A trip around the Palar:
A group of us went for a trip to the area around the Palar: Melpadi, Arcot, Thiruvalam and Tirumalai.
6, on a Sunday morning, when only the birds, the trees and the heritage enthusiasts are awake.
That same 6am brought me to the trip conducted by Mohan Hariharan, as a sequel to his Arani trip from March, which I missed because of my board exams.(However, I caught a repeat in 2018.)
Venkatesh Ramakrishnan told me about this trip, and I very eagerly said 'in'. I was not disappointed.
As i approached the meeting point, the Saidapet bus stop, only 2 others were there.
I informed them that as there were still 15 minutes left for 6, I would go have a look at the Petrus Uscaan stone, near the Saidapet bridge, erected 1726.
By the time I returned, people had begun to arrive. Now this trip had 3 DSLR's and an iphone. Promises of a photographic expedition.
There was time enough, and a world of heritage to see right there, and as the van was delayed, we took a walk down to the teachers training college, but it took longer than we expected.
We had had to go around the Metro work to go down a small muddy side road with garbage trucks and cement lorries parked on it, so it took time.
The Uskan stone in 2017. It is now better kept, and part of the metro's fence.
Just on time, we reached the main road, and got into the bus.We each took a seat where we could find it.
A short ride later we were at Guindy,
Stop 1: Melpadi:
The Melpadi temple is of the Chola era, a Nataraja temple, and would have been built before Rajaraja's time. it is built completely in stone. The sculptures are of different eras, but the kalvettus are all Chola.
At the metal gate that proclaimed that the ASI maintained the temple we went in full force, cameras blazing. But as soon as we reached the stone gateway, an even stonier faced watchman greeted us, saying no photos.
Apparently ASI has a policy of no photography at any of their sites.
We finally got it out of him that only cameras are not allowed for use, and phone photos are OK. But he was not happy about letting any photos be taken.
The temple opens into a passageway that leads into a mandapam, and a raised pathway around a garden surrounding the main madapam.
The inner prakaram has thousands of lines, one mentioning the pallipadai of a Chola ruler, probably Arinjaya's which is down the road.
We went around the temple, inside and outside, and I noticed something very curious outside. A line of stone pillars lined up along an outside passage. Each in a different state of breakage.
One of the side mandapams, had a side room which held the old samayal arai. The centre of the room had a well, square in shape, going down many feet. Next to it were two stone semi circles, which held water. Around the well was a gallows like structure, which definitely had a different use.
There were no other visitors, and the temple was silent and serene.
In front of the complex, we noticed, as we left, was a hero stone. This hero held a spear and shield, so probably led an attack, or defence, against local bandits, or a rebellion. This region was the northern region of the Chola empire from the time of Arinjeyar (grandfather to Rajaraja, father of Paranthaka. This region was always under turmoil, and near this spot was the Takkolam battlefield, where Rajaditya, eldest son of Parantaka, died, fighting the Rashtrakutas.His fathers Pallipadai lies down the road from the temple, which is where we went next.
After looking around this serene, well maintained temple, we walked down to Parantaka's pallipadai.
What is a pallipadai? It is a Lingam, buried in the ground, above the mortal remains of a Chola king, wherever they died.
This Pallipadai marks the point where Arinjayar died, after Thakkolam, and it was this death that put his second son Kandaradithar on the throne. In Ponniyin Selvan, his son Maduranthaka is played by the Parzuvetarayars to declare himself the rightful emperor. Kandarathithar spent a year on the throne, before abdicating in favour of his younger brother, Arinjeya. Arinjeya's eldest son, Sundara Cholan's, youngest son, Arulmorzhi, goes on to be Raja Raja.
In anger that we took photos, the ASI caretaker did not open the Pallipadai to us.
Location: Melpadi temple(the pallipadai is just down the road)
inscriptions inside the temple
Stop 2: Thiruvalam kovil:
After our short look around Melpadi, we drove down South.
