Kolar Someshwara Devastana - part-1

September 20, 2019
Our day started with a visit to Antara Gange followed by Kolaramma Devi Devastana. Five minute walk from Kolaramma temple is Someshwara Devastana. The temple's Gopura is tall, it has five levels. The Gopura seems to be built or renovated during Vijayanagara rule. The temple did not have many visitors at this time, it looked peaceful. That's what I had wished for after seeing the crowd at Kolaramma temple. At the entrance there were flower sellers, one man had a bunch of pink lotuses. We bought a pair as an offering to the Lord.

Visitors are greeted by four bejeweled maidens in the Gopura doorway. Their beauty is captivating.. one might just stand there and stare at them for minutes. The maidens are paired. One pair of maidens are standing on an imaginary creature and surrounded by creepers. They seem to be Apsaras.

At the temple entrance is a board which describes the temple as follows:
The Someshwara temple is an ornate temple of the typical Dravidan style. The temple is assignable to the early Vijayanagara period, constructed during the 14th century AD.
It is known for a high stone Mahadwara and tall brick and stucco tower over it. The temple has a Garbhagriha, a large Sukanasi and a Navaranga and a large pillared Mukhamantapa all enclosed by a cloistered Prakara.
The Adhishtana of the main temple is treated with conventional mouldings of a Pada, Adhokumuda, a Tripattakumuda, a small Kantha and a Adhokumuda. Interestingly the Adhokumuda mouldings are treated with friezes of elephants, playing dwarfs, squatting lions. The bhitti of the main temple is elaborately decorated with Kumbha pilasters in the recesses and slender pilaster turrets and the corners of the walls with double pilasters. The sanctum wall at cardinal directions have Devakoshtas flanked by two slender pilaster turrets. The pillars of the Mukhamantapa have lion brackets. The Kalyana mantapa situated to the south-west is an exquisitely beautiful compact structure well known fr intricate workmanship on granite. The small shrine towards north-west is dedicated to the consort of the main deity Shiva. Dravida Shikhara of moderate size one provided over the Garbhagriha of both the shrines. Yagasala is situated to the north-east is much altered.

This is the view from the Gopura doorway. The passage is wide, tall and long. One passing through this will be charged with energy which can alter the state of mind in a good way. Between the Gopura and the Devalaya, is the Dwaja Stambha or the Vijaya Stambha. Also a thick stout column stand there.. no idea what its called as. The courtyard is spacious, the floor is covered with granite slabs, there are plants and trees a temple must have, the ambiance is serene. This is what I had hoped for.. wanted to spend time in silence.

This is one of the maidens, sculpted at the base of a column supporting the Gopura tower. In the Gopura passage are two raised platforms, one of them is seen here. The platform's base is also decorated with legendary creatures and floral sculptures.

This is the raised platform with an additional pillar in the middle. There was't any staircase in sight, wondering if people climbed up there using ladders. Probably the raised platforms were used to shower flowers on the royal visitors or guests.

In the courtyard, on the right hand side, is a tall four pillared structure called as Vasanta Mantapa. Except for its name there's no other info available. Probably this was used for celebrations like birthdays or anniversaries.

The Gopura as seen from the northeast corner of the temple. The temple's facade is grand with all the elaborately sculpted pillars. These pillars are similar to the musical pillars at Vittala Devasthana in Hampi.

This is the Sabhamantapa, the meeting hall. As you see the roof is supported by large pillars of complex forms. The pillars create a kind of hooded passage towards the Natya Mantapa and Garbhagudi. In the passage is an idol of Nandi, facing his lord Someshwara.

The adorable Nandi. I loved the little oil lamp and its refection on the wet floor. Sun was bright, its brightness was blinding on the outside. Inside, the pillars muted the brightness.

Besides the Nandi, on the floor is an engraving, a couple doing Sashtanga Namaskara to Someswara. The engraving would be a mark of some important couple's visit, probably one of the rulers or a donor who contributed for the temple's development. This hall is quite unique in terms of its plan, never quite seen anything like this. The central aisle flanked by low platforms and high platforms.

We went in for the lord's Darshan. Daily rituals happen in this historic temple. The deity was covered in Vibhuti and fresh flowers and Bilwa Patre. A board stated that photography inside the Natya Mantapa wasn't allowed. However, with the Archaka's permission I took pictures of characters on the four pillars supporting the roof. The following three images are collages of those characters mostly ascetics.

