Navrang India

Diwan V.P. Madhava Rao pmadhavarao.blogspot.com

Among the reputed Diwans who acted as an intermediary between the colonial rulers and princely rulers in the past era, Sri Madhava Rao is counted as one among them. He was quite known for his administrative skills with innovation and had the innate ability to understand the pressing problems of the princely state and tried to solve them relevant to the needs as much as he could. Being a good statesman he served as the Diwan of Mysore kingdom from 1906 to 1909 and Baroda from 1910 to 1913.

Coming from a family of Thanjavur Marathi Deshastha Brahmin family, long ago settled in the then Tanjore kingdom ( now called Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu), Vishwanath Patankar Madhava Rao CIE (10 February 1850 -1934), is believed to have hailed from the Satara district of Bombay Presidency (now Maharastra) to south India after the Maratha conquest of Tanjore kingdom from the Thanjavur Nayak rulers. Born in February 1850 in the temple town of Kumbakonam, Madras Presidency near Tanjore, he had his education at Kumbakonam College under William Archer Porter. He completed his B. A. in 1869 and and later entered the service of the Mysore kingdom in 1869 as a headmaster of the royal school. Subsequently, he became the public prosecutor of Mysore and served in the Judicial and Revenue departments. His efficiency and dedication to work got him promotions and he served as Inspector General of Police, Plague Commissioner in the Mysore kingdom from 1898 to 1901 and Revenue Commissioner from 1902 to 1904 before being appointed Diwan in 1906. As plague was a big threat then, Diwan Madhava Rao created an awareness among the people to give importance to public health and hygiene. In July 1905, the rat eradication scheme was introduced that resulted in the killing of 23,000 rats. The scheme was extended to Bangalore. For the years 1907-08, rat destruction was carried on a large scale in Bangalore and Mysore cities.

July 1905, the rat killing scheme was introduced. An amount of Rs 2670 was spent on killing 23,000 rats. The scheme was extended to Bangalore. For the years 1907-08, rat destruction was carried on a large scale in Bangalore and Mysore cities.

Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/content/485093/revisiting-days-yore.html

Madhava Rao served as Diwan of the Mysore kingdom from 30 June 1906 to 31 March 1909. In 1906, and introduced several schemes to improve the state's progress and quality of life with adequate amenities. During his active tenure a law was introduced empowering members of the Mysore Legislative Assembly to pass laws. The new legislature was constituted on 6 March 1907. As part of he Land Revenue Code amendment the Revenue Commissioner became the Chief Revenue authority and was also given charge of the treasury. Yet another feature to improve people's welfare and public health, a Department of Public Health was created to deal with various public health issues. The competitive exams for the Mysore Civil Service were revived. Taxes on arecanut (in Tamil Pakku) were revoked.

In view of growing importance to primary education, Kindergarten schools were introduced in the kingdom and primary education, particularly in villages, was made free and the teachers were given an increment. Because agriculture played a key role in Mysore, many projects were undertaken to improve agriculture and its production and, as part of it, the Marikanite Works were completed in 1906-07 and the Cauvery Power Works at Belagola in 1907-08. He paid serious attention to famine protective works, particularly the construction of tanks. Minor tanks were also rejuvenated and taken up for further strengthening of bunds for better storage of water. The third installation of hydro-electric power of Cauvery Power Scheme was undertaken as mentioned above. The Dasara Industrial and Agricultural Exhibition was opened by the Maharajah in the Special Reserve Police Lines building in Oct. 1907.
The Government sanctioned a free grant of land to the Indian Institute of Science with a view to promoting higher education and it is one of the top educational institution s in India. To serve the administration effectively, Diwan Madhava Rao had T. Ananda Rao and K P Puttanna Chetty as first and second Councillors who were entrusted with certain level of administrative responsibilities. They too enjoyed executive powers, although in a limited manner,

Electricity was not introduced before and in January 1908 electric lighting was first introduced in the civil and military station of Bangalore city and for Mysore city in September 1908.

Madhava Rao was already bestowed with a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1899 and was awarded the Kaiser-i-Hind Medal in 1900 for his early commendable services to the Princely state of Mysore.

''He began his career as a journalist and came to Mysore to earn a livelihood. He gradually rose to prominence and ultimately retired as a civil servant. He also served as a Dewan and in various other administrative capacities, during which he carried his responsibilities to the fullest and ablest '' .............................
https://www.deccanherald.com/content/485093/revisiting-days-yore.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._P._Madhava_Rao

cagle.com

Vegetables. .nychealthandhospitals.org

An EPIC-Oxford study (2019) analyzed the follow-up results of risks of ischemic heart disease and stroke including hemorrhagic types in meat eaters, fish eaters, and vegetarians over a span of 18 years up to 2016. The work was supported by the UK Medical Research Council MR/M012190/1 and Well come Trust.

.eurekalert.org

The results were recorded in case case 2820 cases of ischemic heart disease and 1072 cases of total stroke (519 ischemic stroke and 300 hemorrhagic stroke). After adjusting for socio-demographic and lifestyle con founders, fish eaters and vegetarians had 13% (hazard ratio 0.87, 95%) lower rates of ischemic heart disease than meat eaters, respectively. This difference was equivalent to 10 fewer cases of ischemic heart disease (95% confidence interval 6.7 to 13.1 fewer) in vegetarians than in meat eaters per 1000 population over 10 years. The associations for ischemic heart disease were partly attenuated after adjustment for self reported high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and body mass index (hazard ratio 0.90, 95% ) in vegetarians with all adjustments). By contrast, vegetarians had 20% higher rates of total stroke (hazard ratio than meat eaters, equivalent to three more cases of total stroke per 1000 population over 10 years, mostly due to a higher rate of hemorrhagic stroke. The associations for stroke did not attenuate after further adjustment of disease risk factors.

cartoonstock.com

From the study conducted in the UK, it is quite clear that fish eaters and vegetarians had lower rates of ischaemic heart disease than meat eaters, although vegetarians had higher rates of hemorrhagic and total stroke......(https://www.bmj.com/content/366/bmj.l4897)

.sciencedirect.com

Reducing meat-intake and following plant based diet is beneficial to health and it reduces the risk of heart related ailments according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in Feb, 2020. The changes can reduce the adverse effects of the microbes in the gut having close link with cardiac diseases. The human digestive tract houses a community of bacteria called gut microbiota that play an important role in our metabolism, nutrient absorption, energy level and immune response. When one of the chemicals in the gut digests nutrients in animal products such as red meat metabolite (TMAO) which is related to increasing heart diseases. On the other hand, in the case of veg diet, it can reduce the amount of TMAO produced in the body.
The New Indian Express, Tiruchy Edition dated Feb 1920;
page 16: ''Vegan diet cuts hear disease risk.''

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-right-plant-based-diet-for-you

Thanumalayan Temple of Suchindram. kanyakumaritemples.tnhrce.in

Thanumalayan Temple of Suchindram, TN templepurohit.com

The Thanumalayan Temple of Suchindram in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu in the extreme southern peninsular India is an important place of Hindu worship for both Shaivite and Vaishnavite sects. Also called Stanumalayan temple, Stanumala refers to Trimurtis; "Stanu" meaning Siva; "Mal"implying Vishnu; and the "Ayan" meaning Brahma, people who visit the famous beaches of Kanyakumari (where three oceans merge) to see the Vivekananda Memorial mantap, giant Thiruvalluvar statue (famous Tamil saint,poet) and Goddess Kumari Amman shrine

Thanumalayan Temple Suchindram, Kanyakumari, TN, en.wikipedia.org

never fail to visit this unique temple. God Brahma (the god of creation) has very few temples across India, There is one dedicated to Brahma in Pushkar in Rajasthan and the other one is in Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district, TN. Besides there are a few Brahma shrines in other parts of India. Because of a curse cast by God Shiva Brahma is not venerated in many temples. Sucindra Stalamahatmya, written in Sanskrit, gives a detailed account of the origin and development of this temple.

The legend of this temple has a link with the chastity of Anasuya, wife of Sage Atri. The trinity gods, to test her chastity, appeared before Anasuya in the guise of brahmins demanding food. When she was ready to serve the food they, purposely, put forth a condition that they would eat only if she could serve them naked. Unperturbed, through the power of her chastity and character she converted the three Gods into babies and breast-fed them. On the plea of Gods' consorts, Anasuya restored them and on the same place a linga comprising three gods appeared which still exists.
The Trinity gods are represented in one form (linga) called Sthanumalyam that is the specialty of this temple.

According to yet another Sthala Purana, the head of devas Indira is believed to have performed Ardhajama Pooja at night every night to get rid of his curse through the grace of gods The Sanskrit word "Suchi" in Suchindrum stands for "purify". Indra, with overwhelming infatuation, wanted the company of Ahalya, the wife of Rishi Gautama. He chose the right time when the sage went to the river bank in the early morning to attend to his morning ablution and rituals. He took the form of Gautama to cheat his innocent wife. Upon his return to his hut, when sage Gautama saw Indira trying to mislead his wife, he cursed him that entire body will be covered with ''Yoni''(female organ) and his wife to turn into a rock. Indira's prayers to the trinity gods were finally answered. The three gods got rid of his curse and transformed him into his original form. As for Akalya, she was restored back to life. So

Indira had a temple built and installed the Lingam representing the three Moorthys - Thanu-Maal-Ayan, and the name of the place

came to be known as Suchi-Indran (the place where Indran was purified).

Once under the management of the Namboodiri families (Thekkumon Madam) when the district was under the Travancore state (prior to 1956), the renovation of this temple took place in the 17th century. Well known for its beautiful stone sculptures and architecture splendor, any visitor to to this town, can locate the temple by its tall 7-story ornamented entrance tower (gopuram) . On the tower one can see a myriads of various well-made deities of the Hindu pantheon. Abig temple water tank is just near-by with a small pavilion (mantap) in the center.
This temple enjoys many endowments made by Madurai Nayak rulers and later by the Travancore Maharajah under whose management the temple had functioned before Kanyakumari merged with Tamil Nadu. Ruler Ayilyam Thirunaall Maharajah of Travancore, introduced a special a lottery scheme in 1875 AD to get funds for rebuilding part of the temple and he received roughly Rs. 40,000.00, a big sum in those days.

Susindram temple, TN harmonyatsouthindia.blogspot.com/

Alangara mandapa, Suchindram, TN. fusion.werindia.com

The temple has amazing sculptures and art. The Alankara Mandapam is worthy of mention. Here, adjacent to the Northern corridor there are four large stone pillars (which stand at 18 feet (5.5 m) in height), each formed by a group of smaller pillars all carved from a single stone (chosen specifically for this purpose). Two of these large pillars have 33 smaller pillars and the other two 25 each. These are the famous musical pillars. of this temple. A striking fact is each of these smaller pillars produces a different musical note when tapped. These pillars are well-guarded surrounded by iron grills to prevent vandalism. They are quite famous just like those at the Nellaiappar temple of Tirunelveli, TN and the Humpi temple in Karnataka. The workmanship of these stone sculptures and ornate pillar, etc is just mind-boggling; the stone artisans of by-gone era had exceptional skill, imagination and patience. The Alankara Mandapam is a good example. So is the big dancing hall that is supported by 1035 ornate pillars with carvings.

Suchindram.Anjaneyavayusutha.in

Among the many attractions in this temple, the tall stone image of Anjaneya, (Hanuman) never fails to get our attention. Standing 22 feet (6.7 m) tall, it is a majestic piece of work carved out of a single granite block. Believed to be one of the tallest statues of its kind in India, it was, on purpose, kept buried below on the temple premises in 1740, fearing an attack by Tipu Sultan of Mysore and his army. Tipu Sultan raided Kerala in the late 18th century and destroyed many Hindu temples as well as Thomas Christian churches, hence precaution was taken to preserve this rare Hanuman statue. Only in 1930, the statue was unearthed and later restored by the then Devaswom Board Commissioner Rajya Seva Praveena Sri M.K. Neelankantha Iyer of Kottarathu Mathom, Moncompu for public viewing and puja rituals.
As for the Nandi (bull- mount of God Shiva), the stone image made of lime and mortar is 13 feet (4.0 m) tall and 21 feet (6.4 m) long; it is one of the biggest Nandi statues in India. The representation of the three main Hindu gods Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma in one Linga is a rare one found across India, showing the influence of Vaishnavite, and Shaivite sects living in this part, because early Chola, Chera and Pandya kingdoms patronized them. The temple has many deities of the Hindu pantheon, - Rama and Krishna to Amman and kanda (God Karthikaya).

Suchindram Temple Chariot festival en.wikipedia.org

Suchindram Tnicely carved wooden temple car or rath, just base. en.wikipedia.org

The 10-day Car Festival (ther thiruvizha) is a famous one that comes up every year between December and January, attracting thousands of devotees and the chariot carrying the processional deity (Utchavar) is physically drawn by hundreds of devotees all along the four Mada streets adjacent to the temple. Float festival locally known as Teppam, is celebrated between April and May every year and is an interesting temple festival celebrated by lots of devotees.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanumalayan_Temple https://www.templepurohit.com/hindu-temple/suchindram-thanumalayan-temple/

Velimalai Murugan temple, Kanyakumari. TN, facebook com.

