The Department of Studies in Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Mysore, will conduct a three-day national workshop on temple architecture and iconography from October 9 to 11.
The inauguration will be at the seminar hall of the Department of Chemistry at Manasagangogtri at 10 a.m. The workshop is being conducted in collaboration with Maharaja’s College.
According to a press release, two master architects from Tamil Nadu — K. Dakshinamoorthy Sthapati of Chennai and K.P. Umapathy Acharya of Kumbakonam — will be the resource persons.
They will introduce the participants to ancient texts on temple building and iconography and also deliver lectures on the engineering aspects of temple construction and on iconometry and iconography. More than a hundred participants (MA students, research scholars and faculty members) from across the country are expected to participate in the workshop, the release said.
The workshop is being conducted in view of the “cultural traditions and ancient knowledge systems fast losing their relevance and importance in the modern era”. The aim is to introduce the younger generation — both students and faculty members — to the scientific and aesthetic aspects of sculpting and temple building, both of which represent the traditional knowledge system.
Such topics do not find a place in the regular graduate curriculum and it requires additional effort in the form of extended academic activities such as this to sensitise the modern generation to the importance of ancient traditions, the release said.
Sculptors’ camp
The Department of Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Mysore, and the Department of History, Maharaja’s College, plan to conduct a sculptors’ camp in the city.
Ten senior sculptors from Goa and Karnataka will be invited. They will stay in the university campus for about three weeks, tentatively from the third week of October till mid-November, and create sculptures in ancient dynastic styles such as Kadamba, Hoysala, Chalukya, Gupta and Pala. They will be assisted by four junior sculptors. The camp will be run under the supervision of Puttaswamy Gudigar, director of Shilpa Loka, Goa.
The camp is expected to provide an opportunity for students and members of the public to observe the creation of a sculpture from start to finish and appreciate the nuances of sculpting. Ten sculptures will be created and the programme will be open to schoolchildren, college students, art connoisseurs and the public.
