1.
Gopuram
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Gopuram is a monumental tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of any temple, especially in Southern India. This forms a prominent feature of Koils, Hindu temples of the Dravidian style and they are topped by the kalasam, a bulbous stone finial. They function as gateways through the walls that surround the temple complex and it also dominated the inner sanctum in amount of ornamentation. Often a shrine has more than one gopuram and they also appear in architecture outside India, especially Khmer architecture, as at Angkor Wat. A koil may have multiple gopurams, typically constructed into multiple walls in tiers around the main shrine, the temples walls are typically square with the outer most wall having gopuras. The sanctum sanctorum and its roof is also called the vimanam. The Tamil derivation is from the two words, கோ and புறம் meaning king and exterior respectively and it originates from the Sangam age when it was known as ஓங்கு நிலை வாயில் meaning imperishable gateway. Siegfried Lienhard considers this Tamil derivation but offers a new derivation from the Sanskrit word, separately, it consists of two words go, with the possible meanings of cow or sky, and pura, meaning city. A gopuram is usually rectangular in form with ground-level wooden doors, often richly decorated, above is the tapering gopuram, divided into many storeys which diminish in size as the gopuram tower narrows. Usually the tower is topped with a vaulted roof with a finial. The four gopurams of the Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram are important early examples, begun in the mid-13th century, sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu is the tallest Gopuram in the world. List of tallest Gopurams Dallapiccola, Anna L, dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend. The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent, 2nd edn,1994, Yale University Press Pelican History of Art, ISBN0300062176
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
4.
Karnataka
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Karnataka is a state in south western region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, originally known as the State of Mysore, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973. The capital and largest city is Bangalore, the state covers an area of 191,976 square kilometres, or 5.83 percent of the total geographical area of India. It is the seventh largest Indian state by area, with 61,130,704 inhabitants at the 2011 census, Karnataka is the eighth largest state by population, comprising 30 districts. Kannada, one of the languages of India, is the most widely spoken. Most of these rivers flow out of Karnataka eastward into the Bay of Bengal, though several etymologies have been suggested for the name Karnataka, the generally accepted one is that Karnataka is derived from the Kannada words karu and nādu, meaning elevated land. Karu nadu may also be read as karu, meaning black, the British used the word Carnatic, sometimes Karnatak, to describe both sides of peninsular India, south of the Krishna. With an antiquity that dates to the paleolithic, Karnataka has been home to some of the most powerful empires of ancient, the philosophers and musical bards patronised by these empires launched socio-religious and literary movements which have endured to the present day. Karnataka has contributed significantly to both forms of Indian classical music, the Carnatic and Hindustani traditions, Karnatakas pre-history goes back to a paleolithic hand-axe culture evidenced by discoveries of, among other things, hand axes and cleavers in the region. Evidence of neolithic and megalithic cultures have also found in the state. Gold discovered in Harappa was found to be imported from mines in Karnataka, prior to the third century BCE, most of Karnataka formed part of the Nanda Empire before coming under the Mauryan empire of Emperor Ashoka. Four centuries of Satavahana rule followed, allowing them to large areas of Karnataka. The decline of Satavahana power led to the rise of the earliest native kingdoms, the Kadambas, the Kadamba Dynasty, founded by Mayurasharma, had its capital at Banavasi, the Western Ganga Dynasty was formed with Talakad as its capital. These were also the first kingdoms to use Kannada in administration, as evidenced by the Halmidi inscription, the Western Chalukyas patronised a unique style of architecture and Kannada literature which became a precursor to the Hoysala art of 12th century. Parts of modern-day Southern Karnataka were occupied by the Chola Empire at the turn of 11th century, the Cholas and the Hoysalas fought over the region in the early 12th century before it eventually came under Hoysala rule. At the turn of the first millennium, the Hoysalas gained power in the region, literature flourished during this time, which led to the emergence of distinctive Kannada literary metres, and the construction of temples and sculptures adhering to the Vesara style of architecture. The expansion of the Hoysala Empire brought minor parts of modern Andhra Pradesh, in the early 14th century, Harihara and Bukka Raya established the Vijayanagara empire with its capital, Hosapattana, on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in the modern Bellary district. The empire rose as a bulwark against Muslim advances into South India, in 1565, Karnataka and the rest of South India experienced a major geopolitical shift when the Vijayanagara empire fell to a confederation of Islamic sultanates in the Battle of Talikota
5.
Mysore
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Mysore, officially renamed as Mysuru, is the third most populous and the third largest city in the state of Karnataka, India. Located in the foothills of the Chamundi Hills about 146 km southwest of the state capital Bangalore, according to the provisional results of the 2011 national census of India, the population is 887,446. Mysore City Corporation is responsible for the administration of the city, which is also the headquarters of the Mysore district. Mysore served as the city of the Kingdom of Mysore for nearly six centuries. The Kingdom was ruled by the Wodeyar dynasty, with a period of interregnum in the 1860s and 70s when Hyder Ali. Patrons of art and culture, the Wodeyars contributed significantly to the growth of the city. The cultural ambiance and achievements of Mysore earned it the sobriquet Cultural Capital of Karnataka, tourism is the major industry alongside the traditional industries. Mysores inter-city public transportation solely includes rail and bus, flights, however, among many others to be first in, Mysore was the location of the first private radio station in India. Mysore University is headquartered in Mysore, which has produced several notable scientists, authors, politicians, actors, singers, cricket and lawn tennis are the most popular sports in the city. The name Mysore is a version of Mahishūru, which means the abode of Mahisha in the vernacular Kannada. He was killed by the Goddess Chamundeshwari, whose temple is situated atop the Chamundi Hills, mahishapura later became Mahisūru, and finally came to be anglicised as Mysore by the British and Maisūru/Mysuru in the vernacular Kannada language. In December 2005, the Government of Karnataka announced its intention to change the English name of the city to Mysuru and this was approved by the Government of India in October 2014 and Mysore was renamed to Mysuru on November 1,2014. The site where Mysore Palace now stands was occupied by a village named Puragere at the beginning of the 16th century, the Mahishūru Fort was constructed in 1524 by Chamaraja Wodeyar III, who passed on the dominion of Puragere to his son Chamaraja Wodeyar IV. Since the 16th century, the name of Mahishūru has commonly used to denote the city. The Mysore Kingdom, governed by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a state of the Vijayanagara Empire. Seringapatam, near Mysore, was the capital of the kingdom from 1610, the kingdom reached the height of its military power and dominion in the latter half of the 18th century under the de facto rulers Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan. The latter demolished parts of Mysore to remove legacies of the Wodeyar dynasty, the landlocked interior of the previous Mysore Kingdom was turned into a princely state under the suzerainty of the British Crown. The former Wodeyar rulers were reinstated as puppet monarchs, now styled Maharajas, the British administration was assisted locally by Diwan Purnaiah
6.
Chamundi Hills
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Chamundi Hills is located 13 km east of Mysore, the Palace City, in Karnataka, India. Its average elevation is 1,000 metres, patronised for centuries by Mysore rulers, Chamundeshwari Temple is located atop the Chamundi Hills. It was renovated during the time of Krishnaraja Wodeyar III, named after goddess Chamundi, the Chamundeshwari Temple sits atop the main hill. The main hill itself features an ancient stone stairway of 1,008 steps leading to its summit. Approximately halfway to the summit is statue of bull Nandi, the vahana, or vehicle of Lord Shiva, around this point, the steps become significantly less steep and eventually the climber is rewarded with a panoramic view of the city. The Temple has a quadrangular structure, a key feature is the statue of Mahishasura bearing a sword in his right hand and a cobra in the left. Within the temples sanctum stands a sculpted depiction of Chamundeshwari and she is seated with her right heel pressed against the lowest of the seven chakras. This cross-legged yogic posture echoes the posture of Lord Shiva, worshipers believe that this powerful yogic posture, if mastered, provides an added dimensional view of the universe. Since the early days of the Maharajahs of Mysore, the idol of goddess Chamundi has been carried on an elephant as part of the celebrations in the annual Dusshera festival. From the peak of the Chamundi hills, the Mysore Palace, many of the temples were constructed by members of Shirdi Sai Baba movement. According to a legend, the asura Mahishasura was killed by goddess Chamundeswari after a fierce battle, the goddess is also called Mahishasura Mardini. According to mythology, this hill was known as Mahabalachala. Two ancient temples occupy the hill, the Mahabaleshvara and the Chamundeshvari, the car festival and Teppotsava are held there. Inspired by its name, a new coffee brand named Chamundi Hills has also been launched by a set of entrepreneurs in Bangalore. Chamundeswari Temple Climbing Chamundi Hill,1001 Steps with a Storyteller, http, //www. publishersweekly. com/978-0-06-050894-4 Mysore Nature|Chamundi Hill Reserve Forest Chamundi Hill Mysore Chamundi Temple
7.
Garbhagriha
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Garbhagriha or Garbha gruha is the sanctum sanctorum, the innermost sanctum of a Hindu temple where resides the murti of the primary deity of the temple. Literally the word means womb chamber, from the Sanskrit words garbha for womb, only priests are allowed to enter this chamber. Although the term is associated with Hindu temples, it is also found in Jain. The Garbhagriha is located in a Hindu temple which is worshipped at by Hindus, in temples with a spire or vimana, this chamber is placed directly underneath it, and the two of them form the main vertical axis of the temple. These together may be understood to represent the axis of the world through Mount Meru, the garbha griham is usually also on the main horizontal axis of the temple which generally is an east–west axis. In those temples where there is also a cross-axis, the garbha gṛha is generally at their intersection, generally the garbhagriha is a windowless and sparsely lit chamber, intentionally created thus to focus the devotees mind on the tangible form of the divine within it. Entrance to the garbha grha may be restricted to priests who perform the services there, the inner garbhagriha or shrine became a separate structure, more elaborately adorned over time. More often garbhagriha is square and sits on a plinth, its location calculated to be a point of total equilibrium, in the centre is placed the image of the deity. But sometimes, for the temples of feminine deities, the garbagriha is rectangular, for example, in the temple of Varahi Deula in Chaurasi. The present structure of most of these temples is a vimana with a square garbhagriha and a surrounding circumambulatory path, an ardha-mandapa. George Michell, Monuments of India Temple architecture Parts of a North Indian Temple
8.
Durga
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Durga, also known as Devi, Shakti and by numerous other names, is a principal and popular form of Hindu goddess. She is the goddess, whose mythology centers around combating evils and demonic forces that threaten peace, prosperity. She is the form of the protective mother goddess, willing to unleash her anger against wrong. Durga is depicted in the Hindu pantheon as a woman riding a lion or tiger, with many arms each carrying a weapon. She appears in Indian texts as the wife of god Shiva and she is a central deity in Shaktism tradition of Hinduism, where she is equated with the concept of ultimate reality called Brahman. Estimated to have been composed between 400-600 CE, this text is considered by Shakta Hindus to be as important scripture as the Bhagavad Gita. She has a significant following all over India and in Nepal, particularly in its states such as West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Assam. Durga is revered after spring and autumn harvests, specially during the festival of Navaratri, the word Durga literally means impassable, inaccessible, invincible, unassailable. It is related to the word Durg which means fortress, something difficult to access, according to Monier Monier-Williams, Durga is derived from the roots dur and gam. According to Alain Daniélou, Durga means beyond reach. The word Durga, and related terms appear in the Vedic literature, such as in the Rigveda hymns 4.28,5.34,8.27,8.47,8.93 and 10.127, and in sections 10.1 and 12.4 of the Atharvaveda. A deity named Durgi appears in section 10.1.7 of the Taittiriya Aranyaka, while the Vedic literature uses the word Durga, the description therein lacks the legendary details about her that is found in later Hindu literature. The word is found in ancient post-Vedic Sanskrit texts such as in section 2.451 of the Mahabharata. These usages are in different contexts, for example, Durg is the name of an Asura who had become invincible to gods, and Durga is the goddess who intervenes and slays him. Durga and its derivatives are found in sections 4.1.99 and 6.3.63 of the Ashtadhyayi by Pāṇini, the ancient Sanskrit grammarian, and in the commentary of Nirukta by Yaska. Durga as a goddess was likely well established by the time the classic Hindu text called Devi Mahatmya was composed. There are many epithets for Durga in Shaktism and nine appellations, Skandamata, Kushmanda, Shailaputri, Kaalratri, Brahmacharini, Kaliputri, Chandraghanta and Siddhidatri. A list of 108 names that are used to describe her is very popularly in use by eastern Hindus and is called Ashtottara Shatanamavali of Goddess Durga
9.