Kumaracoil Subramania Swamy Temple Kavadi Kettu Festivalhttp://murugan.org

There is a Tamil adage that says ''Kundruthorum edathil Kumaran Kovil unndu'' meaning ''where there is a hillock there will be temple dedicated to Lord Muruga (Karthkaya).''. About the six abodes of Lord Muruga, with the exception of Tiruchendur, TN which is on the beach, the rest are on a hillock or a small elevated terrain as in Swamimalai near Kumbakonam, TN. The Velimalai Murugan temple on a hill top, in the south most peninsular India close to Nagercoil - on the road to Thiruvananthapuram, bordering the town of Padmanabhapuram is a popular destination for the devotees of Karthikaya (or Subramanya) and the added attraction is its serene surroundings with greenery. The sthala viruksha (sacred tree) of the temple is a 100 plus year old vengai tree. The processional
deity (utchavar) is Manavaala KumaranThe temple is at Padmanabhapuram, which is famous for the majestic wooden palace of the erstwhile Travancore Maharajah, on the slopes of the Veli hills. Set in the scenic surroundings, the temple is renowned among all the Murugan temples in Kanyakumari District.

Velimalai Murugan temple, Kanyakumari. TN tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com

There are a few versions as to the origin of the hill' name Veli malai. Vel was the surname for the Ay rulers who controlled a medieval Hindu feudal kingdom on the Malabar coast. The hill that belonged to the Ay rulers came to be called as Velimalai. Some people say it is Velvi Malai since Lord Murugan performed a yagna with a view to promoting union of jivatma with Paramatma.
Kumarakovil also known as Kumara Kshetram and Subrahmanya Sthala in Malayalam that has a massive monolithic idol of the deity, has found mention in the Tamil literature work Silappatikkaram by Elangovadikal and is called the Chera Nattu Aeragam. Believed to be pretty old as far back as the period of Buddhism 650-850 CE in Kerala, Kumarakovil, according to stone inscriptions, has been around since 18th century CE . This is said to be the birth place of Valli, consort of lord Kathikaya.

In this temple that can be reached through a flight of forty steep steps, the consort of Lord Murugan is Valli, a woman from the hill tribal community) in the same sanctum (srikovil) and her stone idol is a tall one - six and a half feet. The main deity is set in such a way as to facing east direction where the Sthanumalayan (Lord Siva) of Suchindram is located. The big idol of Lord Murugan made from single stone is eight feet and eight inches tall. Perhaps, Murugan stone idol in the Vallikandpuram temple close to Perambalur town, TN (this Chola temple is older than the Thanjavur big temple) is yet another Hindu temple with a tall stone idol of Muruga. In this temple lord's image has long ears suggestive of influence of Buddhism. It is believed there are foot prints of of Nandi and Murugan atop the hill often referred to as Nandipadam and Murugan Padam.
An interesting feature of this temple is the presence of a shrine for Daksha, the maternal grandfather of Lord Murugan. There is a shrine for Ganapati on the right side of the entrance to the inner Prakara (Prthakshanapath). He is called Kalyana Vinayakar, because he helped Lord Muruga to seek the hands of Valli. On the west prakara one may find many shrines - for Kasi Lingam,etc and on the south side Mahadevan, Sivakami and Chadikeswarar. Arumuga Nayinar - Lord Murugan with his two consorts, Valli and Deivayanai. This temple is associated with the legends of Valli’s marriage with Murugan. This is said to be the birth place of Valli.
The Tamil month of Panguni (March-April) the temple comes alive and it is a period of celebration. Yes, the divine wedding of Valli (a tribal woman) and Murugan is held with religious fervor and bhakti and devotees in thousands attend this grand festival. The reenactment of Kuravar (hill tribes) Patukalam, the war waged by Valli’s relatives against Murugan, is a colourful event, interesting to watch it; an unbroken tradition that continues for a long time. When the wedded divine couple reaches the rear entrance of the temple, Kuravas surrender to Lord Murugan and happily give consent to the marriage. Then after abhishekam and deepa aradhana, a formal wedding is celebrated at night in the well decorated temple mandapam with flowers of various hues. During the marriage, Valli colai, Vatta colai, Kizavan colai...... etc., are given as gifts to Lord Murugan from the bride’s side. The seven-day festival begins in the star of Anuradha in the month of Panguni. On the day of the wedding Manavala kumaran (processional deity) in a palanquin is carried to Thiru Kalyana Mandapam, 2 km from here. After the celestial wedding, the deities are taken reverentially with pomp in a procession back to the original temple.

The other popular festivals celebrated here areKanda Sashti, Vaikasi Visakam and Thaipusam. Kavadi worship to Kumaraswami on the last Friday of the Tamil month of Karttikai is an interesting one. Its origin goes back to 200 yers ago. When there was no rain due to continuous dry spell in this region, the worrisome erstwhile Maharajah of Travancore asked his security guards to offer kavadi worship to Kumaraswami.The lord answered the prayer by way of copious rain fall which promoted agriculture and welfare of the people all over. Since then, the police offer Kavadi worship to the deity toward the end of Karthigai month.

The old tradition has been that during Navarathri festival Velimalai Kumaran, on a decorated silver horse (vahanam), is taken all the way to Tiruvananthapuram along with Padmanabapuram Saraswati and Suchindram Munnoottinanka (Goddess Shakti). After Navaratri the idols are taken back to the temple.Soora samharam is yet another festival held here, but it is not as grand as that of Thiruchendur temple, TN. Devotees make all kinds of commitments to have their wish fulfilled such physical ailment, wedding of their daughter, etc . The offerings include besides Kavadi, milk abishekam, Santhana Kappuu (sandal kaappu) and tonsuring. Many parents bring their new kid for the first tonsure at this temple. This is done for the kid's welfare longevity and good health. Another attraction is Valli guhai(cave) atop the hill about 2 km off the main temple. Valli sunai is a pondwhere it is believed that Valli used to take bath and Murugan came in the disguise of an old man to woo Valli. The protocol of worship offered here on the last Friday of every Tamil month. The Kanji (a sort of porridge)
Kerala Tantram is a protocol of worship offered in this temple along the lines of most other temples in Kanyakumari district. Fridays, especially the last fridays of every Tamil month are considered to be very sacred here. The Kanji which is distributed as prasadam that is said to have miraculous healing properties.
Pushpabishekam is done on the last Friday in the month of aavani an the idol of Kumaran is completely covered with hundreds of baskets of flowers offered by the devotees.
http://murugan.org/temples/kumarakoil.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vellimalai

Kapurthala palace, now a Sainik school. Punjab, India. pinrest. com

Maharajah Jagatjit Singh of kapurthala, Punjab, India. getty images.

.mapsofindia.com

The Ahluwalia Sikh rulers of Kapurthala prior to India's freedom had been the rulers of the princely state of Kapurthala, now in East Punjab, India with a capital at Kapurthala. Their motto on the flag is:"pro rege et patria"(in Latin) meaning "For king and country." The capital city of by-gone era boasts of several impressive buildings and palaces whose links withe past history are quite well-known. Of them, the Sainik School (Formerly Jagatjit Palace), Shalimar Bagh (Gardens), District Courts buildings, Moorish Mosque, Panch Mandir ("Five Temples"), Clock Tower, State Gurudwara, Kanjli Wetlands, Guru Nanak Sports Stadium, Jagjit Club, and the NJSA Government college, no doubt, get the attention of the visitors to this small city. Here, I am concerned only with the old royal palace.

Kapurthala palace, now a Sainil school. Punjab, India. sskapurthala.com

What was once the majestic palace of the erstwhile Maharajah of Kapurthala state, Maharajah Jagatjit Singh was turned into the Sainik School 60 years ago. It is presently under the Ministry of Defence which in turn gave it to the Sainik School. The construction of this palace began in 1900 and was finished in 1908, coinciding with the arrivalof new wife of the Maharajah - Anita Delgado.The specialty about this palace is its eye-catching architecture, not native to India. But, it does have elements of Indian architecture nicely blended with the European style. Based on the model of the Palace of Versailles and Fontainebleau, France, the palace and the surroundings cover a total area of 200 acres (0.81 km2), indeed a huge spread. Being a great and innovative builder of govt. buildings and palaces, Maharajah employed a French architect M. Marcel to design it and had it built by a local builder Allah Ditta. It was constructed in a unique renaissance style with the sunken park in the front (Known as Baija). It is believed that its Durbar Hall (Diwan-E-Khas) where the ruler meets his subjects is a well-planned one and is one of the finest in India. Here, beautiful galleries that have been created on both sides of the upper deck are further enhanced by stylized domes, canopies, and beautiful lattice work executed in stone. The Indo-Saracenic elements are carefully blended here - ethos of Mogul style. It is known that a pillar is a free-standing upright member, which need not be cylindrical or plain rectangular or square and here pillars were handled effectively with fine decoration structurally giving firm support to the galleries, arches, wooden rafters or roofs, etc.

Kapurthala palace, now a Sainil school. Punjab, India..kapurthalainfo.com

Obviously, one can see the French influence as well as Italian style in the construction in the form of Plaster of Paris figures and painted ceilings, etc., and they bear testimony to the glorious past. The breath-taking interior decorations were done by expert European and Indian workmen specially brought from abroad. The palace is full of imported art work from France, Italy and Holland. The worth noting architectural features are pillars, piers, columns and pilasters, arches and vaults, roofs, domes and shikharas, verandahs and porticoes, platforms and plinths, and so on. In this palace pillars and pilasters are designed in a unique way. Unlike many palaces where the bases of pillars were built on square platforms that rose from a few inches to about two feet high. Simple moldings were provided for the designs under the shafts that were plain. The capitals were built with the inverted bases. Specifically, it is a weight-carrying feature.
The Indo-Saracenic styled feature here reflects the supremacy of the Indian rulers over their lands and subjects, an offshoot of imperialistic tendency and legitimacy as exhibited by the British and other colonists. The positive aspect is due importance is given to the ethics or the aesthetics of hard work that went in the creation and blending of Indo-Saracenic architecture.
Tit-bits:
Inaugurated on 8th July, 1961 by the then Defence Minister V.K.Krishna Menon, (during the time of PM. Jawaharlal Nehru) with the objective of preparing boys academically, physically and mentally to join NDA, the Sainik School, Kapurthala is doing a great service to the nation and its security especially close to Pakistan on the western border, a breeding ground of hardcore terrorists and on the NE side close to Arunachal Pradesh where China behaves like a bully, by way of producing more than 700 officers annually to be absorbed in the Indian military forces. http://www.madrasmusings.com/vol-28-no-6/rethinking-indo-saracenic-architecture/
http://www.viewpunjab.com/jagatjit-palace-kapurthala/

Elysee Palace, Kapurthala, Punjab. blog.railyatri.i

location map. Kapurthala. mapsofindia.com

The small city of Kapurthala in Punjab, India has many historical monuments and beautiful colonial buildings that may take us right back to the old colonial days when India was not a free country as it is today. Here, in many old structures the colonial legacy is well-preserved.
Built at a cost of Rs.3.4 million (a whooping sum in those days) in 1862 by Maharajah Kanwar Bikram Singh, the Elysee Palace in Kapurthala is a good example of an Indo-French style of architecture and lots of tourists come here to see this historical structure, that was once the personal residence of the Maharajah. The palace work began in the early years of the 18th century and completed specifically in the year 1862. It took a while for the ruler to complete the palace and make it functional. In the present day scenario, taking cost overruns, raw materials, labor, etc., into account, it could be around 450 core rupees. The wily British had their eye glued on this kingdom of Kapurthala and its resources.
However, the rulers had been in touch with the French and their influence is reflected on the exterior of the fort which is tinted in pink; it was designed by a French architect. Believed to be one of the best-preserved palaces in the state of Punjab, it is well-known for its French influence. Inspiring front - view set amidst a big lush green and well-manicured garden withstatues of life-size animals and nice fountains, and tiger made of metal and steel kept at the rear end of the place show the traits of French style. Elysee Palace with is surrounding area is a sprawling one, covering 300 acres which makes it one of the largest palaces in the state. The facade of the well- designed palace and the vast area around it enhance the grandeur and beauty of it which is just 36 km from Jalandhar city. Punjab, India. Kanwar Bikram Singh happened to be one of the most influential Sikh rulers of the state of Kapurthala from 1835 to 1887.

A school - Montgomery Guru Nanak School is functioning in the palace and still lots of visitors spend their time in the historical palace.
https://www.yatra.com/india-tourism/attractions-in-kapurthala/elysee-palacehttps://www.astrolika.com/monuments/elysee-palace-kapurthala.html

"Panch Mandir, Kapurthala, Punjab, India.tour travelworld in

Panch mandir, Kapurthala, Punjab, India.wikimapia.org

Unlike most of the Hindu temples of south India where just one God or Goddess is worshiped in the sanctum, and all religious activities, rituals, festivals, etc are centered around it, here, in Kapurthala, there is a Hindu temple built by the Maharajah Fateh Singh Ahluwalia that is dedicated to many Hindu gods and goddesses. Called "Panch Mandir, it is a revered and sanctified place for the Hindus in the state of Punjab and is the legacy of generous rulers of Kapurthala kingdom of the past era. As a matter of fact there are five different temples under one roof and each one is visible from outside the temple complex. To countless Hindus, this place of worship is an epitome of eternal happiness and spiritual ecstasy.