The first one seems to be Bedara Kannappa hugging Shiva Linga. The second one is half-man half-lion. The feet has claws hence I'm saying lion. The third image is that of an ascetic doing Namaskara, hands raised above his head. His hair is long and has a stylish mustache as well. These images seem to be sculpted during Chola rule.

In this collage, the first image is that of a man with a big belly is blowing a conch. The next one is an ascetic, his hair tied over his head like a Shikhara. The third image is of a plump man, squatting on his back, closed eyes, palms joined, serene expression on his face. Except two images in these collages, you can see Rudrakshamala on all characters.

We came out to the Mukha Mantapa, this is the right hand side of the hall. Every pillar is unique in terms of decoration, architecture is Vijayanagara.

The temple entrance is flanked by two raised platforms, this is the wall on the right hand side. The ribbed line along the wall is a marvelous creation. One can see the same in temples of Hampi. I particularly recall the ribbed corner at Hazara Rama Devastana.

The images on these pillars are interesting. Here's another collage comprising of two women and Hanuman. The women's hairstyle caught my attention, a large bun tied to a side of their heads. For the hair to be tied into a bun as large as their head, it must be really long. Both are wearing heavy jewelry. The second woman's dress is a knee-length skirt with a taper-cut. Ah the fashions of those days. Coming to Lord Hanuman, he's standing with his right hand on his thigh and looking to his left. Going by the arms' sizes in these sculptures, I feel the the sculptors' sense of proportion was somewhat different.

A quick look at pillar tops. The forms are quite complex up here. The man seen here is half kneeling. His attire is simple, single pieces of unstitched pieces of clothes. His headgear seems to be 3-pointed, it seems he's trying to position it.

A cow licking its teats and a squatting lion. The hanging flowers atop pillars is usually seen in Vijayanagaa temples.

The design is a mix of floral and geometry. A hemisphere emerging from a square box which in turn is emerging from a flower. I realized that the pillars and the flowery tops are different pieces. Not just that. They seem to be different stones. It seems like the flowery tops were later additions. I could be wrong in saying that, though.

One of the pillars has a dancing man. He's dressed in a simple manner, just one piece of jewelry around his neck, on his chest. His hair is tied into a tapering tower on his head. He seems to be holding some sort of weapon in his right hand.

This is a portion of the inner side of the overhang running along the edge of roof. Rainwater would fall away from the base of the walls. No shortcuts in terms of aesthetics anywhere in the building.

So far we saw the right hand side of the Sabha Mantapa. We'll see the other side in the following post- Kolar Someshwara Devastana - part-2.
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morning walk at Madhugiri coffee estate

Our vacation started with a quick visit to Annapoorneshwari Devastana at Horanadu. The same afternoon we reached The Forest Home-stay, Maradi. The following morning we trekked to Benne Kallu Gudda, Maradi and the same afternoon we moved to Madhugiri Homestay. A large group from Bangalore had booked for the day, so we had to move to the other home-stay. Though we weren't happy shifting, we decided to the make the best of the time. Having woken up early, the trek through the hills had left us little tired. After lunch, we hit the sack for a nap and none of is woke up until it was 5-15. After tea, we explored the paddy fields of Agla village with a hope of sighting peacocks. No such luck. It was dusk, stars were appearing, on the way back we saw several fireflies. The last I'd seen them was in Dharwad, probably in 2013. Back at the home-stay we sat around a fire and chatted until dinner time. We retired early with a plan of morning walk at our host's coffee estate.

December 22, 2019

Pushpa skipped the walk, she preferred to spend a lazy morning. Jayanth our host was ready, we hopped into his M&M MPV.. I sat in the back. The dirt path through the estate was uphill, it was quite rough, once a jerk was so sudden my head banged against the roof frame! Ouch! The ride ended about a kilometer into the jungle. I was happy to be back on the ground walking :) That's Jayanth leading us..

At one point we crossed over from one hill to another. As we were talking, somehow chilly came into the conversation. While the people of plains who use Byadgi/Guntur chilly in their food, estate people use a special variety called Jeer-Menesinkayi. This chilly is small, can be quite hot on the tongue but doesn't hurt the tummy. To our luck there was one plant close by and Jayanth led us to it. The plant in the foreground with smaller leaves is the chilly plant. It appears short but it was close to 6 feet tall.

A close look t the chilly. The longest was about inch and half. I could not smell it because of cold, my nose was blocked. Anyway, it was good to know about this chilly. I would like to try its flavor one day. Heard they are available in certain stores in Bengaluru.

