title: Óbidos, Portugal

text: The area of the town of Óbidos is located on a hilltop, encircled by a fortified wall. Óbidos remains a well-preserved example of medieval architecture; its streets, squares, walls and its castle are a popular tourist destination. The castle now houses a pousada. The municipality is also home to the famous Praia D'el Rey golf complex, one of the top golf resorts in Europe, and Royal Óbidos - Spa & Golf Resort.


title: Óbidos, Portugal

text: Each July Óbidos castle hosts a traditional 'Medieval Market'. For two weeks the castle and the surrounding town recreate the spirit of medieval Europe.


title: Óbidos, Portugal

text: Flowing banners and heraldic flags set the mood together with hundreds of entertainers and stall holders dressed as merchants, jugglers, jesters, wandering minstrels, soldiers and more. Visitors can shop at the traditional handcrafts fair or watch medieval shows, horse displays and a costumed parade that winds its way through the streets. There are also displays of jousting knights and armed combat.


title: Óbidos, Portugal

text: Spit roasted hog, hearty soups, rabbit, lamb, cod, quail, sausages and other grilled meats are just some of the many medieval style meals on offer from dozens of "taverns" and stalls spread throughout the market. Drinking from pewter tankards and eating from wooden trencher all adds to the experience.


title: Óbidos, Portugal

text: Obidos is also famous for its bookstores. There are 14 bookstores, one of which is in a church, another one sells fish as well as books.


title: Joe Henderson

text: Joe Henderson (April 24, 1937 – June 30, 2001) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than four decades, Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note, Milestone, and Verve.


title: Joe Henderson

text: Born in Lima, Ohio, United States, Henderson was one of fourteen children. He was encouraged by his parents Dennis and Irene (née Farley) and older brother James T. to study music. He dedicated his first album to them "for being so understanding and tolerant" during his formative years. Early musical interests included drums, piano, saxophone and composition. According to Kenny Dorham, two local piano teachers who went to school with Henderson's brothers and sisters, Richard Patterson and Don Hurless, gave him a knowledge of the piano. He was particularly enamored of his brother's record collection. It seems that a hometown drummer, John Jarette, advised Henderson to listen to musicians like Lester Young, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon and Charlie Parker. He also liked Flip Phillips, Lee Konitz and the Jazz at the Philharmonic recordings. However, Parker became his greatest inspiration. His first approach to the saxophone was under the tutelage of Herbert Murphy in high school. In this period of time, he wrote several scores for the school band.


title: Joe Henderson

text: By age 18, Henderson was active on the Detroit jazz scene of the mid-1950s, playing in jam sessions with visiting New York City stars. While attending classes of flute and bass at Wayne State University, he further developed his saxophone and compositional skills under the guidance of renowned teacher Larry Teal at the Teal School of Music. In late 1959, he formed his first group. By the time he arrived at Wayne State University, he had transcribed and memorized so many Lester Young solos that his professors believed he had perfect pitch. Henderson's college classmates included Yusef Lateef, Barry Harris and Donald Byrd. He also studied music at Kentucky State College.


title: Joe Henderson

text: Shortly prior to his army induction in 1960, Henderson was commissioned by UNAC to write some arrangements for the suite "Swings and Strings", which was later performed by a ten-member orchestra and the local dance band of Jimmy Wilkins.


title: Joe Henderson

text: Henderson spent two years (1960–62) in the U.S. Army: first in Fort Benning, where he competed in an Army talent show and won first place, then in Fort Belvoir, where he was chosen for a world tour, with a show to entertain soldiers. While in Paris, he met Kenny Drew and Kenny Clarke. Then he was sent to Maryland to conclude his enlistment. In 1962, he was finally discharged and promptly moved to New York. He first met trumpeter Kenny Dorham, an invaluable guidance for him, at saxophonist Junior Cook's place. That very evening, they went to see Dexter Gordon playing at Birdland. Henderson was asked by Gordon himself to play something with his rhythm section; he happily accepted.


title: Joe Henderson

text: Although Henderson's earliest recordings were marked by a strong hard-bop influence, his playing encompassed not only the bebop tradition, but R&B, Latin and avant-garde as well. He soon joined Horace Silver's band, and provided a seminal solo on the jukebox hit "Song for My Father". After leaving Silver's band in 1966, Henderson resumed freelancing and also co-led a big band with Dorham. His arrangements for the band went unrecorded until the release of "Joe Henderson Big Band" (Verve) in 1996.


title: Joe Henderson

text: From 1963 to 1968, Henderson appeared on nearly 30 albums for Blue Note, including five released under his name. The recordings ranged from relatively conservative hard-bop sessions ("Page One", 1963) to more explorative sessions ("Inner Urge" and "Mode for Joe", 1966). He played a prominent role in many landmark albums under other leaders for the label, including most of Horace Silver's "Song for My Father", Herbie Hancock's "The Prisoner", Lee Morgan's "The Sidewinder" and "out" albums with pianist Andrew Hill ("Black Fire", 1963 and "Point of Departure", 1964) and drummer Pete La Roca ("Basra", 1965).


title: Joe Henderson

text: In 1967, there was a brief association with Miles Davis's quintet featuring Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Tony Williams, although the band was never recorded. Henderson's adaptability and eclecticism would become even more apparent in the years to follow.


title: Joe Henderson

text: Signing with Orrin Keepnews's fledgling Milestone label in 1967 marked a new phase in Henderson's career. He co-led the Jazz Communicators with Freddie Hubbard from 1967 to 1968. Henderson was also featured on Hancock's "Fat Albert Rotunda" for Warner Bros. It was during this time that Henderson began to experiment with jazz-funk fusion, studio overdubbing, and other electronic effects. Song and album titles such as "Power to the People", "In Pursuit of Blackness", and "Black Narcissus" reflected his growing political awareness and social consciousness, although Black Narcissus was named after the 1947 Powell and Pressburger film of the same title.


title: Joe Henderson

text: After a brief association with Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1971, Henderson moved to San Francisco. He was still signed to Milestone Records, which had recently moved to San Francisco after being acquired by Fantasy Records. Henderson wanted to be near his label, and get out of New York City. Henderson lived in San Francisco for the rest of his life, and taught at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 1978-1982, according to musicologist Joel Geoffrey Harris. A performance space at the San Francisco Jazz Center is named for him.


title: Joe Henderson

text: Though he occasionally worked with Echoes of an Era, the Griffith Park Band and Chick Corea, Henderson remained primarily a leader throughout the 1980s. An accomplished and prolific composer, he began to focus more on reinterpreting standards and his own earlier compositions. Blue Note attempted to position the artist at the forefront of a resurgent jazz scene in 1986 with the release of the two-volume "State of the Tenor" recorded at the Village Vanguard in New York City. The albums (with Ron Carter on bass and Al Foster on drums) revisited the tenor trio form used by Sonny Rollins in 1957 on his own live Vanguard albums for the same label. Henderson established his basic repertoire for the next seven or eight years, with Thelonious Monk's "Ask Me Now" becoming a signature ballad feature. Following his brief return to Blue Note Records, Henderson was signed by the Italian label Red Records, for which he recorded two more albums in the piano-less trio format.


title: Joe Henderson

text: In 1991, Verve records signed Henderson to the label. In January of that year, Henderson had made a guest appearance on Stephen Scott's Verve album "Something to Consider", and worked with Verve producer and vice president Richard Seidel during the session. Henderson and Seidel had first worked together in 1979 while making Henderson's "Relaxin' at Camarillo" album. After Verve expressed interest in signing Henderson, the saxophonist had to quickly complete his existing contract with Red Records, which he did by recording "The Standard Joe" in March 1991. Seidel said in a 2016 interview with musicologist Joel Geoffrey Harris that he decided to offer Henderson a record deal after hearing him perform live at Fat Tuesdays in New York. Seidel served as producer on all five of Henderson's 1990s Verve studio albums. Verve adopted a 'songbook' approach to recording him, coupling it with a considerable marketing and publicity campaign, which more successfully positioned Henderson at the forefront of the contemporary jazz scene. His 1992 'comeback' album "" was a commercial and critical success and was followed by tribute albums to Miles Davis, Antonio Carlos Jobim, a big band album, and a jazz adaptation of the George Gershwin opera "Porgy and Bess".


title: Joe Henderson

text: A chain smoker, on June 30, 2001, after a long battle with emphysema, Henderson died, in San Francisco, California, as a result of heart failure. He was 64 years of age.


title: Art Cruz

text: Arthur Cruz (born May 27, 1988) is an American musician, best known as the drummer of heavy metal band Lamb of God. He is the former drummer of Winds of Plague, Prong and Klogr.


title: Art Cruz

text: Cruz was born May 27, 1988, in Downey, California. He grew up in the suburb city of South El Monte located east of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley. While attending South El Monte High School, Cruz joined the marching band percussion section and performed from 2004–2006.


title: Art Cruz

text: In 2008, Cruz was asked to join Winds of Plague and recorded the album "The Great Stone War". The album peaked at No. 72 on the Billboard 200. In 2011 he performed on the band's next album, "Against the World", which peaked at No. 60 on the Billboard 200. In 2012, Cruz left Winds of Plague citing "creative differences". Cruz returned as their drummer in 2015, and would also perform on the album "Blood of My Enemy" in 2017. In 2021, he left Winds of Plague in order to focus on Lamb of God, which he joined in 2018.


title: Art Cruz

text: Following his departure from Winds of Plague, Cruz was asked to play for Prong. Cruz has toured and recorded on their album "Songs from the Black Hole". Cruz left Prong in 2018.


title: Art Cruz

text: In 2017, Cruz collaborated on drums on alternative metal project Klogr for the single Technocracy and a European Tour with The Rasmus.


title: Art Cruz

text: In 2018, Cruz filled in for Chris Adler on Lamb of God's North American tour, which also included supporting Slayer on their farewell tour.


title: Art Cruz

text: In 2019, he officially became the drummer for Lamb of God following Chris Adler's departure from the band.


title: Art Cruz

text: Cruz endorses Meinl cymbals, and he uses Ludwig drums, Remo drumheads, Axis pedals, and Vic Firth drumsticks.


title: Art Cruz

text: Cruz is an avid baseball fan and is known to be a die hard Los Angeles Dodgers fan. With this, Cruz Founded and owns the Lifestyle Baseball Apparel brand, BASELORDS. In addition, Cruz is an amateur Illusionist and is said to perform sleight of hand or micromagic.


