A good father.

My daughter has not only learnt to speak fluent ‘daddy’ now also she now playfully threatens me with ‘yetu beka?!’  I know that a year is a relatively constant time period, but the last year has seemed like a short one for me – shorter than my PG years. Of course the year I’m talking about starts and ends in mid April!

Mitha holding my hand when she was about a month old.

I have always wanted a daughter and I’m grateful that I have one now. More importantly and presently I want to become a good father to her. And how does one become a good father? I really don’t know… but I’m sure I have an idea.

All around me I have seen a lot of good fathers, during my childhood, during college days, my work place, in movies and books, in my patients, in my daily life… all around me. Good fathers are a common place.

Once when I was having a tender coconut drink near my home I saw a father and a nearly eight year old daughter waiting for their drinks. The father just showed something on his mobile to the girl and the kid just looked up at him, instantly they exchanged smiles and as he patted her head the girl hugged his leg. I don’t know what the kid saw in the mobile but I knew he was a good father. I wanted to become a father like him.

‘Atticus Finch’ a fictional character from the novel ‘To Kill A Mocking Bird’ by Harper Lee is the best father I have read or seen in the movies. Again, a simple lawyer working for justice, fighting racism, braving guns and spitting hoodlums! What for does he do all this? Because he is a father who cares, a father who needs to come back home for dinner and look them in the eye when he answers his kids questions! A great novel for fathers, especially the ones who have daughters.

Like everybody’s fathers my father was and is the greatest dad in the world. He never pushed us kids into anything. He gave us independence and capability to think and let us do things by ourselves; he only got in when we wanted him. He didn’t mind us when we hurt him but never had he himself hurt us. He was responsible but not overbearing. I want to become a father like him, a good and sensible father. A simple father who has learnt along with the times changing himself and his kids.

I want my kid to be herself and nothing more. I want her to be my daughter… always!

Happy birthday to you my dear.

Heaven!

(This one is for my beautiful daughter Mitha and for her first birthday being celebrated today. This is for the happiness she has given my wife Anitha and me in this one year. The first year of my daughter’s life has been the greatest and the happiest year in my life. She certainly has made us feel the heaven with her presence.)

I come home down and tired,
From the dust and toil every day,
On your mamas’ shoulder you see me from afar,
And jump and clap in glee recognising me,
And that’s when I feel... I’m in heaven!

When the cooker whistle blows,
You look terrified and howl,
I pick you up and try calming you,
When you clutch my shirt and smile,
You are the one I know pacifying me!

I wake up horrified from my sleep,
... As I feel a smack on my face,
I look at you sound asleep,
And your jumpy foot near my nose!
I find heaven again as I kiss your tiny toes!

We go for a drive and come late at night,
Most of the time you have slept tight,
I carry you in to the baby cradle,
That’s when I smell you, your urine and sweat,
Mixed with Johnson’s powder all in one... heaven!

I grip the phone awaiting the sound,
With mama you repeat the syllables’
‘Daadi’ makes no sense for many,
Never mind them as you know,
For I’m already there up in heaven!

Aralaguppe – The forgotten Hoysala Paradise.



Front view of the temple complex.

It was 2pm when we (my wife Anitha, daughter Mitha and myself) left home for Aralaguppe. This time again we wanted to visit a historical place and Aralaguppe was on the list for a long time. It was closer to our home as there was no need to cross Bengaluru to visit this place! Reviews on wiki were good. And off we went.

Driving to this place from Bengaluru is very easy and quick as the roads NH 4 & 206 are in very good shape. However the first thing you notice after you reach NH206 is that there are no proper directions to this place. There is a board in Kannada telling ‘yeleneeru angadi, Aralaguppe circle, Biligere’ just after you cross KB Cross and Biligere. Take the narrow road to the left between the shop and the petrol bunk. Aralaguppe is 7 kms from this spot after you drive through pot hole filled untarred roads and acres of coconut groves.

Different forms of Vishnu on the walls.

