'Kerala's Parthenon' and other oddities
One often gets to read how the Parthenon looks so elegant because of all sorts of subtle visual mathematics it incorporates - golden ratio and all. And there is Giotto's Campanile which embodies some really cool off-vertical angles to create an indelible visual impression. The Qutub Minar too can look very graceful but, in my experience, only when viewed from within a limited range of distances.
Here is a building that I see almost everyday - the western Gopuram (ceremonial gateway) leading into the sanctuary of the Tripunithura temple in Kerala. Very little is known about its age - semi-informed guesses I have heard range from 300 to 1000 years. Nobody really knows who designed it. But take it from me, it has a knack of looking real good whatever the distance and angle of viewing. If the following pics fail to convey its uniquely understated magic, hold me responsible as a mediocre photographer - and all those who have over the centuries managed to surround the edifice with all sorts of stupid clutter!
I often think of photographing this gopuram extensively from all sorts of angles and distances and recreating it as a standalone work of art so as to bring out and highlight its special proportions but that is a job for a better trained and equipped person. To my knowledge, no serious study of its proportions has ever been carried out and no one authority has so much as talked about these proportions:
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The Canterbury cathedral, to me, is the most Hindu of Christian places of worship. The reason lies in its crypt. The Romanesque pillars have really cool fantastic beings carved on them, just like in desi temples - and very unlike most later churches which are more focussed and far less 'idolatrous'. Photography is supposedly banned but happens. And here are some pics:
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We now move from a medieval Brit crypt to a spanking-new, 21st century Desi one:
About a year back, Rekesh told me about his writing a thriller (while at school) set in an underground crime city. After a recent visit to the spanking new Panchamukha Hanuman temple near Aluva in Kerala, I could say: "Hey, there is a precedent for such a city in the Patala Lanka of Ramayana!". Here is a quick summary of what is a remarkable side-track from the epic (perhaps not part of the primordial Valmiki version):
Mahiravana, the sorcerer-king of underground Patala Lanka, spirits away both Rama and Lakshmana, drugged and utterly limp, to offer as sacrificial victims to Kali; Hanuman tracks them down, kills the villain and saves the brothers. In a vital episode, Hanuman assumes the Panchamukha (five-faced) form to catch and gobble five bees simultaneously - the insects represent the five life-breaths (one of those breaths being well, the fart) of Mahiravana.
The Aluva temple is a deep undergound affair. At the bottom is a chamber with an idol of Hanuman in his fiercely protective Panchamukha form. Right next is a sculptural group showing Rama and Lakshmana lying tied and trussed like turkeys before a Kali idol. Photography is banned and I didn't dare to violate it. But from the side of the stairway leading down I caught this picture of Mahiravana entering his fiendish realm with the helpless brothers.
Even the adjoining Dattatreya temple (another 21st century creation) features many colorful sculptures that rise way above the level of mere 'calendar art' - indeed, one feature of Hinduism that has continued to impress me is its ability to keep finding new idioms of religious art and iconography. Here is a sample, featuring Agni and bestial allegorical figures representing the Vedas.
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A recent visit to Wellington Army Base at Coonoor brought up a bit of serendipity; one wandered onto and into the St George Church, a little 19th century Brit-built object complete with neat flying buttresses (not sure if such props were really needed in this quite modest-sized edifice) and a proper organ. Here is a bit of the woodworked vault that hovers over worshippers like a big trilobite:
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It was just the other day that Rekesh (him again!) told me about 'American Gothic', a painting I hadn't ever heard about:
Something about the painting - maybe the unusually long-faced an pensive male figure, maybe the calm air about it,...- reminded me of a more familiar masterpiece and I texted back: "get this feeling, if the Arnolfini Couple were to age, they would look like this pair!". "Very plausible!" came the reply.
And then, searching online, I saw this and several more pages that say similar things!!
----
And today, Vimal wrote in about the Basquiat 'Skull' fetching a phenomenally high price. I am puzzled by the sheer scale of the deal, because, to me, plenty about this admittedly impressive painting is very derivative, especially from Picasso's Weeping Woman!
