Ramappa Temple - the last & lasting synonym of Kakatiya Grandeur

The Temple

Kakatiya Bhumija style Vimana

Is there any site in Telangana that could potentially garner a UNESCO - World Heritage Site status (man-made)? Charminar is iconic but cramped, Qutub Shahi tombs seem to be always under renovation and Warangal (including the Kila Warangal and the Lord Shiva temple possessing the eponymous misnomer 'Thousand Pillar Temple') seems to be massively over-rated.And perhaps, the answer lays elsewhere in a small, simple yet elegant temple, located fittingly in a village called Palampeta of Mulugu Mandal in the newly carved Jaishankar Bhupalapally district, 77 Kms away from the city centre of Warangal.

The welcoming Warrior Woman

Ramalingeswara temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva was built by Recharla Rudra, one of the finest but little known generals of Medieval India, on behalf of his patron - Kakatiya emperor Ganapathi Deva in c.1213 CE. Interestingly, the temple is also known as Ramappa temple in honor of it's chief sculptor, Ramappa. Although now under the maintenance of ASI, there is no entry fee to visit the monument and puja etc is still going on as per Hindu customs, without any damage to the temple. The red-sandstone temple is built on the basis of Kakatiya Bhumija/Kadamba architechture - a major shrine in the centre surrounded by two sub-shrines (one of which is damaged) along with a separate Nandi Mandapa to the south side of the temple.

Temple south entrance

The most beautiful feature of this temple is the carvings and sculptures of dancers in traditional dance poses (bhangimas) related to the dance art forms of Andhra Natyam and Perini Sivathandavam. Another famous Kakatiya general, Jayappa Senani wrote extensively on these dance poses in his work 'Nrittaratnavali'. The Nandi of the temple is adorned with beautiful ornamentation. There is also a famous 4-sided pillar inscription inside the temple. Inside the Antaralaya, there are pillar carvings of Gods and celestial beings too. Black slab and Basalt stones panels were arranged on all sides of the temple having sculptued images of Battle Elephants, Dancers, and other religious motifs.

Nandi

The temple survived the Delhi Sultanate's repeated onslaughts on Kakatiya empire. It's impressive list of admirers include the Sultan Muhammad Bin Tughlaq and Venetian traveller Marco Polo. A kilometer away from the temple, there is an impressive lake which was dug by Kakatiya rulers to aid in irrigation and drinking water. c.1213 CE - those were the halcyon days of the Kakatiya Empire - all major rivals' (Cholas, Chalukyas, Yadavas) power waned, trade and agriculture prospered, new art forms emerged and people were happy under the 'Elephant conquering' Ganapathi Deva! - The temple thus stands as the last a& lasting synonym of Kakatiya Grandeur.

Inside the temple

A dancing pose...notice her footwear!

#MyTravels - Ramalingeswara Temple (Ramappa Temple)
August 2019.   

The Wonder that is Ellora

What is the place and how to reach?

Ellora also locally called Verul/Elapura/Elura, located approximately 30 Kms from Aurgangabad on the picturesque Aurangabad-Kannad route is home to around 100 historical caves (around 40 for public exhibit) of highest sculptural and cultural essence. It is quintessentially, a site of secular Ancient India - Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism existed with mutual respect and competed with each other only in artistic sense of carving beauty by cutting hills and rocks.  This place is surely the rock-cut architectural capital of India - a gateway to the glorious past of our nation (c.600-1000s CE), attributed to many great kingdoms like Rashtrakutas, Kalachuris, Yadavas etc.

Regular buses/share autos/jeeps ply from Aurangabad Central Bus station to Ellora. In fact, Daulatabad, Khultabad, Ellora and Grishneshwar are located on the same route - in that order. This World Heritage site has wheelchair assisted entrance for the needy - one of the rare ones to do so! The Entry fee is Rs.40 per head (Indians). Directly opposite the entrance is Cave 16 (Kailasa Cave Temple).

Cave 16 - Kailasa Cave Temple

What to expect?

Plenty to please the inquisitive eyes, curious mind and artistic heart that would dominate the aching legs! Caves 1-12 located to the left side of the entrance are related to Buddhism. The depiction of Bodhisattva Padmapani (Lotus-Bearer) along with his female attendants is a recurring theme in Buddhist caves. Cave 10 is a Chaitya, also called 'Vishwakarma Cave/Carpenters Hall' - because the stone work of the ceiling resembles the wood work of a modern day carpenter! Cave 12 is a large triple-storied Vihara (Resting place of monks). Caves 30-34 located to the far right side of the entrance are related to Digambar Jainism. The best of these is Cave 32. On rediscovery of this cave, the Britishers mistook the idol of Jain cult deity Matanga as Hindu king of Gods - Devendra, and hence named it as Indra Sabha. The carvings of Tirthankars with religious motifs inside these caves are much finer in detail that in Hindu/Buddhist caves.

