Kavishaila in Kuppalli, Bangalore, India: photo by @nikhilvshetty on Instagram.

This one is lovely.

It is rare to run across a replica that is built for reasons that are truly moving, but this is one. Kuvempu, the poet playwright and novelist in whose honour it was built (portrayed in a Google doodle on the anniversary of his birth in 2017*) when he died in 1994, was and is truly beloved by many speakers of the Kannada language in which he wrote, especially those who love the natural world and high-minded philosophy. Wikipedia says of this monument:

“Kavishaila is a rock monument made of megalithic rocks and dedicated to Kuvempu. It is on the top of a small hill in Kuppalli. Arranged in a circular fashion, the rocks have been placed to resemble the Stonehenge in England. At the centre of this rock monument is the place where Kuvempu was laid to rest after his death and a memorial has been constructed at that location. Near this monument, is a small rock where Kuvempu used to sit and discuss about literature and other topics with his other literature friends.”

The view from this high place is said to be breathtaking, green forest stretched out below with a view to the hills. It is recommended to be there at sunset when, as you see in the picture above, on a clear evening the light streams through the trilithons onto the place where the poet was laid to rest.

We know of many monuments and sculptures that resemble Stonehenge around the world, but that we hesitate to post here because we are not certain they were built with Stonehenge in mind. In this case, however, there seems to be no doubt. We don’t know what the connection is that inspired someone to erect a Stonehenge in this man’s honour (and perhaps we could discover that if we could read his language), but maybe it was just that the mystery and beauty and sense of something truly great that Stonehenge represents to so many people is the same feeling that the writings of this poet and thinker inspire in people.

Yes, as far as form goes, it is only a partial circle of straight-sided stone trilithons. But as with the beautiful partial Stonehenge in the far north of the Galician section of Spain placed high and looking out to sea to honour those who died at the hands of the brutal Franco regime, its meaning helps it to transcend its form. If we were still awarding our (humourously meant! Yes, we know they had nothing to do with it.) druid scores, this would get a solid 8 druids. A thing of beauty.

Before we finish talking about it, here is a fun addition. Looking through Instagram one day, as you do, we found an image of a replica of this replica. If you know us, you know we love the meta quality of that. Here it is, built for a display at the Lalbagh Botanical Garden in Bengaluru, India. It also speaks to how well known Kavashaila is in India.

Our thanks to friend Barry Teague for making us aware of this memorial, and to Nikhil V. Shetty for kind permission to use his lovely photograph here.

Oh, wait! We almost forgot to mention, Clonehenge was mentioned in the Guardian newspaper this week! We got a mention and a link in the thoughtful and many-faceted article about the Stonehenge tunnel dilemma, The Battle for the Future of Stonehenge, by Charlotte Higgins. Truly a privilege and a little moment of fame for this humble blogger. Many thanks to you, Ms. Higgins, and to whatever little bird may have whispered our name in your ear!

And so until next time, Gentle Readers, once again we wish you happy henging!

*The Kuvempu Google doodle, in which he appears to be seated at the site where Kavishaila was built: