INTACH Bangalore Chapter

Traditional Games

2008-10-22T19:12:00.003+05:30

You've read about them in our mythologies. You've seen them scrawled by ancient hands in our temples and travellers' rest-houses. You've seen your grandparents and your parents play them. Now, here's your chance to put away your gameboys and your playstations and try your hand instead at some traditional games of India.

INTACH, Bangalore Chapter, is proud to bring to you a set of traditional Indian games. These handcrafted, non-toxic games have been made by a craftsman from Channapatna. Each set includes three board games – Aadu huli (tiger and goat game), Nava kankari (Nine men's Morris) and Chauka bara (a precursor to Ludo, and far more exciting). The set also has 1 gulli danda and 1 traditional top.

The package includes game rules.

Each set is priced at 750/-, which includes courier charges. Here aresome photos of them.

Please contact us if you would like a set.

INTACH Bangalore Chapter

2008-08-18T15:24:00.000+05:30

The next Parichay will take place at Sultanpet, near Nandi Hills. This little village has plenty to see including a temple dating back to the 9th century, a 200-year-old cemetery from the years when the village was a British military station, and a ruined but beautiful mosque attributed to Tipu Sultan. There are also plenty of stories to relate about the area! Join the INTACH team as we discover the history, artand architecture of Sultanpet.

We will meet at the Bhoganandisvara temple in Sultanpet at 8:30 am on Sunday, 7th September 2008. We expect to wrap up in about three hours.

There is a registration fee of Rs. 100/- for this Parichay. We have limited seats so please do call ahead to register.

For registration and for further details, please call Meera (9986023014)

"Parichay" Ulsoor

2008-07-30T19:28:00.004+05:30

The Ulsoor Parichay was designed as a two-part event, about 3 hours in duration. The first half was an exploration of the Someshwara Temple – dedicated to Eshwara or Shiva. HR Prathibha, Convenor, INTACH Bangalore Chapter, led the group of 45 (the group seems to be get larger with each Parichay!) through the history of the temple and the legends associated with it. Prathibha talked to the group about how it was probably the jackfruit that gave the area its name. She also talked in depth about the temple itself – how it is attributed to the 10th century, how it (strangely) lacks any inscriptional evidence, how the Yelankanaadu Prabhus, especially Kempegowda, carried out enlarged it and added the imposing gopura. She drew the attention of the group to the characteristic elements of the Vijayanagara style that you can see here, and then also spoke about the myths behind some of the figures depicted in the temple. Perhaps a couple of hours is too little to explore this fascinating world of mythical lore and legends.

We also happened to see the celebrations of 'Aadi Krittike', a significant day in the Tamil calendar, which actually fell on the 29th and is celebrated as the birthday of Murugan (Shiva and Parvati's son, elder brother of Ganesha) in whose honor offerings are carried in a 'kaavadi' – two pots hanging on either side of a bamboo pole balanced on the shoulders. As part of a vow, devotees carry the kaavadi around the temple and then offer milk to the Lord. They take a vow of silence, with only the beat of the drums or a ringing of the brassbells tied around their ankles to announce their presence in the temple. Some of the women on Sunday had pierced their tongues and many go into a trance-like state. Celebrations will continue for about a week. As Satya (Sathya Prakash Varanashi, Consulting Architect, Founder Trustee - CIVIC Bangalore and Udbhava) later commented, it was a perfect coming together ofour age old cultural traditions in the midst of our sacred built heritage. After snacks at the temple, Sathya took over the reins and set the interactive tone with a googly on the location of the Halsuru Gate Police Station (no, it isn't in Ulsoor, it is near Corporation Circle; to know why, come for our next Ulsoor Parichay!).

