Sojourn in Serendip – III

English Tea Time

Leaving Kandy we moved on to the heights of Nuwara Eliya to check into the Galway Forest Lodge. Nuwara Eliya meaning “the City of Dawn” is the town at the highest elevation (about 2000m above sea level) in Sri Lanka and its tallest peak, Piduruthalagala (2555m) can be seen from here. The city established by the British in the Nineteenth Century is known as “Little England”. In fact there are some stretches of this quaint colonial landscape where a traveler would honestly believe himself to be in Shropshire or Kent; that is, of course, until a green autorickshaw or the ubiquiyous posters of President RajaPakse comes into one’s view.

Nuwara Eliya is in the Heart of the Tea Estate. On the way, there are numerous Tea Factories, remodelled into Tea Centres that serve tea, Lunch and also sell pure Ceylon Tea. On Request it is possible to have a guided tour of the adjoining factory. We visited a Tea Factory on BlueField Tea Estate.

Asoka Vaatika

In the evening, we braved the weather to visit the Temple of Seetha at Seetha Eliya. En route we attempted a walk in Gregory park on the banks of Nuwara Eliya lake. But a heavy downpour chased us back to our vehicle.

The Ramayana is compelling narrative that is Pan-Indian. Every region in India has a shrine associated with the star-crossed prince of Ayodhya who was God incarnate as Man! The story crosses the sea and enters Sri Lanka when Ravan the King of Lanka abducts Sita, the wife of Rama. Sita was kept imprisoned in a garden of Asoka Trees. It is on the location of this Asoka Gasrden or Vaatika that the Temple of Seetha at Seetha Eliya is built. The Temple houses 3000 year old idols of Ram, Lakshman, Sita and Hanumanji. The idols are somewhat defaced and new idols are used for regular worship.

The Asoka trees (or atleast what remains of them after Hanumanji’s destructive frenzy during the burning of Lanka) have been since destroyed by the British. But the location itself still has a few Asoka trees gto bear witness. The soil nearabout is black in color as the entire forest had been burned down when Hanumanji went bersek and put the city of Lanka to Flame with his burning tail. The huge print of Hanumanji’s foot as he took gigantic form or Viswaroopa to disclose his true identity to Sita is another significant part of the visit to Nuwara Eliya.

The ardent traveler can go further up the hills where there is a Ravana Temple and a Waterfalls called Ravana Falls where the demon Ravana is said to have taken his bath.

Thence we drove past N. Eliya town and had tea at the Grand Indian Restaurant opposite The Grand Hotel, a beautiful colonial hotel surrounded by green lawns and tall trees.

Sojourn in Serendip – II

A Buddhist Kerala

Take a chunk of the hilly regions in Kerla like Kottayam or Munnar; remove the hindu temples and put budhist Viharas in their place and voila you have Srilanka. A Buddhist Kerala is Srilanka. The same greenery; coconut and banana trees; rubber plantations; elephants; small rivulets and brooks gurgling on their way to the sea! The water from the King Coconut is sweet like nectar and is a must-drink for every visitor to this emerald isle atleast twice on every day of the visit!

Daytime is pretty warm even on the hills. The even

ings bring sudden bursts of rain and a mild cold that makes the weather pleasant. From the high eyrie of the balcony in Randholee Resort, Kandy we could see a large part of the city of Kandy. As the twilight and mist make it darker the lights of the twinkle down below like the gems and jewels for which the island of Taprobane (another name for Srilanka) is world renowned since ancient times.

The same view offers a different tapestry in the early morning as I walk out on to the Balcony after a refreshing sleep. As the mists swirl below around the domes of the Buddhist temples and the red tiled colonial houses the new day is ushered in by the sun as it licks awayu thew mist with its glorious rays. The distant mountains are surrounded by clouds and only the high summits and peaks are visible. (The Sri Lankan name of Kandy is Kanda Uda Rata which mens the Hill Country.)

