Hermitage of Art

October 2017

Hermitage of Art

A wave of elated whispers washed over when the bus came to a halt. Students rushed out with their bags to see colossal pillars framing dexterously sculpted doors, yet to open. I stood in line with my classmates watching the sliver of light grow fuller that originated from the inside of the door.

Grades 6 and 7 from our school had headed out on a trip to Omthara Kalakuteera. Om or Aum is the ‘cosmic sound’ sacred to all in the Vedic culture. Thara refers to ‘mother Goddess’ venerated in Hindu cultures. In Sanskrit, the language of the gods, Kala means ‘art’ and Kuteera means a ‘hermitage’. The place is where one can visit to experience the rich heritage, cultures, and traditions in India, from the ancient periods to the modern world. An adventure, we shall go through as I narrate to you the sheer enchantment of the building.

Carved arches that themselves tell stories. They sure are welcoming!

Grouped into colours based on sections, we were to play various games. Put into green, we were to visit the audiovisual show with team red while blue and orange remained in the main ground to play.

The interior made my heart skip a beat. Grand corridors, vibrant paintings, and welcoming couches adorned the building. After sighting too many colours to take in, we went upstairs. Pushing away large red curtains, we settled down in the darkness to watch. In the middle of the room stood a large light which was managed by one of the hosts. Everyone sat in silence as a song started.

The song ended, leaving us refreshed by the calming voice, and a voice welcomed us. She said that this show would be dedicated to the Dashavatara, the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu who is the Universal God of preservation. These ten incarnations, known as avataras, are forms of Vishnu who had descended to restore cosmic order.

The central avatara is Lord Vishnu. He is often seen in the pose of Yognidra, the state of consciousness between waking and sleeping on Shesha, a Nagaraja translating to the king of snakes. The large light shined on carvings of Vishnu holding weapons and items including a lotus from which it is said that Brahma, the creator god, was born.

The first avatara is Matsya, the fish god. The story unveils by mentioning that the humans that had been created misused god’s gifts. The gods were angered and wished to start a new evolution of people by wiping out all the mortal humans. But there was King Manu who lived content with his life and helped the needy. To test him, Lord Vishnu took the form of a fish, Matsya. The fish swam up to Manu and pleaded the king to protect him from a bigger fish. Taking pity, the king carried the fish home, who requested him to put him in a jar where he could grow. After a while, he outgrew it and was transferred to a large pit. After he outgrew it too, King Manu let him into the ocean as he would be the most indestructible fish in the ocean. Matsya finally decided to tell him that the calamity would occur soon. He asked the king to hop onto his back and he swam to the Himalayas and dropped him there to begin a new civilization.

The next avatara is Kurma, the incarnation of a turtle as described in the Vaishnava Puranas. Sage Durvasa had given Lord Indra, the king of gods, a garland. Lord Indra placed the garland around his elephant, but it trampled it. This insulted the sage, making him curse the gods to lose their divinity, immortality, and power. Devastated, the gods rushed to Lord Vishnu for his guidance. He advised them to drink Amrita, the nectar of immortality to regain their powers. To obtain it, the ocean of milk had to be churned which was so large that it required Mount Mandara to churn it and Vasuki, a large serpent, as the churning rope. As the Devas (gods) weren’t strong enough to churn it, they made peace with the Asuras, the demons to help them churn it. The mountain finally churned the ocean but due to its weight, it started sinking. Vishnu transformed into Kurma to hold it in place. Soon, the Amrita was finally made. But another problem was approaching and they hadn’t considered it to happen. The Asuras stole the nectar and swiftly ran off. The Devas were in a dilemma but Vishnu had a solution for it too. He turned into a beautiful woman, called Mohini, to trick the Asuras who fell for it. Quickly consuming the potion, the Devas were able to defeat their foes.

The third avatara is Varaha. The story begins with the introduction of Hiranyaksha, a strong and powerful Asura. He had captured Mother Earth, personified as Bhūmi, and hid in her ocean. Vishnu transformed into Varaha and dove into the ocean to lift Earth back up, killing Hiranyaksha in the process who was obstructing him from doing so.