We reached Aralaguppe at 4.15pm and the whole village itself gave us an impression of ancient times! Again there were no proper directions to the temple. The Keshava temple is on the west side of the village facing east. We were the only people in the temple complex except the one so called ‘gatekeeper’. Being a holiday we were surprised to see not many visitors visiting this wonderful historical place. We spent a good 90 minutes clicking away at the beautiful sculptures and discussing about Hindu mythology and Hoysala history. And yet nobody turned up either!

The temple from the north west end.

 The temple is a classical Hoysala architectural wonder dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Built during the reign of Veera Someshwara it dates back to 1250 AD. The temple exhibits grandeur in the form of delicately carved sculptures consisting of the twenty four forms of Vishnu on the outer walls. The stunning Ugra-Narasimha and Lakshmi-Narasimha catch the eye. The pillars in the interior are carved tantalisingly and the shadows make them even more beautiful for the eyes. The sculptures are very well preserved except for some minor damages to the faces.

Delicately carved pillars and their shadows!

The ekashila Shiva-Parvathi.

On the east side of the Village is the pre-Hoysala Nolamba style Kalleshwara temple dating back to the early eleventh Century (AD 1008?). The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is located beside a scenic lake. The renovated work takes out the historical significance of the idols in the temple. The ‘modern’ looking granite walls contrast sharply with the beautiful idols of ekashila Shiva – Parvathi, a rarely found and worshipped Suryadeva and the annihilated Chennakeshava.

Another attractive pillar

Of interest is the three dimensional Ashtadikpalakas (on whom the Vaasthu is based) carving on the roof of the western temple. It exhibits a rare sculpture with the dancing Lord Natesha in the centre with the dikpalakas in eight (ashta) directions along with their consorts and different animals as their vehicles. The four vidyadharas with garlands in their hands approach the lord in the centre.     

The ashta dikpalakas.

The rarely worshipped Suryadeva!

The place is no doubt an architectural wonder of historical significance with good online presence. It provides good opportunities to enjoy history, mythology, photography and journey. But what surprised us is that there were no people visiting such a fine place on a general holiday even though the place is so close by to Bengaluru. I only hope people will visit Aralaguppe more often and bask in the Hoysala glory once more. Happy Journey!  

 

Lepakshi... A Photo blog.

(Click on the Photographs to see them in detail.)

The Kalyanamantapam - wide west view.

                    

                        Magnificient mural on the Natyamantapam ceiling

The west side decorative pillars.

                                                                                                 Lord Shiva in a dance pose.  

Natyamantapam with '70' pillars with Lord Shiva and Rambha seen between the pillars.

An ancient way of showing things in 'fast forward' mode!

                                                                    Another colourful mural on the ceiling.

                                                                           The south side pillars with beautiful carvings near the Large Ganesha idol.

The incomplete Kalyanamantapam with the delicate stupas.

With my darlings... Anitha and Mitha near the huge monolithic Nandhi.

                                                                                   

(Click on the Photographs to see them in detail.)

All Photos (C) Dr Manjunath Byadigere 2011.

More info @

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepakshi

http://www.lepakshitemple.com

AN EYE OPENING EXPERIENCE

The consciousness that self discovery through service to larger than self can be a deeply satisfying experience was brought home to me recently in the most unexpected manner.

This is also a story about how the unintended consequences of an action are often greater than the intended ones.

[Photograph of Health Camp organised and conducted by me in my native village Byadigere (AP-Karnataka border about 20kms north of Madhugiri town, Tumkur Dist) on the 18th of April 2009]

Some of you know that I am part of Team Canadia (and its associate NGOs Project Kandwar and The Eighteenth Horse Foundation). We are a group of professionals in Bangalore attempting to give a hand up to the needy in the Greater Chikballapur Area (GCA). The five active members of this group conceived and executed a General Health Camp in Kandavara that is Ward 14 of the City Municipal Council of Chikballapur. The Camp was conducted on 2011 October 16, Sunday, on the premises of the Heritage Primary School where Sir M Visveshvaraya had studied.
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The Episode

As you can guess, I reached out to the network of physicians and secured the help of most volunteer practitioners. When I called my friends my intention was straightforward. To simply provide much needed professional health service to the poorest of the poor. That, I am happy to report, was achieved, thanks to the tremendous assistance provided by all my friends. What I did not expect was how one patient would touch me in such a deeply moving fashion.

