Anu Ananthan
Anu Ananthan is a famous temple artisan, author and documentarian who led the making of around 1500 flag poles, including for the Sabarimala Temple, one of the most renowned pilgrim places in South India.
Works
A book 'Ayyappanum Silpiyum' (Lord Ayyappa and the sculptor) authored by him is published by DC Books. A documentary written and directed by him, 'Sabareeshante Dhwajasthambham' [1] and another book 'Manimandapavum Thankadhwajavum' (The bell tower and golden flag), released by renowned actor[2] [3] Mohanlal, are also detailed accounts of the making of heavy temple crafts he participated in[4][5] under his father, Ananthan Achari, a veteran temple artisan in Kerala.
Works' plot
Anu Ananthan's book 'Ayyappanum Silpiyum'[6] and the documentary[7][8] introduced by film actor Suresh Gopi are based on the festival event of renovation of the flagpole in the Sabarimala temple in 2017, and many of the ancient knowledge in the field of Indian architecture. The Travancore Devaswom Board decided to restore the centuries-old flagpole after noticing its damage. Parumala Ananthan Achari was appointed as the chief architect. The next step was finding the wood apt for the flagpole. After several investigations, a log with special qualities was selected from Konni forest.
According to Indian custom, there are special ceremonies for cutting wood for the temple flagpole. The chief sculptor and his team have to roam around the forest and observe nature. After that, the chief should approach the said tree and take permission of the birds and animals living in it and the nearby trees symbolically by chanting some ‘mantras’. Then sleep under that tree that night. Cutting starts next morning and the wood is taken to the workshop by supporting it without touching the ground. The wood that is delivered to the workshop is cut, peeled, and dried after applying turmeric and raw camphor.
The work of the flagpole is not limited to just one workshop. Here, the base stone (Adharasila) for the flagpole was carved and polished in the workshop of Tripallur Sadashivan Achari. Stones from Vadasserikkara, Ambasamudram, Tenkasi and Nagerkovil were brought as per the custom that those should be brought from four directions. After that, the wood should be soaked in oil for six months. A long tank filled with oil is called ennathoni (oil boat). The act of dipping is also called as Thailadhivasam. Oil extracted from around thirty-five herbs including fig, dye fig, ficus benghalensis, ficus religiosa, dashamanti, saussurea lappa, sandalwood and so on is used in this process. Eighty barrels of oil were needed for this.
The base of the flagpole is rectangular and it is considered to be Brahma, the next part is made up in eight faces and the upper part is round and are considered to be faces of Vishnu and Shiva respectively. The copper was brought from Jagadri in Haryana. After the copper rings are attached to the wood, gold layers are glued in the form of ribbons. There are also some historical reasons for bringing all these from each particular place. Hymns and weapons of Lord Shiva, Vishnu, and Ayyappa are carved in the metals artistically. Perhaps it may take centuries for a next reconstruction of a flagpole here since now again due to the high durability of seasoned wood and metal backing.
Recognitions and Awards
In the flag raising ceremony on 2017 June 25, Anu Ananthan was honored by getting the rarest opportunity to carry the Golden ‘Vajivahanam’ (Horse Vehicle sculpture of Lord Ayyappa) to the flag top as the heir of the chief sculptor and as a contributor of numerous temple sculpture works[9]. On 16 November 2022, Tiruvithamkur Devaswam Board honored[10] him by giving a Special Award[11].
Personal life
Anu Ananthan is married to Dr. Lakshmi and they have a son, Kasinath.
References
- ↑ "metromag". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "SABARIMALA -Manimantapa Book released by Mohanlal ಮಣಿಮಂಟಪದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಪುಸ್ತಕ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಮಾಡಿದ ಮೋಹನ್ ಲಾಲ್". www.youtube.com. 3 August 2022. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "ശരീരമാണ് ക്ഷേത്രം - മോഹൻലാൽ | Book Launching | Mohanlal". www.youtube.com. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "mathrubhumi news".
- ↑ "ഭീമന് വാര്പ്പ് ഗുരുവായൂരപ്പന് സമര്പ്പിച്ചു". www.dwanionline.com. 20 February 2022. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Ayyaapanum Silpiyum". Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "ശബരിമലയിലെ സ്വർണക്കൊടിമര നിർമാണം; റിലീസിനൊരുങ്ങി ഡോക്യുമെന്ററി..." www.manoramaonline.com. 2 November 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "ശബരിമലയിലെ സ്വർണക്കൊടിമര നിർമാണം; റിലീസിനൊരുങ്ങി ഡോക്യുമെന്ററി". www.youtube.com. 27 November 2020. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Devotee offers 2-tonne bronze 'vaarpu' to Guruvayur temple". www.newindianexpress.com. 21 February 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Dewaswam Board President Press Meet". www.youtube.com. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "'ശബരീശന്റെ ധ്വജസ്തംഭം'". www.youtube.com. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
This article "Anu Ananthan" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Anu Ananthan. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
