Song in stone at Mamallapuram!

The “Five Rathas” monument at Mamallapuram is a great example of the syncretic nature of ancient Indian Art. Built over 1400 years ago, these stone edifices embody a composite architecture, distinctly unique and yet, integrating ideas from across the country and the world.

It is easy to gloss over the details if we take a casual stroll. The tourist guide unfolds the magic. Traditionally, temple architecture has 4 distinct forms: cave-excavations, bas-relief on rock, structures built from bottom-to-top and finally, a top-down approach to carving the entire structure. The "Rathas" at Mamallapuram belong to the fourth category. Each Ratha is chiseled out of a single rock. (Except one case, where 2 rathas are carved from a single rock and united at the base).

The structures are dedicated to Parvati, Shiva, Vishnu, Indra and Surya. In the case of Parvati, the figurine is distinctly visible. Vishnu’s reclining form is faint, a hint of the arm, but largely left incomplete. None of the other structures have complete images. Each structure is called a “Ratha” because it has an associated animal-“vaahana”, also sculpted separately. The lordly lion goes with Parvati, the majestic elephant is paired with Indra and the bull with Shiva.

It is evident that these structures were not completed. The “kalashas” are carved and kept separately. They are yet to be hoisted to the top of each Ratha. We do not know the reason. It is like a painter who has left some breezy strokes on his canvas but had no time to add the details. But those broad strokes are enough to gauge his lofty imagination. We allow our mind to fill in the missing details.

The insides of the Ratha, now hollow, create a unique sound-effect. Even a whisper in a low baritone reverberates many-fold like the Tibetan sound-bowl. The first Ratha, with its sloping roof, is in Bengal- “Naagari” style. The second and the fourth Rathas have a Dravidian stamp, with a tiered pyramid topped with a coconut-shell shaped dome. The Ratha dedicated to Vishnu is rectangular and resembles a Buddhist “Vihara”. Some pillars have a Graeco-Roman influence. The gargoyles perched atop the Ratha mirror the ones found in European edifices. The lion has a distinct Chinese influence. One figurine sports a pharaoh-like crown! The sculptor has literally left no stone unturned to create his masterpiece.

These monuments leave no doubt that ancient India was well connected with the rest of the country. In addition, it maintained close, maritime contact with a world that was far and beyond! A stone’s throw from the “Five Rathas” is the ocean. It is restless, with its waves singing in chorus. The lyrics are from a distant past- a past when the mighty Pallavas ruled this land and composed many a song in stone!

(Trip made on Dec 30, 2021) P.S: For someone who may not have the background: Maha-bali-puram is the same as Mamallapuram. It is pronounced as "Maa-malla-puram" because the Pallava King, Narasimha Varma I (630 AD) was a great wrestler...."mahaa-mallan" and hence "maa-mallan". The interested reader can google the rest!

A dream job!

We will continue to use these expressions. A strict disciplinarian will be called a “ringmaster”. A coalition Government surviving precariously will be described as a “circus act”. When we are strained to do something, we will call it “jumping through hoops”. These expressions will live on, but circus and its complete ramifications will be lost to the future generations.

Evidently, the Circus industry is on its last leg. It is tough to see it survive in the present hostile landscape- with a diminishing spectator base and the exorbitant costs involved. Back then, the epitome of entertainment was Circus. It brought multiple elements together, literally under one roof!

When seen through a child’s lens, it was a fascinating spectacle. There were lions that perched on stools like docile house-cats, elephants that played football, monkeys that rode bicycles and parrots that spoke. With an array of hoops set ablaze and the audience in a hush, tigers jumped through them effortlessly!

Once the animal act was over, a magician regaled the crowd with his tricks. And soon enough, a bunch of clowns provided comic relief! Dressed in multi-colored clothes, with a cherry-red nose and a ready smile, the clown endeared himself to each child.

And then, there were acts of dare-devilry- a motor-cyclist who raced inside a spherical glass-ball and a deafening cannon-shot that ejected a gymnast to the far end!

The grand finale was the trapeze act where acrobats swung from one end to the other with aplomb in a show of acrobatics that defied imagination!

It is mind-boggling to imagine the logistics involved to run this show. How did they move the animals from place to place? How did they feed them and train them?  Where did they find circus recruits and how did their lives pan out?

Other ideas may cloud our mind now on the ethical questions related to the use of animals for entertainment. That is a fair point, but it is equally unfair to use today’s yardstick to size-up events from a different time and age. Decades ago, it was the only entertainment. It worked because it was still a real world; a world yet to be taken over by cinema and yet to be held hostage by gadgets and virtual reality.

