Temples - III

 

Temples – Part III

Continued from Part II and the concluding part

“OK, agreed”, said one of them from the previously discontented group.  “But, how do you justify your statement that temples served the agrarian purpose and acted as refuge for people during natural calamities.” There was sincerity in the speaker’s tone now.

“Good question. I appreciate it”, said the guide. He took the group to a spot to show the pinnacle of the tower above the sanctum sanctorum.  It was a golden coloured pot like structure. “This ‘pot’ contains life seeds of various grains. These seeds are preserved there and every 12 years they are replaced with new, fresh ones. Old scriptures tell us that in case of crop failure these seeds were retrieved from there and distributed among farmers, something like a seed bank. Since we have modern day seed banks and other agro-support systems, this idea has become obsolete but it was done with a purpose in those days.”

“Excellent!” exclaimed the group. “I still have one more question…” said a girl from the group. “How did temples serve as….” “I get your question”, said the guide. “See this structure, how strong and sturdy it is. It has withstood weathering over centuries. It gave refuge to people at the time of flooding and other natural calamities. Those day, of course, the kitchen was used to its fullest capacity to serve food at that time.”

“How was the site for temple construction chosen?” “Soil analysis was conducted to check for the suitability as the structures were planned to be huge.”

Good Bye all!! The guide bid adieu to the group.

The whole group was thoroughly impressed and left the place ruminating the facts that were left in the sands of time for long.

Concluded

Temples - Part II

 Temples- The heart of local economies

Continued from Part I

“How?”, the guide started to address this ‘how’ point by point.

Employment to the local communities

During the construction of the temples, a very large number of people from the local communities and from near by places were employed.

The employment was on various fronts:

1.     The construction work, carpentry, iron smithy, cooking. Dancers and other entertainers were also employed during the construction of temples.

C “Wait, wait…dancers?” interrupted one of the listeners. “Yes, if you look around you can see sculptures and idols of dancing women. Dancers were employed as models, posing for sculptors.”

“Oh!!! Modelling was a profession in those days as well?”

“Ok, but why entertainers?” some one interrupted again. “Rest all are understandable, but why entertainers?” “They were entrusted with the responsibility of entertaining the physically exhausted and stressed workers of temple projects. Also, the kings wanted the whole team to share the visions of the project of temple construction, with similar dedication and devotion as theirs. Therefore, entertainment was mostly narration on the presiding deity’s stories, in the form of musicals, ballets and other forms of entertainments as well.”

After the construction, the temples emerged as hub of local economic activities as well. Small settlements came up around temples and the locality was abuzz with various activities.

• 1.     Priests and their families settled down near temples (of course, for performing the daily religious rituals)
• 2.     Cooks were employed to prepare the daily offerings to the Lord. The temple kitchens also double up to serve the needy
• 3.     The tailors who stitched the Lord’s fineries
• 4.     Washermen were employed to wash the deity’s clothes
• 5.     Sweepers maintained the cleanliness of temples
• 6.     Flower stalls sold ‘Puja’ items
• 7.     All the floral offerings to the Lord came from the temple gardens and gardeners were employed for the gardens’ upkeep
• 8.     Administrative officers were employed for the temple administration
• 9.     Cowherds took care of the cows that belonged to the temple

 So on and so forth….

Slowly the group started realizing the importance of temples in local economy, as the forgotten facts started unravelling from the sands of time…

To Continue

Temples - Part I

 Temples (The heart of local communities)

The tourists were awed by the grandeur of the humungous structure. The intricate stone carvings, the small statues on the tall towers all caught the fascination of the group.

The magnificent structure, intricate carvings, idols, sculptures are all common features in temples. The experienced guide was walking the group down the memory lane, explaining every corner of the place to its detail.

Some in the group started murmuring that kings and emperors who built such huge temples actually wasted people’s tax money. Others chose to ignore such comments. Emboldened by the non-opposition, the murmur became louder, this time with uncharitable comments.

The guide decided to explain the ‘pseudo-intellects’ how temples served various socio-economic agenda in olden times.

Thus spoke the guide, “Kids, I have been listening to your comments throughout. I understand that you people are completely ignorant about the glorious history. That’s very sad. Now, learn from me. I can only pity you people for your ignorance.”

The group glared at the guide. The unwavering guide continued, “Temples, as you believe,  are not wasteful buildings. They have provided employment to the local communities, have served to save the communities from disasters and natural calamities, served some agrarian purposes, doubled up as entertainments cum learning centres.”

