Abode of art and beauty:Devanahalli is replete with strikingly beautiful monuments

DISCOVER TRADITIONS, DISCOVER TEMPLES

Abode of art and beauty

Devanahalli is replete with strikingly beautiful monuments that dates back to several centuries. Srinidhi Raghavendra L V explores a Hoysala styled temple here.

Less than a decade ago, Devanahalli was a small non-descript town on the outskirts of Bangalore with its share of infrastructure and other problems. But since it has been chosen as the site for the Bangalore International Airport, the town has witnessed hectic development activity both in terms of private enterprise and government initiative. Now after nearly several years of dilly-dallying, government has started work on the Airport and the frenzy of developmental activity in and around the town, is only slated to increase. Apart from the international airport imbroglio, few are aware of the historical significance of Devanahalli. The small town is replete with interesting and strikingly beautiful monuments that date to several hundred years. If these attractions are well restored, developed and publicised, there is no doubt about Devanahalli transforming into a tourist and heritage destination. The town is endowed with quite a few ancient monuments including houses where former Mysore rulers Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan lived, the residence of Dewan Purnaiah, the Fort, strikingly beautiful temples dedicated to Venugopalaswamy, Nanjundeshwara, Chandramouleshwara, Kalamma, Veerabhadraswamy, Ranganathaswamy, etc.

Venugopalaswamy temple

The temple located inside the fort close to the entrance can be easily compared to the majestic temples at Belur and Halebid. This small shrine is endowed with beautiful Hoysala style pillars and frescoes that are very similar to the ones found in Belur and Halebid. It can be easily said that this temple is a miniature version of the mega temple complexes that are located in these famous locales. One has to travel four to five hours to reach Belur, but Devanahalli is a mere one-hour drive from Bangalore.

The Venugopalaswamy temple is a medium-sized temple with a tall Rayagopura at the entrance. The temple has a spacious inner Prakara (courtyard) and is complete with a navaranga, mukhamantapa and a small garbhagriha. At the entrance of the temple, there are two Vishnu statues ascribed to the Ganga era, which are believed to have been brought from the village of Gangavara. These impressive similar images are not the mirror images, they are distinctly different from each other, while one has a Prayogachakra (Disc), Shankha (Conch), Abhaya (blessing) and Gada (Mace) in its four hands, the other has different weapons and exhibits a separate demeanour.

As one enters the courtyard leading into the mukhamantapa (verandah), niches adorned with several stucco (a mixture of jaggery, limestone and sand used in construction) images attract attention. The four pillars supporting the mukhamantapa are classy and intricately carved. The entire outer wall of the temple is made of stone and has a frieze containing large images illustrating different incidents of epic Ramayana. The Balakanda chapter of the epic is finely illustrated in the form of detailed sculpts on the northern and southern walls.

The other sections of the frieze have images of Sage Rishyashringa and Dasharatha performing a sacrifice, Vishwamitra teaching Rama archery and a section of the wall also illustrates the pranks played by Lord Krishna when he was a child. These sculptures provide beautiful relief to our city-sore eyes used to viewing only brick and mortar buildings.

The Garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) has a standing image of lord Venugopalaswamy sculpted in the Vijayanagar style with a Dravidian style shikhara covering it. The navaranga (inner courtyard) of the temple has four black stone pillars with attractive relief sculptures on all sides – the images include the Hayagriva, dancing girls, musicians playing on traditional instruments, a conch blower etc.

One of the notable sculptures is the image of a Kinnara where the lower portion of his body is a bird and the upper section is that of a female hunter removing thorns from her feet.

According to the temple priest, a special Utsav or festival is celebrated on the Chaitra Purnima day (April) every year, prior to which, the entire temple including the stone pillars and sculptures are carefully washed with water and detergent to remove accumulated dust and then varnished in order to protect them. These efforts are mainly funded by devotees and the townsfolk who flock to the shrine during these days. But as expenses rise and numbers of visitors dwindle, the priest laments, it may not be possible to continue with the elaborate cleaning and maintenance each year.

Despite this regular maintenance and upkeep, a few sculpted friezes on the eastern wall have developed cracks and it is left to one’s imagination as to what would happen if the temple were to be allowed to deteriorate due to lack of funds. The government should take the onus now, when crores are being spent on the International Airport project to allocate a small amount of money to restore and maintain these important heritage hotspots, which possess a great potential for tourism.

