Kanchipuram Pallavan Legacy

If one is inquisitive and on a rediscovery trail on India, one is bound to ponder over the legacy of  various kingdoms of the past.  Where did the Pallavan kings live, how did they manage to build huge monuments, what was the motivation to undertake massive architectural excellence, why did they engage in constant warfare among the Gangas and Chalukyas.

During my trip i asked my guide from TTDC Ramesh can you just explain my queries on the above elaborated subject matter.  He was just taken back initially and managed to put the onus on research by ASI and department of tourism in TN.  Probably if a systematic research is undertaken one might find the ruined or destroyed palace of the kings and maybe a hidden chamber of wealth which was amassed by the Pallavan kings.

Kolar gold fields were probably first discovered during the Harappan and Mohejadaro period with Golden objects tracing back to gold impurity levels of 11% silver concentration which is present in Kolar Gold fields only.  Guptas ( 320 - 550 AD ) discovered the Golden reserves and consolidated their claim by deploying the Ganga dynasty rulers as their feudatory Konganivarman Madhava ( 350-370 AD)  and claimed royalty in the form of gold.  Samudragupta ( 335-375 AD) had first issued series of gold coins depicting various facets of  his lifetime, Ashwamedha yagna, Lyrist, Hunter, Warrior, Royalty and Chess player. Durvinita ( 529 - 579 ) became a powerful ruler of  Ganga based at Talakkad, Avani served as a strategic base which was close to Kanchipuram the Pallavan capital.  Durvinita forged  alliance with the Chalukyas by marrying his daughter to Chalukyan emperors son Vijayaditya. Pallavas constantly waged war because of the huge gold mine at Kolar with Gangas and Chalukyas and ultimately managed to defeat Pulakesin II in 642 AD and occupied Badami too for almost 13 years.  Now the source of  wealth of  Pallavas is identified, now let us check out the famous edifices in Kanchipuram :

Ekambareswar Temple :   This temple has been built under different kingdoms starting with Pallavas, Cholas and finally with Vijaynagar emperor Krishnadevaraya building the massive entrance gopuram ( tower ) which raises to a height of 57 meters.  This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and his consort Parvathi.  The shivlinga is made out of sand and shaped almost like a triangular pyramid unlike the circular Shivlingam.  The initial temple construction can be credited to Parameswarvarman ( 672 - 700 AD ) as a mark of  his association with monument building.  The temple complex is spread over 23 acres currently with three distinct complexes and a tank complex.  There is a small courtyard with a 3000 year old mango tree wherein devotees circulating pray for their wishes to come true.  One also ties knot of the ribbon with priest prompting to seek the divine blessing.   My wife liberally donated Rs 100 to the priest who was extremely pleased to pray for our welfare.

On a packaged trip the guide literally prods us to return to the bus as early as possible.  Maybe next time it would be wise for us to make an unguided tour of this huge premises.  There is a small temple just opposite this huge complex which is impressive but it is attached to some other mutt. It has obviously been resurrected with the original stones.  The main temple has been painted indiscriminately, and too much of  religious commercial activity in the temple premises robs the visitors of its glory, wherever we find Pooja being performed in ancient  temple looses its charm according to me.  The entire complex is divided among priests as if it is their legacy.  We may come across property dispute among caretaker priests,  I am afraid, in future if such practise are allowed to continue..  I hope the state govt and ASI is alert to such danger.

French Connection, Pondicherry

I am lucky to have a French family connection with my sister having married Jacques a French citizen.  Going back to the roots of the French connection in India, could we have enjoyed better freedom and progress under their reign is quite debatable.  The genesis of  Pondicherry dates back to port trading days with the Romans with the discovery of Artifacts at Arikamedu.  It was known as Poduke in ancient times among the historians.

Sometime in 1985 when i visited Pondicherry for launch of a confectionery product. I distinctly remember sipping beer on the balcony of  a reputed resort on the seashore.  It was full moon night waves were literally lashing the beach front.  It was a heady and refreshing feeling, after a full day labour in the market place, gulping down mug after mug, with my colleague who was chomping away chicken kabbabs and other bites.

One of the fine ways of exploring Pondicherry is obviously undertaking a heritage walk in the alleys of this ancient French colony (  Portuguese landed earlier and started colonising but incurred the wrath of Gingee ruler and were expelled )  Dutch established their base in Fort David in Cuddalore.  We undertook the walk by default, from Aurobindo Ashram pass the French consulate, and on to the beach front.