The fourth avatara is Narasimha. Hiranyaksha’s brother, Hiranyakashipu hated Vishnu. To destroy him, he decided to undergo many years of penance to please Lord Brahma, the chief of Devas, who would award him with his wishes. This works and he is offered a boon of his choice. When Hiranyakashipu requests immortality, the chief refuses and therefore Hiranyakashipu comes up with a plan. He requests him to be killed by neither any mortal animals, beings, demigods nor Asura, not to be killed during the time when the sun shines not when it is night, not to be killed on neither the earth nor space, not outside nor inside and not by any weapon. He also asks not to be killed naturally like every other mortal does. He is granted so and Hiranyakashipu assumes that he is immortal. While he was in his penance, Indra and the other Devas had raided his home, destroying everything. Narada, a sage, stops them from killing Hiranyakashipu’s wife for she was sinless. They took her to an ashram where she was cared for. Hiranyakashipu’s son, Prahalada, is brought up under the guidance of Narada and he becomes a devotee of Lord Vishnu, to Hiranyakashipu’s dismay. Hiranyakashipu is angered by his unfaltering faith for his sworn enemy and tries to kill his son but it, unfortunately, fails every time. One day, he asks his son that if the lord is everywhere, is he not in the pillar before him? Prahalada answers that he would be there forever and he exists in everything, from the pillars to the least twig. In anger, Hiranyakashipu breaks the pillar with his mace. Narasimha, a form of Vishnu, emerges from the pillar.  He had come to kill Hiranyakashipu without violating Brahma’s boon.  Hiranyakashipu is killed by Narasimha, who is neither animal nor human for his head is that of a lion and his body is that of a human. He is also neither a demigod nor Asura as he is a form of Vishnu. He is killed at twilight when it is neither day nor night, killed on the threshold of the courtyard which is neither inside nor outside. He is killed by his claw, which isn’t a weapon and it occurred on his lap which is neither the earth nor space. He disembowels Hiranyakashipu and blesses Prahalada as he sets off.

The next avatara is Vamana. Mahabali is a powerful but kind-hearted king. He had defeated various kings and managed to do the same with Indra. The king of gods went crying to his mother, Aditi, who told him that she would fix it. Aditi set off to Vishnu who initially refused to kill the noble king. After a lot of persuasions, Aditi managed to convince Vishnu to do so. He takes the form of Vamana, a dwarf, and goes to Mahabali during a ceremony where he is granted his wish. The dwarf asks him land that he could cover in 3 steps. The king finds this amusingly small and agrees. Vamana grows into a huge giant. In the first step, he covers the earth and his second step covers the heavens. When he asks the king where he must set his last step, Mahabali asks him to put his foot on his head. The giant, known as Trivikrama, sets a foot on Mahabali’s head and pushes him to the underworld. Saddened by his deed, he sets off to the underworld with Lakshmi, his wife, and guards him against harm.

The sixth avatara is Parashurama. He was the son of sage Jamadangi who had a celestial cow called Surabhi, also known as Kamadhenu. A king named Arjuna Kartavirya asks for it but when he refuses, the king takes it by force. Parashurama is angered by the crime and sets off to retrieve the cow. The fight results with a successful Parashurama who returns and a slain king. The Kshatriya class, the arrogant warrior class, challenged him and he slew them all. He goes on a pilgrimage for his doings and returns, only to find that his father had passed away as some Kshatriyas had decided to avenge the others’ deaths. Parashurama repeats his actions, later relinquishing his weapons and taking up Yoga.

The seventh avatara is Rama, the protagonist of the great Hindu epic, the Ramayana. Dasharatha was the king of Ayodhya and had three wives, Kaushalya, Kaikeyi, and Sumitra. As he had no heir, he performed a fire sacrifice called the Putra-kameshti yagya. Rama is born to Kaushalya, Bharata is born to Kaikeyi and Lakshmana and Shatrugna are born to Sumitra. Years pass and elderly Dasharatha wishes to pass on the crown to Rama, upon which his assembly and subjects express their support. But soon Manthara – Kaikeyi’s wicked personal maid who wishes to receive riches – arouses Kaikeyi’s jealousy by commenting on the king’s partiality towards Rama. The queen agrees and claims two boons Dasharatha had granted her. She asks him to send Rama for exile in the wilderness for fourteen years while her son, Bharata, succeeds him as king. Dasharata, in misery, unfortunately, passes away. Rama travels to the forest with his brother Lakshmana, who insists on coming. He is also followed by his wife, Sita, who is kidnapped by Ravana who wishes to make her his wife. With help from many like Hanuman and Sugriva, he succeeds to bring her back and slay Ravana. He then returns to Ayodhya where everyone celebrates his arrival with pomp.