How to get there

Travel on Bellary Road (NH-7) and move towards Mekhri circle, 9 kms from Bangalore is Yelahanka satellite town. Proceed straight ahead for another 29 kms to reach the outskirts of Devanahalli town. Turn left at the entrance of the town and half-a-km from here is Tipu’s birth place and fort. As you enter, on the right side, the fort and temple are the first large structures which are visible.

http://www.deccanherald.com/Archives/may312005/spectrum844492005530.asp

MICROSOFT Corrupting INDIA ? Buying their business in INDIA ?

Misleading Microsoft and Kannada ‘Tunga’

Microsoft deletes Kannada Discussion!!!

MICROSOFT Corrupting INDIA ? Buying their business in INDIA ?

Microsoft + ISCE ….

One of the reasons we find Microsoft curriculum in schools – indeed !!

” Charges against CEO true: ISCE panel “.

The Times Of India – Bangalore Edition date July 6,2005  -page 12 carries a
report whose headlines says ” Charges against CEO true: ISCE panel “.

This is not what’s interesting .

A bullet points says that the ISCE(India School Certificate Examination) CEO has been found gulity of getting Rs 3 lakhs from Microsoft !!

One of the reasons we find Microsoft curriculum in schools – indeed !!
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MICROSOFT buying State eGov business and eGovernance in INDIA with the help of NISG and Jt. Secretary of eGovernance of INDIA // Re: How long NISG can get away like this ? // Re: [eGovINDIA] NISG & Microsoft MoU – Read between the lines.
MICROSOFT buying State eGov business and eGovernance in INDIA with the help of NISG and Jt. Secretary of eGovernance of INDIA // Re: How long NISG can get away like this ? // Re: [eGovINDIA] NISG & Microsoft MoU – Read between the lines.

Time to Think and Take Action //  MICROSOFT has to be BLACKLISTED in INDIA // Re: How long NISG can get away like this ? // Re: [eGovINDIA] NISG & Microsoft MoU – Read between the lines

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But the moment this NEWS comes in the regular national press, this would open a can of worms.

think and act !!

nsninfo@yahoo.com wrote:
Sat, 22 Apr 2006 02:58:20 -0700 (PDT)

Please debate; Please report ;

how can a government body which is also
given the responsibility of writing the RFPs of many
eGovernance projects for central government and state
governments and its CEO is also on the NeGP panel can
take funds from Microsoft.

Either MS has to be blacklisted for “influencing”
government machinery or “NISG” to be relieved of
government projects. (please refer to CEO-NISG own
remarks which means this MoU is creating a bias
towards MS for all the eGov projects…is it a
co-incidence that ILIS project was awarded to Wipro on
MS Technology  immediately post this MoU?? )

The objective is to create a body which is technology
agnostic.
THE MoU
Microsoft signs agreement on e-Governance with NISG
New Delhi, December 7,2005: Microsoft India-announced
the signing of agreement with National Institute for
Smart Government The agreement will aim at
accelerating the application of Information Technlogy
in the area of e-Governance. Microsoft is supporting
the Government of India’s National e-Governance
program by establishing an e-Governance Investment
fund (“Investment Fund”) and e-Governance Innovation
Centre (“Innovation Centre”)

NISG will be Program Manager for the Investment Fund
and Innovation Centre. Microsoft and NISG will pursue
the following objectives

Enabling research and solution frameworks for
Governments in jointly identified areas
Create new class of applications and solutions that
focus on optimizing the delivery of government
services in identified areas
Create a framework and architecture to incorporate the
use of information technology in the functioning of
the various government      departments
Create a lab environment through an e-Governance
Innovation Centre in Delhi, for Government and their
agencies to experiment     with the new range of
technologies that can be applied in e-Governance and
Conduct appropriate research and proof of concept for
applying emerging technologies like Smart
devices,RFID,Smart Cards in    e-     Governance
Solutions.
Microsoft will also work with NISG to help adopt and
implement interoperability solutions in e-Governance
applications and will also share its knowledge and
experience in working with government across the world
on e-Governance projects

Microsoft has agreed to deploy a sum in Indian Rupess
equivalent to USD Two Million (“Grant”) spread over
three years in the Investment Fund as a commitment to
the Government of India’s e-Governance initiatives.
The funds shall be deployed pursuant to Project Plans
approved by a steering commitee.

