Hidden gem of anvatti

                                                Kaitabheshwar temple,kubatur(a.k.a kotipura locally)

Well to begin with; this is a sleepy hamlet that hasn’t had the reputation/name that’s enjoyed by a village located quite near to this place- banavasi; and to give more details about this very protected monument

who else other than ASI to the rescue?...let’s get to the details  

First look at the ASI description, and one may notice nothing new in it. So did I. (except for fact that the pillars were “lathe-turned” and polished…How?). but how does temple look like….well let’s find out:

Well the first glimpse of this temple reminded me of sun temple of Konark temple in Odisha {don’t know why though I feel it has to be the 3 sections of this temple gopura,the mid empty space( used for recreational purposes then) and the main sanctum sanctorum(where the main deity presides)}.in the beginning one will ridicule these thoughts( including me uh!) wondering how could there possibly be some connection between an unknown temple here and the masterpiece located in the Utkala region!....

Anyways continuing the  further “inspection” of the temple I photographed some of the stunning and “surprising” facets of this temple’s architecture…..getting inside the temple looks a typical of how any hoysala kingdom temple would look like.

(Beg your pardon for poor low light photography) 

                                                                                                                                                                                               

 This very photo made me believe that surely there had to be links with other regions of this country during those times!!!....(including konark uh…but how??)

  Well at first glance anyone would just look at the temple outer walls and would admire it. The 3 highlighted portions (though found on the other two sides as well!) represent the testimony of those times (I mean the king must have had his “contacts” far and wide)….again but how???? 

The circled(or rather smoothened out squares) on the left is the quintessentially malnad,karavali design of architecture(shringeri,Udupi), the centre one has a striking resemblance to the cholan,pandyan archaic styles(Madurai) and the one on to the right!!!....how on earth can’t one not recognize the mauryan, rashtrakutan style(the so very essence of N.Indian temples,be it somnath in GJ, Bhubaneshwar in east coast, or the birla mandirs) all have that 3 layered ,square based pyramid structures!....I was simply dumbstruck looking at all the 3 indian architectural styles gleaming beside each other on a summer evening, wondering what an experienced architect (whoever it was!) he had been!....and also began wondering the relations (or the influence; who knows?) the king had with various other dynasties that were located no less than a 1000 kms away!.....after discovering this wonderful temple I was intrigued by a question “Howcome ASI hasn’t kept an entry fee?”…trust me it’s worth paying and having a look at this architectural masterpiece.

This temple is easily accessible by road( though bus frequencies are a bit of concern here, but no problems whatsoever with personal vehicles)…Enroute to jade from anvatti, this sleepy hamlet lies at a distance of 1 km from anvatti….Best time to visit??...throughout the year but preferrebly not during the monsoon…major attraction in the vicinity are banvasi,sagara,jog falls( around 40 kms from this location)….Thanks for your patronage..