Caves 17-29 are related to Hinduism - mostly centered around Lord Shiva. Cave 15 has two floors - on the top floor, there is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva with many carvings of Varaha, Mahishashura Mardhini etc on walls. Cave 16, also called Kailasa Cave Temple, is the largest single rock (monolithic) excavation in the World, attributed to Rashtrakuta king Krishna I (c.Late 8th Century) - so sublime and awe inspiring! Brilliant pillars resembling Greek style, mini-carvings of Ramayana (South Wall) and Mahabharata (North Wall), life like sculptures of elephants - these make this monument a must visit place. Cave 21 called Rameshwar cave temple is another fine cave. Cave 29, located a bit far, called Dhumar Lena/Seeta ki Khai is perhaps the most under-rated Hindu cave. It has colossal reliefs/friezes of an epic scale - beautiful river goddesses, marriage of Lord Shiva and Godess Parvati, Lord Shiva slaying the demon Andhakasura as Godess Parvati wathces in joy etc. Perhaps the finest one among these is the concept of 'Ravana lifting/shaking Kailasa' - an obsessive dominant theme here, found in Caves 16 (twice), cave 21 and cave 29.

Ravana lifting/shaking Kailasa - Cave 29

Lord Shiva slays Andhakasura as Godess Parvati watches in joy - Cave 29

Beware of/What not to expect?

• There is no proper bus stand at Ellora caves - no place to sit once outside the caves while waiting for buss - it's only a junction, a sort of centre teeming with hawkers and toursits.  
• If you got to visit this place, do not miss the important caves - Caves 1,5,10,12,15,16,21,29,32. Since caves 29, 32 are very far from the entrance (1.5-2 kms), most people skip them and there is always a huge crowd at Cave 16. In case of too little time, there's a bus from the entrance (cave 16) that takes you there for a charge of Rs.20.
• Ideally for such a huge site, the drinking water facilities are disappointing - there are only 2 or 3 taps - so plan accordingly. 
• Avoid visiting in summer - it gets too hot. I was lucky to visit it on a rainy day with very few tourists around.  

Entrance to Cave 32 - Indra Sabha

The Wonder that is Ellora (On Ellora Caves)
#MyTravels - Ellora Caves (July 2019)

The Wonder that is Ajanta

What is the Place and how to reach? 

Ajanta Caves of Maharashtra located between Aurangabad (100 Kms) and Jalgaon (55 Kms) is perhaps India's most eco-friendly man-made world heritage site. This place consists of around 30 caves (26 numbered and for public exhibit), belonging to Buddhism (predominantly Mahayana), carved in two distinct phases dating from c.200sBCE to c.450sCE. They are attributed to many ancient kingdoms like Guptas, Vakatakas, Satavahanas etc. These caves contain some of the best, finest and earliest paintings and sculptures of Buddhism.

The entrance point to the caves is located in a beautiful valley, 4 kms away from the village of Ajanta, connected by share autos and jeeps. Mere entry into the entrance point requires a charge of Rs.15. From the entry point, separate government buses ply to the Caves (charge of Rs.20/Rs.35) from a designated bus-bay. The entry point has a cluster of shops selling food items and souvenirs. Further, at the caves, the entry ticket is Rs.40/- for Indians.
 

Bridge over Waghora river at Ajanta Caves

What to expect?
 
A laid-back and serene spot where history and nature conspire with each other - I was lucky to visit this on a rainy day morning with very few tourists. The constant sound of the adjacent waterfall, a delightful drizzle that drums up the mood, and the astonishing fact of walking through and witnessing one of man's greatest creations - that's what Ajanta offered that day.

Among the caves, - Cave 1 - one of the latest to be excavated has some great life size paintings of Boddhisatvas Padmapani and Vajrapani (manifestations of Buddha). Cave 2 also has some interesting paintings, partly fragmented inspired by Jataka tales. Caves 9 & 10 are sort of experimentative Chaitya halls (prayer halls for Buddhist monks) with the Buddha-Sthupa at the centre. There is a brilliant illustration of Mudras of Buddha & Bodhisattvas in Cave 10. Cave 16 is another Chaitya hall that was described in details by the Chinese monk, Xuan Zang and is attributed to Vakatakas. It has some paintings from Buddha's life predominantly stories of his compassion. Cave 17, with a pillared hall has some fine sculptures outside the facade. Cave 20 is also another must visit place - one of the largest Chaitya halls of the site.