title: Carson Mansion

text: The Carson Mansion is a large Victorian house located in Old Town, Eureka, California. Regarded as one of the premier examples of Queen Anne style architecture in the United States, the house is "considered the most grand Victorian home in America." It is one of the most written about and photographed Victorian houses in California and possibly also in the United States.


title: Carson Mansion

text: Originally the home of William Carson, one of Northern California's first major lumber barons, it has been a private club since 1950. The house and grounds are not open to the public. It currently is owned and occupied by the Ingomar Club.


title: Carson Mansion

text: William Coleman Carson (July 15, 1825 New Brunswick – February 20, 1912 Eureka), for whom the house was built, arrived in San Francisco from New Brunswick, Canada, with a group of other woodsmen in 1849. After rolling out gold slugs in San Francisco, they joined in the northern gold rush, arriving in the Trinity Mountains via the Eel River and Humboldt Bay. They left the Trinity Mountains to overwinter at Humboldt Bay and contracted to provide logs for a small sawmill. In November 1850, Carson and Jerry Whitmore felled a tree, the first for commercial purposes on Humboldt Bay. All winter, Carson and his team hauled logs from the Freshwater slough to the Pioneer Mill on the shores of Humboldt Bay. In spring, the party went back to the mines where they had previously staked claim on Big Bar by the Trinity. They built a dam and continued mining until they heard that a large sawmill was being built at Humboldt Bay. They went south through the Sacramento Valley, bought oxen, and returned to Humboldt Bay by August 1852, where Carson, alone, went into the lumber business permanently. In 1854, he shipped the first loads of redwood timber to San Francisco. Previously, only fir and spruce had been logged.


title: Carson Mansion

text: In 1863, Carson and John Dolbeer formed the Dolbeer and Carson Lumber Company. Eighteen years later, in 1881, as the company advanced into areas more difficult to log, Dolbeer invented the Steam Donkey Engine which revolutionized log removal, especially in hard-to-reach areas. At about the same time, Carson was involved in the founding of the Eel River and Eureka Railroad with John Vance. Before commencing the building of his mansion, Carson said, "If I build it poorly, they would say that I am a damned miser; if I build it expensively, they will say I'm a show off; guess I'll just build it to suit myself." In 1884, on the eve of construction of the great home, the company was producing of lumber annually. The milling operations, combined with additional investments as far away as Southern California and at least partial ownerships in schooners used to move the lumber to booming markets on the west coast and all over the globe, set the stage for the unlimited budget and access to resources the builders would have. Pacific Lumber Company purchased the company in 1950 and maintained milling operations at the original Humboldt Bay site, located bay-side below the house, well into the 1970s. Following the Carson family divestiture of remaining family holdings (including the home) in 1950, the family left the area.


title: Carson Mansion

text: The building was purchased for $35,000 in 1950 by local community business leaders, and currently houses the Ingomar Club, a private club, which was named after Carson's Ingomar Theater, itself named for Carson's favorite play, "Ingomar the Barbarian".


title: Carson Mansion

text: The house is a mix of every major style of Victorian architecture, including but not limited to: Eastlake, Italianate, Queen Anne (primary), and Stick. One nationally known architectural historian described the house as "a baronial castle in Redwood..." and stated further that "The illusion of grandeur in the house is heightened by the play on scale, the use of fanciful detail and the handling of mass as separate volumes, topped by a lively roofscape." The style of the house has been described as "eclectic" and "peculiarly American." Unlike most other houses dating from the period, the building has always been maintained, and is in nearly the same condition as when it was built.


title: Carson Mansion

text: In May 1964, the house was included in the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) as catalog number CA-1911. This is the only official historical building listing of the house. Although the historic house does merit National Register of Historic Places status, the Ingomar Club has chosen not to apply for it.


title: Carson Mansion

text: Samuel Newsom and Joseph Cather Newsom of the firm Newsom and Newsom of San Francisco (and later Los Angeles and Oakland) were nineteenth century builder-architects contracted by Carson to create the house by 1883. Of their many commissions in California, many of the original buildings remain in addition to the Carson house, including the Napa Valley Opera House and the San Dimas Hotel.


title: Carson Mansion

text: One Queen Anne style Victorian house they designed in Eureka was named "The Pink Lady," which William Carson gifted to his son Milton as a wedding present in 1889. After being sold in 1920, it went through several owners before being inherited by sisters in Germany. It operated as a rooming house until it was seized as Nazi property in 1942. In 1964, it became the first historic building in Eureka to be restored. Another of their Queen Anne style designs was built in Eureka in 1982 by the Carter House Inn. It is a replica of the 1885 Murphy House in San Francisco, designed by Newsom and Newsom, which was lost in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.


title: Carson Mansion

text: Images of the house are prevalent in website designs and video animations as well as on posters, paintings, and book covers. This popularity also has led to replicas being created in amusement parks, including the clock tower on the train station at Disneyland. The home also serves as a model for haunted house artwork and design.


title: Katie Meyer

text: Kathryn Diane Meyer (January 20, 2000 – March 1, 2022) was an American soccer player who played as goalkeeper for the Stanford University's women's soccer team.


title: Katie Meyer

text: Meyer was born in Burbank, California, and grew up in Newbury Park, California, with her parents Steven and Gina Meyer. Meyer was a middle child with older sibling Samantha, and younger sibling Siena. In 2015, she was featured in the "Soccer Superstar" reality show on Nickelodeon.


title: Katie Meyer

text: Meyer attended Newbury Park High School for her first three years of high school before transferring to Century Academy in Thousand Oaks, California for her senior year. During her time at Newbury Park High School, she was also the kicker for the varsity football team for two seasons. In addition to her school team, she played for club teams Real So Cal and Eagles Soccer Club, as well as the U16 girls' national team.


title: Katie Meyer

text: On October 10, 2015, Meyer committed to playing college soccer for the Stanford Cardinal. She began at Stanford University in 2018. She redshirted during her freshman year, and played her first season for the team in 2019. She played a critical role in the 2019 College Cup championship game against the University of North Carolina as Stanford won in a penalty shootout. Meyer was recognized as the MVP of the match and video of her goalkeeping went viral. She was a team captain in the 2020 and 2021 seasons.


title: Katie Meyer

text: Meyer was pursuing a degree in international relations with a minor in history. She was part of the 2022 cohort for the selective Mayfield Fellows Program which develops Stanford students to lead technology ventures.


title: Katie Meyer

text: Meyer was found dead in her dorm room in Crothers Hall, a residential housing building on the Stanford campus, on March 1, 2022. When asked about the situation surrounding her death, Meyer's mother said that she had received an email about disciplinary action, and that "She had been getting letters for a couple months... This letter was kind of the final letter that there was going to be a trial or some kind of something. This was the only thing we can come up with that triggered something." Dee Mostofi, the Stanford Assistant Vice President, stated "We [the Stanford University administration] are not able to share information about confidential student disciplinary matters". A statement by Santa Clara County on March 3, 2022, stated that the coroner's office determined the death to be "self-inflicted", with "no indication of foul play".


title: Katie Meyer

text: The Meyer family filed a wrongful death suit against Stanford on November 23, 2022 in Santa Clara County Superior Court. The suit reported that Meyer had been "facing disciplinary action for allegedly spilling coffee on a Stanford football player who was accused of sexually assaulting a female soccer player. Meyer's father said his daughter was defending that teammate, who was a minor at the time." The complaint was through the Stanford Office of Community Standards and possible sanctions included having her diploma withheld. It was reported that Meyer was hoping to attend Stanford Law School after graduating.


title: Thomas Almeida

text: Thomas Guimarães Almeida (born 31 July 1991) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, who currently competes in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, Almeida formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Legacy FC, where he became the Legacy FC Bantamweight Champion, vacating the title shortly after signing with the UFC.


title: Thomas Almeida

text: Almeida made his professional mixed martial arts debut in November 2011. He fought extensively in his native Brazil and amassed a record of 7–0 with four wins via KO before making his Legacy FC debut.


title: Thomas Almeida

text: Almeida made his Legacy Fighting Championship debut against Cody Williams on 16 November 2012, at Legacy FC 15. Almeida won the fight via KO in the first round.


title: Thomas Almeida

text: Almeida faced George Pacurariu on 6 December 2013 at Legacy FC 26. Almeida won the fight via TKO in the first round.


title: Thomas Almeida

text: Almeida was expected to face Aaron Philips on 20 June 2014, at Legacy FC 32 for the vacant Legacy FC Bantamweight Championship. However, Philips pulled out of the fight, and he was replaced by Caio Machado. Almeida won the fight via TKO in the first round to win the Legacy FC Bantamweight Championship.


title: Thomas Almeida

text: Almeida made his promotional debut against Tim Gorman on 8 November 2014 at UFC Fight Night 56. Almeida won the fight via unanimous decision, marking the first time ever he didn't finish an opponent in his pro career. The fight also earned him his first "Fight of the Night" bonus award.


title: Thomas Almeida

text: Almeida faced Yves Jabouin on 25 April 2015 at UFC 186. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. This win also secured Almedia his first "Performance of the Night" bonus award.


title: Thomas Almeida

text: Almeida faced Brad Pickett on 11 July 2015 at UFC 189. Despite getting dropped twice in the first round, Almeida won the fight via knockout with a flying knee in the second round and also earned a "Performance of the Night" bonus.


title: Thomas Almeida

text: Almeida faced Anthony Birchak on 7 November 2015 at UFC Fight Night 77. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. The win resulted in his third consecutive "Performance of the Night" bonus.


title: Thomas Almeida

text: Almeida faced fellow undefeated prospect Cody Garbrandt on 29 May 2016 at UFC Fight Night 88. Despite being the betting favorite, Almeida had no answer for Garbrandt's hand speed and accuracy and lost the fight via knockout in the first round.


title: Thomas Almeida

text: Almeida next faced Albert Morales on 19 November 2016 at UFC Fight Night 100. He won the fight via TKO in the second round and was awarded a "Performance of the Night" bonus.


title: Thomas Almeida

text: Almeida faced Jimmie Rivera on 22 July 2017 at UFC on Fox 25. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Thomas Almeida

text: Almedia next faced Rob Font on 20 January 2018 at UFC 220. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.