"Panch Mandir, Kapurthala, Punjab, India. blog.railyatri.in/

Panch mandir, Kapurthala, Punjab. www.slideshare.net

This stone structure in pure white looks very impressive and attractive at night when the moon light strikes on it. An important landmark in the city, lots of devout Hindus from other parts of Punjab come here to offer pujas, prayers and to have their wish fulfilled. As the name suggests, the temple has numerous shrines dedicated to numerous Gods and Goddesses in the Hindu pantheon. All you have to do is to pray to the one that is close to your family deity. The big structure in the temple is the garbagriha/ sanctum that is encircled by many smaller shrines.

Panch mandir, Kapurthala, Punjab, India. Istadevita in

If you just take a look at this temple, it is architecturally simple. It has neither a huge and tall tower/ gopura nor decorative entrance as one finds in south Indian temples. Yet another surprise is the lack of elaborate prakara or prthakshana path around the sanctum and it is quite obvious that a particular temple architectural design is not followed here - Dravida or Nagara or a mix of both or any other influence. Structurally, it is just personification of simplicity. The most important aspect of temple worship is, regardless of its size and structural configuration, the aim of devotees is to concentrate on the main deity in the sanctum. The union of mind and soul is an integral part of Hindu worship.
https://blog.railyatri.in/must-visit-tourist-attractions-of-kapurthala

Kapurthala, Punjab, India Clock Tower (1901) freeart.com/

Clock Tower, kapurthala India.indiaanditsamazingtours.blogspot.com

The free standing clock towers or the ones on the important public buildings, railway station, church, post office, etc were once part of the urban space in the past. They were a common sight in many parts of the world associated with some iconic buildings. One example is the Elizabeth Tower in London (usually called "Big Ben", although strictly this name belongs only to the bell inside the tower). In the city of Chennai the clock on the tower of Central station (now called MGR central railway station and the one on the Ribbon building are quite famous. Th nice clock on the Christ church building on the ridge in Shimla, HM never gets the attention of the visitors.
In today's chaotic fast urban life the colonial clocks nver get the attention of the local denizens, only the visitors to the cities admire them for their for their aesthetics and ethos. No doubt, they were built in public place for an express purpose. Before the middle of the twentieth century, most people did not have watches, and prior to the late 18th century even home clocks were rare. The first clocks lacked on faces on sides, but most of them were solely striking clocks, which sounded bells to get the attention of the surrounding community toget ready to go to work or to say their prayer.
It was in the year 1901 the Ghanta Ghar, also known as the Clock Tower, was built in the kingdom of Kapurthala, Punjab, India . Close to the Panch Mandir area, this 119 year old part freestanding red stone clock tower on a building forms an important landmark in this small city and is being under the control of the ASI -

Statue of maharajah Kapurthala, Punjab, India.localguidesconnect.com/

Archaeological Survey of India. It was built by the ruler Jagatjit Singh with a view to helping common people to know the time of the day and night. In those days clock was a luxury item and the wrist watch was an expensive one and the common folks could never dream of possessing it. The chiming clock was specifically imported from England and it needed periodic maintenance. A couple of employees were assigned to wind the key periodically to keep the clock going. It is said that this historical clock tower, a reminder of colonial period in India had stopped working in 1949, soon after the death of Maharajah Jagatjit Singh the ruler who built the famous palace called Jagatjit Singh palace, where, now a Sainik school is being run by the Dept. of Defense, Govt. of India.
As for chiming and musical notes, in the recent past the ASI undertook the renovation work to restore this monument and had the clock fixed. Now, one could hear the the musical notes of the clock resonating all over again bringing back the past royal period of rule.
Tit-bits:
Do you know the tallest free standing clock tower in the world?

Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower, Univ. of Birmingham, UK.en.wikipedia.org

Considered as the tallest free-standing clock tower in the world, the Joseph Chamberlain Memorial Clock Tower, or simply Old Joe, is a clock tower and campanile in Chancellor's court at the University of Birmingham, in the suburb of Edgbaston. Its actual height is the subject of many discussions and study. However, the university lists it between 110 meters (361 ft) and 100 meters (328 ft) tall. Many go along with the last one calculation. In a lecture in 1945, Mr C. G. Burton, secretary of the University, said, "the tower stands 329 ft [100 m] high, the clock dials measure 17 ft [5.2 m] in diameter, the length of the clock hands are 10 and 6 ft [3.0 and 1.8 m], and the bell weighs 5 long tons [5.1 tonnes]".
It is recorded that this tower came up with a view to commemorating Joseph Chamberlain, the first Chancellor of the University (with the commemoration being carved into the stone at the tower's base), although one of the original suggested names for the clock tower was the "Poynting Tower", after one of the earliest professors at the University, Professor John Henry Poynting. Forming an important landmark in Birmingham, the grade II listed tower can be seen for miles around the campus, and has become synonymous with the University itself.......https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Chamberlain_Memorial_Clock_Tower
https://www.nativeplanet.com/kapurthala/attractions/ghata-ghar/#overview

Vaikom Sri Mahadeva temple, Vaikom, Kerala risholidays.com/

Vaikom Shiva temple, kerala. .mandirmandir.com

Above image: The Vaikom Mahadeva Temple is a famous one in Kerala. This temple, Ettumanoor Shiva Temple and Kaduthuruthy Thaliyil Mahadeva Temple are well-known Shivasthalams. The belief has been that if a devotee worships at these three temples before 'Ucha pooja', their wishes would be fulfilled soon. A sacred place of worship for both Shaivaites and the Vaishnavaites, Vaikom's Shiva also goes by the name of Vaikkathappan. The Shiva Linga here is believed to be from the ‘Treta yuga’ and considered as one of the oldest temples in Kerala where pooja protocol has not been broken since the inception of this temple. This temple town became part of Indian social history where the dalits were, at last, allowed entry into the temple for the first time in India in 1936. Then, Kerala was a Princely salute state and an alley of British India. .............
The date 12 November 1936, was a milestone not only in the sociopolitical history of Travancore (Kerala), but also of India. A different and distinct pattern of social reformation emerged just like a certain geometrical pattern is generated if a kaleidoscope is given a good shake!! It was on this day ''the Temple Entry Proclamation''was issued by Maharajah Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma despite protests from upper caste Hindus.Both the Maharajah and the then Diwan Sir C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar, a legal luminary and Scholar n Sanskrit won the appreciation of national leaders especially Gandhiji who called the poor people as Harijans (sons of God; now dalit is widely used and not harijans) for boldly introducing this famous temple entry proclamation act and setting the stage for the entry of weaker sections in the society to enter the Hindu temples. The town Vaikom is famous for a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva (here the God's name is Mahadevan).

Vaikom Mahadevan temple, Kerala .thehindu.com

Considered to be a social reformation day by the Government of Kerala, the struggle against caste discrimination was spear headed by great people like Narayana Guru (born on August 28, 1855 in an Ezhava peasant family, hailing from a village close to Thiruvananthapuram), T. K. Madhavan, a well-known lawyer and social reformer, and journalist and revolutionary K. Kelappan (considered as Kerala Gandhi). Later nation wide temple entry movement became an offshoot of Vaikom protests and many reformers across India took inspiration from this protest in this same town in Kerala.
As for K. Kelappan, no doubt, he played a stellar role in the famous Vaikom Satyagraha and was the leader of the Guruvayur Satyagraha in 1932. He undertook fast-unto death in the same temple town and the fasting continued till he became very weak. At last, Kelappan gave it up upon Gandhiji’s interference. The Vaikom movement was centered at the Shiva temple in Vaikom, near Kottayamthe. Nambootheri Brahmins were the main residents on the four nadas/ streets around the Shiva temple. They were the ones taking care of the temple pujas, rituals, etc.

Social reformer, Vaikom struggle Kellapan ravel.manoramaonline.com

T.K. Mahadevan laid the foundation of Vaikom struggle, kerala. indianetzone

The streets around the temple of Mahadeva could not be accessed by Ezhava and other low caste communities. Countless social reformers had been protesting against this blatant denial of entry to the so called untouchables. Earlier highly respected sage like Sree Narayana Guru and his disciple Mahakavi Kumaran Asan were denied entry into the roads. The disgusting fact was they were ill-treated by a group of upper caste men in drunken stupor casting aspersion on them in the name of caste. This infuriated many people cutting across caste barriers. The protest to open the streets to every person became a serious issue in the town.

As a prelude to Stayagrahs at vaikom, a group of Savarnas or upper castes, participated in a padayatra procession to the palace in Thiruvananthapuram, and submitted a petition on the first of Oct. 1924 to the Regent Maharani Sethulakshmi Bai of Travancore with approximately 25000 signatures for allowing entry to the roads to the temple for everyone. They impressed on the Regent Ranee the need to respect the aspiration of low caste people and their basic rights to enter the streets and worship on the temple premises. Gandhijii came on the scene and personally met with the Regent Maharani. In addition, another procession of Savarnas tool place headed by well-known Nair leader Mannath Padmanabhan Nair, with about 500 in the initial stage and increased in size to about 5000 when the procession had reached Thiruvananthapuram in the month of November 1924.Later their protests died down and they accepted the rulers' move.   The king after certain deliberations understood the ground reality and abolished the ban on the so-called 'low caste people' or avarnas from entering the roads close to the temples as well as the temples in the Princely State of Travancore, now part of Kerala. It was on 23rd November, 1925, the temple gates except the East street of all places of Hindu worship were opened to Hindus of all castes In 1928, the backward castes got the right to walk on public roads leading to all temples in Travancore.

''Vaikom Sathyagraha'' was a great success after a prolonged struggle which finally led to the temple entry proclamation act. Congress leader E.V. Ramawami Naicker, (then Congress President of TN) as requested by Kerala Congress Party and his personal friend and Congress leader Rajaji, participated in the protest in the second phase representing Tamil Nadu (Then part of Madras Presidency) as the main satyagrahis courted arrest and sent to jail. He took the leadership at a critical time toward the end and was arrested twice and finally released soon after the ruler of Travancore died. The aim of Satyagraha was to securing freedom to all sections of society to pass through the public roads leading to the Sri Mahadeva Temple. The streets were forbidden to the so called low caste people for a pretty long time earlier.The famous Malayalam poet Muloor S.Padmanabha Panicker wrote:'
         Long ago on the streets of Vaikom in a rickshaw,
        The great sage Sree Narayana was going,
         An idiot born as god on earth'',
         Came up and ordered the rickshaw to withdraw. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaikom_Satyagraha

young ruler of Travancore, Balaram Varma thebetterindia.com

Above image: In 1924 when Mahatma Gandhi on a visit to the erstwhile princely state of Travancore, to meet with members of the royal family, he asked the then 12-year-old prince Balaram Varma whether he would throw open temples for lower caste Hindu people. The young and bold prince gave a simple reply in affirmative. True to his word upon ascending the throne, the young ruler, Balaram Varma did not forget his promise. Upon consultation with the then Divan Sir C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar in 1932, he set up a Temple Entry Committee to examine the possibilities of opening the doors of shrines to all castes. ''His decision was also influenced by the Vaikom Satyagraha of 1924-25, a historic struggle for the right of avarnas (untouchables) to use public roads close to temples. On November 12, 1936, Balaram Varma made a revolutionary royal proclamation that opened the doors of temples in Travancore for all Hindu devotees, irrespective of their caste and community''. A new chapter in Indian Social-political History had been added......https://www.thebetterindia.com/121013/chithira-balaram-dalit-temple-travancore

Architect of Vaikom struggle, T.K. Mahadevan, en. wikepedia. org

Above image: Madhavan died at his residence on 27 April 1930. A monument was raised in his honour at Chettikulangara. In 1964 T.K. Madhava Memorial College was founded at Nangiarkulangara.............................
The scourge of untouchability in India had been around for centuries and the Hinduism (it is a way of life, and not a religion) never mentioned about either castes or discrimination among Hindus. That how did un-touchability creep into the Indian society is a moot question that needs proper scientific study; biased study pinning blame on one community won't help the posterity. As for certain political parties of TN, whose ideology is based on rationalism, atheism and linguistic chauvinism, they blame it on the so called upper caste Hindus and find scapegoats in the quite Brahmin community.

T.kK. Madhadevan lawter and social eformer. thebetterindia.com

''The Vaikom Satyagraha'', the first organized social awareness movement against untouchability in India, took place in the year 1924 in the shadows of a famous Vaikom Mahadeva temple in the small town of Vaikom, Kottayam district in the then Princely state of Travancore (Kerala). The main purpose of Vaikom Satyagraha was to secure freedom for all sections of down-trodden people to use the public streets, particularly adjacent to Sri Mahadeva Temple. The participants in this struggle from all parts of Kerala, cutting across caste barriers put in dedicated efforts for a long time and this led to Vaikom Satyagraha with full support from National leaders leaders like Gandhiji. This had a deep impact on not only on the fundamental rights of people regardless of castes, but also on the conscience of the common people and the ruling family of Travancore.

rformist Kelappan. keralapscgk.com

The root cause was the existing caste system in the Princely state then - denial of entry of low caste Hindus into the Hindu temples, not to speak of accessing roads around the temples. The govt. in 1865, through notification, threw open public roads to all castes, however, in 1884 govt notification made a distinction between streets - Raja Veedhis or the King’s Highways and Grama Veedhis or the Village Roads. Violators would be subject punishments by the govt. It was a subtle caste discrimination as the low caste people were the victims. This was more pronounced in Vaikom than other towns, as the roads around Vaikom Temple were considered to be Grama Veedhis. There was a Notice Board that read, “Ezhavas and other low castes are prohibited through this road.” Erected near the NB was police out-post to garb the violators of govt. rules to enter the gramma veedhis (streets). Except low casts, all others would be allowed to enter the streets near the temple.