One of the important places to be seen is UNESCO Heritage sight of the Temple of the Tooth Relic. The shrine contains the tooth of the Buddha as a relic. Buddhists do not worship any image. Nor do they make offerings to “God”. The Tooth Relic Shrine is simply a place where devout Buddhists go to experience the presence of The Enlightened one so that they can reinforce themselves in their own search for Parinibban, the supreme goal of every Buddhist.

A Word of Warning!

If you are posing for a photo near the image of the Buddha in Srilanka, please avoid standing in front of the image with your back to it or by the side of the imge. It is better to stand with your profile to the camera with hands folded in prayer. The Srilankans are strict in preventing people from turning their back on the image for a photograph as it is a sign of disrespect.

From the Tooth Relic Temple, a huge Buddha statue can be seen on top of a neaby hill. The image of Buddha in seated posture faces the Temple. This mountain top was the place where the death penalty was actually executed in those days! As the peak was clearly visible from the Kandyan King's palace adjacent to the Tooth Relic Temple, the King could assure himself that his sentence has been carried out by looking at the peak of this mountain where the grisly sight of the hanging corpse could be seen! Thus this was rightly termed the Peak of Death.

Later, with the advent and growth of Buddhism, the death penalty was abolished. The deathly gallows were replaced by the Benign Image of the Buddha in seated position facing the Tooth Relic Temple and reminding monarchs and Governments alike down the ages of the value of forgiveness and forbearance.

Fear not Dear Brother!

The approach to the Tooth Relic Temple is through a pathway set amidst green lawns. On the p[athway and around it are numerous statues of famous personages. While each one has a story to tell, I was impressed by the statuette of a young boy set on a high pedestal.

The boy, Madduma Bandara of Ehelepola was the second son of a revolutionary Sinhalese who had criticized the rule of the then Srilankan King. The father was to be beheaded for his seditionary statements but he ran away. His family was then sentenced to death on 17^th May 1814. Madduma’s elder brother was frightened at the thought of death and hesitated when the Eight-year-old yet Lion-Hearted Child Hero Madduma Bandara came forward with supreme courage to face the executioner’s sword first with this exhortation to his elder brother:

“Fear not, Dear Brother, I will show you how to face Death!”

As I said earlier, the Weather is warm during day with intermittent showers in the evening. So we were constantly carrying umbrellas agaist the possibility of rain. We had lubnch at another restaurant with a view. This time we gazed at the panoramic view of the lovely city of Kandy spread out in concentric circles from the Kandy Lake. The lake lies gleaming at the centre with the Tooth Relic Temple on oneside. The circular roads wind up and around the city on the slopes.

Green Demesnes

Later we strolled through the Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya. The Gardens are spread over 147 Acres. The Garden traces its origin way back to 1371 under when it was first established by King Wickramabahu III. Later in the reign of King Kirti Sri from 1747 to 1780 this was made a Royal Garden and from 1780 to 1798, King Rajadhi Rajasinghe resided therein, where a temporary residence was erected for him. The noteworthy feature of the Royal Botanical is the Orchidarium which houses exquisite and beautiful specimens of every colour and hue.

I could not help compare this Garden with the Lal Bagh Gardens in Bangalore. The Lal Bagh is bigger with 240 acres. But it is not as well maintained or luxuriantly green as the Periyadana Gardens. Yet the horticultural attractions have similar background and History. Both Gardens were originally commissioned by Oriental Monarchs for their personal pleasure. The Lal Bagh was begun by the ruler of Mysore, Hyder Ali in 1760 and was completed by Tipu Sultan, his son. Both the Gardens came under British Possesions and were under the care of successive British Superintendents who were successful in converting them into objects of admiration. The Royal Botanical had Mr. Alexander Moon, while the Lal Bagh had Mr. James Cameroon.

In the evening we witnessed a performance of traditional Kandyan Dances. The performance culminated in grand finale when a few of the performers did a fire walk through a blazing fire.

Sojourn in Serendip - I

Introduction

This year I decided to spend Diwali in Srilanka en famille. The decision was obviously serendipitous as Chennai experienced extreme rain and inclement weather right on Diwali day! So here are some tidbits from my sojourn in Serendip or Srilanka, as it is now known.

