Coffee Nirvana

Growing up in a traditional Brahminical family in Bangalore, this temple had always been ‘Kote Kovil’ for me. If I had known its history and significance to the city then, I’d have been too awed to step into it!

The Kote Venkataramanswamy temple, stands squeezed between the busy street and the sprawling gardens of Tipu’s Summer Palace in Bangalore.

Built in 1695 during the time of Chikka Deva Raya, the temple has witnessed a 300 year-old tale of the city. This was the period of the Mysore rulers, the Wodeyars,  purchasing the city from the Mughals and fortifying it. The word ‘Kote’ means Fort in Kannada language. Once the seat of Royalty, thetemple now stands in the commercial nerve centre of the city.

Tipu Sultan

During the brief rule of Tipu Sultan, a Palace was built adjacent to this temple. This was not exactly due to religious tolerance. Those were the days when the Kings were treated as God and it was usually the norm in those days to built the palace near the city’s temples. Tipu merely followed this norm!

The Temple has a huge Gopuram built in typical Dravidian Style. The passage leads to a mukha mantapa, navaranga, and an inner garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum). Though it has been a Vishnu temple since Wodeyars’ rule, there are some claims made by  scholars that the temple is much older and with Shaivite origins. The basis for this statement is the Girija Kalyana (Parvathi’s marriage to Shiva) carvings on the outer walls of the temple; which is rather odd in a Vishnu temple.

As I came out of the temple, I was also blessed by another ‘venkataramana’ at the entrance.

However on Vaikunta Ekadashi day, I dont think even this Venkataramana will have time for a photo shoot. In an otherwise busy street, devotees form huge queues to visit the Lord on this auspicious day.