Sri kelappan , Vaikom struggle en.wikipedia.org

A few incidents led to the Vaikom Satyagraha to get to the bottom of bottlenecks and restore the basic rights of all weaker sections in the society. Barring strict regulations around the temple roads. the Ezhava or the Nadar community (about 200 in number), first ever made an attempt to enter the temple when Avittom Thirunal Balarama Varma was the ruler of Travancore. Upon king's order, their attempt was thwarted by a group of Nair warriors, In yet another disgusting incident that fed fuel to the Vaikom satyagraha was preventing T.K Madhavan, an advocate to appear for his client before the honorable court. The lawyer was denied entry because 01. he hailed from the Nadar community (believed to be a low caste ) and 02. the court was inside the compound of the Maharajah’s palace. Just imagine the agony of a practicing lawyer who was a victim of caste distinction. Now additional fuel is added to the simmering embers in the affected communities.
The architect of Vaikom Satyagraha was T.K Madhavan with moral support from Narayana Guru and Gandhaiji. The salient feature of this struggle was the agitators never used foul and filthy language making scapegoats out of certain upper caste communities. Their main objective was to remove unconditionally the road blocks set to prevent entry to the temple roads and it was a methodical approach. The first step in the right direction is to assert the rights of all people to use the public roads around the temples. The vaikom satyagraha was synonymous with a peaceful war on caste discrimination and denial of entry into roads close to the temples - all in the name of castes. This first ever prolonged agitation drew the attention of the Indian sub continent as well as the western world where, in particular, in the southern USA, Black people were seriously protesting against the Jim crow laws, open racial discrimination, denial of voting rights, access to public rest rooms and transport, and admission to colleges.

Sri Madhavan intelligently made certain moves within the purview of laws with support from a large number of leaders from Kerala. And to achieve that, the involvement of the Indian National Congress was necessary. T. K. Madhavan (2 September 1885 – 27 April 1930) was the one who presented a resolution seeking permission of temple entry and right to worship to all people irrespective of caste and community. Besides, he moved the resolution for the eradication of untouchability in the Kakkinada (now in Andhra) session of Indian National Congress (INC) meeting held in 1923. Madhavan had to continue his struggle for the temple entry of Harijans in Kerala to get it done as early as possible. In 1927, he was made organizing secretary of the SNDP Yogam. T.K Madhavan formed a voluntary organization"Dharma Bhata Sangham"to strengthen the activities of SNDP Yogam.

In the aftermath of the Kakinada Congress resolution, the KPCC met at Ernakulam on 24 January 1924 and formed an Untouchability Abolition Committee (UAC) consisting of K. Kelappan (convener), T. K. Madhavan, Kurur Nilakantan Namboothiri, T.R. Krishna Swami Iyer, and K. Velayudha Menon. A Publicity Committee of five members including T. K. Madhavan was also formed.

In the Vaikom struggle Madhavan was well supported by K. Kelappan, and K.P. Kesava Menon put in every effort to get the right of oppressed class of people to use the road in front of Vaikom Mahadeva temple. When the protests became a serious issue, Madhavan and Kesava Menon, and other members were arrested and imprisoned. The struggle lasted for 18 long months of pain and mental agony.Other prominent people like Kurur Neelakanthan Namboodiri and Mannathu Padmanabhan could not succeed.

Vaikom veerar E.V,. Ramaswami Naiker, TN kalaipukcmca.blogspot.com/

Only on request volunteers from Tamil Nadu arrived including Thiru E.V Ramaswamy Naicker of Erode, a leader of ‘Self-Respect Movement’ and a Brahmin baiter, participated in the protest and courted arrest twice; he was released soon after the demise of the king. He and his workers gave full support to the satyagraha.

en.wikipedia.org

The hard-won victory of Vaikom Sathyagraha was due to toil of reformers like T. K. Madhavan and others from Travanacore region and the collective efforts of other reformers. Mention may be made of Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai (2 January 1878 – 25 February 1970) who was a social reformer and freedom fighter from the south-western state of Kerala. As the founder of the Nair Service Society (NSS), which claims to represent the Nair community (forming 12.10% ( as per KMS 2011) of the population of the state, he gave full support to the temple entry satyagraiha. So was Channankara Velayudhan Pillai Raman Pillai (19 May 1858 – 21 March 1922), also known as 'C. V' who was a pioneering playwright and novelist of Malayalam literature.

T.K Madhavan and others instilled confidence in the marginalized castes and urged them to assert their basic fundamental civil rights of accessing public spaces and their equal rights in the places of worship. To him and other sataygrahis like Sri Kelappan, God does not have discriminatory eyes and only the egotistical men do impose this kind of wrong inequality before God.
Besides, Madhavan submitted a resolution to the Travancore legislative council, demanding equal rights to temple entry and worship for all people regardless of castes and communities. In addition, he submitted repeated memorandums to the royal government for lifting the ban for marginalized castes to access Vaikom’s temple roads. These fundamental efforts made by him and others snowballed into Vaikom Satyagraha that paved the way for the entry of Harjans (dalits) into the temples of Kerala. Towards the end, M.K. Gandhi reached Vaikom and gave it the finishing touch.
Tit-bits:
In Today's political scenario across India and, in particular Tamil Nadu, the situation regarding Dalit youths is a matter of concern. Though the Dalits get better job opportunities, etc., they lack dedication and self improvement because they do not have good guides to help them out. Invariably, they have become puppets in the hands of certain narrow-minded, selfish political leaders who use them as trump cards and freely indulge in divisive politics. In addition to it, they are being enticed by other religious heads to get them converted to their religion. This political exploitation of dalit youths under dubious and misleading leadership continues unabated. None of the leaders teach them to lead a purposeful life and achieve success by way of hard work and integrity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narayana_Guru
https://www.indianetzone.com/61/vaikom_satyagraha.htmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._V._Raman_Pillai

Madurai: famous meenakshi temple. wordatwork.tv

In Tamil Nadu like Kerala and elsewhere, low caste people were denied entry into Hindu temples prior to 1939. So, they had to have their own temple in their respective places and worship there. Even to day, in certain pockets of TN, Dalits are not allowed to either draw water or take the dead body to the cremation ground through the streets dominated by caste Hindus. However, these incidences do occur in the interior villages and are slowly disappearing. Two persons made contribution toward the entry of Dalits in the Hindu temple. One is EV. Ramasami Naicker of Erode, a reformist and the other being A. Vaidhyanatha Aiyar of Madurai. the former took the leadership in Vaikom at the critical time and gave a direction to the satyagraha. Like EVR, earlier T V Subramaniam and J S Kannapan and K A P Viswanathan (in 1927) in TN helped the low caste people assert their rights to enter temples and courted arrest and their contributions deserve appreciation. They led several protests for more than a decade or so before 1939.

en.wikipedia.org

In Tamil Nadu , then Madras Presidency A. Vaidyanatha Iyer (1890–1955), also known as Madurai Vaidyanatha Iyer or Aiyar, a reputed lawyer (native of Thanjavur district), freedom-fighter and social reformer dedicated his life to the cause of Harijan welfare. Vaidyanatha Iyer was the President of the Tamil Nadu Harijan Seva Sangh that he founded for the benefits of Dalits. Further, he happened to be a member of INC the party that took active role in freedom struggle. He mustered all the courage and made a bold decision to enter the Madurai temple with harijans. It was a risky thing as the society was conservative to the core. Mr Aiyar did what others were afraid to do, something like blazing an unknown dangerous trail. With full support from none other than Sri. Pasumpon Muthuramalingam Thevar, an associate of Nethaji Bose, a great patriot and spritualist, he spearheaded the temple entry movement in Madurai city, then in Madras Presidency in 1939. The Temple Entry Authorization and Indemnity Act was passed by the government headed by C. Rajagopalachari in 1939 by which restrictions prohibiting Shanars and Dalits from entering Hindu temples were done away with. Vaidyanatha Iyer entered the Meenakshi temple at Madurai on July 7, 1939. accompanied by L. N. Gopalasamy and six of his Dalit friends, P. Kakkan, Muruganandam, Chinniah, Purnalingam and Muthunars. It became a sensitive and most-discussed matter in this part of tamil desam.

Tamil Nadu, first temple entryin 1939, Madurai timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Seventy-four years down the line in March 2013, Tamil Nadu Harijan Seva Sangam recalled the historic movement and recollected his contributions to the cause of the downtrodden on Wednesday, his 58th death anniversary. Iyer followed the instructions of Mahatma Gandhi to fight for the justice of Harijans. “The best part of the movement was that a person from a community that did not want the Harijans to enter temples raised his voice in support of them. His wife and other family members were kind enough to let the Harijans stay in their house and eat with them,” Sri Srinivasan of the Harjana sangh said. Mr. Aiyar earned the ire of several prominent people. However, then CM Rajaji, his close friend, helped him out. Sri. Pasumpon Muthuramalingam Thevar, stood the ground and justified his cause.
Unfortunately, the Tamil Nadu School History text books do not carry any chapter on the first entry of Harijans at Madurai temple headed by Vaidyanatha Aiyar for certain'' political reasons'' which is really unfortunate.Ignoring some ones' true contribution toward the society or just twisting the facts is not going to do good for the future generation.
https://www.thehindu.com/n ews/cities/Madurai/man-who-led-harijans-into-the-temple/article4500396.ece
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.Vaidyanatha_Iyer

Sivasailum temple, Tirunelveli, copper temple flag staff. myspiritualtreasure.co

Sivasailam Temple, tirunelveli dist. TN .hellotravel.com

Tiruneveli district of south Tamil Nadu has innumerable historical Shiva and Vishnu temples besides, temples dedicated to various Goddesses. The Shiva temple close to Azhwarkuruchi is a popular one. Located just 3 miles from Azhwarkurichi in Sivasailam village is an old big Shiva temple called Sivasailanathar Paramakalyani Amman Kovil, popularly known as Sivasailam Temple (west facing). This place itself is a serene one as Sivasailam is surrounded by Velli Malai (Silver Hill), part of Western Ghats and Mulli Malai, and is close to the Gadananathi River. It is one of the Thevara Vaippu Sthalams.

Sivasailam temple, Tirunelveli distt. TN. tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com

Here God's consort is Paramakalyani Amman and the shrine is just near the main sanctum. Here rituals and pujas are done on daily basis as it is done for the main deity. The unique feature of the goddess' idol is her emerald green cheeks .
The legend has it that a landlord was doing milk business by keeping numerous milch cows and employees to take care of them and gather milk daily. One day, for no reason, all the cows, in unison, refused to give milk. Taken aback, the employees told the landlord about the cows and their refusal to give milk. Being a sensitive person, he fired all the employees and drove away the cows from his pasture land. The cows gathered atop the hill and flooded the milk from their udder on the hill sides.

At the place of flooding of milk a shivalingam appeared. Later the deity came to called Sivasailanathar, the presiding God of this temple. Here his mount (vahana) bull (nandi) is in a sitting position in the mandap (hall), facing the sanctum/ garbagriha. It is a beautifully made stone-carved nandi right behind the Dwajasthambam (flag staff).

Nandi, Sivasailam temple, Thirunelveli distt. TN..findmessages.com

It is believed that once when a Pandya received prasadam and also a garland from the temple priest here. Accidentally, the king saw a shred of hair on the garland. The king became furious because it would diminish the sanctity of the garland removed from the God's idol. The king got angry with the priest. With a view to saving the priest from the fury of the ruler, the God gave the king dharsan. The God himself came to the rescue of the priest as he happened to be a dedicated devotee of Shiva.

The main idol in the garbagriha is a Suyambuligam - self-manifested (formed naturally in the ground). The image is made without use of any chisel or any sharp tool. An interesting aspect of this image is the presence of few lines on the back- something like hair. This can be seen when the priest does aarthi at the back of the linga, visible from the prakara (prathakshana path). Hence the god is calledSadaiappar.

63 tamil saint/poets (nayanmars)tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com

The temple, like many old Hindu temples, has a number of mandapams (ritual pavilions) - Nartha, Maa, Aartha and Mani.The 5-tier main gopuram or tower carries countless small statues of gods and goddesses in the Hindu pantheon. The gilded vimanam enhances the appearance of the main tower. There are shrines dedicated to God Ganapathi, Karthkaya (Murugan), south facing
Dakshinamurthy, Sri nataraja, Sun God/Surya and Moon God /Chandran, etc. There are idols of great Tamil saints/poets 63 Nayanmars all facing south enshrined all along the wall with their names on the wall.

Svasailum Temple tank. TN tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com

From the stone inscription of Sivasailam temple found in Poovankurichi lake in 1916, we get the information that the landlords of Ambur, Alwarkurichi, Kadayam, Krishnapuram, Poovankurichi, etc collected tax from people to main the temple and conduct temple festivals, etc more than 100 years ago. Inscription found in Kizha Ambur tells us about King Ravivarman.

