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KarnatakaVolume-53 Issue-11 Page-28 Nov- 2016
March of
C O N T E N T S
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A PageNo.
Cover Story
Editor- in -Chief
N R Vishukumar Director, Department of Information
and Public Relations
Editorial Advisory panelM. Ravikumar
Joint Director
Basavaraja M. Kambi Deputy Director
Sub EditorHameed Khan
Assistant Director
Published by
The Director Department of Information
and Public Relations# 17, “Vartha Soudha”
Bhagawan Mahaveer Road(Infantry Road) Bengaluru- 560 001
Phone : 080- 22028021, 22028022
e-mail:[email protected]
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Views expressed in the articles are not necessarily those of the Government
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10Harshavardhan V. Sheelavanth
File photos of
Siddaramaiah
(present Chief
Minister) with
veteran journalist
Patil Puttappa at
Vidyavardhak Sangh
programme
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Srinivas Sirnoorkar
Gudihalli Nagaraj
Karnataka at 60 and going strong
Karnatak Vidyavardhak Sangha- champion for the Cause of Unification
A.R.Krishna Shastry & T.S.Venkanniah – Aswini Devathes of Hosagannada
K.S.Someswara
Storeys from the past
N. Jagannatha Prakash
Theatre movement and Kannada awareness
Temples – The Legacy of Karnataka
B.M. Chandrashekariah
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The beauty and cultural bounty of Karnataka and its people has been competitively
described by the ancient medieval poets and richly recorded by a number of inscriptions. It becomes very difficult to choose the best among them to present the samples of richness of Karnataka.
``Even the myriad tongued Adisesa can never fully describe that land. How, then can others, mere men, describe it fittingly?’’ asks poet Andayya while singing paeans of Karnataka.
Nanjunda kavi while paying glowing tributes to Kannada people, has this to say: ``In that land there are only heroes, none timid; there are only benevolent givers, none greedy; there are only aesthetes alive to the beauties of poetry and the fine arts, none prejudiced. There is none who utter falsehood, none who runway
Karnataka at 60
and
going strong
On the occasion of Karnataka celebrating the diamond jubilee of unification, Srinivas Sirnoorkar throws light upon the Growth of the State in the last six decades.
from the battle front and none who do not give away the desired gifts at once. How then shall I fully bring out the glory of people of such a land?’’
The Sorab epigrpahical account goes thus: ``The beautiful country of Karnataka shines in splendor in manifold making the onlooker exclaim in wonder; ….O it is the residence of genial courtesy, home of the lotus seated God Brahma, treasure house of shining glory, and a happy dwelling place of all virtues, soft and profound.’’
The Kavirajamarga of Srivijaya, the first Kannada literary work discovered so far, draws the boundaries of Karnataka from Godavari to Cauvery. The poet has summed up the unique and great personality traits of the Kannada people thus: ``The people of that region are capable of speaking what is most appropriate to the occasion, and to understand well the implications of what is spoken. By birth they are intelligent. And even without studied reading, they are proficient in composing poems. The people of that region are good soldiers and poets; good rulers and handsome in looks; courteous and virtuous. They are both proud and fearsome, magnanimous and wise.’’
The anciency of Karnataka goes back to the age of Dwapara. Its earliest mention is found in the epic Mahabharata and a number of puranas besides in the epigraphs and early literary works of a number of poets. It all conclusively suggest that Karnataka has a very rich history and heritage.
Unification, A Daunting Task
The task of unification of Karnataka was more daunting than unification of any other linguistic state for Kannada speaking areas had spread far and wide of small principalities, states and provinces. Bringing them under a separate political entity was a big challenge. The vast Kannada Diaspora had its strong presence in Old Mysore State, Bombay Province, Hyderabad Nizam’s State, Madras Province, and Coorg State apart from a number of minor principalities. Despite being a big Diaspora, Kannada language did not have either political or geographical significance except in Mysore Samsthan. The voice of Kannada had remained suppressed under the din and domination of languages such as Marathi, Urdu, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu.
The demand for formation of Karnataka state had remained dormant for many years. For the first time, the voice for the demand was given by Sri Aluru
Venkata Rao, in an article in` Vagbhushana` in 1907. He declared that without unification of Karnataka, Kannadigas could not hope to come into their own. In the subsequent years, the declaration became a virtual war cry giving a much needed impetus to the unification movement.
In the same year special representation for Karnataka in the All India Congress Committee was sought and Mahatma Gandhi endorsed the same. At the Nagpur session, Indian National Congress approved of the twin concepts, a political organization in Karnataka and a movement for unification of Karnataka. But it was in 1938 that the Congress pledged unequivocal support to the linguistic states. A few days before his assassination, Gandhiji had said he whole heartedly accepted the idea of linguistic states , without which there was no hope of development for Indian languages.
The central government finally appointed States’ Reorganisation Commission headed by Fazal Ali in 1953. Within the Mysore state there was quite a lot opposition in certain quarters for the unification. The Sheshadri Committee appointed by the Mysore Government opposed unification on the ground that the princely Mysore will have to suffer as a result of merging with other backward areas. But majority of
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Mysorians, including Sir M.Visvesvaraya and the then Chief Minister Kengal Hanumanthaiah supported the idea. The Fazal Ali Commission favoured formation of Karnataka . And thus a long cherished dream was realised when the unified Mysore State formally came into existence on 1 November 1956. The state was renamed as Karnataka on 1 November 1973.
Economic Progress of Karnataka
At the time of unification, Karnataka’s economy was predominantly agricultural and
Kannada Poet Nrupatunga in Kavirajamarga, dating back to 9th century, defined the geographical location of the Kannada land as the one that stretches between the Cauvery and the Godavari. However, in modern times, it was exactly 60 years ago on this day (November 1) that Kannada-speaking people were brought together in one State.
The region that constitutes Karnataka today was till then under 20 administrative regions of the princely State of Mysore, Bombay Presidency, Madras Presidency, Nizam’s Hyderabad, and the territory of Kodagu.
In these scattered administrative regions, during the period of British rule, had experienced Kannadigas feeling of being alienated from one another. More or less part of divide and rule policy.
Though the demand for unification as a linguistic State was a almost century old, it gained momentum as ‘Ekikarana movement’ with the founding of Karnatak Vidyavardhak Sangha in Dharwad in 1890 by Ra.Ha. Deshpande and likeminded Kannadigas.
