Allegorical sculptures of Victoria Memorial - Calcutta

Unarguably the massive Victoria Memorial complex of Calcutta is one of the finest structures ever built in the country by the British during their rule in India!  No empire in history ever built so variously as the British empire in India. The colonial buildings of Calcutta attest to the richness of an imperial presence that lasted - from the first trading settlement to the end of the Raj - some three hundred years.

Allegorical sculptures representing Motherhood

Allegorical sculpture is a sculpture that symbolize and particularly personify abstract ideas. It is very common in the western world after 15th century. But this has been practiced several centuries back in the Indian temple architecture.

One of the most commonly known example of Allegorical sculpture is the "Statue of Justice" - traditionally seen in Courts,where in a female figure is holding a scale in one hand (as a symbol of her weighing issues and arguments) and a Sword of Justice in the other. To represent her impartiality she is blind folded.

Allegorical sculpture representing learning

Another one representing prudence

 Statues symbolizing A. Civil Government and the Legal System. AND B Military Power on Land.

  Statues symbolizing C. Agriculture AND D. Naval power.  

As we enter the memorial from the southern side we can see an Equestrian (a statue of a rider mounted on a horse) portrait of the king Edward VII. The right leg of the horse in this statue is in a lifted position. This is supposed to symbolize that the king died in war or due to war injuries subsequent to the war. But King Edward VII did not die of either of these two reasons. Americans and British are known not to follow this general rule while making an equestrian statues. 

Bronze statue of Angel of Victory atop the main dome

I am posting some Allegorical sculptures which I photographed in Victoria Memorial during my recent visit to Calcutta in September this year.

Statue of Curzon

Mural under the statue of Curzon representing him receiving homage of the tribal chieftens on the North East frontier 

Actual placement of the statues of motherhood and others

Chausathi Yogini Temple

Worshiping Female Power (Yogini Cult) was rampant in India between  9th and 12th century.  There are only very few  Yogini Temples remaining in India today of which Two are in the state of Orissa. One is, Vaital Temple which is well within the capital city of Bhubaneswar and the other is in the outskirts of the city in a village called Hirapur. This small village is 15 KMs from Bhubaneswar and the Chausathi Yogini Temple is on the banks of the river Daya.

Locally this temple is known as Mahamaya Mandir. This stunning temple was discovered by Kedarnath Mahapatra of the Orissa state museum in 1953. 

Chausathi Yogini Temple of Hirapur is a temple of a different kind. It is a tantric temple built with hypaethral involve worshiping environment consisting of all the 5 elements of nature - fire, water, earth, sky and air. According to the Archaeological Survey of India's (ASI) care taker of this temple, Goddess Durga took 64 forms of demy goddesses to defeat the demon. After Durga fought with the demon and killed him, the 64 goddesses or Joginis asked Durga to commemorate them in the form of a temple structure. Hence this temple was built by the Queen Hiradevi of Bramha dynasty during the 9th century.

The temple is in a circular shape, the circumference of which is around 27 meters and 2.5 meters tall. The inside of the circular wall has cavities, each housing the statue of a Goddess or Yogini.  These Yogini idols represent a female figurine standing on an animal, a demon or a human head depicting the victory of Shakti (Feminine power). The idols express everything from rage, sadness, pleasure, joy, desire and happiness! While the entire temple is built with locally available coarse sand stone the Yogini idols are carved out of chlorite stone brought from elsewhere.

A. Charchika standing on a demon B. Chinnamastaka standing on a severed human head C. Vikarali standing on a dog

D. Kali standing on recumbent male figure E. Vinayaki standing on donkey F. Aditi standing on Parrot

G. Maheshwari standing on a bull H. Ambika standing on a mangoose I. Kamayani standing on a cock

The mount on which these Yogini idols stand and the hair style of each Yogini are unique to each idol. All the 64 statues are very delicately carved to bring out the feminine beauty. Each is a classic by itself. The idol of ten armed presiding deity is Mahamaya (I was not allowed to photograph this) and it is the biggest of all.   

In the centre of the circular structure is a Chandi Mantap (lately restored one). 

The care taker of this temple from ASI Mr. Surendranath Routaray (Mobile number: 99381-55057) is a very nice gentleman and lives close by to this temple. He gave me the guided tour of this temple (very patiently allowing me to take notes as he explained). 