Hinduism
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Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu synthesis started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period, although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is linked by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are classified into Shruti and Smriti and these texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, karma, samsara, and the various Yogas. Hindu practices include such as puja and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals. Some Hindus leave their world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa to achieve Moksha. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, with over one billion followers or 15% of the global population, known as Hindus. The majority of Hindus reside in India, Nepal, Mauritius, the Caribbean, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word Sindhu, the Indo-Aryan name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term, the Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus. This Arabic term was taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term Hindū. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as an alternative name of India. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion defies our desire to define and categorize it, Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and a way of life. From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism like other faiths is appropriately referred to as a religion, in India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion. Hindu traditionalists prefer to call it Sanatana Dharma, the study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of Hinduism, has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents
10.
Chamunda
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Chamunda, also known as Sachchi Mata, Chamundi, Chamundeshwari, and Charchika, is a fearsome aspect of Devi, the Hindu Divine Mother and one of the seven Matrikas. She is also one of the chief Yoginis, a group of sixty-four or eighty-one Tantric goddesses, the name is a combination of Chanda and Munda, two monsters whom Chamunda killed. She is closely associated with Kali, another aspect of Devi. She is sometimes identified with goddesses Parvati, Chandi or Durga as well, the goddess is often portrayed as haunting cremation grounds or fig trees. The goddess is worshipped by ritual animal sacrifices along with offerings of wine and in the ancient times, as the times have changed, meat, and wine are no longer offered. As of today it has known that animal sacrifices have been discouraged by texts such as the Ramayan. Originally Devi Chamunda was discovered in Hinduism and later entered the Jain pantheon too, though in Jainism, the rites of her worship include vegetarian offerings, and not the meat and liquor offerings. Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar says that Chamunda was originally a form of Devi worshipped by the Munda peoples of the Vindhya range of central India and these tribes were known to offer goddesses animal as well as human sacrifices along with ritual offerings of liquor. These methods of worship were retained in Tantric worship of Chamunda and he proposes the fierce nature of this goddess is due of her association with Vedic Rudra, identified with fire god Agni at times. The black or red coloured Chamunda is described as wearing a garland of severed heads or skulls. She is described as having four, eight, ten or twelve arms, holding a Damaru, trishula, sword, a snake, skull-mace, thunderbolt, standing on a corpse of a man or seated on a defeated demon or corpse. Chamunda is depicted adorned by ornaments of bones, skulls, serpents and she also wears a Yajnopavita of skulls. She wears a jata mukuta, that is, headdress formed of piled, matted hair tied with snakes or skull ornaments, sometimes, a crescent moon is seen on her head. Her socket eyes are described as so intense that it burns the evil of all three worlds and she is accompanied by fiends and goblins. She is also shown to be surrounded by skeletons or ghosts and beasts like jackals, the jackal are her fearsome companions. The severed head and corpse represents the severing of the ego, the corpse hence is conquered by the Devi, showing that the Ego is conquered. The symbolism of the Devi is made as to one is given the impression of the reality of life. This form as well as many of the other Eight Matrikas all show the reality of life and they show the bareness, non sugar coated version of reality
11.
Shakti
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In Hinduism, Shakti, also spelled as Sakthi, meaning power or empowerment is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe. Shakti is the concept or personification of divine feminine creative power, as the mother she is known as Adi Parashakti or Adishakti. On the earthly plane, Shakti most actively manifests through female embodiment and creativity/fertility, though it is present in males in its potential. Hindus believe that Shakti is both responsible for creation and the agent of all change, Shakti is cosmic existence as well as liberation, its most significant form being the Kundalini Shakti, a mysterious psychospiritual force. In Shaktism, Shakti is worshipped as the Supreme Being, Shakti embodies the active feminine energy of Shiva and is identified as Tripura Sundari or her avatar Parvati. David Kinsley mentions the shakti of Lord Indras as Sachi, meaning power, indrani is part of a group of seven or eight mother goddesses called the Matrikas, who are considered shaktis of major Hindu gods. The Shakti goddess is known as Amma in south India, especially in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana. There are many temples devoted to various incarnations of the Shakti goddess in most of the villages in South India. The rural people believe that Shakti is the protector of the village, the punisher of evil people, the curer of diseases, and they celebrate Shakti Jataras with great interest once a year. Some examples of incarnations are Ganga, Kamakshi, Kanakadurga, Mahalakshmi, Meenakshi, Manasa, Mariamman and it is believed that the cosmic grand design is theoretically a triangular structure of equal sides. The three points of the triangle or the structure of macrocosmic system are occupied by three ultimate manifestations of the trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra. This ultimate indestructible gravity known as Shakti in its three transformative form is connected to the trinity separately, Brahma, by the grace of her creative force creates. Rudra, by the strength of her destructive force destroys, Vishnu, by the unbiased intellectual force sustains. One of the oldest representations of the goddess in India is in a triangular form, the Baghor stone, found in a Paleolithic context in the Son River valley and dating to 9, 000-8,000 years BCE, is considered an early example of a yantra. Kenoyer, part of the team excavated the stone, considered that it was highly probable that the stone is associated with Shakti. Shaktism regards Devi as the Supreme Brahman itself with all forms of divinity considered to be merely Her diverse manifestations. In the details of its philosophy and practice, Shaktism resembles Shaivism, however, Shaktas, practitioners of Shaktism, focus most or all worship on Shakti, as the dynamic feminine aspect of the Supreme Divine. Shiva, the aspect of divinity, is considered solely transcendent
12.
Tutelary deity
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A tutelary is a deity or spirit who is a guardian, patron or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture or occupation. One type of deity is the genius, the personal deity or daimon of an individual from birth to death. Another form of personal tutelary spirit is the spirit of European folklore. Socrates spoke of hearing the voice of his spirit or daimonion. This sign I have had ever since I was a child, the Greeks also thought deities guarded specific places, for instance, Athena was the patron goddess of the city of Athens. Tutelary deities who guard and preserve a place or a person are fundamental to ancient Roman religion, the tutelary deity of a man was his Genius, or that of a woman her Juno. In the Imperial era, the Genius of the Emperor was a focus of Imperial cult, an emperor might also adopt a major deity as his personal patron or tutelary, as Augustus did Apollo. Each town or city had one or more deities, whose protection was considered particularly vital in time of war. Rome itself was protected by a goddess whose name was to be kept secret on pain of death. The Capitoline Triad of Juno, Jupiter, and Minerva were also tutelaries of Rome, the Italic towns had their own tutelary deities. Juno often had this function, as at the Latin town of Lanuvium and the Etruscan city of Veii, the tutelary deity of Praeneste was Fortuna, whose oracle was renowned. The depiction of some such as the Magna Mater as tower-crowned represents their capacity to preserve the city. Tutelary deities were also attached to sites of a smaller scale, such as storerooms, crossroads. The poet Martial lists the tutelary deities who watch over various aspects of his farm, the Lares Compitales were the tutelary gods of a neighborhood, each of which had a compitum devoted to these. During the Republic, the cult of local or neighborhood tutelaries sometimes became rallying points for political and social unrest, chinese folk religion, both past and present, includes a myriad of tutelary deities. Exceptional individuals may become deified after death, guan Yu is a well-known tutelary. In Korean shamanism, jangseung and sotdae were placed at the edge of villages to frighten off demons and they were also worshiped as deities. In Shinto, the spirits, or kami, which life to human bodies come from nature
13.
Maharaja
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Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a great ruler, great king or high king. It has also been the title of emperors, including Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh empire, the female equivalent, Maharani, denotes either the wife of a Maharaja, and also in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajmata queen mother, Maharaj Kumar generally denotes a son of a Maharaja, but more specific titulatures are often used at each court, including Yuvaraj for the heir. The form Maharaj indicates a separation of noble and religious offices, the word Maharaja originates in Sanskrit and is a compound karmadhāraya term from mahānt- great and rājan ruler, king). It has the Latin cognates magnum great and rex king, the Sanskrit title Maharaja was originally used only for rulers who ruled a considerably large region with minor tributary rulers under them. Since mediaeval times, the title was used even by monarchs of smaller states claiming to be the descendants of ancient Maharajas, the word Maharaja may be understood simply to mean ruler or king, in spite of its literal translation as great king. The word, however, can also mean emperor in contemporary Indian usage, two Rajas who became Maharajas in the twentieth century were the Maharaja of Cochin and the legendary Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala. Variations of this include the following, each combining Maha- great with an alternative form of Raja king, so all meaning Great King, Maharana, Maharawal, Maharawat, Maharao. Maharajah has taken on new spellings due to change and migration. It has even been shortened to Mahraj and Maraj but the most common is Maharajah, despite its literal meaning, unlike many other titles meaning Great King, neither Maharaja nor Rajadhiraja, nor even its equivalent amongst. Maharaja, Maharajadhiraja, never reached the standing required for imperial rank, dharma-maharaja was the devout title of the rulers of the Ganga dynasty. In the Mughal Empire it was common to award to various princes a series of lofty titles as a matter of protocolary rank. The british would, as partamaount power, do the same, Maharajadhiraja, Great Prince over Princes, a title of honour, one degree higher than Sawai Maharaja Bahadur. Sawai Maharaja Bahadur, a title of honour, one higher than Sawai Maharaja. Sawai Maharaja, a title of one degree higher than Maharaja Bahadur. Maharaja Bahadur, a title of honour, one higher than Maharaja. Maharaja itself could also be grahted as a personal, non-hereditary style, like Raja and various other titles, Maharaja was repeatedly awarded to notables without a princely state, such as zamindars. g. The Diwan Maharaja Sir Kishen Pershad, held such a Maharaja-title, Maharaj Kumar means son of a Maharaja or Heir-Apparent, the female equivalent is Maharaj Kumari, daughter of a Maharaja
14.
Daksha yajna
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In Hindu mythology, Daksha-Yajna or Daksha-Yaga is an important event, which is narrated in various Hindu scriptures. It refers to a yajna organized by Daksha, where his daughter Sati immolated herself, the wrath of god Shiva, Satis husband, thereafter destroyed the sacrifice. The tale is also called Daksha-Yajna-Nasha, the story forms the basis of the establishment of the Shakti Peethas, temples of the Hindu Divine Mother. It is also becomes a prelude to the story of Parvati, the mythology is mainly told in the Vayu Purana. It is also mentioned in the Kasi Kanda of the Skanda Purana, Linga Purana, Shiva Purana, and Matsya Purana also detail the incident. Daksha was one of the Prajapati, son of Brahma, the name Daksha means skilled one. Daksha had two wives, Prasoothi and Panchajani, Sati was his youngest daughter, born from Prasoothi, she was the pet child of Daksha and he always carried her with him. Sati is also called Dakshayani as she followed Daksha’s path, this is derived from the Sanskrit words daksha, Sati, the youngest daughter of Daksha, was deeply in love with the god Shiva and wished to become his wife. Her worship and devotion of Shiva strengthened her immense desire to become his wife, however, Daksha did not like his daughter’s yearning for Shiva, mainly because he was a Prajapati and the son of the god Brahma, his daughter Sati was a royal princess. They were wealthy nobility and their imperial royal lifestyle was entirely different from that of Shiva, as an emperor, Daksha wanted to increase his influence and power by making marriage alliances with powerful empires and influential sages and gods. Shiva on the other led a very modest life. He lived among the downtrodden, wore a tiger skin, smeared ashes on his body, had thick locks of matted hair and his abode was Mount Kailash in the Himalayas. He embraced all kinds of living beings and did not make any distinction between good souls and bad souls, the Bhutaganas, his followers, consisted of all kinds of ghosts, demons, ghouls and goblins. He wandered though garden and graveyard alike, as a consequence, Daksha had aversion towards Shiva being his daughter’s companion. However unlike Daksha, Sati loved Shiva as she had the revelation that Shiva was the Supreme God, Sati won Shiva as her husband by undergoing severe austerities. Despite Dakshas disappointment, Sati married Shiva, once Brahma conducted a huge yajna, where all the Prajapatis, gods and kings of the world were invited. Shiva and Sati were also called on to participate in the yajna, all of them came for the yajna and sat in the ceremonial place. When he arrived, everyone in the yajna, with the exception of Brahma, Shiva and Sati, Brahma being Dakshas father and Shiva being Dakshas son-in-law were considered superior in stature to Daksha
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Shakti Peetha
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The Shakti Peetha are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-focused Hindu tradition. There are 51 or 108 Shakti peethas by various accounts, of which between 4 to 18 are named as Maha in medieval Hindu texts. Most of these places of goddess worship are in India, but some are in Nepal, Bangladesh. Various legends explain how the Shakti peetha came into existence, the sites where these portions of Sati goddess fell, are the Shakti peetha. Lord Brahma performed a yajna to please Shakti and Shiva, Goddess Shakti emerged, separating from Shiva and helped Brahma in the creation of the universe. Brahma decided to give Shakti back to Shiva, therefore, his son Daksha performed several yagnas to obtain Shakti as his daughter in the form of Sati. It was then decided that Sati was brought into this world with the motive of getting married to Shiva. However, due to Lord Shivas curse to Brahma that his head was cut off due to his lie in front of Shiva, Daksha started hating Lord Shiva and decided not to let Lord Shiva. However, Sati got attracted to Shiva and finally one day Shiva and this marriage only increased Dakshas hatred towards Lord Shiva. Daksha performed a yagna with a desire to revenge on Lord Shiva near Munimandala present Muramalla Andhra Pradesh. Daksha invited all the deities to the yajna except Lord Shiva, the fact that she was not invited did not deter Sati from attending the yagna. She expressed her desire to attend the yagna to Shiva, who tried his best to dissuade her from going, Shiva eventually relented and Sati went to the yagna. Sati, being an uninvited guest, was not given any respect at the yagna, Sati was unable to bear her fathers insults toward her husband, so she immolated herself. He came there and started fighting him, still immersed in grief, Shiva picked up the remains of Satis body, and performed the Tandava, the celestial dance of destruction, across all creation. The other Gods requested Vishnu to intervene to stop this destruction, towards which Vishnu used the Sudarshana Chakra, the various parts of the body fell at several spots all through the Indian subcontinent and formed sites which are known as Shakti Peethas today. At all the Shakti Peethas, the Goddess Shakti is accompanied by her consort, Shakti is an aspect of the Supreme Being Adi parashakti, the mother of the trimurti, the holy trinity in Hindu religion & scriptures. The history of Daksha yagna and Shaktis self immolation had immense significance in shaping the ancient Sanskrit literature and it led to the development of the concept of Shakti Peethas and there by strengthening Shaktism. Enormous stories in Puranas & other Hindu religious books took the Daksha yagna as the reason for its origin
16.
