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I did not know making a slide show with Picasa was that easy, until I created this one using pictures from our visit to Karnataka.
The pictures are from several places in southern Karnataka – Bengaluru, Srirangapattana, Ramanagara, Halebidu, Beluru, Kowshika, Sravana Belagola and Mavinakere – not listed in any specific order -
and show creations all the way from the 11th century, to the 21st century 
.
Here is a map of this part of Karnataka.
A Map of Southern Karnataka
-neelanjana
Time moves very fast.
Really? Not true, since we know that the earth is revolving around the Sun at a steady rate (for all practical purposes, that is!). So it is all in our perception of time.
Whatever the facts are, one more year has passed really fast for ‘ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ’. Today, ’ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ’ is stepping into the third year after finishing two years. I can still recall me writing the very first post on this weblog, and the post when the blog turned one year, as if it happened yesterday!
It’s been a good year for ’ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ’ so far. The very first image at the top of this blog was from the navaranga, inside the temple in Halebeedu, I thought it would be apt to change the image to another view of the Hoysaleshwara temple on it’s second birthday too.
Thanks for coming by ’ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ’!
-neelanjana
Hoysalas were master temple builders. They have built temples all around in southern Karnataka. The temples at Belooru, Halebeedu and Somanathapura are very well known. You’ll find a wealth of information about Hoysala’s temple architecture on the wikipedia, here and here.
However, what is not so well known is that there are several temples where the temple architecture does not typically look like a Hoysala work, but the idols inside looks like a Hoysala work of art. The temples of Keshva at Kowshika, and at Haasana, Varadaraja at Kondajji are examples for such temples.
The temples do not have the stamp of typical Hoysala architectures, but the main idols do. Were the temples built later on to house original Hoysala images? May be yes. Folk tales also say (at least with respect to the temple at Kondajji), that the idol was buried under sand to protect it from invaders, and temples were built later on when the images were unearthed.
Kowshika is a village about 8 km away from the Haasana, in the heart of southern Karnataka. It has a temple of Lakshmi Keshava. The temple is very simple in structure. As per the information on www.karnatakatemples.com, it is built in the Vijaya Nagara style. You can see the front view of the temple at the top of this blog today. It is also available on here .
Here are few pictures from Kowshika.
Lord Lakshmi Keshava:
A close up – Who doesn’t fall for such a beautiful smile?
Kowshika village as seen from the temple entrance:
Utsavamoorti of Lakshmi keshava getting ready for Garudotsava:
Here is the main idol, decorated in flowers, for a special occasion :
(Picture courtesy: The first three are mine; The last two are by Dr Shreekanth Murthy)
Why am I writing about Kowshika of all places, when there are so many Hoysala temples?
Because it is my ancestral village, and this is the place which I wrote about in some of my earlier posts, here and here.
-neelanjana
No. This is not about Bollywood or Hollywood stars, but about two stars in my own life!
We have two stars right at home, because we named our kids after two bright stars in the sky – one, a bright blue-white star and the other, a bright orange-red star.
This was the conversation I overheard on the morning of Mothers Day, when the ’stars’ were wishing my wife.
Star 1 : “amma, The day I was born, I loved you!‘
Star 2 : “It’s supposed to be “From the day I was born”, and there is should be a comma after that, but that’s OK..“
Star 1 : “There is more to Mother’s Day than correcting people’s mistakes!”
How true! I wish a happy Mother’s Day to all mothers, a day belated.
On second thoughts, I think I am not late at all..
Because mothers indeed deserve every day of the year to be Mother’s Day!
-neelanjana
The statue of Ugra Narasimha (Narasimha, the ferocious) in Hampe (or Hampi) was erected in the year 1528 AD. This was commissioned by Sri Krisnadeva Raya.
In the year 1565, after the war of Talikote between Vijayanagara and combined force of Bahamani sultans, tragedy befell on this statue just like most of the monuments in Vijaya Nagara. Today the place goes by the name Hampe or Hampi.
During the 1980s, the Department of Archeology took to some restoration and reconstruction of the statue after excavations revealed many broken pieces of the statue around it. It was also speculated that the statue depicted Lakshmi Narasimha, instead of Ugra Narasimha as it was believed earlier.
However, there was a court stay order on the restoration (if my memory serves me right), and Lakshmi did not come back to take her place on Narasimha’s lap. So, to this day, he remains somewhat ‘ferocious’ Narasimha.
Here is a collage showing how the statue looked around 1900 AD, and how it looks today.
Left: Around year 1900 AD. Right: A century later
The picture on the left is taken from the book – “A Forgotten Empire – Vijayanagar” by Robert Sewell. The picture on the right is taken from a blogpost on Sampada, by Nagaraj.