The beach front is fully spruced up with wide footpath for almost 4 kms stretch, which soothing change from the past.  Earlier the beach front was filled only with rocky stones preventing the sea erosion.  Now I find that an elevated pathway has been created for tourists to walk around.  The pathway leads to famous landmark of Pondicherry, Mahatma Gandhi statue. What a coincidence we were almost there on Gandhi Jayanthi ( 3rd Oct 2011)

Just a few meters away from the Mahatma Gandhi statue there is a coffee shop, the only restaurant on the beach front.  We were literally lured into the cafe with a signage of  buffet lunch @ Rs 99, the waiter clarified it is only on weekends, which may just a gimmick to lure customers.  Anand Bhavan offers a lovely limited veg luuncheon @ Rs 65.

A few metres away from the beach front cafe is Pondicherry tourism office, wherein we bumped in and booked our half a sight seeing package.  We were misguided on the phone that they don t operate full day sightseeing, on weekends they definitely operate full day sight seeing.  The package includes lunch @ Rs 200 currently ( Oct 2011)  and half a day package is quoted @ Rs 100 per pax.  The package includes all major sightseeing points in Pondicherry including Auroville.  We undertook our Pondy visit with Chennai as a base, next time around i intend to stay at Auroville and seek a different perspective.

Pondicherry is haven for revellers with subsidised booze available in liquor stores.  This time around i did not venture into drinking or buying cheap liquor because it was purely a family trip.  The heat was searing, on the hindsight it was a wise decision.  Since there is a heavy excise checking on all vehicles coming from Pondi to Chennai en route and secondly it would aggravated the dehydration suffered because of  heat.  Next time around i would definitely prefer to stay at Pondi and enjoy the rustic and tranquil beauty.

Badami historical background

Guys i am unable to post Golden heritage   for want of its approval by Indiblogger management.  But in the meanwhile i have tried to link the same with historical perspective.  The discovery of Gold in Chalukyan domain  has obviously spurred construction of monuments with a dual objective of establishing the hindu empire in the region and leaving behind a legacy of great builders.  But for the partial destruction of the monuments by the raiding invaders and crass commercialisation the combined territory of  Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal would resembled an empire beyond compare.  Please do take a look at the following link http://deguidephotoblogs.blogspot.com/2011/09/badami-fort-trip.html

Two Decades of Togetherness

Basically i was inspired to share my marriage journey by Pramod's Marriage Book.  How to pull off the long journey of two decades of  marriage with my better half  Vasanthi was the key question ?  I thought why not link it to our various trips that we have undertaken right from marriage days on august 23rd ( 1991 )

Wedding Portrait 

With Sister and Mother

Classmates Rajarathnam and Santosh Hebbar

My Brother in Law Anands Marriage 1992

Brothers Wedding 1995

Sisters Wedding 1997

Our first Delhi trip 1992 along with Mother in law

Ajanta Ellora trip 1998

Ajanta Trip 1998

Kerala Trip 

Kerala Trip houseboat

Mantralaya Trip

Vajreswari Trip

Tirupati Trip

Andaman Nicobar Trip

Mantralaya Trip

 

Goa Trip 

All these trips were undertaken prior to the digital age, what i meant precisely was in the regime of  film rolls, which involved developing and printing, now the next episode will be in the digital age.  Let us hope you have enjoyed the journey of our married life in photos.

Indiblogger Meet @ Bangalore Photologue

Guys Indiblogger meet sponsored by Samsung Galaxy TAB750 was a total success considering the number of  new comers into the fold.  Of course there were many veterans too such as Alok, Laxmi Rajan, Mathew, Vijay, Saurav, Rajesh, Karthik, etc.  

 We got to touch and feel the Samsung Tab750 which loaded with features, 8 MP camera output, video output, interface with social media, gaming, and all other features which makes it a gizmo of sorts.  Currently it is priced at Rs 36200/- eventually I hope the price will come down drastically due to volumes and competition I presume.  I would rather prefer an injection currently with my Nokia touch screen phone currently.

 We were emotional when we listened to Raghava who is the only blind blogger in India, who is active with his never say die spirit.  He is live example that handicaps does not matter to keep our date with destiny.  We sincerely wish that he will go miles in achieving his goal in the virtual world, speaking his mind out.

Renie Ravin setting up big screen display

Vineet Rajan with Samsung Tab750

Mathew smiling away to glory 

The 49 seconds introduction session was humorous and enthralling with RAJ with four letter blog, Praveen with cyber tech bog, Laxmi Rajan met his wife while blogging, we have a author who is scheduled to publish his books.  One blogger mentioned that he was ditched by his girl friend and he took up to blogging.  It heartening to note many a bloggers are earning their livelihood blogging full time too.  

 We had this collect comments game, which was lapped up with enthusiasm by all newcomers and finally the meet was wound up with discussion.  I suggested that in future all meets should be in some form be live at least in the form of  1 comments from the venue participants, through their cellphone or gadgets, it would involve the entire Indi blogging community virtually if not physically cutting across the barriers of time constraint.

Anoop Johnson compeered the program with his usual exuberant style

Video