Lamenting Stones- Turuvekere

Hoysala Temples.... when we hear these words , Belur, Halebid and Somanathpur temples come to our mind. But Hoysala temples are not restricted only to these places. They are found in abundance in other parts of Karnataka as well.  It is my passion to visit ancient ornate temples with good sculptural art that are not very well known or unnoticed. This summer I thought of exploring three places located close to each other in Tumkur district. I was accompanied by some of my cousins and friends from my village.

Simple but attractive outer wall carvings- Chennakeshava temple at Turuvekere, Tumkur district 

Five tiered ornamental Shikhara- Chennakeshava temple, Turuvekere

An inscription in Kannada on the lintel- Chennakeshava temple, Turuvekere

Our first stop was Turuvekere. This town has three temples belonging to Hoysala period. The Chennakeshava temple and Moole Shankara temple ( moole in Kannada means corner)are the typical examples of Hoysala architecture. These eastern facing temples are built on a star shaped platform. The temples are simple and do not have much carving. The outer walls are ornate with small shrine like structures and pillars. The NAVARANGA or pillared hall is adorned by carved pillars. The lathe turned pillars have almost lost their shine. Both the temples have lot of land around , but left uncared and neglected.  

Carved stone slabs,destroyed due to vandalism have been replaced  with plain slabs. But still writing on wall continues uncontrolled.

The Gangadhareshwara temple is the most beautiful temple of Turuvekere. It is unique in many ways. The temple is very well maintained. The Nandi which is 7+ ft tall is amazingly beautiful. The bell carving around the neck, the highly polished shiny face, the lines of carvings on the belt and around forehead, intricate carvings of anklets are all mesmerizing. 

Intricate carvings on Nandi- Gangadhareshwara temple, Turuvekere

 The sanctum sanctorium (Garbhagriha) has a unique Shiva Linga. It has the shikha on which the image of Ganga is carved. We can see fountains of water flowing in the form of Prabhavali. The Ardha Chandra (half moon) is also carved. The curly hair of the shikha is very beautifully depicted on top around the Shiva Linga. Nowhere have I seen this kind of Shiva Linga. This temple also has ornate pillared hall.  The domical bay of ceiling in the Mantapa is richly carved. Another attraction of the temple is the huge stone bell hung to the ceiling outside at the right side exit. Just inside the bell there is a unique carving of Bedara Kannappa offering his eyes to Lord Shiva.

Unique Shiva Linga- Gangadhareshwara temple- Turuvekere

Moole Shankara temple- Turuvekere

Completely neglected pillared hall-Moole Shankara temple-Turuvekere

Chennakeshava and Moole Shankara temples are protected monuments under ASI and were constructed  between 12^th and 13^th centuries by the Hoysala army commander Somanna. Unfortunately these temples are not maintained properly. Except for the regular pooja, nothing else is done. When we reached the Chennakeshava temple, the very aged archak chanted a few broken incomplete mantras, placed two flowers on the head of the deity, did aarati and said pooja over and he has to close the temple. As per the ASI rule the temple has to be kept open till 6 pm. He said, ‘when no one comes here, why should I keep it open?’ He was right in a way!! At Moole Shankara Temple, we had another bitter experience. The Archak was restless, as if we were disturbing him!! When I asked why it is so dark inside, he rudely replied, ‘you should have brought electricity with you!!’ I was about to say ‘….torch..??’ but swallowed my words and pitied at the state of affairs. 

Reflecting over the grandure of the Hoysala temple architecture, with mixed feelings, we proceeded towards Araluguppe to see another architectural  wonder. 

A Thai 'TEMPLE' with a 'TIGER' mask

When we were planning our Thailand tour itinerary, I came to know about Tiger Temple, where tigers are domesticated by Buddhist monks. Immediately I included in the list out of curiosity. Never ever thought my experience would be a ‘life time’ experience. Now you start thinking…. If you think Tiger Temple is some kind of spiritual sanctuary, you are wrong! If you think those monks have that ‘great power’ of taming a tiger, how thoughtless you are!! If you think tigers are well fed and treated for injuries then released into the forests it is your utter stupidity!!! If you think, by chance you are injured by the tiger your insurance will cover you, I pity you!!!!... Now you stop thinking and read my experience.