Unmoved by the introduction, the group of ‘intellectuals’ decided to counter the guide. “How?” asked one of them, and the others getting ready with their volley of questions. Unperturbed by the arrogance, the guide started explaining the facts that got buried in the sands of time.

To Continue

 

Warli Art

The small crowd that had gathered around a simple-looking piece of art was involved in an animated discussion. Some admired the deeper meaning that the art piece reflected and some others dismissed the art form as an overrated work.  Yes!!! They were discussing the Warli Art. In an art lover’s acumen Warli Art represents the elements of nature, and for a novice’s eyes the art is a rustic form made with triangular figures.

What is Warli Art? It is an art form of the Warli tribes inhabiting the region north of Sahayadri hills. Like any other/all other tribal communities the Warli tribes also live in unison with nature and it is very well reflected in their paintings. It is believed that this form of art dates back to 3000 BC.

The central theme of these painting are always mother nature, accentuated with wild lives, plants, trees etc. The hard working nature of the tribal community is represented in these paintings (one can always see men and women working in fields and engaged in some vocation or the other). Celebrations are all community celebrations and are never confined to individual households. (Celebrations are represented by the famous Tarpa dance). Oh!!! There are so many lessons to learn from them.

All the depictions are done with geometric patterns (triangles, circles, squares, more often than not). The figures are traditionally drawn on walls, of dark background (representing the earth), with rice paste. Contemporary Warli enthusiasts paint it on canvas with acrylic paints.

It is heartening to see the art form making its way into modern day home décor.

Thankfully Warli art has not gone into the oblivion, is not buried in the sands of time, but is revived and is catching art lovers’ attention across the globe.

Some Warli Painting attempts by the writer and her daughter

Deepavali - The Festival of Lights

 Once upon a time…

The house smelt of caramel, some sweet in the making. After a quick offering to the Divine, mom gave the sweet to her. The 8-year-old observed it closely, smelt it intently trying to figure out what has gone into the making of the sweet (yes, I mean the ingredients). She decides to stop worrying about the ingredients and swallows the piece in one go. Some more please!!! Goes the little girl. Now, it was time to raid the containers stocked with savouries.   

It was time to go out and play. The girl makes a mental note of all the things she was to share with her friends about the preparations for the fast approaching Deepavali. The new clothes (her dress is still lying at the tailoring shop, waiting to be collected), her parents’ new clothes and the nitty-gritties of shopping for the new clothes (which bus they took, how crowded was the bus, which shop they purchased the clothes from, and the hotel they had their dinner in – the word restaurant was not popular back then), and not to forget the list of crackers to be discussed and finalised with friends.

Waking up early, getting ready for the celebrations and bursting the first cracker were all life-time dream those days.

All kids who grew up in the 1980s in India, or should I say in Tamil Nadu, would relate to the scenes narrated above.

In the 2000s

Things have changed (yes, Change is the only permanent)/Times are changing. The house doesn’t smell of caramel anymore. The store-bought sweet boxes welcome the child that returns from school. There are restrictions on the polluting firecrackers. Children are taught about the harmful effects of the firecrackers on the “otherwise unpolluted and serene environment”!!!.

With passing of time, we have conveniently forgotten the amount of vehicular pollution generated every day, the amount of water wasted on creating fashionable clothes (what is it called? Fast Fashion, is it?) and not to mention, the humungous amount of e-waste created by the tech savvy.

Some one please help me understand how a 2-day celebration surpasses all other factors contributing to pollution put together.

1.       Now all of us (ok!! ok!! most of us) own at least one two-wheeler, one four-wheeler which was a rarity in the pre-2K era.
2.       Electrical/Electronic consumer durables and gadgets are all over the place increasing electricity consumption multi-folds, now.
3.       Fast fashion was unheard of in the 1980s and 1990s.
4.         Innumerable plastic items consumed all 365 days, all over the world.
5.          Irrational consumption and wastage of food leading to unmanageable waste generation throughout the year

 (To list out a few contributors)

Why blame only Deepavali celebrations for the pollution created. It’s absolutely fine if Deepavali celebrations contribute to pollution for two days as against the other 365-day polluters.

Now, folks…. that was a banter from the sands of time.

Let Deepavali celebrations be not buried in the sands of time and I would celebrate it the way I have always….!!!

(All of us have opinions and I have my set of opinions too… Bytes from Sands of Time reflect mine and this piece is an antithesis on the celebrations these days !!!)

Thanks for reading, dear friends

                                           Happy Deepavali dear all

                                                                                                                                        Priya