For the annual chariot festival, the temple has two wooden chariots bases one for the main God and the smaller one for the Goddess. This festival brings in thousands of devotees every year and it a big annual festival event.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sivasailam_Temple

Vanamamalai Perumal Temple, Nanguneri, TN just dialin

Vanamamalai Perumal Temple, Nanguneri, TN tripadvisor

This more than 1000 plus year old Vanamamalai Perumal (Vishnu) Temple, also known as Arulmigu Sree Vanamamalai Totatri Perumal Temple,Nanguneri (Tirunelveli Dist.), TN, one of the 108 Divyadesam shrines, is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu. Located on the banks of Thamiraparani river this historical temple was glorified in the Divya Prabandham, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints including Nammazhwar from the 6th–9th centuries AD. Here, Perumal's consort Lakshmi was born as Varamanagi and, it is believed, God married Varamangai (thayyar), the daughter of the pontiff of Vanamamalai Mutt; she took the avatar here to cleanse this place of bad odor and pollution caused by two demons who were put to death by God Vishnu. Built on a land covering 5 acres of land by the Pandya kings with additional contributions from later rulers of Madurai Vijayanagara kings and Nayaks, on the festival days devotees throng this holy place. Sacred tank: Setru Thamarai,; sthaviruksham (tree): Mango.

Tamil nadu: Tirunelveli Dt. Nanguneri location map www.mapsofindia.com

The temple has two prakarams (covered prathakshana path) and various pillared halls. Vanamamalai Perumal is seen seated on the Adisesha, the serpent. Sridevi and Bhoodevi, the two consorts of Perumal are seen on his either sides in the second prakara. The festival hall in the second prakara is an important one

Vanamamalai Perumal Temple, Nanguneri, TN.inspirock.com

Vanamamalai Perumal Temple, Nanguneri, TNinspirock.com

The special aspect of this temple is it is a sanctified shetram
with presiding deity being a suyambhu moorthy - self-manifested.
Of the eight, one is in Badrinath, North India. Daily abishekam/thirumanjanam is done to the moorthy with Gingelly oil, a rare tradition among Vishu temples. Seven other temples are Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple, Bhu Varaha Swamy temple, and Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in South India and Saligrama, Naimisaranya, Pushkar and Badrinath Temple in North India. Temple celebrates 12 annual temple festivals and among them, the most interesting one ischariot festival (Tamil month of Chittirai (March–April).   Vanamamalai Perumal who is believed to have appeared before Garuda and Adisesha (serpent), is worshiped during the six kala puja. This temple is being managed by a private Mutt - an ancient srivaishnava mutt established by Ponnadikkal jiyar on the orders of Manavla mamunigal. Ponnadikkal jiyar was the first and foremost disciple. It is is one of the most important mutts of srivaishnava sath sampradhayam.Vaiksana Agama sastra is being followed.

Vanamamalai Perumal Temple, Nanguneri, TN flicker.com

Brhamananda Purana, Skanda Purana and Narasimha Purana carry details about the deity here. Scholars say that Sage Narada came to know about the features of Thodatri and Sargunamangai from God Shiva. The legend has it that Lakshmi, god's consort is believed to have born at this place as Srivaramangai (meaning woman) and later married him. The place is referred to as Varangunamangai. Adisesha, the serpent upon whose coiled bed God Vishnu takes ananthasayanam and his vahana - mount Garuda did penance to be in the shadow of the lord. Garuda became the guard of vaikuntha, the abode of of Vishnu.
Vishnu is considered as alankara priyar (one who is fond of decoration), and Shiva as abisheka priyar (one who prefers daily ablution/ anointing). But, here Perumal needs Nithya abishekam, a rare puja ritual.

Vanamamalai Perumal Temple, Nanguneri, TN just dialin

Once a childless king Karya worshiped God Vishnu who advised him to visit Nanguneri and dig at a particular spot. Upon digging, he saw blood oozing out and to stop it he performed special puja with oil everyday at that place. Blessed with children, the ruler, as a gesture of gratitude, built the temple in that place. The Gingelly oil daily being used here for thirumanjanam/abishekam is stored in bottles to be given to devotees and it has medicinal cure.
Inside this temple, there is an oil well of 25 feet depth and 15 feet width. The well doesn't have water but has vegetable oil, presumably abisheka oil. It is said it cures many diseases.
The deity here holds Pryoga Chakra and whoever prays to this chakara , will be free from enemies.
Stone inscriptions in this temple throw details on gifts from Sundara Pandyan I (1236), tax collections by Kulasekara Pandyan I, gifts from Sudara pandyan II (1984) and Vikraama Pandyan III (1299). The temple, for sometimes, was under the rulers of Vijayanagara and of Travancore state. In 1447, the temple came under the control of Vanamamalai Mutt and consecration of the idol was done by pontiff from Tirupathi. Earlier, Namboodris had the rights to conduct pujas there. During 1794, the Nawab of Carnatic, Abdul Umra, endowed extensive lands to the Mutt.

Vanamamalai Perumal Temple, Nanguneri, TN. en wikipedia org.

The major festival - the twelve-day Brahmotsavam is celebrated during the Tamil month of Thai (January - February). It is one of the temples where you can get the Aathma Gnanam (Self-realization), Aathma Arul (blessing) and Aathma Bhakthi (blissful devotion), and the entire self cleansed and a visit to this quiet temple is a good bet. Certain historical temples provide us a chance to achieve this self- purification for blissful spiritual life.

.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanamamalai_Perumal_temple
https://www.divyadesam.com/hindu/temples/vaanamaamalai-temple.s html

A forge-welded Iron Cannon in Thanjavur,.oldindianphotos.i

Raja Gopalaswami beerangi - cannon, Thanjavur TN. rarebooksocietyofindia.org

The city of Thanjavur, TN is one of the oldest cities in India and in the past served as the capitol of Chola rulers, later Pandyas, Vijayanagara, Nayaks (Sevappa Nayak (1532–80), the Vijayanagar viceroy of Arcot, established himself as an independent monarch in 1532) and finally Marathas ( conquered in 1674 by Ekoji I:1675–84). The kingdom was in a smart way came under the East India Co in 1855 through the Doctrine of Lapse. Shivaji II (1832–55), the last Thanjavur Maratha ruler, died without a legitimate male heir to the throne. The British referred to the city as Tanjore in their records.

part of Thanjavur fort wall, Tamil Nadu. www.bl.uk/onlinegallery

Many visitors to this heritage city, where the 1010 year old Big temple dedicated to God Shiva (UNESCO recognized world heritage site) and the palace complex are popular tourist destinations, never visited one important monument called Rajagopala swami Beerangi (Cannon) in a place called "Beerangi medu'', an elevated (25'high) - defense barricade in the Eastern Rampart of the Thanjavur Fort Three good reasons could be attributed as to why visitors miss this historical site: 01. Lack of publicity by the tourism deptt. 02. Poor upkeep ans filth around this site and 03. Encroachments and buildings close to the monument site damage the heritage value of this place. This thing happened though a govt. warning notice board is very much there. The board at the entrance of the fleet of steps leading to the tower reads: “This monument has been declared to be of National Importance under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological sites and Remains Act 1958. Further, this place is not properly barricaded to discourage trespassers. Thanjavur Fort, Tamil Nadu, India (Rajagopala Beerangi) was used in 1650 during the Nayak period to protect Thanjavur from enemies who entered through Keelavasal (east gate). This huge cannon was cast at Kollumedu near Thanjavur and erected in 1620 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_largest_cannon_by_caliber)..............

The Thanjavur chapter of the Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) several years ago took steps to protect and popularize the site and to maintain it well. It also organized heritage walk to the site and celebrated India Tourism day with foreign tourists. But, this place still remains as it was before and the authorities concerned should come forward and allocate funds to renovate this site. Presently, lots of civil works are going on under the Central Govt.'s Smart City Program. This is the right time to renovate the heritage site that carries the huge cannon close to the old bus stand.

enc brtiitanica

Unfortunately, predominance of local population have no idea whatsoever about this heritage site where stands a huge cannon made of forged welded iron mounted during the reign of Raghunatha Nayak (1600-1645 CE). This 25 ft long cannon weighing roughly 22 Tonnes that does not show any sign of rust in spite of long exposure to vagaries of weather is believed to be one of the largest cannons in the world. The outer diameter is 37 inches and the inner diameter is 25 inches. It is capable of firing cannon ball (iron) of 1000 Kg wight. Perched atop an old structure, it was set in a strategically good place close to the East gate (Keezha vaasal) from where the enemy could access the fort. Yet another advantage is this site had a good open range and the guards on the watch tower could spot any suspicious activities at far off places.

Raja Gopalaswami beerangi -cannon , thanjavur Thanjavurtourism.com

The site where this massive cannon is on display in the past six or seven years is not well taken care of either by the local municipal administration or by the Archaeological Survey of India - ASI because of preoccupation with other civil work, etc and paucity of funds for certain specified monuments. Now, it is a place of neglect, a heaven for anti-social people, dunks and hobos.
The presence of trashes, broken plastic bottles, plastic bags, eatable etc., around the 17th century forge-welded iron cannon is an eye-soar. A nice heritage object of historical importance is just lying there not taken proper care.

Thanjavur cannon. insa.nic.in/

some historians believe this huge cannon was cast at Kollumedu near Thanjavur and others are of the view that it was made by Danes in Denmark. The Nayaks rulers of Thanjavur had a close contact with the Danish govt. and leased out the land in Thrangampadi (Tranquebar) in Nagapatnam dist. TN for the purpose of establishing a Danish settlement with a fort (Fort Dansborg along the Coromandel coast ) and construction of a Church there in. The church was built in 1701 A.D by Rev. Bartholomaus Ziegenbalg, the first Protestant missionary in India and the Church is believed to be the first Protestant Church in India The Danish fort complex, etc is a heritage monument.

This large 400 year old cannon is not made by casting and is forge-welded with 43 long iron plates. Once this cannon had 8 iron rings to push and lift the cannon. But now, only two rings are found. The outer circle is 300 mm in diameter, the inner circle is 150 mm in diameter. Considering the time, length and weight and its metal alloy that went into its making; it was an excellent metallurgical technique employed by the workers then. The concrete supports rest on the ground. The cannon is a muzzle-loading type cannon, wherein the gunpowder and the projectile objects are loaded from the muzzle (i.e. front end) of the cannon.

Such an heritage site in the center of Thanjavur needs repairs and renovation as early as possible. My dad used to take me to the top of this structure in 1954 when I was a student in an elementary school in this town. I could see the palace complex, arsenal tower, etc., on the west as well as the impressive red colored Ranee clock tower at the corner of Gandhiji road and Hospital road. Near the monument there were no buildings; no encroachments. This place turned sour and lost its value after 1968. Since then it has been in a poor state and lots of encroachments had taken place after that and no action was taken by either by the municipal authority or by the ASI.

Nayak ruler Raghunatha Nayak was the greatest of the Nayak rulers of Thanjavur. Danish and English traders were keen to trade with his prosperous kingdom. During the reign of Maratha king Serfoji I (1711 - 1729 AD), a literary work on Thanjavur called Sarabhariiji Vilisam mentioned the the presence of an Agniyantra (fire weapon) on the Eastern Rampart of the fort. The elevated part on which the large cannon is mounted was known as 'kizhaku kothalam ' ( Kezhakku Alangam) during the Nayak rule. The entire outer space around the fort comprising all the ramparts on four sides had a wide and deep moat with a long open range to face the enemy attack (if there was one) and for easy direct firing from the fort as in other famous forts of India. The cannon is said to have been constructed in the Manojipatti area of Thanjavur. Historical records mention that a locality in this area known as kollimedu was very famous for iron works.
Tit-bits/ Vintage town:

vintage image massive gun,Tanjore, facebook

Above image: This photograph of a view of the massive gun, Tanjore, Tamilnadu, is part of a collection entitled 'Photographic Views in Tanjore and Trivady ' (Madras, 1858) and was taken by Linnaeus Tripe in 1858. It shows a view of the barrel of the massive cannon (length 24 feet 5 inches), with a 'native' posed beside it for scale. The photographer writes: ''It has received the name of Rajah Gopala, and as this is a name of Vishnu it may be inferred that it was made by one of the Vaishnava Nayakar kings. It certainly belongs to that period. It is said to have been once fired, on which occasion the inhabitants of the Fort were warned by beat of drum to leave their houses. A trail of powder was laid for two miles and 40 minutes elapsed before the fire reached the gun.
The sound, it seems, was as if Mount Meru had exploded'''...'https://www.facebook.com/TheRoyalMarathas/photos/this-photograph-of-a-view-of-the-massive-gun-tanjore-tamilnadu-is-part-of-a-coll/446413338806957/
Part of Thanjavur old moat and rampart:

1869 image. Thanjavur, TN old moat and ramparts . -in.facebook.com

Above image:''View of the old moat and ramparts, Tanjore, taken by Samuel Bourne in 1869. The outer gopura of the Brihadishvara temple can be seen to the right of the moat. Tanjore dominated the political history of the region for nearly thousand years as the capital of the Cholas (9th-13th centuries), the Nayakas (1535-1676) and the Marathas (1676-1855). The circular fort surrounded by a moat dates from the 18th century Maratha period. Within the fort there is the Palace of the Nayakas and the most famous Chola monument, the Brihadishvara Temple is to the south-west''. .......https://hi-in.facebook.com/TheRoyalMarathas/photos/view-of-the-old-moat-and-ramparts-tanjore-taken-by-samuel-bourne-in-1869-the-out/446413335473624/
https://www.dtnext.in/News/TamilNadu/2018/06/07040207/1075173/100-houses-along-moat-in-Thanjavur-removed-as-part-.vpf
https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/living-history-a-cannon-in-monumental-neglect/article2848696.ece
https://insa.nic.in/writereaddata/UpLoadedFiles/IJHS/Vol3_2005_02_RAJAGOPALA THE MASSIVE IRON CANNON AT THANJAVUR IN TAMIL NADU.pdf

Thanjavur Rani's Clock Tower, Tamil Nadu. Times Content

Please refer to my post: https://navrangindia.blogspot.com/2017/02/heritage-structure-ranis-clock-tower.html on Thanjavur Ranee clock tower which is reproduced ''verbatim'' by Thanjavur information/ Thanjavur tourism (http://thanjavur.info/thanjavur-tourism/rajappa-park-ranees-clock-tower-thanjavur. It is very unfortunate they neither mentioned about my above post; nor did they give credit to some of photos taken by my son Sri. Ramakrishna Anand.!! I wish they had done it as a courtesy.... ................
Among many historical buildings of Thanjavur district that are in dire need of preservation and restoration, the red-brick walled tall structure -Ranee's Clock tower is the foremost one. Being an old town in Tamil Nadu it was in AD 1799, Tanjore (then an Anglicized name) became a British Principality. The British rule, under the East India company, was established based on the principle of the Doctrine of Lapse as the then Maratha ruler did not have a legal heir to the throne.

doctrine of Lapse authored by Dalhousie of ESI www.facebook.com

This doctrine whose author was Lord Dalhousie, governor-general of India (1848–56; of East India Co.), was a dubious one mainly concerned with questions of succession to Hindu kingdoms. A sort of corollary to the doctrine of paramountcy, by which Great Britain, as the ruling power of the Indian subcontinent, claimed the legal control of the subordinate Indian states and so also the regulation of their succession. The paramount powers never accepted legal adoptions by Hindu rulers.

Location map. Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.Weather Forecast

The tall octagonal brick building as tall as a 8-story structure, adjacent to old bus stand at the busy intersection of Gandhiji Road and Rajah Mirasudar Hospital road, is an impressive Maratha monument built in 1883 when king Serfoji II ruled Thanjavur. The structure built in an Indo-European style is made of brick with lime mortar. The unique feature of this old clock tower is it was fitted on it with marble framework. A British made clock, all the faces (four in number) is connected with a common Pendulum. Till the late 1950s the clock used to chime that could be heard in many parts of the fort area of Thanjavur town and I myself, when I was a boy, heard its resonating, soothing sound for several years. Part of the reason was there was not so much urban din and noise in this town which has become noisy in the past one decade. One could see a few buses, cars (mostly foreign - USA: Ford Prefect, Studebaker, Pontiac, Chevrolet; UK: Hillman, Morris Minor, Vauxhall, Vanguard, Standard motors, etc., and trucks plying on the well-kept dust-free roads.

Thanjavur Rani's Clock Tower, Tamil Nadu.commons.wikimedia.org

Among the attractive features of this clock tower, its green colored wooden ornate projecting balconies with a nice roof on all four sides overlooking the roads, etc and the spiral wooden stairway in side the tower through which those balconies could be accessed were in bad shape due to poor upkeep. In particular, those wooden balconies perching close to the top need immediate attention. On the ground, the park used to be well-kept and in the evening visitors to the park (Rajappa park) could read news papers in the library ( built in the name of Venugopal Naidu, former chairman of the Thanjavur Municipality) or listen to the AIR (All India radio) evening radio programs. Nowadays, the park is not well-kept and on the bench one may see unwanted people taking long nap in the tree shades. One municipal employee told me they would take steps to beautify the Ranee's clock tower and the surrounding areas in the near future.
Prior to 1968 around the front of the Rajappa park, both on the Gandhiji road and Hospital road, there were no shop buildings and people could walk comfortably on the sidewalks (platforms). From the then old popular and ever busy Coffee hotel ''Mangalambika'' (famous for piping hot flavored coffee and tasty Rava Dosai and Patnam pagoda) right across the clock tower one could see the park as well as the base of clock tower clearly; the place around the monument was barricaded and maintained well. There used to be a coronation arch (connected to a colonial event) across the Gandhiji road near the park and it was removed long ago because it caused traffic jams in that busy area.

Why is it called Ranne's clock tower? Out of the total sum of Rs.19,000.00 spent on the construction of this clock tower in 1833 during the reign of Raja Serfoji, the Maratha queen's contribution was Rs. 12,000.00 - a whooping sum in those days. Hence, the clock tower was named after the Ranee. It is is so tall if you traveled by train from Kumbakonam toward Thanjavur, after passing the Vadavar railway station (now it is removed), you could see at the distance the clock tower building like a tall stick protruding on the distant horizon along with the palace Arsenal tower and the big temple tower.
In 2011, the municipal authorities, along with the Rotary club of Thanjavur town renovated the old clock and replaced it with a new one. Unfortunately, after some period, it became defective and stopped working. Since then, the clock has not yet been either repaired or replaced. Since such old mechanical clocks and spares are not available on the market, the authorities need to replace the clock with an electronic one.

Recently, as part of the Smart City program introduced by the Central Govt, the Municipal corporation removed all the illegally built shops along the clock tower area, besides structures built on the one side of the entire stretch of the old Ramparts including the East gate market place. They were once part of a big moat protecting direct access to the old fort ( it is believed it is under the ASI control).
In the Clock tower park there is a poorly maintained bust of King George V(1865 - 1936) and the inscription below the bust reads: “His Imperial Majesty King George V, Emperor of India. 6th May 1935 Silver Jubilee. Presented by Mr. T.N. Kalidoss, B.A., B.L., an humble and loyal citizen of Tanjore (Shri.T.N. Kalidoss happened to be a practicing lawyer at Thanjavur attached to the Thanjavur Bar Council then and his father was a famous lawyer Sri. Naganatha Sastry whose residence was just across the old bus stand

Thanjavur Rani's Clock Tower, Tamil Nadu. Times Content

on the South rampart - presently Hotel Arya Bhavan is functioning there. As an old timer I am glad the inner part of the old house with kalyana koodam is being well maintained by the hotel owner. The front narrow passage used be an old space. Here, on a few occasions I used to play cricket with the lawyer's grandsons. The Ranee's clock tower carries a plaque mentioning the names of people from this town who died in WWI (1914 and 1918).
Tit-bits:

Thanjavur city map. Tamil Nadu. www.mapsofindia.com

I myself saw the wide and deep dry moat without water stretching all the way from the present old bus stand on the East and far beyond the recently demolished Thiruvalluvar Theater on the West side. Close to the Thiruvalluvar theater area there used to be a Small Town Bus Stand with 4 or 5 bays in the early 1950s. It was the main bus stand then for the entire town!!. It was not a pucca one and the roof was covered with coconut palm thatches. No long distance buses were available in those days from Thanjavur to places like Madurai and other cities. Some buses were run on coal gas, not on petrol. Most of them were efficiently operated by the private companies.
In the late 1950s, the then Tamil Nadu govt. reclaimed the moats and adjacent areas, filled them with dirt, etc., leveled them and converted into plain even ground. During the Congress ministry under dynamic Sri K. Kamaraj Nadar with efforts taken by Industries Minister R. Venkatraman, eminent local congress men like late Sri Parisuththa Nadar and well-known Poondi land lords- Vandayar bros of Thanjavur, an excellent, big modern bus stand was built and later on the near-by land in the early 1960s an Inter/Intra state Bus stand came up to go to Chennai city and other places. In those days, no shops were allowed to function inside the bus stand, blocking the pathway. The police were so strict, at night if you ride the bike on any street without a head light, you will be fined. When some body uses the public place in the town to urinate, he will be taken to the police station. At night couple of police used to be on duty, patrolling the streets. The entire state was a dry one. No liquor or local Sarayam sale across the state was allowed. The crime rate was almost at the lowest level. After 1968s, the Thanjavur Main Bus Stand, the clock tower and adjoining park lost their glamor because of encroachment on the sidewalks near the Rajappa park and inside the bus stand and close to the bays. Sowly, a chotic situation arose and the bus travelers had to pass through many hawkers on the path way to get to the bus.
As for Ramanathan Chettiar Hall, just across the Union Club building close to the old bus stand, it was, I was told, donated to the municipality by a rich Chettiar family. It was, in those days like a town hall - a venue for dance programs, Tamil dramas and public meetings. I myself along with my school buddies saw the late Cho Ramaswami's hilarious drama - Mohd. Bin Tuglak. It was a house-full show and, for a week or so the lampooning drama was the talk of the town and the audience had a good laugh.

As for the Raja Mirasudar Hospital (RMH) on the Hospital road, in the 1950s and early 1960s, it was well maintained by the then govt. and they gave good public health services to the people. The poor patients were well taken care of by the hospital management - by nurses and doctors. They were given free quality bread/ bun, food, etc and good quality milk almost daily. In the absence of a Medical College and a well-equipped modern hospital then, the entire town and adjacent villages were dependent on the RM hospital. They, with particular care, handled dreadful diseases like Cholera, Smallpox, etc that were threats to the people in those days in the summer time. As in other parts of the world, medical services were not well-advanced as they are today. Though most of the people were leading a hand to mouth life in those days, they led a contended life. Corruption in public places was looked upon as a sin by the people and govt. employees. Corruption did exist as pockets here and there and did not affect the poor. The people's only sources of entertainment were the movie halls in the cities and towns; the touring theaters in small villages were equally popular. Thanjavur town had a large tree cover and the air pollution was at the minimum. As a senior citizen, I am missing the old charm of the this historical town and the pollution-free environment. http://www.thehindu.com/2005/12/08/stories/2005120804430200.html
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/architect-calls-to-give-heritage-buildings-in-thanjavur-lifeline/article2067160.ece

Bharat rathna MS amma (1916 - 2004) greatest Carnatic musician. cinestaan.com

More often than not we've heard people mention about women's empowerment in our society. In India, where women were well respected in the society centuries ago, in the later period, for various reasons, they were relegated down to the other end. In spite of bottlenecks and roadblocks in our society, since early freedom struggle, daring women have never failed to show their capability and courage to deal with any tight situation. In the past few decades, women empowerment has gained importance and,
in particular, in the last decade, we have seen Indian women donning roles in the fields once dominated by men. Example in the realm of flying aircraft, war planes high altitude dangerous mountaineering, heading corporate conglomerates, decision-making process in politics, commerce, etc. They, in a way, come under the umbrella of empowerment, accepting challenges as part of decision-making process in important fields. Empowerment gives women the ability to gain power, confidence and experience over their own lives, society, and in their communities. Women get a chance to avail themselves of opportunities available to them without any limits and and restrictions such as in education, various professions and social lifestyle. Empowerment is about creating an awareness and preparing them to make life-determining decisions in the midst of many societal problems and taking the country forward along with men.

Strong woman. quoteambition.com

Today being woman's day, I dedicate this post to the following great Indian women of by-gone era; Srimathi.M.S. Subbulakshmi, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy, Mrs.Rukmini Devi Arundale: Rani (queen) Velu Nachiyar (a great freedom fighter). What was special about them? They made a mark in their respective fields not because of their innate skill but because of their ability to persevere and hang in there with courage and commitment when facing mounting problems. They emerged victorious after a long struggle.

Born on 16 September 1916 in Madurai, Madras Presidency, India M.S. Subbulakshmi (Kunjamma to her family ) was known as the Queen of Music; here parents were famous Veena player Shanmukavadivu Ammal and Subramania Iyer. Dedicated her life to Carnatic Classical music in which she was a dominant personality for several decades, MS was the recipient of Bharat Ratna -second woman to achieve this feat and the first Indian musician to have received the Ramon Magsaysay award, roughly equal to Asia's Nobel Prize. Her grandmother Akkammal was a violinist.
Beginning her training in Carnatic music at a very young age under the expert guidance of doyen in Carnatic music late sri Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, being smart as she was, MS had mastered the nuances of this classical form of music, quite popular in South India (most of the compositions were in the Telugu language native to Andhra) and subsequently she also got trained in Hindustani music under Pandit Narayanrao Vyas. Her mother happened to a regular stage performer and her family's musical background was quite helpful to her. Her mother and well wishers provided a nice ambiance conducive to her further progress and advances in the frontier of various phases of Classical Carnatic music. Yet another advantage she had was her drive and keen interest in the classical music and her innate ability to absorb it and adopt it to her interest. Her musical talent was further shaped by her additional training under the greats teachers like
Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer, Mazhavarayanendal Subbarama Bhagavathar and Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar. The latter guru was quite famous in the Karikudi area and was quite popular in those days.

