Posts Tagged ‘Shiva’

Nov

The embracing couple

It was pouring heavily and i was not sure of where I was headed. The London bus driver’s knowledge of Museums did not seem to earn them much credits or they were eager to get rid of a rotund man carrying a weird package slung over his shoulders - yeah, was lugging a newly bought English willow cricket bat and thank God this was before all the unsavory incidents in London. But still, a few roads seemed to be blocked for repairs ( yeah in London too) and was misdirected twice before making up my mind of switch on my handphone’s GPS and checking the route. Unfortunately it too didn’t pick the difference between the British Museum ( where i was headed to) and the Museum of London. After soaking in the rain and seeing the glorious history of London, managed to get the right directions and headed towards the British Museum.

Finally landed at the imposing facade of the British Museum and was immediately stopped by the guards - thanks to my special attribute ! They were really amused for in their long service they had seen many a weird object being brought along but this was a first - a cricket bat to a museum ! That said the tryst with the bat and the Museum security continued right through the day. Not that i was helping it - trying to peer behind exhibits and trying different angles to try and capture the grace of bronzes from behind glass. But let me explain.

This particular exhibit had me all excited

The name plate gave it a 11th C CE date and called it ” the marriage of Shiva & Parvathi” - technically a Kalyanasundara Murthy. However, we have seen the bronze from the same period in the previous post and its easy to note the striking stylistic differences.

For starters the size of this bronze is about 1/3 rd of the tanjore bronze, the features are more rounded. i wish we could get a good portrait of the famed Pallava period bronzes of Vadakkalathur to compare. I am no expert on dating bronzes, but to me the features are not Chola and definitely not this late into Chola. The aspects of Parvathi as a young maiden are so realistically carved and the suppleness in the legs and arms of both of them indicate a strong 9th C CE date for this bronze.

The interesting feature to note is the pendant / chain worn by Parvathi. We have not seen this before and the characteristic absence of the panigrahanam pose narrows done the identification to Alingana murthy ( the embrace).

I was advised very early in my journey to understand Bronzes to focus not only on the front but also on the rear. I wish all galleries and Museums would exhibit bronzes separately allowing the viewers to admire them with a 360 degree view. It was not easy getting behind this particular exhibit.

But it was worth the effort ( and the trouble - as i accidentally leaned on the glass and caused the alarm to trip and another lengthy explanatory note on why i was mimicking a contortion artist)

…for it was not a single embrace, but a double embrace - double Alingana and to imagine this a 1000 years ago, the kind of intimacy that the divine couple are shown to be sharing and the contemporary appeal of the same, left me simply stunned.

A miniature mirrors a Bronze - Gangaikonda Cholapuram

It was a very rainy day when we reached Gangai Konda Cholapuram. Fortunately the rain stopped giving us a brief window to complete our tasks on the outside. The rain swept temple gleaned in all her pristine glory as we entered her.

As usual we were subjected to some rants by the ‘ authorities’ on cameras and photography, and we put forward the same arguments that any ASI site - Photography is allowed and free of charge - except for the Sanctum. ( providing of course you cannot use a tripod - some weird logic of ASI !). We wanted to cover a few miniatures inside the main Vimana but the arguments got us nowhere. We faced the prospect of one more unsuccessful attempt to cover them, when we were shocked to see that there was a big family function happening inside with full videography ! We threatened to bring hell and after much persuasion and promise that we would not shoot the main Sanctum, managed to get our equipment out.

The power went off right on cue just as we took in the sight of the gargantuan door guardians guarding the main sanctum.

How massive are these guys?

do you notice a small black speck in the photo towards the base??

Yeah, its the Cannon lens cover

As we walked past the dynamic duo to the next chamber, a very dimly lit wall showcased a brilliant miniature, quite in contrast to the massiveness of the occupants of the other side.

Sadly, we were clicking blind due to the power outage and the most important area of the relief was missed out. But still we could make out the panel. Apart from a whole host of distinguished rishis, we could spot Brahma officiating a ceremonial gathering.

And on top, was the marriage of the divine parents - Shiva as Kalyanasundara taking the hand of Meenakshi, with Lakshmi and Vishnu giving her away on both sides.