Situated on the banks of the Palar, not too far from Arcot lies the town of Thiruvalam, which was supposed to be the capital of the Vanar kulam, the Vallavars, of whom the most famous is mentioned in a RajaRaja inscription thrice, most famously as his brother in law through his elder sister, Vallavarayan Vandiyathevan.
But during the period between Arinjeyar and Sundara Cholan, the tribe had lost its territory, probably by supporting the Pallavas or Rashtrakutas at the wrong moment.
The thiruvalam temple is mostly of the Vijaynagar style, as most of the motifs show, with the playful imagery, and plentiful pigs and elephants with suns, moons and spears.
The temple complex claims to have a 1300 year old tree. The temple is in the ordinary layout, inner prakaram, outer prakaram, (complete with kalvettu of all periods) , and a pathway outside the structure that has more mandapams all around.
As we did our rounds we noticed that there was a group that were cleaning the stones, repairing, restoring everywhere. On further inspection, we heard from the group members that they were from Salem, and were here to restore temples to their original beauty and splendor. "For a temple to be understood, it must first be seen" was what one of them said.
We continued looking around, and took some photos.
After spending some time here, we went on to Arcot.
Location: Thiruvalam
A possible Jallikattu scene
Stop 3: Delhi gate, Arcot:
On 23rd September, 1751, Clive began the second Carnatic war. Thiruchirapally was under siege from Chanda Sahib, the French supoorted claimant to the Arcot throne. On the other side was a young man called Mohammad Ali, whose father, Anwar Ud din had died in 1749, bringing the first Carnatic War to an end. He had been 77, so Ali himself must have been in his 40's at the very least, and not a young boy as described by a few sources. Ali was in Trichy, and being seiged in. His allies the English, under war hero and strategist Stringer Lawrence and Governor of Madras Saunders were planning to write off the South Carnatic to the French, or attack Trichy in a final attempt to retain both the Southern Carnatic region, and Ali.
But then a clerk in the army asked, " Why not take Arcot?"
Arcot was the capital to the nawabs, who took their name from the city, and left in the hands of a token resistance. It would be easily captured, if taken properly. This would mean less men would be wasted, and all would not be lost for the English.
So the Clerk, Clive, took an army of about 400-450, more sepoy than English, and took Arcot for the English.
On hearing this, Chanda Sahib sent a band of men(numbers vary between 3000-11000) under his son, Raza Sahib, along with a group of French mercenaries to take Arcot.
Raza took up residence in the buildings surrounding the fort walls, and set up his guns there. For 50 days, the army inside was starved out, their supplies dwindling, and men dying.
Then, around the 42nd day, a message came to Clive that Saunders had garnered enough support to have a couple of heavy cannon and fresh men and supplies sent.
On the night before it arrived, Clive took a sortie in the nearby palaces and fortifications, and under the cover of darkness, took out a chunk of Raza Sahibs men.
The next day Clive personally assisted the cannons into the fort.
On the 50th night(13th November), Clive let loose a crushing blow to the army of Raza Sahib.
The next day, the besieging army was nowhere to be seen, and they had even left behind some equipment for Clives men!
Following the seige of Arcot, occured the Battle of Arni, following which the battle of Kaveripakkam, and then a few more, until Chanda Sahib himself was killed.
The room above the gate was where Clive stayed all 50 nights, watching for Raza Sahibs troops to make a move, watching for a messenger from the East.
Currently the man tasked with maintaining Clive's room in the Arcot fort has moved in there, and lives there. He has taken down all signage leading to the gate, and hidden it in his 'flat'. He gets annoyed if you go inside or take pictures.
There is a plaque on the gate, commemorating Clive.
Location: Delhi gate
View from the room
Thirumalai is a hillock of Jain predominance, dating back to the pre-Pallava period.
There are two parts to this temple: An elevated region and a lower region. We went to the elevated region first. Here through a small doorway you come onto a 17 foot tall Jain, behind bars.
There are steps next to him, carved into the rock, leading to a temple right on top, and some carvings of famous Jains who have stayed here. Unfortunately, the words have been blackened out by offerings being burnt under the feet, making the kalvettu illegible. Luckily, one of the longer kalvettus here mentions the regions name under the Cholas.
