Y’all must be wondering why I chose this topic?
It’s pretty simple, actually, South India has grown in a place where you see astonishments on every street! And so the temples, they are truly amazing there as it presents the number of faith people has in Gods.
Surprisingly, every temple in South India is an expression of life. Stone and song, carving, and composition become as one. The lord, his abode, the darbar, the steps and spaces that make the universe of the temple are the creation of the created – Man. Every great composer has been inspired by gods and goddesses – Meenakshi, Venkatesha, Tyagaraja, Varadaraja to create their great works. But behind, and even more than them, are the creative geniuses who embodied these divinities in sculpture and architecture and gave us these temples.
The temple is an inspiration: the result of the creative the impulse was drawn from man’s ability to an abstract emotion from its actual experience into a vision of beauty.”
If the Puranas and Itihasas, scripted as they are, seem visual, this is only because of the sculptures and paintings, the morphological equivalents and counterparts of the written word. The linguistic word, even at its elegant best is, in fact, still limited compared to colors, shapes, and sounds. In fact, the most beautiful words are visual or aural. Each temple has been its own universe and one has to be inside its mind to feel its essence and allow it to bring out the beauty from our within. Beyond the rock so beautifully sculpted and the figure so mesmerizingly cast or carved, the temple is home to carefully honed rituals and social practices that have evolved within each shrine.
Every pillar, bas-relief in the temples is a visual supplement to musical composition. You learn about the musicians, instrumentalists, and dancers who adorned the temple and you also experience the impact that beautiful creations of visual art would have had on the musicians.
If you are in Kerala between the months of November and May, try and witness concerts during the temple festivals that take place in over 500 temples all over the state.
Visit at least some of the significant temples there and leave the rest of them for the next visit.
For any doubts, feel free to ask on Quora, a social question-and-answer website.
Also, have a look at our various monthly issues.
Regards
Khushi Anand