Tamil Nadu [India 2015]
Known for ancient temples with impeccable Dravidian architecture, Tamil Nadu is twice bigger in the area and has thrice the population of Sri Lanka. We visited Sri Rangam: the 150-acre temple on an island in a river, the towering vimana of Periya kovil, sculptures of Mahabalipuram, Mangroves of Picchavaram, and more.
After my AL exams in 2014, mom got a chance to attend a workshop at Anna University, Chidambaram for a week. She took me as well and extended her stay by ten days to visit them all.
Sri Rangam
Srirangam Vishnu kovil is one of the oldest, grandest, and most important novels of India. The whole Kovil complex is larger than towns and contains 21 towers, fifty shrines, a golden crest, seven concentric roads, restaurants, shops...etc within it. The 150-acre complex stands on an island in the middle of the Kaveri river.
According to history, this novel has been popular even 2000 years ago, since it is extensively mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature written in that era. The smaller shrine was expanded and new structures were added by several kings of Chola, Pandya, Vijayanagar, and Hoysala kingdoms throughout history. In 1323 AD, the kovil was damaged and looted by a Mughal invasion by Malik Kafur, where 13 000 devotees died defending the Kovil. The halls were built during the 15th century by Vijayanagara kings.
Raja Gopuram of Sri Rangam is the largest of its kind in Asia. Now covered with sticks and stuff due to the recent Kumbabishekam. It is 230 feet high (as tall as 20 story building) and every inch of it is covered with intricate sculptures (as in each and every gopuram). Its base was built 400 years ago and the rest was erected in the 1980s. This means this kovil has been continually under construction for the past 2000 years! The original foundation could manage only a few stories, but they went ahead and built the heaviest tower in Asia on it. It is now gradually sinking into the Kauveri sand.
Apart from the history, the Kovil is no less than an amazing artwork museum. Every inch of the granite kovil structure is decorated with detailed sculptures from different eras. This kovil is a milestone in Dravidian sculptures, frescoes & architecture.
- A Golden Crest is at the very center of the temple complex. Directly under this, is the sacred room where the gigantic idol of Vishnu is placed.
- Thousand pillared hall was a 14th-century work by Vijayanagara Kings. Almost each and every kovil has such a hall. The hall is kept locked except for special festivals.
- Famous sculptured pillars of the Shesharaya hall have complicated statues that depict a story that have been carved out of a single huge Granite rock. One of the most amazing works I've ever seen. Made during the Nayakar period, like 500 years ago.
- A knight is fighting on a horse. A devilish animal (Yaali - யாளி) is attacking him. His squires bravely attack the animal with swords (Note how the sword goes in and comes out of the flesh! Such attention to detail!) A dog could be an ally of the animal that bites the squire. The puppies of the dog are also barking!
- A technique used to build such grand structures in granite. Heavy and hard granite rocks have been precisely cut into long fat rods and placed in an interlocking manner. No strong glues like cement are used here. The entire structure stands in the sheer weight of granite only!!
- Each inch of this immense temple is covered in some form of art, even the underside of steps which nobody would easily notice.
- Second of the 5 southern towers. Built between 14-17th centuries.
Trichy
Trichy is one of the biggest & most developed cities in Tamil Nadu. We started our journey from Trichy airport and we can say it is the cleanest of all the cities we've visited. Food & cloth prices are also really cheap here. I like Trichy a lot. Trichy is home to Sri Rangam kovil, Grand Anicut (built by Karikal Chola 1800 years ago), Trichy Rockfort kovils, parks, churches...etc. It is also the hometown of Jayalalitha, writer Sujatha, cartoonist & writer Madhan, Kalki and many others.
Thiruvanaikovil
Also called Jambukeswarar Temple, it has some of the most impressive architecture and sculptures I have seen. Each pillar you see below is as high as 4-5 persons but carved out of a single granite stone. I was extremely impressed at the confidence of the sculptors who hit such a mega stone, to decorate it completely with intricate carvings.
Karikalan's Kallanai: The Grand Anicut
The Grand Anicut. An architectural marvel built by Emperor Karikala Chola I 1800 years ago. It still irrigates over a million acres today. He invaded Sri Lanka and it is said that he used Sinhala (!!) prisoners to build this. It is a dam used to increase water flow into the Kollidam branch of Cauvery.
Note: The original dam is actually the granite bund seen as the feet of the current modern dam. The modern dam was built by the British who marveled at Karikala's dam and named it "The Grand Anicut"
Rock Fort - Malaikkottai
Chidambaram
Chidambaram Kovil is the most important temple for Tamil Hindus. So important, that it is simply known as "koyil" in Tamil poems (thevarams). Although this place had religious significance since ancient times and was sung by Appar & Sambanthar around 7th c. CE, the oldest existing structures were built in 10th c. CE by Cholas. Paranthaka chola installed a gold-plated roof, which is still there. Rajaraja I famously retrieved the poems from here and complied them into Thirumurais. The Nataraja (dancing Shiva) art form was conceived in the Chola period, and it serves as the main idol of the temple, along with a Vishnu idol.
Anna University
Mom participated in a workshop organized by Anna University. I stayed with her for a week there.