Then we went back down to the lower temple. This can be seen from on top.
The lower one is set inside a pretty garden, and has a mandapam with a Jain idol set at the back. And thats not all. This place is known as Kundavai Jinalayam, as there are paintings sanctioned by Kundavai, sister of Arulmorzhi Thevar.
This Jain's background is painted with interesting frescos.
Right in front, by the main entrance, are a bunch of Kalvettu's from different periods, the most modern being 1815, when the area was under Arcot/British rule. Next to this are steps, going up to a different mandapam. This has inside it some idols.
On the side of the rockwall here we have a row of niches,each containing an incarnation of the Mahavira. One of these turned out to be a staircase, leading to more treasures.
But first the mandapam, which is just an ordinary one,(with carved Vijaynagar pillars, and Jain idols,)except for the locking mechanism. The key is a long hook, which catches onto the end of a bar that goes into the door on the other side, and pulls it out.
Now, after looking around this mandapam, we went up the stairs between the niches.
At the top of the staircase were a few narrow rooms, formed naturally, and divided up using brick. The ceilings and walls here are covered in paintings. These paintings date between the 9nd and the 17th centuries, with all kinds of motifs, detailing, and imagery. There is one circle which has what Jains considered to be the 12 aspects of society(The rich, poor, royalty, saints...)
and like this, many fascinating paintings which you can see for yourselves in the photos.
After exploring these rooms, we came back down to the middle mandapam, which has another more obvious staircase leading to some rock-cut sleeping niches.
They are now filled with water, and act as pools and ponds.
Looking around, we finally realised that it was getting late, and we got back into the buses.
And immediately stopped when we saw what looked like a set of Pandya hero stones, or commemorative for the crowning of the local Raja, in the middle of Tirumalai village.
Location: Tirumalai
Chola/Vijaynagar paintings
A group of us went for a trip to the area around the Palar: Melpadi, Arcot, Thiruvalam and Tirumalai.
6, on a Sunday morning, when only the birds, the trees and the heritage enthusiasts are awake.
That same 6am brought me to the trip conducted by Mohan Hariharan, as a sequel to his Arani trip from March, which I missed because of my board exams.(However, I caught a repeat in 2018.)
Venkatesh Ramakrishnan told me about this trip, and I very eagerly said 'in'. I was not disappointed.
As i approached the meeting point, the Saidapet bus stop, only 2 others were there.
I informed them that as there were still 15 minutes left for 6, I would go have a look at the Petrus Uscaan stone, near the Saidapet bridge, erected 1726.
By the time I returned, people had begun to arrive. Now this trip had 3 DSLR's and an iphone. Promises of a photographic expedition.
There was time enough, and a world of heritage to see right there, and as the van was delayed, we took a walk down to the teachers training college, but it took longer than we expected.
We had had to go around the Metro work to go down a small muddy side road with garbage trucks and cement lorries parked on it, so it took time.
The Uskan stone in 2017. It is now better kept, and part of the metro's fence.
Just on time, we reached the main road, and got into the bus.We each took a seat where we could find it.
A short ride later we were at Guindy,
Stop 1: Melpadi:
The Melpadi temple is of the Chola era, a Nataraja temple, and would have been built before Rajaraja's time. it is built completely in stone. The sculptures are of different eras, but the kalvettus are all Chola.
At the metal gate that proclaimed that the ASI maintained the temple we went in full force, cameras blazing. But as soon as we reached the stone gateway, an even stonier faced watchman greeted us, saying no photos.
Apparently ASI has a policy of no photography at any of their sites.
We finally got it out of him that only cameras are not allowed for use, and phone photos are OK. But he was not happy about letting any photos be taken.
The temple opens into a passageway that leads into a mandapam, and a raised pathway around a garden surrounding the main madapam.
The inner prakaram has thousands of lines, one mentioning the pallipadai of a Chola ruler, probably Arinjaya's which is down the road.
