Vijaya Sridharan’s Thematic Journey

Vijaya Sridharan’s theme for this year’s kolu is Tiruvadi, which means Sacred Feet of the Lord. The kolu commences with the lotus feet of Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala found on top of the hill from where He is said to have descended to this earth.

She takes the onlooker through her thematic journey from here,  a journey conceptualized and executed all by herself including the hand made settings.

The sixteen exhibits by Vijaya depicting the Sacred Feet of the Lord are in the following sequence : Ahalya Shapa Vimochana; Paaduka Pattabhishekam; Lord Ranganatha adorning sandals; Lord Anantha Padmanaha Swamy’s sacred feet adorning the crown of the rulers of Travancore; Lord Trivikrama; Lord Nataraja; Kannappar, the hunter and great bhakta of Lord Siva who places his foot with slippers on the Lord; Saiva saint Manikkevagar; Tirukadaaryin near Chidambaram where Lord Siva kicks Yama with his left foot to save his bhakta Markandeya from death; Tirunallar where Saiva saint Appar gets enlightened by Siva placing His foot on his head;Kaliyamardana; Akroorar in Vrindavan rolling on the passage on seeing the footprints of Krishna and Periyazhwar looking up from the royal procession and when he sees Lord Vishnu he sings hymns to ward off the evil eyes of people. The kolu culminates depicting other religions as well : Jesus Christ’s feet being washed by Mary Magdaline with her tears and Mecca where a single foot of Ibrahim is seen inside a golden dome where Muslims perform Namaz.

 

N Meera Raghavendra Rao