Sunday 28 February 2016

Utsav Rock Garden - Part 6 : Reflection Of Simple Rural Life

My previous posts on Utsav Rock Garden :

Utsav Rock Garden - Part 1 : A Sculptural Museum An Art Village
Utsav Rock Garden - Part 2 : The Amazing Art World
Utsav Rock Garden - Part 3 : A Hub Of Museums And Sculptures
Utsav Rock Garden - Part 4 : Where There Is No Full Stop To The Art
Utsav Rock Garden -Part 5 : Beautiful Illustration Of Rural Life

As we moved further we stepped into an artificially created village. This village is the reflection of rural life especially the rural life of North Karnataka people. Village Life in North Karnataka has been beautifully narrated through sculptures which seems to be real. A village and its people, its ambiance, their professions, their daily life, their costumes etc have been designed and illustrated through sculptures. You can also see the unique attire of North Karnataka people. Women wear a simple Ilkal cotton Saree and men wear simple shirt and Dhoti/Lungi. But now a days the younger generation is slowly moving away from this traditional attire.
We saw a beautiful big house of village leader or a landlord. Sitting in the big hall, the village leader was in discussion with a man. His maid was listening to the landlord politely. His dog was standing beside him. And on the other side of the hall his children were busy playing the swing. I was mesmerized by seeing this scene. I felt a real discussion is going on there. And the landlord’s house looked amazing, every corner of the house looked so real.
A Landlord's House

Landlord in Discussion
Next we saw series of houses where women of that particular houses were busy in their household works.
A Grandmother Making her Grand Children have food and other side A mother making her child sleep in the cradle

Jowar roti is an important food of North Karnataka people. Jowar rotis are must in their meals. Here is a sculpture of woman preparing hot rotis.

Look at the typical kirana shop of the village. These kind of kirana shops can be seen in many villages even today.

Here comes the scene of a school in a village.

We can also see sculptures of rural people according to their profession. A cobbler, weaver, tailor, potter, goldsmith, blacksmith all are busy doing their works.
 weaver

A potter Family
A Tailor Family
A Brahmin's Family
Bangle Seller
We were lost in the magic created by these sculptures. The joy and feel of being in a typical village with village people is something that has to be experienced. That happiness can not be explained in words.

To be continued in my next post......

Tuesday 23 February 2016

Utsav Rock Garden - Part 5 : Beautiful Illustration Of Rural Life

My previous posts on Utsav Rock Garden :

Utsav Rock Garden - Part 1 : A Sculptural Museum An Art Village
Utsav Rock Garden - Part 2 : The Amazing Art World
Utsav Rock Garden - Part 3 : A Hub Of Museums And Sculptures
Utsav Rock Garden - Part 4 : Where There Is No Full Stop To The Art

Life of people in Rural area is very simple. Stress free life is one of the main reasons for their happiness. They see God in Mother Nature. Domestic animals are an integral part of their life. They have an emotional attachment with them especially with cows. Almost every household in Rural India has cow huts and every village has dairy. Cows, Buffaloes, Oxen play an important role in their daily life. Right from agriculture to transportation these holy animals are used everywhere. Rural life cant be imagined without cattle.
Utsav Rock Garden beautifully illustrates the relationship between the rural people and cows through sculptures. It has models of cow huts, dairy with sculptures of cows, buffaloes and oxen installed in. As we entered the cow hut we couldn’t believe that it is just a model and sculptures.  Shape, height, color, Expressions everything looked so real. Some cows were standing, some lying on the floor, some eating the grass.

Model Of Cow Huts and Dairy
We stepped out from the cow hut and felt as if we were standing in the cattle market. There were many cattle and people were gathered around them. Some were buying them, some were selling them and some were negotiating. Ohh!! This is just a cattle market scene which takes place in villages regularly. This is beautifully illustrated through sculptures again. Not only the cattle market, there were scenes of typical rural markets like vegetable markets, grocery markets, flower market etc. I was mesmerized by seeing those vegetables models. By seeing their shapes, colors it feels like  they are real vegetables . No one can make out a single fault in them.
The Cattle Market

A Typical Vegetable Market That can be seen in Villages
A scene of grocery market
Model Of A rural woman with her cattle
A farmer sowing the field with his cattle
To be continued in my next post.....

Friday 19 February 2016

Utsav Rock Garden - Part 4 : Where There Is No Full Stop To The Art

My previous posts on Utsav Rock Garden :

Utsav Rock Garden - Part 1: A Sculptural Museum, An Art Village
Utsav Rock Garden - Part 2 : The Amazing Art World
Utsav Rock Garden - Part 3 : A Hub Of Museums And Sculptures

After Modern Art Gallery, it is time to see something traditional. As soon as we step out from Modern Art Gallery colorful, beautiful and traditional doors welcomed us. These doors are the best examples of traditional household architecture. Even today we can see such beautiful doors in rural areas. They are the main attractions of old, big houses in villages. I still remember that my Grandmother's home had such beautiful and traditional doors. 



