It all began with a dream to visit a quaint temple in Thirumeeyachur, where centuries ago Lord Hayagriva is said to have initiated Lalithasahasranamam to sage Agastya, marking the origin of this hymn to the mankind.A dream framed with rajagopurams and stony magnificent pillars in a backdrop of verdant greenery of lush paddy fields, with recitals of Sahasranama, thrumming energy of drums ,the smell of pirandai rice prasadam in air.Cut to the present, i am glad that this small whim wasn’t whimsical and that ended up with canonical stages of travel plan,a temple trail from Trichy to Kumbakonam..
This is my first post and could not resist penning down the opulence, richness and knowledge this journey had to offer, a culture trip in and around Thanjavur and Kumbakonam.From the Trichy airport, the country road unwinds itself into a clutter of modern day Kumbakonam.Where imagination had conjured up with not so good looking residential apartments and an uninviting muddle of ramshackle stores around the divine spaces, reality served an oasis of serenity and bliss in the form of architectural marvels.It is a place that can leave an outsider as gaping in disbelief as in justified reverence.Every temple structure is a veritable storehouse of art, each seems to have an even more embellished facade than the next, an even grander carved motifs, a cornice even more heavily adorned with pantheon of deities in their various forms and moods..truly a sculptor’s dream.Each successive dynasty seems to have built these structures with greater abandon and have stamped their flavours on architecture during their respective reigns.
Thanjavur.The land that has seen the rule of the great Cholas, Marathas and Nayaks. Carnatic Sangeetam. Bharatnatyam.Thanjavur paintings.Bobblehead dolls on a dance spree. Brass and Panchaloha artworks and some delicious food. Yes,Thanjavur is abode to all of these and more.After all, hundreds of decades ago it was the capital of the Chola empire and some assert, the home of the Sambar. From art to architecture,to dance to music, there are umpteen reasons, for Thanjavur to be a confluence of cultures.
Its an ancient city with more than 1200 years old rich history.It’s the abode to one of the UNESCO world heritage temple, the Brihadeeswara and the famous Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji’s Saraswati mahal library which houses around 50000 palm leaves, paper manuscripts, books, maps, paintings and a rich collection on Medical sciences, Chemistry, periodicals and Encyclopaedia.
The ancient art forms are very well preserved in the royal palace complex.The architecture methods in temples have been set as the benchmark for sculpture work in Tamil nadu.
It’s the land where then ruling dynasties gave their unique flavours and contributed immensely in the fields of art, literature and culture.A place where one of the classical form of dance originated which was a mode of devotion as well as entertainment – Bharatnatyam. Believed to be 2000 years old,the history has it that Lord Brahma came to Bharata, who then documented this divine dance in an Indo-Aryan text referred to as the Natya Shastra – a form of art where these dancers or devadasis, performed with their natya and nritta bhava. It was in this court of Serfoji II and his son Sivaji II that the four brothers — Chinnaiah, Ponnaiah, Sivanandam and Vadivelu — popularly known as the Thanjavur Quartet, are credited with laying the foundation of Bharatnatyam.Dhanammal who belonged to early 20th century was a celebrated Veena player and Thanjavur Balasaraswati was her granddaughter. Balasaraswati, arguably the greatest exponent of Bharatanatyam, was primarily responsible for popularizing it in other parts of the country and abroad. Brihadeeswara temple also offers an ode to this dance in the form of 108 karanas which calls in for a different study altogether.
This is also a land which has seen the rulers who were patrons of fine arts and engineering ,and some were great numismatists..the Great Maratha king Serfoji II whose different coin collections are portrayed in the Royal Durbar hall and the art gallery.Cart racing,Falconry,Painting were some of the serious passionate pastimes.
The Maratha influence can be seen in the city palace, where the royal families continue to be in residence, the complex built by Nayak kings in the 17th century and extended by Marathas. Housed in the adjacent Arsenal tower is gigantic 92ft skeleton of a whale washed ashore in Tharangambadi .The dwindling Maratha population that once lived in and around the palace has retained its identity in the form of cuisine, rituals and the language entirely its own.
Thanjavur also takes pride in owning several Geographical indication(GI) tagged products which includes Bobble head dolls or the craft of thalai-atti-bommai, a finesse that speaks centuries of experience.It was brought by Raja Serfoji.Dolls are purely handicrafted with papier mache or plaster of paris or wax.The stalls which houses these dolls have a welcoming aura, attributed to their dancing style in which they seem to welcome every one by nodding their heads.More than the popping colors,the attraction was from the feel of the doll being alive transforming into a living danseuse.The centre of gravity and the weight is concentrated at the bottom most central part of doll.Some other GI tagged products include Thanjavur paintings involving great colour schemes and a seemingly sophisticated inlay work with precious stones and gold foil.