A beaming Miss Pam, our tourist guide, described Tiger Temple as the greatest place for tigers. My curiosity increased. I interrupted her by asking how is it possible to tame a ferocious tiger. She didn’t like my question, obviously. She squeezed her eyes, twisted her lips and whipped ‘Madam, you go there and see, you can sit on its back, take its head on your lap, kiss the tiger too!’ A strange sound came out of my throat, unknowingly. I swallowed rest of my questions.

Tiger temple is a popular (?) tourist destination in Thailand. Its success is based on the claims that tigers are rescued from poachers, they live peacefully amongst monks, who are actively engaged in rescue work. When we reached the main gate, we saw the board displaying this information. After walking inside for a long distance we reached a dusty, stony, rocky (artificially created) area with lot of people. There was a ‘white’ guy announcing the charges for each action (abuse!) with the tiger—photo keeping your hand on its back, sitting on its back, taking its head on your lap, hugging, even teasing!!!! Yes, you read right. There is a separate location where mostly foreigners enjoy teasing tigers with sticks, loud music, whistle, loud noise!! The next 60 minutes were a torture for us to see the hapless tigers lying under the hot sun, drowsy, not even knowing what is happening around.

Every day between 1pm and 4pm tigers are on public display. Tourists can touch and pose for photographs for a fee. During these sessions, tigers are exposed to 3 hours of direct sunlight of 40 degree and more. As soon as we enter our camera is taken away by the staff who take our photos and we are not allowed to take any pictures. I was shocked to see the staff drag tigers to give appealing poses with tourists by pulling their tails, punching on sensitive parts or pricking with sharp objects. I saw, to my horror, a staff pulling the head of a tiger up and heavily dropping on the lap of a smiling woman for a ‘special’ photograph!! The tiger did not make any noise of pain! He did not know where he was and what was happening around. This was the story of all tigers there. It is obvious that all tigers were heavily drugged. It is impossible for a tiger to be so submissive without heavy sedatives. So what I saw was not real, it is just ‘touristic’. The ‘real’ tiger will kill. I was told by one of the staffers that there more than 100 tigers in captivity for this purpose. They are confined to a small cage for more than 20 hours. They are mainly fed a vegetarian food, which causes health problems to this carnivorous animal.

Hundreds of visitors, some of them children, are encouraged to go close to the tigers for photo sessions. Staff is unprepared or ill-equipped to deal with potential emergencies. Tiger Temple (ashamed to use the word temple) clearly renounces the responsibility for injuries by asking visitors to sign a disclaimer at the entrance. Don’t think these monks are good either. I heard, a few men are ‘made’ monks and they roam around when there are visitors. I saw a couple of monks in one of the remote areas smoking and holding beer bottles.

Be aware and wake up to the realities. Your visit to Tiger Temple will cause more harm than good to tigers. It is horrible and unethical to use photogenic tigers as photo props. Now you again start thinking……….. 

SUPER STAR TEACHER

Busy schedule for teachers and students during exams, but a bit relaxed princi!! Reflecting over my professional journey, I remember a fascinating story that I read sometime back from a book by Debashis  Chatterjee. 

A Guru had two students, Govind and Gopal( don’t remember which names Mr.Chaterjee used in the story! So I am using my own, anyway it won’t matter as long as the moral is drawn!! ). The Guru knew that Govind was a promising teacher. He advised him to teach a few students. Govind did a great job and got better ratings than his Guru from his students. He didn’t realise that the Guru had given him quick learners. The guru praised the accomplishment of Govind but added that Gopal was a gifted teacher and better than him. Disappointed Govind asked the Guru, what made him to say that Gopal was better. The Guru was thoughtful for a moment, then gave a tough task to Govind and Gopal. Both were asked to teach  three illiterates in the city- a cobbler, a potter and a carpenter. Three months time was given to both.

