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I was really upset when the planned trip to Thanjavur didn't materialise last year. Myself, as somebody with a strong inclination towards sculpturing and fine Arts, I felt ashamed not visiting Thanjavur all these years, considering that it was just 4 hrs travel from my home town. Atlast I booked my tickets in early January through www.irctc.co.in for Feb 29th, despite finding myself in 14th of RAC list. The 'D-day' had come, I was engaged in some serious official discussions, giving me a thought of cancelling the trip for a fleeting moment. But I regained and decided to continue with my plan. This time the agendas were to travel light and enjoy the retro travel. With just a white cotton pyjama and a black T-shirt, along with the camera bag, I was on.

Thanjavur

The Rockfort express started sharply by 10:30 p.m from Chennai Egmore. Luckily I was allotted a berth to sleep. The train reached Thanjavur sharply by 6:30 a.m. It was drizzling and I was instantly attracted to the place. Wherever I landed with a drizzle, that place is bound to get closer to my heart. My first visits to Thirumurthy hills & Pollachi were greeted with a drizzle and those places are now very closer to me heart. In the railway station I refreshed in the Waiting Room and stepped out. I like speaking to the local people and get details. I had a Coffee and asked the shopkeeper for details of going to the temple & Saraswathi Mahal.

In the railway station side itself you have a bus stop, get into any bus and ask for "Periya Kovil (Big Temple)", you'll be charged with the minimum ticket charge (Rs. 2.00/-). The bus will drop you at a 4 road junction, take a walk towards the temple from there. While walking towards the temple I noticed the town. There is an old world charm in the city. It still retains the style and looks of 60's. I loved that aspect in Thanjavur.

{mosimage}{sidebar id=4}While I am walking towards the Temple, let us see the historical pride Thanjavur carries along with it. It was the capital of Chola's, the famous dynasty that ruled Tamilnadu. The Chola's rule is said to be the "Golden Period of Tamil Nadu" with arts and crafts flourishing, people living in peace, an idyllic serenity prevailed all thanks to river Cauvery, that made Chola kingdom flourish. How a country flourishes is measured by its arts, love, literature and political stability. Only when a country has no worries like from where the next meal comes from or fear of imminent war, it can indulge in other activities like arts, love and literature. If going by that yardstick, Chola Kingdom is definitely the finest. The sculpture rich temples found in the Thanjavur & around Kumbakonam is a testimony for that.

Also Thanjavur is known as the "Rice Bowl of Tamilnadu", where farming and agriculture is still predominant. Despite having few Engg. colleges and a SASTRA University, Thanjavur hadn't hit the eyes of IT Companies & other manufacturing facilities, so the sophistication and pollution hasn't touched the simple lives of these people. In short Thanujavur is a slightly overgrown village.

{mosimage}Now I have reached the temple and I am in front of the Eastern Main Entrance. The temple is well protected by a moat (அகழி) supposed to be filled with water and a 3 layered high fortress and a bouleward inside. If you cross the first entrance, there are two shrines of Lord Ganesh and Lord Muruga. You can't stop feeling awestruck at the magnificience of the structure. Once you are through with that, you see a large lawn and a second entrance, whose "Gopuram" is approximately 90 feet high.

If you enter through second entrance, normally everybody will halt for a second just by being taken away at the beauty of Lord Brihadeeswara temple. That sepia toned structure is bound to blow you away by its sheer magnificence. I was just gaping at the temple standing in the mid of the entrance for a minute or more. It was a moment of dream come true for me.

{mosimage}Just take a look around, you will find the inner walls of the second/inner compound well cloistered with roofed corridors running through the whole length of the compound approx. 500 ft length and 250 ft wide. Fortunately for me the drizzles have stopped, the sky is still gloomy with clouds, thwarting the harsh sunlight touching the earth. This is the climate every photographer would love because there won't be harsh shadows or over exposures in the frames they click. Again a beautiful lighting, I felt as if it was done specially for me. Else how could I reason sudden drizzling amidst the dry summer.

The whole floors inside the inner compound is well paved with bricks and and a beautiful grass lawn inside. The space in from of the temple has few readily built stages where the arts like dancing, oratory and "கதாகாலக்ஷேபம்" were performed. A look at the inside layout/structure gives an idea about the rich art/literature life of the Cholas.

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