Tuesday 17 September 2013

Bangalore Ganesh Utsava – an evening spent well


Having spent my first two years of work life in the heart of Bangalore, Basavanagudi I had been oblivious to the spectacular Ganesha Utsava that happens in Acharya Patashala Grounds.
I had skipped all these years possibly because I was indisposed towards crowded gatherings but only now I realized that it would have been worth the crowd.

 This year marked the 51st celebration of the famous Ganesha Utsava and that in my opinion is really commendable. To keep the show going on for 51 years and attracting people from all over Bangalore over all these years surely says something about the event.

The first ganesh utsava was started in the year 1962 by a group called Shri Vidyaranya Yuvaka Sanga which was the brain child of two brothers in GK Gopal and GK Obhaiah.  Vinayaka Cycle mart in DVG road was the first venue of this utsava. The two brothers and few likeminded people started the group viz a viz the utsava with an objective to promote literature, culture and kannada and the essence is continued even today with manifold programs lined up for 10days starting on the day of Ganesha Chaturthi.

Artists from all over India come here to perform to a crowd who appreciate music, culture, dance and art. Celebrities of the likes Hema Malini, Kareena Kapoor , Shaan, Usha Uthup, Rajesh Krishnan and more have marked the Utsava over the years.

Along with the cultural extravagance, the BGU has lately started the Sand Utsava where a huge Ganapathi is made out of sand. The 50th year of BGU also exhibited one of the biggest laddos which weighed about 6000kg.
The sand art is very intricate and receives special attention.

The APS grounds which has been hosting the ganesha utsava year after year is vast and accommodates innumerous handicrafts, food and entertainment stalls along with the Sand Ganapathi, Paper ganapathi and the traditional ganapathi to which Pooja is offered everyday for 10 days.  The pandal seating the traditional ganapathi is magnificent and large and beholds the visitor for reasonably long enough time without crowd menace.

Not having much to do over the weekend, me and hubby decided to go the Utsava on 15 September 2013 which was the 7th day of the event.  The events lined up for the event was a show by Beats Guru and Euphoria. I have to confess here that I was inclined towards going mainly because of euphoria playing and the other attraction “Aromas of Karnataka”.

 “Aromas of Karnataka” is an initiative by the Shri Vidyaranya Yuvaka Sanga to showcase the delicacies from various parts of Karnataka and each of these stalls hosts the cuisine unique to the place.  We found some interesting items like Floating Pani Puri, Halu Bai, Jack Fruit Mulaka,
Floating Pani Puri
Neer dosa

Kurukoti Avalakki, Ragi dosa, and more.

One can spend an hour and more in trying many of the delicacies. The utsava has something to offer for everyone, along with the food there are stalls displaying food items, handicrafts, gardening items to buy from. I would rather not comment on the prices but one thing that caught my attention was a stall selling kitchen garden items, that is soil, seeds, fertilizers etc. I could not move on from there without paying for a Brinjal plant for my balcony garden.

This blog would not be complete without a mention about the Beats Guru. They are Bangalore based band whose music is mostly influenced by African Tribal, tribal trance, Arabian and more.  The way their lead artist Ganesh sensed the audience pulse and played the tunes was simple awe-inspiring. I never realized that I spent more than hour going around the stalls listening to their instrumentals.  The second performance Euphoria
really doesn’t need any introduction, Palash and team played some of their famous numbers , some popular rock songs of Bollywood and others as well.

Overall it was a beautiful evening spent with art, music, food and fun!

Tuesday 18 June 2013

GolGumbaz



One of the monument sites in Karnataka, that was on a to-do list but I wasn’t fascinated about is what this blog is about.

Bijapur historically stands for the ruling of Adil shahis and this is chiefly symbolized by that one structure which defines Bijapur all by itself. Its enormous dome which is the biggest in Asia is visible from quite a distance and tells a traveler that that they have arrived in the city of Adil Shahis and the city which is the abode of Gol Gumbaz.

