THEN :
“ Taka-takita
Taka-takita Taka-takita dhom-dhom !
Takk-takita
takk-takita takk-takita dhom -dhom !”
The frenzied beats of the Tamate drums reverberated all over the banks of the Lake . Three boys were pounding away on the drums while the other boys danced wildly keeping with the rhythm . The ripples and wavelets in brimming Perbolal Tank seemed to keep them company .
Though fully soaked in sweat , the boys, who had been practicing the beats and the dance moves since the noon , did not stop .
“Hey you chimps ! Enough of your monkeying !” Shouted the Oldman , “ There is much work to be done for tomorrow, just jumping around will do no good !”
“ Who is jumping
around , Grandpa !” Shouted back Siddu, in irritation. “ We have to dance our best tomorrow and need the
practice .”
The Oldman was
forever scolding the boys , it was his nature and the boys never heeded him .
But it was true
that much work had to be done for the
grand event scheduled for the next day. The streets of the village had to be cleaned
and decorated with green leaves and flowers . And the place chosen for The
Stone needed to be levelled and a pit
dug for erecting it .
Everything had to be perfect for Durgi !
Venka had a strong and special attachment for ‘The Durgi Stone’ – that was the name the townsfolk had given to the slab Venka’s father was sculpting . But to Venka , the sculpture was always Amma – Duggalamma .
Ever since Father
had selected the stone slab , offered it prayer and started drawing the
outlines of the goddess on it, Venka had been fascinated and keenly watched ,
day after day , as the image emerged gradually , chisel-cut by chisel-cut , from the
bare stone .
The work was
almost done ; only the eyes remained to be etched . ‘Opening The Eyes’ was a
special ritual in traditional art and that
signaled the completion of the work .
‘It is to be done
today’ remembered Venka and he stopped dancing . He wanted to hurry home as he
did not want to miss that special moment .
“ Siddu , what Grandpa says is true . There’s a lot of work to be done …..come , friends , we have practiced enough , lets get to the other work ….”
The boys packed
their drums and they all washed up in the cool, refreshing water of the Lake , splashing
each other playfully . How long it had been since the Lake was so full !
As they all trooped behind Venka , who was hurrying homewards , the Oldman remarked : “ Learn from Venka how to obey elders , all you little monkeys….”
When Venka reached home , he found Mother pounding rice for the Thambittu to be prepared the next day . His Aunt , who had arrived from the next village for the event , was helping her .
“ Mother , has Duggalamma opened her eyes yet ?” Venka asked anxiously .
“ How will she , in your absence ! “ laughed Mother , “Father is waiting for you, go on !”
As Venka hurried out, his Aunt remarked : “ Akka , the fascination for gods and rituals that Venka had when he was a baby does not seem to have lessened even now!”
Mother smiled and
nodded .
Ever since they had taken Venka , a toddler then , to the Manne Amma Ratha Festival in Manyapura , the child had been smitten . Perched on his mother's hip he had stared in wide eyed wonder at the merry making crowds , the pageants and the colourful rituals in which the King himself had participated . The little boy had been so impressed that after returning home , he started playing ' Ratha Festival ' with his toy cart !
This interest did not dim as he grew up . He participated enthusiastically in any festival or fair in their village , taking it upon himself to organize various things , with a group of his friends .
“ Quite a strange interest our Venka has !” Said Mother , “ So long as it is not harming anyone , let it be …..”
“ But , Akka, I heard he got into a mishap because of his extreme fixation with Durgi? ”
Mother sighed . True , there had been that rather scary mishap not very long ago .
That day, he had accompanied Grandpa, who had brought the text for the inscription from the Gavunda ( headman), to the
workshop where the Durgi Stone was taking shape . Venka’s father came out to
greet him .
The Oldman had just handed the palmleaf text to the sculptor , when there was a loud crashing noise and a part of the thatched roof fell , with a pole that was holding it up.
“ O ! Venka ! Venka !” screamed the Oldman .
Venka’s father dashed in and both men pulled apart
the thatch and poles . Under the heap , they found Venka lying over the half
sculpted stone , covering it protectively .
“ Ayyo ! Venka , my child ! ” Mother had cried , carrying him out and splashing water on his face . “Why din't you run out , you silly boy !”
Venka sat up slowly and drank some water . “ Duggalama ? ” he mumbled . Fortunately , he was not hurt very badly.
“ She is fine
….but you could have broken your back !
“Mother , I had to
save Duggalamma , what if that pole had
damaged her ?”
“ Son, if the
stone is damaged , we can get another one and carve again ” exclaimed Father ,
his eyes welling up, “If anything serious had happened to you …….”
“ Nothing will
happen to me , Father ! If I protect my Duggalamma, She will protect me!”
The Oldman patted
his head “ May you live a hundred years my boy , protecting your Duggalamma !
“ Why only hundred years, Grandpa ! Even in a thousand years , I will protect Her! ” Laughed Venka .
Mother shuddered as she remembered that accident . “Anyway , everything turned out well……and tomorrow The Durgi Stone will be consecrated and she will protect our Lake and our Village …..”
Venka entered his
father’s workshop, panting . “ Father ! Have the Eyes been opened ?
“ How could I do
it ,” smiled Father “ without you by my side ! I know you want her first glance
to fall on you !
“ Alright , here I
am !
Father selected
the finest chisel and sat down to meditate briefly . By now , Mother, Aunt ,
Uncle and Venka’s friends had assembled at the shed .
After a small prayer, the sculptor started etching the eyes carefully ….soon , both eyes of Durgi took shape and the face seemed to come alive . How lovely she was !
She stood upon the
head of Mahisha , wearing a crown and ornaments all over . In her four arms she
held a bowl of grains, a sword , a trident and a conch . She looked powerful
and also benevolent .
“ Hail, Duggalamma
!” Venka’s voice rang out and the others joined him .
“ Hail , bestower
of prosperity and abundance !
Father handed a
coconut to Venka and he broke it at the feet
of his beloved Duggalamma . The ladies did the Arati .
Durgi was now ready to take her place as The Protector of The Lake .
The next day , the whole village was up early . Everyone had decorated their doorways . Garlands and festoons fluttered along the streets . Numerous Pots, set up along the bank of the Lake , were bubbling away with rice , lentil and jaggery wafting the aroma of delicious Uggi .
There was music in the air and much dancing as The Durgi Stone was brought in a decorated palanquin to the Lakeside . There, with all due honours , it was installed and worshipped by all.
“ Let us hope,
from this day , with Durgi’s blessings, we will never again face famine or
draught . For two years, rains had failed us and the lake dried up . Had it failed this year too , our
treasury would have got depleted . But our Elders advised us to install Durgi on the bank of the lake , following our Gangavadi Tradition . Our prayers
have been answered and we received plentiful rains this year . Our Lake is full
. And now that Durgi has taken her place , we shall have no more hardships . It
is our duty to honour her always . Those
causing harm to Durgi Stone will incur
Sin. That is what is written on the stone to remind everyone and the generations
to come.”
After feasting on
the various offerings made to Durgi , the crowd started melting away . But
Venka stood there for a long time , looking adoringly at his Duggalamma .
“ I will honour
and take care of you , Amma . Forever .”
******************************************************************
NOW
Rashmi and Tarun ,
who work in Manyata Tech Park , had moved into Bengaluru almost two years ago
, but had never had a chance to explore
the Natural bounties of the City , other than Cubbon Park and Lalbagh .
So it was with great enthusiasm that they agreed to join their colleague Arjun in one of his weekend birding trips, to Hebbal Lake .
They were very impressed by the huge body of water . They had heard that the Lake, which had been doomed to extinction due to rampant urbanization, had been saved and revived .
“ It would have
been such a shame had this Heritage Lake been destroyed .”
“ How old is this lake ? Was it made by the British ? ” Enquired Tarun .
“It is a little
more than one thousand years old .
“ No kidding ! A
millenium ?
“ Absolutely no
kidding ! If you are done with clicking pictures , I will take you to a Lady
who has been a witness to the life and times of this Lake .
A short while
later , the three were at a small shrine in Boopasandra .
“ There she is !
Durga ! From Western Ganga times !
“ Beautiful ! And so small ! It’s a wonder such an ancient icon has survived for such a long time in a wildly proliferating concrete jungle like this ! “
“ Well , she has
had her bad time too . For centuries , she lay discarded, half buried , uncared
for and forgotten . When work was going on for the Outer Ring Road near Hebbal
, a local youth discovered the Stone
lying in a pit . He rescued it and shifted it to this temple .
“ Wow ! That’s noble of him ! There are a few good men after all ! ” remarked Tarun.
Rashmi nodded :
“Yeah, at least
some people care for heritage ……what's his name ? “
“ His name is
Venkatesh ” Said Arjun , “ Some call him
Venka .”
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Reference :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/inscriptionstones/permalink/2061803480727543/
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