“The earliest sculpture of dancing Siva, in accordance with the Natya Sastra, is in the Badami cave, created during the Chalukyan period in the 6 century A.D. Just as the Thanjavur Quartet standardised Bharatanatyam, the Mysore tradition was standardised by four people — Amrutappa, Appayya, Dasappa and Jetti Tayamma. Research by the members of Karnataka Bharatagama Pratishtana has helped identify four traditions in Karnataka: Mysore, Kolar, Mugur and Nanjangudu.
“Temple architecture is a centrifugal force for human activity. The grid plan is the extended reflection of cosmic structure...The garbagraha, takes you from elaboration to structural simplicity, from multiplicity to focus and suggestive introspection. The Kalisanathar temple in Kanchipuram, the Kailasa temple in Ellora and the Virupaksha temple in Pattadakal are all built to replicate Kailas in their architecture.”
These are excerpts from talks presented by art historian Dr. Choodamani Nandagopal at the conference on Baani held by the Kalakshetra and on “Sacred space in Dravidian architecture”, the annual Endowment Lecture of International Women’s Association (IWA) at the Museum Theatre recently.
Choodamani is Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Jain University, Bangalore and has set up a research department of cultural studies there. She is also Professor of the Chitrakala Parishath and the vice-president of the Karnataka Bharatagama Pratishtana in Bangalore that propagates the classical dance heritage of the state.
A dancer trained in the Kolar tradition , Choodamani’s Ph.D thesis was on ‘Dance and other fine arts in Karnataka architecture’.
A conversation with her reveals that like a skilful artist she has knit together an entire range of subjects in her career. Dance, sculpture, architecture, art objects, rituals, jewellery, music, historical treatises and texts — she has dealt with them all producing a number of well-researched books, papers and presentations that throw fresh light on these subjects. Accolades and awards have naturally followed as well as national and international fellowships and invitations from prestigious universities and institutions for research and talks.
“As a child on my visits to Belur and Halebid, I would wonder how sculptors had depicted the dance poses so well. Later when I undertook my Ph.D, I came to the conclusion that they were obviously trained not only in the silpa sastras but also had a thorough grounding in the Natya Sastra. The sculptures of the Chalukyas in Badami and Pattadakal from the 6th to the 8th century and of the Hoysalas in the 12th century depict dance poses perfectly. The Chalukyan queen Piriya Ketala Devi and the Hoysala queen Shantala were great dancers and introduced many of these sculptures. Above all the gods themselves are dancers and so this brought movement into the sculpture in temples.”
Choodamani’s father Madava Rao was a well-known theatre artist and her mother, Rukmini, a musician. This made for an atmosphere conducive to the study of art. “My father prodded me to become an academician and I was inspired by the work of my uncle, Prof. M.S.A. Rao, a sociologist. And so I acquired a Masters degree in sociology and one in history and archaeology.
The study of dance and music in temples led her to the study of temple architecture. “Prof M.A. Dhaky who was in the American Institute of Indian Studies ignited the love of temple architecture in me,” says Choodamani.
He would discuss temple forms, aesthetics and structural aspects.” Prof. A.V. Narasimhamurthy, Head of Archaeology, Mysore University guided her on temple styles. “Karnataka has made a major contribution to temple architecture. You see the early development of the Dravida and Nagara styles in Aihole and Pattadakal. Later Chalukyan and Hoysala temples show mastery over the Vesara styles.”
A series of monographs on temple architecture as Head of Academics in IGNCA in Bangalore spurred her on to take up the study of three temples — Kanchi, Pattadakal and Ellora — as case studies to explore how architects and rulers visualised the concept of Kailasa. “I found evidence through inscriptions, the puranas, archaeological texts and the architecture itself.”
When Vimala Rangachar, chairperson of the Crafts Council of Karnataka thought of documenting the ritual objects, jewellery and chariots of the temples of Karnataka for the Council in three volumes “Temple Treasures”, it was Choodamani she turned to. With freelance writer Vatsala Iyengar’s assistance, Choodamani documented these objects which showcase the incredible talent of our artisans. Faith, beauty and tradition come together in a splendid sweep as lamps and sacred utensils, priceless jewellery as well as chariots for processions are described in loving detail. “I was always interested in knowing about the philosophy, concept and the need for rituals in temples. The participation of people in temple festivals is not only part of our culture but also offers solace and a feel of belonging to that temple and the area they live in. There is a scientific dimension to what is created in temples. The hand-held lamp for instance can be carried easily in the dark without oil being spilled and spiritually, it is the leading light. Each and every item in a temple has agamic significance and relevance of time and space. That is why many museums in the world have ritual objects, as they reinforce faith and are functional.”
Jewellery is a huge field, she adds. During the reign of the Wodeyars in Karnataka, there was a guild of jewellers who exclusively designed jewellery for temples, points out Choodamani.
“When the devotee donated jewellery to temples, there was a feeling of surrender associated with it — the most precious and the best that you can give. The maximum size of the ritual object we found during our research was the gold cradle given to the Parakala mutt by Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar in the 1860s. The Wodeyars were great patrons of temple tradition and art,” she adds.
“But what touched me the most was though Krishnaraja Wodeyar donated many items only the foot mould he donated to Cheluvaraya Swami of Melkote was inscribed upon by him. It says: “I always want to rest at the feet of the Lord.”
The Viswakarmiya Ratalakshanam, a 16th century manuscript in Sanskrit describes the way to build chariots, explains Choodamani. “The Udipi temple has the most spectacular chariots, five of them, one made of gold, one of silver, and three of wood.”
While researching dance sculpture for her thesis, Choodamani studied the chapter on dance in the Manasollasa, a 12th century treatise by the Chalukyan king Someshvara III. Manasollasa is an incredible work. “I translated two volumes into Kannada and recently the chapters on dance, painting, sculpture and gems with interpretation for the five-volume work undertaken by the Kannada Sanskrutam University.”
Among her other works are the one describing the arts and crafts of the Indus valley suggested by archaeologist S.R. Rao who discovered the Lothal site. Choodamani is also happy to be associated with the Canara Bank project for perpetuating traditions in image making. She is now preparing for a project for the British Council which will see students from Britain visiting India to learn about our culture, among other aspects.
As for how she manages to squeeze in time for so much, she smiles, “My husband is a management expert and I learnt time management from him.”
