6 DECCAN HERALD Sunday, December 2, 2018 Spectrum Treasures of Tungabhadra

son, in one of his books, writes, “It gives AWED BY ARCHITECTURE Mukteshwarara the whole spire a much more pyramidal form than in other temples, and is not el- anand Galalageshwarara temples in district egant!” The garbhagriha of the temple opens exempliffy the skills anand ingenuitty of artisanans via a vestibule onto a large open mantapa which is accessed from three sides. Apart of the Kalalyanani Chaalukkyaann era, wrwrites from the linga enshrined in the sanctum, there are subsidiary shrines in the manta- Srikumar M Menon pa, housing Surya, Ganesha, Mahishasur- amardini and Vishnu.

Literary inspiration Local legend has it that the well-known he river arises in myth, as in writer and patriot Venkatesh geography, on a mountain in The walls of Trivikrambhat Kulkarni, also known as the Western Ghats. Varaha Galageshwara Galaganatha, used to compose his literary TParvata, where the boar incar- works in this very mantapa. nation rests, after his exertions There are many loose sculptures in the in slaying a demon. As he slumps in ex- Temple are temple, of Vishnu, Bhairava, Bhairavi, haustion, he scores the ground with his Saraswati etc. These have been extolled tusks. Two furrows on the flanks of the buttressed by by renowned historian Shrinivas Padigar mountain, into which pours the copious as exemplary creations of master crafts- sweat draining off his body. Streaming stepped courses of people, along mainstream iconographic downhill, they become the rivers Tunga FOR HEART AND SOUL: Galageshwara Temple on the edge of River Tungabhadra, in . themes, but with distinct local flflavour. and Bhadra. Arising so close to one an- stone, giving it the It is believed that this temple was con- other, they traverse in excess of 150km structed in the 12th century, though some each before they unite, at , and appearance of a sculptures and remains of brick structures River Tungabhadra is born. The river suggest the existence of earlier temples at soon leaves the lushly forested hills of her mountain rising up the site, which was called Pulluni, or Hull- birthplace behind, and meanders through uni, in inscriptions found in the Galagesh- the dusty plains of the Deccan for over from the ground. wara Temple. 500km to her conflfluence with the mighttyy Sitting on the high bank in front of the Krishna, at Alampur in Telengana. temple, it is easy to lose oneself in the mo- Over the ages, Tungabhadra has seen ment. The waters of the Tungabhadra are the fortunes of men, and the empires they still, a mirror in which ffllufffyy white clouds raised, wax and wane and fall to waste in one covered space in the northern part of in a deep blue skky are perfectly refflected. the lands she watered. Many monuments the temple precincts. They are beautiful- Ibises, egrets and other birds are prowling they built on her banks admired their re- ly engraved with a good combination of the edges of a sandbar in the river. A few ffllections in her waters for decades, even prose and poetry, in Kannada and San- women are washing clothes on a spit on centuries, before succumbing to the va- skrit, say reputed scholars Vasundhara the left bank, below the temple. A man garies of time and the elements, and mis- Filliozat and Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat, in is bathing his oxen in the river. A ffllock of fortune. The name that springs to mind their definitive monograph on the Muk- thirstyty sheep invades the scene, darting readily in association with Tungabhadra teshwara Temple. These inscriptions are along the banks and interrupting the lazy is — that sumptuous repast of ar- the main source for piecing together the pace of activitty for a bit. A woman comes chitectural riches on her southern bank in history of the temple. into the temple and offers puja to the idol Ballari district. Among the cluster of some six stone SPECTACLE: The buttressed ‘vimana’ of Galageshwara Temple; a view of the temple premises. of Durga in the mantapa. Two coracles structures, it is the main temple enshrin- glide across the glassy surface of the water, Hidden gems ing Shiva as Mukkttesha which stands out for Mukteshwara Temple stands on the carved in situ on the wall niches. This The walls of the temple