Tuesday, March 27, 2018

On visiting Lalbagh Gardens during Flower Show festival







Statue of Chamaraja Wodeyar at the entrance


Kempe Gowda's statue




Three thousand million old rock


Kempe Gowda Tower



Lalbagh is one of the most visited sight-seeing spots in Bangalore.  This famous Botanical garden was cultivated around the historic Kempe Gowda Tower built on a huge rocky hillock. This garden was laid out in 1760’s by Hyder Ali modeled on the pattern of Moghul Gardens in Sira laid out by the last Mughal SubhedarDilawar Khan (1726-1756). Tipu Sultan completed the expansion of the garden by importing many exotic trees and plants from Persia, Afghanistan and Paris. India’s first lawn-clock is seen at the entrance here. This garden apart from having a largest collection of tropical plants is surrounded by very big trees older than one hundred years of age.


Trees older than one hundred years


Japanese Decorative Monument
Site Plan of Lalbagh Gardens


Lalbagh Lake


Statue of Bahubali with floral backdrop
Statue of Lord Krishna facing his enemy
Wooden artefacts

Floral decorations in glass house

Floral art





In the initial stages this garden was spread over 45 acres but later had been extended to cover a larger area of 240 acres.  It has a very big lake and many kinds of birds like mynas, parakeets, kites, crows, moor hens and common egrets are sighted here. In 1860’s there used to be a menagerie with a few wild animals. The Lalbagh Rock, a natural hillock like formation, is said to be more than 3000 million years old. Another star attraction is the glass house constructed in 1898 by John Cameron adopting the design of the Crystal Palace in London.  There are four gateways to approach the garden. The Southern Gate is the main gate on Lalbagh Road and the Northern Gate leading to the Glass House is the exit gate. The Western Gate is near Siddapur Circle and the Eastern Gate is on Jaya Nagar Road.


 Every year flower shows are organized in this place on 15th August and on 26th January by the Department of Horticulture in collaboration with Mysore Horticultural Society.  This mega show attracts lakhs of visitors from India and abroad.  This year the theme of the 207th flower show is the celebration 15-foot high Bahubali statue on Indra Giri built with five lakhs of flowers of different kinds such as hypericum, lilies, wax flowers, Protea etc.  A bust of Bahu Bali made of millets is also on display stressing the nutritious value of millets. The floral figure of Lord Krishna facing his enemy is another example of floral decorative art. In previous flower shows the floral replicas of Mysore Palace, Gol Gumbaz (the famous dome in Bijapur) and the Red Fort were designed. Many flower beds filled with orchids, chrysanthemums, hibiscus flowers, asters, and lilies with cascading streams and pools create a colorful grand spectacle revealing the wonderful variety of the floral world. Many flowers and plants are trimmed in the shape of artistic vases and animals.




Bonsai Plant


Bonsai Plant






Cactus plants

 More than 500 varieties of Frigid Zone flowers form Sikkim and Darjeeling are also beautifully arranged in various patterns. Apart from this there is Bon Sai collection showing various miniature trees bearing fruits. In the Cactus plant collection a wide variety of desert plants are displayed. In the vegetable section many vegetable plants like pumpkin, brinjal, snake gourd and Ram Phal in various colors and sizes are seen. A separate exhibition of gardening tools, organic food products, plant fertilizers, flower pots, herbal and Ayurvedic medicines was also organized.


 All along the way to glass house a long row of stalls selling plastic decorative hangings, plastic flower pots, plastic flower bouquets and sprinklers are seen. Somehow this does not seem to fit in with the motive and message of this flower show which gives much importance to use of natural and organic products. At the entrance of the flower show some volunteers were seen showing placards against plastic pollution. The long line of stalls all kept at one place created a congested atmosphere and visitors have to push their way through narrow space.


 These stalls would have been kept at the entrance itself to avoid congestion and inconvenience to people on their way to glass house. The entry fee for adults is Rs.60/- and Rs.20/- for kids. To attract more people these rates may be slashed so that common people can also afford to make use of this rare opportunity. There is facilty for carrying elderly and disabled people in a battery-vehicle around up to glasshouse on payment of Rs.100/- per head.