The pain in my head was getting duller by the minute. As we moved deeper into the estate, we had to negotiate a short steep path and we reached this clearing. I guess this was clear because of the rock bed here. We chatted a while here talking about coffee and pepper.

Our trekked continued. This is one of the interesting scenes in our path.

Most coffee plants had borne cherries which were at different stages.. raw green ones to red half ripened ones to dark red fully ripe ones. Also, the pepper vines had strings of berries. Jayanth asked us to taste it. First I plucked a berry and bit it slowly, the little explosion warmed the throat, it was a comforting experience for the sore tissues.

As we walked, I kept eyeing more pepper vines to find the dark green ones, they give a good punch. The second one was hotter than the first one. The flavor of pepper.. ah! No wonder its the king of spices. As we walked down this path, Jayanth mentioned about a beehive he had seen a day ago and wanted to show it to us.

The beehive was on a mango tree, just seven to eight feet above the ground. First time I'm seeing a hive so closely. Jayanth was surprised to see the hive empty.. it seems the bees were here when he saw a day ago.

A close look at the nest. Ants were scavenging the hive for any remnants of the sweet liquid. Such a beautiful creation this is. Nature has no dearth for engineers and architects who are completely in tune sync with other living creatures. There's one exception- man! The most destructive being on this planet. The enemy of Nature. We left the hive as it is and moved on

A close look at a bunch of coffee berries which are at varies stages.. raw green, green-red, red, dark-red and dry brown. The fully ripe berries are picked and sent for pulping and then drying which happens at the pulping & drying yard.

This shot shows the scale of size. Man is so small in the presence of these trees, yet so destructive. Anyway, this picture is has a nice feel to it. Should see this place during rains.

We were back on the road. Sri and I wanted to walk more so we let Jayanth carry on with his work. He had to take plucked berries for pulping. Estate owners with small holdings do not usually have their own pulping system. They take their produce to estates who provide the service.

The ambiance of the estate was good. Silent except for few birds here and there. More than half way down the path, we saw this temple. Surely the ancient would be ancient but the structure is new.

We reached the estate gate and stepped into the village road. We decided to go down on the opposite side, the same path we had explored previous evening. We were hoping to see a peacock or two at this hour.. no such luck in the paddy fields and they get camouflaged among the trees.

The ground was covered with grass, hardly any exposed dirt. In the grass there were patches of white of different sizes and shapes. It was dew drops on spider webs. These webs were made by ground spiders which have a shaft to trap insects. As the air gets hotter the dew dries up but the web remains unaffected.

Along the edge of the paddy field was a stream of fresh water. It was tempting to wade into the water but we refrained from doing so. I liked the stream but the presence of those water plants makes me uncomfortable. Somehow they spoil the look and feel of the place. Grass creates a nice feel but not the other plants.

These plants which grow on trees trunks are quite common in this region. They are called epiphytes. This is the dry remains of a epiphyte. The form of the leaves is fascinating.. the prominent ribs and jagged edges create a strong look. I thought of tearing one from a plant but felt the leaves were brittle, might crumble on applying force.

We turned our attention to the clumps of paddy talks. I have a feeling this is organically produced crop. Long back I'd tasted rice at a cousin's estate house and also at a friend's place in Uttara Kannada. The taste of those rice is very different compared to the ones we get in cities.

The walk had made us hungry, time to leave, the home stay was fifteen minutes away and then bath. On the way back I noticed the 'Drishti Gombe' in a plantation. The owner wanted to be sure no evil eye was cast the property. Good for the plants, the Earth needs them.

It was a nice morning walk and a good breakfast of neer dose and some curry I cannot recall but it was made with Jeer Menesinkayi, the small chilly we saw couple of hours back. Our vacation was coming to an end, time to leave this place and head back to Bangalore in few hours.
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Benne Kallu Gudda, Maradi

..continued from Trek to Benne Kallu Gudda.

December 21, 2019
We were on a short vacation for the weekend at The Forest Homestay near Maradi village. The previous evening ended with a trek to the sunset point. Dec-21 started early with a trek through the jungle, up and down hills to reach this point called Benne Kallu which means butter ball in Kannada. What a name for this monolith standing on the edge over looking a valley. One could sit here and enjoy the silence, breathe in fresh air and experience bliss.