title: Thomas Almeida

text: Almeida was expected to face Marlon Vera on 2 March 2019 at UFC 235. However, Almeida pulled out of the fight on 31 January, citing an injury. It was later revealed that he was experiencing major issues with his vision and required eye surgery. In August 2019, Almeida announced that he hoped to return to action by end of 2019.


title: Thomas Almeida

text: Almeida was expected to face Alejandro Pérez on 11 October 2020 at UFC Fight Night 179. However, it was announced on 2 October that Pérez was forced out due to testing positive for COVID-19. He was replaced by Jonathan Martinez and the bout was moved a week later to . Almeida lost the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Thomas Almeida

text: Almeida faced Sean O'Malley on 27 March 2021 at UFC 260. After being knocked down in the first round, he eventually lost the fight via knockout in the third round.


title: Israeli couscous

text: Israeli couscous (, , ), is toasted pasta in tiny balls, developed in Israel in the 1950s when rice was scarce due to austerity in Israel. Despite the name in English, it is not a type of couscous.


title: Israeli couscous

text: Ptitim was created in 1953, during the austerity period in Israel. Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, asked Eugen Proper, one of the founders of the Osem food company, to devise a wheat-based substitute for rice. The company took up the challenge and developed ptitim, which is made of hard wheat flour and toasted in an oven. Ptitim was initially produced with a rice-shape, but after its success Osem also began to produce a ball-shaped variety inspired by couscous. Consequently, ptitim is sometimes called "Ben-Gurion rice".


title: Israeli couscous

text: Ptitim is made by extruding dough through a round mold, before it is cut and toasted, giving it the uniform natural-grain-like shape and its unique nutty flavor. Unlike common types of pasta and couscous, ptitim was factory-made from the outset, and therefore is rarely seen home-made from scratch. The store-bought product is easy and quick to prepare.


title: Israeli couscous

text: In Israel, ptitim is popular among children, who eat it plain, or mixed with fried onion and tomato paste. Ptitim is now produced in ring, star, and heart shapes for added appeal. Varieties made with whole wheat and spelt flour are also available for health-conscious consumers. Ptitim has also been popularised in the other countries, and in the United States, it can be found on the menus of contemporary American chefs and in gourmet markets.


title: Israeli couscous

text: Ptitim can be used in many different types of dishes, both hot and cold. The grains retain their shape and texture even when reheated, and they do not clump together. Commonly, ptitim is prepared with sautéed onions or garlic (vegetables, meat, chicken or sausage can also be added). The ptitim grains may be fried for a short time before adding water. They can also be baked, go in soup, served in a pie, used for stuffing, or made as a risotto. Ptitim may also be used in other dishes as a substitute for pasta or rice. American chef Charlie Trotter has produced a number of recipes for ptitim-based gourmet dishes, even as a dessert.


title: Israeli couscous

text: Ptitim is very similar to the Ashkenazi Jewish farfel, which was brought to Israel by Ashkenazi Jews from Europe beginning in the 1800s, and the two are often substituted for each other.


title: Israeli couscous

text: Ptitim's round shape is reminiscent of the forms of Levantine 'pearl' couscous that pre-date it, and which are known as "moghrabieh" in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, or as "maftoul" in Palestinian cuisine. While the Levantine dish is a coated couscous, ptitim is an extruded paste, and the two are very different in terms of taste and preparation.


title: Israeli couscous

text: Ptitim is also similar to the Berber berkoukes (aka "abazine") and the Sardinian fregula, but these, too, unlike ptitim, are rolled and coated products. Ptitim also resemble some products of the pastina family, in particular acini di pepe, orzo ("risoni") and "stellini". However, unlike pastina, the ptitim grains are pre-baked/toasted to give them their chewy texture and nutty flavor.


title: Tea with Mussolini

text: Tea with Mussolini () is a 1999 Anglo-Italian semi-autobiographical comedy-drama war film directed by Franco Zeffirelli, scripted by John Mortimer, telling the story of a young Italian boy's upbringing by a circle of British and American women before and during the Second World War.


title: Tea with Mussolini

text: At the 53rd British Academy Film Awards, "Tea with Mussolini" won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Maggie Smith). The film also nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design but lost to "Sleepy Hollow".


title: Tea with Mussolini

text: The film begins in 1935 in Florence, where a group of cultured expatriate English women – the "Scorpioni" – meet for tea every afternoon. Young Luca is the illegitimate son of an Italian businessman who's little interested in his son's upbringing; the boy's seamstress mother has recently died.


title: Tea with Mussolini

text: Mary Wallace, the man's secretary, steps in to care for Luca, seeking support from her Scorpioni friends, including eccentric would-be artist Arabella. They teach Luca about life and the arts. Elsa Morganthal, a rich young American widow who Scorpioni matron Lady Hester Random barely tolerates, sets up a financial trust for Luca when she hears his mother has died, as she was fond of her and still owes her money for her dressmaking services.


title: Tea with Mussolini

text: One day when the ladies are having afternoon tea, Italian Fascists disrupt them, reflecting the increasingly uncertain position of the expatriate community. Lady Hester, widow of Britain's former ambassador to Italy, retains an admiring faith in Benito Mussolini. She visits him, receiving his assurances of their safety, and proudly recounts her "tea with Mussolini".


title: Tea with Mussolini

text: As the political situation continues to deteriorate, the Scorpioni find their status and liberties diminishing. Luca's father decides Italy's future is with Germany rather than Britain, so sends Luca to an Austrian boarding school.


title: Tea with Mussolini

text: Five years later, Luca plans to study art in Florence with Elsa's trust fund. He finds that most British nationals are fleeing the country, anticipating Mussolini's declaration of war on Great Britain, and that Mary has moved in with Lady Hester and the other English hold-outs. Arriving at the house just as they – and Hester's grandson Wilfred, disguised as a woman – are being transported to the Tuscan town of San Gimignano, he follows.


title: Tea with Mussolini

text: As the U.S. is not at war, Elsa and her American compatriot Georgie Rockwell, an openly lesbian archaeologist, remain free. Elsa uses Luca to deliver forged orders and funds to have the ladies moved from their barren quarters to an upper class hotel. Believing that Mussolini helped, Lady Hester is delighted, proudly brandishing the newspaper photo of her tea with "Il Duce".


title: Tea with Mussolini

text: As the war progresses, Jewish oppression increases and the Jewish Elsa – protected somewhat by her citizenship and wealth – gets a group of Italian Jews fake passports, enlisting Luca – who is enamored of her – to deliver them. However he becomes jealous when seeing she's involved with Italian lawyer Vittorio.


title: Tea with Mussolini

text: When the U.S. enters the war in 1941, Elsa and Georgie are interned with the British women. Tricked by Vittorio, who embezzles her art collection and money, he plans to deliver her to the German Gestapo in a phony escape to Switzerland. Luca knows but tells no one out of jealous spite. Mary learns of it from Elsa's art dealer and scolds him.


title: Tea with Mussolini

text: Luca's attitude changes and he gives his trust fund money to the Italian resistance movement, which Wilfred has joined. Elsa refuses to believe Vittorio's betrayal until Lady Hester, discovering what Elsa has done for all of them, repents and offers gratitude and help. Elsa's escape plan is hatched by Mary, Luca and Wilfred. Before leaving, she tells Luca she supported his young mother to go through with her pregnancy, so he could be there for her.


title: Tea with Mussolini

text: In July 1944, as the British Army advances toward San Gimignano, Arabella defends her frescoes from demolition by German troops, heroically joined in the line of fire by Georgie and the English women, including Lady Hester. They are saved when the Germans retreat, leaving the women and the towers untouched.


title: Tea with Mussolini

text: The city rejoices as the Scots Guards arrive, with Luca now serving as their Italian interpreter. The major has orders to evacuate the Scorpioni but Lady Hester refuses, resolved that they will resume their former lives in Italy. Mary is delighted to see that Luca – now in British uniform – has become the "English gentleman" his father wished him to be.


title: Tea with Mussolini

text: Closing texts explain the mostly happy fates of the characters, concluding with the remark that Luca has become an artist and is the writer and director of the film.


title: Tea with Mussolini

text: Michael Williams, who was married to Judi Dench in real life, died not long after the film was finished. This film marks his last screen appearance.


title: Tea with Mussolini

text: Angela Lansbury was offered the role of Mary Wallace, but had to drop out when her husband became ill. Lady Hester Random is based upon a real resident of Florence whom Zeffirelli knew in his childhood. Zeffirelli mentions her and a couple of other ladies of "the Scorpioni" in his autobiography. He said: "I don't remember if she was called Hester, but I remember this terrible, fantastic woman. She was the dowager of the community. I remember the many outrageous things she did because she could afford to be arrogant and bossy."


title: Tea with Mussolini

text: The film opened tenth at the U.S. box office with $1,633,183 for the weekend, eventually grossing a worldwide total of $45,566,200, considerably more than its budget. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 64% from 39 reviews with the consensus: ""Tea with Mussolini" contains few surprises, but this amiably ambling drama is too likeable – and well-cast – to completely resist." Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote, "There are some scary, somber moments in this lushest of period pieces, yet Zeffirelli wisely sustains a gallant, predominantly blithe spirit throughout. "Tea With Mussolini" leaves you feeling that, if in reality not everything that Zeffirelli recalls had quite so much dash, whimsy and gallantry, it’s the way it should have been."


title: Short Creek Community

text: The Short Creek Community (now Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah), founded in 1913, began as a small ranching town in the Arizona Strip. In the 1930s it was settled by Mormon fundamentalists.


title: Short Creek Community

text: In May 1935, members of the Council of Friends, a breakaway group from the Salt Lake City-based the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), sent a handful of followers to the Short Creek Community with the express purpose of building "a branch of the Kingdom of God." Fundamentalist leader John Barlow believed that the isolated Creek could provide a place of refuge for those engaging in the covert practice of polygamy, which was criminalized using bigamy statutes from 1935 to 2013 & 2017 to 2020. Within a month, the town's population more than doubled. The Council of Friends membership desired a remote location where they could practice plural marriage, which had been publicly abandoned by the LDS Church in 1890.