It took a strong turn with stalwarts such as Alur Venkata Rao (called Kannada Kulapurohita) taking the lead role. Karnataka State Political Conference held in Dharwad in 1920 passed a resolution demanding the unification of all Kannada-speaking areas. Karnataka Vidya Vardhak Sangha of Dharwad became the soul for unification movement.
The first Karnataka unification conference was organised in Belgaum in 1924 and it was here that Huilgol Narayana Rao first sang ‘Udayavagali Namma Chaluva Kannada Naadu’, considered to be the first State anthem.
Writers of that time, Kuvempu, B.M. Srikanthaiah, Da.Ra.
Bendre, V.K. Gokak, Sham.Ba. Joshi, Betageri Krishna Sharma, M. Govinda Pai, K. Shivarama Karanth, Kayyara Kinhanna Rai, and A.N. Krishna Rao most of them members of this Sangha, were determined votaries of unification.
“In a sense, the unification movement was a movement of writers,” says critic Dr. Giraddi Govindaraj in one of his statements.
Political leaders, including Kengal Hanumanthaiya, T. Mariyappa, Sowkar Chennaiah, H.C. Dasappa,
and H. Siddaiah, also urged the Constituent Assembly to create linguistic States.
The 10th conference of the Ekikarana movement was held in 1946 in Bombay. Inaugurating the event, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel promised that interests of all linguistic groups would be priority in independent India.
1947 to 1956, Post-Independence era, Karnataka Unification Party - Ekikarana Paksha was formed, supported by litterateurs and politicians, including man of commitment, former Chief Minister Siddvvanahalli Nijalingappa, becoming the captain of the ship and commanding the cause.
Re-organization Commission Finally recommended the States reorganization based on linguistic demographics.
Finally, Mysore State, comprising Kannada-speaking territories, came into being on November 1, 1956.
Central College Cricket Grounds of Bangalore University was the place where the inaugural ceremony of the formation of Mysore State was held. On November 1, 1973, the then Chief Minister D. Devaraj Urs renamed Mysore State as State of Kannadigas, Karnataka.
Visionaries and the Dream
A brief look into the unification process
village based, as the contribution of the primary sector to the state’s income was more than 50 per cent. The rural population has come down from 77.03 per cent in 1961 to 61.3 per cent in 2011. Massive urbanization has been the major transformation in the state’s profile. State capital has grown leaps and bounds and has become a major industrial hub of India. With the urban population reaching 38.7 per cent, it is expected people living in urban areas in the state will cross 50 per cent by 2026. The number of districts has increased from 19 to 30. The number of towns and cities has gone up from 231 to 347
However, rural development continues to be the on the top of the government’s agenda. The state has built of a very strong three tier panchayat raj system and has drastically decentralised the process of planning and implementation of hundreds of schemes and programmes with gram panchayats being directly funded by the state. There are 6692 gram panchayats.
In human development the state is fast marching forward by bringing down birth rate from 44.07 in 1956 to 18.5 in 2012 and the death rate from 18 to 7.1. State’s Human Development Index value has increased from 0.346 in 1981 to 0.508 in 2011. Karnataka has performed relatively better in population control with total fertility rate reaching the 12th Plan target of 1.9 children per woman in the year 2013 itself. The changing demographic profile of the state is expected to result in an increased population in the 15-59 age group. A pre requisite to reap this demographic dividend is to ensure a healthy and empowered population.
Some of the indicators would themselves speak of the massive economic growth the state has achieved in the last six decades. The state domestic product has increased from Rs.495.17 cr in 1956-57 to a mindboggling Rs.78.08 lakh cr in 2015-16! State’s income has spiralled from Rs.751 cr to Rs.10.23 lakh cr, and the per capita income from Rs.321 to Rs.1.46 lakh. Food grains production has registered an impressive 122 lakh ton in 2014-15 from 33.30 lakh tone 1956-57.
Investment Flow
The soundness of economy depends upon industrialization and investment flow. Karnataka has transformed itself in to an investor friendly state due to a number of initiatives including ease of administrative procedures, creating world class infrastructure and sector specific industrial zones and SEZs, extending incentives and concessions, and
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focused skill development. The latest ̀ Invest Karnataka’ held early this year has yielded in investment flow of Rs.3 lakh cr. Karnataka is one of the five hot destinations for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India accounting for 11.3 percent share in the total FDI inflow in to India.
Karnataka is the pioneer in IT revolution in the country housing over 3500 IT companies contributing a sum of Rs.2.20 lakh cr of exports. The industry contributes about 25 per cent of the state’s GDP. The share of Karnataka in IT exports is nearly 38 percent of the country’s exports.
The state has carved out a niche for itself in the global market as the knowledge and technology capital of the country. State ranks first in software/service exports and stands fourth in merchandise exports. State’s exports amounted to about Rs.313570 cr in 2014-15 constituting about 13.01 per cent of country’s exports.
Social Welfare
In the social welfare sector, Karnataka has not only done something different but has also done it with a difference. It has implemented the Karnataka Scheduled Castes Sub Plan and Tribal Sub Plan (Planning, Allocation and Utilisation of Financial Resources) Act,2013. As per the Act, the allocations made under SCP/TSP are non-divertible and non lapsable and will be made on the basis of SC/ST population, that is, 17.15 per cent and 6.95 per cent of the outlay. In 2015-16, the
State Unification: A Timeline1890: Karnatak Vidyavardhak Sangha,
which played a pivotal role in the unification of Karnataka, founded.
1903: Alur Venkata Rao made a case for integrating all Kannada-speaking regions of Madras Presidency, Bombay Presidency, and Nizam’s Hyderabad with Mysore kingdom
1905: Karnatak Vidyavardhak Sangha launched a unification movement by organising the first Kannada writers’ conference
1912: ‘Karnataka Gatha Vaibhava’ by Alur Venkata Rao, which accelerated the unification movement, published
1915: Karnataka Sahitya Parishat, which was another driving force in the unification movement, founded
1920: Resolution on unification of all Kannada-speaking regions passed at Karnataka State Political Conference held in Dharwad
1924: The first Karnataka Unification Conference held in Belgaum and first the State anthem, written by Huilgol Narayana Rao, sung
1946: The tenth conference of unification movement held in Bombay
1948: Dhar Commission appointed to look into demands of unification
1951: Karnataka Ekikarana Paksha, a political forum, launched
1953: The States Reorganisation Commission, headed by Fazal Ali, set up
1955: Commission report on States reorganisation, including Mysore, submitted
1956: Mysore State formed
1963: Kannada declared as the official language of the State
1973: Mysore State renamed Karnataka by Chief Minister D. Devaraj Urs
allocation to SCP is Rs.11773.55 cr and STP Rs.4582.73 cr. This has ensured SC/ST their due share come what may.
