Book 02 - Chapter 06: The Arts Festival

The emperor stayed at Mamallapuram for three days. The town celebrated joyfully all those days. On the first day, the emperor and the princess went around the town in a procession. The citizens rejoiced at the opportunity of meeting the royals at their doorsteps. The second day was Saraswati Pooja, the day on which they prayed to the Goddess of knowledge and wisdom. The citizens prayed at their houses in the mornings and participated in the public celebrations in the afternoon and evening. The temples, monasteries, theatres and schools were decorated to celebrate the auspicious day. The emperor and the princess visited the Shiva and Vishnu temples, prayed, and made gifts to the priests. They visited schools and gifted clothes and jewels to the teachers. As they moved from one destination to another, crowds cheered and greeted them.

However, the full extent of the public’s enthusiasm was not seen until the next day, Vijayadasami. The festivities on that day took place outside the town. The boulders and hills to the south of Mamallapuram were decorated with colorful artwork, depicting scenes from the Indian epics. A large rock had paintings of Krishna’s childhood adventures in Gokul, from the killing of the demoness Putana , all the way up to the taming of the snake Kalinga. In another painting,  Krishna, as a child, had his  arms around the neck of his mother, Yasoda, who was churning milk. Krishna seemed to be pleading for some butter. His facial expression was breathtaking. A split boulder had a painting of Bhagreerat’s penance, to get the river Ganga to earth. Devas, the celestial beings stood on either side, awestruck by his efforts. The painter who painted this wonderful scene must have been blessed with a sense of humor. The painting also showed a cat who was pretending to pray with closed eyes.

The rocks had several such wonderful paintings. Men, women and children crowded around the rocks, and moving from rock to rock, admiring the artwork.  They were dressed in nice clothes and jewelry. Women wore flowers in their hair. Men wore floral garlands. The mood was festive all around.

In addition to artwork, there were other things to reinforce the merry environment. Musical treats were offered in small canopied structures decorated with banners and banana trees. You could hear flute from one of the tents. Another emanated Veena music. Priests were chanting Sama veda in another. Yet another tent had a musician singing Appar’s verses in a way that could melt a rock. Thus, people had a choice of visual or audible treats. 

Some tents were serving water, sweet drinks, buttermilk and sweetened rice flakes with kind hospitality.

In such a crowded place, one cluster was particularly dense. The cluster was moving, just like one large wave standing out among the heaving waves of the ocean. At the core of the cluster was the emperor and his beloved daughter.

Narasimha Varman was riding a horse of rare stock, with Kundavi nearby. A handful of soldiers were clearing the crowds ahead of their path. An ox mounted with a drum went ahead, with the drummers announcing the arrival of the emperor.  Wherever the emperor and the princess stopped to admire the artwork, the crowd showered flowers, rose water and sandalwood paste. Chants of “Victory to the emperor!” and “Long Live Emperor Narasimha Varma Pallava!” went around. The emperor looked at each painting with care, talked to the artists who were standing nearby in respectful attention, and paid his compliments.

The entourage finished the tour and reached the Durga Temple. The temple was carved out of a mountain in Mahendra Pallava’s days. The work was interrupted before it could be entirely finished. The temple was the center of attention in the day’s festivities.

There was a large area under a canopy in front of the Durga temple. If you looked up from inside the canopy, you’d get the illusion that you are staring up at the cloudless night sky. The ceiling was covered by navy blue silk with bright patterns of tiny octagrams that shone like stars. The pillars were covered with colorful silk. Flags with lion symbols were fluttering in the evening sea breeze. The edges of the canopy were decorated with hangings made with tender coconut leaves.  Two richly decorated seats meant for the royal visitors faced the altar in the middle of the canopied area. Seating for others was carefully arranged round those two seats.

The work interrupted by Pulikesi’s attack was set to resume that day. The community leaders had already taken their seats. When the emperor and the princess entered the area, cheers and celebratory music from various instruments rang out into the evening sky.

Prev

Next


Click here for the audiobook version
Parthban Kanavu: The Tamil version of the novel is in the public domain. Copyright for the translation is reserved by the translator..