We had just come out of the famed Nellaiappar temple after about half a day of looking at the sculptures, which are still today quoted by many to be the most beautiful sculptural works - along with their sister works in Krishnapuram. As i got immersed in the book over the next couple of days, I grew to know the sculptor in Michelangelo, his single minded drive to carve marble, his thirst to be become number one - his trysts with Leonardo Da Vinci with more than its share of ‘ healthy’ competition. I read in rapt attention at how he took on an abandoned and already worked block of marble - the massive block of white marble had been quarried from the famed Quarry in Carrara , high in the Apuan Alps of Tuscany - specially for the great Donatello to be executed maybe via his pupil Agostino in 1464 CE. But the project was shelved with the demise of Donatello in 1466. Ten years later they tried to resurrect it with a contract to Rossellino but it never went forward. The block was possibly worked on and blocked out - maybe cut / drilled at the bottom to shape a foot. But then it lay in that state exposed to the elements for another 25 years - till 1501 CE ! Infact in 1500, an inventory of the cathedral workshops described the piece as “a certain figure of marble called David, badly blocked out and supine.”

The contract was re floated and against ( arguably) competition from Leonardo, Michelangelo won the commission. He breaks convention or rather the earlier version of David by Donatello and carves the now immortal David.

We are lucky that some of his rough sketches survive to this day and we can catch a glimpse of how the great artist tried to solve the problem of a tall block of marble.

The story was much popular then as well but it is clear that initially he went with the popular depiction of showing the slain head of Goliath underneath David’s feet. But then, I guess, he wanted his work to infused with more life. So he chose to depict David facing up to the Giant and caught him in a moment, where he contemplates taking on this task and breaking tradition from not portraying after the slaying.

For starters, the finished work stands all of 17 feet - if you understand how a rough block of marble is worked on, you can imagine the size of the original block.

That the great artist completed the task in just 3 years - 1501 to 1504 is itself mind boggling, but as we take time to study it in detail, it is truly astounding.

All David’s images in this posts are courtesy the internet, wikipedia - too many sources to individually thank but one big thanks to google.

To add to the complexity is the fact that this is a free standing sculpture and the sculptor would have to leave enough of the material at the feet as he reduced the weight from the top,else the weight of the load on top would crumble the legs. He must have blocked out the major limbs and steadily worked top down calculating the centre of gravity and weight distribution. And then the detailing and emotion, the sureness of form, the study of the human anatomy, limbs, nerves, bones, ribs, knee caps, ligaments and tendons moving over muscle and flesh.

Many scholars and experts have still argued about the expression on his face, but to me the entire frame is in suspended animation - his right hand holding the stone, the left hand with the sling, as he ponders his destiny, there seems to be a certain apprehension as he weighs his own skill and strength, a minor trepidation that he might not win and that is the very pinnacle of sculpting.

It slowly dawned on me that i had seen a similar scene that very day - of two rivals facing each other in battle. In the famed corridors of the Nellaiappar temple - is a rare sculpture of Karna - the eldest son of Kunti, elder to 5 Pandavas, but forced into the enemy camp by evil fate - yet the greatness in him, the Son of the Sun God, he who never sent back anyone from his door empty handed - even giving up his invincible body Armour and Ear rings in alms to Indra. He who fought for the sake of friendship against his own brothers and he who wanted to kill his own brother Arjuna.

Karna knew that the only weapon he had that could fell Arjuna was the Naga Astra - for which Arjuna had no counter, for it was the very personification of Awasena ( the snake - son of the Snake king, the only one who escaped the burning of the Khandava forest by Arjuna and Krishna and he was out to avenge his mother !)

The pillar sculpture is of massive proportions - with Karna sculpted to be about 12 feet, but is not free standing ofcourse - but carved out of hard granite with other sculptures in the round and the weight bearing load of the roof above supported by the pillar..

The period of this sculpture must be around the 16th -17th C CE - Nayakas - characterized by the slightly excessive ornamentation and distinctly over emphasized features. .