MS with lata and other women artists. .livemint.com

Above image: M.S. Subbulakshmi with singer Lakshmi Shankar (from left), Hindi and Tamil actor-dancer Vyjayanthimala Bali, Film singer Lata Mangeshkar and daughter Radha Vishwanathan, in 1994 in Chennai, TN .........................
Can you imagine that Subbulakshmi got a chance to make her first public performance, at the tender age of eleven, in 1927; the venue was a divine place - 100 pillar hall inside the Rockfort Temple complex, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu (then Madras Presidency). What counted most interesting was her accompanying artists. They were Mysore Chowdiah on the violin and Dakshinamurthy Pillai on the mridangam ( a South Indian classical percussion instrument) and these were artists of great repute in those days. This program was organized by none other than the Tiruchirappalli-based Indian National Congress leader
F. G. Natesa Iyer. After making several public performances she took the right decision and moved over to Madras (Chennai) in 1936. Here, she made film debut in in a Tamil movie Sevasadan in May, 1938 opposite F. G. Natesa Iyer. The movie was based on a Tamil drama directed by late K. Subrahmanyam, (an advocate and father of vintage Tamil Cinema). It is one of the early Tamil films to be set in a contemporary social setting. The film deals with prostitution and women's emancipation. It has a strong political thrust despite being a musical. The plot has strong feminist views. Sitalakshmi, a Brahmin widow, played by MS was the main character in that film. It was a commercially successful film. She also acted in several other Tamil movies and the famous ones being Sakunthala (1940) and Meera (1949), her last film directed by popular American director Ellis R Dunga.,

Nehru with MS Subbulakshmi in 1947. Courtesy West Virginia State Archives, USA

She was honored as a resident artist - Asthana Vidhwan of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. Tirupati Urban Development Authority (TUDA), Andhra state installed a bronze statue of M.S. Subbulakshmi at the Poornakumbham circle in the busy part of temple town. It was unveiled by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister late Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy on 28 May 2006, indeed a great honor for a distinguished musician who gave several ''Free'' musical performances and made countless donations. She was a great devotee of the Kanchi seer Periyavar and others of sri Sankarachariyar Mutt of Kanchipuram, TN. At Tirumala Balaji temple, almost daily in the early morning (at Thirupalli ezhuchchi) the devotees will hear her soulful rendition of Vishnu Subrabatham sung by her and Mrs. Radha Viswanathan (daughter of the famous journalist Sadhasivam's first wife.). Sri Sadashivam who happened to be the closest associate of late C. Rajagopala Chari (Rajaji), the first Gov. Gen. of independent India and former CM of Madras Presidency, married MS on 10 July 1940 in the presence of Rajaji, late Kalki Krishnamurthy and others.

Harewood (the director of the famous Edinburgh festival) invited her to perform at the 1963 Edinburgh festival. Her wonderful music concert received excellent reviews from the London press, contributing to her rising global popularity. Following year
invited by the then UN Secretary General, U Thant, MS' music concert at the General Assembly in New York on United Nations Day- October 23, 1964 was a popular one. It was a seven-week concert tour in the USA by her talented team of accompanists, comprising V.V. Subramaniam (violin), T.K. Murthy (mridangam), T.H. Vinayakaram (ghatam), and her daughters Radha Viswanathan (vocal) and Vijaya Rajendran (tanpura). Subbulakshmi successfully completed the tour with her husband, Kalki Sadasivam

'' Indian music is oriented solely to the end of divine communication. If I have done something in this respect entirely due to the grace of the Almighty who has chosen my humble self as a tool.''— M. S. Subbulakshmi,(Carnatic vocal musician).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._S._Subbulakshmi

Dr. Muthulakshmi_Reddy hisour.com

/Dr. Muthulakshmi_Reddy twitter.com

To day Indian women are far better than those in the past centuries when women empowerment or women's right in the society was quite unknown. In spite of open and subtle restrictions or certain norms prevalent in the Indian society, there were many women of wisdom and courage who struggled on their own to break away from the conservative path and and chose a different unknown path to achieve what they were truly born to be. The path chosen by them was a risky one and mentally they were prepared to fight all the odds facing them. This year's International women's day we have to turn the pages of Indian history to find out those unsung women from whom our 21st century women could draw inspiration to reach their cherished goals that will be of great help to our society. vIn this respect, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy, a Physician and a daring Social Reformer (1886 - 1968) was a maverick.

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Native of Puddukotta, then a small princely state of Tamil Nadu, Muthulakshmi was the first ever female legislator in the whole of British India, a recipient of Padma Bhushan award, first female student to be admitted to a men's college; first woman House Surgeon in the Government Maternity and Ophthalmic Hospital Chennai. Apart from it, she was a distinguished social reformer and a freedom fighter keenly interested in seeing India free from the British yoke; she was Deputy President of the Legislative Council, and the first Alderwoman of the Madras Corporation Avvai Home. Her most important and pioneering contribution was in 1954, when she opened a hospital for cancer patients in Chennai (Madras then) - Adyar Cancer Institute which is now one of the top institutes in India and is still a world-renowned institution today.
Born in the princely state of Pudukkottai of Tamil Nadu, despite restrictions being faced by girls in India of her time to study in a co-educational institution, she not only completed her higher

education but was was admitted into the medical profession. It was in 1907, she joined the Madras Medical College, where she achieved a brilliant academic record. After winning several gold medals and prizes Muthulakshmi graduated in 1912 with flying colors. Then she took the honor of being one of the first female doctors in India. Later, she had the great fortune of developing close contact with Annie Besant, an Irish woman who whole heatedly supported India 's freedom and later Mahatma Gandhiji.

Her father S. Narayanaswami Iyer, the Principal of Maharajah's College of Pudukotta was a trend-setter and broke the tradition and married Dr. Muthulakshmi's mother, Chandrammal, who happened to be from the so called Devadasi community. The Brahmin community, in those days, came down heavily on him for his marriage to a girl from other community. Consequently, Dr. Muthulakshmi became close to the maternal side of her family and made a decision to fight for the Devadasi community and their social issues. Undaunted Sri Narayanaswami Iyer, who happened to the grand father of the late well-known Tamil movie matinee idol of yesteryear Gemini Ganesan (his father was Ramaswami Aiyar, son of Narayana Swami Aiyar through his first wife) broke the tradition and sent Muthulakshmi to school despite protests from other communities in the town.Girls were denied education in those days.
Noticing her keen desire in studies, Muthulakshmi's teachers gave her special care/attention and when she came of age she continued her studies by tutoring at home. As for her marriage, she told her mother Chandrammal she would chose a groom who would respect her sentiments and treat her on par. At a young age, she impressed on the people close to her that women needed education to face the society and male domination. Though there were protests from the principal and others when she wanted to join the maharajah's college, the Maharajah of Pudukottai, being a humane person, stood the ground and admitted her to the college, besides giving her a scholarship. Having completed her studies in 1912 at Madras Medical College in Chennai, she became first woman House Surgeon in the Government Maternity and Ophthalmic Hospital for Women and Children in Chennai.

The foundation stone for Adyar Cancer Institute was laid by Sakthi Hari Haran in 1952. The hospital, which started functioning on 18 June 1954, is a lasting testimony to Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy and her multi-faceted personality. Presently more than 80,000 cancer patients are being treated a year.It was due to her relentless efforts despite opposition, she introduced the Anti-Polygamy Bill. With the passage of this bill in 1930, a major attempt was made for the suppression of brothels and immoral trafficking of women and children.

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Driving inspiration from Dr. Annie Besant, Dr. Muthulakshmi built Avvai Home in Madras in 1930 to serve the poor children and women, she also made arrangements to give free education, clothes and proper diet to orphans. The institution is still providing education and vocational training to many orphans. She was the Chairman of the All-Asian Conference of Women till 1935. She was also the fifth All-India Women's Conference Session, which was held in Lahore in 1930.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muthulakshmi_Reddy
https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/dr-muthulakshmi-reddy-the-unsung-feminist-of-india-1575138-2019-07-30
https://www.hisour.com/dr-muthulakshmi-reddi-landmarks-indian-history-zubaan-cancer-institute-16249/

Bharat Natyam dancer Rukmanu Arundale, alchetron.com

Rukmani Devi and George Arundale. theosophy.world

The pioneering woman, who shone like a beacon in the area of Classical Bharata Natyam and worked for its wide exposure across India and the globe was none other than Rukmini Devi Arundale (1904 - 1986) who herself was a well trained Indian Classical Dancer. She revived this great classical Indian dance that was confined to within Hindu temples, and only women belonging to one particular community were exclusively practicing it. A recipient of Padma Bhushan, she was the first woman to be nominated in Rajya Sabha. Apart, she also worked hard for the animal welfare and rights.

consciouscompanymedia.com

Born on February 29, 1904 at Madurai, then Madras Presidency, British India ( Tamil Nadu, India), Rukmini Devi's father, Neelakanta Shastri, was an engineer with the Public Works Department (PWD) and a scholar in Sanskrit, and Seshammal was a music lover. When Shastry moved over to Adyar in Madras, a chance meeting with Dr Annie Besant changed his perception over life and he became an active member of the Theosophical Society in 1901. It was a monistic (emphasizing unity in the diversity of all phenomena) spiritual organization with main office in Madras, though founded in New York City, USA. The young Rukmini also took keen interest in theosophy and its new approach to Indian culture, theater, music and dance. Her dad after retirement got a home close to the Theosophicl Soc. office in Adyar. Here, Rukmani's frequent meetings with the energetic British theosophist Dr George Arundal e - a close associate of Annie Besant and later the principal of the Central Hindu College in Varanasi(UP) slowly blossomed into a lasting bond with him. She married George Arundale ( Co-founder and president) in 1920.

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It was Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova who advised Rukmani Devi to study nuances of native Bharata natyam, a type of South Indian classical dance and promote it among the common people. It was traditionally performed within the four walls of Hindu temples and its resurrection became a necessity and the this art form was losing its sheen and was on the decline. The female performers known as Devadasis, were, in reality, dedicated to the deity of the temple and highly talented in music and other art forms . Unfortunately, certain hawks in the society got the talented females involved in prostitution over a course of time and, in consequence of it, they were not treated well in the society. Rukmani Devi Arundale took upon herself the responsibility of reforming the female artists and devising new direction and dynamism to the dying and boring stereotypical classical forms handed down to us after several generations. She wanted to emphasis the underlying aesthetic and spiritual aspect of this age told traditional dance form that is the legacy of Indian culture. Rukmani Devi, formally trained under Pandanallur Pani - introduced by late Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai, a respected Nattuvanar (male bharata natyam director), gave her debut public performance, at the Theosophical Society in 1935. That event not only revealed her mastery over the dance but also it happened to be the first ever, public performance staged outside the temple premises (as opposed to a temple event). Thus a new trend had been introduced so that upper-class Indian women could learn and practise this traditional dance form without any inhibition or hesitation. Prior to that event, the performers were looked down by other communities as a sort of widely stained low-class community.

To make the dances more attractive and appealing to the audience Rukmani Devi never failed to introduce aesthetically designed costumes, jewelry, and stage scenarios suitable to the numbers. Her dance-drama formats and choreography were aimed at promoting contemporary sophistication., in tune with modern trend without compromising on old social or traditional values. Being innovative as she was, she conceived and choreographed numerous bharata natyam episodes or pieces in the new style, a series of dances taken from the ancient Hindu Epic, the Ramayana, which have remained among her best-known works. She gave due importance to interplay of elements of stagecraft, lighting, costumes, music, and choreography in the newly transformed art forms to bring out the divinity and devotional experience. Her reason was quite clear. When you took the Indian art forms to the global platforms, the depth and nicety of Indian classical dances could be appreciated by the global community who wanted something new, something not seen before that would appeal to their heart and soul. In 1957 Rukmani Arundale received the Sangeet Natak Akademi (India’s national academy of music, arts, and dance) Award and in 1993 the Indian Parliament declared her foundation as an institution of national importance.

Rukmani Arundale. .mintageworld.com/

Rukmani was the most important revivalist of Bharatanatyam from its original 'sadhir' style prevalent among temple dancers -the Devadasis in the past. She removed the inherent eroticism of Sadhir and brought to light the spiritual and divinity aspects and made them suitable to all, in particular, Indian upper caste elite. She won numerous awards; besides Queen Victoria Silver Medal, Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, London, she won the following awards: the roll of honor by The World Federation for the Protection of animals, The Hague, Honorary Doctorate, Wayne State University, USA and Scrolls of Honor, County and City of Los Angeles'. She died on February 24, 1986, Chennai, Tamil Nadu).
''I can only say I did not consciously go after dance; it found me.
— Rukmini Devi Arundale

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rukmini_Devi_Arundale

Rani Velu Nachiyar of Sivaganga, TN, you tube.

Queen Velu Nachiyar of Sivaganga, TN istampgallery.com

A few days ago we celebrated International women's day and, as part of it, I covered great Indian women like M.S. Subbulakshmi, famous Carnatic Music Singer, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy, India's first woman legislator and founder of Adyar Cancer institute, Chennai, TN and Rukmani Arundale, a great Bharat Natyam exponent and founder of Kalashetra Foundation in Chennai, and who brought to light the spiritual and devotional aspects of Bharat natyam that was once performed by females within the confines of Hindu temples. In this post I again have covered a great, courageous Indian woman freedom fighter from South Tamil Nadu - Queen Velu Nachiyar of Sivaganga who took her tirade against the East India company's unjust rule far before the great rebellion of 1857-58.

