ANCIENTCAPITALBanavasi was once the capitalof Kadamba kings, who firstestablished their reign in thefourth century.

2 DECCAN HERALD Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Spectrum statescan

CMYK

MISCELLANY

be seen inside the navaranga ofBhoganandishwara temple. The exquis-itely built Vasantha Mantapa (royal mar-riage hall) is adjacent to the sanctum sanc-torum and the picturesque Pushkarnicalled shringa teertha is located (towardsthe north) near the temple complex.Shringa teertha gets its name from thesage Shringamuni. The river DakshinaPinakini (South Pennar) is known to origi-nate from Shringateertha.

Built in the Dravidian architecturalstyle, standing tall on a raised talapaya(foundation), the Bhoganandishwara tem-ple, its sacred shrines and holy pondapart, is also known for its aesthetic struc-ture and classy art work. Wonderful carv-ings on temple walls and pillars; beautifulblack stone idols and images from mythol-ogy and nature; eye-catching friezes andstucco figures are an important aspect ofthis temple.

Getting thereThe village is just a 15-minute drive fromthe Bangalore International Airport.There are frequent buses from Bangalore(via Devanahalli) to Nandi hills. Take aright turn at the base hill on Devanahalli-Muddenahalli route to reach the road sidetemple spot.S V Upendra Charya

SET IN STONE The Bhoganandishwara temple is said to have a history of athousand years. PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR

Along theVarada’scourse...AGRICULTUREA recent workshopconducted by the Western Ghats TaskForce highlighted the importance ofconserving desi varieties of paddy.Banavasi, an ancient capital with a richlegacy of the arts and architecture, is alsoknown for its rice heritage, reportsSandhyaHegdeAlmane

Banavasi, theancientcapitaloftheKadambas, has always beenknown for its rich heritage andhas found animportant place onthe map. But, the erstwhile cap-

ital is also known for its rice heritage. Ba-navasi’s paddy varieties are well-knownacross the country.

Thevillage,24kmsawayfromSirsi inUt-tara Kannada district, is situated on thebanksoftheriverVaradaandagricultureisthe life breath of the people in the region.The river Varada is a volatile one, and hasbeen both a boon and a bane at differentpointsintimetoagriculturistsoftheregion.Farmers here are always on tenterhooks,unabletocomprehendthecourseoftheriv-er.Thishasresultedinastyleofagricultureunique to the region. In the rainy season,

the river Varada is in spate. Come sum-mer,therivermetamorphosisesintoaheapof sand. So the very lifestyle, folk cultureand food habits of the people on the banksareknittedwiththeflowoftheriverduringrains and the scanty trickle that it is duringsummer.

Paddy has been the pre-dominant cropgrown on the banks of the Varada sincetime immemorial. It is an inevitability forfarmers to grow paddy because Varadaflows to the brim during rain. The solutionfor farmers is to cultivate the variety ofpaddythatwithstandstheflood. Pineapple,ginger, banana and arecanut are the com-mercial crops grown on the banks of Vara-da,butBanavasi isastorehouseofpaddydi-versity. The Banavasi region safeguardstherichriceheritagethatwehave.Around

An ancient village neara modern airport

Situated next to the famous touristspot, Nandi hills near Devanahalli, isa small village called Nandigrama,

said to have been founded in the 17th cen-tury by the chieftain of Avathi, Bhairegow-da. Those who visit the Nandi hills usuallymiss this hillside village with a grand oldtemple, an archaeological monumentsince 1985.