title: Short Creek Community

text: On July 26, 1953, Arizona Governor John Howard Pyle sent troops into the settlement to stop polygamy in what became known as the Short Creek raid. The two-year legal battle that followed became a public relations disaster that damaged Pyle's political career and set a hands-off tone toward the town in Arizona for the next 50 years. The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) later developed in the same geographical region and changed the name to Colorado City and Hildale to eliminate any ties to the Short Creek raids.


title: Short Creek Community

text: The concept of a Council of Friends or Priesthood Council was central to the Mormon fundamentalist theology developed by Lorin C. Woolley and others in the Short Creek Community. The Short Creek Community was home to this council starting in the late 1920s. Since the authority of the Council of Friends pertained to the Priesthood and not to the Church, early Mormon fundamentalists, most of the residents of Short Creek Community had been excommunicated from the LDS Church. They felt that the existence of the Council of Friends gave them the right to continue solemnizing plural marriages even after Church President Wilford Woodruff's 1890 Manifesto strenuously disapproving of the practice.


title: Short Creek Community

text: The following are the leaders of the Council of Friends, and as such were also leaders in the Short Creek Community.


title: Short Creek Community

text: , the descendants of the Short Creek Community are reported to have a high rate of cases of fumarase deficiency, an otherwise extremely rare genetic condition that causes severe physical and mental disability. The high rate of this particular genetic anomaly is attributed to generations of consanguineous or related marriages in the community.


title: Aihole

text: Aihole (pronounced "Eye-hoḷé"), also referred to as Aivalli, Ahivolal or Aryapura, is a historic site of ancient and medieval era Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments in Karnataka, India that dates from the sixth century through the twelfth century CE. Most of the surviving monuments at the site date from the 7th to 10th centuries. Located around an eponymous small village surrounded by farmlands and sandstone hills, Aihole is a major archaeological site featuring over one hundred and twenty stone and cave temples spread along the Malaprabha river valley, in Bagalakote district. Hunagunda Taluk Distance 35km


title: Aihole

text: Aihole is from Badami and about from Pattadakal, both of which are major centres of historically important Chalukya monuments. Aihole, along with nearby Badami (Vatapi), emerged by the 6th century as the cradle of experimentation with temple architecture, stone artwork, and construction techniques. This resulted in 16 types of free-standing temples and 4 types of rock-cut shrines. The experimentation in architecture and arts that began in Aihole yielded the group of monuments at Pattadakal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


title: Aihole

text: Over one hundred Aihole temples are Hindu, a few are Jain and one is Buddhist. These were built and coexisted in close proximity. The site is spread over about . The Hindu temples are dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, Durga, Surya and other Hindu deities. The Jain Basadi temples are dedicated to Mahavira, Parshvanatha, Neminatha and other Jain Tirthankaras. The Buddhist monument is a temple and small monastery. Both Hindu and Jain monuments include monasteries, as well as social utilities such as stepwell water tanks with artistic carvings near major temples.


title: Aihole

text: The Aihole monuments are located in the Indian state of Karnataka, about southeast of Belgaum and northeast from Goa. The monuments are about from Badami and about from Pattadakal, set midst rural villages, farms, sandstone hills and Malprabha river valley. The Aihole site preserves over 120 Hindu, Jain and Buddhist monuments from the 4th—12th century CE. The region is also a site for prehistoric dolmens and cave paintings.


title: Aihole

text: Aihole has no nearby airport, and is about 4 hours drive from Sambra Belgaum Airport (IATA Code: IXG), with daily flights to Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. Badami is the closest town connected by railway and highway network to major cities of Karnataka and Goa. It is a protected monument under the laws of the Indian government, and managed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).


title: Aihole

text: Aihole is referred to as "Ayyavole" and "Aryapura" in its inscriptions and Hindu texts from 4th to 12th century CE, as "Aivalli" and "Ahivolal" in colonial British era archaeological reports.


title: Aihole

text: A rock shaped like an axe on the Malaprabha river bank north of the village is associated with the legend of Parashurama, the sixth Vishnu avatar, who is said to have washed his axe here after killing abusive Kshatriyas who were exploiting their military powers, giving the land its red color. A 19th-century local tradition believed that rock footprints in the river were those of Parashurama. A place near the Meguti hillocks show evidence of human settlement in the pre-historic period. Aihole has historical significance and has been called a cradle of Hindu rock architecture.


title: Aihole

text: The documented history of Aihole is traceable to the rise of the Early Chalukya dynasty in 6th century. It became, along with nearby Pattadakal and Badami, a major cultural centre and religious site for innovations in architecture and experimentation of ideas. The Chalukyas sponsored artisans and built many temples in this region between the 6th and 8th centuries. Evidence of wooden and brick temples dating to 4th-century have been unearthed. Aihole started the experimentations with other materials such as stone around the 5th century when the Indian subcontinent saw a period of political and cultural stability under the Gupta Empire rulers. Badami refined it in 6th and 7th centuries. The experimentations culminated in Pattadakal in the 7th and 8th centuries becoming a cradle of fusion of ideas from South India and North India.


title: Aihole

text: After the Chalukyas, the region became a part of the Rashtrakuta kingdom who ruled in the 9th and 10th century from the capital of Manyakheta. In the 11th and 12th century, the Late Chalukyas (Western Chalukya Empire, Chalukyas of Kalyani) ruled over this region. Even though the area was not the capital or in immediate vicinity from 9th to 12th centuries, new temples and monasteries of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism continued to be built in the region based on inscriptional, textual and stylistic evidence. This likely happened, states Michell, because the region was prosperous with a substantial population and surplus wealth.


title: Aihole

text: Aihole was fortified by Late Chalukya kings in the 11th and 12th centuries, in an approximate circle. This indicates the strategic and cultural importance of Aihole to the kings whose capital was far away. Aihole served as a hub of Hindu temple arts in this period with guild of artisans and merchants called the Ayyavole 500, celebrated for their talent and accomplishments in the historical texts of the Deccan region and South India.


title: Aihole

text: In the 13th century and thereafter, the Malprabha valley along with much of Deccan became a target of raids and plunder by the Delhi Sultanate armies devastating the region. From the ruins emerged the Vijayanagara Empire which built forts and protected the monuments, as evidenced by inscriptions in the fort at Badami. However, the region witnessed a series of wars between Vijayanagara Hindu kings and Bahmani Muslim sultans. After the collapse of Vijayanagara Empire in 1565, Aihole became a part of the Adil Shahi rule from Bijapur, with some of the Muslim commanders using the temples as residence and their compounds as garrison for storing weapons and supplies. A Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva came to be called "Lad Khan temple", named after the Muslim commander who used it as his operational hub, and a name that has been used ever since. In late 17th-century, the Mughal Empire under Aurangzeb gained control of the region from Adil Shahis, after which Maratha Empire gained control of the region. It again changed hands with Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan conquering it in late 18th century, followed by the British that defeated Tipu Sultan and annexed the region.


title: Aihole

text: The monuments at Aihole-Badami-Pattadakal show the existence and a history of interaction between the early northern style and early southern style of Hindu arts. According to T. Richard Blurton, the history of temple arts in north India is unclear as the region was repeatedly sacked by invaders from Central Asia, particularly the Muslim incursion into the subcontinent from 11th-century onwards, and "warfare has greatly reduced the quantity of surviving examples". The monuments in this region are amongst the earliest surviving evidence of these early religious arts and ideas.


title: Aihole

text: Aihole became a significant archaeological site and attracted scholarly attention after the British India officials identified and published their observations. The colonial era scholars hypothesized that the Apsidal shape Durga temple in Aihole may reflect the adoption by Hindus and Jains of the Buddhist Chaitya hall design and the influence of early Buddhist arts. They also identified historically significant 7th-century inscriptions.


title: Aihole

text: For much of the 20th-century, Aihole remained a neglected site. Until the 1990s, the site consisted of houses and sheds built up to and in some cases extending into the historical monuments. The walls of the ancient and medieval temples were shared by some of these homes. Investments in infrastructure, land acquisition and relocation of some residences has allowed limited excavations and created a few dedicated archaeological parks including one for the much-studied Durga temple at Aihole. Excavated ancient and medieval era artifacts and broken temple pieces, including a complete life-size nude Lajja Gauri in birthing position and with a lotus head, now resides in an ASI museum next to the Durga temple in Aihole. Many temples and monasteries continue to be set amidst narrow streets and congested settlement.


title: Aihole

text: The Aihole site and artwork are a major source of empirical evidence and comparative studies of Indian religions and art history in the Indian subcontinent. The Aihole's antiquity, along with four other major 5th to 9th century sites – Badami, Pattadakal, Mahakuteshvara and Alampur – is significant to scholarship relating to archaeology and religions. These states George Michell, display a "meeting and fragmentation of different temple styles and the creation of local variants". This fusion and exploration of arts and ideas later became a part of northern and southern Indian architectural repertoires.


title: Aihole

text: Aihole monuments preserve evidence of North Indian temple architecture styles that are missing elsewhere. The Gaudar Gudi temple mimics a wooden temple design with stone, with no superstructure but a flat temple raised on a plinth with stairs, square sanctum, a circumambulatory path and southern style columned hall with northern style shrine niches. The roof mimics sloping wooden version and has log-like stone strips. The Chikki temple is another such example, that innovates by adding stone screens for light inside the temple. The stone temples are dated to the first quarter of the 5th-century, suggesting the prior temples to centuries before.


title: Aihole

text: Aihole was a meeting place of styles but one of several around the 6th century CE, that were on "their way to development elsewhere". They became preserved in Aihole probably because building and cultural activity stopped there around the 12th century. Though excavations have yielded evidence that scholars disagree in dating, states Harle, it is probable that the earliest surviving temples in Aihole are from the 6th century and later.


title: Aihole

text: Gary Tartakov links the temples at Aihole to 2nd century CE style and arts found in the Ajanta Caves, adding that while the Ajanta and Aihole monuments share some organizational features, there are distinct differences that suggest a "leap in time" and parallel developments in cave-based Ajanta and Aihole stone temple designs.


title: Aihole

text: According to Christopher Tadgell, the Aihole apsidal temples were influenced by the Buddhist chaitya-griha, but not directly. The immediate precedent for these is found in the mid-5th-century Hindu temple at Chikka Mahakuta, another place where artists and architects explored temple construction ideas.