The state has taken major steps towards promoting gender equality by ushering in gender based budgeting. Making a beginning in 2006-07, gender based budgeting helps prioritise and orient public expenditure to reflect concerns of women. A Gender Based Cell to identify the quantum of resource allocation and expenditure for women and proper translation of policy commitments. Karnataka is a pioneering state in India to accord gender budgeting its due.
Special Development and Special Status
All said and done, the major concern that keeps haunting even in the 60th year of unification of the state is regional imbalance and backwardness of certain areas. To overcome these two, the state has evolved a Special Development Plan (SDP) as recommended by the D.M.Nanjunadappa Committee on Redressal of Regional Imbalances by making special allocations over and above the budget allocations to address regional imbalances. From 2007-2008 to 2015-16, the government allocated Rs.15359 cr for SDP and it has been
decided to continue it for another five years from 2016-17.
Historic Development
Karnataka has witnessed a historic development in the eradication of backwardness of Hyderabad Karnataka area comprising six districts Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Ballari with the central government extending special status to the area through Article 371 (J) Constitution Amendment Act, empowering the state to take special measures for speedy development of the region. The measures include local reservation in education and employment within the region and also outside the region and also in promotion. Hyderabad Karnataka Region Development Board (HKRDB) has been constituted for speedy development of the region with state allocating Rs.1000 cr every year.
It is hoped, by the time Karnataka braces for Platinum Jubilee celebrations of its unification in 2031, the regional imbalances and backwardness, would become alien concepts.
Srinivas Sirnoorkar is Kalaburagi based senior journalist.
History of Karnataka Ekikarana (unification) Movement is incomplete without knowing about
Karnatak Vidyavardhak Sangha, Dharwad. Vidyavardhak Sangha took initiative to begin a movement for Unification of Kannada speaking people who were scattered under various rulers.
The Karnatak Vidyavardhak Sangha was an institution established on 20 July 1890 by Sri R H Deshpande in Dharwad, India which was then under the British rule of Bombay Presidency.
This institution was established with the sole objective of promoting Kannada
Karnatak Vidyavardhak Sangha- champion for the Cause of Unification
Karnataka Vidyavardhak Sangha played a crucial role in the unification of Karnataka. Harshavardhan V.
Sheelavant explains how Sangha worked to achieve this endeavour.
culture and language in times when the Kannada speaking regions of present day Karnataka were split into six different areas, where Kannada was often overshadowed by other languages. Soon the Sangha morphed into a hub for the Karnataka Ekikarana (Unification) movement and played a pivotal role in the eventual unification of Karnataka.
It inspired the establishment of several institutions and organizations across the state. For its invaluable services and contributions to Kannada and Karnataka, this institution was awarded the Ekikarana Award by the Government of Karnataka on the occasion of the 50th year celebrations of Karnataka state in 2006.
Divisions and Provinces
After the downfall of the Vijayanagara Empire, through the period of British rule, Karnataka was divided into six parts, namely Bombay Karnataka, Hyderabad Karnataka, Madras Karnataka, Coorg, Mysore and smaller princely states like Mudhol, Jamkhandi, Savanur etc.
The result was that the Kannada culture and language in these areas were eclipsed by other cultures. For example, in the four districts of Dharwad, Belgaum, North Kanara and Bijapur districts that comprised Bombay Karnataka, Kannada culture and language had suffered severe setbacks due to prolonged Maratha rule.
When the British introduced their system of education in this area, they were under the impression that these districts were part of Maharashtra and started Marathi schools there. Mr. Walter Elliott, Deputy Collector of Dharwad, soon found that the language
of the people was Kannada, but Marathi was imposed upon them.
Out of sympathy for the Kannada people and his knowledge of Kannada, Elliot started Kannada schools in Dharwad around 1830. Balashastri Jambhekar, an education officer of the Bombay Government, also felt that since the language of the people was Kannada, there should be Kannada schools in these four districts.
A determined effort to establish Kannada schools was made by Mr. W. A. Russell, who after serving as Professor in the Deccan College at Pune, was appointed as Educational Inspector of the Southern Division of the Bombay Province. To Russell’s amazement, he found that there were not a sufficient number of persons who could teach Kannada effectively. He induced officers in other departments of the Bombay Government who were Kannadigas and who knew Kannada sufficiently to join the Education Department. Among them
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Aluru Venkataraya R.H. Deshpande
were Srinivas Rodda, Bhujangarao Huilgol, Venkatarangu Katti and others.
When Mr. R. H. Deshpande who was studying in the Deccan College passed his M.A. examination with a gold medal in 1884, Russell persuaded him to join the Education department and assured him that he would, with his stellar academic career, soon replace him as the Inspector of the Southern Division. True to his word, Russell promoted Mr. Deshpande as deputy inspector of Karwar within a few months of his joining Sardar High School in Belgaum. However, Mr. Russell was subsequently shifted from his post and in his place a Marathi officer was posted. For the next 25 years, three Marathi officers ruled over the Bombay Karnataka area and introduced Marathi in the Kannada schools. Mr. Deshpande naturally resented this and decided to revolt against this foisting of Marathi on Kannada children, but as a Government servant, there were restrictions on what he could do. He took shelter under the British policy of encouraging education in the vernacular language and decided to establish a Sangha for the protection of Kannada and the Unification of the Karnataka areas. Thus the Karnataka Vidyavardhaka Sangha came into being on 20 July 1890.
Charter of the Sangha
The first charter of the new body was to publish books in Kannada. Kannada could live and thrive only through books and journals so the Sangha brought out its first publication two years after it was established and then came the first Kannada literary and cultural journal Vagbhushana.
Since Kannada was the mother tongue of the rulers of Mysore, Mr. Deshpande enlisted the support of the Maharaja of Mysore, Shri Chamaraja Wodeyar for the Sangha. The Government of Mysore used to send its scholars to conduct Kannada exams which the Sangha used to hold periodically. It also gave money for the construction of a building for the Sangha which was appropriately named as Chamaraja Mandira.