As we enter the gates, the only thing that catches all the attention is the Gumbaz which looks splendid when complimented by the lush green lawns. Marking the path to the monument are blushing Gulmohar trees and lovely yellow flowers.

Golgumbaz veiled by Nazar and Nagar Khana

To keep the curiosity on for the visitors, entrance to the monument is veiled by two structures; commoners refer to them as “Nazar Khana” and “Nagar Khana”. The interpretation of commoners is that Nazar Khana was constructed to keep away from people’s envy on directly looking at the spectacular structure, while Nagar Khana was used as a band stand to greet the Adil Shahis.

One has to cross the buildings, leave the footwear and enter the main hall. The acoustic of the place is such that early visitors in the morning can even hear their own footsteps. The main hall is huge with a center podium which houses cenotaphs of King Mohammed Adil Shahi and his family, the main cenotaph is marked by an elaborate wooden baldachin. The real tombs are located below in the basement and are accessed by a staircase under the western entrance.

center podium with cenotaphs


The history from the commoners elucidate is that the big tomb in the center of the hall belongs to the king himself, the other two smaller ones farther away were his grandkids, the one at the end was his queen, however the one adjacent to his was of his muse and mistress from Srilanka. We will come to more about this view of the story later, for now let’s explore the architectural splendor of Gol Gumbaz.

A flight of stairs takes us up to seven floors which opens to an alley that skirt the dome. This alley is called whispering gallery. The whispering gallery is architecturally designed such that every diagonal corner acts as whispering windows. So when a person speaks from one of the corners, the only person who is diagonally opposite will be able to hear the conversation.

Dome with diagonal acoustic system
Though the whispering gallery appear to be great in terms of architecture, the bigger attention monger is however the dome itself. This is the second largest dome in the world and comes after the dome of St Peters Basilica in the Vatican City. The dome is not supported by columns but by 8 intersecting arches created by two rotated squares create interlocking pendentives. The dome acts an integral part in maintaining the astounding acoustics of the place.  From each of the windows on the seventh floor, one can see the walls bordering the city of Bijapur which now though is in crumbled state still describes the expanse of the Shahi kings.
 
Now coming back to the curious case of the King Adil Shahi and his mistress. This is a story we heard from the locals and has no records in the history. The story goes like this.

GolGumbaz was initially constructed as a place where the King had his amusements through dance and music. There are small sections inside the walls which is said to house the musicians around the hall, the main stage which now houses the tombs was used as a stage for performances. The king had his place directly opposite to the entrance. The Gol Gumbaz was said to resonate with melodious music of court musicians, but what enhanced the magical experience was the performance of a Srilankan dancer who was also the kings muse. 
 
The king fancied her more than his own wife and would have secret conversations with her using the whispering alley. On one fateful day, the king in a jest questioned the love of this beloved, and whispered whether she would willingly give away her life for him. The dancer without even thinking twice is said to have jumped from the whispering alley through seven floors and hit the ground on the same stage which she ruled with her dance. Seeing her love towards him the King instructed that a tomb be created for her even though she was a hindu and be placed next to him, a place which his wife does not hold even in death.

Having witnessed the effect of sound and music inside, I can only imagine how amazing must have been those days when the performances were held.

A note to singers, if you really want to check how you sound without music and feel good about your singing visit this fabulous place early in the mornings, you will fall in love with your own voice just like I did.
The monument is open from 6Am in the mornings and is ideally the best time to visit the place to avoid all those people who would love to do a scream test rather than whisper sweet nothings.

The entrance fee to the monument is Rs 5 and there is an extra charge of Rs 25 for your cameras. You can reach the place through your own transport which can be parked inside the monuments ample parking space. For people not having their own transport you can take a shared rickshaw which charges around Rs 10 per person. There isn’t anything around for food, you can either carry your own packed food or have breakfast at Madhuvan down the same road. Make sure to have had enough food or carry water and juices in case you find difficulty in climbing the seven floors. There are benches on each floor where you can relax and enjoy the cool breeze.