title: Aihole

text: Aihole was an early medieval era meeting place and a cradle for experimentation of Hindu arts, particularly temple architecture. The regional artisans and architects of Aihole region created prototypes of 16 types of free-standing temples and 4 types of rock-cut shrines to express in stone the theology of Hinduism. Though there is a sprinkling of Jaina monuments in Aihole, the temples and relief artworks are predominantly Hindu.


title: Aihole

text: The Aihole temples experimented with two layouts: (with circumambulatory path) and (without circumambulatory path). In terms of towers above the sanctum, they explored several superstructures: shikhara (tapering superstructure of discrete squares), "mundamala" (temple without superstructure, literally, garland with shaved head), "rekhaprasada" (smooth curvilinear superstructure also based on squares prevalent in northern and central India), Dravidian vimana (pyramidal style of southern India) and Kadamba-Chalukya Shikhara (a fusion style). The layout typically followed squares and rectangles (fused squares), but the Aihole artists also tried out prototypes of an apsidal layout (like a Buddhist or Church hall). In addition, they experimented with layout of mantapa within the shrines, the pillars, different types of windows to let light in, reliefs and statues, artwork on mouldings and pillars, bracket designs, ceiling, structure interlocking principles and styles of friezes. In some temples they added subsidiary shrines such as "Nandi-mantapa", a (wall) and styles of (gateway).


title: Aihole

text: The Durga temple is the best known and studied of the Aihole temples. It has a misleading name, because the temple is not named after goddess Durga. According to one theory, it stands near the ruins of a fort-like enclosure or "durg" during a time of late medieval era Hindu Muslim conflict in the region. According to another local tradition, a stone rubble "durg" and lookout was assembled on its flat roof and locals therefore began calling it the Durga temple. The temple was originally dedicated to Hindu gods Surya and Vishnu. The temple was dated by early scholars to the 5th century CE, but variously revised to be from between the late 6th and early 8th century.


title: Aihole

text: The Durga temple is the principal attraction for Aihole visitors and iconic in its apsidal layout. This shape is similar to 2nd or 1st century BCE Buddhist chaitya halls found in Ajanta Caves. The Durga temple stands on a high moulded "adhisthana" and a damaged tower that had a curvilinear shikhara. The damaged tower's "amalaka" crown lies on the ground. A colonnaded and covered ambulatory passage with major carvings runs around the sanctum. The "mukha mantapa" (main hall) and the "sabha mantapa" (community hall for functions) show intricate carvings.


title: Aihole

text: The Durga temple reverentially displays gods and goddesses from Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism traditions of Hinduism. The included near life-size statues include Shiva, Vishnu, Harihara (half Shiva, half Vishnu), Durga in her Mahishasuramardini form killing the buffalo demon, goddesses Ganga and Yamuna, Brahma, Surya, avatars of Vishnu such as Varaha and Narasimha. The temple has friezes to tell the story of the "Ramayana" and the "Mahabharata". Further, the temple has artwork showing scenes of daily life and couples, including several amorous couples in various stages of courtship and mithuna.


title: Aihole

text: The Durga temple complex consists of seven Hindu monuments. Next to the Durga temple is the Suryanarayana temple with a pyramidal "shikara" on top. It has a Surya statue with each hand holding a lotus flower in its "garbha griya" (sanctum), in a chariot and seven small horses carved at the bottom. The temple outline is intact, but most of the details are damaged.


title: Aihole

text: The Lad Khan Temple is near the Durga temple and has been variously dated to "about 450 CE", or from 6th to 8th centuries. The temple is named after the Muslim commander under Adil Shahi Sultan who briefly stayed here about a thousand years after it was built. He used it to coordinate his military campaign in the region. The temple embeds three concentric squares, facing the sanctum with a Shiva Linga. Inside the inner third square is a seated Nandi. The two square mantapas surrounding it create the "sabha mantapa" or community hall, providing ample space for devotees and community to gather for functions. The second concentric square is supported by a set of 12 intricately carved pillars. The wall has floral designs. The temple inside is lit with natural sunlight coming in from lattice windows of the north Indian style. The temple roof stones include log-shaped stone strips suggestive of an attempt to mimic more ancient timber temple construction.


title: Aihole

text: The Ladkhan temple includes iconography from the Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism traditions of Hinduism. On the lintel of the sanctum with Shiva Linga, for example, is a Garuda image who carries Vishnu. The temple has reliefs showing goddesses Ganga and Yamuna, as well as other deities. A set of stone stairs connect the lower level to the second floor whereupon is a damaged square shrine. On three sides of this upper level are Vishnu, Surya and Ardhanareshvara (half Shiva, half Parvati). Like other Aihole Hindu temples, the temple includes scenes from daily life, including amorous couple in courtship and kama scenes.


title: Aihole

text: Gaudargudi temple stands next to the Ladkhan temple, built on the lines of Ladkhan temple but more open from all sides. According to George Michell, the temple is older than the Ladkhan temple. It too has log-shaped stones, where its timber like form is integrated to serve its structural function. The sanctum is empty but has a Gajalakshmi on its lintel. An inscription engraved on the lintel states that the temple has been dedicated to goddess Gauri (an aspect of Parvati). There is evidence that the sanctum, the inside mantapa, and niches on outer walls had carved statues, but these are now empty. Gaudargudi was among the earliest temples when architects included "pradakshina patha" (circumambulatory path) in Hindu temple design.


title: Aihole

text: Next to the Gaudargudi (also spelled Gaudergudi) temple is a large stepwell for utility water storage whose walls have ancient carved sculptures. This stepwell is between the Gaudargudi and Chakragudi temple. According to Himanshu Ray, the stepwell with its Hindu shrine was likely added in the 10th or 11th century. The Chakragudi is notable for its preserved 7th or 8th century Nagara-style tower superstructure. The temple shows signs of later addition of a mantapa, whose style suggests 9th-century Rashtrakuta extension. To the southwest of the Durga temple complex is the Badigargudi (also spelled Badigergudi) temple with pyramidal tower that explores a squat and shrinking discrete squares-topped design with a large cubical "sukanasa" containing a Surya (Sun god) icon. Much of the Badigargudi relief artwork has been damaged and eroded.


title: Aihole

text: The Durga temple complex houses the Aihole Museum and Art Gallery, managed by the Archeological Survey of India. The museum has outdoor display of excavated statues, artwork, hero stones, and temple parts demolished in past. It also has an indoor collection with best-preserved pieces of statues and temple parts found in the region. The collection includes images of Shiva, Parvati, Vishnu, Lakshmi, Brahma, Saraswati, Durga, Saptamatrika, Surya, Indra, and others. The life-size Lajja Gauri with lotus head, found in Aihole, is a part of the indoor collection.


title: Aihole

text: Ravanaphadi is one of the oldest rock-cut cave temples in Aihole, located less than a kilometer uphill, northeast from the Durga temple complex. The temple dates to the 6th century. The entrance has an eroded fluted column and seated Nandi facing the temple sanctum, with several other small monuments. Inside the cave are three near square mandapas, the innermost featuring the Shiva linga and connected to the entrance mandapa by a rectangular space.


title: Aihole

text: The entrance of the Ravanaphadi cave has a Nidhi and seated guardian on each side. Then, on left, is an image of Ardhanarishvara portraying the equivalence and essential interdependence of the masculine left Shiva and feminine right Parvati. Past this fused image, is the first mandapa to the left of which is a niche carved space. In it is 6th century artwork showing dancing Shiva (Nataraja) with Parvati, Saptamatrikas or seven mothers of Shaktism tradition, Ganesha and Kartikeya. On the right side of the main mandapa is Harihara portraying a fused image of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, with left Shiva and right Vishnu. On the opposite wall of Harihara is Shiva with three primary river goddesses of Hindu theology, and he stands with Parvati and the skeletal ascetic Bhringi.


title: Aihole

text: The main mandapa connects to two other near square mandapas. To its north is the sanctum, flanked by Shaiva guardians at its entrance, then Vaishnava Varaha or Vishnu's boar avatar rescuing goddess earth on its left. To the right is a carved image of Shakti Durga as Mahishasuramardine spearing the buffalo demon. To the east of the main mandapa is an empty monastery like chamber. The ceiling of the cave has reliefs. One, for example, shows Vishnu with Lakshmi flying on winged Garuda, another shows the Vedic god Indra with Indrani on an elephant.


title: Aihole

text: According to James Harle, the Ravanaphadi cave is stylistically unique in the Aihole region, and the closest artwork and style is found in the Rameshwara cave of Ellora in north Maharashtra. According to Pia Brancaccio, the Ravanaphadi cave bridges the style and design of "the rock-cut tradition of the Deccan with that of Tamil Nadu".


title: Aihole

text: The Huchappayya matha temple is about a kilometer south of the Durga temple complex on the other side of the Aihole village, relatively isolated from other temple clusters. It consists of two Hindu monuments, the front larger one is a Shiva temple and the other a monastery no longer in use. The temple is walled on all sides with stone, has steps leading into a doorway of the mandapa. The temple faces east towards the sunrise, is mostly simple and blank, but has four columns with amorous couples on each. They are in various stages of courtship and "mithuna". One of the couple carvings humorously places a horse-headed woman seeking the attention of a man, who carries a shocked expression on his face.


title: Aihole

text: Inside the doorway is the mandapa whose ceiling has three large intricate and circular carvings, one each showing Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva on their respective vahanas. A Nandi sits in the middle of the mandapa floor facing the sanctum wherein is the Shiva Linga. The temple has two inscriptions in old Kannada, as well as a standing Shiva and standing Ganesha. The mandapa walls also show various friezes and reliefs, including more amorous couples. The temple is flat on the top, lacking a superstructure. The temple is likely from the 7th century.


title: Aihole

text: The Huchappayya gudi is a Hindu temple located few hundred meters southwest of the Huchappayya matha, in the farmlands towards the river, away from the village. It is simple east facing 2x2 square temple, with square front portico, a square sabha mandapa (main community ceremony hall, 24'x24') and an almost-square sanctum. The portico has four pillars, as does the sabha mandapa. The main hall is supported by four pillars placed in a square of the same size as the portico. The temple has North Indian style Rekhanagara tower with rotating squares rising in a curvilinear smooth towards the sky. The tower is damaged, the top "amalaka" finial and "kalasha" missing.