We went around the temple, inside and outside, and I noticed something very curious outside. A line of stone pillars lined up along an outside passage. Each in a different state of breakage.
One of the side mandapams, had a side room which held the old samayal arai. The centre of the room had a well, square in shape, going down many feet. Next to it were two stone semi circles, which held water. Around the well was a gallows like structure, which definitely had a different use.
There were no other visitors, and the temple was silent and serene.
In front of the complex, we noticed, as we left, was a hero stone. This hero held a spear and shield, so probably led an attack, or defence, against local bandits, or a rebellion. This region was the northern region of the Chola empire from the time of Arinjeyar (grandfather to Rajaraja, father of Paranthaka. This region was always under turmoil, and near this spot was the Takkolam battlefield, where Rajaditya, eldest son of Parantaka, died, fighting the Rashtrakutas.His fathers Pallipadai lies down the road from the temple, which is where we went next.
After looking around this serene, well maintained temple, we walked down to Parantaka's pallipadai.
What is a pallipadai? It is a Lingam, buried in the ground, above the mortal remains of a Chola king, wherever they died.
This Pallipadai marks the point where Arinjayar died, after Thakkolam, and it was this death that put his second son Kandaradithar on the throne. In Ponniyin Selvan, his son Maduranthaka is played by the Parzuvetarayars to declare himself the rightful emperor. Kandarathithar spent a year on the throne, before abdicating in favour of his younger brother, Arinjeya. Arinjeya's eldest son, Sundara Cholan's, youngest son, Arulmorzhi, goes on to be Raja Raja.
In anger that we took photos, the ASI caretaker did not open the Pallipadai to us.
Location: Melpadi temple(the pallipadai is just down the road)
the well
Stop 2: Thiruvalam kovil:
After our short look around Melpadi, we drove down South.
Situated on the banks of the Palar, not too far from Arcot lies the town of Thiruvalam, which was supposed to be the capital of the Vanar kulam, the Vallavars, of whom the most famous is mentioned in a RajaRaja inscription thrice, most famously as his brother in law through his elder sister, Vallavarayan Vandiyathevan.
But during the period between Arinjeyar and Sundara Cholan, the tribe had lost its territory, probably by supporting the Pallavas or Rashtrakutas at the wrong moment.
The thiruvalam temple is mostly of the Vijaynagar style, as most of the motifs show, with the playful imagery, and plentiful pigs and elephants with suns, moons and spears.
The temple complex claims to have a 1300 year old tree. The temple is in the ordinary layout, inner prakaram, outer prakaram, (complete with kalvettu of all periods) , and a pathway outside the structure that has more mandapams all around.
As we did our rounds we noticed that there was a group that were cleaning the stones, repairing, restoring everywhere. On further inspection, we heard from the group members that they were from Salem, and were here to restore temples to their original beauty and splendor. "For a temple to be understood, it must first be seen" was what one of them said.
We continued looking around, and took some photos.
After spending some time here, we went on to Arcot.
Location: Thiruvalam
A possible Jallikattu scene
Stop 3: Delhi gate, Arcot:
On 23rd September, 1751, Clive began the second Carnatic war. Thiruchirapally was under siege from Chanda Sahib, the French supoorted claimant to the Arcot throne. On the other side was a young man called Mohammad Ali, whose father, Anwar Ud din had died in 1749, bringing the first Carnatic War to an end. He had been 77, so Ali himself must have been in his 40's at the very least, and not a young boy as described by a few sources. Ali was in Trichy, and being seiged in. His allies the English, under war hero and strategist Stringer Lawrence and Governor of Madras Saunders were planning to write off the South Carnatic to the French, or attack Trichy in a final attempt to retain both the Southern Carnatic region, and Ali.
But then a clerk in the army asked, " Why not take Arcot?"
Arcot was the capital to the nawabs, who took their name from the city, and left in the hands of a token resistance. It would be easily captured, if taken properly. This would mean less men would be wasted, and all would not be lost for the English.