Here too the sculptor has chosen a moment in time in the action - Karna has drawn his bow with his left hand and is taking out the Naga Astra shown in its snake form. His facial features are shown as a confident man, he who knows that his opponent has no answer to his bolt, that the defining moment of the battle has come and he is going to be crowned as victor - sung in the exalted annals of history, as the one who slay Arjuna and the undisputed King of Archery in the world.

Now to consider, not as a comparison, but just as a study - the understanding of the human form by the Indian sculptor. The hard stone has been carved to depict the ease with which he is holding the bow, almost like a caress - you can make out the stone that has been removed between the finger holds and the beauty of the nails, you can even see a slight bulge of the muscles in the elbow !

He seems to taking a step back or moving his right leg to anchor his body, as he prepares to discharge the bolt. The resultant elevation of the knee caps and the bulging out of the ligaments on the side of the knee, are clearly seen.

He seems to be inhaling as he prepares to draw his bow, forcing his rib cage to expand thereby trusting up against the skin of the chest ! We will see the contrasting posture of Arjuna in the subsequent post.

Such a great work in stone. The intention of this post was to showcase the two works - not to show which is better or draw comparisons - but just that one is celebrated across the world while the other doesn’t even get a casual glance from the thousands who walk past.

We will see the contrasting posture of Arjuna who is going to face this bolt in part 2 of this post !

The Hindu art of the Cham is really interesting, but very rarely found outside of vietnam. Much of the treasures have not survived the pressures of conflict but what remains is a real treasure. Most of them are housed in the Museums in Saigon ( Hochiminh city) and Danang. The popular forms are a profusion of Linga, Mukalingas, Sayana ( sleeping) Vishnu and ofcourse Ganesha.

Today, we see the first part of this series on Cham sculptures, with a magnificient early Ganesha - dated to the early period of Cham art - 8th C CE.

For starters the time line of Cham artifacts are split in the following styles ( the names are the regions from where the art of the periods were found)

My Son E1 (7th to 8th century CE)
Dong Duong (9th to 10th century CE)
My Son A1 (10th century CE)
Khuong My (first half of 10th century CE)
Tra Kieu (second half of 10th century CE)
Chanh Lo (end of 10th century to mid-11th century CE )
Thap Mam (11th to 14th century CE)

The Ganesha is carved out of sandstone and the most characteristic features are the attributes. Sadly, only one of the hands has survived but he holds a very interesting object in it

For a second we were wondering what it might be, before we realised that it was our humble corn, complete with the peeled skins hanging down.

It was also interesting to note that he had a Naga ( snake) yagnopavitha - the sacred thread.

There are also remnants of ornamentation seen on the arm and also the simple crown. The detailing and size of the toes/ feet, the waist cloth etc are also beautiful. There seem to be some provision to insert the eyes ( precious stone?).

Thanks to master artist Mr. Srinivas of The Chroma Academy, we get a chance to recreate the sculpture.

The Cham sculpture however is distinct and different from the Ganesha’s we see ( contemporary period 8th C CE) in South India.

It would be interesting to study it more, and for those interested to pursue one of the very early Ganesha forms is the Terracota Ganesha escavated from veerapuram ( Kurnool district in AP) ( courtesy : Ganesh: studies of an Asian god
By Robert L. Brown) - dated to 2nd C BCE !!

There is lot more to come in this series and next up will be this very very interesting and unique panel

Photos Courtesy : Mr Wasanta Fernando
Vietnam History Museum Address:
Nguyen Binh Khiem Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

Just we passed through, we were pleasantly surprised to see a perfect modern temple to our side - Sri Tripurasundari temple, complete with a priest from Devakkottai. He did mention that he was still preparing for pooja and advised us to go visit the shrine farther away and comeback to see his !

A stiff 100 m walk and we were faced with a steep flight of steps ending in a magnificent entrance Gopura,

The time period/dates of this structure are still unclear but my joy knew no bounds when we were greeted by a pair of superb doorguardians and an equally superlative lintel of Garuda.

The door guardians seems to part of a larger arrangement while the Gopura and the lintel persay seemed more recent works.

As we entered the temple, we were greeted by a very ‘Indian’ Ganesha. You will understand why i mention so shortly.

The next view blew us away. Such a towering sight , considering that we had already climbed a decent height - but this structure was massive and being hidden from view from the outside the effect was doubly strong.

