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Stone Immaculate Architecture, It Is Said, Should Speak of Its Time and Place and Yet Be Timeless

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Stone Immaculate Architecture, It Is Said, Should Speak of Its Time and Place and Yet Be Timeless Anchor TEMPLE TOWN Stone Immaculate Architecture, it is said, should speak of its time and place and yet be timeless. The legacy bequeathed to us by the ancient rulers at Thanjavur is probably eternal. Words SHOMA ABHYANKAR Standing tall at 208 feet, the 11th century Brihadisvara temple is a grand coming together of a gopuram, dwarpalas, vimana and 88 NOVEMBER 2018 Nandi, tied together with a thread of meandering corridors DIC1118-Anchor-Tanjore.indd 88-89 25/10/18 7:13 pm otted with the lush greens of paddy greet- kings respected the local sensitivities, and besides patronising ing the orange ball of fire on the Kaveri cultural practices, also renovated and added their own imprint river delta is the ‘rice bowl of Tamil Nadu’, to the architectural heritage that the Cholas had left behind. Thanjavur. Mythology attributes the town’s With only three days at my disposal, I set out to discover name to the asura (mythological divine those ancient architectural marvels with Raja, a learned being), Tanjan, slain by Lord Perumal. A 65-year-old tour guide. Raja, self-taught in at least eight Dpredominantly agricultural region, the name being derived languages, took it upon himself to educate me about not only from ‘Than-chei-ur’ or a ‘city of cold farmlands’, however, the tangible but also intangible heritage of Thanjavur—like seems more plausible. Carnatic music, Bharatnatyam and traditional handicrafts of When work required me to travel to Thanjavur, I looked dancing dolls, Tanjore paintings, the Saraswati veena and art it up on Google. The anglicised name ‘Tanjore’ rang a bell, plates that have earned GI tags. reminding me of garish gold-leafed bead inlay paintings of Braving the ravages of time for centuries, what survived Hindu gods and goddesses. But it was the first glimpse of the were the temples constructed out of solid stone while the other temple shikhara (spire on a Hindu temple) of Brihadisvara, ancient buildings that included public offices or inns perished looming large above the tall trees, that brought all the history owing to their construction out of mud bricks and wood. No lessons from school tumbling through foggy memory. wonder then that Thanjavur is usually referred to as a temple Thanjavur has been a hub of religious, cultural and town, with many small ancient temples holding ground amidst architectural activities for centuries. A laidback town, it the fast growing concrete cityscape. gained significance during the reign of Mutharaiyar in the Of these stone edifices, the 11th century granite structure sixth century. But it was only after the Chola kings wrested of Peruvudaiyarkovil, renamed by Maratha kings as the the region from Mutharaiyar to establish their sovereignty Brihadisvara Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site, stood and made Thanjavur the state capital that the town became the tallest at an imposing height of 208 feet. a prominent centre of art, music, dance, literature, crafts and I stepped through two colossal entrance gateways into the magnificent architecture that transcends time and inspires awe large rectangular courtyard. The five-storied gopuram (ornate even centuries later. entrance tower) had 15-foot mammoth sculptures of dwarpalas The Chola kingdom subsequently fell to the Nayak rulers or guards flanking the opening. The stupendous 16-storied who were later overpowered by the Marathas. The consecutive pyramid-like vimana (temple), also known as Dakshina Meru One of the five temples that make the 'Great Living Chola Temples' collective, the Brihadisvara Temple is a fine example of Dravidian architecture and continues to see both tourists and pilgrims seeking a slice of history and a blessing from the gods 90 NOVEMBER 2018 NOVEMBER 2018 5 DIC1118-Anchor-Tanjore.indd 90-91 25/10/18 7:13 pm One of the popular deities down south, and in the Brihadisvara Temple, is Lord Ayyappan (also regarded as an avatar of Lord Vishnu), believed to have been born from the union of Lord Shiva and the mythical Mohini NOVEMBER 2018 93 DIC1118-Anchor-Tanjore.indd 92-93 25/10/18 7:14 pm Built partly by the Nayaks and partly by the Marathas, the Maratha Palace in its complex structure houses royal paraphernalia including over 30,000 palm leaf manuscripts; (facing page) as the 'rice bowl of Tamil Nadu' and a popular pilgrim spot, Thanjavur is a busy