A Little Late is Alright

Our Srilankan flight UL 122 arrived a bit early at The Banda

raNayakeInternanational Airport, Colombo. Our Guide-cum-Chauffeur Sumedh (aka. Bandhu), was quite surprised to find his national airlines arriving on time! The Flight numbers of Srilankan used to have the prefix AL which was expanded as “Always Late”! Now they have been changed with numbers prefixed by UL whicgh is “Usually Late”! Definitely an improvement! Incidentally our return flight too was almost on time! Thus we experienced a bit of Serendipity right at the beginning of our sojourn in Serendip!

Poo Paper and other Pachydermic matters

Woud you like to see a group of abouy fifty to sixty elephants of various sizes and ages bathing, frolicking and simply having a lot of fun in the waters of a running brook? Then, you should visit Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage. The Orphanage on the banks of the Maa Oye houses a huge contingent of about sixty-five of these gentle pachyderms which have been either abandoned or wounded or injured and left to die in the wild. The Elephants here range in age from newborns to elderly matriarchs. Pinnewala claims to have the world’s largest collection of captive elephants. (Note: This claim needs verification as Punnathur Thota in Guruvayoor Kerala is another place which has a sizable captive-elephant population. These are not abandoned wild elephants, but rather tame elephants donated by thankful devotees to the Guruvayoor Templew. Notable among the inmates at Guruvayoor was Kannan the elephant donated by the current CM of Tamilnadu.)

We had lunch at the restaurant overlooking the Maa Oye. From the restaurant on the balcony, we could see the elephants of all shapesand sizes sporting and playing in the water. The really enjoyable sight were the little baby elephants running here and there under the huge feet of the elders. Occasionally they had mock-fights and tussles which were easily subdued by a nearby elder or the Mahouts who were close by and watching carefully.

They make paper and other handicrafts out of elephant dung at Pinnewala. The paper which is hard, tough and ideal for packing material is alliteratively called Poo-Paper! As elephant dung is highly vegetarian and is mostly leaves, shoots and bark, a lot of fiber can be recovered from it when it is boiled and filtered. The resultant fibrous pulp is soaked in water and made it into pulp. The pulp is then subjected to a process very similar to the making of hand-made paper used at Auroville in Pondicherry. The only difference is the source of the pulp! We visited a Poo Paper workshop where we saw how the paper is made. (Believe me, the paper does not stink!)

On the way to Kandy, we halted at one of the numerous spice gardens that line the route. The prices are sky high and even the temptation of the miraculous cures promised by the “Spice Doctor” does not loosen our purse strings. Purchases are the prerogative of foreigners, I suppose.

Strategic Thinking

I am at Vaizag, where I offer a course on Business Strategies and Management Control Systems. The students are busy discussing a Case Study on Indus Towers. I am attempting to make them see the shift in Strategic thinking from the older Confrontational or Zero-Sum approaches to a Collaborative Win/Win Approach. Indus Towers is a collaborative venture that tries to combine the strengths of three companies Airtel, Vodfone and Idea that are otherwise fierce competitors in the marketplace. I want the group to

I see a tendency not merely amongst students at B-Schools, but people in general to form an opinion and look for the facts. Whereas, like Sherlock Holmes, they should be collecting all the facts together and piecing together the Whole Picture before forming their opinion.

The opinion once formed generates a tunnel vision that precludes seeing other relevant facts. A strategic framework built on such an incomplete premise may suffer from serious weaknesses.

The Innovative Manager

03.09.2011

I am now at the plant of a leading Tamilnadu-based Automobile Major, delivering a session on Cost Reduction Techniques to a group of bright young engineers. I am trying to make them understand the need for constantly and continuously reducing costs. This demands a Creative outlook. The old algorithimic approaches fail as the challenges from the environment intensify. What is needed today is an attitude of continuous ideation and inventive problem solving.