The Sangha organized the first conference of Kannada writers in Dharwad in 1905. This was the precursor of the present-day Kannada Sahitya Sammelan (annual literary conference). In 1912, when Sir Mokshagundam Vishweshwaraiah became the Diwan of Mysore, Mr. R. H. Deshpande who knew him intimately, wrote him a letter congratulating him on his appointment and further requested him to foster more attention on the development of the Kannada language and culture.
As a result, Mysore convened the first conference of Kannada writers from all parts of the country in Bangalore in 1915. The conference decided among other things to establish the Kannada Sahitya Parishat on the lines of the Karnataka Vidyavardhak Sangha.
Mr. Deshpande and Justice R.A. Jagirdar
(later the first Vice Chancellor of Karnataka University), served on a committee appointed by the conference to draft the constitution of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat. Thus came into being yet another organization working for the welfare of the Kannada country as a whole.
Resolution of Unification
Strengthened by these developments, the Karnatak Vidhyavardhak Sangha at its meeting on 7 October 1917 passed a resolution urging the Government of India to bring under one administrative unit all the Kannada towns, talukas and districts then under the British rule and name the unit as the Karnataka province.
This demand was reiterated in 1923 and on 25 February 1935 telegrams were sent to the Viceroy to bring under one administration all Kannada speaking areas. The Sangha was responsible to a certain extent in the founding of the Karnataka Research Institute in 1937 the Karnataka University in 1949, the All India Radio station at Dharwad in 1950, etc.
Today’s Sangha
In recent years, the Sangha has enlarged its scope of activities and for this purpose has set up committees to conduct activities in the areas of Education, publications, Literary, Art and Culture, Women’s Issues, Science and Technology, Social Welfare, Children’s Issues, Folklore, etc. The Sangha is housed in a historic building across from the Municipal Corporation in the heart of Dharwad town.
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A.R.Krishna Shastry is known as the twin gods of Hosagannada literatur along with another luminary T.S.Venkanniah.
He was born in the year 1890. He comes from a family where his father was a Sanskrit scholar. All his studies were held in Mysore Later under the guidance of B.M.Srikantaiah and Prof.M.Hiriyanna he obtained post graduation in Kannada and Sanskrit literature. He started his career in Central College. Here he made a chart of three programmes which resulted in Kannada as a language is heard properly and respected. He used his knowledge of English to give a new face to the teaching of Kannada which infused interest among students to study the language and a respect to those who teach the same. He created a Kannada Sangha in 1918 which can be called as the mother of all the Kannada associations
A.R.Krishna Shastry & T.S.Venkanniah – Aswini Devathes of Hosagannada
of the future. Through this association he showed that even science can be taught by Kannada. Prabuddha Karnataka well known periodical had a rebirth under him.
For more than three decades he worked in Mysore University and worked in many organisations for the development of the Kannada language. He was the Chief Editor of Kannada Grantha Mala published by the university. He encouraged many upcoming writers to contribute for the magazine Prabuddha Karnataka and his contribution in this regard in the form of critical analysis of the literature. He was also instrumental in the compilation of English-Kannada dictionary. He also worked as the first editor of Kannada dictionary published by the Kannada Sahitya Parishad.
A great teacher apart, he had encouraged many new writers and he himself has compiled many prosaics in Kannada. Some of them are done with the other twin of Kannada literature T.S.Venkanniah. They are History of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami-Shishya Samvada Part -1, and Harischandra Kavya Sangraha.
His literary work can be listed under three separate titles. They are Edited, Translated and independent creations. Dharmamruta of Nayasena with a preamble and Kavijivhabandhana ae his edited literary works. Nagamahashaya from Sharatchandra Chakravarthi’s famous Bengali work and Nibandhamala a collection of Rabindranath Tagore’s writings are his translatory works. The highlight of his translation is its easy flow as that of the original. Harischandra Kavya, Collection of dramas like Swapna Vasavadatta, Pratima, and Pancharatra are his own masterly creations. He has also compiled many of his literary speeches and writings in Prabuddha Karnataka. All these works are perfect guidelines to the young Kannada writers. His short story Sripathiya Kathegalu projects the travails of middle class people in the society and also his respected views on women. The jewel of all his writinga is Vachana Bharata, a prosaic compilation of 18 parvas of Vyasa Bharata. Perhaps this has no paralance in any of the Indian languages about prose version of Mahabharata. His critical analysis of Bankimchandra’s novels is another masterpiece. Nirmala Bharati a small pictorial journal for the children depicts the story of Mahabharata in a simple style.
He was the President of the Kannada Sahitya Sammelana held at Hyderabad in 1941. He was very fluent in Sanskrit, Kannada, English, Bengali as well as Tamil and Telugu. For his writing in Kannada he had a definite structure. He believed that one should not write on any subject without understanding the same. He is also of the opinion that, it should be simple in narration and compact in style. All his creations are simple to follow and are with short sentences. He was using local adages frequently and effectively in his writing. His character is that independent thinking in respect of the good faith we have to follow. He believed that ‘only Kannada language can make Kannada nadu survive’. He says that it has got a good support from Sanskrit and English languages. He wanted
Kannada to be a premium language among other Indian languages. He was repeatedly telling till his last days that ‘with proper opportunity kannada will have an outstanding future’.
T.S.Venkanniah is the other twin of Ashwini gods of Hosagannada literature along with A.R.Krishna Shastry. He too was born in the month of October. His father was an impromptou lyricist and had a melodious voice to recite epics with their meanings. He completed his matric in Chitradurga and came to Mysore in 1904 to study F.A. examination. He subsequently went to Bombay to study LL.B. But his urge to learn Kannada literature made him coming back to Mysore. He was the first professor of Kannada in Mysore University.
He had a multi faceted personality. Along with Kannada he was well versed in Telugu, Bengali and Tamil literature. He concentrated more on strengthening the Kannada literature and his writings are comparably very limited. He played a major role in making people understand Hosagannada sahitya. He encouraged his students to understand the pracheena sahitya and to learn more about the new Kannada literature. He had the capacity to identify and encourage proper students who are keen learners of the Kannada language. Such an attitude has helped him in working for Kannada. He used to shun unnecessary arguments. All such personalities of him gave an impetus to the growth of Kannada Sahitya Parishad, various Kannada literary associations of Central college and Maharaja College and for the growth of Prabuddha Karnataka journal.
