana' from the court-yard of 

Krishna temple,Hampi.

 View of the North-side 'Torana' from the court-yard of 

Krishna temple,Hampi.

 (Note - Half of the 3rd storey is gone !)

 View of the South-side 'Torana' from out-side  of 

Krishna temple,Hampi.

 (Note - Top 2 storeys are gone !)

GEMS FROM AN UNKNOWN ARCHITECTURAL RUINS IN GUJARAT

Camels  we met on en-route Vadnagar

One of the two 40' 'Toranas'

I love to visit historical sites - but, I did not utilise my stay and visits to Gujarat for travelling for pleasure,except for the last one in 2009.This was when Ruby and I visited Ahmadabad in late August of that year.I was there in connection with our PANIIT's project - 'IITians for ITIs'. I was visiting several  ITIs in Guajarat - together with the Dy. Director of ITI,Tollygunge - to study their association with Industries and introduction of ISO in ITIs.

Details of the intricate work on a 'Torana'

On the 2nd day of our stay, we visited, among other places, an ITI at Vadnagar. I learnt much later that Vadnagar's history very likely, dates back to Harappan civilisation.Our hosts did not touch upon  this aspect , but after lunch,  took us to a  12th century ( Solanki period) archaeological site showcasing the 'Toranas' on the bank of Lake Sharmishtha. Some people believe - I learnt later from internet sites - that the 'Toranas' were part of a big palace or temple complex , built elsewhere and now transplanted in the present location.There is very little of the  complex  in the vicinity of the 'Toranas' , except for some stone slabs, with reliefs,statues and motifs. Those were   found strewn around. I  have read that a lot of them have disappeared - the ones which survived  - are neatly arranged.I took photographs of some of those few  preserved in the location.

One of the several Saiva imageries that survived ravages of time. Here, Siva has four arms. View http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/India////photo1268068.htm for a ten-armed Kala Bhairava

The 'Toranas' are about 40' tall. They have several 'Makara' motifs on them, much like the 'Yalis' of South India. There are deities and social scenes carved in stone.The statues and motifs have suffered a lot of erosion - a lot of the details were left to my imagination.Some of the interpretation is my imagination !

View of the top of the magnificent 'Torana' top. At the centre, Kartikeya sits in in yogic posture - we can see his three faces only . His peacock is  at his feet. Is his consort Devasena on his left ? 'Makara' motif appears repeatedly.

On the left, Uma  rests on the left thigh of Siva . On the right, we see a naked woman stooping to touch the feet of a man coming towards her.Two on lookers, one standing and one in a sitting posture placed in the background. What the man in the right flank trying to do ?

This one is ,very likely, an erotic wall relief .A very interesting  wall relief of this site is my last entry for this   blog of mine .

Wife 1 pulls at the hair of wife 2 while the husband tries to bring the temperature down !!

Note - Please refer to http://vadnagar.blogspot.com/   for more details.