-neelanjana
Just now it occured to me today is the full Moon day in the month of Phaalguna. Also known as Holi and Kaamana habba. This day is believed to be the day when Shiva burned Manmatha into ashes with his third eye. According to the Mahabharata, this day also happens to be the day on which Arjuna was born. He wasn’t called Phalguna for nothing – He was born on the full moon day of the month of Phaalguna, when the Moon was near the star Uttara Phalguni (Denebola, or Beta Leonis).
If you think it is a close chance that the Moon was near the star Phalguni, in the month of Phalguna – rest your thoughts right there. It is [ntrntional, because the months are in fact named after the stars near which the Moon appears when it is full during that month. So, in the month of Chaitra, you can find the full Moon near the star Chittta (or Chitra, Alpha Virgo) and in the month of Vaishakha you would find the full Moon near the star Vishakha (Alpha Libra) and so on for the other 10 months of the year.
Before the invasion of numerous Hindi TV channels and movies to the south of India, Holi in our town was never called Holi. It was called Kaamana Hunnime (The full moon of Kaama) or simply Kaamana Habba (The festival of Kaama). There were no colors that were thrown at people walking in the streets. It was marked by a bonfire in the full Moon night, where old stuff from homes around the block was thrown into the fire. May be this was a way of spring cleaning, I really don’t know! But the bonfire under the full Moon night was surely a fun event.
Kaamana habba was dear to me for another reason. Kaamana habba signalled that the end of the school year was nearby. The Yugadi festival would follow in couple of weeks, and closely behind would be the rathotsava at my native village. The rathotsava at the village meant that we’d have uninterrupted fun!
Where have those days gone? They seem to have totally disappeared, at least from my life.
-neelanjana
There is this old joke saying that when Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon in 1969, he was greeted by a malayali teashop owner holding a cup of Tea for him. Those tea-stalls are an all-India phenomenon. Similarly, another universal phenomenon is that of Udupi hotels. It is hard to find a town without a Udupi hotel, particularly so in south India. But why did the folks from Udupi became famed for their restaurants? I can only contemplate. May be because Udupi is the town which Krishna calls his home! We all know how much Krishna loves food be it as fat-full as butter or as fat-free as avalakki (Remember Sudama?) Anyway, whatever be the reason, Udupi hotels have become very popular in several states outside of Karnataka, particularly so in states such as Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
Udupi Krishna
Not only Udupi hotels have become very commonplace in Tamil Nadu, but they have also caught on a new meaning. They are used as a synonym to saying ‘vegetarian’. So if you see a board such as “Saravana Bhavan (udupi)”, it means it is a vegetarian restaurant, irrespective of whether the proprietor is from Andhra or Assam!
Outside India, hoteliers have marketed this Udupi name quite effectively to their advantage. There are many a restuarants called ‘Udupi -something’ or ‘Udupi-something-else’all the way from Washinton DC in the eastern coast to Seattle in the state of Washington on the west coast. I do not know how many of these are run by folks from Udupi. But one thing is certain. All these places are Udupi, just in name – not necessarily in taste. If you order a dOse, you will get a dOse which looks very authentic, but the reality literally seeps in as soon as you take a byte!
Oh, let me stop with this Udupi puraana, and think of Tirupati Timmappa! In here, there is a idli-dOse restaurant called ‘Tirupati Bheema’s’. We know Bheema for his abilities in the kitchen, but what in the world is Tirupati doing with Bheema and his kitchen? Till I came across this composition of Purandara Dasa, I was not aware of the relation between Tirupati and the restaurant industry.
Tirupati Venkateshwara
Here is that song – I have given it in dEvanAgari script:
धणिय नोडिदॆना वॆंकटन मनदणिये नोडिदॆना! ॥पल्लवि॥
धणिय नोडिदॆ शिखामणि तिरुमलना! ॥अनुपल्लवि॥
केसक्कि अन्न उंबुवना बड्डि
कासु बिडदे हॊन्न गळिसुवना!
दोसॆ अन्नव मारिसुवना तन्न
दासर म्याळदि कुणिदाडुतिहना! ॥1॥
बॆट्टदॊळगॆ इरुतिहन मन
मुट्टि भजिपरिगिष्टव सल्लिसुवना!
