Shyamala Miss breezed into the classroom and settled down to begin her class. She began by asking the children about their holiday plans.
“How many of you are interested in a musical journey this holiday?” she asked. All the students raised their hands.
“Me! Me!” they yelled.
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So, Shyamala Miss chalked out a two-day trip to the Vittala Temple in Hampi, Karnataka. The temple is a musical and archaeological marvel.
“Do you remember our earlier trip?” she asked.
“Yes, Miss. We remember the trip to Madurai Meenakshi Temple,” said Laya.
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Rasa added, “I still talk to my mother about the musical pillars we saw there.”
“Great. This time we need permission letters from your parents as it will be longer trip and make sure it reaches me by the end of this week,” said Shyamala.
The children were excited and made plans for their trip.
Regal past“Before the trip,” began Shyamala Miss, “I will tell you a story about the temple. I will also give you an assignment.”
“The Vijaya Vittala Temple in Hampi is an outstanding example of Indian temple architecture. This was built in the 15 century by Krishnadevaraya II (1422-1446 A.D.), during the rule of the Vijayanagara era. The architecture is Dravidian and has many intricate sculptures and there is a lot of work on the pillars and Mandapas in the temple. The temple attained glory during the rule of Krishnadevaraya (1509-1529 A.D.), one of the most popular rulers of the Vijayanagara Dynasty,” said Shyamala Miss.
“Wow, what an interesting story!” said Mukund.
“Now,” continued Shyamala Miss, “I want you to write a short essay on the temples of Hampi, as this will help you get more information about this great monument before we visit.”
“Okay, now that we learned about the Vijaya Vittala temple, let us learn a Purandaradas Padha on Lord Vittala..,” she said.
And the class began to sing ‘Vittala Vittala Panduranga....’ .