Being a Manager now does not only involve faultless execution, it also demands continuous innovation in the execution both at the process as well as the product level. This is the Challenge of the new millnium. This is the challenge of change.

The seeds of Revolution

I am now nearing the Gurgaon Toll gate. I can see the twenty one gates. A constant stream of cars and vehicles strugge to get in by day and out by night

as the twilight of the evening sinks towards pitch- black darkness.

As my car glides past the Gurgaon toll in the night, I see huge highrises with lights burning on all the floors. I drive through the roads in darkness passing Islands of splendor and light amidst a sea of squalor and darkness.

Gurgaon is a suburb perpetually under construction. Well planned and landscaped gardens, office complexes and gated communities on the one side and hutments and pavement-dwellers on the other. The rich and affluent have their own lawns, walkways and shaded nooks. Just across the road, the poor li

ve in makeshift houses shaped out of the sides of wooden crates.The ge

neral indifference of people to this obvious contradiction is so pathetic.

Gurgaon is arguably a personification of India at the dawn of the new millennium. Extreme wealth flaunted blatantly alongside extreme poverty and a patent apathy of the elected democrtatic government to provide even a modicum of civic amenities or infrastructure. The main highway heading west is spotless. But any road cutting

across the median highway and leading into Industrial or residential Gurgaon is pitted and full of potholes. In many places there are huge holes where there should be a road. The roads are, no doubt, wide, but they are dusty and have very few lights. The malls and office complexes as well as gated communities have their own cement roads leading from the main road. If I am painting a dystopic vision, believe me it is from real life and not from imagination.

The furore and public participation in the movement spawned by Anna Hazare is a direct response to the vague sense of incompleteness and unfulfilled potential. At present, it is only the educated elite and the middle classes that are protesting. But, when the battle cry is taken up by the truly deprived who have nothing to lose but their freedom to die a miserable death, there will be, or should be a revolution of a different kind. Hopefully, Anna should be able to control it and steer it out of extreme violence or extreme compromise.

The Kanaga Sabhai at Perur

One of the most exquisite experiences in appreciating the beauty of temple sculptures in South Indian Temples would be a visit to the “Kanaga Sabhai” or Golden Hall in Perur, Coimbatore. The Kanaga Sabhai at Perur is situated in the Temple of Shiva as Patteeswarar at Perur. The Hall is on our right hand side i.e. The Northern Side) as we enter the Temple through the main Gopuram.

The His

torical Link

Before we proceed to appreciate the beauty of this hall and its famous sculptu

res, we should understand the link between Perur and Chidambaram. It is said that the Thillai Vazh Anthanar, who are the hereditary caretakers of the Chidambaram Temple visited Perur at the behest of the Nayanmar Sundarar and acknowledged that the Kanaga Sabhai was, indeed, a beautifu

l sight to behold. This is possibly why you can see many of the sculptural masterpieces in the Perur Kanagasabhai figuring as motifs on the main Raja Gopuram at the Chidambaram temple; for example the image of Gaja Samharamoorthy and Bichadanar.

But, I think

to truly understand the link between Perur and Chidambaram, one needs to accept the Madurai connection, which arguably is the common link. This is because both Perur and Chidambaram have benefitted from the patronage of the Naickers of Madurai. So the statues of Agora Veerabhadrar and Agni Veerabhadrar which are gigantic icons in the outer praharam of the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple are depicted at Perur as smaller life size figures.

To understand why these three temples which are thus widely separated spatially have such close sculptural links, we must, as I said, understand the Naicker link. The Kana

ga Sabhai, which took 34 years (1625 AD to 1659 AD

) to build, was the brain child of one, Alagadhri Nayak, a brother of Thirumalai Nayak, the Telugu ruler of Madurai. (The Telugu connection in Tamil History is a story by itself and it needs another post of its own!)

The chief Architect who built the Kanaga Sabhai was Kambanachari. The Kanga Sabhai has a symbolic structure.