His literary works though limited are invaluable in terms of their quality. Along with A.R.Krishna Shastry he translated Life history of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa He has also translated a part of Bengali version of the achievements of Paramahamsa. Harischandra Kavys Saangraha, Kadambari Sangraha Basavaraja Devara Ragale, Siddarama Charitreya sangraha are his edited works. Kuvempu was very much influenced by his personality and to render his respect to this personality he dedicated his epic Sri Ramayanadarshanam to his name.
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A. R. Krishna Shastry and T. S. Venkanniah are the luminaries in the field of Kannada literature, they are the twin gods of Hosagannada literature writes
K.S. Someswara
MoK
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A half naked fakir climbing up the steps of the Viceroy Bhavan.” commented Winston Churchill, when the Gandhi-Irwin pact was signed after Independence.
So what did the steps of the Viceroy Bhavan look like wondered Kengal Hanumanthaiah, the then Chief Minister of Karnataka. When he got a chance to visit Delhi as a member of the State Constitution Committee in 1948, the first thing he did was to visit Viceroy Bhavan ( now the Rashtrapathi Bhavan ).
Another time, when foreign dignitaries visited important places in Bangalore, one of them is supposed to have remarked on return, that Bangalore is full of buildings built in the western style. Kengal Hanumanthaiah wondered why Bangalore didn’t have any built in the Indian Style. These two incidents left a lasting impression on his mind and shaped ‘ Vidhana Soudha’.
Kengal Hanumanthaiah who had seen many buildings abroad, also made it a point to see the architectural marvels in Belur, Halebidu and Madurai. Vidhana Soudha is thus a blend of various styles of architecture from the south.
Storeys from the past
60 year old Vidhana Soudha has a fascinating history of architectural excellence, it is a landmark structure of State’s administration and tourist attraction writes N. Jagannatha Prakash
Vidhana Soudha is in Bangalore what, perhaps, the Qutub Minar is to Delhi or even Charminar to Hyderabad. This landmark structure, a tourist attraction, is also the administrative office for the Karnataka Government. But it reflects the architectural style of India, and in particular, Karnataka.
A balance of open and closed spaces, light and darkness, height and width is a special feature of this building.
The old Mysore State, as it was known then, has the distinction of laying the foundation for democratic rule, in the later part of the 19th Century, even though the British ruled us then. In 1880, the Mysore rulers brought into effect the people’s
representative meet, which was held at Mysore and later in Bangalore. After Independence, when the states were reorganized. Bangalore became the capital of Karnataka and then arose the need to have a full fledged administrative building.
The then Chief Minister Kyasamballi Chengalarayareddi, asked the authorities to draw out a plan for an administrative building. It so happened that the All India Congress Committee was supposed to hold a meeting in Bangalore, at the same time. Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Ministed laid the foundation stone for it in the Cubbon park Grounds, on july 13 1951.
In 1952 , the nation faced the first elections and Kengal Hanumanthaiah became the Chief Minister of Karnataka. While Reddi had plans for only an administrative building. Kengal Hanumanthaiah wanted not just a building, but an architectural wonder.
What was to be a single storey- building , with a large meeting hall, became a huge and wonderful building of architectural excellence, thanks to his love of art and the inspiration he drew from the few interesting episodes in his life.
It took two-and-a-half years to build the Vidhana Soudha on a 60 acre plot. The building is about 1,32,400 square feet and all the storeys put together add upto 5,50,505 feet. The total cost of
the building came to Rupees 2 crore.
A squarish structure, it extends upto 700 feet in the north-south direction and 350 feet in the east west direction. It is around 60.5 feet high. If the base at the southern end is also taken into account , its height is around 73.5 feet. The ‘Gommata’ or the dome at the centre is 150 feet.
The steps in the front, which are 204 feet wide, lead to a hall that stands on imposing pillars. From here if you go further, is the attractive main door of the Vidhana Soudha. The mainhall which is 138 feet long, 125 feet wide and 40 feet high, has space to accomodate 250 legislators.
Kengal Hanumanthaiya and Jayachamaraja Wodeyar inspecting Vidhana Soudha construction work.
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru
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The hall which houses a spectators gallery and one for officials, is covered from inside by fibre glass. The hall is built in such a way that it has a natural regulatory mechanism to keep the temperature at its optimum best, in both summer and winter. the hall receives the same amount of light on all sides, with no shadows anywhere. The southern end of the Vidhana Soudha houses the Vidhana Parishat, which can accomodate over 80 members.
The Banquet hall, which is located at the ground level in the main entrance, has eight pillars adorned with art work,from here, if you look up, you can see the inside of the dome, which is 200 feet long.
The Banquet hall is used for national and international conferences. Te pillars around the Banquet hall are attractively carved.
The Vidhana Soudha has been so planned that more storeys cannot be built, nor they can be expanded. The building is surrounded on all sides by a lush green garden.
The Cubbon hall in the third storey has a sandalwood door. The Chief Ministers Cabin is
very attractive too.
The chambers of the presidents and vice presidents of the Vidhana Sabha and Vidhana parishat, offices, library, research room, conference and seminar halls are housed in the third storey.
The main dome of the Vidhana Soudha has a lion with four faces. On top of the eastern door are these words ( Government work is God’s work ) The southern door has the words ‘Dharma Rakshati Rakshitaha’.
At the eastern end is the main door. Forty four steps built at three levels lead to this main door. Twelve pillars surround it, like the pillars of democracy.
The outer walls of the building are made of ash-coloured granite stones, with red and black stones in between. Beautiful flowers and creepers have been carved on stone. The Vidhana Soudha which has a collection of various kinds of art work is indeed is an architectural wonder. And a perfect blend of the old and new styles. By night, in all its well-lit splendor, it is a real treat to watch.
The awareness of the land and the language was the main intention behind the emergence of modern Kannada theatre (1872).
It was 19th century, a typical period in the history. Marathi had an edge over the cultural environment of Karnataka, especially the northern part of the state. The erstwhile Madras was the administrative centre of the British in the south, while Mumbai was in the north. Naturally, Marathi officials were more in number in the administrative areas connected to Mumbai. Language-wise provinces were yet to be formed. The territories were recognised as per the whims and fancies of the officials.
Due to the convenience of travelling by train, more number of Marathi-speaking officials came to north Karnataka. They had an upper hand in the fields of education and business too. They used to invite Marathi drama companies and arrange a lot of shows.
