Mahabalipuram - Ancient Town Of Historical Monuments

As soon as we reached Mahabalipuram - an ancient town developed by Pallavas in Tamilnadu, we made a quick visit to the Sri Sthala Sayana Perumal temple which is close to the bus stand. The main deity of this very old temple is Vishnu/Narayana who is depicted as resting on the floor. Sleeping pose of deity is bliss to see. Some renovation works were going on. 

Entrance of Sri Sthala Sayana Perumal Temple 

Mahabalipuram is also known as Mammalapuram. Mahabalipuram has many historical monuments which are carved out of rocks. These monuments were carved during Pallava dynasty. These group of monuments has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After having darshan of Sayana Perumal we headed towards this World Heritage Site, situated around the temple. While walking towards those monuments we saw many arts and sculpture shops on both sides of the road. Beautiful paintings, attractive sculptures indicate the talent of artisans and craftsman around Mahabalipuram.

Arts n Sculptures shop in Mahabalipuram

We purchased a small but beautiful Shivalinga and moved towards Arjuna's Penance. Arjuna's Penance is an amazing carving done on single rock during 7th century. It depicts the descent of River Ganga to the earth. These skillful delicate carvings show the dedication and imagination power of craftsman when the crafting tools were very limited. Figures of Gods, Goddess, animals, birds, trees, flowers etc are carved on huge rock. It is believed that here Arjuna performed penance to attain Lord Shiva's weapon. So the name Arjuna's penance.

Arjuna's Penance

Varaha cave temple :

A short walk from Arjuna's penance we can see the Varaha cave temple - one of the many monolithic cave temples in this site. Carvings here depict the story of Lord Vishnu's Vraha incarnation, which rescued the earth from demon Hiranakshya. it is a good place to spend some time admiring the Pallava's architecture. 

Varaha Cave Temple

Carvings Inside the Varaha Cave Temple

Krishna Mandapam
It is a solid granite temple just beside the Arjuna's penance. Carvings inside the Krishna mandapam depict stories of Lord Krishna mainly Krishna lifting Govardhana Hill to protect cattle and villagers from a storm sent by Indra.

Krishna Mandapam

Carvings Inside the Krishna Mandapam

There were some other beautiful cave temples in the site like Trimurti Cave temple, Tiger cave etc. Due to shortage of time we could not visit all. However this site offered some other interesting monuments. One of them is Raya Gopura situated on the hill. It is an incomplete monument. Reason why it is incomplete is unknown but the view from here is mesmerizing. 

Raya Gopura

The old stone carved light house - With a nominal fee we can climb up this light house with a narrow staircase and can reach the top. One can see the bird eye view of Entire Mahabalipuram.  As I am an altitude freak I stayed away from climbing the lighthouse :) 

Mahabalipuram Lighthouse

Temple near the light house

We missed two other beautiful monuments Pancharatha and shore temple. These two are the must see attractions of Mahbalipuram. Wandering around this historical site is an unique experience. Better to carry water bottles and snacks with you. There are vendors who sell water, juice, buttermilk and some snacks around the site but as we climb up the hill burning sun and the hot weather makes us thirsty. 

Utsav Rock Garden - Part 7 : An Excellent Knowledge Centre

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

It is time to visit the mini forest. As soon as we entered the mini forest area of Utsav Rock Garden my son started shouting with joy. Mini forest has big trees with sculptures of wild animals installed in. My son started identifying those animals. Amma! look at that tiger, lion... look here the crocodile.. he thought those are real wild animals. No wonder, for us too it looked like a big real jungle and we are witnessing a real wild scene. I am uploading just few photos of the mini forest.

Utsav Rock Garden also has one more attraction for kids - a mini lake and boat facility. 

Final Notes on Utsav Rock Garden : 
Utsav Rock Garden is not only a tourist place but also an educational centre. Here traditional and contemporary art are taught to the students and work shops are conducted regularly. There is also 'Utsav primary School' in the campus to teach the students folk art. 
New paintings and sculptures are  installed regularly. Major festivals are also celebrated in the campus by Utsav Rock Garden Staff.
This is the place where you must take your kids. Now a days rural culture is slowly fading away. This is an excellent education centre to learn rural life style and folk culture. Especially for city kids who are totally unaware of rural culture. 
Haveri is considered as the very hot district in North Karnataka region. But when you enter the Utsav Rock Garden you wont feel the heat. This Garden never exposes us to the sun light. Entire garden is covered with greenery and we will move in the shades of trees.
Sculptures in the Utsav Rock Garden are not machine made or molded. These are made out of cement and paint. 
Now Utsav Rock Garden is taken over and managed by Dasanur Group and Mr. Prakash Dasanur is the Managing Director. 

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......

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.....

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.....

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....