So the Clerk, Clive, took an army of about 400-450, more sepoy than English, and took Arcot for the English.
On hearing this, Chanda Sahib sent a band of men(numbers vary between 3000-11000) under his son, Raza Sahib, along with a group of French mercenaries to take Arcot.
Raza took up residence in the buildings surrounding the fort walls, and set up his guns there. For 50 days, the army inside was starved out, their supplies dwindling, and men dying.
Then, around the 42nd day, a message came to Clive that Saunders had garnered enough support to have a couple of heavy cannon and fresh men and supplies sent.
On the night before it arrived, Clive took a sortie in the nearby palaces and fortifications, and under the cover of darkness, took out a chunk of Raza Sahibs men.
The next day Clive personally assisted the cannons into the fort.
On the 50th night(13th November), Clive let loose a crushing blow to the army of Raza Sahib.
The next day, the besieging army was nowhere to be seen, and they had even left behind some equipment for Clives men!
Following the seige of Arcot, occured the Battle of Arni, following which the battle of Kaveripakkam, and then a few more, until Chanda Sahib himself was killed.
The room above the gate was where Clive stayed all 50 nights, watching for Raza Sahibs troops to make a move, watching for a messenger from the East.
Currently the man tasked with maintaining Clive's room in the Arcot fort has moved in there, and lives there. He has taken down all signage leading to the gate, and hidden it in his 'flat'. He gets annoyed if you go inside or take pictures.
There is a plaque on the gate, commemorating Clive.
Location: Delhi gate
View from the room
Final stop: Tirumalai:
Tirumalai is one of those temples where pictures are the closest thing to comprehending it, and where words will do no justice.Thirumalai is a hillock of Jain predominance, dating back to the pre-Pallava period.
There are two parts to this temple: An elevated region and a lower region. We went to the elevated region first. Here through a small doorway you come onto a 17 foot tall Jain, behind bars.
There are steps next to him, carved into the rock, leading to a temple right on top, and some carvings of famous Jains who have stayed here. Unfortunately, the words have been blackened out by offerings being burnt under the feet, making the kalvettu illegible. Luckily, one of the longer kalvettus here mentions the regions name under the Cholas.
Then we went back down to the lower temple. This can be seen from on top.
The lower one is set inside a pretty garden, and has a mandapam with a Jain idol set at the back. And thats not all. This place is known as Kundavai Jinalayam, as there are paintings sanctioned by Kundavai, sister of Arulmorzhi Thevar.
This Jain's background is painted with interesting frescos.
Right in front, by the main entrance, are a bunch of Kalvettu's from different periods, the most modern being 1815, when the area was under Arcot/British rule. Next to this are steps, going up to a different mandapam. This has inside it some idols.
On the side of the rockwall here we have a row of niches,each containing an incarnation of the Mahavira. One of these turned out to be a staircase, leading to more treasures.
But first the mandapam, which is just an ordinary one,(with carved Vijaynagar pillars, and Jain idols,)except for the locking mechanism. The key is a long hook, which catches onto the end of a bar that goes into the door on the other side, and pulls it out.
Now, after looking around this mandapam, we went up the stairs between the niches.
At the top of the staircase were a few narrow rooms, formed naturally, and divided up using brick. The ceilings and walls here are covered in paintings. These paintings date between the 9nd and the 17th centuries, with all kinds of motifs, detailing, and imagery. There is one circle which has what Jains considered to be the 12 aspects of society(The rich, poor, royalty, saints...)
and like this, many fascinating paintings which you can see for yourselves in the photos.
After exploring these rooms, we came back down to the middle mandapam, which has another more obvious staircase leading to some rock-cut sleeping niches.
They are now filled with water, and act as pools and ponds.
Looking around, we finally realised that it was getting late, and we got back into the buses.
And immediately stopped when we saw what looked like a set of Pandya hero stones, or commemorative for the crowning of the local Raja, in the middle of Tirumalai village.
Location: Tirumalai
Chola/Vijaynagar paintings
No comments:
Post a Comment