The 18th century woman ruler of a small kingdom called Sivaganga in South Tamil Nadu was one among a few Indian women who, with firm determination, fought against the foreign aggressor - the English company and their hegemony. She daringly exposed their atrocities against the Indian natives and other indian rulers. Her war exploits as a woman made her a subject of many folklores in this part. She left behind a permanent mark in Indian History and her legacy will continue for many centuries down the line. Because of the English company's unethical and dishonest approach she lost her husband and the ruler's first wife, besides her own kingdom. Not withstanding all the pains and sufferings and life in exile never had she lost her trust and belief in getting back her kingdom. Just like the Phoenix bird that emerged alive from the ashes, she came back with more vigor and better motivated and, at last, seized her kingdom after driving the British and their alley Arcot Nawab and his army from her soil. A horrible blow to them by a courageous woman from Sivagangai Seemai.

Queen Velu nachiyar of Sivaganga, TN sschennai.blogspot.com

Rani Velu Nachiyar (1730-1789?) ruled her small kingdom with amble support from great warrior brothers Maruthu Pandiyar, patriots and a sworn enemies of the British. She became the first queen to have revolted against the mighty British and their oppressive rule and poor treatment of native people right on their own soil. Her fight for freedom from the British preceded the revolts by Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, Madhya Pradesh who boldly stood the ground and fought against the British and their way of land grabbing under the garb of the ''doctrine of Lapse,'' introduced by Lord Dalhousie. Indian states without a legal heir to the throne will be taken over by the English company and this doctrine does not recognize legal adoption of heir to the throne as per the Hindu tradition.

Veeramangai Velu Nachiyar of Sivaganga. thehindubusinessline.com/

Velu Nachiyar Memorial Block buildingsivagangaiseemai.com/

In the wake of her husband and his first wife' death caused by the wily British, Velunachiyar was forced to go in to exile with her young daughter. She was in Dindukal close to Madurai, TN for several years and secretly organized a well trained military including a woman's wing with help from one Gopala Naicker and in this regard Hyder Ali of Mysore was of some help to her during her exile. It had been eight long tough years since Rani Velu escaped from Sivaganga.

Evey thing happened to her in a flash - her happy days with her husband, King Muthu Vaduganatha Thevar, and her infant daughter, Vellachi, in the kingdom of Sivaganga and other family members. Her peaceful life ended brutally one evening in the temple of Kalaiyar Koil.

Veera mangai Rani Velu Nachiyar of Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu, earliest freedom fighter against the British

It was the close alley of the BritishNawab of Arcot, Wallajah, raided Sivaganga with military support from the English. Thevar's small army was no match and in the ensuing battle in Kalaiyar Koil, the barve Thevar was martyred defending his kingdom. Also died were his army men . Not satisfied, Nawab Wallajah was particular about eliminating Thevar' legal heir(s) and was after Rani Velu Nachiyar and her daughter who were then in the Kollangudi temple at the time of the attack. The Nawab wanted them dead and the loyal servants/ warriors of Thevar Marthadu brothers with a view to saving the queen and her daughter rushed to Kollangudi and took the Queen and her entourage away towards Dindigul. The unfortunate fact was Rani Velu didn’t even get to see the last remains of her husband, Nor did she know weather her husband was given due honor at the time of death.

Anticipating Queen's safety, her loyal body guards Udaiyal and other female warriors had stayed behind in Kollangudi to retard the the advance of trecherous army of Wallajah. They captured Udaiyal to find out about the whereabouts queen and her daughter. Whn she refused to budge Nawab Wallajah, in rage, had her head cut off without any mercy. When queen Velunachiyar heard about the gory details of her guard's death, she vowed to take revenge on Nawab Wallajah and the British and take back her kingdom - her soil

Determined to get her kingdom back with well-planned secrete war preparations, in 1780 Rani Velu Nachiyar raided the British settlements in a lightning speed with her well trained troops and overwhelmed the British army which faced defeat. With help from Hyder Ali, the arch enemy of Nawab Wallajah and her specially trained women army headed by Kuyili (a human bomb) after years of toil and planned preparations, she got her kingdom back. An interesting fact about Velu Nachiyar's war preparation was she was the first woman in history to have employed a human bomb that gave hell to the English troops.
At Sivaganga fort the Udaiyal army women suddently overwhelmed the English soldiers on guard and and entered the gate. Kuyili, upon noticing the ammunition depot right behind the temple, doused herself with the ghee stored in the temple near-by and then rushed towards the depot. After killing the guard, she picked up the torch she lit herself in the ammunition depot. In the huge explosion in the fort, that followed, the English lost all the ammunition so was their firing power. Kuyili, was a great woman who sacrificed her life to help Rani Velu Nachiyar get her lost kingdom back. Upon hearing the paiful news of Kuili's death in the interest of her kingdom, Rani Nachiyar remained on her horseback just tongue-tied.
Rani Velu Nachiyar defeated the English in 1780 and took back her home, avenging the unjust death of her husband and her loyal soldiers Udaiyal and Kuyili. Her reign as the ruler of Sivaganga lasted for roughly 10 years before handing over the responsibility to her daughter Vellachi
Her earlier fight against the oppressive EIC is an inspiring one, a saga of bravery, skill and military strategy. The European powers operating in this part had an added advantage as there was lack of unity among the small princely states. Consequently, the diabolical British created an atmosphere charged with intrigues, treachery, bribery and treason. The Nawab of Arcot became a partner. This was the reason why she had to leave her kingdom secretly to find the right time to attack the enemy. Daughter of king Sellamuthu Sethupathi of Ramanathapuram, Queen Velu Nachiyar was born in 1750 and Sakkandhi was one of the palayams of Sivagangai where she grew up as a courageous and talented women.

Rani velu Nachiyar is symbol of armed resistance, wisdom and courage to foreign rulers and is a legend in Tamil Nadu, in particular, south Tamil Nadu. A commemorative postage stamp on 31 December 2008 was released by the Indian government in her honor.

https://navrangindia.blogspot.com/2016/10/famous-indian-women-of-steel-and-nerves.html
https://navrangindia.blogspot.com/2018/10/queen-velu-nachiyar-first-woman-from.html
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/cover/veeramangai-velu-nachiyar/article26016399.ece

Adi Shankara and his deciples. www.dailyo.in/

Adi Shankara Janam Kshetra.trip advisor kalady

When Hinduism was on the decline, Adi Shankara was the one who revived it and breathed new life into it. He was an early 8th century Indian philosopher and theologian and a proponent of the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta. Sri Ramnujacharya (1077–1157 CE) propagated Vishishtadvaita (non-dualism) and Madhwachara (CE 1238–1317) - Dvaita (dualism). These three great philosophers made vast contributions to Hinduism in their respective ways. When Hinduism was in disarray due to the influence of Buddhism and other faiths, Adi Shankarar traveled across India and united various groups and established the main facets of Hinduism. He did it through discourses and debates with other eminent thinkers and nor proposing conversion under duress.

Adi Shankara Janam Kshetra..inditales.com

Adi Shankara's philosophy rests on the unity of the Atman and Nirguna Brahman "brahman without attributes". To support his view of approach to God he wrote innumerable copious commentaries in Sanskrit on the Vedic canon (Brahma Sutras, Principal Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita). His works elaborate on ideas found in the Upanishads you can find the corroborative works. He was quite critical of the ritually- based Mimaṃsa school of Hinduism. To him, the discernible difference between Hinduism and Buddhism is very simple. Hinduism asserts"Atman (Soul, Self) exists", whereas Buddhism says that there is"no Soul, no Self". The Mimaṃsa school gave more emphasis on ritualism and and was critical of monasticism as sanctioned in the Upanishads and Brahma Sutra. Adi Shankara founded four Mutts ("monasteries") with a view to developing and popularizing Advaita Vedanta. He was the organizer of the Dashanami monastic order and unified the Shanmata tradition of worship.

Born in Kalady, which is close to Kochi, Kerala on the banks of River Poorna, Sri Shankara's date of birth is vague and is a subject of discussion. Any way, his contribution to the Hinduism is so vast and one may wonder as to how he wrote so many commentaries in Sanskrit on Hinduism and traveled across the Indian subcontinent before he reached the holy feet of God at a young age of just 33. Kangathara sosthram, Soundarya Lahiri and Baja Govindam were his additional contributions along with many other gems.
Sri Shankarta's parents were poor and aged Nambudiri Brahmins and the couple led a simple and devout life of service to the poor; they named their child ''Shankara'', meaning "giver of prosperity". As his father died when Shankara was young, his mother had his upanayanam conducted. It was the initiation into student-life. Right from childhood Shankara took keen interest in ascetic life against the wish of his mother. After long discussion, with her permission, he moved over to north central India and and found a guru in Govinda Bhagavatpāda on the banks of the Narmada river at Omkareshwar. Very much impressed by his knowledge which was similar to his Advait, his guru asked him to write commentary (Bhashya). The cave where Govinda Bhagavatpāda spent his life, is still being maintained below the Shiva temple there.
At Kalady you can find temples where his mother used to pray.

The birthplace of Adi Shankara at Kaladyen.wikipedia.org

Adi Shankara's quote. www.azquotes.com

The Sringeri Mutt is functioning there and is called Adi Shankara Janam Kshetra. It is here the birth of the Shankaracharya is celebrated. His birth place was discovered just over 100 years ago and since then, efforts have been made to preserve this place and its sanctity by the followers of different Shankara Mutts across the country.
There are three mutts by Sankara - Mutts of Kanchi and Sringeri and the third is in a small village. Kalady Sringeri Mutt is the largest one. Sharadamba is the presiding deity of the Mutt
At Kalady Sankara Mutt there is Vrindavan of Aryamba or the samadhi of mother of Adi Shankara. There isalso a Shakti Ganapati Temple. The life story of Adi Shankara is inscribed in marble plaques there. His birthplace celebrates his life and shares his philosophy. Sri Krishna Temple in Kalady is the oldest temple in town. Kanchi Mutt here has built a lovely Keerthi Stambh that celebrates the six paths of worship of Hinduism as taught by Adi Shankara. They are: the deities Ganesha, Shanmukh or Kartikeyan, Surya, Vishnu, Shakti, and Shiva. Sri Adi Shankara Keerthi Stambh Mandap is an integral part of the structure here. Inside there
are two small temples. one is dedicated to Adi Shankaracharya
- his birthplace and the other dedicated to Shiva Parvati and Ganapati.
Adi Sankara established the Hindu monks of ten sects or names under four Maṭhas (Sanskrit) or monasteries, with main offices at Dvārakā in the West, Jagannatha Puri in the East, Sringeri in the South and Badrikashrama in the North. Each math was headed by one of his four main disciples, who each continues the Vedanta Sampradaya. The heads have to practice celibacy since their initiation into Sanyasam (ascetic life) and should be well-versed in many languages besides other religious subjects.
Tit-bits:
Adi Shankara's quotes:
01. ''All the manifested world of things and beings are projected by imagination upon the substratum which is the Eternal All-pervading Vishnu, whose nature is Existence-Intelligence; just as the different ornaments are all made out of the same gold.''
02. ''The witness of the three states of consciousness [waking, dream and deep sleep] and of the nature of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss is the Self.''
03. ''Just as a stone, a tree, a straw, grain, a mat, a cloth, a pot, and so on, when burned, are reduced to earth (from which they came), so the body and its sense organs, on being burned in the fire of Knowledge, become Knowledge and are absorbed in Brahman, like darkness in the light of the sun''.
https://www.azquotes.com/author/24264-Adi_Shankara
https://www.inditales.com/kalady-adi-shankaracharya-birthplace/

V. P. Madhava Rao, an innovative Diwan of Mysore

Vegetarian diet cuts cadiac risks!!

The Thanumalayan Temple of Suchindram, Kanyakumari district - where the trinity gods are worshiped in one idol!!

VelimalaiLord Murugan

Kapurthala palace, now a Sainik school, Punjab, India.- a beautiful colonial structure

Elysee Palace, Kapurthala, Punjab, India - a reflection of French style of design!!

"Panch Mandir, Kapurthala, Punjab, India - a simple place of Hindu worship

Kapurthala colonial clock 1901, Punjab, India- built by Maharajah Jagatjit Singh

''Vaikom Stayagraha'', Kerala and first temple entry of Dalits in India - 01: A synopsis

Vaikom Satyagraha and first entry of temple by dalits in India - 02 : the struggle

Vaikom Satyagraha and first entry of temple by dalits in India - 03: impact in TN, Temple entry in Madurai led by Sri A. Vaidhyanatha Aiyar

Sivasailanathar Paramakalyani Amman Kovil, Sivsailam ,Tirunelveli District, TN

Vanamamalai Perumal Temple, Nanguneri, TN - main deity is self-manifested God Vishnu !!

Thanjavur Cannon (Rajagopalaswami Beerangi) - a neglected heritage site needs renovation

Ranee's Clock tower, Thanjavur city, Tamil Nadu - this heritage site, a legacy of Maratha rule needs renovation!!

M.S. Subbulakshmi, a recipient of Bharat Rathna who dedicated her life to Classical Carnatic Music

Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy, a daring first legislator in India, first female house surgeon and founder of Adyar Cancer Institute, Chennai, TN

Rukmani Arundale, Bharat Natyam dancer who revived the old temple art - dance form and gave it respectability

''Queen Velu Nachiyar'' of Sivaganga,Tamil Nadu, 18th century queen who took revenge on the British

Adi Shankara of Kalady - a great Hindu philosopher