As an IT professional, a common interview question is this one- “What is your idea of a dream job?” Of course, we reply on conventional lines. Someday, I hope to look at the interviewer straight in the eye and with a dead-pan expression confess, “Yes! I had a dream job! It was to join the circus as a clown, with a powdered face and a cherry-red nose!” I wonder how the rest of the interview will go!

A game of Housie!

It is tough to come up with a fun activity to engage a community gathering. It is a motley crowd where the age, background, language and tastes differ. If there is one game that cuts across these barriers and keeps everyone interested, it is “Housie”! Perhaps, it is the innate human urge to gamble and ride entirely upon ones luck that makes this game so popular. 

The rules of the game are known to everyone. The fastest to the first five hits is the “jaldi-five” prize, followed by “any-line” and finally the “full-house”! Excitement bubbles up in the air as the game is about to begin. Each one fancies himself to be the chosen one- the winner of the jack-pot! 

The “Housie” conductor does not simply read out the numbers. He does it with a certain flair peculiar to the game. If it is a single digit number, he calls out, “all by itself, the number 3”! If it is 13, he prefaces it with- “unlucky for some, lucky for others, one-three, 13!” If it is 16, he qualifies it with “sweet 16”. For 50, he announces, “five-zero, fif-tie”! Children giggle, “He is saying fif-tie for fifty!” 

Competitors of all age-groups ranging from 8 to 80, tick the numbers off feverishly. Each time a number is called out, shouts of “Yes!” rent the air. Equal number of groans are from the disappointed ones. “He is not shuffling and picking the numbers! No wonder, it is not matching our ticket!” they complain. The ones who complain sink into deeper abyss. They try all means including a change of seat, but lady-luck continues to elude them. 

There are some who live in the past. They need clarification on numbers already called out. “Did he call out 67 already?” they pester their neighbors. In the process, they miss the present numbers too! 

Soon, we have a winner for jaldi-five! And before long, the “any-line” prizes are also gone. All that remains is the full-house! It is a nail-biting finish like the last over of a T-20 Cricket match. For some, only one number separates them from crowning glory! Each time a number is called out, they are all agog, their hearts pounding. 

From a corner, an elderly man raises his hand and unobtrusively makes his way to the podium. The conductor verifies the numbers and proclaims him as the winner! “Oohs and Ahs” fill the hall as all emotions play out. On his face is but a hint of a smile. He cannot understand what the fuss is about. He did not intend to play the game at all. He sat through it because he happened to be there. Such is life!

A yawning gap!

 Yawn is an onomatopoeic word. To say yawn, you almost have to yawn! Back in school, we were sure a yawn is contagious! It required only one boy to start it off! Soon, the bout of yawning consumed the entire class! There is nothing that dents a teacher’s ego more. Teachers reacted angrily, “Didn’t you sleep at night?” It was tough to admit, “It is not the lack of sleep; it is the soporific nature of the current proceedings!” Some teachers were more lenient. “Go and wash your face!” they ordered. Teachers learnt later that students faked a yawn, just to take a stroll outside!

No one has contributed to yawns more than chief guests at public functions! Once they get access to the microphone, they just won’t stop. As they ramble away in a monotone, clouds of yawn envelop the entire auditorium! The fog is so thick that the speaker cannot see the audience anymore, to even take a cue from them!

There is no easy way to control a yawn! You can try everything- clench your jaw and shut the mouth tight. But a yawn is a stubborn candidate. He manages to escape- the nostrils flare up, the eyes moisten and eventually, the mouth gives up and breaks into a yawn anyway!

Nothing irritates you more than someone yawning away, while you are frantically working to meet a deadline. You are certain that the world is unfair! As you work away, you can hear the yawn around you. The yawn is so monstrous that you can hear the click of the jaw! Any bigger and the jaw is sure to get locked! And when the yawn is ended with a series of incoherent sounds, you cannot take it anymore. Angrily, you shoot your mouth off, “If you are so sleepy, why don’t you go and sleep?” A yawning person is defenseless. He gapes back, blinks repeatedly, too sleepy to even respond!

There is a yawning gap in our understanding of the yawn. It is evident that you yawn when you are sleepy. But there are days when you have overslept and still wake up with a yawn! Self Help books spin yarns providing simplistic tips to take deep breaths and a glass of water!

You are all alert! The last over of the T-20 match is about to be bowled. It is well past your sleep time, but you do not yawn. A yawn or the lack of it, is ultimately the mind’s escape valve. It is a tell-tale barometer that the mind has shut shop, faced with a topic with which, it has no connect!