A temple of art and architecture @ Somnathpur (Karnataka)

Chennakesava temple at Somnathpur was  our  next stop after Talakad.  A 30km ride on  the T,narsipura –kollegal  road, past the lotus laden water ponds,  paddy, millet,sugarcane, marigold and tuberose fields saw us at Somnathpur.

This  is a beautiful creation of the Hoysala dynasty besides Belur and halebidu, built in the mid 13^th century.You buy a 5rs ticket to enter the temple but after entering the temple and seeing the well maintained temple I feel the ticket should be graded to higher amount. Spotlessly clean and cared with great devotion.

Walking through the pathway, sandwiched between emerald green lawns, you enter the temple  which stands in the middle of  an enclosure  around which runs an open verandah with 64 cells.

The serene temple stands on a star shaped foundation  which is characteristic of  Hoysala architecture and has 3 exquisitely carved temple towers called trikutachala . The three towers once housed beautifully carved idols of Lord Kesava, Janardhana and Venugopala till Malik Kafur and other mughals destroyed them.

This is not a temple in the sense that there are no poojas done to the idols here since they were destroyed by the mughal invaders. It is simply a temple exhibiting the delicate craftsmanship and high precision engineering of the mighty dynasty called hoysalas which ruled the present day Karnataka between AD1100 and AD1320.  This dynasty was noted for its peace and a leisurely life along with its encouragement to talent of arts, which is reflected all around the temple.(hoy is kill and sala is head of the dynasty since he tackled the tiger single handed and killed, this heroic deed took the form of yadava dynasty as hoysala dynasty) 

One need not search for the history of the temple because everything is beautifully recorded here along with all those sculptors name .When I went around the star shaped platform admiring all those beautiful carvings I noticed an employee of ASI cleaning the dust from the crevices.  This beautiful temple is now under the safecare of ASI.  

When I had been here as a school student, all I was interested was in merry making with my friends, only during my recent visit in the May gone by did the beauty of this place sink in.

How many times have I gone WOW over all those celebrated structures of the world( with due respects to those creators), little did I realize that we have an archictectural marvel with high precision and symmetry all done when  precision tools and machines were unheard but just hammer and chisel.The sculptures and the craftsmanship speaks volumes about the hand dexterity, patience, concentration of our ancient craftsmen. 

As I walked out of the temple  and sat on the bench watching at the boys playing cricket outside the temple compound, I also  was wondering why many of the Indian temples and monuments were not celebrated on par with many well known monuments around the world.

 I left Somnathpur, a tiny leisurely village on the banks of the Kaveri,  140kms, southwest of Bangalore and 30 kms from Mysore which has that rural stillness. The stillness here speaks and speaks  about our glorious past in the form of the Chennakesava temple and it has the touch of eternity. So what if this poetry in stone is not celebrated atleast I can write a post about it and next time you are around Mysore don't forget to listen to this stillness called Somnathpur.

Click on the pics below for better view, the last few pics are in bad lighting

                                               click  on the above image to read the temple history

                                                       Don't miss the star shaped foundation and the pillar by the side

                                                      The ceilings inside the temple carved like a plaintain flower, translates the concentration, dedication and patience that must have gone into it.

                                                             janardana

                                                       Lord Vishnu

                                                                  Notice the broken flute of Lord Venugopala

Time stops by.......... for Ganesh Utsav

                                                                    The eco-friendly Ganesha

Festoons of mango leaves, marigolds, colored rangoli, flower,  paper decorations and  netted golden  valence around the gazebo, people in traditional attire, kids prancing around the complex in their ethnic best, our whole housing complex wore a festive look for the past few days due to Ganesh utsav.

The socio-religious- cultural festival of Ganesh utsav  is the most awaited in our complex by all, not just hindus but other minorities too. We generally book an eco-friendly Ganesha months before the festival so that it is available at low cost. This statue is lugged to our complex by our own residents( no external labour). The puja is performed daily in the morning and evening for five days followed by a prasad which is generally done by a few residents and a Maha Bhoj (dinner for all) on one of the evenings, outsourced to a caterer. 