When I first heard about this tantric temple I was a little sceptical (actually scared!) of visiting it. But when I visited the temple I was awestruck with its beauty! If you happen to be in Bhubaneswar this temple is something you should not miss! 

Vaital Temple Bhubaneshwar

This interesting 8th century temple is dedicated to Chamunda (A form of Kali) and it is one of the oldest temples of Odisha. It also assumes greater significance as it is a rare temple in the country because this temple is used as a shrine devoted to Tantric cult! 

It is said that Vaital Temple is an excellent example of Kalinga architecture. It is a representative of the Khakhara order that was specially devoted to Tantric cults. The entire temple is an exhibition of the finest skill of Orriyan artisans. Some of the sculptures are so fantastic that they almost look like 

living human beings. Each sculpture is decorated with detailed ornaments. The extent to which those unknown sculptures have given importance to the finest detail is simply amazing!  This is one of the finest temples I have visited in India.

This great architectural wonder is on the brink of collapse any time soon, if proper action is not taken by the concerned authorities immediately! Monsoon is the biggest threat to this temple next to indiscriminate encroachment from the neighbourhood. 

Every monsoon this temple gets inundated with rain waters. The temple is below the road level and the main road is practically touching the temple. Hence even with a few millimetres of rain, the rain water from the road gets into the temple and fills the entire floor of the temple including the sanctum sanctorum!  Even the priests can't wade through the waist-deep water to perform the daily rituals during such water logging! Archeological Survey of India has installed a pump to drain the water as a temporary measure. But the problem with this is that the vibrations from the pump is affecting the 1300 years old structure and it may weaken the temple's foundation! 

BDA's (Bhubaneswar Development Authority) Indiscriminate approvals for buildings around this temple and thoughtless planning of the drainage system are responsible for the tragic state of this temple today. ASI is actually helpless in this cases. It seems that the local media have been highlighting this problem for years but sadly no one in the Orissa Government seems to be bothered about this.

The way houses have come up surrounding this temple speaks volumes about the concern the local government is having for these monuments. Houses have come up surrounding this temple encroaching on the drainage channel originating from the temple completely violating the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958. Few years from now it will not be a surprise if this temple vanishes completely! 

Take a look at the pictures in this post. You can observe the encroachments and what a great monument that is left uncared by the government. 

Very S A D!

Most abused temple of Orissa!

On the eastern banks of the ancient Bindu Sarobar Lake stands a magnificent 13th century temple called Anantha Basudev Temple.  This is the only Vaishnavite temple which is intact today relatively!) and is still in worship in Bhubaneswar. It is under the Archeological Survey of India and according to them it was built during the 13th century, by  Queen Chandrika of Eastern Ganga dynasty. Later in 17th century when Maratha empire extended up to Mahanadhi they renovated this temple extensively. So this temple is more than 900 years old!

There are four stages in this temple and they are: Bhog Mandap (place where Bhog is distributed), Nat Mandir (Dance Area), Jogmohan (assembly area) and the Biman, housing the Garbha Griha (inner sanctum). It is a classic example of Orissa Temple Architecture.

The inner and outer walls of the temple are carved  with many intricate designs similar to other temples of Orissa. There are many sculptures of female figures. These sculptures are heavily decorated with ornaments. Large varieties of figures are carved on the outer walls with minute details and decorations.

Today this temple must be the most abused temple in India! Unfortunately this magnificent temple is poorly maintained as dozen of priests are busy cooking the bhog (Prasad) at the temple complex itself. In fact the entire outer courtyard of the temple is now used as kitchen for the priests and devotees to cook Mahaprasad. The soot emanating from the firewood has blackened major portion of the yellow sand stones and most of the beautiful sculptures are severely damaged.

Because of the rift between the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and the temple authorities the new kitchen outside the temple complex is not yet built although the required land has been procured two decades back! It seems quite frequently fire breaks out in these kitchens and every time fire breaks out, heat from the fire damages the temple beyond repair! A major fire broke out in September of 2010 and damaged the temple structure  extensively. Though catching fire has become a regular menace in this temple, there has been no initiative from the authorities to replace the hay of the roof of the kitchen with concrete!!

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had identified thie temple as one of the oldest heritage monuments of the east. In spite of this no one seems to be bothered to preserve this monument including the Orissa State Government!

This great monument has become the victim of apathy of the state government and inability of ASI to resolve the local issues! 

The best joke is - there is a board at the entrance of this temple which says "Protected Monument" !!!!! From what? - I do not know!