The Spiritual Symbolism

The Kanaga Sabhai has 36 Pillars

representing the 36 principles of Saiva Sidhanta. There are fifteen steps situated at three different elevations. Each set of five steps represents the Panchakshara or the five letters of the sacred Mantra of Shiva, “Om Na Ma: Shivaya”

The santum santorum of the Lord Nataraja, the Divine Cosmic Dancer is supported by four pillars representing the Four Vedas; it has Nine Windows signifying the Nine Planets likewise the Human Body which has Nine orfices. ( Nava Dvarey Purey Dayhee (Bh. Gita 5:13) Mentally renouncing all actions, the Sovereign dweller in the body (i.e. Atman) resteth serenely in the “City of nine gates” I’e. the body. What are the Nine Gates? The nine apertures that give access to and from the human body seven of them on the face (two eyes, two nostrils, two ears and one mouth) and the two apertures onthe trunk—the gental organ and the excretory organ.)

The lord is reached by the Panchakshara and is to be found inside the Nine Gated City. Veda is knowledge, true knowledge; which is the knowledge of truth, and which alone can libera

te the deluded jeeva and in one effulgent cosmic brilliance make everything known. This is Chidambara Ragasyam or the Secret of Chidambaram which lies open and accessible to all who seek here at Melai Chidambaram or the Chidambaram of the west, which is another name for Perur.

As this wondrous and liberating secret is disclosed here at the Kanagasabhai in Perur, It is not surprising that Perur is considered a place of liberation from the continuous and painful circle of birth and death.

But, the reason why Perur Kanaga Sabhai is of great importance to the Connoissieur of Indian arts and culture are the eight exquisite sculptures on the pillars (four on either side) lining the hall. The stones used to carve the sculptures were brought down from Maruthamalai. These sculptures are, for want of a better word, the star attraction!

Luckily,

the sculptures are in good condition and can be viwed through glass panels which protect them from the unsavoury attentions of the devout and curious alike. The same cannot be told of the smaller icons on the other three sides of each pillar. Well, who except this blogger would walk around each pillar to see these smaller figurines that are linked to the tale told by the main sculpture? An attempt is herein made to describe them.

Nirutha Ganapathy

The father is dancing; so why not t

he eldest son? Left leg on his vahan the mouse a

nd right leg slightly raised and gently touching the ears of the animal, the elephant-headed lord is immersed in the dance eternal. The deity is here represented with eight hands and the trunk twisted to the right (Valam Puri). The Lord’s pot belly is circled by a jeweled ornament with excellent detailing. Even the Mooshikam or Mouse is detailed minutely. One can discern the nails on the Mooshik’s toes!

As we move from from the Lord of Auspicious Beginings who is the embodiment of all knowledge, we behold his Brother.

Arumuga Peruman

Sitting in a relaxed pose (Sukasan) with his left leg folded on the Dancing Peacock Lord Subramanya or Shanmukh (Six Headed one) is also ready for the dance. The usually extended tails of the

peacock are here shown together. The Peacock forms an exquisite curve that compliments the six- headed twelve-armed warlord. (Well, we can see only five as the sixth is believed to be at the back of the figure which is attached to the pillar.) Do take a little time to appreciate the fold of the Peacock’s tail feathers, the decorations including the eyelets on it and the shaping of the Peacock’s legs.

As you behold the Lord can you hear the invitation of Arunagiri Nathar when he beseeches the Lord to come before Prabuda Deva Raya

n and his court: “ Come dancing O Lord, Come Dancing to us, Come dancing seated on a dancing peacock, come dancing nowhere!!! (Now Here!)

Oorthva Thandavar

Shiva is the King of Dancers. Once Kali invited him for a contest in Dancing. As the contest became fierce, the Lord decided to end it all and make Kali realize her true self.

So he

raised his right leg directly right up to towards his right ear! This pose with the upward rised right leg is the best among the 108 dancing postures of Shiva as depicted above the sanctum sanctorum of the Big Temple at Thanjavur.