In the foreword written for the play ‘Shakuntala’ of Churamari, Mudaveedu Krishnaraya has aptly described like this: “The beautiful Kannada language developed by Pampa, Ranna, Kumaravyasa, Valmiki lagged behind and Marathi had an upper hand...” *
At a time where there was a great attraction towards Marathi books, newspapers, plays and music, great Kannada souls like Deputy Chennabasappa, Churamuri Sheshagirirao, Gangadhara Turamari, Shantaveera Kittura, Venkatarangokatti, Dhodonarasimha
Theatre movement and Kannada awareness
Prema Guledagudda as Chennamma and Lakshmeshwara Shivaiah as Thackerey in the play ‘Kittur Chennamma’.
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Theatre movement in Karnataka dates back to 19 th Century, it encouraged the audience in creating Kannada awareness and its stage techniques gained momentum during freedom movement writes Gudihalli Nagaraj
MoK
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Mulabagala, Venkataramanashastri Suri, Ramachandra Deshapande, Kerura Vasudevacharya, Alur Venkatarao, Mudaveedu Krishnaraya toiled hard towards producing more number of stories, novels and newspapers in Kannada, opening libraries and launching Kannada organisations in order to create a pro-Kannada environment.* Shantakavi did this through his plays.
Shantakavi aka Sakkari Balacharya
‘Shantakavi’ was the penname of Sakkari Balacharya. He was from Satenahalli of Hirekerur taluk of the present Haveri district. He was a primary school teacher. Shantakavi who had a great pain at the gloomy state of Kannada, has described in his work ‘Natakavalokana’ how Kannada had a smothering experience during that period. He wrote plays and organised youth. He stood up against the influence of Marathi plays. He established Sree Veeranarayana Prasadita Krutapura Nataka Mandali, Gadag, with the help of the youth in 1872 and staged a play called ‘Ushaharana’. It was a moment where professional theatre was initiated. Therefore, 1872 marks the beginning of the Kannada professional theatre.
Shantakavi produced more than 50 works including about 26 plays like Sundopasunda, Vatsalaharana, Sriyalasatya, Keechakavadha, Virataparva, Sudhanva Kalaga, Seetaranya Pravesha, Chandravali Charitre, Parvathi Parinaya, 9 anthologies, and classics. Many of his plays were staged by Krutapura Nataka Mandali in the regions of Gadag, Haveri,
were used. This was new for Kannadigas. When Marathi had an upper hand, there came independent plays in Kannada in order to prove the strength of Kannada and to create awareness. The British had introduced Proscenium (drama at the one end, audience in front of it) in Kolkata in 19th century which later came to Mumbai and then to Karnataka. When Parsi people in Mumbai gave a commercial and systematic touch to these dramas, they became company dramas. However it is interesting to learn that the stage technique introduced by the British themselves became a weapon in the freedom movement and the movement for the unification of Karnataka.
Continuation in Mysore province
When Marathi drama experienced a setback in north Karnataka, they came towards the south. By 1875, Marathas began staging plays under the aegis of the kings of Mysore. The rulers of Mysore who used to encourage art and literature, had given a lot of opportunity for music, dance and Yakshagana under their patronage. In addition, they encouraged this new genre with an open mind. The style of staging dramas using curtains, gorgeous make-up, attractive costumes appeared new to the audience of Mysore region. They liked Marathi plays and used to attend the shows in large numbers. Consequently, the number of Marathi plays too increased.
The middle class educated theatre artistes felt that they too could follow the style in Kannada theatre. Sree Shakuntala Karnataka Nataka Sabha was established under the leadership of C R Raghunatharao in 1879. In continuation with this, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar started Sree Jayachamarajendra Karnataka Nataka Sabha in 1880.
Krutapura Nataka Mandali of Shantakavi from north Karnataka, Chamarajendra Nataka Sabha of Mysore rulers paved way for a new tradition. They contributed a lot towards Kannada awareness. But they were yet to obtain a professional discipline.
Sree Kadasiddeshwara Sangeeta Nataka Mandali (1901-1922) established by Shivamurthy Kanaburgimath of Konnur in Belagavi district was the first one that emerged as a complete professional drama company. The company encouraged various new initiatives in the theatre such as participation of women in dramas, use of transfer sceneries, electric
lights using dynamo, new form of costumes etc and thus caused a new revolution in the professional theatre movement. This was the company that introduced the tradition of taking the troupe to one place to another place in a regular manner accompanying artistes and backstage professionals. Hence, this becomes the first full scale drama company. This tradition continued in both the regions of north Karnataka and old Mysore. The next one century provided a prosperous history to the professional theatre.
A new theatre genre was born. It became popular as the modern Kannada drama tradition. It got a professional touch too. The purpose of all these activities were not just providing a new theatre technique but creating awareness towards Kannada language. The efforts of creating Kannada awareness were incessant in the dramas staged by all the drama companies including Sree Chamundeshwari Karnataka Nataka Sabha that was started in Mandya and Mysore. In the foreword written for ‘Nirupama’ a play with a social theme for the drama troupe of A V Varadacharya of Bangalore, Nanjanagudu Srikantashastri wrote: “I have produced this plot called Nirupama for Kannadigas with the patronage of King Sri Krishnaraja Wadiyar who has
Dharwad and Belagavi. The plays not only protested the British colonialism and Maratha influence, but provided the essence of the Kannada mythology to the common people.
Improved version of Bayalata
The softened appearance, limited dialogues and songs of Kannada dramas in the place of the gorgeous bayalatas were something new for the audience and they liked them. In his work ‘Rangabhumiya Kannada Samvedane’, Ramakrishna Marathe observes that the audience who were attracted by the novel features of Marathi plays started liking the same novelty in Kannada plays too.
Adaptation of Kalidasa’s ‘Shakuntala’ by Churamuri Sheshagirirao to Kannada in 1870 was a significant event. While the Kannada adaptation of Shakuntala by Basavappashastri became the first play of the professional theatre of Old Mysore region, the play by Churamuri continued the tradition by Shantakavi and results in the emergence of professional theatre in Marathi.
The indigenous style of singing, the simple colloquial language of Dharwad region made the theatre popular very soon and made a strong influence on Marathi. Annasaheb Kirloskar who was known as the Father of Marathi Professional Drama staged ‘Shakuntala’ in a grand manner in Pune on October 31, 1880 and marks the beginning. (It was usually claimed that professional theatre in Kannada emerged out of the influence of Marathi theatre for a long time. But in fact, it was Vishnudasa Bhave who was inspired by a Yakshagana in Sangali in1842, wrote ‘Seeta Swayamvara’ in Marathi and staged it. The recent researches have shown that this was the beginning of Marathi professional theatre. Instead of claiming the credit of being the pioneers, it would be better and correct to say that Marathi and Kannada were influenced on each other.)
