In this second part of the series 'ऋतश्री – the True Beauty,' the theme we explore is - Attachment. The coming of new year brings with it a time to rekindle one's innermost aspiration, to make renewed efforts with greater sincerity and a more complete surrender. It is also a time for a sincere aspirant... Continue Reading →
ऋतश्री, the True Beauty – Aspiration
This new photo-feature series titled 'ऋतश्री – the True Beauty' will present selected words from Sri Aurobindo and the Mother around a specific theme. The themes chosen under this series will speak of a few aspects concerning the inner journey and the path. It is in the Light of these words that the accompanying photographs... Continue Reading →
‘The New Creator’
An offering for August 15, 2020 The Divine is what you adore in Sri Aurobindo.(The Mother, CWM 13: 27) Of the significance of his date of birth, Sri Aurobindo himself spoke thus: "August 15th, 1947 is the birthday of free India. It marks for her the end of an old era, the beginning of a... Continue Reading →
Chalukya Temple Trail – Badami 4
Photos by Suhas Mehra, text by Beloo and Suhas Mehra Continued from Part 2 Having spent some time exploring the Badami rock-cut cave temples 1, 2 and 3 in our earlier posts we now move to the last and the smallest of the four caves. Cave 1 is dedicated to Lord Shiva, caves 2 and... Continue Reading →
Chalukya Temple Trail – Badami 3
Photos by Suhas Mehra, text by Beloo and Suhas Mehra Continued from Part 2 We continue our exploration of the famous Badami cave temples carved out of the soft red sandstone atop a hill. After exploring caves 1 and 2 we now climb up to cave 3, and the exterior view itself makes us stop... Continue Reading →
Chalukya Temple Trail – Badami 2
Photos by Suhas Mehra, text by Beloo and Suhas Mehra Continued from Part 1 As we start climbing up the steps to reach cave 2, we turn around and take one more look at the majestic cave temple 1 with Nataraja who has already stolen our hearts! Dedicated primarily to Lord Vishnu, cave 2... Continue Reading →
Chalukya Temple Trail – Badami 1
Photos by Suhas Mehra, text by Beloo and Suhas Mehra After Aihole (see three parts - 1, 2, 3), we now travel to Badami for a completely different aesthetic experience. Badami was the capital of the early Chalukyas who ruled much of Karnataka during the 6th to 8th centuries. Situated on the banks of... Continue Reading →
Chalukya Temple Trail – Aihole 3
Continued from Part 2 Photos by Suhas Mehra, text by Beloo and Suhas Mehra After Pulakeshin I established the Chalukya kingdom making Badami its capital in 543 CE, a great phase of experimentation and innovation in temple architecture began in the southern region of Karnataka. In parts 1 and 2 we explored various temples at... Continue Reading →
Chalukya Temple Trail – Aihole 2
Continued from Part 1 Photos by Suhas Mehra, text by Beloo and Suhas Mehra "...everyone who has at all the Indian spirit and feeling, can at least give some account of the main, the central things which constitute for him the appeal of Indian painting, sculpture and architecture." (Sri Aurobindo, CWSA 20: 261) Aihole, a... Continue Reading →
Chalukya Temple Trail – Aihole 1
Photos by Suhas Mehra, text by Beloo and Suhas Mehra Aihole, also known as Aivalli, Ahivolal, Ilavalapura or Aryapura, is a sleepy village about 140 km from Hampi, or about 450 km from Bangalore. The story goes that after killing the decadent Kshatriyas who had been abusing their power, Lord Parasurama, the sixth avatār of... Continue Reading →