Hoysala Empire
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The Hoysala empire was a prominent Southern Indian Kannadiga empire that ruled most of the modern-day state of Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur but was moved to Halebidu. The Hoysala rulers were originally from Malnad Karnataka, a region in the Western Ghats range. By the 13th century, they governed most of present-day Karnataka, minor parts of Tamil Nadu and parts of western Andhra Pradesh, the Hoysala era was an important period in the development of art, architecture, and religion in South India. The empire is remembered primarily for its temple architecture. Over a hundred surviving temples are scattered across Karnataka, well known temples which exhibit an amazing display of sculptural exuberance include the Chennakesava Temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebidu, and the Kesava Temple at Somanathapura. The Hoysala rulers also patronised the arts, encouraging literature to flourish in Kannada. Kannada folklore tells a tale of a young man Sala, who saved his Jain guru Sudatta by striking dead a Tiger he encountered near the temple of the Goddess Vasantika at Angadi, the word strike literally translates to hoy in Hale Kannada, hence the name Hoy-sala. This legend first appeared in the Belur inscription of Vishnuvardhana, early inscriptions, dated 1078 and 1090, have implied that the Hoysalas were descendants of the Yadava by referring to the Yadava vamsa as Hoysala vamsa. But there are no early records directly linking the Hoysalas to the Yadavas of North India, historians refer to the founders of the dynasty as natives of Malnad Karnataka, based on numerous inscriptions calling them Maleparolganda or Lord of the Male chiefs. This title in the Kannada language was used by the Hoysala kings as their royal signature in their inscriptions. Literary sources from that time in Kannada and Sanskrit have also helped confirm they were natives of the region known today as Karnataka, the first Hoysala family record is dated 950 and names Arekalla as the chieftain, followed by Maruga and Nripa Kama I. The next ruler, Munda, was succeeded by Nripa Kama II who held titles as Permanadi that show an early alliance with the Western Ganga dynasty. From these modest beginnings, the Hoysala dynasty began its transformation into a subordinate of the Western Chalukyas. Through Vishnuvardhanas expansive military conquests, the Hoysalas achieved the status of a kingdom for the first time. He wrested Gangavadi from the Cholas in 1116 and moved the capital from Belur to Halebidu, Vishnuvardhanas ambition of creating an independent empire was fulfilled by his grandson Veera Ballala II, who freed the Hoysalas from subordination in 1187–1193. During this time, peninsular India saw a four way struggle for hegemony – Pandya, Kakatiya, Veera Ballala II defeated the aggressive Pandya when they invaded the Chola kingdom. He assumed the title Establisher of the Chola Kingdom, Emperor of the south and he founded the city of Bangalore according to Kannada folklore
17.
Vijayanagara Empire
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The Vijayanagara Empire was based in the Deccan Plateau region in South India. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of Sangama Dynasty, the empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts by the southern powers to ward off Islamic invasions by the end of the 13th century. It lasted until 1646, although its power declined after a military defeat in 1565 by the Deccan sultanates. The empire is named after its city of Vijayanagara, whose ruins surround present day Hampi, now a World Heritage Site in Karnataka. The writings of medieval European travelers such as Domingo Paes, Fernão Nunes, and Niccolò Da Conti, Archaeological excavations at Vijayanagara have revealed the empires power and wealth. The empires legacy includes many monuments spread over South India, the best known of which is the group at Hampi, the previous temple building traditions in South India came together in the Vijayanagara Architecture style. The mingling of all faiths and vernaculars inspired architectural innovation of Hindu temple construction, first in the Deccan, efficient administration and vigorous overseas trade brought new technologies such as water management systems for irrigation. The empires patronage enabled fine arts and literature to new heights in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil. The Vijayanagara Empire created an epoch in South Indian history that transcended regionalism by promoting Hinduism as a unifying factor, differing theories have been proposed regarding the origins of the Vijayanagara empire. Others claim that they were Telugu people, first associated with the Kakatiya Kingdom, irrespective of their origin, historians agree the founders were supported and inspired by Vidyaranya, a saint at the Sringeri monastery to fight the Muslim invasion of South India. He created the Kampili kingdom, but this was a short lived kingdom during this period of wars, Kampili existed near Gulbarga and Tungabhadra river in northeastern parts of the present-day Karnataka state. It ended after a defeat by the armies of Delhi Sultanate, the triumphant army led by Malik Zada sent the news of its victory, over Kampili kingdom, to Muhammad bin Tughluq in Delhi by sending a straw-stuffed severed head of the dead Hindu king. Within Kampili, on the day of certain defeat, the populace committed a jauhar in 1327/28 CE, eight years later, from the ruins of the Kampili kingdom emerged the Vijayanagara Kingdom in 1336 CE. In the first two decades after the founding of the empire, Harihara I gained control over most of the south of the Tungabhadra river. The original capital was in the principality of Anegondi on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in todays Karnataka. The next ruler, Deva Raya I, emerged successful against the Gajapatis of Odisha, italian traveler Niccolo de Conti wrote of him as the most powerful ruler of India. Deva Raya II succeeded to the throne in 1424 and was possibly the most capable of the Sangama dynasty rulers and he quelled rebelling feudal lords as well as the Zamorin of Calicut and Quilon in the south. He invaded the island of Lanka and became overlord of the kings of Burma at Pegu, the Sultanate invaded Vijayanagara in 1417 when the latter defaulted in paying the tribute
18.
Nandi (bull)
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Nandi is the name of the gate- guardian deity of Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva. He is usually depicted as a bull which serves as the mount to the god Shiva. The word nandi has come from Tamil root word Nandhu means to grow to flourish or to appear which was used to indicate growing fluorished white bulls as well as divine bull nandi. The Sanskrit word nandi (Sanskrit, नन्दि has the meaning of happy, joy and satisfaction, almost all Shiva temples display stone images of a seated Nandi, generally facing the main shrine. However, it is documented that the application of the name Nandi to the bull is infact a development of recent syncretism of different regional beliefs within Saivism. The oldest Saivite texts in Sanskrit, Tamil and other Indian languages, the worship of Shiva and Nandi can be trace to even Indus Valley Civilization time period. Nandi is described as the son of the sage Shilada, Shilada underwent severe penance to have a boon — a child with immortality towards Lord Shiva and got Nandi as his son. It is said that Nandi was born from a Yajna performed by the Shilada, Nandi grew as an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and he did penance to become the gate-keeper of the Lord Shiva as well as his mount. Nandi got the knowledge of Agamic and Tantric wisdom taught by Lord Shiva from goddess Parvati. These eight disciples are directed to eight directions of the world by Nandinatha to spread the wisdom he taught them, there are so many other puranic tales are available about nandi. One describes his conflict with Ravana, the anti-hero of Ramayana. andi who cursed Ravana that his kingdom would be burnt by a monkey, and later Hanuman burnt Lanka when he went in search of Sita, who was kept prisoner by Ravana in Ashok Vatika. Tamil Thiruvilaiyadal puranam mentions another story in which nandi ] as a whale and it tells that Parvati lost her concentration while Shiva was explaining the meaning of Vedas to her. Parvati incarnated as a fisherwoman for the atone, to unite his master and his beloved wife, Nandi took the form of a whale and started to trouble the people. Fisherwoman Parvatis father told that anyone who killed the whale will marry his daughter, later Lord Shiva took the form of a fisherman, killed the whale and got Parvati in her previous form. Agamas describe him in a form with the head of bull and four hands with antelope, axe, mace. In his mount form, nandi is depicted as a bull in all Shiva temples. This nandi form has been even in Southeast Asian countries including Cambodia. The white color of the bull symbolizes purity and justice, symbolically, the seated Nandi towards sanctum in Siva temples, represents an individual ] and the message that the jiva should always be focused on the Parameshwara
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Shiva
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Shiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme God within Shaivism, one of the three most influential denominations in contemporary Hinduism, Shiva is the transformer within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity that includes Brahma and Vishnu. In Shaivism tradition, Shiva is the Supreme being who creates, protects, in the goddess tradition of Hinduism called Shaktism, the goddess is described as supreme, yet Shiva is revered along with Vishnu and Brahma. A goddess is stated to be the energy and creative power of each and he is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. At the highest level, Shiva is regarded as formless, limitless, transcendent and unchanging absolute Brahman, Shiva has many benevolent and fearsome depictions. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives a life on Mount Kailash as well as a householder with wife Parvati. In his fierce aspects, he is depicted slaying demons. Shiva is also known as Adiyogi Shiva, regarded as the god of yoga, meditation. Shiva is usually worshipped in the form of Lingam. Shiva is a deity, revered widely by Hindus, in India, Nepal. The Sanskrit word Śiva means, states Monier Williams, auspicious, propitious, gracious, benign, kind, benevolent, the roots of Śiva in folk etymology is śī which means in whom all things lie, pervasiveness and va which means embodiment of grace. The word Shiva is used as an adjective in the Rig Veda, as an epithet for several Rigvedic deities, the term Shiva also connotes liberation, final emancipation and the auspicious one, this adjective sense of usage is addressed to many deities in Vedic layers of literature. The term evolved from the Vedic Rudra-Shiva to the noun Shiva in the Epics, Sharma presents another etymology with the Sanskrit root śarv-, which means to injure or to kill, interprets the name to connote one who can kill the forces of darkness. The Sanskrit word śaiva means relating to the god Shiva, and it is used as an adjective to characterize certain beliefs and practices, such as Shaivism. Some authors associate the name with the Tamil word śivappu meaning red, noting that Shiva is linked to the Sun, the Vishnu sahasranama interprets Shiva to have multiple meanings, The Pure One, and the One who is not affected by three Guṇas of Prakṛti. Shiva is known by names such Viswanathan, Mahadeva, Mahesha, Maheshvara, Shankara, Shambhu, Rudra, Hara, Trilochana, Devendra, Neelakanta, Subhankara, Trilokinatha. The highest reverence for Shiva in Shaivism is reflected in his epithets Mahādeva, Maheśvara, Sahasranama are medieval Indian texts that list a thousand names derived from aspects and epithets of a deity. There are at least eight different versions of the Shiva Sahasranama, the version appearing in Book 13 of the Mahabharata provides one such list
20.
Granite
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Granite is a common type of felsic intrusive igneous rock that is granular and phaneritic in texture. Granites can be white, pink, or gray in color. The word granite comes from the Latin granum, a grain, in reference to the structure of such a holocrystalline rock. By definition, granite is a rock with at least 20% quartz. The term granitic means granite-like and is applied to granite and a group of igneous rocks with similar textures and slight variations in composition. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a texture is known as a granite porphyry. Granitoid is a general, descriptive field term for lighter-colored, coarse-grained igneous rocks, petrographic examination is required for identification of specific types of granitoids. The extrusive igneous rock equivalent of granite is rhyolite, Granite is nearly always massive, hard and tough, and therefore it has gained widespread use throughout human history, and more recently as a construction stone. The average density of granite is between 2.65 and 2.75 g/cm3, its compressive strength usually lies above 200 MPa, and its viscosity near STP is 3–6 •1019 Pa·s. The melting temperature of dry granite at ambient pressure is 1215–1260 °C, it is reduced in the presence of water. Granite has poor primary permeability, but strong secondary permeability, true granite according to modern petrologic convention contains both plagioclase and alkali feldspars. When a granitoid is devoid or nearly devoid of plagioclase, the rock is referred to as alkali feldspar granite, when a granitoid contains less than 10% orthoclase, it is called tonalite, pyroxene and amphibole are common in tonalite. A granite containing both muscovite and biotite micas is called a binary or two-mica granite, two-mica granites are typically high in potassium and low in plagioclase, and are usually S-type granites or A-type granites. A worldwide average of the composition of granite, by weight percent, based on 2485 analyses. Much of it was intruded during the Precambrian age, it is the most abundant basement rock that underlies the relatively thin veneer of the continents. Outcrops of granite tend to form tors and rounded massifs, granites sometimes occur in circular depressions surrounded by a range of hills, formed by the metamorphic aureole or hornfels. Granite often occurs as small, less than 100 km² stock masses
21.
Wadiyar dynasty
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The Wadiyar dynasty was an Indian dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from 1399 to 1761 and from 1799 to 1947. The kingdom was incorporated into the Dominion of India after its independence from British rule, in Kannada, the word Wadiyar means Lord or Lordship. Historical records use the term ″Wodeyar″ when referring to the royal family members. In more modern Kannada transliteration, the variation ″Odeyar″ is also used, the origin of Wodeyars is traced to Yadavas of Dvārakā, who came to Karnataka and seeing the natural beauty of the place made Mysore their abode. The Yadavas then ruled over the area for 600 years, the dynasty was established in 1399 by Yaduraya Wodeyar. He ruled Mysore under the Vijayanagara Empire until 1423, after Yaduraya Wodeyar, the Mysore kingdom was succeeded by the Wadiyar rulers. The kingdom remained fairly small during this period and was a part of the Vijayanagara Empire. After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire in 1565, the Kingdom of Mysore became independent, during the reign of Krishnaraja Wadiyar III, the region came under the control of the British Empire. His successors changed the English spelling of their name to Wadiyar. The Vijayanagara Empire disintegrated in 1565, the power vacuum created soon after was exploited by Raja Wadiyar. Later famous rulers of the dynasty included Kanthirava Narasaraja I, who expanded the frontiers of the Mysore kingdom to Trichy in Tamil Nadu. The dynasty reached its peak under Chikka Devaraja, who reformed the administration of the empire by dividing it into 18 departments, after Tipu Sultan was killed by the British in the Battle of Srirangapatna in 1799, the Wadiyars were restored to a reduced kingdom. After restoring the Wadiyars to the throne of Mysore, the British shifted the capital back to the city of Mysore from Srirangapatna, the four-year-old boy Krishna Raja Wadiyar III, son of the last Wadiyar king, Khasa Chamaraja Wadiyar VIII, was anointed as the King of Mysore. Wadiyars were now subsidiaries of the British Raj and had to pay a subsidy to the British. British commissioners administered Mysore from 1831–1881, bowring are among the well-known commissioners of the period. In 1868, the British Parliament heeded the plea and decided to restore the kingdom to his adopted son Chamaraja Wadiyar IX. In 1881, the transfer of power back to the Wadiyars heralded an important phase in the making of modern Mysore, for the first time in India, democratic experiments were introduced by the establishment of a representative assembly. Under British hegemony, the Wadiyars, freed from security concerns and they made Mysore a cultural center of Karnataka, fostering a number of famous musicians, writers and painters
22.
Chamarajendra Wadiyar X
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Maharaja Sri Sir Chamarajendra Wadiyar X GCSI was the ruling Maharaja of Mysore between 1868 and 1894. Chamarajendra was born at the old palace in Mysore on February 22,1863, as the son of Sardar Chikka Krishnaraj Urs. His father died about a week before Chamarajendras birth and his mother, Rajkumari Sri Puta Ammani Avaru, was the eldest daughter of Krishnaraja Wadiyar III, the then Maharaja of Mysore. Following the failure of male, Krishnaraja Wadiyar decided to adopt as heir his grandson. This was done on June 18,1865 and was recognized by the British government of India on 16 April 1867, Krishnaraja Wadiyar III died on 27 March 1868, and Chamarajendra Wadiyar ascended the throne at the royal palace, Mysore, on September 23,1868. However, since 1831, the kingdom of Mysore had been under the administration of the British Raj. Later, the council of the United Kingdom ordered the reversal of the British East India Companys decision to annex Mysore. By the Rendition of 1881, the state of Mysore was reconstitited and restored to the Wadiyar dynasty. Chamarajendra Wadiyar was groomed by the British to take charge of the administration and he was handed the reins of governance,25 March 1881. Chamarajendra Wadiyar was the 23rd Maharaja of Mysore, although his reign proved to be a brief one, he left an indelible mark on the Kingdom of Mysore and thereby on the present day Indian state of Karnataka. He instituted the Representative Assembly of Mysore state in 1881 and this was the first modern, democratic legislative institution of its kind in princely India. He sponsored the journey of Swami Vivekananda to Chicago in 1893. He gave primacy to womens education and founded the Kannada Bashojjivini School and he gave a fillip to the industrialisation of the Kingdom of Mysore by instituting several industrial schools and conducting the annual Dasara Industrial Exhibition. He facilitated the founding of Agricultural Banks to help finance farmers, many of the most famous landmarks of Mysore and Bangalore owe their existence to him. Chamaraja Wadiyar was a patron of arts and music, his court boasted of artists like Veena Subbanna, Veena Seshanna. Veena Padmanabiah, Mysore Karigiri Rao and Bidaram Krishnappa among others, the Maharaja was a violin virtuoso himself and used to provide accompaniment daily to Veena Subbannas vocal and Veena Sheshannas veena performances. His favourite kritis included Sujana Jeevana and Lavanya Rama and he was also a connaisseur of Javalis. In May 1878, Chamarajendra Wadiyar married Vani Vilasa Sannidhana Kempananja Ammani Avaru, daughter of an Arasu of Kalale and they had four sons and three daughters, of whom the following survived to adulthood, Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV, succeeded his father as Maharaja of Mysore
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Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV
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Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV GCSI GBE was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Mysore from 1894 until his death in 1940. At the time of his death, he was one of the worlds wealthiest men, with a personal fortune estimated in 1940 to be worth US$400 million. He was a philosopher-king, who was seen by Paul Brunton as living the ideal expressed in Platos Republic and he has been compared to the Emperor Ashoka by the English statesman Lord Samuel. Mahatma Gandhi called him Rajarshi, or saintly king, and his kingdom was described by his followers as Rama Rajya, Krishna IV was the 24th ruler of the Wodeyar dynasty of Mysore that ruled over Mysore State from 1399 to 1950. Krishna was born on 4 June 1884 at the Royal Palace and he was the eldest son of Maharaja Chamaraja Wadiyar X and Maharani Vani Vilas Sannidhana. After the death of his father in Calcutta in 1894, Krishnas mother ruled the state as Regent until Krishna reached the age of majority,8 August 1902, the Maharaja had his early education and training at the Lokaranjan Palace under the direction of P. Raghavendra Rao. In addition to Western studies, the Yuvaraja was instructed in the languages of Kannada and Sanskrit, was taught horse riding and he was also sent to Mayo College, Ajmer to study but returned to Mysore due to ill health. His early administrative training was imparted by Sir Stuart Fraser of the Bombay Civil Service, shortly after the 1876–77 famine and the death of Maharaja Chamaraja Chamarajendra Wadiyar X, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, still a boy of eleven, ascended the throne in 1895. His mother Maharani Kemparajammanniyavaru ruled as regent until Krishnaraja Wodeyar took over on 8 February 1902, Krishna IV was invested as the Maharaja of Mysore, with full ruling powers, by the Viceroy, Lord Curzon, on 8 August 1902 at a ceremony at Jagan Mohan Palace. Krishnaraja Wodeyar set up educational infrastructure, the king was an accomplished musician, and like his predecessors, patronised the fine arts. For these reasons, his reign is described as the Golden age of Mysore. Krishna Raja Wadiyar was the first chancellor of Banaras Hindu University and University of Mysore, the latter was the first university chartered by an Indian State. He was a patron of Indian and Western Classical Music, Mysore had been the first Indian state to have a Representative Assembly, a democratic forum in 1881. During his reign Mysore became the first Indian state to generate power in Asia. Such were the strides that Mysore made during his period that Gandhiji was moved to remark that the Maharaja was a Rajarishi. Paul Brunton, the British philosopher and orientalist, John Gunther, the American author, Lord Sankey said during the Round table conference that Mysore was the best administered state in the world. Princes from other sections of India were sent to Mysore for administrative training, the Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya described the Raja as Dharmic and Lord Wellington echoed the sentiment by calling Mysores industrial development incredible. The Raja was a connoisseur of Carnatic and Hindustani music and he played eight musical instruments, flute, violin, saxophone, piano, mridangam, nadaswara, sitar, and veena
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Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar
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Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar Bahadur, GCB GCSI, a. k. a. Jaya Chamarajendra Wadiyar, was the 25th and the last ruling Maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1940 to 1950 and he was a noted philosopher, musicologist, political thinker, and philanthropist. He was also the founder-president of Vishva Hindu Parishad, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar was the only son of Yuvaraja Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar and Yuvarani Kempu Cheluvaja Amanni. Wodiyar dynasty is the only Royal Family from Mysore and belong to Lunar Dynasty and he graduated from the Maharajas College, Mysore in 1938, earning five awards and gold medals. He was married the year, on 15 May 1938. He toured Europe during 1939, visiting many associations in London and became acquainted with many artists and he ascended the throne of the Kingdom of Mysore on 8 September 1940 after the demise of his uncle Maharaja Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar. Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar lost his father Yuvaraja Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar when he was 21, five months later, his reigning uncle, Maharaja Krishnarajendra Wadiyar IV expired, leaving his only nephew and successor what was dubbed one of the most prosperous states in Asia. Jayachamaraja Wadiyar followed democratic methods in his administration and was celebrated by his subjects alike his uncle, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar was the first ruler to accede to merge his kingdom with the newly-formed Indian Union after the Indian Independence in 1947. Mysore Kingdom was the only major princely territory in India and he signed the Instrument of Accession with the Union of India on the eve of India attaining Independence in August 1947. The princely state of Mysore was merged with the Republic of India on 26 January 1950 and he held the position of Rajpramukh of the State of Mysore from 26 January 1950 to 1 November 1956. He died at the age of 55 on 23 September 1974 and he was a good horseman and a tennis player who helped Ramanathan Krishnan to participate at Wimbledon. He was also known for his marksmanship and was highly sought-after by his subjects whenever a rogue elephant or a maneating tiger attacked their immediate surroundings. There are many wildlife trophies attributed to him in the Palace collections and he was responsible for the famous cricketer/off-spin bowler, E. A. S. Prasannas visit to West Indies as his father was otherwise reluctant to send him. He was a connoisseur of both western and Carnatic music and an authority of Indian Philosophy. Medtners Third Piano Concerto is dedicated to the Maharaja of Mysore and he became a Licentiate of the Guildhall School of Music, London and honorary Fellow of Trinity College of Music, London, in 1945. He was the first president of the Philharmonia Concert Society, London in 1948, see below copy of the programme sheets of some of the earliest concerts held at Royal Albert Hall on 13 April,27 April –11 May 1949. Walter Legge, who was invited to Mysore by the Maharaja in this regard has stated, the Maharajah was a young man, not yet thirty. In one of his palaces he had a library containing every imaginable recordings of serious music, a large range of loud speakers
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Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar
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Wadiyar was formerly a Member of Parliament from the Mysore constituency. He was a designer and he promoted the sale of Mysore silk saris under his brand. In the second half of the 20th century, the South Indian silk industry was revived, born in 1953 as the only son of the last ruling Maharaja of Mysore His Highness, His Excellency Dr. He continued the informal and titular rule of the family as king from 1974 until his death on 10 December 2013. Wadiyars wife Pramoda Devi Wadiyar adopted Yaduveer Gopalraj Urs, who was renamed Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wodeyar and he studied in the private royal school at the Mysore Palace and completed his secondary school education in 1967. He took horse riding lessons from the Government Riding School, Mysore and he had a British nanny and an Anglo-Indian nanny who groomed him. Mr. Watsa was a mentor to him during his formative years, Wadiyar joined Maharaja College, Mysore in 1968 to pursue his pre-university course and studied for a BA degree from 1969-72 majoring in English literature and political science. His second language was Kannada, tutored by Prof. K. Venkataramappa and he did his masters in political science at Manasa Gangotri, University of Mysore, from 1972-74. He studied a course in law as an open University student, throughout his college career, he was an avid cricketer and had a collection of cricket bats signed by international Test cricket players. He also studied Western classical music and Carnatic classical music, in his youth he had studied Vedas as well. He was awarded the Gold Medal as the first rank student in MA Political Science and his wife, Mrs. Pramoda Devi, is a post-graduate in Hindi. His love of cricket led him to captain his universitys team and he was married to Maharani Pramoda Devi Avaru, from the Bettada Kote Ursu family of the erstwhile princely state of Mysore. Although he was never the official king of Mysore Kingdom but only its prince, Wadiyar was the only brother of 5 sisters - Gayatri Devi Avaru, Meenakshi Devi Avaru, Kamakshi Devi Avaru, Indrakshi Devi Avaru and the youngest, Vishalakshi Devi Avaru. He celebrated the royal tradition of Mysore Dasara by performing all the rituals which were conducted by his ancestors—the rulers of the princely state of Mysore. He conducted a khasgi durbar during the festivities, where he ascended the throne at the Amba Vilas Hall of the Mysore Palace. Wadiyar was a member of the Indian National Congress. He participated four times in elections for Member of Parliament representing the Mysore Parliamentary Constituency, results were that he won twice as the INC member, and lost twice, once as a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate and more recently as a Congress party candidate. In 1984, Wadiyar first stood for Lok Sabha elections on an Indian National Congress ticket and he defected to the BJP in 1991, but lost the elections badly to Chandraprabha Urs of the Congress
26.
Mysore Dasara
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Mysore Dasara is the Nadahabba of the state of Karnataka in India. It is also called Navaratri and is a 10-day festival with the last day being Vijayadashami, Dasara usually falls in the month of September or October. According to a legend, Vijayadashami denotes the victory of truth over evil and was the day when the Hindu Goddess Chamundeshwari killed the demon Mahishasura, Mahishasura is the demon whose slaying by the Goddess gave the name Mysore. The Dasara festival completed 400th anniversary in year 2010, the Dasara festivities began with the Vijayanagar kings as early as the 15th Century. The festival played a role in the 14th-century Vijayanagara Empire. The Italian traveller Niccolò de Conti described the intensity and importance as a grandeur religious. The event revered Durga as the warrior goddess, the celebrations hosted athletic competitions, singing and dancing, fireworks, a pageantry military parade and charitable giving to the public. After the fall of the Vijayanagar to Deccan Sultanates, these Hindu celebrations came to an end under the Muslim rulers, the Wodeyars of Mysore observed the Dasara Festival, initially by Raja Wodeyar I in the year 1610 at Srirangapatna. The festivities included a special durbar, after the death of Srikanta Wadiyar in December 2013, this tradition has been continued by placing the “Pattada Katti” on the golden throne. The ninth day of Dasara called as Mahanavami is also a day on which the royal sword is worshipped and is taken on a procession involving elephants, camels. The main attraction of the ten-day Mysore Dasara festival is the Mysore Palace which is illuminated daily with nearly 100,000 light bulbs from 7 pm to 10 pm on all days of the festival, nearly ₹10 million is spent towards maintenance of its illumination alone every year. Various cultural and religious programs highlighting the dance, music and culture of the State of Karnataka are performed in front of the illuminated Palace, on Vijayadashami, the traditional Dasara procession is held on the streets of Mysore city. The main attraction of this procession is the idol of the Goddess Chamundeshwari which is placed on a golden mantapa on the top of a decorated elephant and this idol is worshipped by the royal couple and other invitees before it is taken around in the procession. According to a legend of the Mahabharata, banni tree was used by the Pandavas to hide their weapons during their period of Agnatavasa. Before undertaking any warfare, the kings traditionally worshipped this tree to help them emerge victorious in the war, the Dasara festivities would culminate on the night of Vijayadashami with an event held in the grounds at Bannimantap called as Panjina Kavayatthu. In Mysore, India, the Vijayadashami Elephant procession during Mysore Dasara is called Jumbo Savari, the original name to this procession is Jumbi Savari. Now Goddess Chamundeshwari is taken in procession on an Elephant, but the Jumbo name is still intact. After the Jamboo Savari, a parade takes place in the evening at the Bannimantap Parade Grounds
27.
Vijayadashami
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Vijayadasami, also known as Dussehra, is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navratri every year. It is observed on the full day in the Hindu calendar month of Ashvin. Vijayadasami is observed for different reasons and celebrated differently in various parts of the Indian subcontinent, in the eastern and northeastern states of India, Vijayadashami marks the end of Durga Puja, remembering goddess Durgas victory over the buffalo demon to help restore Dharma. In the northern, southern and western states, the festival is synonymously called Dussehra, elsewhere, on Dussehra, the towering effigies of Ravana symbolizing the evil is burnt with fireworks marking evils destruction. The festival also starts the preparation for one of the most important and widely celebrated Diwali, the festival of lights, which is celebrated twenty days after the Vijayadashami. Vijayadashami is a composite of two words Vijaya and Dashami, which respectively mean victory and tenth, connoting the festival on the day celebrating the victory of good over evil. The same Hindu festival-related term, however, takes different forms in different regions of India and Nepal, according to James Lochtefeld, the word Dussehra is a variant of Dashahara which a compound Sanskrit word meaning ten days. According to Monier Williams, Dus meaning bad, evil, sinful and Hara means removing, destroying, connoting removing the bad, destroying the evil, in most of northern and western India, Dasha-Hara is celebrated in honour of Rama. The effigies are burnt on bonfires in the evening of Vijayadashami-Dussehra, while Dussehra is observed on the same day across India, the festivities leading to it varies. The performance arts tradition during the Dussehra festival was inscribed by UNESCO as one of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008, the festivities, states UNESCO, include songs, narration, recital and dialogue based on the Hindu text Ramacharitmanas by Tulsidas. In many parts, the audience and villagers join in and participate spontaneously, some helping the artists, others helping with stage set up, create make-up, effigies and lights. These arts come to a close on the night of Dussehra, Kullu Dussehra is celebrated in the Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh, and is regionally notable for its large fair and parade witnessed by estimated half a million people. The festival is a symbol of victory of good over evil by Raghu Nath, the special feature of the Kullu Dussehra procession is the arrival of floats containing deities from different parts of the nearby regions and their journey to Kullu. Vijayadasami is celebrated in a variety of ways in South India, celebrations range from worshipping Durga, lighting up temples and major forts such as at Mysore, to displaying colorful figurines, known as a golu. The festival played a role in the 14th-century Vijayanagara Empire. The Italian traveller Niccolò de Conti described the intensity and importance as a grandeur religious. The event revered Durga as the warrior goddess, the celebrations hosted athletic competitions, singing and dancing, fireworks, a pageantry military parade and charitable giving to the public. The city of Mysore has traditionally been a center of Dussehra-Vijayadashami celebrations
28.
St. Philomena's Cathedral, Mysore
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St. Philomenas Cathedral is a Catholic church that is the cathedral of the and the Diocese of Mysore, India. The full name is the Cathedral of St. Joseph and St. Philomena and it is also known as St. Josephs Cathedral. It was constructed in 1936 using a Neo Gothic style and its architecture was inspired by the Cologne Cathedral in Germany and this is one of the tallest churches in Asia. St. Philomena is a Latin Catholic saint and martyr of the Roman Catholic Church and she was a young Greek princess martyred in the 4th century. The remains of a girl no older than 14 were discovered on May 24,1802 in the Catacombs of Saint Priscilla at the Via Salaria in Rome. Accompanying these remains were a set of tiles bearing an inscription containing the words LUMENA PAXTE CUM FI. The letters were rearranged to read PAX TECUM FILUMENA, which in Latin translates to Peace with you, also some symbols of her martyrdom and a vessel, containing dry blood, was also found in the tomb. From these discoveries, it was concluded that a Christian named Filumena was buried in the tomb and the vessel containing blood was thought to be her relic, a church at the same location was built in 1843 by Maharaja Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar. This relic was handed over to Father Cochet who approached the king to assist him in constructing a church in honour of St. Philomena, the Maharaja of Mysore laid the foundation stone of the church on October 28,1933. The construction of the church was completed under Bishop Rene Feugas supervision, the relic of Saint Philomena is preserved in a catacomb below the main altar. This church is an example of blending of local culture. Some of the statues are dressed with local traditional dress. The church was designed by a Frenchman named Daly and it was designed to be built in the Neo Gothic style with inspiration drawn from the Cologne Cathedral. The floor plan of the cathedral resembles a cross, the long part of the cross is congregation hall called the nave. The two arms of the cross are the transepts, the part containing the altar and the choir is the crossing. The cathedral has a crypt houses a statue of St. Philomena. The twin spires of the church are 175 feet in height and they resemble the spires of the Cologne Cathedral and also the spires of the St. Patricks Church in New York City. The main hall can seat up to 800 people and contains stained glass depicting scenes from the birth of Christ, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection
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Mysore Palace
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The Palace of Mysore is a historical palace in the city of Mysore in Karnataka, southern India. It is the residence and seat of the Wodeyars — the rulers of Mysore, the royal family of Mysore. The palace houses two durbar halls and incorporates an array of courtyards, gardens, and buildings, the palace is in the central region of inner Mysore, facing the Chamundi Hills eastward. Mysore is commonly described as the City of Palaces, there are about seven palaces inclusive of this, however, Mysore Palace refers specifically to the one within the Old Fort. Krishnaraja Wadiyar III was Maharaja from 1799 to 1831, after the death of Tipu Sultan he made Mysore his capital in May 1799 and focused on education, religious sites and donating jewels to temples including Melkote. Chamaraja Wodeyar IX was crowned on March 25,1881 and he was anointed king on the date fixed by the Governor-General. He is credited with founding Indias first democratic institutions -Prajapratinidhi Sabhe with the Mysore representative assembly in 1881, nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV was Maharaja from 1902 to 1940. He was also called the Saint King-Rajarshi by Mahatma Gandhi, assisted by dewans Sir M. Visvesvaraya and Sir Mirza Ismail, he changed Mysore by adding Asias first hydro electric project at Shivanasamudra, the KRS dam and the University of Mysore in 1916. Jayachamaraja Wodeyar was the twenty fifth and the last king, reigning from 1940 to 1950, a musicologist and a philanthropist, he was named Raj Parmukh of Mysore from Jan 26,1950, a post he held for six years. The present Maharaja is Yaduveer Wadiyar, who was adopted by his aunt, king Yaduraya first built a palace inside the Old Fort in Mysore in the 14th century, which was demolished and constructed multiple times. Meanwhile, the family stayed in the nearby Jaganmohan Palace. The construction in charge was taken by B. P. Raghavulu Naidu who was Executive engineer in the Mysore Palace Division. He made elaborate studies on architecture that had to be applied for the new palace by visiting Delhi, Madras and Calcutta and it costed Rs.41,47,913 for the construction and was complete in 1912. This is the magnificent and a masterpiece of a palace which is standing in front of us, the construction was completed in 1912, but the fort continued to be beautified and its inhabitants were slowly moved to the newer extension built off the palace. Besides there are buildings a century old or more, like Crowfard Hall, Oriental Research Institute building, Corporation Complex of Mysore City Corporation, in all the above palaces, the royal family holds blocks held by the kings traditionally. However, the Bangalore Palace and Mysore Palace are entirely under the possession of the royal family, Bangalore Palace remains entirely a private property of the princess. The architectural style of domes of the palace is described as Indo-Saracenic and blends Hindu, Muslim, Rajput. It is a stone structure with marble domes and a 145 ft five-story tower. The palace is surrounded by a large garden, the entrance gate and arch hold the emblem and coat of arms of the kingdom of Mysore, around which is written the kingdoms motto in Sanskrit, न बिभॆति कदाचन
30.