The foothill village, Nandigrama, hasthe famed Bhoganandishwara templewhich has a history (as per the inscrip-tions) of thousand years. The village tem-ple, named after its presiding deityBhoganandishwara, is known to be one ofthe earliest built temples of its kind in Kar-nataka. Rathnavalli, the queen of Bana dy-nasty (of the eighth and ninth centuries) issaid to have built the Bhoganandishwaratemple which flourished for more thanthousand years during the reigns ofHoysala, Chola, Pallava and Vijayanagarempires who developed it into a magnifi-cent temple complex occupying a vastarea covering the small village Nandigra-ma. The spacious mukha mantapa (en-trance hall) with rows of artistically sculpt-ed supporting pillars and naga mantapasapart, the sprawling temple complex (370X 250 ft) has a twin-towered ornate struc-ture comprising separate sanctumsadorning the deities of Bhoganandish-wara, Arunachaleshwara and Umama-heshwara. The mid sanctum has the deityof Umamaheshwara. On either side of theshrine are the other two sanctums withdeities of Bhoganandishwara and Arun-chaleshwara (towards the north andsouth respectively). The garbha gudi(sanctum) of Arunachaleshwara hasGanesha (lion faced deity) and a blackstone image, said to be of Cholaraja, can

Life is lonelyfor thesezoo animals

Thecentury-old-SriChamarajendraZo-ological Gardens, Mysore, housesmany species living a life of solitary

confinement. They have ended up as mereshowpieces placed inside enclosures forthesolepurposeofentertainingthousandsof tourists who flock the zoo daily.

Stringent rules laid down by the Gov-ernment of India and the Central Zoo Au-thority (CZA) regarding procurement ofanimals on an exchange basis, have madethe animals’ lives miserable.

Thezooauthoritiesseemhelplessaboutthe issue too, because the permission ofthe central government and the CZA is amust to bring any species from interna-tional zoos to Indian zoos.

Suchasituationdidnotprevaileventwoto three decades ago when zoos across theworld freely exchanged animals and birdswithout any problems. But the rules weremademorestringentfollowingcomplaintsof misuse by some zoo authorities.

But, this has affected genuine zoos suchas the Mysore zoo that enjoys a very goodreputationattheinternational level. Inthecurrent situation, it will take not less thantwo to three years to get any exotic animalfrom an international zoo, thanks to elab-

orate procedures. In the Mysore zoo too,there are some species that are in need ofpartnersformanyyearsnow.Amalegoril-laBobowasbroughtfromaGermanzooin1996-97topartnerSumathi,afemalegoril-la, which was leading a solitary life. By thetimeBoboarrivedinMysore, Sumathiwasnot interested in a partner.

Thebreedingprogrammeofthezooau-thorities fell flat after Sumathi died. Sincethen, Bobo has been looking for a com-panion. If one goes by the restrictions im-posed by the European EndangeredSpeciesProgramme(EEP),then,suchpro-grammes will hardly take off.

The nod of the EEP is a must when itcomes to sourcing any animal from anyzoo in European countries. In the absenceof a companion, Bobo is leading a toughlife. “Most of the times he sleeps in the en-closure and rarely comes out. He sits in acornerandtakeswhateverisgiventohim,”saysanofficerofMysorezoo,onthecondi-tion of anonymity.

Gorillas are typically hyper-active andare among the best of entertainers. But,Boboisanexception.Thegorillahasspenta solitary life for almost 14 years. The gov-ernmentandCZAareyettomakeeffortsto

PINEAPPLE,GINGER,

BANANA ANDARECANUT ARE THECOMMERCIAL CROPSGROWN ON THEBANKS OF THEVARADA, BUTBANAVASI INUTTARA KANNADADISTRICT ISA TREASURE TROVEOF PADDYDIVERSITY.

60varietiesoftraditionalpaddyevenwhenthere is a clamour to raise modern, high-yielding varieties and around 35 other va-rieties are grown in the region.

Bilejaddu,atraditionalvarietyhassuste-nance in deep water for about 30-40 days,Karejeddu seedlings survive 25-30 days inwater.EvenEdikuni,Somasala,Mattalaga,Mattiga,Halaga,Siddhasale,NyareMinda,Sannavalya, Karekanthaka, Honnekattu,Jenugoodu, Budda Bhatta, Hejje and Mul-luBhattahavethecapacitytofightfloodsit-uations.WhentheVaradaisinspate,11,002acres of paddy land are inundated in Sora-ba, Sirsi and Sagar taluk. There have beentimes when the spate continues for longerintervals, and farmers who relied on mod-ern varieties have had to go back to desipaddyvarieties.Farmersintheregioncon-serveseedsoftraditionalvarietiesanddon’thave to run from pillar to post to get thesevarieties from elsewhere.

