One of the main reasons I wanted to go to the Deccan for a photoshoot this year was the prospect of visiting Kanaganahalli, a little-known site, but with almost perfectly preserved reliefs on a stūpa in what is now Karanataka, which was within the Andhradeśa at the time of construction. The Kanaganahalli site was only excavated starting in 1994.
After discussing with people at the Mahā Bodhi Vihāra we decided to go there as the first trip out. We got off to a late start, unfortunately, and after taking lunch on the edges of Hydrabad, we travelled over ever-worsening roads for around five hours before reaching the site in the late afternoon. We went in to scout the site out and hopefully get set up for the morrow, when we would do the photography in earnest.
At the end of the entrance road stands the stūpa, with some of the remains lying on the ground all round. On the right was a large Aśokan Rock-Edict, which we were guided to and took photographs of. But when we went inside the sheds holding the magnificent relief carvings which had been removed for safe keeping, two problems faced us: the slabs I had come to photograph were laid down on plinths. As the slabs are something like 10ft high (when standing), that made getting far enough above them to capture the whole slab.almost impossible; and two, we were told: No Photography (without permission first from the ASI HQ in Hampi).
This “No Photography” was just the first instance of a theme that would follow us around on the tour. In ASI Museums “No Photography”. At the Ambedkar Memorial, the Statue of Social Justice, “No Photography” (in this case the damage was already done, as I had photographed it before being told it was not allowed). In the ASI Museum at Amaravati: “No Photography”. When my quick-thinking kappiya Tiong Tan asked, “What about photographing with a smart phone?” They allowed. But not with a camera. Bizarre.
We thought we would have better luck the next day, as we were due to meet up with Randheer, a local expert on the site and the inscriptions found there. When we met him the next day though, he also insisted “No Photography”. He did give us a superb guide to the site though, and gave us dāna at his one-room home nearby.
I had heard that some of the remains were in a museum at Kalaburagi, but Randheer disabused me of that idea, as apparently they are only small fragments. I had also heard that some Aśokan remains were in the nearby Sri Candrala temple. When we got there, though, they were not there, and we were told they had been removed for walls, pillars, etc. in nearby villager’s houses.
By this time, as everything was failing to work out as planned, I decided to head back to Hydrabad, and try again by heading east from there. So eventually the only photograph I got from a site I had travelled thousands of kilometres to photograph was of the Aśokan inscription shown below.
Dear Anandajoti,
It’s a sad and frustrating experience not to be able to photograph important monuments and pillars. It has happened to me many times, so I understand the feeling.
Yes, we had many frustrations like this on my last trip, but eventually I had enough contacts to be able to overcome the problem. If only I had known beforehand…