Jaganmohan Palace
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Jaganmohan Palace is a palace in Mysore, in the princely city of Mysore, India. Its construction was completed in 1861 and was used by the Wodeyars. It is now converted into an art gallery and a function hall, the palace is one of the seven palaces of the royal city of Mysore and one of the most beautiful contributions of the Wodeyar Kings of the city during their regime. The royal family has innumerable contributions not only to Mysore but also to some of the most important present metropolitans like Bangalore, the Jaganmohan Palace was constructed in 1861 by the king, His Highness Krishnaraja Wodeyar III as an alternate retreat for the royal family. The Mysore Palace, which was the home of the royal family was burnt down in a fire. Till the new palace was completed in 1912, the Jaganmohan Palace was used by the royals as their home. In 1902, the king His Highness Rajarshi Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar was installed to the Mysore throne and this ceremony was attended by Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy and Governor General of India. The palace was used for his daily durbar by the king, in 1915, the palace was converted into an art gallery, which was later renamed in 1955 in the name of HH Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar, as the Sri Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery. The early convocations of the Mysore University were also held in this palace, the first session of the Legislative Council of the Mysore state was held here in July 1907. The Legislative Council was then called as the Representative Council and was presided over by the Diwan, HH Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar converted the palace into a trust and opened it for public viewing. The palace is built in traditional Hindu style and has three stories, in 1900, an external facade with a hall behind it was added to the palace. This facade has three entrances and the entablature has religious motifs and miniature temples crafted on it, the walls of the interiors are painted with murals. This mural is the earliest known picture of the Mysore Dasara and has been painted using vegetable dyes, a family tree of the Wodeyars tracing the lineage of the royal family is also painted on a wall. Two wooden displaying Dashavatara, the ten incarnations of the Hindu God, the art gallery contains one of the largest collections of artefacts in South India. Most of these artefacts are paintings, prominent among which are those by Raja Ravi Varma, some of which scenes from the Hindu epics, Ramayana. The collection of paintings in the gallery exceed 2000 in number,16 paintings of Raja Ravi Varma were donated to the gallery by Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar. Another important painting present here is the Lady with the lamp which was painted by the artist Haldenkar and is placed in a room where it is the only exhibit. This is to give an illusion that the glow of the lamp is illuminating the face of the woman, some other painters whose works are exhibited here include Nikolai Roerich, Svetoslav Roerich and Rabindranath Tagore and Abanindranath Tagore
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Lalitha Mahal
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The Lalitha Mahal is the second largest palace in Mysore. It is located near the Chamundi Hills, east of the city of Mysore in the Indian state of Karnataka, the palace was built in 1921 at the orders of His Highness Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore for the exclusive stay of the then Viceroy of India. Built on a ground, the palace was fashioned on the lines of the St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and is one of the imposing structures of the Mysore city. The elegant palace is painted pure white and it was converted into a heritage hotel in 1974. It is now run as an hotel of the Ashok Group of the India Tourism Development Corporation under the Government of India. However, a veneer of the royal ambience of the palace is maintained. The palace dates from the early 20th century, built in the state of Mysore under the British rule. The principality was the labelled by the British Administrators as a Model State”, the Maharajas of Mysore were wealthy, second only to the Nizams of Hyderabad. The palace, an impressive architectural edifice, was constructed with a reasonable amount of money. The then Maharaja of Mysore of the state was HH Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV who ruled under the title “Wodeyar” with his capital in Mysore city. He was the 24th ruler of the Wodeyar dynasty, the Lalitha Mahal palace was built in 1921 for the exclusive stay of the then Viceroy of India and subsequently as guest house for the European guests of the Maharajas. Set amidst sprawling landscaped gardens below the Chamundi hills, the palace was planned by E. W. Fritchley, the palace built in Renaissance architectural style is considered an adaptation of the St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, particularly the central dome. The architecture of the palace reflects English manor houses and Italian Palazzos and it is a two storied structure. The supporting structure of the palace is of Ionic double column, at the ground level, there is a projecting porch. Spherical domes with the central dome sets the front elevation of the palace. Decorative stained glass has been used to enhance the elegance of the palace both in the exterior facades and in interiors doors, windows and ceilings. A lovely view of the Chamundi Hill to the left and the Mysore city in front of the palace is seen from the balcony upstairs. The ball room in particular, which has converted into the Dining Hall of the hotel, is a baroque hall with immensely high ceiling with domed skylights made of Belgian glass
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Jayalakshmi Vilas
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, Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion is a heritage building in Mysore. Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion is a building in Mysore city, Karnataka and it is located in the green surroundings of Manasagangothri, the campus of the University of Mysore. It rises on a hillock on the west side of Kukkarahalli Kere, the Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion houses a museum of priceless collections of artifacts. The Karnataka government classifies it as a heritage structure, the mansion was built in 1905, during the period of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, for princess Jayalakshmi Ammani, the eldest daughter of the Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar, at a cost of Rs.7 lakhs. The location was chosen to be on top of a small hillock above Kukkarahalli Kere. It was originally called the First Rajkumari Mansion, the first princess Jayalakshmi, was married to Sirdar M. Kantharaj Urs in 1897, who later became the Dewan of Mysore. Kantharaj Urs had a house in the Fort of the Palace called Gunamba House after his mother, the mansion was built to be commensurate with their status of princess and dewan. The mansion was acquired by the University of Mysore to establish a centre in its campus known as Manasagangotri. The building was in a state of neglect for a long time. The building was restored at a cost of Rs.1.17 crores with funds from the Infosys Foundation, renovation began in 2002, and completed in 2006. It was inaugurated by the governor of Karnataka on Jan 16th 2006 by switching on this new illumination system, the renovated mansion has 125 rooms,300 windows,287 exquisitely carved doors and it was spread across 6 acres. There are entrances on side, different from each other. The entrance on the side has an extrusion on the stairs presumably to be used as alighting platform from cars. The mansion is built of brick and mortar, timber. Stone was dispensed with considering the amount of delay it would have on construction if it were used, there are separated drainages for rain water and used water. List of Heritage Buildings in Mysore Jayalakshmi Vilas January 2006 article from the Hindu Palaces in Mysore
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Culture of Mysore
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Mysore is a city in the state of Karnataka, India. It is known as the capital of Karnataka. Mysore was the capital of the Wodeyar kings who ruled over the Mysore Kingdom for many centuries, wodeyars were great patrons of art and music and have contributed significantly to make Mysore a cultural centre. Mysore is well known for its palaces, museums and art galleries, Mysore has also lent its name to popular dishes like Mysore Masala Dosa and Mysore Pak. Mysore is also the origin of the popular silk sari known as Mysore silk sari and has given rise to a popular form of painting known as Mysore painting. Dasara is the Nadahabba of the state of Karnataka and it is also known as Navaratri and is a 10-day festival with the last day being Vijayadashami, the most auspicious day of Dasara. Dasara usually falls in the month of September or October, according to a legend, Vijayadashami denotes the victory of truth over evil and was the day when the Hindu Goddess Chamundeshwari killed the demon Mahishasura. Mahishasura is the demon from whose name Mysore has been derived, the Dasara festivities were first started by the Wodeyar King, Raja Wodeyar I in 1610. The Mysore Palace is lit up on all the 10 days of Dasara, the festivities begin with the Wodeyar royal couple performing a special puja to Goddess Chamundeshwari in the Chamundi Temple located on the top of Chamundi Hill at Mysore. This would be followed by a special durbar. Kings wore the traditional Mysore Peta as headgear during the Durbar time or in a procession during the Dasara celebrations. The King and men attending Kings court wore the conventional attire called the dress which comprised a black long coat with white trousers. This tradition has continued even now with the current scion of the Wodeyar family. The ninth day of Dasara known as Mahanavami is also a day on which the royal sword is worshipped and is taken on a procession involving elephants, camels. On Vijayadashami, the traditional Dasara procession is held on the streets of Mysore city, the main attraction of this procession is the idol of the Goddess Chamundeshwari which is placed on a golden mantapa on the top of a decorated elephant. This idol is worshipped by the couple and other invitees before it is taken around in the procession. According to a legend of the Mahabharata, banni tree was used by the Pandavas to hide their arms during their period of Agnatavasa. Before undertaking any warfare, the kings traditionally worshipped this tree to help them emerge victorious in the war, the Dasara festivities would culminate on the night of Vijayadashami with an event held in the grounds at Bannimantap called as Panjina Kavayatthu. Another major attraction during Dasara is the Dasara exhibition which is held in the exhibition grounds opposite to the Mysore Palace and this exhibition starts during Dasara and goes on till December
34.
Mysore painting
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Mysore painting is an important form of classical South Indian painting that originated in and around the town of Mysore in Karnataka encouraged and nurtured by the Mysore rulers. With the fall of the Vijayanagar empire after the Battle of Talikota the artists who were then under royal patronage migrated to various other places like Mysore, Tanjore, Surpur. Mysore paintings are known for their elegance, muted colours, the themes for most of these paintings are Hindu gods and goddesses and scenes from Hindu mythology. As Dr. Charita point out these families of artists called Chitrakaras migrated to various pockets who were feudatories of Vijayanagara Empire. As scholar A. L. Raja Wodeyar I provided a service to the cause of painting by rehabilitating several families of painters of the Vijayanagara School at Srirangapatna. The successors of Raja Wodeyar continued to patronize the art of painting by commissioning the temples and palaces to be painted with mythological scenes. However none of these paintings have survived due to the ravages of war between the British on the one side and Hyder Ali and Tippu Sultan on the other, Hyder and Tippu who bested the Wodeyars took over the reigns of Mysore for a brief period. However, the continued to be patronised and flourished under the reign of Tipu. The murals detailing the Battle of Polilur and other painted work at the Daria Daulat Bagh palace of Tipu Sultan in Ganjam, most of the traditional paintings of the Mysore School, which have survived until today, belong to this reign. The ragas, seasons, eco-happenings, animals, and plant world are also depicted in these paintings as co-themes or contexts. The ancient painters in Mysore prepared their own materials, the colours were from natural sources and were of vegetable, mineral or even organic origin such as leaves, stones and flowers. Brushes were made with squirrel hairs for delicate work but for drawing superfine lines a brush made of pointed blades of a variety of grass had to be used. Due to the quality of the earth and vegetable colours used. Mysore Paintings are characterized by lines, intricate brush strokes, graceful delineation of figures. More than mere decorative pieces, the paintings are designed to inspire feelings of devotion, the painter’s individual skill in giving expression to various emotions is therefore of paramount importance to this style of painting. The first stage of Mysore Painting was to prepare the ground, paper, wood, the paper board was made of paper pulp or waste paper, which was dried in the sun and then rubbed smooth with a polished quartz pebble. If the ground was cloth it was pasted on a board using a paste composed of dry white lead mixed with gum. The board was then dried and burnished, wood surfaces were prepared by applying dry white lead, yellow ochre and gum, and walls were treated with yellow ochre, chalk and gum
35.
Ganjifa
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Ganjifa, Ganjapa or Gânjaphâ, is a card game or type of playing cards that are most associated with Persia and India. After Ganjifa cards fell out of use in Iran before the twentieth century, the form prevalent in Odisha is Ganjapa. Ganjifa cards are circular or rectangular, and traditionally hand-painted by artisans, the game became popular at the Mughal court, and lavish sets were made, from materials such as precious stone-inlaid ivory or tortoise shell. The game later spread to the public, whereupon cheaper sets would be made from materials such as wood, palm leaf. Typically Ganjifa cards have coloured backgrounds, with each suit having a different colour, different types exist, and the designs, number of suits, and physical size of the cards can vary considerably. With the exception of Mamluk Kanjifa and the Chads of Mysore, each suit contains ten pip cards, the backs of the cards are typically a uniform colour, without patterning. The earliest origins of the cards remain uncertain, but Ganjifa cards as they are today are believed to have originated in Persia. The first syllable is attributed to the Persian word ganj meaning treasure and these different terms could account for the different spellings and pronunciations of Ganjifa. These remain unproved theories, but it is interesting to note that the 18th century traveller Carsten Niebuhr claimed to have seen Arabian merchants in Bombay playing with Chinese cards, in the 19th century Jean Louis Burckhardt visited Mecca and wrote that cards are played in almost every Arab coffee-house. Ganjifa became popular in India under the Mughal emperors in the 16th century, the term has been used at times in many countries throughout the Middle East and western Asia. In Kuwait, the word Janjifah has become a general term, despite the significance of Persia in the history of ganjifa cards, the very earliest known text reference and card specimens are from Egypt. An exhibition in the British museum in 2013 noted Playing cards are known in Egypt from the twelfth century AD, ganjafeh was a popular card game in Iran and the Arab world. For example, the word kanjifah is written in the top corner of the king of swords. The Mamluk cards are difficult to date with any certainty, the piece of playing card collected by Edmund de Unger may be from the period of the 12-14th centuries. The term Kanjifah can be found in the 1839 Calcutta edition of the One Thousand and One Nights, in Arabic, the first known reference can be found in a 15th-century Arabic text, written by the Egyptian historian Ibn Taghribirdi. In his history of Egypt he mentions how the Sultan Al-Malik Al-Muayyad played kanjafah for money when he was an emir, the cards used by the Mamluks most likely entered Italy and Spain during the 1370s. As early as 1895, William Henry Wilkinson pointed out the similarities between Spanish and Italian playing cards and Chinese money-suited cards and he was unaware of the existence of the Mamluk cards since Mayer did not make his discovery until 1939. The similarities between the Latin European cards and Chinese money-suited cards become more apparent when the Mamluk Kanjifa is described and this feature can also be found in the old games of Tarot, Ombre, and Maw played in Europe, and the Chinese money-suited card game of Madiao
36.
