Vyasathirtha a.k.a Vyasaraja

This is the tomb of Vyasaraja who was the guru teacher/advisor of Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire. It is near Hampi. I have just got Vyasayogicharite a champu kavya by Somanatha Kavi and am planning to read it. I am also looking for travelogues and other catalogs of those times. One that I have found is the pair Paes and Nuniz. I will post further after I have details.

P.S. I took this photograph myself. Anyone is free to use it in their articles on Vyasathirtha.

Pictures

Some pics of the five Night blooming cerus that bloomed in my garden. It is often incorrectly called 'Brahma Kamal.'

I went on a short trip to Hampi. This is the front Gopura of the Hampi Virupaksha Temple.


Some views of the Tunga-Bhadra river. It was very muddy after recent rains.




It was really hot and I got a terrible sunburn on my back.

Life has been going on.

I am currently listening to a commentary by one Ramakrishna Shastry on Artha Sangraha. It a beginner text written by one Laughakshi Bhaskara on the Purva Mimansa System of philosophy. I have to admit it is rather pedantic and uninspired. I went in hoping for a logical or epistemology treatise, instead find long lists of things that are never fully explained or for that matter important.

Franz Kafka's 'The Trial' is next in line.

I watched 'La Ciociara' *ing Sophia Loren and directed by Vitorrio de Sica. It is a WW2 survival story based on a novel by Alberto Moravia. Great acting by Sophia Loren and even more so by her co-star Eleonora Brown.

I went with high hopes to watch Anurag Kashyap's latest presentation 'Shaitan' directed by Bejoy Nambiar. Bejoy Nambiar is one of the rare cases of something good coming out of a reality show. He was a contestant on a reality show to become a movie maker. He did not win but has made a good film here. It is a quick paced thriller and a good watch. The ensemble cast lives up to its promise. I did find the promos slightly misleading and hyped after watching the movie. I am eagerly looking forward for the next movie directed by Anurag. Although he is doing well as a producer I miss his touch as a director, the perfect example for that being Dev-D.

Before that I watched Bernardo Bertolucci's The Conformist. Again based on a novel, it is a simple story of a man trying to be 'normal' in changing times. Liked it.

'Loins of Punjab Presents' directed by Manish Acharya was on TV. A beautiful movie and a great storyteller. It is a pity the director died in an accident shortly afterwards.

I have been reading Roots: The Saga of an American Family in volumes. I just completed the fourth. Kunta Kinte has entered into manhood and returns to his village a man. I am reading it mostly for studying the narrative techniques and building of chronology.

Vilgot Sjöman's 'I am Curious - Yellow' is a pioneering Swedish movie. The classic plot of a movie in a movie is put to excellent use by intertwining the characters and actors, plot and life and the duality is brought out in visionary cinematic light. Yeah! I admit it is rather flattering and frankly a little nonsensical, but it is a truly good movie but unappreciated.