-----
And finally, here is yet another 21st century Hindu sculpture - built like a gorilla, this odd guardian figure crouches over the entrance to what looks like a minor shrine on the immense grounds of the Isha Foundation near Coimbatore.
Here is a building that I see almost everyday - the western Gopuram (ceremonial gateway) leading into the sanctuary of the Tripunithura temple in Kerala. Very little is known about its age - semi-informed guesses I have heard range from 300 to 1000 years. Nobody really knows who designed it. But take it from me, it has a knack of looking real good whatever the distance and angle of viewing. If the following pics fail to convey its uniquely understated magic, hold me responsible as a mediocre photographer - and all those who have over the centuries managed to surround the edifice with all sorts of stupid clutter!
I often think of photographing this gopuram extensively from all sorts of angles and distances and recreating it as a standalone work of art so as to bring out and highlight its special proportions but that is a job for a better trained and equipped person. To my knowledge, no serious study of its proportions has ever been carried out and no one authority has so much as talked about these proportions:
-------------
The Canterbury cathedral, to me, is the most Hindu of Christian places of worship. The reason lies in its crypt. The Romanesque pillars have really cool fantastic beings carved on them, just like in desi temples - and very unlike most later churches which are more focussed and far less 'idolatrous'. Photography is supposedly banned but happens. And here are some pics:
-------------
We now move from a medieval Brit crypt to a spanking-new, 21st century Desi one:
About a year back, Rekesh told me about his writing a thriller (while at school) set in an underground crime city. After a recent visit to the spanking new Panchamukha Hanuman temple near Aluva in Kerala, I could say: "Hey, there is a precedent for such a city in the Patala Lanka of Ramayana!". Here is a quick summary of what is a remarkable side-track from the epic (perhaps not part of the primordial Valmiki version):
Mahiravana, the sorcerer-king of underground Patala Lanka, spirits away both Rama and Lakshmana, drugged and utterly limp, to offer as sacrificial victims to Kali; Hanuman tracks them down, kills the villain and saves the brothers. In a vital episode, Hanuman assumes the Panchamukha (five-faced) form to catch and gobble five bees simultaneously - the insects represent the five life-breaths (one of those breaths being well, the fart) of Mahiravana.
The Aluva temple is a deep undergound affair. At the bottom is a chamber with an idol of Hanuman in his fiercely protective Panchamukha form. Right next is a sculptural group showing Rama and Lakshmana lying tied and trussed like turkeys before a Kali idol. Photography is banned and I didn't dare to violate it. But from the side of the stairway leading down I caught this picture of Mahiravana entering his fiendish realm with the helpless brothers.
Even the adjoining Dattatreya temple (another 21st century creation) features many colorful sculptures that rise way above the level of mere 'calendar art' - indeed, one feature of Hinduism that has continued to impress me is its ability to keep finding new idioms of religious art and iconography. Here is a sample, featuring Agni and bestial allegorical figures representing the Vedas.
-------------
A recent visit to Wellington Army Base at Coonoor brought up a bit of serendipity; one wandered onto and into the St George Church, a little 19th century Brit-built object complete with neat flying buttresses (not sure if such props were really needed in this quite modest-sized edifice) and a proper organ. Here is a bit of the woodworked vault that hovers over worshippers like a big trilobite:
-------------
It was just the other day that Rekesh (him again!) told me about 'American Gothic', a painting I hadn't ever heard about:
Something about the painting - maybe the unusually long-faced an pensive male figure, maybe the calm air about it,...- reminded me of a more familiar masterpiece and I texted back: "get this feeling, if the Arnolfini Couple were to age, they would look like this pair!". "Very plausible!" came the reply.
And then, searching online, I saw this and several more pages that say similar things!!
----
And today, Vimal wrote in about the Basquiat 'Skull' fetching a phenomenally high price. I am puzzled by the sheer scale of the deal, because, to me, plenty about this admittedly impressive painting is very derivative, especially from Picasso's Weeping Woman!
-----
And finally, here is yet another 21st century Hindu sculpture - built like a gorilla, this odd guardian figure crouches over the entrance to what looks like a minor shrine on the immense grounds of the Isha Foundation near Coimbatore.
posted by R.Nandakumar @ 11:04 PM
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