title: Aihole

text: The temple is notable for its intricate pillar carvings both in the portico and inside, as well as the artwork on its inner walls and ceiling. The carvings show religious themes (Vishnu's avatar Narasimha and Shiva Nataraja on wall, "Shaiva dvarapalas", Garuda man-bird clasping two serpents), as well as the daily life of the people (dancers, musicians, individuals in Namaste posture, couple carrying offerings for prayers, flowers and animals). Some panels are humorous such as young women with horse head embracing bearded older men found on the eastern porch column. Outside, there is a slab carved with Saptamatrikas (seven mothers) of the Shaktism Hindu tradition. The temple also has an inscription in old Kannada on one of the pillars inside the main hall.


title: Aihole

text: Ambigergudi group is one of the archaeologically significant Aihole complexes situated immediately west of the Durga temple complex, near its entrance ticket office. It consists of three monuments, all aligned to the east-west axis. The easternmost monument is square monument walled on its east, north, and south, and it lacks a tower. It faces the middle monument, which is largest of the three. The middle monument has experimented with an open verandah design concept with sloping slaps for roof cover. The sanctum is inside, and it contains a damaged Surya (Sun god) image whose crown is visible. These eastern two monuments are from 6th to 8th century, the Early Chalukya period.


title: Aihole

text: The third monument in the Ambigergudi complex is a Late Chalukya design from about the 11th century. Its structure and layout feature all elements of the Hindu temple but it is damaged, the image inside the sanctum is missing and the face, nose, and limbs of most of its intricate carvings on the walls are defaced. The structure experiments with square and cubic shaped elements and arrangement of space. The Dravida design stands out above the sanctum walls, with repeated motifs of resonating tower structure as it rises upwards. Like other elements of this temple, the capping roof and finial is missing.


title: Aihole

text: The archaeological significance of the Ambigergudi temple is from the results of limited excavation near the rear wall of the sanctum foundation. This yielded red-ware bowls dated to the 1st and 3rd century CE, as well as an outline of a single cell more ancient brick temple, which probably the stone temple replaced. According to the hypothesis of Rao, the excavating archaeologist, the 3rd century CE brick temple served as a model and sanctum ground on which a more lasting stone was built. This hypothesis, however, remains tentative as additional evidence to refute or support it has not been found. According to Hemanth Kamdambi, Chalukyan temple inscriptions from the 6th to 8th century are silent about the existence of prior temples.


title: Aihole

text: The Jyotirlinga group of monuments contain sixteen Hindu monuments including a large stepwell water utility tank. It is located east of the Durga temple complex compound across the road and to the south of the Ravanaphadi cave. The temples are dedicated to Shiva, with most monuments small to moderate size. The complex is largely in ruins, except for the Nandi mandapas and standing pillars inside the temples some of which show intricately carved but damaged images of Ganesha, Karitikeya, Parvati and Ardhanarishvara (half Shiva, half Parvati). The temples are likely from the Early Chalukya and Rashtrakuta Hindu dynasties.


title: Aihole

text: The Mallikarjuna temple complex features five Hindu monuments. The main temple in this complex is dated to the Early Chalukya period, likely around 700 CE. The temple tower experimented with square mouldings of diminishing area stacked concentrically as it rose towards the sky. On top is a crowning "amalaka" and then "kalasa" (pot used in Hindu festivals and rites-of-passage functions). The smaller shrines in this complex were likely built in the Late Chalukya period.


title: Aihole

text: The outer walls of the temples here are simple, clean surfaces. The walls inside of the Shiva temple, particularly the pillars are intricately carved with religious themes such as a seated Vishnu man-lion avatar Narasimha, Ganesha and Padmanidhi, as well as of daily life such as a female dancer accompanied with two female musicians with their instruments. The pillars also show amorous couples in various stages of courtship and intimacy. Many of the images inside the shrines show signs of intentional damage inside the mandapa, such as the Karegudi (black pagoda) and Bilegudi (white pagoda). The complex is dedicated to Shiva, and includes a Nandi-mandapa monument. Outside the temples, within the complex, is a carved slab of Saptamatrikas (seven mothers) of the Shaktism tradition. Near the temple, is a large stepwell as a water utility.


title: Aihole

text: According to Vinayak Bharne and Krupali Krusche, the main Mallikarjuna temple illustrates with simplicity the core elements of a Hindu temple. It consists of three squares. A front square portico faces the east, invites the devotee to rise up the stairs and enter, leads him into a square sabha mandapa (public gathering space). The main mandapa links to a square sanctum, above which is the tower superstructure. The mandapa has 4 (2x2) pillars set in a square, each centred to form four circles that enclose the community hall space. The stairs at entrance too are in a square footprint, with two pillars. The larger temples similarly combine squares and circles as a generative pattern to create the temple space.


title: Aihole

text: Ramalinga complex, also called Ramalingeshvara temples, is a group of five Hindu temples. These are located on the banks of the Malaprabha river, about 2.5 kilometers south of the Durga temple complex. They are clustered close to the Veniyar and the Galaganatha monument groups in a hilly terrain.


title: Aihole

text: The Ramalingeshwara temples are an active Shiva worship complex. It is periodically refurbished, whitewashed and redecorated for seasonal festivals. Its entrance has a modern wooden chariot with old stone wheels used for annual processions. The entrance portal has a Shiva Nataraja and two lions carvings, while the main temple consists of three shrines that connect with a common mandapa. Two of the shrines have pyramidal towers with shrinking squares concentrically placed, as does the main shrine, but two have their "amalaka" and "kalasa" a bit lower and intact. The mandapa is covered with a sloping stone roof. The temple incorporates an arched gate with a path to the river.


title: Aihole

text: The Veniyar shrines group, also called Veniyargudi, Vaniyavar, Veniyavur or Eniyar group, consists of ten Hindu temples. The Veniyar shrines are south of the village, near the river bank, close to the Ramalinga temples group. They are mostly in ruins, with substantial damage, and had a thick forest growth over them till late 20th-century. Archeological Survey of India cleared and recovered the space. A similarly named Veniyavur complex is also in the south side of the town, near Rachigudi temple. The largest temple here is an 11th-century temple. The temple has a southern entrance, though the main hall and shrine has again an east-west alignment. The pillars experiment a square base and octagonal member followed by inverted kalasha on top with square finish. The lintel has a Gajalakshmi. The hall consists of two fused squares (6.5'x13'). The door frame to the sanctum has tiny carvings, and the temple has some of the most miniature carvings of themes in Aihole.


title: Aihole

text: The Veniyar temples are dated to between the 9th and the 11th century, and represented a breakthrough in experiments by Aihole medieval artists to balance stone weight that the foundation and pillars could support while arranging a functional form, space and light within the temple consistent with the theological ideas. The so-called Temple number 5 of the Veniyar group combined function and form, creating a much taller "madhyashala" than any previous Aihole temple and a two-storey sanctum temple structure by nesting the stones. A simpler idea but with less fruitful results were tried in the triple Jaina temple found in Aihole village.


title: Aihole

text: The Galaganatha group of temples, also referred to as Galagnath temples, is a large cluster of over thirty medieval Hindu temples and monuments on the bank of the Malaprabha River in Aihole. It is located about 2.5 kilometers south of the Durga temple and ASI museum complex, near the river dam, close to the Veniyar and Ramalinga shrines. The Galaganatha group of temples are dated to between 7th and 12th centuries.


title: Aihole

text: The Galagnath temples compound has three main sub-clusters, almost all aligned in east-west direction. Most are partly or wholly in ruins with signs of intentional damage, but the remnants standing have significant details and artwork. The main shrine of the Galaganatha complex is dedicated to Shiva, yet has Brahma, Vishnu and Durga artwork integral in its mandapa. The Shiva panel from its ceiling, along with several of its artwork has been moved to a Mumbai museum. This main temple is from Early Chalukya period (6th or 7th century), has a Kadamba-Nagara style pyramidal shikhara of shrinking squares concentrically placed. It includes images of river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna at the entrance to this shrine. A few other notable temples in this complex that remain in reasonably preserved shape and form include one with a nearly complete 9th-century temple with South Indian Dravida style tower, another with North Indian Rekhanagara style tower.


title: Aihole

text: The artwork found in the Aihole Galaganatha temple complex includes various styles of auspicious pot motifs (now common in Hindu ceremonies), Durga, Harihara, Maheshvari, Saptamatrikas, mythical "makaras", foliage and flowers, birds, and others. The Galaganatha temples complex is the site where archaeologists found the 7th-century complete life-size nude Lajja Gauri in birthing position and with a lotus head, now at ASI Aihole museum near the Durga temple.


title: Aihole

text: The Galaganatha temples, states Ajay Sinha – professor of Art History, show evidence of unfinished wall panels in addition to the abundance of panels that represent the secular local folklore and social life as well as the religious mythologies and deities. The Galaganatha complex has a diversity of temples and styles with a pastiche effect, states Sinha, which is perhaps evidence of "the degree to which interaction of architectural ideas was taking place in this period in this merchantile town".


title: Aihole

text: The Maddin cluster consists of four Hindu temples. It is one of the groups that is in the heart of the village, midst homes and sheds. The largest temple faces north, and has two small linked shrines on its east and west. The temple experiments with different pillar designs.


title: Aihole

text: The main mandapa of the largest Maddin temple is square and supported on four pillars made of stone unlike others used in Aihole, a greenish color stone that is not local and was imported from somewhere else, possibly from Dharwad region of the Deccan. The artists polished it, moulded a square base and then lathe-turned it intricately all the way to its neck in a manner similar to Hoyasala designs. The temple features a Nataraja, the dancing Shiva with a damaru in his right hand and trishula in the left. Near him is an intricately carved lion. In distance, facing the Shiva linga is seated Nandi in the "antarala" of the temple. On the lintel of the sanctum is Gajalakshmi.


title: Aihole

text: The Triyambakeshvara group, also spelled Triambakesvara group, has five Hindu temples. It is within the village. The main temple of this group faces south and is set on a high platform. Two smaller connected shrines are to its east and west. Stone steps lead to an open mandapa, a sabha mandapa (community hall) which connects to the sanctum. The open portico has two square pillars and two pilasters. The lintel on the entrance has Gajalakshmi. The sabha mandapa is square (15.6'x15.6'), itself supported on four square moulded pillars set within the space in a square, while the side walls have twelve pilasters. The upper part of the four square pillars are circular. It is connected to an antechamber and the sanctum. The sanctum is dedicated to Shiva linga, while a near life-size Nandi sits facing the sanctum inside the shrine. On the lintel to the sanctum is carved another Gajalakshmi (Lakshmi with two elephants spraying water). The damaged towers of the main and the attached smaller shrines are all stepped pyramid of shrinking concentric squares as the tower rises towards the sky.