The Kannada bayalatas were staged with the help of lamps. Marathi dramas were staged in auditoriums or Rangamandiras where curtains
Malatishree Mysore as Viyola and Mahantesh Matura as Garmen in the play ‘Sindhura Lakshmana’.
Cine artiste Dikki Madhavarao as Ecchamanayaka and A K Manjunath as Chandakhan.
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Temples – The Legacy of KarnatakaKarnataka is home to many temples which stand as
testimony to the wonderful sculpture and architecture. B.M. Chandrashekariah writes about the saga of splendid sculpture and architecture in the State.
Karnataka, the land of legendary temples, bears testimony to ancient and medieval India’s splendor in sculpture and architecture. Here it is not the engineering skill, but the sculptor’s skill predominates. The details
of the sculpture are very interesting and the history of architecture in Karnataka reduces itself to the history of ornamentation.
Sculpture in Karnataka, as elsewhere, may be made of wood, stone, precious stones and metals. Stone has been generally used for images set-up permanently in the Hindu temples or in the Buddhist Stupas or Jaina Basadis. There may be some examples of wood being used for them, in that case, the images are periodically renewed. The village deities or Grama Devathas worshipped by the villagers are usually made of wood.
Metal is rarely employed in making of images intended as permanent fixtures in temples, though their use has been made as a stop-gap arrangement. Metal, however, has been generally used for casting images for processional purpose. Such images are called Utsava Murthys or the images for festive occasions. There are evidences to show that the art of metal casting has been long known in Karnataka, at least it is older than 10th century.
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been committed towards developing Kannada language”.* The skills of acting and singing of Varadachaya increased the beauty of Kannada and this became a motivational factor for a battalion of Kannada actors who joined the movement in the future years.
Independent works, adaptations and Kannada awareness
Many playwrights intended that there should independent Kannada works instead of translations and adaptations. For instance, in his foreword to Kanakalata Parinaya, Nanjanagudu Srikantashastri writes thus: “All the plays written in Kannada till date are nothing but translations from Sanskrit and English. In order to overcome the criticism that there are no original plays in Kannada, I wrote this Kanakalata Parinaya.* We can see words of this tone in many playwrights. They produced independent plays in Kannada along with translations and adaptations. Whether independent, or translations or adaptations from English and Sanskrit, whatever may be, they contributed towards strengthening Kannada. Not only playwrights, but also the artistes tried their level best towards Kannada awareness. Their dialogues indicated this. Even though the original works did not have such dialogues, they used to produce timely pro-Kannada dialogues which helped the language grow. They made the dramas more admirable also. Clear pronounciation, incessant flow of speech made the audience proud about their language. Except folk arts, professional troupe were the only representative of the theatre at that time.
Whether the plays are of mythology, history or social in their theme, they had a lot of dialogues motivating the sense of Kannada. Historical plays like Kittur Chennamma, Sangolli Rayanna, Ecchama Nayaka etc too contributed Kannada awareness. In addition to reconstructing the history, they played direct and indirect roles in strengthening the freedom movement too. Apart from freedom movement, they encouraged the audience to work for the strengthening of Kannada language. The dialogues in the plays made the audience thrilled and motivated.
All the mythological, historical and social plays produced in between 1900 and 1947, played a great role in creating Kannada awareness. A pro-Kannada sense grew across the Kannada speaking region. The unification of Karnataka was yet to be done. There was
not even the concept of ‘Karnataka’. But it was a positive development that Kannada awareness prevailed wherever Kannada was spoken. It can be said that Kannada dramas did the job of creating an environment suitable for unification of Karnataka in a very big way. The seed sown by Shantakavi grew into a plant and a big tree. It became a mammoth tree just before the unification of Karnataka. The Kannada theatre took a proactive role in the unification movement.
Yenagi Balappa produced a drama ‘Karnataka Ekikarana’ on behalf of his Kalavaibhava Natyasangha in 1947 and staged it for 3-4 years amidst all obstacles. He experienced much loss. He even received a lot of threat letters. But he never cared them. He was the courageous person who put a board in front of his drama troupe that read: ‘Kalavaibhava Natyasangha, Belagavi district, Karnataka state’ much before the unification of Karnataka. His contribution towards unification through dramas is magnanimous. It is a subject of a separate study.
* For further reading: ‘Rangabhumiya Kannada Samvedane’ by Ramakrishna Marathe; Publisher: Kannada Jagruti Pustakamale, Allamaprabhu Janakalyana Samsthe, Sidda Samasthanamath, Chinchani-591272, Chikkodi taluk, Belagavi district.
Cine artiste Dr. Rajkumar as Ecchama Nayaka and another cine artiste T N Balakrishna as Tiruvenkata.
Mariyammanahalli Hanumakka as Eshwaramma and Y N Hanumaiah as Diwan in the play ‘Surapura Venkatappa Nayaka’.
There is a reason to believe that the sculptural work of Karnataka goes beyond to the beginning of the 3rd century BC was mainly Buddhist as excavations at Sannathi revealed. Little of it has, however, survived today. During the rule of Shatavahanas in Karnataka in 1st and 2nd century Ad, Buddhist worship began to decline, though it was still shared with the Hindus as devotion of the people. The Kadambas, the foremost Kannada dynasty, who ruled from Banavasi from 3rd to the 6th century AD succeeded the Shatavahanas were avowedly Hindus in origin and the earliest known temples in Karnataka are connected with them. And one such is Pranaveshwara temple at Talagunda, which is believed to be their original home, in Shimoga District.
Jainism, however, competed for supremacy with both Buddhism and Hinduism from the very early period and succeeded during the time of Gangas who ruled Southern Karnataka from Talakad from 4th century to 11th century Ad., and firmly established in the land. The Gangas were the great art lovers. In fact, it was in the time of the Ganga Kind Rachamalla, his minister Chavundaraya created the 57 feet high monolith statue of Lord Bahubali (Gommata) and many other Basadis at Shravanabelagola, the Jain pilgrimage center in 981 AD.