Organic Vegetable Plants

                  






 Generally on other days this garden is open from 6.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. For the sake of joggers and health enthusiasts free entry is provided from 6.00 a.m. to 9.00 a.m. in the morning and from 5.30 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. in the evening. During other timings an amount of 20/- is charged as entry fee. On every second and fourth weekend days of the month, Jana Jatre is organized when folk dances, folk songs and plays are performed and many costumes and handicraft articles are held for sale. To educate public about preservation of nature, many courses on Ikebana, horticulture, mushroom and Bonsai cultivation are organized. In the Aquarium Museum many interesting models and illustrations concerned with fish and aquatic creatures are displayed. The wooden architecture in the middle of the garden is meant for musical orchestra. The Japanese decorative monument is another worth seeing spot. 


The Lalbagh Gardens is a famous center for scientific study and preservation of plants. At the same time it is a very attractive tourist spot with many kinds of flora and fauna located in the scenic surroundings with lotus pools, flower beds, huge trees and most primitive rocky hillock with the historic tower from where one can have a panoramic view of Bangalore.

                                                        ++++++++++++++++++++++

           28th March, 2018                                                Somaseshu Gutala

Sunday, March 25, 2018

About Kadu Malleswara temple ( 15th Cross, Temple Road, Malleswaram), Bangalore


Temple Arch

Steps to reach temple

temple garden at the entrance

Inner sanctum

Kadu Malleswara Swamy

Brahmarambika





serpent stones at the entrance


Lord Subrahmanyeswara at the entrance

The name of the area where this temple is located is named after this temple as Malleswaram. This temple built in Dravidian style is seen just diagonally opposite to Nandi Theertha temple tank. Actually Nandi Theertha is considered as a part of Kadu Malleswara Swamy temple. This temple built on a high hillock was set up by Venkoji, step brother of Shivaji in 17th century  (1669)when he came here with his minister Baji Rao peshwa. The word “Kadu” in Kannada means “Jungle”. As the surroundings are full of wild trees and shrubs, this temple is called “Kadu Malleswara temple. Venkoji  also built Narasimha Swamy temple seen at the foot of the hillock near Gangamma temple. In 1898 a devotee called Yale Mallappa Shetty renovated Kadu Malleswara temple. In 1981 the Government renovated Narasimha Swamy temple also.


 One has to climb nearly forty steps to reach the temple on the hillock. One finds many serpent stones and a huge serpent statue near the foot of the hillock. The surroundings look very attractive with green trees and plants. Near the entrance of the temple on the left side one can see a mandapa and the kitchen. The Vimana or gopuram of garbha gudi (inner sanctum) was built later in 1993.Recently a mukha mandapa (outer mandapa) was added. The idol of Kadu Malleswara is a tiny Shiva Linga with a pretty statue of Nandi in front outside the inner sanctum. On the back of the inner sanctum to the south,one can see deities of Dakshina Murty and Lord Subrahmanya and on the north, the statue of Chandikeswara. In the Mukha Mandapa the deities of Arthanareeswara, Kashi Viswanatha, Ganapati and Kalabhairava are seen. The navagraha platform is also seen on the other side. There is also Anjaneya temple with a bilwa tree seen behind it.

 In this temple one week-long special utsavas are celebrated during Maha Shiva ratri and special poojas are done during kartika month. The temple timings are from 7.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. and from 6.00 a.m. to 9.00 p.m. The nearby worthseeing  places are Nandi Theertha Kalyani temple, Narasimha Swamy temple, Gangamma Temple, Gayatri Temple, Vidya Ganapati Temple (W.Park Road), Eswar Temple (11th Cross, Malleswaram), Sri Maha Ganapati Road (9th Cross, E-Park Road) and Sankey Tank Lake.

                        **************************************************

26th March, 2018                                                             Somaseshu Gutala

Friday, March 23, 2018

A Tortoise Gatherer




                                                           

               1.              An old age-worn grey-headed man was he
                               With stony deep-set eyes and wrinkles deep
                               With sunken cheeks like a shriveled tree
                               Tanned by scorching sun as he climbs hills steep.

              2.              A long spear supported his weary frame
                               A dusty ragged cloak covered his body bare
                              Through thorny bushes and marshy ground he came
                               Like a ghost he seemed with grizzled beard and piercing stare.