These ethnic style doors give traditional look to homes. These doors are made out of wood with simple carvings, simple designs and with colorful paints. These doors are one of the highlights of Utsav Rock Garden.

To be continued in my next post.....

Friday 12 February 2016

Utsav Rock Garden - Part 3 : A Hub Of Museums And Sculptures

My previous posts on Utsav Rock Garden :
Utsav Rock Garden - Part 1: A Sculptural Museum, An Art Village
Utsav Rock Garden - Part 2 : The Amazing Art World

Next we entered the Marriage Museum. By seeing the board I thought that things related to Indian Marriage system must have displayed inside. But when I entered inside, I was surprised to see some marriage is going on. Bride, groom and relatives are happily posing for the camera on the stage. But when we observe closely we will come to know that they are just sculptures. Dress, expressions of the people on the stage including bride and groom, even photographers look so real and amazing. We feel that we are in the middle of some real marriage.
Sculpture inside the Marriage Museum

Inside the museum we can also see photographs of different style marriages of different states and religions. Something new to learn about marriage traditions of India.

Modern Art Museum houses modern and contemporary Indian art. Different types of modern arts and paintings have been displayed here. We did not spend much time here as understanding the concept of modern art is somewhat difficult for me  :)


Modern Art lovers can spend 2-3 hours analyzing and cherishing these arts.

To be continued in my next post....

Monday 8 February 2016

Utsav Rock Garden : Part 2 - The Amazing Art World

My previous posts on Utsav Rock Garden :

Utsav Rock Garden - Part 1 : The Sculptural Museum, An Art Village

As we proceeded further, after Rajkumar circle we saw 'The Artistic Banyan Tree'. It is very colorful and beautiful. This Banyan tree represents the various stages of human life. From birth to death, various stages of human life are created through sculptures in an artistic manner. It is a symbol of eternity. This banyan tree is the dream of three artists - D.V.Halabhavi, Menajigi and T.P Akki.




The Sculptural Fountain :
As you come out after seeing the artistic banyan tree, a sculptural fountain welcomes you. It is a cute and artistic fountain with sculptures of cute small kids all around the world. Expressions and poses of these kids are simply beautiful. Some kids were playing, some were dancing, some were sitting, sleeping and some were praying the god. Cuteness at its best :) On top of the fountain there are sculptures of different birds too. So we can realize that this fountain has a hidden message - Protect the nature, live and let live.
Sculptural Fountain


Glass Garden area has sculptures made out of small glass pieces. These shiny sculptures are equally attractive. 
Glass Garden

We moved further to explore more wonders of art.

To be continued in my next post....



Thursday 4 February 2016

Utsav Rock Garden- Part 1: A Sculptural Museum, An Art Village

Before writing anything on Utsav Rock Garden, I salute Prof T B Solabakkanavar - the master mind behind this great venture. He is an Internationally renowned artist, an art teacher and has received many awards in the field of art and culture. While designing this wonderland he must not have thought that the Rock Garden will enter the list of eight world records. It has entered the Limca Book Of Records, Unique World Records, India Book Of Records and Everest World Records. Now this art village has group of artists and sculptors who are creating magic through their sculptures. Its popularity is growing day by day.
Utsav Rock Garden is located in Gotagodi village - in Shiggaon Taluk of Haveri district. It is just beside NH4, Bengaluru-Pune National Highway. Our visit to this sculptural museum was totally unplanned. We left Bengaluru to reach our home town Sirsi and the journey was through NH4. When we were about to reach Haveri, I told my hubby that Rock Garden is just 30 km away from here. Is that a resort? Do we need to visit that now? asked my hubby with a rejection tone. He was not at all aware of Utsav Rock Garden. But I was adamant. Finally he took me there and we reached the place around 3 PM. There was a huge parking place and it was full of  tourist buses and school buses carrying school children for educational tour purpose. We parked the car paying paying some parking fees.
I was very much attracted by the entrance gate structure of the Rock Garden. It is very different. Common entry fee is Rs 120/adult and Rs 60/child (3-12 years). There are different entry packages too. If we want meals. guide etc then we have to pay extra as per special package. There is a separate entry package for school children. There is no separate fees for camera. We are free to take camera anywhere and click the photos. 
Entrance gate Of  Utsav Rock Garden

 After entering this art village we can see all eight records which it has received. They have been displayed on the wall in an artistic way.
Eight World Records have been displayed on the wall

We moved further and a huge beautiful garden welcomed us. Garden was full of  Dr. Rajkumar sculptures, the legend of Kannada film industry. This garden is called as Dr Rajkumar circle. These sculptures depict the popular scenes of  Dr. Rajkumar's hit movies. For a while we couldn't believe that these are just sculptures... such a lively expressions on the faces. I have uploaded only few of them.
Dr.Raj as Sanadi Appanna
Dr Raj as Shankaracharya
As Bhakta Kanakadasa

As Bedara Kannappa

As Valmiki

Yoga Positions
After seeing Rajkumar Garden we moved further to explore this wonderland.

To be continued in the next post....