Stories in stone

Communicates with the stone is hard to put into words but nonetheless very tangible.

The magnificent roof of blue sky in a dense forest, beside a river, 

are one of the great hidden glories of medieval art. 

There are over hundreds of these delightfully carved keystones, 

dating 6th to 8th century and measuring various sizes. 

(http://throughpicture.blogspot.in/2012/11/stony-emotions-from-maheshpur-india.html). 

The vast majority are figure carvings uniquely linked together in storytelling patterns,

Maheshpur in Chhattisgarh, India 

(http://throughpicture.blogspot.in/2012/10/culture-embeded-in-stone-maheshpur.html) 

is situated some 80 kilometers away from the district headquarter, 

these ornaments are too distant to have been fully appreciated by worshipers over the centuries; 

by the same token, their inaccessibility has protected them from vandalism. 

Until recently their character and detail have been discernible to only a dedicated few. 

“It would have been not just a random building. 

The structure and basis of the temple depends on the deity, and the energy. 

Ancient temple sculpture was carefully thought out”.

“Temples celebrate our historical inheritance. 

First we know, then we appreciate, then admire, then celebrate. 

Every temple has its story. It’s beautiful”. 

(master sculptor Ganesh Bhatt tells us of the procedures involved in temple architecture)

If carefully read, these figures in consecutive series with various figures, 

may reveal stories of their times, deity or king of the period. 

It could be a imaginative brain exercise for a beginner....