A Potpourri to end 2021
The 'Venkatta Thevar' Siva temple is at Kottakkal in Malapuram district. It has some fame for its Kerala-style murals said to date back to mid-19th century.
Let me quote historian M G Sasibhooshan a bit (without full comprehension): "One can make out two distinct styles here - one features lines that dissolve into colors and the other emphasizes colors that merge with lines. The more accomplished murals here seem representative of the first style. It is to the credit of the Kizhakke Kovilakam residents that they have preserved these works of art for posterity"
Photography is strictly prohibited. The temple office people said: "you can see them on Google, right?".
So, I only list some of the murals that caught my eye, relying only on memory. Pictures shall have to wait for a future visit and post. I have not checked how much of it is on google. At any rate, I urge the more intrepid among my readers to actually visit Kottakkal.
1. Kirata and Arjuna
2. Siva embraces Parvati seated on a white lotus (an atypical throne that) and accompanied by attendant figures.
3. An unusually amorous Visnu-Laxmi couple sitting on the 'serpent throne'
4. An equestrian Parvati - she has only 2 arms and holds a whip in one (can't associate a whip with a horse rider)
5. An Elephant-riding durga
6. An 8-armed composite deity with attributes of both Krishna and Kama (maybe we can call this guy 'Madanagopala'). Arguably this is the most unusual mural here. With 2 of his hands, the figure plays a flute and with another 2 holds a sugar-cane bow and lotus arrow ('weapons' of Kama). Two hands bear the conch and discus, Vishnu's attributes and the last pair of hands hold a goad and rope, usually seen with Ganesha and indicating self-control!
7. An 8-armed krisna with gopis pouring potfuls of what look like 'manjadi' seeds or better, 'cadbury gems' on his head.
8. A Kali with an unusually grotesque face.
9. Rama and Laxmana accompanied by a veena-playing female figure.
10.Rama concludes a pact with a towering Sugriva.
11. (probably) Rati, Kama's consort - she holds a sugarcane bow.
12. Rama, Sita and Laxmana rest under a tree with Hanuman in attendance (a situation I can't connect with any Ramayana episode).
13. A rather diminutive amorous couple of Krishna and a girl (probably Radha)
14. A Nataraja - Vishnu plays the 'mizhavu' drum with two of his hands raised in salutation to Siva, who is very much the boss here.
15. Some of the wooden struts supporting the roof of the sanctum are very interesting - one featured a couple and another an obscure figure wrapped by the coils of a hooded cobra.
The only thing here that one can confidently photograph is perhaps the (exterior of the) Kizhakke Kovilakam building - inside is a shrine said to be dedicated to Vettekkaran (Kirata or his son). The red laterite glowing in the morning sunshine makes for an interesting spectacle.
-----------
An extract (edited) from Padmarajan's short story 'Alapuzha'.
A city littered with debris, criss-crossed by canals that resemble lengthy, puss-oozing sores. And these stinking waterways are lined by factories - mostly derelict and a few belching out labored and dying puffs of smoke;flags of labor unions, discolored by explosure to the elements, hang like limp festoons in front. Along the banks are vast public shit-yards. And there are those creaking bridges bearing names indicating death and damnation and, rising from the grass-bundle laden boats working their way under the bridges, the obscene odor of women....
Once upon a time, this city used to be the Venice of the East. Forest produce and spices from the eastern hills and divers coir and coconut products from the coastal belt piled up in its markets. Trade and commerce flourished...
And then came the rot.
Big cargo-boats laden with bales of coir stopped calling. Trucks began to simply run through the city towards the new port and trade centers of Cochin without so much as a halt. Spice traders weren't to be seen anymore. Gujarati tradesmen who had settled here and made their fortune, shifted to Cochin.
By the time electricity first lit up the streets, there were few people about. Political wheeler-dealers sneaked into the mills, thrust their baleful flags into the workers' fists, got them to strike, got them thrashed and left them to die among pools of blood. Their womenfolk, unable to find anything to eat, started to camp out where the shadows of the factory buildings were the darkest.
A ruined port, as lifeless as a childless widow. A city like a run-down, syphilis-afflicted prostitute. A city ruined by politcians, a city condemned to curse itself over belied promises of prosperity, a sin-defiled land...