He spoke about the evidence of British planning evident in Ulsoor, such as the conservancy lanes that they set up in the interest of health and hygiene. We had a discussion on the neighbourhood profile. Satya felt that though there is a predominance of Tamils (encouraged settling here by the British?), unlike the Brahminical settlements ofBasavanagudi and Malleswaram, Ulsoor has always had settlers of all communities and regions. He talked to the group about the bustling and ever-interesting Halasur Market, the old clock tower (now being replaced by a public toilet), about urban changes (so evident inUlsoor), and then we went through some of the winding lanes of Ulsoor, like the Anjaneya Koil Street, where some people were kind enough to let us see their house. Sathya and Pankaj pointed out the vernacular style of architecture, with decorative lintels, a 'jagali' or 'thinne' on either side of the doorway, red oxide floors, and so on. One of the houses had a charming sloping roof with skylights and pillars with niches in the walls for storage. The owner had gone to a fair bit of trouble to stay true to the traditional design. Typical centralcourtyards shut out the noise of the street and lead into the bedrooms. I think everyone was reminded of childhoods spent in the village houses of our grandparents…

Unfortunately for us, the rain cut short our Ulsoor walk. Sathya had wanted to take us to the RK Mutt, and then onto Old Madras Road, where much of the character is in the process of change, being demolished to make way for Namma Metro. There is much still left to see and do.

Hopefully, Sathya will agree to Ulsoor – the sequel!

By Meera Iyer & Swati Reddy

"Parichay" Bangalore Fort

2008-06-25T11:39:00.013+05:30

June 22, 2008, Sunday was a normal day for most of the Bangaloreans, but for some it was a special one with an opportunity to visit the Bangalore fort with "Parichay" of Bangalore, Fort and the area surrounding it.

We had with us Dr. S.K Aruni, Assistant Director, Indian Council of Historical Research, Southern Regional Centre. He has done a lot of research over the years and has collected a lot of data to substantiate his claim and research.

Dr. Aruni started the Parichay by giving us a brief history of Bangalore dating back to 3000 years. He explained to us the circumstances in which the fort was built and who could have possibly built the fort. He also strongly rubbished claim of some historians that the Bangalore fort was built by Hoysala’s as per the picture on the stone inside the fort which looks very similar to the Hoysala symbol.

He also gave us a clear insight of the different parts of the fort, buildings inside the fort, Peetah area and gates to enter the fort.We then took a walk inside the fort and including the room where David Baird (Sir David Baird, 1st Baronet GCB (6 December 1757 – 18 August 1829), was a British military leader) was imprisoned, we had permission from ASI to visit this part of the fort which otherwise closed to visitors.

Tippu Summer palace was our next stop, where we were served with breakfast which was arranged by the ASI.

We then visited the Venkataramanaswamy temple, where Dr. Aruni showed us sculptures and stones to support his claim that it could have possibly been a Shaivite temple.

Our Parichay ended at Tippu’s armory, where Ar. Prathibha, Convenor INTACH Bangalore Chapter gave us information about the armory and the effort of INTACH to restore and protect this historic monument.

“Parichay” of Bangalore fort and surrounding area was covered by Bangalore Mirror a local daily.

By Srinivas Shenoy

"Parichay" Begur Temple

2008-06-25T10:52:00.017+05:30

Sunday March 16, 2008

How many times do we visit a temple in a week, a month or a year? if some of you claim quite a few times, then answer this.. How many times do you get a chance to visit a temple dating 890 AD... not very often right!!

This time the "Parichay" took us to Panchalingeshwara Temple at Begur off Hosur Road. Ar. Prathibha Convenor INTACH Bangalore gave us the history of the temple and explained to us the different styles of architecture in the temple by Gangas, Cholas and the Vijayanagara rulers. Being Tyagaraja Jayanthi we witnessed a few women singing Thayagaraja keertanes. The main temple is a small structure but it does talk a lot about the histroy behind it.

Dr. Jegannnathan, then gave us a talk on the the energy levels at different places inside the temple (Bio Magnetic), he also gave us information on various temple structures and idol placements to balance the energy leves. We could also see a live demonstration of the enery mesurements.

By Srinivas Shenoy