Statue of Ferdinand Kittel

Ferdinand Kittel was a priest in a church at Southern India. As a missionary he arrived in India in 1853.

He undertook exhaustive studies learning the Kannada language, customs and local music. He is the author of  the first ever Kannada-English dictionary of about 70,000 words released in 1894. He also composed numerous Kannada poems. He also wrote a book on Kannada grammar.

At Bangalore, a  statue on the Mahatma Gandhi road commemorates him.

Cave No. 17, Ellora

The Cave No. 17 at Ellora is a Hindu Cave that is constructed between 6th and 8th century during the period of Kalchuri dynasty. 

The cave appears to have two parts because of it's centrally located steps. Though the cave is incomplete, the sculptural work in this cave is marvelous. 

The entrance to the cave with feminine figures on the the pillars is noteworthy.

The interior space is filled with eight huge pillars, disposed in two equally spaced groups of four on either side of a widened central space leading to the shrine. 

Shiva's consort Durga sits to the right of the main mandapa, triumphing over the buffalo demon. She holds the trident, the sword, and the chakra.

Ganesha is on the left of the main mandapa with a cobra around his waist and holding his axe, a rosary, and a flower, while consuming laddus. Below Ganesa are music-making dwarfs, that at the right with a stringed instrument, while the other, painfully constricted, playing cymbals.

Emphasis on female figures in the cave is most obvious from the female brackets. These figures, with their attendants, both standing and flying, line the axis of the cave.