SquareShooter

  Structural Architecture “A silent revolution had taken place and with it Hindu architecture, of the structural order in stone medium, was born and baptized. This phenomenon was the product entirely of local circumstances and resources, and was rudimentary and functional to a degree in its initial stages. As fledgelings of the architect’s fancy put forth wings, South India was, for the first time, provided three-fold temple fabric, of indigenous, outlandish, and of the arche-typal forms respectively. Here, if anywhere, was the bed-rock of the Hindu temple formulation” – K.V.Soundara Rajan The excavations at Nagarjunakonda in 1959 brought out the remnants of the early Hindu temple architecture in South India from the time of Ikshvakus. These temples had artha and mukha mantapas in one axial line, prakara, gopura, dhvaja stam ba etc., One of the temple has parivaralayas , the subsidiary shrines with square, octagonal and circular plans, anticipating the later Nagara, Dravida, and ...

  Rock-cut Architecture “The russet-coloured rocky hills not only acted as impregnable forts at Badami and Aihole but also beckoned the architects and sculptors to make use of these cliffs as the medium of their art expression. It is worth pointing here that the Chalukyas were the first southern power to build huge temples in massive scale in an imperishable material, i.e stone” – Sheelakant Pattar At a time when rock-cut architecture in the Western Deccan and closer to the coast in western Maharashtra were dominated by prolific Buddhist Viharas and Chaityas, the entry of Chalukyas brought in one of the earliest and impressive rock-cut Brahmanical caves in southern India . What started as rock-carvings that would provide varshavasa for the Buddhist monks led to creation of expansive Chaityas as well as Viharas either at Kanheri or the Ajanta and Ellora caves with royal patronage, support of trade guilds, and a large congregation of monastic order on the ancient trade route. Tuc...

  Writers have an agenda, who on earth would still be parroting the lines of Wordsworth even for poetry which he himself had contradicted. Modern writing and publishing should be more of “emotion recollected in tranquility” rather than “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings”. The reader too can belong to multiple categories, as the world of “ideological” literature would want us to be – divided and agenda driven even as readers, not just as writers. No, this isn’t some inane and long drawn intro, this is my view of looking at certain books that I have been forced to read for the sake of controversies the books or the writers are involved in, that I have to choose whether I am a “lay” reader or an “ideological” reader. It is a divisive world, with those who chose the labels deliberately driving it to be so. When news which is supposed to “neutral” has by far turned agenda driven, responses in terms of independent bloggers, tweeples, facebookers all are obviously going to be agen...

 Forgotten story of Rudra Mahalaya Last year when finance minister referred to Sindhu – Saraswati Civilisation in her budget speech there was uproar against her reference, from the “intellectual” class and some archaeologists were disgusted to the extent of offering to give up their pursuit. I wonder why there is so much of an antipathy towards, say even an effort to study, dig, discover the lost Saraswati. Are they worried that their myth would get busted if Saraswati is established as a living river on whose banks a mighty civilisation flourished? I have been fortunate enough to at least follow the trail of Saraswati, see for myself the deep local connection the river had even today the people who lived on her banks, thanks to a chance meeting with Dr S Kalyanaraman over two decades ago. His tireless work and generosity in sharing all the information, knowledge has only left us feeling guilty that we aren’t doing much to bring them into focus, establish the facts. It was because ...