Mysore pak
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Mysore pak is a rich sweet dish prepared in Ghee, from Southern India, usually served as dessert. It is made of generous amounts of ghee, sugar, gram flour, the texture of this sweet is similar to fudge. Mysore pak was first prepared in the kitchens of the Mysore Palace during the regime of Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV, Madappa made a concoction of gram flour, ghee and sugar. When asked its name, Madappa had nothing in mind, simply called it the Mysore pak, Pak, in Sanskrit and other Indian vernaculars, means sweet. It is traditionally served in weddings and other festivals of southern India, paaka shastra in Kannada means cooking procedure or cooking techniques. Also paka in Kannada refers to sticky sugar syrup obtained by simmering sugar with equal amount of water, specifically for Mysore Pak, the syrup is used as the primary sweetening agent in various Indian sweet dishes like Jalebi, Badam puri, Mysore pak and others. The syrup is flavored with various spice essences like cardamom, rose, paka syrup preparation is a skilled art mastered by few cooks, some of whom keep their methods secret
37.
Masala dosa
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Masala dosa or masale dose is a variant of the popular South Indian food dosa, which has its origins in Tulu Mangalorean cuisine made popular by the Udupi hotels all over India. It is made from rice, lentils, potato, methi, and curry leaves, though it was only popular in South India, it can be found in all other parts of the country and overseas. In South India, preparation of masala dosa varies from city to city, the two parts are the dosa and the stuffing. The dosa is made in the way by soaking rice and lentils overnight in water. The stuffing is made from boiled potatoes with a seasoning of mustard seeds and garnishing of grated coconut, coriander, and lemon juice. Mysore masala dosa has a red chutney made from red chillies, onion, typical ingredients include rice, husked black gram, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, salt, vegetable oil, potatoes, onion, green chillies, curry leaves, and turmeric
38.
Regional Museum of Natural History Mysore
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The Regional Museum of Natural History at Mysore, is a museum in India with exhibits on plants, animals and geology of the southern region of India. The Regional Museum of Natural History at Mysore, was inaugurated on 20 May 1995 and it was undertaken by the government of India, ministry of environment and forests. The museum is located on the banks of Karanji Lake, with the Chamundi Hills visible in the background and it is now a landmark in the city. The museum exhibits plants, animals and geology of the region of India. The galleries emphasize the conservation of nature and natural resources while depicting ecological interrelationship among plants, visually challenged students can feel the exhibits of animals on the premises. The museum provides an activity for schools and promotes environmental awareness. The first section has an emphasis on the western ghats. It exhibits the biodiversity of the region of India. The next section is about tropical rain forests, of countries that possess them, showcasing their diversity, the next section is on the significance of wetlands and the mangrove forests. The next section depicts a diorama of a marine habitat, the last section has a large exhibit panel cautioning against the destruction natural diversity. Life through the Ages is walk-through tunnel, depicting evolution of life, the Discovery center consists of a discovery room, a computer room, a vivarium and a mini weather station. Children can handle, examine and study specimens in the discovery room, a mini theater, a sound booth are also present to keep children occupied. The bioscience computer room facilitates studying biology through interactive and multimedia techniques at a high-school or college level, on the grounds of the museum is a small botanical garden with local trees and a collection of plants used in Ayurvedic medicine. Museum curators describe this section as the first museum garden for the visually impaired in India
39.
Railway Museum Mysore
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The Railway Museum at Mysore, India is an outdoor exhibit of vintage locomotives. The Railway Museum was established in 1979 by Indian Railways, the second such museum after the National Railway Museum in Delhi, the museum is opposite the Central Food Technology and Research Institute on Krishnaraja Sagar Road. It has locomotives and a gallery of photographs and paintings depicting the growth of railways in India, Railway signals and lights are also displayed. The museum has a battery-operated mini-train giving a ride for children on the grounds. ES506 4-6-2 is the first locomotive at the entrance, an Austin rail-motor car Several inspection cars, one inspection car is used as a ticket office. Two royal coaches that belonged to the Maharaja of Mysore, the Maharani Saloon carriage that has a kitchen, dining car unit and royal toilet dating back to 1899. A W. G. Bagnall #1625 which was made in 1900 for Khushalgarh - Kohat - Thal Railway which was a frontier line, was subsequently transferred to North Western Railways. It operated at Timber Depot in Marala and was transferred later to Dhilwan Creosoting plant and this 2-6 gauge locomotive is configured as 2-4-2ST. Class E #37244 4-4-4T from SIR built by North British Locomotive Co. in 1920, originally #8, it was one of the three superheated locomotives. Class TS/1 #37338 2-6-2T from SR, made by W. G. Bagnall in 1932 for Mysore State Railways, a YP #2511 made by Telco in 1963. The picture at left is a 1925 model Austin, originally an automobile made for running on road and it was later sold to a scrap dealer. A railway employee brought this car from the dealer and restored it. However, he made few changes to the car. He fitted rail wheels to the car and removed the steering, thus it began its journey as railcar. It was used for carrying inspection officials on track, yP2511 was built by Telco in 1963. It is a meter gauge steam engine, the plate containing YP2511 boilers details mentions that the boiler was built in 1957. This narrow gauge engine was built by WG Wagnall and Co. This engine was numbered NWR NG tank loco no,119 E and it was used between Bangalore and Tumkur
40.
Oriental Research Institute Mysore
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The Oriental Library was started in 1891 under the patronage of Maharaja Chamarajendra Wadiyar X. It was a part of the Department of Education until 1916, the Oriental Library was renamed as the Oriental Research Institute in 1943. From the year 1893 to date the ORI has published two hundred titles. It was the first public library in Mysore city for research, the prime focus was on Indology. The institute publishes a journal called Mysore Orientalist. Its most famous publications include Kautilyas Arthashastra, written in the 4th century BC, edited by Dr. R. Shamashastri, immediately a man stood up and asked, Are you from our Dr. R. Shamashastrys Mysore. Because the Arthashastra edited by him took a fame worldwide, the King wondered and came back to Mysore immediately to see Dr. R. Shamashastry, and also Dr. R. Shamashastry appointed as Asthana Vidwan. Sritattvanidhi, is a compilation of slokas by Krishnaraja Wodeyar III, the ORI houses over 45,000 Palm leaf manuscript bundles and the 75,000 works on those leaves. The manuscripts are palm leaves cut to a size of 15 cm by 3.5 cm. Brittle palm leaves are sometimes softened by scrubbing a paste made of ragi and then used by the ancients for writing, manuscripts are organic materials that run the risk of decay and are prone to be destroyed by silverfish. To preserve them the ORI applies lemon grass oil on the manuscripts which acts like a pesticide. The lemon grass oil also injects natural fluidity into the palm leaves. The conventional method followed at the ORI was to preserve manuscripts by capturing them in microfilm, once the ORI has digitized the manuscripts, the text can be viewed and manipulated by a computer. Software is then used to put together disjointed pieces of manuscripts, in this manner, the manuscripts are restored and enhanced. The original palm leaf manuscripts are also on reference at the ORI for those interested, T. T. Srinivasagopalachar, former Head of the Department of Sanskrit, University of Mysore, Dharmashaashtra Aasthaana Vidwan A. R
41.
Kuvempu
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Kuppali Venkatappa Puttappa, popularly known by the nickname Kuvempu or by K. V. Puttappa, was a Kannada novelist, poet, playwright, critic and thinker. He is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century and he is the first among Kannada writers to be decorated with the prestigious Jnanpith Award. For his contributions to Kannada literature, the Government of Karnataka decorated him with the honorific Rashtrakavi in 1958 and his epic narrative Sri Ramayana Darshanam, a modern rendering of the Indian Hindu epic Ramayana is regarded as the revival of the era of Mahakavya in contemporary form and charm. His writings and his contribution to Universal Humanism gives him a place in modern Indian literature. He was conferred the Padma Vibhushan by Government of India in 1988 and he penned the Karnataka State anthem Jaya Bharata Jananiya Tanujate. Kuvempu was born in Hirekodige near Bommalapura in Koppa taluk of the Chikmagalur district, Karnataka and his father was Venkatappa Gowda from Kuppali and mother Seethamma from Hirekodige, a nearby village. He grew up in the lush Malenadu region of Tirthahalli, called Kuppali in Shivamogga district, early in his childhood, he was home schooled by an appointed teacher from Dakshina Kannada district. He joined the Anglo Vernacular school in Tirthahalli to continue his school education. Kuvempus father died when he was only twelve and he finished his lower and secondary education in Kannada and English languages in Thirthahalli and moved to Mysore for further education at the Wesleyan High School. Thereafter, he pursued studies at the Maharaja College of Mysore and graduated in 1929. He married Hemavathi on 30 April 1937 and he was forced to enter marital life on advice of this faculty at Ramakrishna Mission. Kuvempu has two sons, K P Poornachandra Tejaswi, Kokilodaya Chaitra, and two daughters, Indukala and Tharini, Tharini is married to K. Chidananda Gowda, the former Vice-Chancellor of Kuvempu University. His home in Mysore is called Udayaravi and his son Poornachandra Tejaswi was a polymath, contributing significantly to Kannada literature, photography, calligraphy, digital imaging, social movements, and agriculture. Kuvempu began his career as a lecturer of Kannada language at the Maharajas College in Mysore in 1929. He worked as an assistant professor in the Central college, Bangalore from 1936 and he re-joined Maharajas college in Mysore in 1946 as a professor. He went on to become the principal of the Maharajas college in 1955, in 1956 he was selected as the Vice-Chancellor of Mysore University where he served till retirement in 1960. He was the first graduate from Mysore University to rise to that position, Kuvempu started his literary work in English, with a collection of poetry called Beginners Muse but later switched to his native Kannada. He spearheaded the movement to make Kannada the medium for education, to cater to the needs of Kannada research, he founded the Kannada Adhyayana Samsthe in the Mysore University, which has since been renamed after him as Kuvempu Institute of Kannada Studies
42.
B. V. Karanth
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Babukodi Venkataramana Karanth was a noted film and theatre personality from India. Throughout his life he was director, actor and musician of modern Indian theatre both in Kannada as well as Hindi, and one of the pioneers of Kannada and Hindi new wave cinema and he was an alumnus of the National School of Drama and later, its director. He has directed many plays and has directed award-winning works in Kannada cinema. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, born in Manchi, a village near Babukodi in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada district in 1929, Karanths passion for theatre started at an early age. His first tryst with theatre was when he was in standard III – he acted in Nanna Gopala and he then ran away from home and joined the legendary Gubbi Veeranna drama company where he worked alongside Rajkumar who also was starting out then as a novice. Gubbi Veeranna sent Karanth to Banaras to do his Masters in Arts where he underwent training in Hindustani music under Guru Omkarnath Thakur. Thereafter, along with his wife, Prema Karanth, Karanth set up Benaka and it is an acronym for Bengalooru Nagara Kalavidaru. Then, Prema took up a job in Delhi and supported Karanth through the National School of Drama. He was to return the compliment after he graduated from the NSD and he later graduated from the National School of Drama, New Delhi, in 1962, then headed by Ebrahim Alkazi. Between 1969 and 1972, he worked as an instructor at the Sardar Patel Vidyalaya. Here Karanth dabbled in cinema as well as music and was involved with the likes of Girish Karnad. He then returned to the NSD, this time as its Director in 1977, as the director of NSD, Karanth took theatre to far-flung corners of India. He conducted several workshops in places far away as Madurai in Tamil Nadu, after his stint as the director of NSD, the Madhya Pradesh government invited him to head the Rangamandal repertory under the aegis of the Bharat Bhavan. After rendering yeoman service to the scene in Madhya Pradesh between 1981 and 86, Karanth returned to Karnataka. It was alleged by the MP Police that he was having an affair with one actress-Vibha Mishra, where in a state, he poured Kerosene over her. However, Vibha, after recovering from her injuries, gave a statement that proved Karanths innocence and he was criticised bitterly by Women activists and was forced to move out of Bhopal. In 1989, the Karnataka government invited him to set up a repertory in Mysore, Karanth entered the Kannada theatre scene in the late 1960s and early 70s. His entry brought about a sea change in Kannada theatre which then was steeped in the old and his plays like Jokumara Swamy, Sankranti, Huchu Kudure and Oedipus to name a few, which were directed in the early 1970s, were hailed as trendsetters
43.