Govind thought it was rather an easy task. When he can teach brilliant minds what was a big deal in teaching ordinary illiterates. His enthusiasm slowly started vanishing when he failed to convince any of them. He got the reply from all the three that they have got enough education and literacy they needed to run their business!! After a month he returned to the Guru. The Guru consoled him saying even Gopal could not convince them and teach a single word .Govind raised a question, “ if Gopal also could not do it, as you yourself accept now, how do you say he is better than me?”

The Guru smiled and said, “ when Gopal realised that he could not teach them, he didn’t return like you did. He stayed there for full three months. When he came back he was an excellent carpenter, potter and cobbler. He utilised the time to learn new things. He has that exceptional quality to learn from even illiterates. His passion for learning makes him better than you.”

What an inspirational story!! Still lingering in my mind. This extent of curiosity to learn from every corner without hesitation makes a gifted teacher, SUPER STAR TEACHER

Alone - Lonely

Walking along the sea shore on a beautiful evening, varied thoughts flooded my mind. There was silence except the sound of sea waves and cool breeze. The horizon was turning pinkish red as the Sun was ready to say good night. The Sun was alone, as me!! But he is not lonely. He has the entire universe with him.I watched the sea waves rolling in and rolling out. We roll in to this world and roll out of the world. We are born as one and go back as one. But we too are not lonely!! We are one with the solitude of the sea, the hills, the waves, the birds, the Sun, the entire universe. I gazed at the fisherman’s boat returning after a tiresome day. I could imagine the happy faces of the fishermen. The setting Sun, reflecting his redness on water said, ‘you are one with me, alone but not lonely, you merge with the magnitude of all life forms.’ This is the greatness of life! I am in the company of my own greatness.

The thought of greatness raised questions in my mind. Can anyone become great in spite of not having any fame, power or money? Is greatness not born out of inspired heart?? Should the world approve one’s greatness? Can we all become great even if we don’t win a Nobel prize??? 

Can Morals –Ethics be Taught within Four Walls of classroom??…

A positive childhood in love and care is the most influential factor for the development of a strong human being. With busy working parents, broken families, schools are hopelessly over-strained with this responsibility. Most of our fairytale culture is based on the idea to teach moral concepts to children through some literature and assessments, which do not give any guarantee that they have been learnt and imbibed in behaviour. 

  I am stunned to see advertisements on ‘Value Education Products’. Recently, I met a self proclaimed value educator in one of the Education Fairs. Last week I met her in my office, who showed me on her laptop how she is going to conduct Value Education classes. There were some animations and an online test. Higher the test points, higher the value imbibed by the student. I was amused when she said, ’you can assess your students on the basis of the score they get in MCQ test!!!! No wonder increase in crime rate is directly proportionate to this kind of value education!!!!
PHOTO COURTESY: Ravi Hegde  biologisthegde@facebook.com   biologisthegde@gmail.com                                                                          

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Enjoyment vs Discipline

When I reflect on my classroom experiences, I remember one interesting episode. The father of my student of class 7 came to meet me. I was teaching English. I was a bit surprised to see him, as he hardly came to school. He had a note book in his hand. He appeared angry. I, with my usual smile, asked what can I do for him. He sarcastically said ‘Don’t do anything for me, do for my daughter!!!’. He opened the note book and showed a English essay which I had marked in his daughter’s note book. He pointed towards my remark ‘excellent’, and asked, ‘Madam, did you go through the essay or just remarked? Her language is not up to the mark. She has made many grammatical errors. But still you call it excellent? You have not even underlined the errors.’ 

 I was unmoved by his confrontation. Again with a cool smile I explained to him. ‘Your daughter’s favourite subject is English. She loves to write, is the 1^st person to finish any creative writing task. I want to nourish this passion of hers. Your daughter needs encouragement more than the exact rules of grammar or high standard language. If I highlight her mistakes and rob her love for the subject, she will never try to write independently. She may gradually pick up the rules, but will never regain her love for writing once she loses it.’ As I was speaking, the frowning eyebrows of the father slowly eased out.

I had realised that the real delight and encouragement are as much essential for enjoying learning as discipline was.