-------------
Those lines were written in 1972. Now, half a century later, the canals remain overgrown and stagnant although the filth is much less obvious; names of at least some of the bridges and localities remain as baleful as they were ('Savakkotta Paalam', 'Valiya Chudukaadu'...). But tourism has revitalized the city. At least some of the locked out factories have started functioning - and the rest are turning into art galleries and concept cafes. A grand art expo named 'Lokame Tharavadu', held at many venues across the town is drawing to a close.
-----------------------------------
The segment 'What the Thunder said' of the famous TS Eliot poem 'Wasteland' alludes to a parable from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: The celestial Devas, the earthbound Manavas (men) and the Asuras(demons) all felt dissatisfied with Existence and approached Prajapati, the Father of all Creation, seeking a clue to happiness. And then (as illustrated in Amar Chitra Katha)....
The Devas figure out that 'da' means 'damyata' (=self-control), the Manavas find 'datta' (charity) and the Asuras, 'dayadhwam' (Compassion) and all get happy.
In hindsight, what Prajapati actually said seems to have been "DUH!" (as per Collins dictionary, "an ironic response to a question or statement, implying that the speaker is stupid or that the reply is obvious how did you get in here? – through the door, duh"). So, the whole 'lesson' therein might well have been one big 'DUHLUSION' (or 'DALUSION', either would do)!
------------------------------------------------------
Just take a look at tis list of multiple Olympic medal winners.
The highest number of Olympic silver medals won over a career by any individual is 6 - three athletes did it. The highest number of bronzes is again 6 and again, only 3 athletes won that many. But what about golds? No less than a whopping 38(!!) athletes have won 6 or more golds in his/her career, the all-time high being the unbelievable 23 gold medals won by Michael Phelps! What could one possibly infer from all this??
In any given Olympics, the number of nations that won at least one gold tends to be lower than the number of countries that won at least one silver which in turn tends to be less than the number of countries that won at least one bronze. This indicates that the bronze and silver medals tend to get distributed more widely.... but I doubt if that is reason enough for gold medals tending to cluster among winners much more strongly than other medals.
----------
I wind up 2021 with a double image: an ancient Persian seal showing Darius and a memorial plaque at a Calcutta hospital. The way a mosquito and Ormuzd hover over the respective images....
Let me quote historian M G Sasibhooshan a bit (without full comprehension): "One can make out two distinct styles here - one features lines that dissolve into colors and the other emphasizes colors that merge with lines. The more accomplished murals here seem representative of the first style. It is to the credit of the Kizhakke Kovilakam residents that they have preserved these works of art for posterity"
Photography is strictly prohibited. The temple office people said: "you can see them on Google, right?".
So, I only list some of the murals that caught my eye, relying only on memory. Pictures shall have to wait for a future visit and post. I have not checked how much of it is on google. At any rate, I urge the more intrepid among my readers to actually visit Kottakkal.
1. Kirata and Arjuna
2. Siva embraces Parvati seated on a white lotus (an atypical throne that) and accompanied by attendant figures.
3. An unusually amorous Visnu-Laxmi couple sitting on the 'serpent throne'
4. An equestrian Parvati - she has only 2 arms and holds a whip in one (can't associate a whip with a horse rider)
5. An Elephant-riding durga
6. An 8-armed composite deity with attributes of both Krishna and Kama (maybe we can call this guy 'Madanagopala'). Arguably this is the most unusual mural here. With 2 of his hands, the figure plays a flute and with another 2 holds a sugar-cane bow and lotus arrow ('weapons' of Kama). Two hands bear the conch and discus, Vishnu's attributes and the last pair of hands hold a goad and rope, usually seen with Ganesha and indicating self-control!
7. An 8-armed krisna with gopis pouring potfuls of what look like 'manjadi' seeds or better, 'cadbury gems' on his head.
8. A Kali with an unusually grotesque face.
9. Rama and Laxmana accompanied by a veena-playing female figure.
10.Rama concludes a pact with a towering Sugriva.
11. (probably) Rati, Kama's consort - she holds a sugarcane bow.
12. Rama, Sita and Laxmana rest under a tree with Hanuman in attendance (a situation I can't connect with any Ramayana episode).
13. A rather diminutive amorous couple of Krishna and a girl (probably Radha)
14. A Nataraja - Vishnu plays the 'mizhavu' drum with two of his hands raised in salutation to Siva, who is very much the boss here.