The eighth avatara is Krishna, the god of compassion, tenderness, and love. He is born to the parents Devaki and Vasudeva. At Devaki’s wedding, Kamsa – Devaki’s tyrant brother – is told by a heavenly voice that he is destined to be killed by one of her sons. Kamsa prepares to kill all of them and so he does. He kills Devaki’s first seven children by grabbing them by the leg and smashing their soft and tender heads to the ground. The eighth child proves to be no ordinary one; the iron gates that imprisoned them threw open, the guards fell asleep and a heavenly voice urgently told Vasudeva to exchange him with his friend’s newborn, Nanda. Though he had to cross the spiteful Yamuna, divine occurrences helped him; a hooded serpent shielding him from the harsh wind while the river parted for him, making it a smooth path. Vasudeva leaves Krishna with Nanda and picks up his baby girl instead. However, when Kamsa tries to slay the girl, she slips out of his grip, mocks him and says that his slayer is still alive. The girl was Goddess Yogamaya who was reborn at Vishnu’s request.

After various attempts at killing him, he finally planned to draw the boy into a wrestling match where they would combat his fiercest demonic wrestlers. He was delirious for their arrival and he pictured his headless body. With Krishna came Balarama, Vasudeva’s and Rohini’s – his other wife – son. The two brothers accepted to fight them and past a few seconds, lifeless demons lay on the wrestling ring, the brothers victorious. Everyone but Kamsa rejoiced at their victory. “Drive them out of the city! Arrest Nanda! Kill that ill- headed father of his, Vasudeva, and my wretched father, Urgasena, who has sided with my enemies!” he cried. Krishna then jumped up to him, dragged him by his hair to the wrestling ring and killed him with a blow from his fist. After that incident, Krishna and Balarama entered the gurukula and became princes in the court of Yadu.

The ninth avatara is taken as either Balarama or Buddha. Their weapon is a plough. Buddha means the awakened and enlightened. He was born to a royal family but he renounced his possessions to become an ascetic. He preached that suffering is linked to desire and abandoning desires would abandon the suffering that bides inside one’s soul.

Kalki, the slayer of the current epoch, the Kaliyuga

The last avatara is Kalki who is foretold to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga, the current epoch of corruptness, strife, discord, and quarrel. He is foretold to be seated upon a magnificent pearl white horse carrying a red vibrant blazing sword in hand.

Some detailed pictures that hang on the walls

Glimpsing at the last intricate carving, the lights flickered on, announcing the end of a masterpiece. We walked outside with the main host to go to a balcony from which I looked upon a 3D chariot seating the Sun god, Surya. Pulling the chariot were seven crystal horses. These seven horses depicted the seven different colours of the rainbow that originated from whiteness. We took a group photo together, consisting of sections A and B, our class teachers and the host. As I exited, I saw that on the doors were carved the avataras of Lakshmi called the Ashtalakshmi. We were then let to explore the floor we were on currently. Paintings, carvings, heirlooms, all antique; all this filled the halls of allurement. The painting that attracted me the most was that of the Navanari Kunjara, translating to the nine women who make up an elephant. The maidens with thick long hair braided with flowers looked just perfect, but what was more appealing was the fact that they fit perfectly to form the shape of an elephant!

Down the flight of stairs, we go.

We walked to various rooms and while I did so, I glanced at the paragon of magnetic beauty. Down a flight of stairs, I noticed Govardhan Giridhari, another name for Krishna, implying that he held mountain Govardhan on his pinky finger while the dwellers of their village huddled below the mountain which sheltered them from the wrath of Indra, the king of gods. The windows resembled the ones from the Konark sun temple; they looked like wheels. Inside a room were carvings of Krishna and Balarama pestering their mother for their favourite butter and some more carvings of them on a chariot as Akrura takes them to Kamsa while maidens plead him not to go.

"WE WANT BUTTER!"
"Sigh...Leave me alone, my little ones"

Wheeled windows

The Sampoorna Ramayana has been carved near the entrance which depicts the whole Hindu epic, the Ramayana. It was then revealed that it took twenty-five years to finish this delight to the eyes. We then travelled to the top floor called Chidambaram where there were the 108 poses of Natraja, a depiction of Lord Shiva as a cosmic dancer.

Some of the 108 poses of Shiva's Tandava Nritya (Dance form)

It was soon lunchtime after which we had some games. Tug the rope was played against another team and later was played as a battle between boys and girls in which we, the girls won. We later played some games of dog and the bone, hoop rolling with a tire and some hoola hoop (in which I successfully made the hoop go around me five times before it fell down… New record!)

It was soon time to leave, a bittersweet moment, and we said our goodbyes to the staff. Climbing onto the bus, we waved till they were out of sight. That was where I thought the fun would end but boy, I was wrong! The curtains were closed, disco lights were switched on and the music was blasted in the bus where we all rejoiced for about two hours. Tired, we got off the bus satisfied with the day which we couldn’t describe with words alone.

Comment down one of your sensational and unique field trips!