कॊट्ट वरव तप्पदवन
सृष्टिगधिक श्री पुरंदर विठलन! ॥2॥
Here is the meaning of the song:
pallavi: I saw him! Venkata, the Lord of Tirumala, My master!
anupallavi: I saw my Lord, the jewel in the crown to my heart’s content!
charaNa 1: (I saw him) who relishes ‘kEsakki’ (a variety of rice?) , who earns money with interest, who gets dOse, and other food items sold, and who participates joyously with the dancing haridAsas
charaNa 2: ( I saw him) who resides in the hill, and him who gives whatever wished for to those who are his true believers, him who stays true to his word, Purandara Vithala, who is the greatest in this creation
Because this song mentions Tirumala on the hills as the home of Purandara Vithala, we can be very certain that this was written about the deity at Tirupati. Don’t we all know the story of Srinivas Kalyana, that tells us that Tirupati Timmappa is still earning money to repay the interest for the loan he took from Kubera for his wedding.
The key phrase here is ‘dOse annava mArisuvana’; the Lord of Tirumala is credited to having had places where eatables like dOse, and rice were sold. This tells that there were restaurants in Tirupati almost 500 years ago ( Purandara’s time frame) where travelers could buy food. Of course, we know about dharma shaales that provided food and water to the travelers free, but this reference is not to such establishments. These are actually places that made selling food a businesses.
It is not for nothing that it is said that literature is a mirror of the society. But shh….! Don’t tell anyone. Because, now places such as Udupi Hotels, and Bengalooru ayyangar bakeries exist at least namesake. Otherwise, they might start thinking of changing their name to Tirupati!
-neelanjana
image courtesy: Google images
(Translated from a Kannada article I had written a while ago. You can read the original article here: ತಿರುಪತಿ ತಿಮ್ಮಪ್ಪನೂ ಉಡುಪಿಯ ಹೋಟೆಲೂ …
)
The first time I came across his name was in 1991. I found one of his books at the Karnatik Music Book Center (KMBC) in Royapetta, Madras. The moment I started reading this book titled “Veena Lakshana Vimarshe”, I became his fan. Later I have read a few more of his books, and can say that his knowledge in various art farms and languages, and history of Indian music has few comparisons.
So when I got the news of Prof R Satyanarayana getting the Sangeeta Nataka Academy award, I was definitely thrilled.
Here is a clipping from the ‘Star of Mysore’ dated January 11th 2009.
Prof R. Satyanarayana
For anyone interested in Indian musicology, his works are a must-read. I recommend reading his translation and commentary on Venkatamakhi’s Caturdandi Prakashike.
-neelanjana
It was almost noon by the time Saraswati finished her daily pooje. She observed she was singing aloud when she was doing mangalaarati to the deities. If her husband was home, she would only mumble the song to herself. In reality, she was quite a good singer, but lacked the confidence to sing in front of him because he was indeed very well versed in music. That was the cause for the hesitation to sing before him. He might say a thing or two about her sangatis. Or he might even bring the tamboori, and show how to sing those sangatis to sound better. That’s why the walls of their ancestral home heard Saraswatis singing voice only when Srinivasa was away. She often wondered if he could dedicate himself to music if not for the family business. Saraswathi just thought how nice it would have been to listen to his singing all day. It was several months since he had touched his tamboori. His singing was so overpowering and made her emotional that she would feel that Lord Krishna’s brindavana was right here at Kshemapura. The only other person she new who had a comparable voice was that of Vaikuntha Dasa of her hometown.
Saraswati felt very strange at thinking Belooru as her hometown even after being married for almost twenty years and living in Kshemapura! It reminded her that she had not visited her parents for couple of years. She was indeed worried when there was a talk of her marriage, and when she knew the suitor was from the hilly rainy country. Her hometown was a real beauty. Such a peaceful and tranquil town with the three hundred year old Chennakeshava temple as the anchor for all activities in the town! What to do? Once a girl gets married, she has to think her husband’s home as her own. She was indeed very happy when she arrived in Kshemapura first time. So green! But when the rains arrived she was terror struck at the force of the torrential rains that would not budge for four or five months! But now she preferred the rainy season since she saw more of her husband at home doing his music practice. As she went into the kitchen, Saraswati started counting how many more months till Ashadha arrived.
****
Srinivasa looked at the pendant Nagachari gave. Yes, it was looking good. May be few less emeralds would have made it look even better. He started to write the pattern for the necklace to match this pendant. Then noticing that Nagachari was still waiting, Srinivasa reminded him that the work should be finished soon because it had to get to the Palace before the festivals. As Srinivasa was completing his sketch, he thought of the hours he was spending at his store these days. Hebana was almost eighteen. It was time for him to take more responsibility in the business, Srinivasa thought. May be then he would have some time to pursue his first love, music.
Srinivasa’s father had trained him to be a jeweler right from the days he was a young lad. But among Srinivasa’s children, only little Madhvapati shows interest in coming to the store. Madhwa often watched has father designing the jewels, and also attempted to some of his own. The older two boys were not coming to the store even once in a bluemoon! May be it was time to make sure they come somewhat regularly, or else it might spell problems! But as Srinivasa recollected that he never came to the store regularly as a young boy, he thought all was not lost with Hebana and Abhinava yet.