             3.               I beheld this figure grim, gaunt and dark
                               In solitary hills moving with cautious tread
                               Beside the stream shaking his unruly locks
                               A weird soul alone with no sense of dread.

             4.              With tottering gait he went with  somber face
                              Like a moving statue enchanted by magic spell
                              At night with a slow, determined pace  
                              Wandering alone beside rills and dales.  
  
             5.              I hailed that crawling creature up the hill
                              Clapping my hands to fill my idle hours
                              He turned his gaze unmoved like a statue still
                              Staring stern with unsubjugated power.

              6.           “Whither goes this track?” asked I in friendly tone
                            “To forests yonder with bamboos overgrown “
                            “Where dost thou dwell? Art thou alone?”
                            “Wherever I stay, I call that place my own.”

               7.           I wondered at his careless response bold
                             Looking at his leathern bag and spear he had
                             He stood like a savage upright of ages old
                             In simple dauntless innocence clad.

               8.          Gazing at my doubting eyes he grinned and said    
                           “A poor hunter I am roaming at night
                             Like a spirit let loose from the land of the dead
                             To track the prey with this torch burning bright.”

               9.         “Beside the trickling rivulet and mountain pools
                            Surrounded by steep rocks and dense banyan shades
                            Where tortoises come slowly to sip waters cool
                            I catch them with my net, long spear and spade.

              10.         Their popping eyes glitter like stars at night
                            As they come out from their mud-covered nests
                           To catch those slow-moving creatures, I quietly wait
                           While they stretch their necks from their shells and slowly strut.

              11.        Though age has dented his face and physical state
                            He roams as ever committed to his toil
                            Never did he complain about his impoverished state
                            Ever did he remain an earnest son of the soil.

              12.         Bedecked with chains of ivory beads and shells
                            Ever watching at night beside the fords and rills
                            He lives like a recluse in his solitary cell
                            A life though hard, he feels a sense of peace and thrill.
                                                   
              13.        His robust features revealed his life so hard
                           I stared at his strong shoulders and broad chest
                           As he through gloomy bushes and jungles trod
                           A soul so free, so bold I never met.

                                                                                                        
         

 ********************************************************************************************
                  
                     


 Note : Dear readers, most of you might have read William Wordsworth's poem "Resolution and Independence" (The leech-gatherer) where the poet portrays the life of an old man who pursues his vocation of catching leeches though it involves much physical strain, patience and perseverence. During my boyhood once a beggar came to my house carrying a small tortoise in a basket. He was a tribal with a strong hefty body in spite of old age. He answered me that the tortoise stays near bushes in the forest and he had to wander in woods to catch them at night time. I remembered this incident when I read Wordsworth's famous poem where the old man looks :


                       "  Like a sea-beast crawled forth, that on a shelf 

                               Of rock or sand reposeth, there to sun itself;" 

                      "As a huge stone is sometimes seen to lie 
                         Couched on the bald top of an eminence; "

                      " His body was bent double, feet and head 
                        Coming together in life's pilgrimage; "

   In my poem also the tortoise gatherer leads a strenuous life in spite of his old age and his body though shrivelled with growing years still has stamina and will-power  to withstand the strain and he lives like a recluse in his forest dwelling without depending on others. His spirit of independence and boldness are portrayed in this poem. 

                                   ***********************************************              

                                     
 24th March, 2018                                                             Somaseshu Gutala








                                    

                  24th March, 2018                              Somaseshu Gutala
                                
                               
                        
                               

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

******* ONLY THY GRACE *******




         




   
               1)              You wake me up with Thy gracious smile
                                To witness a new morn with a fresh sunrise
                                And one more chance for me to realize
                                To mend my guilty ways and guiles.

              2)               A billion times you looked with self-same grace
                                A billion times I slipped and went astray
                                You gave me unsought so many days
                                Yet still I fumbled and fell far behind the race.

              3)               My crooked mind confined in darkest room
                                Did not view Thee standing at the door
                                Due ways to reach Thee, I find no more
                                Wake me, Oh Lord, from this engulfing gloom.