The wide valley had its own cloud line and we were high above it. Just imagine if the cloud cover was thick. We would've seen a huge white carpet. We were a group of six.. Sri, Pushpa, two co-guests from the homestay and our guide Pradeep. Sri suggested that we did Pranayama and mediated here for a while. Meditation was okay but Pranayama was out of question for me. Thanks to the blocked-running nose, I could barely breathe comfortably. Anyhow, Sri did meditate for some time, probably 10 minutes.

The clouds here can be easily mistaken for a water-body. On the valley floor were coffee and coconut plantations, also small patches of paddy fields. There were two or three houses scattered in the greenery. How lucky for the residents to be staying amidst this jungle. On the left is the Benne Kallu, a little plant growing out of it. Truly plants are versatile. They just manage to grow out of anywhere.

It was quarter to eight, sunlight was shielded by think clouds and the air was cool. The plateau here is a small one, hardly fifty feet wide, half of it was covered by grass and the other half bare rock. The soft light lit up part of the dry grass patch. The grass looked as though it was back-lit.

Oh, our four-legged friend had appeared. I clearly remember he wasn't with us on the way up. I'm sure his twin would be around. I think this is Braveheart, the other one is Lioheart. Braveheart is patiently waiting for Pushpa to unpack a snack. Ever since they met us, they somehow sensed snacks in Pushpa's bag and they would hang out with her.

Pradeep had already settled down under the rock. He had carried a bottle of ragi ganji and plastic tumblers. Except me all had had their share of the drink. Pushpa settled down, Braveheart next to her. Both were munching on some snack.. these two when together are upto something!

The spot was too beautiful to just sit at one spot, I looked around, checking out how far below the rock face would allow.

The edge of this picture as far one could venture without risking safety. I saw a number of dry plants, collected a few of them and made a dry flowers & grass bouquet for Pushpa.

I climbed down a less steep part and decided to go up a steeper part. With a camera in one hand and bouquet in the other, I had to be careful not to step on a slippery patch. My Woodland shoes did a terrific job holding on the rock. I presented the bouquet to Pushps, Sri snapped a picture of us :) Then I had my share of ragi ganji. Refreshing it was.

The three stripes looks like Vibhuti. Beneath dark surface the rock is whitish or grey. Wondering how the dark coating happened and these stripes were formed.

Sri wielding a machete. With his handlebar mustache he looks like the bandit Veerappan. The rock's base has a tripod, I think. Saying that because of the seen at its base.

An hour had gone by so quickly. We decided to leave, we'll need an hour to trek back. As we all got up to leave, our friends blocked the way. They were hungry. They wouldn't budge until they were fed. Brats! They knew Pushpa would pamper them.

Cunning brats! They did get some chikki. The rock's profile resembles an exotic fish minus its tail.

That's the only safe entry/exit passage to this point. I had a memorable time here. I would happily recommend this place for a weekend get away.

The path climbs down and passes next to a fence which marks the boundary of a coffee plantation. This vine across our path must be at least four decades old. We carefully stepped over it. Hoping people do the same and let the creeper live on.

The covered path gave way to the bare rock. This rock type is commonly seen in these hills. See the spine and rib formation.. I'd seen a slightly smaller one the previous evening at the sunset point. Also, see the channel running down. Is this rock that easy for water to have carved a path? However it was formed, its beautiful. Do check out the post- Sunset point near Forest Homestay -to see more pictures of this rock type.

We found a heart shape outlined by dry plants. The dry-rust color combination is glorious. Pushpa's holding on to the bouquet I made.

The bare rock slope ended and we re-entered the jungle. These vines are wonderful plants. Just hugging on to every other plant. Probably the most friendly plant in this jungle.

A colony of mushroom, either they are drying or have dried up already. One can find them on smaller twigs, can't resist taking them home as a souvenir.

By the time we approached the home stay, we were ravenous. The rest of the group were much ahead of us. Pushpa and I took our time shooting pictures and chatting. Though this forest is natural, the government was promoting schemes to grow more trees. We saw a hand written board in Kannada which mentioned such a scheme. Yes, we need more trees, the newer ones would replace the aged trees.

Back at the home-stay, at the dining table, ten minutes seemed like an hour while we waited for breakfast. Our hosts served kadabu, chatni and tomato rice. We relished every bit. The tomato rice was charged with chilly, the spicy food set our mouths on fire but we enjoyed it. After the hearty breakfast, we relaxed, under the portico, doing nothing until our host arrived with a car to shift us to Madhugiri Homestay.

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