are buttressed their wakes rippling out behind, blurring But Tungabhadra does possess other its grandeur and workmanship. Believed high bank of Tungabhadra, which flflows finely proportioned temple with attention by stepped courses of stone, giving it the the refflections. gems strung out along her meandering to be built in 1115-1120 CE by a feudatory from west to east here, before making a to detail at every scale prompted author appearance of a mountain rising up from It is easy to see why, centuries ago, Pull- course, no lesser in splendour, even if of the Guttas, the temple was renovated sharp turn to the north. The east-facing K Shivaram Karanth to exclaim that it re- the ground. The river flows from south uni was chosen as the site for an important lesser-known. These are the temples in 1225 CE by Shivadeva – a Kalamukha temple has a garbhagriha encased by a minded him of another temple with the to north here and nowhere else does a temple of those times, as were Haralhalli, built during the period of Kalyani Chalu- saint who came to Muktikshetra from Sri- vimana tytypical of Kalyani Chalukkya tem- same name in Bhubaneswar, Odisha — a temple address the river as intimately as Chaudadanapura and Kuruvatti upriver. kya rule, centuries before Vijayanagara, in sailam, and resided there till the end of his ples and is connected by a vestibule to a masterpiece crafted in sandstone in the this east-facing temple does. Maybe the One of the verses inscribed at Chaudadan- the 12th and 13th centuries. They stand, days, renovating many temples and laying square navaranga, or closed pavilion. Kalinga Nagara sttyle of temple architec- builders’ efforts to fill in earth to create a apura proclaims, “Is there any river in the isolated and proud, by the flowing waters, down the rituals of worship. There are ttwwo entries into the navaranga, ture. high terrace to situate the temple on led to world equal to Tungabhadra descending even if their splendour is a bit chipped An unsubstantiated mytyth from the east and the south, both through the temple walls buckling, and they were from Vedashaila, and the celestial river and worn with time, testimonies to the has Shivadeva donating open mukhamantapas. Exceptional specimen forced to add the buttressing to shore up residing in Shiva’s matted locks?” Gazing skills and ingenuittyy of artisans long gone. the place to Chaudayya of The architecture of the temple rep- Less than 15km, as the crow flflies, from the structure. Whatever be the reason, it at the broad expanse of the river, which Chaudadanapura, or Chaudayyyyadan- the Ambiga (boatman) resents an advanced stage in the trans- Mukteshwara Temple, is another adds considerably to the dramatic qualitty seems nothing but a slice of the skky flflow- apura, is a small village in Haveri district. community, who formation of the simple shikhara of the exceptional specimen of Kalyani Chalukkya of the scene — the temple rising like the ing on earth, I cannot but concur with that Mukteshwara Temple on the left bank of was a great Shi- Dravida tradition into the later Karnata architecture — the Galageshwara Temple, myythical Meru, with the sparkling waters unknown composer from the 13th century. Tungabhadra near the village is the chief va bhakta, giv- Dravida tradition represented by the Hoy- near the village of Galaganatha, close to of the river girdling it. (The author is with National Institute of attraction of the place. The area near the ing the place sala temples of the state. The walls of the where River Varada meets the Tungab- H o we ve r ,n o te v e r yb od y Advanced Studies, Bengaluru) village was known as Muktikshetra from its popular temple are beautifully modulated hadra. Even as one ascends the short ffllight seems to have thought so — 11th to 16th centuries, we learn from in- name. by projecting pilasters, offset of steps leading to the level ter- ar-chitectural historian scriptions, though it was also called Gope, mouldings and miniature model race on which the temple James Fergus- and Shivapura. shrines which would have once stands, it can be made There are eight inscribed steles at Chau- housed subsidiary deities. out that the form of dadanapura, which were all relocated to The only surviving sculp- this temple is unique. tures are those