We were certainly not expecting to see such a structure. There were two cute ‘local’ ganesha’s different yet complete with the attributes - the axe, the flower, the mothahagams and suvadis !

What was more unique is the depiction of the various ’snakes’ on the mount !

We couldn’t quite makeout the central theme and decided to go around to inspect more.

Seeing the massive curls of the snake coil around the structure, a realisation occurred that this could be the depiction of the churning of the Milk ocean for Amrit. The claws and the tail were a definite clincher. ( here is our Tour guide Mr Dhani - just to give you an idea of the scale !)

So when we moved to the front again they all began to fall in place.

The Bottom dragon face was infact that of a turtle - of Vishnu balancing the mount as turtle Kurma! and the churning rope being the snake Vasuki ( the dragon head on top)!

Usually the focus would be the Devas adn the Asuras holding the two sides and churning, but they have been done away with totally, instead focussing our attention entirely on the main act !

What made the entire complex so wonderful was the design, of presenting it on a small cliff with this artificial mount. The interesting part was the depiction of Garuda at the back and also a swan / bird above him.

The top has a Gold embossed dancing pose. It could be the classical Cambodian depiction of vishnu as seen in the famed Angkor panels

The Angkor panel for comparison

But without attributes it is very difficult to be sure and the locals call this a Sivan temple.

We finished the tour with a wonderful time at the temple nearby with the priest giving us a service straight from any temple in Tamil Nadu for his Aadhi Vinayagar and Tripurasundari

Dont miss the excellent services of Mr. Dhani Hariadi

PT. TITA PANORAMA INDAH TOURS & TRAVEL

Komplek TanjungPantun Blok P No. 4 Batam Island 29453, Indonesia.
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It is hardly surprising that to even to someone who has been brought up amidst its folds, the cult of Shiva especially, presents a very difficult and complex question - a seemingly paradoxical representation of God - the Destroyer, the one who lives near the abode of the dead, surrounded by Ghosts and goblins as his assistants, smeared with the ash of burnt bodies. That much for his anthropomorphic form, to talk of his ‘other’ slightly darker followers - the Kalamukas, Kabalikas , Pasupathas, Kaulas, of his fiery Bairava forms and then to the more popular manifestation as the Linga, has spawned another stream of contradicting arguments.

To add to the above, I am trying to present a few more to fan the fire of arguments, for that is the beauty of this religion which does allow one to question the very essence of its core !

Apart from the tales and legends, a few vestigial attributes seem to attest to the notion constant evolutionary nature of Hindusim. Thanks to Late Sri. Ganapathi Stapathi’s wonderful work - Indian Sculpture and Iconography for showing us that the creative tradition kept alive these subtle concepts to this day.

We see below an intricate sculpture of Shiva from Halebidu, the heights of Hoysala art, every inch is intricately carved.

Hoysala art is truly a problem of too many and majority of today’s tourists would rush past without even a second glance due to the profusion of art on display and maybe to the call of the horn of the tourist operator’s hurried itinerary bound luxury coach driver. Even for the few who do stop and look, the attribute held in his left hand is truly macabre.

It was with a certain trepidation that I decided to look it up in the book and was surprised to see it listed.

Quote:

” Katvangam: This is a staff fashioned out of the leg or thigh bone, on which a skull has been fixed. A snake, coiled around the staff, emerges with its hood raised from one of the eye sockets. This implement is similar to the mace, and, instead of the thigh bone, the staff maybe made of wood. Usually an accessory of Kapalika Shivaite images, the Katvanga is also an instrument of Shiva. sometimes, it can also be adopted as a staff for Yogis or rishis. The staff should be 2 face lengths high and 2 viral thick: the skull should be 5 viral wide and 7 viral long.’”

Not only was the description apt but the illustration was picture perfect. Thanks to our artist Raghavendra Prasad for rendering it clearly for us

While we were discussing this, our good friend and fellow heritage enthusiast and expert Photographer Swami came up with another gem and kudos to him for spotting this. A Brahma from Somnathpur

The question was the attribute held in Brahma’s right hand.

Thanks again to Prasad.