S. Srikanta Sastri
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Sondekoppa Srikanta Sastri was an Indian historian, Indologist, and polyglot. He authored about 12 books, over two hundred articles, several monographs and book reviews over four decades in English, Kannada, Telugu, to his credit are such works as Sources of Karnataka History, Geopolitics of India & Greater India, Bharatiya Samskruthi and Hoysala Vastushilpa. S. Srikanta Sastri was a well versed in fourteen languages spanning Greek, Latin, Pali, Prakrit, Sanskrit. He was Head of the Department of History & Indology at Maharaja College and he was conferred the Kannada Literary Academy award in 1970 and was subsequently honoured by Governor of Karnataka Mohanlal Sukhadia in 1973 during mythic society diamond jubilee function. A Festschrift was brought forth and presented to him during his felicitation function in 1973 titled Srikanthika with articles on History and his work on Indus Valley Civilization and town planning at Harappa and Mohenjodaro were published in successive articles and drew considerable attention. S. Srikanta Sastri was born into a scholarly lineage, a paternal ancestor - Yagnapathi Bhatta was a famous court poet in the court of Kempegowda. Maternal Ancestor Umamahesvara Sastri, a court poet in the Vijayanagara Kingdom had earned the title of Abhinava Kalidasa for his work Bhagavata Champu. His uncles - Vidwan Motaganahalli Mahadeva Sastri, Vidwan Shankara Sastri, Vidwan Ramshesha Sastri was the first person to translate Bhagavata to Kannada from Sanskrit. His other works include Mudra Rakshaka and Mukundananada Bhana, Balika Gitavali, Karnataka Hitopadesham and his cousin Asthan Vidwan Motaganahalli Subramanya Sastri, editor of Ranga Bhoomi is credited with Karnata Malavikagnimitra, Skanda Purana and Ramayana. S. Srikanta Sastri was born in 1904 in Nanjanagud, Mysore as the child of Seshamma. He had his schooling in the cities of Kolar, Nanjanagud. After finishing his school, he pursued his Bachelors and subsequently masters degree in History at Maharaja college, here he came under the influence of S. V. Venkateswara, J. C. Rollo, B. M. Srikantaiah, V. L. DSouza, H. Krishna Rao, N. S. Subba Rao, S. Srikanta Sastri authored about 12 books,224 articles and three monographs and book reviews in Kannada, English, Telugu and Sanskrit. Among his earliest essays were Kannada Nayananda and Shivaganga Kshetra - a treatise on the centre of Shivaganga. He published his first article in the Journal of Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland at the age of twenty two and he subsequently authored a small piece on King Devaraya of Vijayanagara Kingdom in the Indian Antiquary. His third book - Early Gangas of Talakad published in 1952 dealt with the rise and this received a favourable review by Emeritus Professor of Oriental Law J Duncan M Derrett in the Journal of Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland in July 1953. His fourth book Bharatiya Samskruti served to illuminate on cultural, traditional and historical aspects of India spanning over three millennia, S. Srikanta Sastris study on the Nayaka rulers of Chitradurga in his research article Capitulation of Chitradurga describes the decline and fall of Palegars in early eighteenth century. His Collection of English writings have been brought forth as two bound volumes titled ŚRÌKAŅŢHAYÁNA in 2016
44.
R. K. Narayan
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R. K. Narayan, full name Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami, was an Indian writer known for his works set in the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi. He was an author of early Indian literature in English, along with Mulk Raj Anand. The fictional town of Malgudi, was first introduced in Swami, narayan’s The Financial Expert, was hailed as one of the most original works of 1951, and Sahitya Akademi Award winner The Guide, was adapted for film and for Broadway. Narayans short stories have been compared with those of Guy de Maupassant, however, he has also been criticised for the simplicity of his prose. He was also nominated to the Rajya Sabha, the house of Indias parliament. R. K. Narayan was born in Madras, British India and he was the oldest of three brothers, the second being Ramachandran and the youngest being Laxman, a future cartoonist. His father was a headmaster, and Narayan did some of his studies at his fathers school. As his fathers job entailed frequent transfers, Narayan spent part of his childhood under the care of his maternal grandmother, during this time his best friends and playmates were a peacock and a mischievous monkey. His grandmother gave him the nickname of Kunjappa, A name that stuck to him in family circles and she taught him arithmetic, mythology, classical Indian music and Sanskrit. According to Laxman, the family mostly conversed in English, and grammatical errors on the part of Narayan, while living with his grandmother, Narayan studied at a succession of schools in Madras, including the Lutheran Mission School in Purasawalkam, C. R. C. High School, and the Christian College High School, Narayan was an avid reader, and his early literary diet included Dickens, Wodehouse, Arthur Conan Doyle and Thomas Hardy. When he was years old, Narayan participated in a pro-independence march, for which he was reprimanded by his uncle. Narayan moved to Mysore to live with his family when his father was transferred to the Maharajahs College High School, the well-stocked library at the school, as well as his fathers own, fed his reading habit, and he started writing as well. It took Narayan four years to obtain his bachelors degree, a longer than usual. The experience made Narayan realise that the career for him was in writing. His first published work was a review of Development of Maritime Laws of 17th-Century England. Subsequently, he started writing the local interest story for English newspapers. Although the writing did not pay much, he had a life and few needs
45.
R. K. Laxman
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Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Laxman was an Indian cartoonist, illustrator, and humorist. He was best known for his creation The Common Man and for his cartoon strip, You Said It in The Times of India. Laxman started his career as a part-time cartoonist, working mostly for local newspapers, while a college student, he illustrated his elder brother R. K. Narayans stories in The Hindu. His first full-time job was as a political cartoonist for the The Free Press Journal in Mumbai, later, he joined The Times of India, and became famous for The Common Man character. R. K. Laxman was born in Mysore in 1921 in Tamil speaking Iyer family and his father was a headmaster and Laxman was the youngest of six sons, His elder brother is novelist R. K. Narayan. Laxman was known as Pied Piper of Delhi, Laxman was engrossed by the illustrations in magazines such as The Strand, Punch, Bystander, Wide World and Tit-Bits, before he had even begun to read. Another early influence on Laxman was the work of the world-renowned British cartoonist, Sir David Low that appeared now, after high school, Laxman applied to the J. J. He finally graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Mysore, in the meantime he continued his freelance artistic activities and contributed cartoons to Swarajya and an animated film based on the mythological character Narada. Laxmans earliest work was for newspapers Rohan and magazines including Swarajya, Laxman also drew cartoons for the Kannada humour magazine, Koravanji Laxman held a summer job at the Gemini RohanStudios, Madras. His first full-time job was as a political cartoonist for the The Free Press Journal in Mumbai, in 1951, Laxman joined The Times of India, Mumbai, beginning a career that spanned over fifty years. His Common Man character, featured in his cartoons, is portrayed as a witness to the making of democracy. Anthropologist Ritu G. Khanduri notes, R. K. Laxman structures his cartoon-news through a plot about corruption and this news is visualized and circulates through the recurring figures of the mantri, the Common Man and the trope of modernity symbolized by the airplane. Laxman also created a mascot for the Asian Paints Ltd group called Gattu in 1954. He also wrote a few novels, the first one of which was titled The Hotel Riviera and his cartoons have appeared in Hindi films such as Mr. & Mrs.55 and a Tamil film Kamaraj. Laxman also drew caricatures of David Low, T. S. Eliot, Bertrand Russell, J. B. Priestly and they had no children and after their divorce Laxman married a woman whose first name was again Kamala. This was the author and childrens book writer Kamala Laxman, in a cartoon series named The star I never met in film magazine Filmfare he painted a cartoon of Kamala Laxman, with the title The star I only met. The couple had a son Srinivas, who worked for a while with The Times of India too, in September 2003, Laxman was affected by a stroke which left him paralysed on his left side. He partly recovered from its effects, on the evening of 20 June 2010, Laxman was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai after being transported by an air ambulance from Pune
46.
Gopalakrishna Adiga
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Mogeri Gopalakrishna Adiga was one of the major figures in modern Kannada poetry. He is known as the pioneer of New style poetry, Adiga was born in the coastal village of Mogeri, Udupi district, in state of Karnataka on 18 February 1918. After completing his education in Mogeri and Baindooru, he attended high school in Kundapur,14 miles away from his village. His education would have ended after high school, but for the foresight of his aunt, thus, Adiga went to Mysore and earned his BA in English from Maharajas College, Mysore, University of Mysore. After several minor jobs in Karnataka, Adiga worked at Sarada Vilas College in Mysore as lecturer in English from 1948 to 1952 and he also served at St. Philomena College in Mysore for ten years. In the mid 1960s, he became Principal at the newly created Lal Bahadur Shashtri College in Sagara, as editor of Saakshi magazine he helped bring Kannada literature to the masses. Adigas wife, Lalita, currently lives in Bangalore and he is survived by five children and nine grandchildren. Adigas grandson is Manu Raju, Senior Political reporter for CNN, in the 1950s and 1960s Adiga was a teacher in Mysore. From 1964 until 1968 he was the principal of Lal Bahadur College in Sagara and he later worked as the Deputy Director for the National Book Trust of India. Through his essays, translations and poems, Adiga’s influence on the modern Indian literature has been felt for over five decades and he has been called the doyen of the naveena saahitya chaluvali. Although Adiga taught English literature, he wrote almost exclusively in Kannada and it seems that he wrote this at the request of M. N. Roy for the Radical Humanist magazine. His style has been described as a response to the independence of India from British rule in 1947, the style called Navya was generally about the new times. Inspired by modern Western literature and Indian tradition, he set out to portray the disillusionment, recently, Nadig brought out Selected Poems, Gopalakrishna Adiga, a work commissioned by Bharatiya Sahitya Parishat His poetic style is revealed in his 1957 poem Prarthane. ಮೌನ ತಬ್ಬಿತು ನೆಲವ Kannada language Kannada literature Kannada poetry Gopalakrishna Bharathi
47.
U. R. Ananthamurthy
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Udupi Rajagopalacharya Ananthamurthy was a contemporary writer and critic in the Kannada language born in Thirtahalli Taluk and is considered as one of the pioneers of the Navya movement. He is the writer to be honored with the Jnanpith Award for the Kannada language. In 1998, he received the Padma Bhushan award from the Government of India and he was the vice-chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala during the late 1980s. He was one of the finalists of Man Booker International Prize for the year 2013 and he remained a fervent critic of nationalistic political parties until his death from renal failure and cardiac arrest on 22 August 2014. Ananthamurthy was born in Melige, in Tirthahalli taluk in the Shimoga District and his education started in a traditional Sanskrit school in Doorvasapura and continued in Tirthahalli and Mysore. He earned his doctorate from the University of Birmingham in 1966 for his thesis entitled Politics. Ananthamurthy started his career as a professor and instructor in 1970 in English department of University of Mysore and he was the Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam, Kerala from 1987 to 1991. He served as the Chairman of National Book Trust India for the year 1992, in 1993 he was elected as the president of Sahitya Academy. Ananthamurthy served twice as the Chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India, in 2012 he was appointed the first Chancellor of Central University of Karnataka. Ananthamurthy has participated and delivered lectures in seminars as writer. He was the member of the committee of Indian writers and visited countries like the Soviet Union, Hungary, France and he visited Moscow in 1989 as board member for a Soviet newspaper. Ananthamurthy was the leader for the committee of writers who visited China in 1993, Ananthamurthys works have been translated into several Indian and European languages and have been awarded with important literary prizes. His main works include Samskara, Bhava, Bharathi Pura, and he has written numerous short stories as well. Several of his novels and short fictions have been made into movies, most of Ananthamurthys literary works deal with psychological aspects of people in different situations, times and circumstances. His writings supposedly analyse aspects ranging from challenges and changes faced by Brahmin families of Karnataka to bureaucrats dealing with politics influencing their work, most of his novels are on reaction of individuals to situations that are unusual and artificial. This is evident in his stories like Sooryana Kudure, Mowni and it does not mean that Ananthamurthy is just clinging to portraying only such somewhat standard subjects of Indian literature of his period. His novelette Bara portrays the dynamics of a district of Karnataka. The central figure of the novel Sooryana Kudure – Venkata is shunned by his son, Venkata is a non-achiever who could not achieve any material or monetary success in his life