A 30 year old lady came to me with a large swelling in her neck. The area of the swelling was approximately 6 cms x 6 cms. It was easy to diagnose that she was suffering from a thyroid malfunction. I knew that a careful follow up would mitigate the problem and probably cure her of her condition. Routinely I requested her to come and see me at my base, namely, Victoria Hospital in Bagalore.

The lady came to Victoria. After some preliminary investigations we came to know that the swelling was (much to my relief) benign, a colloid cyst and her thyroid function was normal. With the permission of my unit chief and my senior colleagues I admitted her and on 2011 November 24, Thursday, I conducted the surgery. It was a 90 minute procedure and the surgery went well. On Monday, the 28th, we discharged her. She expressed grateful thanks to me and the others in Victoria and left.

The Unintended Consequence

What happened to me next has propelled me to write this story in the hope that other health professionals will undertake voluntary work and experience the same awakening that I have experienced. I am still absorbing the revelation.

After discharging the patient I went for the usual walk on campus. It happened so suddenly that I had to stop, literally, to sense the extreme bliss of calm that coursed through me. It was a sense of deep satisfaction that came from doing my job, assisting a patient, receiving her thanks, and reflecting on that sequence.

I come from a typical lower middle class family primarily based in agriculture for generations. Whatever my family and I have achieved thus far is the result of sheer hard work, daringness and luck. And I completely understand that luck might not have accompanied everybody always.

By sheer accident I had met the patient. It is very likely that she and her family have not had the good fortune that my family and I have had. From her point of view, the economic and social distance separating the two of us is probably unbridgeable in her lifetime. And yet, we connected at the deepest level of human fraternity.

Forgive my dramatic formulation when I say there are no words to describe the affinity I felt for her while I was removing the malignant tissues from her neck. Was it the awareness of my good fortune to be able to help an otherwise helpless person? Was it meant to be as some wisdom literature tells us? Was it simply doing the job that is expected of me by the people and the Government of Karnataka? I do not know.

What I do know, however, is that I was in a state of serenity that I have never been. That serenity has enabled me to learn a little about what drives me in my belief in serving something larger than self.

It is my firm conviction that all of us are endowed with the gift to give of ourselves to a cause that we believe in.

Mein, meri biwi aur... woh!

I wake up sharp at 6am and get ready quickly.

6.40, I’m outside the house with my camera as I wait for Anitha (my wife). It’s time for our usual morning walk. She comes out leisurely. After a short time of walking she complains that I’m too fast. I slow down trying to hide my impatient excitement! Anitha is talking something but my mind is elsewhere.

I remember the day, five days ago when I first saw her during our morning walk. I had noticed her beauty accidentally when she had come close to us. And what a beauty she was! She looked great in yellow and brown, with some green sprinkled here and there.

We had reached the spot where I usually find her. With no clue of her whereabouts I look around. She is not to be seen anywhere. I’m now walking slowly. Anitha turns towards me suspiciously. Looking at some tiny lavender flowers I say ‘Ah... why don’t you walk for sometime in the football ground as I try to focus these flowers in the manual mode’. She gives an expression that says ‘somethings-fishy-here’! Luckily for me she walks on.
While I try focusing my lens on the flowers I keep my ears vigilant for her seductive sounds! I look at my watch, 7.20; she has to be here soon! I’m becoming increasingly impatient.

Just when the flowers are in focus, Anitha who has come up right behind me for some unknown reason shrieks ‘Wow... what a beauty she is..!!’, even Anitha is smitten by her beauty! I hush Anitha as I focus my camera on the beauty.....

Check her out here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R__cVW3s9R4
(cut and paste the link to a new window)

INNOCENT FACES!

ELATION!

CONTEMPLATION!

BLISS!

SUSPICION!

SOMNOLENT!

EXASPERATION!

ASTONISHMENT!

CONTENTMENT!

(All photos copyright Dr Manjunath Byadigere, 2011)