15. Some of the wooden struts supporting the roof of the sanctum are very interesting - one featured a couple and another an obscure figure wrapped by the coils of a hooded cobra.
The only thing here that one can confidently photograph is perhaps the (exterior of the) Kizhakke Kovilakam building - inside is a shrine said to be dedicated to Vettekkaran (Kirata or his son). The red laterite glowing in the morning sunshine makes for an interesting spectacle.
-----------
An extract (edited) from Padmarajan's short story 'Alapuzha'.
A city littered with debris, criss-crossed by canals that resemble lengthy, puss-oozing sores. And these stinking waterways are lined by factories - mostly derelict and a few belching out labored and dying puffs of smoke;flags of labor unions, discolored by explosure to the elements, hang like limp festoons in front. Along the banks are vast public shit-yards. And there are those creaking bridges bearing names indicating death and damnation and, rising from the grass-bundle laden boats working their way under the bridges, the obscene odor of women....
Once upon a time, this city used to be the Venice of the East. Forest produce and spices from the eastern hills and divers coir and coconut products from the coastal belt piled up in its markets. Trade and commerce flourished...
And then came the rot.
Big cargo-boats laden with bales of coir stopped calling. Trucks began to simply run through the city towards the new port and trade centers of Cochin without so much as a halt. Spice traders weren't to be seen anymore. Gujarati tradesmen who had settled here and made their fortune, shifted to Cochin.
By the time electricity first lit up the streets, there were few people about. Political wheeler-dealers sneaked into the mills, thrust their baleful flags into the workers' fists, got them to strike, got them thrashed and left them to die among pools of blood. Their womenfolk, unable to find anything to eat, started to camp out where the shadows of the factory buildings were the darkest.
A ruined port, as lifeless as a childless widow. A city like a run-down, syphilis-afflicted prostitute. A city ruined by politcians, a city condemned to curse itself over belied promises of prosperity, a sin-defiled land...
-------------
Those lines were written in 1972. Now, half a century later, the canals remain overgrown and stagnant although the filth is much less obvious; names of at least some of the bridges and localities remain as baleful as they were ('Savakkotta Paalam', 'Valiya Chudukaadu'...). But tourism has revitalized the city. At least some of the locked out factories have started functioning - and the rest are turning into art galleries and concept cafes. A grand art expo named 'Lokame Tharavadu', held at many venues across the town is drawing to a close.
-----------------------------------
The segment 'What the Thunder said' of the famous TS Eliot poem 'Wasteland' alludes to a parable from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: The celestial Devas, the earthbound Manavas (men) and the Asuras(demons) all felt dissatisfied with Existence and approached Prajapati, the Father of all Creation, seeking a clue to happiness. And then (as illustrated in Amar Chitra Katha)....
The Devas figure out that 'da' means 'damyata' (=self-control), the Manavas find 'datta' (charity) and the Asuras, 'dayadhwam' (Compassion) and all get happy.
In hindsight, what Prajapati actually said seems to have been "DUH!" (as per Collins dictionary, "an ironic response to a question or statement, implying that the speaker is stupid or that the reply is obvious how did you get in here? – through the door, duh"). So, the whole 'lesson' therein might well have been one big 'DUHLUSION' (or 'DALUSION', either would do)!
------------------------------------------------------
Just take a look at tis list of multiple Olympic medal winners.
The highest number of Olympic silver medals won over a career by any individual is 6 - three athletes did it. The highest number of bronzes is again 6 and again, only 3 athletes won that many. But what about golds? No less than a whopping 38(!!) athletes have won 6 or more golds in his/her career, the all-time high being the unbelievable 23 gold medals won by Michael Phelps! What could one possibly infer from all this??
In any given Olympics, the number of nations that won at least one gold tends to be lower than the number of countries that won at least one silver which in turn tends to be less than the number of countries that won at least one bronze. This indicates that the bronze and silver medals tend to get distributed more widely.... but I doubt if that is reason enough for gold medals tending to cluster among winners much more strongly than other medals.
----------
I wind up 2021 with a double image: an ancient Persian seal showing Darius and a memorial plaque at a Calcutta hospital. The way a mosquito and Ormuzd hover over the respective images....
posted by R.Nandakumar @ 1:24 AM
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