Buddhism managed to survive in a slender form till the 12th century AD. While Hinduism, which lay dormant during the period of Gangas, slowly gained strength during the period of Chalukya and Rashtrakuta domination and finally asserted during the Hoysala and Vijayanagar period.
The Hoysalas who ruled from 1050 to 1300 AD were however staunch Jains till the time of Bittideva (1111-1141 AD) embraced Sri Vaishnavism and became Vishnuvardhana, Hinduism gained
architecturally the first and the most ornate of the Dravidian Style temples in Karnataka. The temples of Kolaramma in Kolar, Nageshwara temple at Begur, and Aprameya temple at Malur near Channapatna belong to this style.
The creations of imposing pyramidical gopurams (tower) on the Mahadwara or the main entrance of the temple, is the tradition of Dravidian temples. They are ornated with the images of gods and goddesses made of mortar and bricks. They are hollow inside with a stair case to reach the peak. These gopurams are of the size, which varies from 3-11 tiers. The Rayas of Vijayanagar Empire have renovated or extended almost all the old temples in their territory ignoring their affinity to any sect and adorned them with the gopuram on the Mahadwara and then they are called as Rayagopurams.
In Karnataka, there exists a few caves and cave temples. The inner sanctum of the Hidimbeswara temple at Chitradurga is carved out of a single rock. The figure of Hidimba, the demon who was killed by Bheema is sculpted on the vimana. The Ankalematha at the same place is noted for its caves, which form a perfect labyrinth consisting or rooms of various sizes at cave sheltered by a gigantic boulder. There are also two cave temples in Bangalore city itself. The Gavigangadareswara temple which was developed by Kempegowda, the founder of Bangalore, is also a pretty large cave sheltered by a huge boulder and another cave temple which exists in the city, near
considerable strength and spread over the country.
The Chalukyas of Badami (535-757 AD) experimented with the different styles of temple architecture and ultimately evolved their own style of architecture. These experiments can still be seen at Aihole, Pattadakal and Badami which includes structural and rock-cut temples. The rock-cut temples are stupendous and their pillars and walls are decorated with panels of sculptures of excellent quality. Aihole which cradled the Chalukyan style temple building, as the temple of Durga which is an interesting Hindu adaptation of architecture of a Buddhist Chaitya with a apsidal end.
The Rashtrakuta sculptures found in Karnataka bear a close affinity to early classical art as represented in the marvelous Kailasa temple at Ellora built by kind Krishna-1 in the 8th century, is considered as one of the wonders of the world.
Another line of Chalukyas who captured the Rastrakuta throne in 973 AD ruled from Kalyan from 973 AD to 1190 AD. The Chalukya rulers, their generals and ministers built and endowed many temples in their empire and developed a style of architecture, which goes by their name. The Hoysalas who were their feudetaries, closely followed their style. In fact, most of the monuments in Chalukyan style are connected with this line of Kings. Its chief characteristic is elaborate ornamentation. A development in this style, peculiar of Karnataka, is the Hoysala style, which is represented by many fine examples in the state. The style is specially noted for its lavish friezes, crowed with thousands of figures, often worked out in the most elaborate and delicate manner.
The twin temples at Nandi devoted to Bhoganandishwara and Arunachaleswara built by the Bana Queen, Rathnavali, during the 8th century,
Hulimavu, is also devoted to Gangadhareswara. It is also a large cave sheltered by a gigantic boulder. We can also find many more cave temples in the hill forts existing throughout Karnataka.
We have seen the influence of the dominant Chalukyan style on the Hoysala Architecture. Now it can be seen how the Hoysala style influenced the later Dravidian architecture as manifested in many temples during the period of Vijayanagar predominance and even later. The most notable example of this is the Vidyashankara temple built in 1356 AD by Bukka-1 at Shringeri is one such a blend of two styles that it is difficult to say it belongs to, though there is some evidence of its Dravidian parentage. Another one is the Aghoreshwara temple At Ikkeri and the Gopalakrishna temple, which was rescued recently from the waters of Krishnarajasagar.
The temples at Belur, Halebid and Somanathapur are regarded as masterpieces of the Hoysala Style. They stand unrivalled for their sculpture as well. The Keshava temple at Somanathapur is an excellent example of the Hoysala style of architecture, its sculpture being more perfect than that of the fascinating temples at Belur and Halebid.
Oldest Jain Basadi in Shravanabelagola Boganandishwara Temple, Dravidian Style temples
Chalukyas of Badami temples
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Temples belonging to Vijayanagar style of architecture are to be found all over southern India, but the best among them are to be found in the deserted capital of Vijayanagar itself, now popularly known as Hampi. Hampi presents the forlorn look of a city in ruins. The surviving structures which are mostly temples and a few secular buildings are the only mutilated remnants of what was according to contemporary chronicles “the finest and the most populous of the cities” in the 16th century India.
Hampi retains its unique importance for the tourists and the Historians as well. The finest monuments of this ruined city are the Vijayavittala and the Hazararama temples built in the 15th century by the King Deveraya –II ( 1424-1446 AD). The Vittala temple is the more ornate of the two. Krishnadevaraya, the illustrious ruler of this empire, perhaps in his time has added the ambulatory passage around the sanctum or garbhagruha. Also new architectural elements such as antharala, the second anti-chamber and a 100 pillared hall was added when Sadasivaraya (1542-1576) ruled from Vijayanagar, an open pillared hall was added in 1554 Ad, abutting the rangamantapa. Even today, this mantapa stands as a master piece of Vijayanagar
architecture with its world famous musical pillars/ Its 56 composite pillar each 3.6 m high are hewn out of a solid blocks of granite. Each of the shaft in this composite pillar when struck with a rod yields a distinct musical note.
Another structure of super workmanship within the enclosure is the Kalyana-mantapa or the marriage pavilion. It has 46 richly carved pillars. In the courtyard of the temple, there is another unique architectural piece, shaped like the processional temple chariot, complete with wheels, but cut entirely from a single rock.
There are many examples of good workmanship in brass, copper, bronze etc., in the temples. The best of this kind is to be found chiefly in connection with the processional images during the periods of Hoysala and Vijayanagar ascendancy, the custom of presenting cast metallic images to the temples received even greater sanctions and the tradition was kept up by the Mysore Wodeyars later.
The temples of Karnataka are famous not only for their history but also their sculpture and architecture and will always remain a pride of India.
Hampi, Vijayanagar
Somanathapur, Hoysala Style temples
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