Mr. J Satyanarayan, CEO of NISG said “I am confident
that this joint endeavor between NISG and Microsoft
will result in ideas, concepts and tools that will be
fundamental significance to the e-Government scenario
in the country”

“At Microsoft we are committed to leveraging our
international experience to develop innovative and
unique solutions that are relevant and customized for
the benefit of Indian citizen” added Mr. Ravi
Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India.

Time to Think and Take Action

__________________________________________________

On 4/27/06, eGov INDIA < egovindia@yahoo.com> wrote:

This is a valid question.

Discuss this more and write letters to NISG and DIT and GOI.

or Reply all to this email. It reaches all.

Already NISG under Satyanarayana had championed the cause of Ram Info tech / CMS consortium ( Hyderabad) by making them a successful bidder for Bangalore one project. The Bangalore one project had been conceived and executed for their benefit only. A PIL  before the Karnataka High Court is pending on this issue. One of the issues raised is the MoU between Karnataka Government and Microsoft. There is also a complaint before the Karnataka Lokayukta against Rajiv Chawla on the Bangalore One case.

The next in line is the e-procurement project. In the name of introducing centralized e-procurement system, certain officers in Karnataka government with the help of NISG have configured the tender documents thorough PWC to bring in C 1 India Limited. It is known to everyone that C 1 India is a partner of PWC. This is a gross impropriety. Because the consultant cannot take part in the tender. Here the consultant’s (PWC) partner C 1 India has been taking part in all these tenders and bagging contract too!

How long NISG can get away like this?

And all through NISG has been implementing ONLY Microsoft technology.
This private company is definitely not a blessing for the nation.

V. M. Kumaraswamy
______________________

vishal singh < josecy.vsingh@gmail.com> wrote: Thu, 27 Apr 2006 11:06:36 +0530

Does India Need monitory support from MS?

Are we progressing in IT due to charities?

This is a National Shame that profit making commercial companies are allowed to influnce our decision making.

MoU has become an instrument to bye pass normal competitive route to business.

We must understand that ultimately it is profit that is driving these organisations and they can smell opportunities and are fearfull of competition, so they take the MoU route.

There should be a dsicussion on validity of MoU route itself. This is high time that we decide about it.

Is there a legal validity of MoU? Can it be enforced in court of law?

Regards

Vishal

________________________________

Umashankar C < umashankarc@yahoo.com> wrote:
Thu, 27 Apr 2006 10:19:20 -0700 (PDT)

27-4-06

Dear all,

This is indeed  a gross impropriety and illegal too.
If the CVC is petitoned, the same would be taken up immediately.

As of now this matter is being discussed in the e-groups only. But the moment it comes in the regular national press, this would open a can of worms.

NISG has no business to cheat the vendors who believe in honesty and integrity.
It cannot champion the cause of PWC / C1 India anymore.

Umashankar

_____________________________________

Umashankar C < umashankarc@yahoo.com> wrote:
Thu, 27 Apr 2006 10:22:07 -0700 (PDT)

Dear all,

Signing an MoU with Microsoft was easy for NISG because it is a private limited company. It is easy to influence all States using NISG making them accept only microsoft technology.
Is that the reason why it had been formed as a private limited company?

Umashankar

_________________________________________________

nsninfo@yahoo.com wrote:

4/28/2006

India doesn’t require donations from IT MNC’s but look
at the problem area in detail…e.g.

World Bank fund for Karnataka Urban Development Project
(Nirmal Nagara Project) comes bundled with obligation
that the application will be provided by eGovernments
Foundation which claims that it is an NGO with
no-profit motive but it supports Oracle as a
Database!!! hence at least USD 250 K will be spent by
GoK to run a so called ZERO COST Application!!!

USAID funds for Panchayat comes bundled with an
obligation that the application has to be on Microsoft
Platform (e,g, Uttaranchal)

UNDP funds for CIC project comes bundled with
obligation that it has to be bundled with MS
Technology; Bangalore1 Project

Hence even if we restrict IT MNC’s from signing MoUs
then also they will come out with new ideas on how to
promote their meager technologies.