A variety of educational and cultural programmes are organized in the evening like veena, vocal, veda chanting, bharatnatyam, folk,dance-drama(this year was mahishasura mardan) fusion, skits, extempore,debates, quiz and some special programs exclusively for senior citizens like singing etc. Many entrepreneurial women also set up stalls for chocolates, food, jewels, dress materials etc.,

The cultural events are an audio- visual treat for the residents. It also serves as a platform for the kids to showcase their talent and what a talented kid pool we have!. Not just kids, it also brings out the latent talent of those men and women who never got an opportunity before. The youngest participant was a 6 month old disguised as 'Anna Hazare' for fancy dress competition to an  90 year old senior citizen who participated in the prize distribution ceremony  by giving away prizes and gave a speech telling that they felt honored to stay in the community which recognizes senior  citizens.

The children of our complex put up a beautiful show daily in the evening helped by the elders( men and women) not necessarily their own parents but by their aunts, uncles and  friends in the complex.  An  aunty teaches contemporary dance, another aunty teaches skits, another one shares her jewels, sarees or applies make up for the dance. My children especially have great exposure and respect towards many indian cultures and have learnt a lot from this  Mini- Indian community with their peers which would not have been possible at home or at any school.

An exclusive ramp show for senior citizens and singing contest showcasing their love for their spouses showed how much the couples were in love in their evening of their life. An uncle(65 year old)  told he never got an opportunity  to express his love to his wife, while he was young when he was staying with his parents and now in old age  in front of his grown up son and d-i-l and sang the song ‘ Chaudvin ka chand ho...’. It was so touching.

  
A feeling of unity and the camaraderie we share,when people meet in person and socialize and get around to make an event like in a festival, which otherwise would'nt be possible with so many busy with their daily work. Many  working women and men( including my husband) came early from work to oversee the arrangements. Events like this make me feel we are one huge joint family. As a community, we do have our minor differences but what’s life without some spice.

On the last day, after the prize distribution of the various events, the laddu in the hands of the lord Ganesha was auctioned. The auction started at 2000Rs and ended at 9000. After the final aarti to the  Lord Ganesha  -  the  Scribe  par  excellence,  the  recorder  of  Mahabharata  went around the complex piloted by fire works. The God of wisdom, was taken for immersion amidst chants of Ganpati Bappa Morya. It was really funny and sad – a mixed feeling to see the children cry and run behind the vehicle not wanting to let go their favorite god.

On a personal note, The highlight of our cultural evening apart from the dance, music and other literary programs is a quiz program which is called ‘Conundrum’.  One of the resident guises as a quiz master and makes a complex questionnaire reflected on a projector screen, which throws up a  champion team called ‘Conundrum champions of our complex’ every year and the ‘Conundrum champion of 2011’ was won by my son’s team( 3 members) all of them aged 12. They edged out 14 teams, participants from the age of 10-18( Last year sadly, my son lost in the tie breaker round. ( both the teams won the tie-breaker and so they put a toss to find the winner) he sadly lost the toss. He was glad he won this year right under the same Ganesh ji. Whats' more he was glad he edged his own sis with whom his teachers often compare him with in school. 

My daughter who generally participates in the dance, skits  had to be contented with quiz, carnatic keerthanais and Shankar Mahadevan’s ‘Ganeshaya Deemahi’   due to her pre-boards clashing with the festival.

If festivals were celebrated not just for feasting and fasting, but to focus on happiness, oneness and to bust stress from the mechanized humdrum of our routine, then the essence of this festival is captured every year by us. Every year with this utsav, we feel time stops for 5 days.

The  'Conundrum champions of  our complex - 2011'. 

 My son bending down to check his prize which was a parker pen, while the other team mate is behind him.

P.S: wanted to post pictures of dance and skits but did not want to tresspass into other's privacy without their permission.