              4)              So many times You showed me means and ways
                               So many years, months, nights and days ;
                                I could not come out of this mysterious maze ;
                               Too bright for me to see Thy wisdom’s rays.

 
              5)              I wonder at Thy patience sublime
                                How long dost Thou pursue this tedious game ?
                                We err so many times and yet we blame
                                Unaware of Thy form, ever flowing time.   
  
               6)             Our miseries to Thee we attribute
                               Our victories ourselves we proudly claim
                               We roll in trivial pleasures, no noble aim ;
                               And if we fail, we curse our destiny mute

               7)            Unaware of Thy omnipresence
                               We do so many sins losing our sense
                               Our origin forgot, from whom and whence
                               We feel the woes of hellish ignorance.

               8)             Without Thy grace, oh Lord ! Our life is nothing
                                In every form Thy glory shines so bright
                                Our sense-bound soul can’t see Thy might
                                We cling to our vain pleasures as everything.

               9)              Our earthly bonds long-lasting we deem
                                About Thy selfless Love, we never thought
                                We turn to Thee, disillusioned when all is lost
                                Our lives mere shades before Thy eternity supreme.

 
            10)                Behind my breath and flowing blood you dwell                                                                           My eternal soul mate since creation ;
                                 We did forget Thy touch losing discrimination
                                 Enslaved like beasts by surrounding magic spell.

            11)               Even in death you show compassion sweet
                                Uplifting us from worldly woes and bonds
                                Thy mercy shines like a soothing angel beyond
                                Thy motherly clasp we sense as You lovingly greet.

            12)               Only Thy grace to break this Maya’s role
                                Only Thy grace to cross this magic maze
                                Only Thy grace to curb this sensual craze
                                Only Thy grace and help to reach my ultimate goal.
                                          
                                        ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


          13th march, 2018                                                  Somaseshu Gutala
                                                  


Sunday, March 4, 2018

Let us go --- Let us fly ---







                                                                     (  I  )
                                             
                  Far from this slashing din, far from these roaring crush
                  And fretful rush, streaming fast with unending gush
                  Incessantly flowing, incessantly leaping;
                  Far from these smooth seeming roads with hidden pits and potholes
                  Far from these smothering towers and sky-touching spires
                  Far from these white mansions knitted close like cells
                  Far from these bustling vehicles and nudging crowds
                  Far from crowded bars, restaurants and harsh cries loud;
                  Far from shops, theatres and congested market squares
                  Far from these parks and gardens where people rush fast
                 To spoil the space with littered plastic cups and cans
                  While children play unaware of impending perils
                  As elders sit on stone-benches in dreamy mood
                  Discussing faded events with nostalgic looks;
                  While pedlars lure kids with their ice-cream cones and candy bites;
                  While jobless vagrants loiter and smoke with reckless looks.
  




                                                            (  I I  )
                                              Let us go -- Let us fly--

                   To some cool tranquil place where bushes and bowers abound
                    Near some murmuring brook flecked with red lotus-buds
                    Where silver-tinted fish twirl and swim through ripples
                    Where white-winged birds nestle and twitter serenades;
                    On some black stone to sit and muse glancing at the blue hills
                    Viewing the green swell of lush waving grassy plains
                    Pacing slowly as fluttering butter flies welcome with colorful wings
                    As breezes cool pass wafting our cheeks with refreshing smell
                    While the setting sun on yonder hill burns with vermilion hues
                    Shedding a rosy glow tinged with yellow, purple and saffron shades. 



                                                     (  I I I  )

                                           Let us go --- Let us fly---

                    Let us return to the city as noisy rush slows down
                    When the city shines like a diamond-studded crown
                    With vibrant colors of bright electric lights
                    As roads and pathways shine with rows of fluorescent lights
                    Amidst the din of rushing vehicles with bright focusing bulbs;
                    Amidst the home-bound people dressed in various styles and ways
                    Chattering, chuckling and laughing with friends and co-workers;
                    When night summons us with moon-lit glimmer and starry sky
                    Refreshing us with smell of night queen and musk- rose
                    Like two swans flying through crystal sky--- let us go—let us fly.  

                                              *************************************

        5th march, 2018                                                            Somaseshu Gutala