Chitradurga's garden of delight
The Murughamath of Chitradurga, which is known for its many progressive programmes, has now become a tourism hub. 'Murughavan', a garden in the premises of the Murughamath, spread across 60 acres, is now the centre of attraction, thanks to the life-size sculptures it houses.
Dinosaurs and other creatures from the wild share space with people from the Stone Age and different stages of human evolution.
All sculptures have been carved in cement moulds. Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, the pontiff of the Math, who has taken this initiative, has hired artistes to lend a new look to the Math's garden.
From then to now
The project has been named 'From then to now', where the story of human evolution, has been presented. The life-size statues depict the lifestyle of the people of the pre-historic era, their techniques of creating fire, and their methods of hunting using different types of weapons.
There is an entire row of dinosaurs of different shapes and sizes. In another corner, the statues show how the people in the Stone Age began to learn agriculture methods for survival. At the entrance, there are statues of farmers ploughing their fields with the help of oxen.
'Kayaka Grama', depicting the 12th-century sharanaru (saints) presents the sculptures of Madivala Machideva, Samagar Haralayya, Madar Channayya and Aydakki Lakkamma. Many aspects of rural life also come alive in the sculptures. Famous personalities of the pre-Independent era including Jhansi Rani Laxmibai find a place here.
Yet another attraction is the depiction of Dandi March under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.
A model of 'Aikya Mantapa' of Kudalasangama constructed in a pond that includes crocodiles and birds, is impressive. Sangamesh, the artist from Koluru village of Muddebihal taluk in Bijapur district and his team of 42 artists, have been working from two years to complete these works of art.
"It was the idea of the Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru to present the Math's garden in a unique manner. We have been creating these sculptures under the guidance of Sharanaru. We learnt this art from our teacher and artist T B Solabakkanavar," notes Sangamesh.