Boddhisatva Padmapani painting in cave 1

But, my favourite one of the lot is Cave 26. Cave 26 is a Mahayana Mahachaitya hall, interspersed with huge pillars. On the walls of the cave, striking hand-carved rock art depicting events from the life of Buddha are simply mesmerizing. One should not miss visiting this and two such panels still dance before my eyes - the fist is the Mahanirvana of Buddha - a 20 feet Buddha sculpture separating two distinct sub-panels - with the humans grieving his death at the bottom and celestial beings about to welcome him with joy on the top. The other one is the 'Temptation of Mara' panel - as per Buddhist mythology, the demon Mara sends his beautiful daughters and goblins to distract Buddha's penance, but the latter remains calms and unperturbed at the centre - in his 'BhoomiSparsha Mudra'.

They had come to him glittering with beauty –

Taṇhā, Arati, and Rāga –

But the Teacher swept them away right there

As the wind, a fallen cotton tuft.

- Text from Samyutta Nikaya, describing how Buddha dealt with the daughters of Mara.

Entrance to Cave 2

Beware of/What not to expect?

• Touts/Shop agents who sweet talk and coerce you into buying things that you may not need. If interested in buying souvenirs, please do so only from the designated shops near the bus bay
• If you are traveling alone, the public transport is infrequent. There are government tourism buses from Aurangabad but they come with a catch - you can't explore the place at your leisure and have to adhere to their timings.
• Do not use flash photography/video once inside the caves to capture paintings. They are rapidly deteriorating and will naturally disappear in due course.  
• The entrance point is the only place where you'd find food stalls, and the caves have only drinking water facility - so plan accordingly.
• If needed, Do engage a guide with valid credentials available at the entrance point only. I did not need one, as I had some awareness about the caves and am naturally interested in the subject of history. 

Temptation of Mara - Cave 26

The Wonder that is Ajanta (On Ajanata Caves)
#MyTravels - Ajanta Caves (July 2019)

A city of War and Peace....

"

A Capital of the Yadavas built on the Deccan - the Impregnable fortress is truly 'The Hill of Gods',
this prosperous city of war and peace joins the South and the North connecting the missing dots. 

To the great Jyotirlingam of Grishneshwar, piligrims flocked for centuries, 

as kingdoms fell with a sign of chaos in the unending game of changing friends and enemies. 

Fort Citadel of Daulatabad/Devagiri

One after another, the conquerors fell prey to lack of patience, 

until the troops of the tenacious Delhi Sultan resorted to treachery with determination.

Another maverick one made this his capital, 

another round of applause awaits this experiment so radical. 

Mendha Cannon atop Daulatabad fort

Then like a fickle weather, the city changed many hands,

and the Last Great Mughal came with cannons ravaging these lands.

In simple dargahs, empire builders were entombed,

but the city of war and peace thrived and bloomed.

"

Tomb of Aurangazeb, Dargah Zainuddin of Khuldabad

A city of War and Peace....(Poem)
#MyTravels in the city of Aurangabad and it's outskirts of Grishneshwar, Khuldabad and Daulatabad.
July, 2019

The Famous Chauri-Bearer

Replica of The Didarganj Yakshi at Egmore Museum

"

At a corner in the Museum, the doppleganger resides,  

enclosed in a blurred glass cage, she's all smiles.  

This famous Chauri-bearer stands with great aplomb,  

relaxed yet attentive,  a mix of poise and calm. 

Her era considered beauty as not confined by the witchcraft of statistics,  

Her aura has perfect imperfections for she's human above all specifics,  

Unbothered by praise and slander,  she seemingly remains calm & strong,

For centuries, her mere presence enthralled all she could do no wrong. 

Neither a mere synonym of external gaiety, 

nor just a remainder of workmens skill and dexterity 

The Charming Yakshi is much more without any loathe, 

To us, she remains a part of history & mystery wrapped in a bit of both.  

"

The Famous Chauri-Bearer (Poem)  

There is a replica of 'The Didarganj Yakshi/Chauri-Bearer' sculpture in the Government museum, Chennai - Egmore. The original is at Patna Museum. Although mystery shrouds as to who or what inspired the actual sculpture,  this is considered as one of the most beautiful sculptures in India - a classic example of Mauryan era Art with some Kushan charachterstics (ex - forelock on head).