Page 268 - Eye of the beholder

The view rendered by the Daniells’ was from an eminent position at the south side of the fort.
The painting is composed dominantly as horizontal planes with foreground, middle ground and background, with the sky occupying the rest of the space. As a matter of fact the division of land and sky is almost equal. The sky has wisps of clouds suggestive of a hot summer day, evident from the brilliant sunlight that floods the flat plains. In the foreground is a high rocky out crop where a part of the temple mandapa may be seen. it is a temple dedicated to Ganesha. In its portico are four soldiers, with two having their backs to the spectator, one standing and leaning heavily on the gun he is holding and the other is seated on the ground. Opposite him is another soldier facing the viewer, with another standing and concealed behind the pillar. All four of them are in deep conversation. Behind them is an enclosed space of the mandapa where a gun rests and inside are placed a parasol and a cloth bag blue in colour. The pillars of the portico are simple with square shafts and serrated edge capitals reminiscent of the Pallava style of architecture. The texture of the rock has been brilliantly captured showing striations of colours with subdued monochromatic tones.
At the base of this hilly outcrop is the representation of a Siva temple dedicated to Sudesvara, as it is dominated by the Nandi forms in its prakara or enclosure wall, as well as the seated nandis’ at the four corners of the base of the Vimana. It is a simple temple with just the sanctum and the Vimana over it contained within an enclosure. Lower below the temple is a water body surrounded by sparse representation of the trees on its bank. The water appears fresh as it is painted with sky blue tones, enlivening the space with its freshness as the hot sun beats down on the flat plains. In the middle ground is the habitation with simple houses and enclosed by a ring of trees. Immediately beyond is a palace of Tipu made from mud bricks, a long sprawling horizontal structure in white with bastions at the angles. In the background on the horizon can be seen the domed silhouettes perhaps representing the mosque and tombs of Tipu Sultan. The painting has a pervasive stillness and quietitude.
Now a rapidly expanding industrial centre on the highway running southwards from Bangalore, Hosur was established as a staging post by Tipu Sultan who used it on his military campaigns into the Tamil country. Hosur had been captured by the British barely a year before the Daniells’ passed by, and was being converted into a military station when they made this panorama. Tipu’s earthen fort, visible in the distance in the aquatint, has long since disappeared. Daniells as they travelled south were also charmed by the nobles of the south and the temple architecture of Madurai.
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