Just see the intricate workmanship that shows one of the eight pairs beating the damru or the drum below the raised leg! The drum is held in front while the hand comes down from behind the raised leg creating a vivid image. The contortions of the body are carefully shown with every dimension perfectly right. In fact, the figure makes it clear that the pose is not impossible for the human anatomy to attain. But it needs a suppleness of the muscles and bones that comes effortlessly to the Lord and after much effort to mere mortals!

Observe the implements in each hand. Can you see the abayahastha on the second hand from the bottom on the right? Th

e Lord never forgets the welfare of his creation!

Brahma is shown with five heads as this scene occurs before The Lord Shiva removed it as a punishment for his ego and pride. You can see Lord Vishnu keeping the time of the beat with his hands and Karaikaal Ammaiyar who had wished to be below the Lord’s feet when he danced. On the other sides of the Pillar are Nandhi and Narad Muni.

Alankattu Kali

Perur brings together the memorable stories of many of the South Indian Temples. For example the story of the contest between Kali and Shiva was enacted at Thiruvaalankaadu a temple near Thiruvallur not very far from Chennai.

To depict the contest in its entirety, Kambanachari has placed the image of the Kali of Thiruvalankaadu right

opposite the Oordhva Thandava Moorthy. The face of Kali viewed from the sanctum of Lord Nataraja shows remorse and shame while from the doorway we see anger and frustration. What a human touch. No one like’s to be defeated. But all of us have to control our emotions!

Behind the Kali on the Pillar are the other two Shakthis embodied in her, Lakshmi and Saraswathi.

Agni Veerabadrar and Agora VeeraBadrar

The Son of Brahma, Daksha Prajapathi performed a Yajna where he refused and neglected to give Shiva his due sacrificial portion. Enraged by this Shiva created from Himself, sixteen VeeraBhadras to punish Daksha. The Agora Veerabhadra, here depicted in the very act of killing the Demon. His Trishul is embedded on the Asura’s head. A scorpion is enmeshed in the God’s matted hair. His eyes spout fire and his raised whiskers show a just anger that rushes to destroy the forces of evil and darkness wherever they are present. Sometimes even inside the dark recesses of the devotee’s soul!

Agni Veerabhadra is shown after the killing of the Demon. As I remarked, larger-than- life versions of these two sculptures can be seen at Madurai.

After Daksha’s head was severed from his body, he was brought back to life

by the Lord. But, unfortunately as his head had been thrown by the enraged VeeraBhadras into the sacrificial fire he was revived with the Head of a Goat. And, I have been told that the prayer that he chanted with his voice bleating through his Goat Throat was the Chamakam, a prayer where very line ends with “Mey” which resembles the sound made by a goat! (This is possibly Apocryphal!) But, you can see the figure of the Goat-headed Daksha on the Pillar behind thew Agni Veerabhadra Swami.

Gaja Samhara Moorthy

The Lord Shiva killed the Elephant-shaped demon Gajaasura. Shiva placed his left leg on the head of the Elephant and skinned the animal and spread out the skin like a blanket around him. This sculpture shows clearly the contour of the Elephant with its bent head, legs and tail. The Eight-armed God is shown with his right leg raised and bent. The symmetry of this figure is classicand defies description.

In fact, the figure is so well balanced it could stand freely without a pedestal to hold it!

Bikshaadanar

Lord Shiva took the shape of an attractive young sanyasi in order to teach a lesson

to the Rishis of the Tharuka Vanam. The rishi Pathnis on seeing the young Sanyasi lost their self control and ran after him. This sarvaloka vassekara Moorthy is shown opposite the Gaja Samhara Moorthy. A diligent perambulation of the sculpture would show you the figurine of a Rishi Pathni immersed in her contemplation of the Lord!

The pinnacle of the South Indian school of Sculpture can be witnessed at Perur. And the crowning glory of the Kanaga Sabhai is the central free hanging stone-made chains with a stone lotus dangling at the end which can rotate and move around! Obviously, the entire arrangement of chain and lotus must have been crafted from a single boulder!

Don’t believe me, go and see for yourself!