Being the destined ‘ Creator’ to find him with this ‘weird’ implement was baffling. Back to the book again.

Quote:

“Siruk, Suruvam: These ladles or large spoons are considered to be Brahma’s instruments. They are used to pour oblation ( ghee) into the sacrificial fire. On the final day of the yagna or sacrificial rite, the ladle is used to pour various oblations into the sacrificial fire in a ceremony known as purnahuti. The siruk is made of wood and is shaped like an ordinary spoon. The suruvam has a square, box-like scoop, adorned with a cow, elephant or other such animal head at its extremity. The length of the ladle may be taken as one muzham or cubit.

Since Brahma is considered to be the symbolic priest or chief for the sacrificial rite, these ladles represent Brahma in his Vedic identity. Further, the ladles are symbols of the rite itself.”

Quite interesting depiction and lot of questions emanating out of it. But first to set out to find a Suruvam with an Elephant head !

It is quite true that most ancient temples did have some sort of secret chamber to protect their wealth, not just to hold their treasures - that they had in plenty as not only Kings, but chieftains and the rich, showered them with gifts. These the temple utilised as a kind of village bank lending money and collecting interests. It also helped that despite frequent wars among the kings, temples were relatively insulated from pillage till the advent of Gazhni upnorth and Allaudin Khilji down south. These chambers then became the refuge for the Gods themselves, as they were the easiest to hide the movable deities

For more interesting reading check this from Dr. R. Nagasamy - Underground Secret Treasuries in Ancient Temples

The last para is quite hair raising...” Lastly the late T. G. Aravamudan, the noted numismatist, and the author of ‘Portrait Sculpture in South India’ narrated to this author on more then one occasion, his experience in the Great temple of Tanjore, In his young age, he was once taken blind folded, through an underground passage in the Great temple of Tanjore. When he reached the secret chamber and his eyes opened, he found a large number of Chola bronzes of exqusite beauty stored there. He was able to recollect that the passage through which he went seemed to be between two granite walls. Later he made several attempts to locate the entrance to the passage in the temple but failed. It is not unlikely that many such underground secret treasure chambers exists but their discovery will remain only a chance find. “

Back to our little secret, the chamber is right underneath the arthamandabam in front of the sanctum

We managed to beat the power situation in the State till then, but then suddenly as we turned away towards the exit, it claimed victory - thereby taking us back in time by many centuries - to understand how it would have looked then - dark.

There right by the site of the door, it would have been impossible to spot in that lighting - but ASI had removed the false stone door and replaced it with a steel hinged one for our benefit.

The layout of the entire contraption was pretty awesome - the door opened to a sheer drop of about 7 feet. about a feet from the bottom, there would have been a false wall - which gave way to a narrow tunnel - just about enough to let me crawl and then it turned right ! Claustrophobic - was the word, am not particularly fond of dark passages and this was pumping my adrenalin rush through the roof.

The small path then opened to a decent shaped room - about 4 feet in height but pretty wide.

It was pretty dark - the powerful flash of the camera and the trusted 3 cell EverReady torch, tried their best to help us out.

With all the excitement of being inside an authentic relic chamber giving us a high, we were a bit disappointed at seeing an empty room, but if only it could tell us its tale !

We screamed at the driver to stop and sprinted across the fields much the disdain of the grazing cows. As we edged closer the colossal structure seemed to take vishwaroopam in front of our very eyes.

A familiar rustle and a shiny tail slithered through the vegetation as we kept walking towards the ” Trees”. The snake must have been bemused as he failed to register anything in us. We were too shocked already to do so.

A magnificent brick temple was being pillaged by nature and humans. Its a testament to the wisdom of the ancient architects that they could build such with just bricks to withstand and stand despite this.

The memory of the slithering snake fresh we edged gingerly to the entrance to view the inside.

How many times have you seen a small innocuous plant growing on top of the temple Vimana or Gopura, How much effort it would take to get a few volunteers to clear and clean them at that stage. Because it was not done see the impact.

The trees are practically splitting the entire temple into two as though driving a wedge into them. Its a pity that such a beautifully designed and constructed brick temple has fallen prey to this due to our gross negligence.