The Saraswati Veena is a Carnatic musician’s prized possession. Awarded the GI tag , each Veena being carved out from the wood of a seasoned jackfruit tree, requires an artisan couple of months of chipping away to complete it. The bulb of the instrument is intricately sculpted with the image of Goddess Saraswati, and then polished for a glossy finish.Very recently,Thanjavur Netti Works (Pith Work) ,one of the significant handwork art, seen in temple streets as idols of Hindu deities, door hangings and decorative items has also been included in GI tagged list.
The belt of Tanjore is said to be the rice bowl and the entire belt is surrounded with lush green paddy field.A moment, one can see the monochrome domain of a barren countryside with stunted trees and in a short while ,we traverse to a much greener pastures..so much so, the green on the eye has a doper effect.The landscape radiates luxuriance and abundance. All of this was helped by the life giving waters of Cauvery and its fertile alluvial soil. Glories of the surrounding Cauvery delta are best enjoyed by road. The Cauvery had sadly dwindled into almost non existence but we were lucky, we could still stand knee deep in her water.13Km away from Thanjavur ,crossing five rivers, we reach Thiruvaiyaru where saint Thyagaraja showed the world that Nadopasana is a veritable means to salvation.The region around the town was home to three of Carnatic music’s greatest composers-Saint Thyagaraja, Syama sastri and Muthuswami Dikshitar, who together come to be known as the ‘trinity of Carnatic Music’.Got lucky to hear to some of the compositions of St.Thyagaraja here in his hamlet in the banks of river Cauvery at Thiruvaiyaru, where the saint attained samadhi.This place bears witness to a huge gathering of greatest carnatic vocalists and instrumentalists who join the chorus to sing his immortal pancharatna creations.No great festival hall,no entry fees,no competition or prizes,..,its the pitch, the truth, the spirit of Thyagaraja that unites people from different culture.From pancharathna keerthanams to harikathas, thumris to musical recitals and rock—you get to witness all.
If its food,there’s a lot to savour in the city.One can’t be forgiven for assuming Thanjavur synonymous just to idly-dosa-vada.It is interesting to note that the cuisine of Thanjavur is a mix of traditional Brahmin, Mukkulathor and Maratha cuisines, drawing from the communities that have lived in and around Thanjavur.Locals claim that the south Indian Sambar was first cooked in the Maratha royal kitchens of Thanjavur. When Sambhaji, the son of Shivaji, during one of his visit wanted something tangy for dinner, the cooks of the royal household substituted the tarty tamarind pulp for a particular herb which was unavailable then, with dal, threw in some sautéed veggies and the Sambar was born.Maratha influence on the region’s cuisine can be seen in dishes such as Shakar biranji(sweetened pulao with almonds and coconut),Ambat rasa(yam curry with myriad spices)to Kelyachi bhaji (raw banana dish).In addition to Tamil and small minorities of Telugu and Marathi speaking, a small community of silk weavers from Saurashtra too exist.
The best time to visit some of Tamil Nadu’s legendary temples is at daybreak.Thanjavur is synonymous for the famous Pulioyodare (tamarind rice)-a name that conjures up memories of childhood train journeys with packets of Puliogare one gets to buy in railway stations.For many small vendors in and around the temples, the mid day meal is flavoured with faith, where you have many options to pick up from the temple offerings.The concept of Prasadam has evolved over the years …tradition of offering has always been viewed as a divine blessing which only privileged few would have got in limited portions..But now, it is an indulgence – buy and consume.Bigger temples like Srirangam have a dish being made every hour and the Inscriptions in temples have the standard operating Procedures with the entire recipes being carved on the walls.Food here, is indeed a binder.
Few pilgrims dawdle silently ,their silhouettes fusing with the architecture, while many can be seen teeming near the souvenir shop where the aroma of sizzling ghee drifting from the air vents.An array of prasadams including Chakkara pongal, Vadai, Appam, Laddu are made in different temples.The temples here are secret repositories of a brahminical culinary tradition.
It’s the time for evening pooja. While we stand outside the Garbhagriha, diyas flicker in a wide standing array of Nachiyar koil lamps.The hunter stands overhead in the sky and the moon rains silver lights on the devotees who are enraptured in the hymns and continuos tingling of bells.People come here for different reasons..be it the heritage, culture or food held together by thin threads of rich history or to get douse and dunk in these heavenly corridors and breath taking architecture, not to miss the hopelessly curvaceous stone maidens.
Spiritual getaway – II