ಕ್ಷಣಪ್ರಭಾ - Kshanaprabhaa

Google came out with this doodle on the 97th Birth Anniversary of Carnatic Music Legend M. S. Subbulakshmi: http://www.google.com/doodles/m-s-subbulakshmis-97th-birthday Surely, they could have done better. First thing that turned me off was the Sari in the MSS depiction in letter 'g'. The caricature is nice, but that gray dull Sari is not what you associate MSS with. She was graceful and humble and was personification of great Bhakti in her simple, yet colourful Silk Saris. And the Tabla, as my friend pointed out, was probably a very rare accompaniment in MSS concerts. Tabla is more of a Hindustani percussion accompaniment, but we can consider it as indicative of the Meera Bhajan recitals of MSS. But Tabla is a pair of drums, not one. The two of them would have perfectly fitted the "oo" part of the word Google. Ghatam could have become the final 'e'. By the way, what are those meaningless concentric circles representing 'G' and ...

My quest of Hoysala temples took me to the district of Tumkur last weekend, to a village named Kaidala to be exact. The little temple of 1151 AD in this village is one of great heritage. Legendary sculptor of Hoysala period, Jakkanachari, is believed to have built this temple at a ripe old age of 86, with the help of his son Dankana. The beautiful statue of Channakeshava that is being worshiped even today, is supposedly his last work of art. The temple was built at his home town of Kreedapura, which is now known as Kaidala. The name Kaidala is due to the legend that says that Jakkana got back his hand ("Kai" in Kannada) that he had severed after a flaw had been found by his son Dankana in the Channakeshava statue he had sculpted at Belur. There is a little statue on the wall of the this temple of Kaidala, and it is believed to be depicting Jakkana and his son. As usual, here is a compilation of some pictures I took at the temple premises: Channakeshava Temple...