FINELY PROPORTIONED: Mukteshwara Temple at Chaudadanapura in Haveri district; (right) a sculpture on the temple’s wall. PHOTOS BY AUTHOR Inscribed steles at Chaudadanapura. In Mysuru, terrace garden of a rare kind

rofessor Rudraradhya, a septua- Pgenarian who does gardening pas- sionately, spends much of his time tending to the diverse plants on his 50 X 30 feet terrace in Mysuru. This agricul- ture scientist is credited with developing the popular ‘one-acre model’, an inte- grated farming system, for the small and marginal farmers of the state. Now, after retirement, he has meticulously planned his garden in a similar way. On an average, he and his wife, Hemal- atha, spend two hours in the morning and the same amount of time at dusk nurtur- ing the plants in the garden. The couple believe that every household should grow vegetables to meet the family’s require- ment. They have not only worked towards it but are helping those interested as well. ORGANIC WAY: Views of the terrace garden developed by agriculture scientist Rudraradhya (centre) in Mysuru; (below) a family member harvesting tomatoes. PHOTOS BY AUTHOR

Diverse flora needs of the species. Trees like mango, bil- are strictly not used in this garden. They tables for the past three years. The range couple extend all the support to garden What can be grown on a terrace? Sever- wa, grape, fig etc are grown in big HDPE commonly manage the pests manually, by of vegetables grown here, without any enthusiasts. al types of vegetables, various types of drums. The growing medium consists either removing the affected part or the chemical inputs, caters to the nutritional “Not everyone will have acres of land flflowers and fruits, and the list goes on. of 30% soil, the same amount of organic plant itself. A spray of neem oil every week requirement of the family. “More than an- to grow but most of us have a terrace; I “We harvest at least 8-10 types of vege- manure and coco peat, and 10% neem and an occasional drenching in the same yytthing else, we get the vegetables fresh, at wish people to have a ‘green’ heart so that tables every week. Whatever we get in cake. If only soil is used, it may be heavy have kept pests and diseases under check. any time of the day,” says Rudraradhya. their terraces also get filled with the ffllora excess, we share with our neighbours,” for the terrace and may not be so fertile for All the family members, including kids, of their choice so that we can grow a part says Rudraradhya. Strawberry, dragon the growing plants. Manure and coco peat Buzz of bees engage in gardening activities. “We get of our food requirement and live healthy,” fruit, fig, mango, papaya, passion fruit hold water for a long time, besides being We generally find apiaries in big orchards fresh air and good exercise in the process. says Rudraradhya. He can be contacted on and grapes are some of the fruits grown light in weight. and plantations. Imagining a beehive on Also, the cost involved is not significant. 94481 45228. on their terrace. Medicinal plants like The neem cake is not just a manure, it the terrace is, perhaps, a luxury for many. But we need to have a sustained interest,” Harish B S wild coriander, bilwa also find a place also helps in managing nematodes and a However, one can hear the buzz of bees on Hemalatha says. Though they don’t keep here. Apart from the common vegeta- few other soil-borne diseases. The bulk this terrace, where beekeeping is mainly records, the couple feel that the benefits bles, the couple grow cabbage, cauliffllower, of the nutrition is given as basal dose at done for pollination. They grow a varie- can’t be measured. FEEDBACK knol-khol, coloured capsicum, grafted the time of filling the pots or covers. An tyty of cucurbits like ridge gourd, sponge Rudraradhya remembers how his brinjal etc in the garden. Besides the additional top dressing is done only if the gourd, bitter gourd, snake gourd, pump- health revived after he started developing short-term and annual greens, one can plant demands. Till recently, the couple kin, ash gourd, musk melon, watermelon the terrace garden. For the visitors, it is a see perennial greens like curry leaf and used to water individual plants but now, etc. Honeybees help in the fruit-setting in treat to watch and for sure they will fall drumstick here. a drip irrigation system is in place, saving these varieties. While bees help in pollina- in love with the garden and the plants. Send your ideas and comments to: Most of the plants are maintained in water and time. tion, the honey produced is an additional Most of the people who come here to see [email protected] or polythene covers of a thicker gauge or Every day, the couple spend time ob- benefit for the owners. the garden have shown keen interest to Spectrum, c/o Deccan Herald in earthen pots of varied sizes as per the serving each plant. Chemical pesticides The couple have not purchased vege- develop a garden on their own. And the #75, M G Road, Bengaluru-560001