city with stucco figurines that preserve the grandeur and pinnacle water to the fertile lands of the delta. Still in working condition, of architectural style of the time, rose up in the large temple its peculiar functional features with curved masonry and courtyard blotting out the sun. irregular slope inspired the British to build another larger dam The other architectural features in the temple courtyard fashioned with the same design features. were the axially placed smaller shrines added during the reign Back in town, marvelling at the vision of ancient craftsmen, of the Maratha kings, a circumambulatory path or prakara of I tried to comprehend all the architectural wonders of the then columned corridors and a pillared portico for public gatherings. kings when the tour guide proudly steered me towards the The fort-like wall around the temple was built much later by former residence of the Maratha rulers, the Maratha Palace. The the Nayak kings. A monolithic Nandi, about two metres tall, sat palace, originally constructed by Nayak rulers in 1535, came facing the sanctum in a pillared porch. With life-size sculptures with the territory to the Marathas who renovated and added of gods and goddesses embellishing the outer walls, the main to it. The complex comprised a seven-storied bell tower, a shrine culminated in a cupola of 25 tonnes of granite. durbar hall or king’s court, open courtyards, a collection of royal The tour guide pointed out numerous inscriptions in Tamil paraphernalia, Chola bronze icons and stone sculptures. and Sanskrit by Chola kings and successive rulers from the The durbar hall, where the kings granted audience, housed Nayaks to the Vijayanagara kings to the Marathas. I noticed a throne last used by the Maratha ruler. The colourful ceilings many fading murals and frescoes depicting tales from the and columns were replete with iconography from Vishnu’s NAVIGATOR Ramayana and Shiv Purana adorning the ceilings and interior ‘Dashavataram’ (an avatar of Vishnu) besides ornate floral GETTING THERE wall surfaces as well. designs. The arched enclosure of the Saraswati Mahal Library Thanjavur is connected by rail and road to Chennai (346 The Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur along with the with an exhaustive collection of manuscripts in Tamil, Telugu, km). The nearest airport is two other exquisitely carved temples and UNESCO sites at Marathi, Persian, Urdu and Sanskrit on palm leaves and paper Tiruchirapalli (about 60 km). Gangaikondacholapuram and Airawateshwar at Darasuram had an interesting story to tell of times gone by. Regular state transport buses are collectively known as ‘Living Chola Temples’. The Chola It is said that the British, having annexed the kingdom and private taxis ply between kings with their artistic acumen had perfected the Dravidian from the Marathas, had begun to discard and demolish what Tiruchirapalli and Thanjavur. architecture of their predecessors, the Pallava kings. The dam they considered irrelevant. It is then that the Maratha king, SHOPPING built with the purpose of diverting flood waters away from while handing over his royal possessions, asked the British to Tanjore paintings are best agricultural fields was another engineering marvel that left me spare the library for posterity. The British agreed to the simple bought from various small astounded. It reiterated the fact that the Chola kings were not request and thus a vast storehouse of information was prevented shops on East Main Road ALAMY only master builders but also master planners. from being lost to history. near the Maratha Palace and entrance. The better quality The world’s fourth oldest water rerouting dam, built on the Over the years the temples of Thanjavur have emerged as dancing dolls of Thanjavur are Kaveri river by Chola king Karaikal with an elaborate irrigation a global stage for classical music and dance performances. The mostly available during the system of canals, known as Grand Anicut or Kallanai Dam, lies festivities too take a grander turn in the courtyards of these Dasara festival. The shops SHUTTERSTOCK some 45 km from Thanjavur. Constructed from unhewn stones places of worship. The larger-than-life scale of Thanjavur around the Brihadisvara Temple sell these dolls in the second century, the 300-metre-long and 4.5-metre-high architecture continues to amaze and makes one believe in the throughout the year. Photography ancient dam could control and reroute required amounts of capacity of human will and endeavour. NOVEMBER 2018 95 DIC1118-Anchor-Tanjore.indd 94-95 25/10/18 7:14 pm.
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