Have you been to Tekal?

Mini Kanchi- Close to Bangalore

 

The rains having stopped, more or less, in and around Bangalore, I resume my annual pilgrimages to Hoyasala, Chola and other temples of Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Kerala. Yet to start foray into parts of erstwhile AP.

I wanted to look visit temples that were close to Bangalore and browsed through the temples of Kolar, Malur and Bangarupet and that is when I saw Tekal in the map. I did a small search on Tekal and in one of the pages on the Internet I read that Tekal has many ruins. 

With only this much information, I visited Tekal on 29^th Nov; this is not about riding. But riding to Tekal was part of fun. Instead of taking the Hoskote road, I rode through Sarjapura and took small village roads all the way. The winding and empty roads begin mostly after Sarjapura.  

Tekal is a deceptive town, as you reach as you see only a Railway stations and shops catering to truck drivers, things like Engine oil and those kinds of stuffs. Almost all small town railway stations are a couple of kilometers away from the town and even in this case it was so. As I rode to the town, I saw towering minarets but hardly any temple towers. As I approached the town, to the left, I noticed there were two temples in almost the same boundary of a mosque. This seems to be the motif for the town. You rarely see a temple without a minaret within shouting distance, pun intended. 

Venkatesh- 13th Generation Poojari

I rode through the small town, a population of about 2500 people perhaps, and there were many lanes running up on either sides of the road, almost all of them laid before the time of motor cars; narrow and houses abutting the narrow lanes. As I rode past one such lane, my eyes caught the sight of, what was unmistakeably a temple wall. As it turned out, that was the most important temple in Tekal, Sri Varadaraja Temple. It is said that the temple was built over a period of time, with Chalukya, Ganga and Chola Kings contributing during their reigns.

The main deity of temple, faces east and the temple has Chola style Vimana and Gopura. As you enter the temple there is a large hall with 36 pillars, newly painted with lime and red-oxide. There is a makeshift Dwaja Sthambhas and the mandatory ‘Bali peethas’ at the beginning of the hall. The hall is simple structure of granite slabs laid on the pillars. We are talking about slabs weighing tens of tonnes lifted and placed on vertical pillars, about 1000 years of so back in a small town such as Tekal. It hides the economic prosperity in Tekal that is wiped out without a trace now.

There are two structures on either inner sides of the temple premises, the one on the right, a mystery. It looks like a temple modified into a hall. It does not look completely impossible, given the state of other temples in the town. Orientation given here is relative to the temple.

The outer walls of the temple are full of Tamil inscriptions that do not appear very old, as much can be read by someone like me. The outer walls are also not very ornate and in general slabs with couple of relief works. There is another temple, of Sri Lakshmi, on the left of the temple, the deity facing west. The doorways made of granite stone shows signs of impending collapse.

The deity, Varadharaja is one of 7 such temples, standing behind Sudarshana and Bruharishi. The sanctum sanctorum lies behind a wall that is about 4 to 5 feet thick. It is quite possible that that the sanctum sanctorum was the original structure, over which all other Kings have built the temple to the glory it was during its hay days.

The flooring is all results of present day uglification of temples, laid with marbles that cover the bottom of the pillars and along with the design and part of history. I was told by Venkatesh, the Poojari, that individuals have contributed to each of the renovations, including the Muslims of the town who have done the marbling of one section.

He took me to the Lakshmi temple and told it is a great peril to do Pooja for the deity as the roof is precariously close to collapse. I went into the temple and peeped into the area from outside and it is evident that the roof is in urgent need of repair. Under that perilous roof, Lakshmi stands in all glory, her beauty and kindness beamed to willing believers.

Crumbling Temple

Venkatesh tells later that he is the 13^th generation serving the temple and pride shows in his eyes. He also told me that he has first repaired the Varadharaja temple before repairing his own roof. The temple, in its glorious days, had 180 acres of land but later secular governance has robbed the temple of its wealth. It is not only the temple that lost its wealth but the community of Tekal stands impoverished.

I then visited a small temple by the side of the road and there I met two gentle souls who were more than happy to narrate the town history. The town is known as ‘little Kanchi’, after Kanchipuram.  They were more than happy to show me around the town. Venkat Swamy works as a supervisor in an IT company and commutes to Bangalore every day.

They took me to the Someshwara temple, which opens only on Mondays. There is a rock to the right of the temple on top of which there is a Linga. There are signs of the temple that once was larger in size, with sculptured pieces of figures and pillars strewn all around. The duo took me to few of the wells and also to smaller temples. Most of the temples have been completely uglified. Right in front of the Someshwara temple lies a large tract of land with a six feet granite boundary running around it. Right in the middle of it one can see a ruin of a temple. The walls bare the innards, brick work telling us a tale of its age. Now it is a mosque.
 

If one walks beyond the Someshwara temple, there are two minor temples in ruin, with no deity, swamped by overgrowth. There are no wells though.Venkata Swamy walked me through fields showing the old wells, now without water and tells me that there were 101 such temples with pairing temples. About 12 years ago or so, the wells started drying up. Now very few wells survive and fewer with water.

Wells of Tekala with honorary guides

The largest two mosques lie on either side of the road, the one on the right built on a granite foundation. There is another, its east side facing a large pond, one I am told, never dries. There are many such wells with no temples and many wells without any temples but mosques by its side.  They tell stories to anyone willing to listen to them.

There is a beautiful pond with a Mantap right in the middle and Pink Red-Lilly blooming in hundreds.

Anyone who has interest in temples may find this town interesting. There is a hill full of large boulders and one can see the Dargha on top of it. I am told that there is Chamundeshwari temple on the hill. Beyond the temple is the place where the Pandavas practiced in preparation to warfare. Now those places are taken over by bees. The rocks could be a heaven for photographers who grew up liking Ansal Adam. I understand there are Leopards and Bears to boot.  

I plan to go there a couple of times. Anyone from Bangalore, if interested, contact me through the e-mail. This place is  worth a visit in small groups.