The real loss must be seen to believed. The size of this temple dwarfs the 20foot pole next to it, but then the trees have won this battle.

The villagers ofcourse have no problem, they have floated a new temple ( which was already listing to one side even before consecration) right next to the ailing edifice, painted bright yellow., but no amount of such can erase the responsibility of ours of robbing India of another of its heritage treasure, entombed in vegetation.

Fortunately, the renovation work was in full swing and the strong casuraina poles held our weight and me and Arvind ( who braved his vertigo) climbed up to get to see the beauties.

We had already captured a very unique depiction of Garuda in this set, but this one was rarest of the rare.

Thanks again to the Amar Chitra Katha memoirs, we knew the plot by heart, but never had seen the theme sculpted in stone.

Had always imagined that this was part of folklore or atleast a later addition to the Epic.

You can clearly see the depiction of Hanuman as a `mere’ monkey sitting there nonchalantly as a proud Bhima uses his mace to clear the lowly tail - as though it is some twig.

Decided to give it a re read on stumbling on this depiction.

They reached Kulinda, the kingdom of Subahu, on the Himalayas. They accepted the honors rendered to them by that king and rested there awhile. Later on, they went to the charming forest of Narayanasrama and halted there.

One day, a breeze that blew from the northeast wafted a beautiful flower near Draupadi. Draupadi took it in her hands and was so charmed with its fragrance and beauty that she showed it rapturously to Bhima.

“Come and see this flower. What a sweet fragrance! How charming! I shall hand this over to Yudhishthira. Bring some flowers of this kind. We should grow this plant in our Kamyaka forest.” Draupadi ran to give the flower to Yudhishthira.

Anxious to please his beloved Draupadi, Bhima went in quest of that plant. He went alone in the direction from which the fragrance seemed to be borne by the breeze, without wasting a thought on the wild beasts that crossed his path.

He presently came to a garden of plantain trees at the foot of a mountain, and there he saw a huge monkey shining like blazing fire, which lay right across his path blocking it.

He tried to frighten the animal out of his way by shouting at it. It only half opened its eyes lazily and drawled: “I am indisposed and so I am lying here. Why lid you wake me? You are a wise human being and I am mere animal. It is proper that the rational man should show mercy to animals as interior creatures. I am afraid you are ignorant of right and wrong. Who are you? Whither are you bound? It is not possible to go further along this mountain path which is the path of the gods. Men cannot cross this limit. Eat what you like of the fruits of this place and if you are wise, go back in peace.”

Bhima, unused to being taken so lightly, grew angry and shouted: “Who are you, yourself, you monkey, that indulges in such tall talk? I am a kshatriya hero, a descendant of the Kuru race and a son of Kunti. Know that I am the son of the Wind god. Now move away from the path or stop me at your peril.”

Hearing these words the monkey merely smiled and said: “I am, as you say, a monkey, but you will come to destruction if you try to force a way.”

Bhima said: “I do not want your advice and it is no concern of yours if I go to destruction. Get up and move out of the way or I will make you.”

The monkey replied: “I have no strength to stand up, being but a very old monkey. If you have to go at any cost, jump over me.”

Bhima said: “Nothing could be easier but the scriptures forbid it. Otherwise I should jump over you and the mountain in one bound, like Hanuman crossing the ocean.”

The monkey remarked as though in surprise: “O best of men, who is that Hanuman who crossed the ocean? If you know his story, enlighten me.”

Bhima roared and said: “Have you not heard of Hanuman, my elder brother, who crossed the ocean, a hundred yojanas in breadth, to seek and find Sita, the wife of Rama? I am equal to him in strength and heroism. Well, that is enough talk, now get up and make way and do not provoke me to do you some harm.”

The monkey answered: “O mighty hero, be patient. Be gentle as you are strong, and have mercy on the old and weak. I have no strength to rise up as I am decrepit with age. Since you have scruples in jumping over me, kindly move aside my tail and make a path for yourself.”

Proud of his immense strength, Bhima thought to pull the monkey out of the way by its tail. But, to his amazement he could not move it in the least, though he exerted all his strength.