title: Aihole

text: Two smaller temples in the Triyambakeshvara group are the Desiyar temple and the Rachigudi temple. Both feature a square main community ceremony hall, but different roof than the main temple of this group. The Desiyar temple has a seated, lotus-holding Lakshmi carved on the entrance. It has a bhumi-style tower, and has a Nandi sitting outside. The Rachigudi features a sloping stone roof of the style now found in Hindu temples of southwestern India. The outside wall has floral and other carvings. The temple consists of the main shrine, plus two subsidiary shrines to its east and west. The inside of the Rachigudi temple is a square layout, set on square base pillars with rounded moulded shaft supporting the roof and a moulded inverted "kalasha" pot-like shape at its top. The portico of the temple is square (17'x17'), is of "kakasanas" style with eight squat pillars, again with square base, followed by an exploration of octagonal form. The Rachigudi has some intricately carved artwork inside, such as of Gajalakshmi on the lintel. The door jambs explore floral and geometric designs, as do the small perforated windows in the "sabha mandapa" integrated to bring light into the temple. The Triyambakeshvara group including the Rachigudi Hindu temple is from the 10th to 11th centuries, bridging the Rashtrakuta and Late Chalukya periods.


title: Aihole

text: The Kunti group of monuments, also referred to as the Konti-gudi group, consist of four Hindu temples. They are situated in the middle of an Aihole market street with temple walls between the houses and sheds. Gupte dates the temples to the 6th century, while Michell states some of the monuments are more likely from the 8th century. The temples feature a veranda and garbha-grihya (sanctum) without enclosed walls.


title: Aihole

text: The temples have an entrance colonnade with square pillars and porch with carvings that have eroded with time. The carvings include natural themes and amorous couples (for example, man cuddles a woman's shoulder as she lovingly caresses him with one hand and holds him with other both looking at each other). Inside the main temple is a mandapa with carvings of Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism traditions. The artwork presents unusual perspective such as the top view of Vishnu as he sleeps on Sesha, without Lakshmi, but with chakra and conch not in his hand but on the top edge of the bed; Shiva in yoga asana with Parvati seated on his side and her hand on his thigh; three-headed Brahma holding a "pasha" and "kamandalu" seated on lotus rather than Hamsa; Durga killing demon buffalo but from an unusual perspective. Similarly one of the pillars a damaged artwork with eight hands (mostly broken), probably Shiva, but who unusually carries trishul (Shaivism), chakra (Vaishnavism) and dhanus (Rama, Vaishnavism). Goddess Uma is shown in one carving as wearing a "yajnopavita" (along with Shiva with him). The temples also present standing Vishnu avatar Narasimha, Ardhanarishvara (Shiva-Parvati fusion), Nataraja, Gajalakshmi, Ganesha, standing Shiva with pearl yajnopavita, Vedic gods Agni, Indra, Kubera, Ishana, Vayu, and others.


title: Aihole

text: There is one Buddhist monument in Aihole, on the Meguti hill. It is a partly rock-cut two-storeyed temple, a few steps below the crest of the hill and the Jain Meguti hill temple. In front of the temple is a damaged Buddha statue, one without a head, probably taken out from inside the temple. The two levels of the temple are open and feature four full carved square pillars and two partial pillars on two side walls. Each pair of pillar goes into the hill to form a small monastery like chamber. The doorway to the lower level chamber is intricately carved, while the central bay on the upper level has a Buddha relief showing him seated under a parasol. The temple is dated to late 6th-century.


title: Aihole

text: Aihole preserves four collection of about ten Jain monuments from the 6th to 12th century CE, associated with the Meena Basti (also referred to as Mina Basadi). These are found on the Meguti hill, Chanranthi matha, Yoginarayana complex and an early Jaina cave temple.


title: Aihole

text: The Meguti Jain temple is on the level-topped Meguti hill, surrounded by the Aihole fort. The north-facing temple is dedicated to a Jain Tirthankara Mahavira. The word "Meguti" is a corruption of the word "Megudi" and means "upper temple".


title: Aihole

text: The temple has an open portico, leading the devotee into a mandapa and the sanctum. The entire temple sits on a raised platform like many of the Hindu temples in the village. However, the layout inside is distinct. It has a pillared square "mukhya-mandapa" (main hall), which enters into a narrower square "antarala" divided into two compartments at different levels. A stair connects the slightly higher level, which leads to the larger square-shaped chamber and sanctum. This section consists of two concentric squares, the inner square being the sanctum, and the space between the outer square and inner square being the "pradakshina patha" (circumambulation path). However, in the back of this path, a later construction sealed the circumambulation passage, making it more suitable for storage. Inside the inner square is a relatively crude carving of a Tirthankara. In contrast to the crudeness of this carving is the intricate carving of Ambika with attendant female Jaina deities and her lion mount below of the temple, now preserved in the ASI museum in Aihole. A similar carving is found attending the Mahavira in Jain Ellora Caves, and it is therefore likely that this temple was a dedication to the Mahavira. The temple includes a stone stair connecting the lower level to its upper. Though badly damaged, the upper level has a Jain image. It is also a viewpoint to look over the fort as well to watch the Aihole village below.


title: Aihole

text: The temple foundation moldings rhythmically project the plastered walls of the temple. The temple is not complete, as the niches and walls where carvings would be, are either cut but empty or left uncut and left raised. The temple had a tower, but it is lost and has been replaced by a rooftop watch room like empty chamber added much later and that does not flow with the rest of temple. The mouldings around the foundation have carvings of Jaina motifs such as seated Jinas meditating.


title: Aihole

text: The Meguti temple is historically important for its Aihole Prashasti inscription. A slab on the outer east side wall of the temple is inscribed in Sanskrit language and Old Kannada script. It is dated to Saka 556 (634 CE), and is a poem by Jain poet Ravikirti. He was in the court of king Pulakeshin II. This inscription opens with the equivalent of "Jai Jinendra" salutation in Sanskrit. The inscription is a panegyric by the Jain poet wildly praising his patron Pulakesin II, comparing him to Hindu deities and Kalidasa legends, thanking him for his support in the construction of the Meguti Jain temple.


title: Aihole

text: The Jain cave temple is to the south of village, on the Meguti hill. It is likely from the late 6th century or early 7th. The outside is plain, but the cave is intricately embellished inside. The carvings carry symbolic Jain motifs, such as the mythical giant "makaras" disgorging tiny humans and lotus petals decorations. Inside its vestibule, on each side are two major reliefs of Parshvanatha with snake canopy above him and Bahubali with vines wrapped around his two legs. Both these images have female attendants next to them. The vestibule leads to the sanctum, flanked by two armed guards who also hold lotuses, with an enthroned seated inside. The cave has a side chamber, where too is a seated Jina surrounded by mostly female devotees with offerings and worship position.


title: Aihole

text: Another cluster of Jain monuments is the Yoginarayana group, near the Gauri temple. It consists of four temples, dedicated to the Mahavira and the Parshvanatha. Two face the north, one west, and another east, all likely from the 11th century. The pillars of the temples have intricate carvings. Their towers are same as the stepped squares found in Hindu pyramidal-style "shikaras" in Aihole. This collection has a polished basalt image of Parshvanatha, with a five-headed snake hood. He sits on a platform with lions carved in its niches. Another image from this Jain temples cluster is now at the ASI museum in Aihole.


title: Aihole

text: The Charanthi matha group consists of three Jain temples and is dated to the 12th century CE. It features the Late Chalukya style.


title: Aihole

text: The main Jain temple in the Charanthi matha group faces north. It is flanked by two smaller shrines, while it consists of a portico, an almost-square mandapa (16 ft × 17 ft), an "antarala", sanctum. The mandapa entrance has the image of Mahavira with two female attendants, inside are four pillars laid out in a square pattern, and the design on them look similar to pillars found in nearby Hindu temples. At the entrance of the "antarala" is another image of the Mahavira. The square antechamber leads to sanctum where there is another image of the Mahavira seated in the padmasana yoga position, on a lion throne flanked by two attendants. The smaller shrines also feature the Mahavira. The tower above the Charanthi matha group temples are stepped shrinking concentric squares pyramidal style.


title: Aihole

text: The second and third temple in the Charanthi matha group faces south. These share a common veranda. The temples resemble monastic sanctuaries. A six-bay veranda connects to these two, and the doorways have miniature Jinas carved on the lintels. The pillars of these temples are ornately carved, and both are dedicated to the Mahavira.


title: Aihole

text: The matha consists of twin "basadi" with one porch serving both, with each housing 12 Tirthankars. An inscription here records the date of construction as 1120 CE.


title: Aihole

text: Scattered in the prehistoric period megalithic site behind the Meguti temple are many dolmens, numbering about 45 and more are destroyed by treasure hunters. Local people call it Morera mane (Morera tatte) or Desaira Mane. Each dolmen has three sides upright square slabs and large flat slab on top forms roof, front side upright slab had circular hole.


title: Aihole

text: Many inscriptions are found at Aihole, the inscription at the Meguti Temple, popularly known as "Aihole inscription", or "Aihole Prashasti", is the most important and is an eulogy to the Chalukya king Pulakeshi-II. Written by the royal poet, Ravikriti, the inscription praises the Chalukya king in verse. Though using the Sanskrit language, the inscription uses the Kannada script.


title: Aihole

text: The inscription details the military victories of Pulikeshi II. His defeat of King Harshavardhana, his victory over the Pallavas, Mangalesha's (Paramabhagavat) victory over the Kalachuris, and the conquest of Revatidvipa (Present-day Redi Port). It also mentions the shifting of the capital from Aihole to Badami by Pulikeshi-II. The poet Kalidasa is also mentioned in the inscription. Another inscription at Aihole, that of Amoghavarsha I, mentions his new administration (navarajyam geyye).