In fact, Srinivasa’s father was quite lenient. He even had told his wife not to distract Srinivasa with household errands if he was practicing music, or studying all those books related with music and poetry. But Srinivasa still remembered what he had told one day : “Seenappa, I have seen the plight of musicians who depend on the kings and landlords. Thankfully, you have a business to carry on. Practice music as much as you want, but do not leave our family business. Keep your music to please yourself” Srinivasa had indeed followed his advice to the word. With riches that allow him to lend money to kings and chieftains, why should he leave the gold and gem business and stand at the doorsteps of the king? ‘Now, I am the king of my business or my music’, Srinivasa thought but when he remembered that it was amost three weeks since he touched his tamboori, it was not so pleasing. As he was sensing the unpleasantness of this, Madhwapati came in from the inner room to show a pattern he had sketched for an ear ring, and helped Srinivasa’s mind to dwell on something else.
****
It was the usual time when Abhinava would sit for his music practice. Father was very strict when it with music. Whether he taught any new lesson or not, the kids had to do their practice like a ritual. They had to practice all the varases daily in three speedszZ! Of the three brothers, Abhinava had the best voice. Although Srinivasa never explicitely said anything, Abhinava knew that he was always giving some extra attention to his lessons.
Abhinava suddenly remembered the comment Venkatesha, his friend from across the street had made sometime ago. “Ha! Your dad seems to have a lesson plan no other music teacher in this world has! I wonder how you would manage to sing with a teacher like him !” – he had remarked in front of all his friends when they were playing. Abhinava was felt angry, as well as humiliated.
Next day he had gathered courage to ask his father: “Appa, Is it true that you are teaching us in some new way that no other music teacher follows? Other kids make fun of me for that”
Abhinava remembered that Srinivasa did not even blink at this remark, let alone get angry. He had told calmly: “Yes. No other teacher teaches with the system I am teaching you and your brothers. You know what? I made these excercises myself so that it helps in making you musically aware much faster than you other wise would be. Why shoud you worry? I am sure that this system works well, and that is why I teach this way. Stop worrying, and sing Sri Gananaatha”
Saraswati was sure that Abhinava’s mind was wandering somewhere else. She softly patted his back, and asked him if he forgot what to sing next. Abhinava came back from his thoughts and started to sing the prabhandha in devagaandhara raga that his father had taught a few weeks earlier.
****
(to be continued)
Last year on this day when I wrote my first blogpost, I had no clue I would still writing something one year later. Because my interests are rather limited and are confined, I find it hard find a topic to ramble. But as they say the impossible does happen, and I am still around in here!
As I wrote in my very first post, this ‘other house’ is a place to go around and make new friends and learn a few things on the way. It has definitely proved to be an enriching experience for me.
When I posted my first few posts, I was fiddling with a different themes and images to go with, and one day when the Hoysala Architecture page in the Wikipedia, I was sure which images should go with this ‘house’ of mine. From then on I have selected the image on the top of my blog from within Hasana district (where I come from) in southern Karnataka, or from where I live now (Bay area, CA). Some of them were my own pictures, and some others were used from others with their permission whenever possible.
To mark the completing of one year, I have changed the image to the very first of such images I used – A view from inside the navaranga of Hoysaleswara temple in Halebeedu – a wonderful example of Hoysala architecture (11th century).
Here is a list of images that showed up here earlier:
7th century Kannada inscription atop Chandragiri Hill @ Sravana Belagola
Sunset seen from the top of Mavinakere hill
Garuda in procession, on a street in Kowshika village
A wall panel from Chennakeshava temple showing the court of King Vishnuvardhana
Twin temples of Mosale – Channakeshava and Nageshwara
Decorated doorway in Mavinakere Ranganatha temple
Narasimha on a wall panel of Chennakeshava temple, Belur
A pillar on Indragiri hill, Sravana Belagola
Golden Lights to celebrate Deepavali
A wall panel with elephants from Beluru Chennakeshava temple
Creeper in stone, from a Hoysala temple
Group of Hoysala temples in Doddagaddavalli
Oranges from my backyard
Nandi mantapa in front of Hoysaleshwara temple in Halebeedu
Someshwara temple in Harnahally
Feet of Gommateshwara, Belagola
Navaranga from Hoysaleshwara temple, Halebeedu
You can see some of these images here.
Finally, a big thanks to all those who came by! I guess 60+ posts and 13600+ visits in a year is not too bad for a blog of this nature
-neelanjana
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