Therefore again it is the responsibility of the
government bureaucrats to adopt a technology neutral
RFP process to remove all these barriers.  Or adopt
only ONE TECHNOLOGY END TO END and stop this
discussion completely.

The responsibility also lies on the Government
Institutional Pillers like NISG, DIT, DARPG, CGG etc
to adopt a technology independent and process reforms
based methodology for selection of solution vendors.

Time to Think & Take Action
___________________________

Sent by:

This is Mr. V. M. Kumaraswamy, MBA. in business since 1971. Founder and Moderator of India’s largest e-governance Yahoogroup  under the title eGovINDIA. You can reach this group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eGovINDIA
 

eGovINDIA, INDIA WBA, EKAVI and INDIA RTI has taken up several matters and issues in their forum to discuss and to bring into national level and attention of CVC, CAG, CBI, CBEC, Supreeme Court, High Courts, State Officials and Highest officials in INDIA.

One of the issue is on relevance of e-governance in building a knowledge super power. eGovINDIA has submitted a write up to National Knowledge Commission.

  eGovINDIA, INDIA WBA, EKAVI and INDIA RTI has taken up another matter and issues of CBEC in their forum so that the corrupt officers are unable to scuttle the sensitive investigations and do not go unpunished. The honest officers should not be intimidated by the corrupt officers having backing of senior officers and ministers.

Today the honest officers of Customs and Central Excise and their families are feeling insecure due to the criminal attitude of corrupts who all are ganging up together due to blessings of senior officers of the department and CBEC.

INDIA WBA has taken up the issues of WHISTLEBLOWERS in INDIA.
India WhistleBlower Act: The Action Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/INDIA_WBA

INDIA RTI has taken up issues related Right to Information for all in INDIA.

Right to Information in INDIA discussion group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/INDIARTI

Language is one of the most sensitive issue to any language speaking community. It is not only a medium of communication between them but also a symbol of their self respect and dignity.// `Encourage efforts to develop Kannada software’ //

Language is one of the most sensitive issue to any language speaking community. It is not only a medium of communication between them but also a symbol of their self respect and dignity.// `Encourage efforts to develop Kannada software’ //

`Encourage efforts to develop Kannada software’

The HINDU Staff Reporter Online edition of India ‘s National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 06, 2006

http://www.thehindu.com/2006/03/06/stories/2006030619640400.htm

BANGALORE : Developing Kannada software is necessary for making Kannada popular. The Government should encourage efforts to develop Kannada software development, the founder of Ella Kannada Abhimani Vedike International (E-KAVI) and former Joint Secretary of America Kannada Kootagala Agara (AKKA), V.M. Kumaraswamy, has said.

Speaking at an interaction programme organised by E-KAVI here on Saturday, Mr. Kumaraswamy said proper work has not been done in developing Kannada software.

The environment for development of software was not conducive. He said the number of Kannada software development professionals has come down from 30 to three.

Mr. Kumaraswamy pointed out that the State was lagging behind others as far as regional language software development is concerned. The State, which claims of implementing e-administration, does not have a policy for development of software other than “Nudi” and “Baraha”.

Mr. Kumaraswamy said the Government was not willing to classify “Nudi” software under open sourcing enabling software professionals to develop it. With the Government sticking to “Nudi” and “Baraha” software, it has prevented independent software professionals from developing new software.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Misleading Microsoft and Kannada ‘Tunga’

Microsoft deletes Kannada Discussion!!!

 

MICROSOFT Corrupting INDIA ? Buying their business in INDIA ?

 

Microsoft + ISCE ….

 

One of the reasons we find Microsoft curriculum in schools – indeed !!

 

” Charges against CEO true: ISCE panel “.

 

 

The Times Of India – Bangalore Edition date July 6,2005  -page 12 carries a
report whose headlines says ” Charges against CEO true: ISCE panel “.

 

This is not what’s interesting .

A bullet points says that the ISCE(India School Certificate Examination) CEO has been found gulity of getting Rs 3 lakhs from Microsoft !!

One of the reasons we find Microsoft curriculum in schools – indeed !!
____________________________________________________________