Pichchavaram Mangroves
Thillai, the holy tree of Chidambaram temple (Thillai Nadarajar Kovil) is a mangrove. Adjacent to Chidambaram is a large estuary, at the delta of Kollidam, a branch of Cauvery river.
In Ponniyin Selvan, when Arulmoli (Rajaraja) is saved from the shipwreck caused by the storm, is sick with fever and brought inland by Poongulali, hiding from the spies, she takes him through the Pichchavaram mangroves, upstream the river Kollidam, to reach the Sudamani Buddhist Temple. Also, in Dasavatharam, the following song where they take Kamal & the Vishnu idol on catamarans to drop them into the sea, they go through these mangroves. There are some amazing aerial shots there:
Veeranam Lake
As you might have guessed, I'm a huge fan of Ponniyin Selvan novels. So, I wanted to visit the Veeranam lake, where the opening shot is set: where Vandiyathevan arrives on horseback. So, we visited there.
Abarajithan G
This lake was built by Rajaditya Chola in the 10 c. CE. It is 14 km long, the largest in Tamil Nadu until a few decades ago. Today, it supplies water to Chennai, through 235 km long pipes, a project by CM Anna. In Kaththi (movie), the pipes inside which Vijay and the farmers sit to protest are the Veeranam Lake pipes.
Thanjavur
Thanjavur was the capital of Cholas. Situated at the Cauvery delta, it is called the Rice bowl of Tamil Nadu. Periya Kovil, or Brihadisvaram was built by Emperor Rajaraja I in 1010 AD, and it recently celebrated its 1000 year anniversary.
While one of the finest examples of Dravidian architecture, it incorporates novel elements such as a high vimana and smaller gopurams. Other temples like Thillai and Sri Rangam above have high gopurams and small vimanas. It houses one of the largest Shiva Lingas of India. It is built entirely out of granite, which is way harder to carve than the sandstone of the North Indian temples.
Chola kings had the habit of starting a poem (called Mei-keerthi) as they ascended to power and appending their victories and notable achievements to it throughout their reign. Periya koyil has the Mei-keerthi of Rajaraja that starts with "திருமகள் போலப் பெருநிலச் செல்வியும்" is written around the bottom of it as seen in the above photos.
It has the world's tallest Vimana, at 66 m. The whole tower is carved with intricate sculptures, which is a feat given it is granite. In the following image, you can appreciate the height of the temple, with my mom standing at its feet. At the top is the Sri-vimana weighing 80 tons, sculpted from a single block of granite. It is hypothesized that a circular ramp was built around the tower to pull it to be placed at the top using elephants.
Gangaikonda Cholapuram
Gangaikonda Chola Puram was the capital of Emperor Rajendra Chola, who built a massive temple here similar to Periya Koyil. Being as imperial as his dad, Rajendra widened the Chola empire to loot Sri Vijaya Empire, which was situated in Java, Indonesia, leading to its downfall.
Madurai
Madhurai was the capital of Pandya Kingdom. 1st century CE texts call it koodal, denoting it to be the center from which all roads radiated out. The temple that existed here was destroyed in invasions by the Delhi Sultanate and was rebuilt in 16th, 17th c. CE by Nayakkars.
I went to this temple keen to find the particular image that follows. Called Madhurai Massacre, it is an event where 8000 Jains (samanarkal) were impaled (stick in their ass) to death by the Pandya king, as overseen by Sambanthar. While our Hindu textbooks hide this fact and portray Jains as the villains, it is recorded in Periya Puranam, where the Hindu author praises Sambanthar for this act. It is also recorded as a fresco in this temple as seen here.
Mamallapuram
Also known as Mahabalipuram, it was a bustling harbour since the 4th c. CE where evidence for trade with the Roman empire among others is found. It gained prominence as Pallavas rose to power, and when Narasimhavarman I made it a city in the 7th c. CE. The sculptures and stone temples were raised shortly then.
Mamallapuram sculptures are famed for their creativity. Read the captions for more details.
The following shows the technique used to break giant granite rocks into regular blocks for construction. Small holes are made in a linear pattern as shown, and the boulder is left to heat up and expand under the sun. Then, wooden planks are inserted tightly into the small holes, and cold water is poured on the rocks. As granite shrinks, it would crack along these holes.
Dakshina Chitra
We visited a model village named Dakshina Chitra, where the different cultures of South India are exhibited. There are model houses of each style, weaving patterns, kitchen utensils that reflect the lifestyles, and more.
Chennai
In Chennai, we visited the St. Thomas Cathedral, Panagal Park, MGR memorial, Kannagi statue... stuff we have read in novels like Sujatha's. We also passed over Coovam and witnessed the construction of Chennai Metro.
Misc
On the day of Vinayagar Chaturthi, right near the procession, one guy (from the BJP party) was giving a speech! I'll post the video. He was speaking furiously (Modi is our leader! India is our country!!) but note that nobody is listening to him! 3 or 4 chairs are laid in front of him, even people sitting there are watching the Vinayagar Chaturthi procession, not listening to him! But he didn't care. He did his job of speaking furiously.
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