He set his jaws and strained every muscle till the very sinews cracked and he was covered with perspiration. But, still, could not move that tail the least, a little bit up or down or sideways. In shame, he bent down his head, and then asked in a chastened mood:

“Who are you? Forgive me and reveal to me whether you are a Siddha, god or Gandharva.” Bhima like most strong men, was all respect when he saw one stronger than himself, and spoke like a pupil addressing his master.

Hanuman replied: “O mighty-armed Pandava, know that I am your brother, even that Hanuman, the son of the Wind god, whom you mentioned a little while ago. If you go on this path, which is the road to the spirit-world where the Yakshas and the Rakshasas abide, you will meet with danger and that is why I stop you. No man can go beyond this and live. But here is the stream with its depths where you can find the Saugandhika plant you came to seek.”

Bhima was transported with delight: “I count myself the most fortunate of men in that I have been blessed to meet my brother. I wish to see the form in which you crossed the ocean,” and he prostrated before Hanuman.

Hanuman smiled and began to increase the size of his body and stood forth firmly to the world like a mountain seeming to fill the landscape.

Bhima was thrilled at actually seeing that divine form of this elder brother, the mere description of which had till then filled him with wonder. He covered his eyes, unable to bear the dazzling light radiating from that figure.

Hanuman said: “Bhima, in the presence of my enemies, my body can grow still more.” And Hanuman contracted his body, resuming his former size. He tenderly embraced Bhimasena.

Bhagavan Vyasa says that Bhima felt completely refreshed and became much stronger than before by the embrace of Hanuman.

Hanuman said: “O hero, go to your abode. Think of me whenever you are in need. I felt the same delight when I embraced you that I had in times of yore when I was fortunate enough to touch the divine body of Sri Rama. Ask any boon that you like.”

Bhima said: “Blessed are the Pandavas for I have had the good fortune to see you. Inspired with your strength we are sure to conquer our enemies.”

Hanuman gave this parting blessing to his brother:

“While you roar like a lion in the battlefield, my voice shall join yours and strike terror into the hearts of your enemies. I shall be present on the flag of the chariot of your brother Arjuna. You will be victorious.”

Hanuman pointed out to Bhima the stream nearby, where grew the Saugandhika flowers he had come to seek.

This put Bhima at once in mind of Draupadi who was waiting for his return, and he collected the flowers and returned to her without delay.

and thus did Hanuman came to occupy the banner of Arjuna in the great battle.

Today, we see but a sample of the masterly craft, of portraying emotions that will take reels of print to even to try to describe.

Thanks to arvind’s expert captures, we see the Lord of Dance, in all his finery, not in a Museum Showcase but as an object of worship. The infinite grace of the form, the power of the pose, the soothing gesture of the hands, bring a sublime calmness as your mind seeks out his gaze.

As you ponder on the manifest and the unmanifest, you loose track of time, before you realise that you are not alone. His consort Sivagami too stands there, awe struck, by her beloved’s pose.

The appreciative smile pushing up the cheek and the pride swelling in her chest, she stands in all her feminine charm.

That is not all, there is one more person in the composition.

Karaikkaal Ammaiyaar

We have seen many of her forms before in stone, there are also a few museum exhibits of hers.

courtesy: From the Internet

The above bronzes while doing justice to the life story, lack a crucial ingredient. What made her unique was her Bakthi.

Bhakti or True devotion is more than just a state of mind, for it transcends existence. The primordial urge of any creation is to survive, not just to exist but to procreate. leave behind a progeny or maybe just make a ` dent’ in the universe. However, very few attain a state a state of total surrender to the supreme, where you stop seeking divine support to survive, to heal, to cure or just material richness or well being but instead submit in soul, spirit and beyond to become one with the supreme. Such a state of mind is so difficult to describe in words, the emotion of sheer bliss as you commune with the omnipotent. We can maybe comprehend the greatness of Karaikkal ammai with a ref from her 12th Tirumurai which condenses the essence of her bhakti in a stanza.

” I wish for the immortality of my love of you, for I do not wish for rebirth, however, if i were reborn, I want to be born again as your devotee, never forgetting you, and above all those wishes i pray for this wish - i want to see you dance to my joyful singing and that i want to witness seated at your beloved feet”

Now, take a look at the bronze.

