August 15th 2017
We (Pushpa & I) ended the Hampi-Anegundi tour unwillingly and started our journey towards Dharwad. It's not a long journey and we weren't in a rush to reach Dharwad. On the route are several places of interest, both historical and religious, most of which Pushpa hadn't seen. So I picked three spots: Kukanoor, Itagi and Gadag. After six or seven years, I was visiting Kukanoor and Itagi. First we went to Kukanoor, spent an hour or so at Sri Mahaymaya Devastana. Then we came down to Itagi. The landscaping around Itagi Mahadeva Gudi had improved significantly, it was inviting. Landscaping or not, the Chalukyan temple is attractive but the caretakers had put in a lot of effort to make it tourist friendly.
We spent more than an hour here, checking out details closely and photographing sparingly. Photos of that trip have been shared in a three part article titled: Itagi Mahadeva Devasthana. Some of the pictures weren't posted and today's the day for three of them.
This pillar is one of my favorites at Itagi Mahadeva. The pillar design is simply mesmerizing. The design is so complex that people like us can't even imagine such a form. When you compare it with the pair of lathe-turned pillars here, they look relatively simple & easy. Those ancient sculptors, how did they even conceive the design and then produce it. What kind of technology did the ancient sculptors possess which remains mysterious to this day.
With this picture, we focus on just that pillar. Keep staring at it, it feels like seeing a 3D image.
The words that come to mind are: aesthetics, complexity, accuracy, precision & endurable.
Here's another mind-blowing pillar. Looks like the sculptors, notched up one level in terms of complexity. I wonder, had that age of Chalukyan rulers & builders continued for few more centuries, what else they would've created and produced. We are incapable of imagining that.
Before I end this post, I urge you to visit Itagi Mahadeva Devastana once. Make sure you have time when you do.
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