title: Aihole

text: The Hindu temples at Aihole reflect a "meeting and fragmentation of styles", one that became a creative cradle for new experiments in construction and architecture yielding their local variants, states George Michell. These ideas ultimately influenced and became a part of both the northern and southern styles of Hindu arts. They are also a possible mirror to early wood-based temples whose natural decay led to innovations with stone, where the early stone temples preserved the heritage, the form and the function of their timber ancestors. The early temples at Aihole may also be a window into the more ancient Indian society, where temples were built around and integrated into the "santhagara village meeting hall" as the mandapa.


title: Aihole

text: The Aihole temples are built at different levels, likely because the river Malaprabha flooded and its path changed over its history. The more ancient temples have a lower level. This is evidenced by the limited excavations done by Rao near the foundation of a few select temples where red polished ware have been found. These ceramic ware pieces are dated to between 1st century BCE and 4th century CE, and likely deposited with silt around the older temples during river floods. Extensive excavation studies at the Aihole done have not been done, but the studies so far suggest that the site preserves archaeologically significant information.


title: Aihole

text: The Jain temples of Aihole are significant in helping decipher the spread, influence, and interaction of Jainism and Hinduism traditions in the Deccan region. According to Lisa Owen, the comparison of the artwork in Aihole-Badami Jain monuments and other sites such as the Ellora Caves, particularly the attendants, deities, and demons provides a means to decipher the development of Jain mythology and the significance of the shared iconography.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: "" is the national anthem of the Republic of Singapore. Composed by Zubir Said in 1958 as a theme song for official functions of the City Council of Singapore, the song was selected in 1959 as the nation's anthem when it attained self-government. Upon full independence in 1965, "Majulah Singapura" was formally adopted as Singapore's national anthem. By law, the anthem must be sung with Malay lyrics, but there are authorised translations of the lyrics of the anthem in Singapore's three other official languages: English, Mandarin and Tamil.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: The national anthem is regularly performed or sung in schools and armed forces camps at ceremonies held at the beginning and/or the end of each day, during which the national flag is also raised and lowered and the national pledge is taken. Singaporeans are especially encouraged to sing the national anthem on occasions of national celebration or national significance such as at the National Day Parade, at National Day observance ceremonies conducted by educational institutions and government departments and at sporting events at which Singapore teams are participating.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: Originally composed in the key of G major, the national anthem was officially relaunched in 2001 in the lower key of F major as it was said to allow for a "grander and more inspiring arrangement".


title: Majulah Singapura

text: The composition of "Majulah Singapura" occurred during a push for independence from the United Kingdom. While Singapore was a British colony, its national anthem was "God Save the King (or Queen)". In 1951, the colony was conferred city status by a royal charter from King George VI. In 1958, Ong Pang Boon, the Deputy Mayor of the City Council of Singapore, approached Zubir Said, a score arranger and songwriter with Cathay-Keris Film Productions, to compose a theme song for the Council's official functions to be titled "Majulah Singapura" (Malay for "Onward Singapore"). This phrase was chosen as it was a motto to be displayed in the Victoria Theatre after its renovation in 1958.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: Zubir took a year to finish composing the music and lyrics for the song. In a 1984 oral history interview, he recalled the process: "[T]he difficulty is in such a short melody, I have to put in all the words... [I]t must be very simple, understandable for all the races in Singapore... I consult also an author in Malay language so that I can do it in proper Malay language but not too deep and not too difficult." Summing up his philosophy when composing the anthem, Zubir cited the Malay proverb ""Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung"" ("You should hold up the sky of the land where you live").


title: Majulah Singapura

text: The completed composition was first performed on 6 September 1958 by the Singapore Chamber Ensemble during the grand finale of a concert staged in the Victoria Theatre to celebrate its official reopening.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: In 1959, Singapore attained self-government and the City Council was dissolved. The Government felt that a national anthem was needed to unite the different races in Singapore. The Deputy Prime Minister Toh Chin Chye selected the City Council's song as it was already popular. At Toh's request, Zubir modified the lyrics and melody, and the revised song was adopted by the Legislative Assembly on 11 November 1959. On 30 November, the Singapore State Arms and Flag and National Anthem Ordinance 1959 was passed to regulate the use and display of these national emblems.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: "Majulah Singapura" was formally introduced to the nation on 3 December when Yusof bin Ishak was inaugurated as the "Yang di-Pertuan Negara", Singapore's head of state. At the same occasion, which also marked the launch of "Loyalty Week", the national flag and the state crest were introduced. After Singapore's full independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965, "Majulah Singapura" was formally adopted as the Republic's national anthem.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: In Singapore, primary schools at lower levels, lessons relating to the national anthem and the singing of the national anthem are carried out as part of the civics and moral education programme. The national anthem is sung in all mainstream schools and armed forces camps at ceremonies held at the beginning and/or the end of each day, during which the national flag is also raised and lowered and the Singapore National Pledge is taken. Both the anthem and the national pledge must not be used for commercial situations.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: Singaporeans are especially encouraged to sing the national anthem on occasions of national celebration or national significance, such as at the National Day Parade, at National Day observance ceremonies conducted by educational institutions and government departments and at sporting events at which Singapore teams are participating. In November 2004, Olivia Ong, an 18-year-old Singaporean based in Tokyo, sang "Majulah Singapura" at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifying rounds at Saitama Stadium in Saitama, Japan.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: Two months later in January 2005, "Singapore Idol" Taufik Batisah was invited to become the first performer to sing "Majulah Singapura" at an international football game at the National Stadium in Singaporethe return leg of the Tiger Cup (now the AFF Football Championship) final between Singapore and Indonesia in Singapore. Due to National Service commitments, Taufik had to decline and was replaced by singer Jai Wahab. In July 2005, Singaporean singer and actress Jacintha Abisheganaden sang the national anthem at the EsplanadeTheatres on the Bay during the opening ceremony of the 117th Session of the International Olympic Committee, at which London was selected to host the 2012 Summer Olympics.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: In August 2016, "Majulah Singapura" was performed for the first time at the medal ceremony of the Olympic Games, after Singaporean swimmer Joseph Schooling won the gold medal at the Men's 100 metre butterfly.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: In August 2019, retired local rocker singer Ramli Sarip sang a "soul-stirring" rocker rendition of the national anthem at the annual National Day Parade, which was received with mixed reviews and criticisms. As a ground-up initiative, a music video based on Sarip's rendition was released on 3 December 2019 as well. Many netizens lambasted the rendition as if it is the funeral version. Even Rohana Zubir (daughter of the late Zubir Said who was the original composer) came out to criticise the rocker's rendition in an open letter in public, she wrote that, "Sadly, the revised rendition of 'Majulah Singapura' lacks the quality, the oomph, of a national anthem. It is rather tortuous to listen to." She added: "The people of Singapore are wonderfully creative but this creativity should not extend to meddling with the musical score of the country's national anthem. This is one area where there should not be change. It is also important for Singaporeans to be proud of their history and to respect individuals, such as my father, for their contribution to nation-building."


title: Majulah Singapura

text: It is conventional for persons present when the national anthem is performed to stand with their arms by their sides.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: When the national flag is raised or lowered and the anthem is played, persons in military or paramilitary uniforms who are outdoors don their head dress and face the flag. If they are in formation under the orders of a commander, only the commander salutes; otherwise, all service personnel salute. Saluting is unnecessary if service personnel are indoors when a flag raising or lowering ceremony takes place. In such cases, persons need only stop what they are doing and stand at attention.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: The national anthem is played at closedowns of TV and radio stations in Singapore, but that use of the anthem has changed since 24-hour broadcasting was introduced:


title: Majulah Singapura

text: The national anthem has lent its name to the Majulah Connection, a Singapore-based not-for-profit organization set up November 2002 to connect Singapore with overseas Singaporeans and friends of Singapore. The organisation was formally established as a non-governmental organization (NGO) in January 2003.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: The use of the national anthem is governed by Part IV of the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Rules made under the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Act. These rules provide as follows:


title: Majulah Singapura

text: It is an offence for any person to knowingly perform or sing the national anthem in contravention of rule 13(1) (not performing or singing the anthem according to the official arrangement or any other permitted arrangement) or 13(3) (not singing the anthem according to the official lyrics or singing a translation of the lyrics); the penalty is a fine not exceeding S$1,000.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: In addition, guidelines issued by the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) state that either instrumental or vocal versions of the national anthem may be performed and that dignity and decorum should be observed whenever the anthem is played or sung.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: An abridged version of "Majulah Singapura" had been used by official bodies since 1963, but an expanded version, used only at grand ceremonial functions, exists. The versions were arranged by an Englishman, Michael Hurd. The arrangement was first recorded by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Lim Yau in 1989.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: The original version of the national anthem was in the key of G major, but in 1983, schools were issued an educational tape describing common mistakes made in singing the anthem and given the option of singing the anthem in F major. (It was the very version that was first demonstrated to the public during the 1984 Singapore National Day Parade.) In 1993, the shorter version of "Majulah Singapura" was declared to be the official one.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: On 19 January 2001, "Majulah Singapura" was officially relaunched in the F-major key, as it was said to be a "grander and more inspiring arrangement" of the anthem. The Ministry of Information and the Arts (MITA, now the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI)) took more than a year to produce the new version. Its main objective was to make the anthem more accessible to all Singaporeans. In May 2000, several leading local composers were invited to rearrange the national anthem in F major. An evaluation panel was headed by Bernard Tan. He proposed that the original composition in G major resulted in a highest note being E, which he felt was too high pitched to sing easily, so he proposed a slightly lower F major that results in the highest note being a more easily sung D. The panel selected the version submitted by Cultural Medallion winner Phoon Yew Tien. Phoon's orchestration employed a slower tempo and used more instruments to create a majestic rendition of the anthem. MITA then commissioned Ken Lim to produce a recording by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lim Yau, which was carried out at the Victoria Concert Hall on 20 November 2000. The new arrangement was recorded in seven versions, including two orchestral versions (instrumental, and with soloist Jacintha Abisheganaden and the Singapore Youth Choir) and a piano solo version.


title: Majulah Singapura

text: On 3 December 2019, a new recording of "Majulah Singapura" by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra was released with improvements in sound quality. The new version was first broadcast at National Gallery, exactly 60 years after the anthem was first released. In addition, this version is 5 seconds shorter than the 2001 recording. The new version was recorded at The Esplanade Concert Hall on 7 August 2019. The new recording still uses Phoon Yew Tien's arrangement, albeit with more young voices.