Skip to main content

A thousand years ago..

There lived a king. He was strong and he was loved.  So began many a tale that my grandmother told me before bed time growing up in erstwhile Bombay.

So this summer I decided to see what all the fuss was about the kings of yesteryear and the land they governed and the temples they built.

I suppose governance would get highest marks outside of lavish buildings and large armies.  King Rajaraja Chola (his son Rajendra Chola I also continued the tradition) fit the bill.  His attention to details in areas of city planning, logistics for large temple complexes, managing his human resources, farming, etc is detailed in the literature available at the temple complex and the many Tamil inscriptions along the granite walls and steps in the compound.

If you have a king make it like the ones they did a thousand years ago and not as show pieces to ogle over like the western world tends to do today.

Here are some vistas from the city of Thanjavur (or Tanjore) in Tamilnadu state that showcase the scale and might of the empire.

King Rajaraja Chola (who was Rajendras dad) built this granite behemoth below in 8 years - the 1,000 year celebrations took place in 2010.

It is called the Big Temple or Brihadeeshwara Temple, and is one of the largest temples in the world recognized by the UN as a heritage site.  The tower or the sikhara is very high and decorated with sculptures showing the great Lord Shiva in various dance poses.  Shiva's dance is famous in Indian mythology.  I was doing my own when taking these pictures since the stone below my feet was probably at 120 F.

View of the eastern façade with the Nandi standing guard - The Nandi was likely added by the Nayak rulers in the 16th century is the second largest in India
13 feet tall, Granite Nandi (2nd largest) was Shiva's vehicle of choice according to legend.  The largest such idol is in Lepakshi AP.
View of main temple from the rear with a smaller building in foreground hides its true height of 225 ft
Side view of Big Temple @ dusk.
One of the many deities or dancers adorn the side courtyards
Multi pillared hallways along the outer perimeter
Vegetable pigment based art from the 16th century remains intact

Lingam collection
One of many moods of the elephant - this one calming down after a riot (the detail of his ear, trunk and trot are significant markers to determine the artist's intention)
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On the go(zay masta) in Japan again

Cool cat the Japanese are Tokyo at dusk  My second visit to this land of the rising sun after almost a decade. Back then clearly I was wet behind the ears product manager and likely didn’t pay attention to all (efficient) things Japanese. But today I did and of course continue to be impressed. It is as much the obvious stuff like on time travel that is both clean and comfortable and all that which makes it possible. The impressive landmark and landscapes that these humans have put together despite their cramped (or because of it) surroundings and precarious geological conditions could amaze a novice architect among us. But it’s also the little things that someone had to think about which have a phenomenal impact on day to day lives that make the Japanese stand apart. Below are few random examples- 1. Providing a very fine machined wooden toothpick in every packet of wooden chopsticks. The said chapsticks are simply set on the To Go counter of any food vendor/ convenience store wher...
Post a Comment
Read more

A few good books

 On an informal mission to read one book a week as long as the eyes allow for such ambition. Fiction or non is not important as long as it entertains and /or educates. To that end the past few weeks have brought a bounty in the form of some wonderful and then not so engaging literature. Among the notables are - Non fiction category: 1. Good arguments by Bo Seo (how to handle a dispute or debate the most efficient way possible) 2. Genesis by Eric Schmidt (and former US Secy of State Henry Kissinger, who recently passed) - how AI might affect our lives as we know it 3. One in a billion - Zarna Garg (an autobiographical look at an Indian born American woman with a bindi narrated in a standup format - yes it is at times cliched but still funny) Fiction: 1. Personal by Lee Child (a vigilante story with Jack Reacher the giant, nomad protagonist of Child's novels goes hunting for a sniper) 2. Ramayana unraveled by Ami Ganatra (she might disagree about it being a work of fiction but oh wel...
Post a Comment
Read more

Back in DC

This time for a tech conference in the realm of what else? AI. But applied to an oft neglected space called Knowledge Management. The latter is a community of practice that focuses on analyzing, organizing and making available reams of data that have been gathered over time by various functions within an organization for anyone in the company to utilize. This function or process is ripe for applying AI agents (or agentic AI framework) and optimize for better outcomes. It was informative. More rewarding was getting acquainted with folks who practice this craft as well as learning of what they see in the corporate or public sectors. Since the venue was Washington DC it also afforded me the chance to take evening strolls albeit the weather was trying. With wind chill in the single digit it still is a glamorous place to perambulate through history absorbing what this country has been through since its founding days. I was able to visit the place Lincoln was killed along with his monument t...
Post a Comment
Read more