The greatness of the craftsman to be able to capture the essence of that very emotion, of her going into rapture seeing her Lord Dance, the way her hands hold the cymbals - keeping beat while at the same time showing the appreciation, the uplifted face and the extended neck - showing her yearning, the face, the slightly flared nostrils showing the spontaneous outburst of emotion and the eyes, seemingly acknowledging the fulfillment of her wish.

That is Bhakti for you.

The raised platform with a distinctly post 15th C doorguardians ( I know I know - the nucleus of the temple is dated to 7th C CE..but) didn’t evoke much of a response, initially at least.

For as we went around to the steps, the sight blew us away.

The entire block is carved out of a monolithic stone, with the doorguardian in front and an extremely complex array of pillars of differing thickness in the back, and that was not all. Row after row of astounding pillars lined up as if for inspection in a guard of honor.

To top it, these were the famed musical pillars !! each producing a distinct note ( that they have survived so long with every visitor trying to show their musical prowess on them itself is worth an applause ) , but the sheer labour that went into these stumped us.

When we say massive, we mean it. Not convinced, take a look.

and by massive, it doesn’t just mean gargantuan size alone. Take a look at the art on display !

This is not some trick sculpting, if you do not believe that its all carved out of a single block of stone. Take another look. The grain of the stone runs right through the different pillars.

There were a few more pillar clusters which seemed a bit easier on the chest and breathing ( with all the wows and ooh and aahs)

.

But, as in an expert rendition of carnatic music, we did not realise that the sculptor had lulled us into a false sense of mediocrity, to think that this was ordinary compared to the rest - but then, he had one or two more tricks to show us.

Watch closely towards the base. do you spot it?

Yes, when he was busy reducing the rock, he had left enough material to carve a ball inside the pillar, so designed that it cannot roll out ( also means it was not introduced later !!)

Well, i said a trick or two !! test your spotting skills

Did you spot it?

Yes, hewing a composite multiple fluted pillar that would emanate different musical notes while shaping a solid stone ball was not challenging enough for him - he sculpted a stone squirrel as well on the inside of one of the pillars.

The pillar sculpture of Hanuman, in all his humility, affectionately held by his Lord Rama seemed an regular rendition when we entered but as we finished and returned, the posture seemed to gather a new meaning.

As we stepped in, there was nothing extraordinary about the front porch and it resembled any of hundred of temples we see in our villages.

But as we took the few steps towards the main shrine, what awaited us made us hold our breath.

its not often you get to see a pristine pre 10th Century Vimana, a Pandya one at that.

Thanks to Pradeep, we had some inclination of what to expect and the introductions to the Priest had ensured that we could do our work unhindered.

For starters - the temple is unique for its one of the very few Astanga Vimana shrines - three tiered Vimana, with forms of Vishnu - Standing, seated and lying in the three sanctums lined one on top of the other.

At the entrance of the main sanctum, we were greeted by one of the most stunning bronzes - Rama group.

When we wanted to climb to the upper storey, the priest asked us again - if we really wanted to go up ! Little did we realise why he did that, till we saw the narrow stairs and got swarmed by a colony of feisty bats whom we disturbed.

Restaurants with roof top gardens seem to be the fashion these days, but it was really heartbreaking to see a stunning edifice left to rot like this.

As we turned towards the Sanctum in tier one, we spotted this.

The central beam had cracked and the weight was being held by the wooden pillar. My heart filled with dread at the thought of what might happen if it gave way.

And in the midst of all this, there he was seated ( please note he is not carved out of stone but made of stucco - and hence the fractures can be easily mended)

The intricate stucco work and the faint colors seemed to remind us of his glory days. Even the walls seemed to have outlines of vestigial paintings.

We willed ourselves to climb to the next tier and there he is, sleeping peacefully on the coils of his devoted sesha, his two consorts in attention, hoping against hope that some good still lived in the hearts of the people he loves.

As we stepped out, we looked again at Hanuman - he seemed to asking us to help, but not wanting his master to know, for the Lord’s answer would be ” I have the entire universe for me !!”