Mysore/Mysuru: The Wadiyar Centre for Architecture (WCFA), Mysuru and the Cosmology Education and Research Training Centre (COSMOS-Mysuru) of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), has organised a special talk by Dr. B.S. Shylaja at the Lecture Hall 1 & 2, WCFA, No. 1011, CH20, Krishnaraja Boulevard, Chamaraja Mohalla, Mysuru, on Apr. 7 at 5.30 pm.

Dr. Shylaja will deliver a talk on ‘Astronomy in temples – Architecture, art and time keeping.’ The event is free and open to all.

About the talk: Temples which are generally associated with only religious activities today, served a completely different role in the past. Time keeping was one of the important tasks — the monitoring of the movements of the Sun and the Moon were involved therein. The various components of the observations concealed in the temple architecture will be discussed.

The temple also served as an agency for preserving the standards needed for various social and cultural activities, from simple measuring standards for length, weight and volume to the more sophisticated sculptural standards for artisans. Specific examples from different temples will be discussed.