Importance of desi varietiesThe paddy seeds supplied by the Agricul-ture Department are not deep-water vari-eties. During sowing time, an overall 3850quintalsofpaddyareusedinthevillagesonthe banks of Varada in Sirsi, Soraba andSagartaluks,butthepaddyprocuredfromthe Department is only 800-900 quintals.This is because the many farmers who optfor desi varieties share the seeds as theyhave realised the worth of indigenous ricevarieties.Thespecialityofthesevarieties isthat they sustain themselves even in timesof a flood. In fact, after the water recedes,thepaddygrowsprofuselybecausethesoilis enriched after the flood recedes.

“Desi varieties are free from diseasesand pest attacks,” say local farmers. Saha-ja Samrudha, an NGO, has established aseedbankatBanavasiwiththecooperationofthelocalGramPanchayatsoastoreviveand conserve traditional rice varieties infieldshere. TheWesternGhatsTaskForcehad arranged a paddy conservation work-shop in association with different associa-tions, to stress the need to conserve thesevarieties recently.

Desi paddy, medicinal, deep water, andscented varieties were exhibited at theworkshop. Participants at the workshophave urged the government to declare theBanavasiregionanagriculturebio-diversi-tyheritagecentresoastoconservethericeheritage of the region. Rare paddy diversi-tyshouldbeconservedandaspecialconser-vation fund should be set up, as part ofwhich an honorarium Rs 5000 should begiven for every acre of paddy that a farmerowns, the participants sought.

PADDY DIVERSITY Banavasi isknown for its varieties offlood-tolerant paddy. Below:Desi varieties of paddy at aworkshop. PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR

ANIMAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMME Stringent ruleslaid down by the government and the CentralZoo Authority (CZA) regarding procurement ofanimals on an exchange basis have meantthat many species in Mysore’s century-oldzoo lead a life of solitary confinement, writesShyam Sundar Vattam

break his solitary confinement atleast now.

LikeBobo,thereareotheranimalssuch as the white rhino, black rhino,African elephant, leopard cat andflamingoesthatareinneedofcompa-ny. The Mysore zoo brought TimboandZambi, anAfricanelephantcou-ple in the 70s. Zambi died last year.ThemaleelephantTimbooftengoeson a rampage and attacks his owncub. “The task of finding a compan-ion for this elephant is among thebiggest challenges for the zoo au-thorities. No zoo is ready to spare afemale African elephant in spite ofthe zoo offering a good sum.”

“If we start the procedure now itwill take at least two-three years toreach the ministry concerned whichhas powers either to reject or accepttheproposal. Incaseofanychangeinthe government, the procedureneeds to be started afresh.”

“While there is no doubt that theMysore zoo has a great reputationamong international zoos, nothingworks without constant pressurefrom the government.”

“The zoo has a record of breedingmore than 150 species in the last 20-25years.Moreimportantlyit isoneofthe oldest zoos in the world,” notedthe officer.

Some zoos are ready to spare “ex-otic” species in exchange for Indianelephants.Butafewnon-governmen-talorganisationsandanimalactivistsareagainst thisexchange.Nowmostzoos in Germany have almost all theanimals that Indian zoos have and atimemaycomewhentheauthoritiesof Indian zoos will have to approachthe former for species.

A LONELY LIFE An African elephant called Timbo and (below) Bobo, thegorilla, have no partners at the Mysore zoo. DH PHOTOS: VISHWANATH SUVARNAAND ANURAG BASAVARAJ.

WHILETHERE IS NO

DOUBT THAT THEMYSORE ZOO HASA GREATREPUTATION,NOTHING WORKSWITHOUTCONSTANTPRESSURE FROMTHE GOVERN-MENT OF INDIA.THE ZOO HAS ARECORD OFBREEDING OVER150 SPECIES INTHE LAST 20-25YEARS.