“Courage is not just spiritual mastery, but also physical mastery”, says master sculptor Ganesh Bhatt, pointing to a stone sculpture depicting a man riding a lion riding that is standing on an elephant. “The human form has the ability to rise to an elephantine or lion nature”.
Gathered at the 500-year-old Kote Venkateshwara temple for the temple walk organized by Bimba the Art Ashram, the participants of the tour listen to Bhatt as we stand outside the main shrine and marvel at the centuries old architecture.
Ganesh tells us of the procedures involved in temple architecture. “It is not just a random building. The structure and basis of the temple depends on the deity, and the energy. Ancient temple sculpture was carefully thought out”.
The co-founder of Bimba, T. Deepak, who was also present, said: “The Shikhara (the rising roof above the main shrine) makes you look up to the sky, and see the light. And that makes you truly feel your spiritual expanse and take in the energy”.
After we walk around the temple, we proceed to sit at a corner where Ganesh tells us about temple architecture. He flips out a drawing pad and draws the layout of the entire temple in an impressive two minutes, and explains the alignment of the elements. According to Deepak, “Temples celebrate our historical inheritance. First we know, then we appreciate, then admire, then celebrate. Every temple has its story. It’s beautiful”.
Ganesh says “I started sculpting at the age of 16. Coming from a family of priests, I always connected worship to sculpture, and had a thorough understanding of what is inside and outside the shrine.” However, he feels that such sculpture is losing its value today. He says “Unfortunately foreign tourists are interested in learning about our ancient sculptures, while we do nothing about it. Soon, you’ll see these traditional styles only in museums.”
Bimba the Art Ashram is looking to organize more such walks in various temples as part of their temple series, with Bhatt.
