The Yamuna-Kaveri 'Tehzeeb' of my life!

Vanakkam Makkalay!

Arangamaanagarulane - Aadi Rangam

The Yamuna Phase

Its been a little more than seven months since I shifted from the banks of river Yamuna to the banks of river Kaveri. My father used to pull my leg saying that when I am in the banks of Kaveri I become a mischievous and a lazy kid. Thus, he made me do my college far away in the banks of Yamuna. But I have never been closer to home even at Thanjavur than I was closer to my traditions and culture at Delhi. I was never able to feel home to understand and associate with Yamuna though. (One simple anecdote on this note is the taste of Kaapi. For some reasons the Kaapi I made with all the popular and regular filter coffee powders never tasted right in Delhi. I tried many combinations and ratios to make it perfect but was never able to achieve it. Until I moved to Mysuru, found a new constant 'Gayathri Coffee Works' in Devaraja market. Their special blend powder's aroma touches your soul when you brew. Might sound silly, but believe me 'twas a serious issue.)

Arangamaanagarulane - Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Satsangam's Primary Object of Worship

The South Indian Temples, Vishnu Sahasranama Satsangam and other activities made Delhi feel like a home. At some point I even thought that there is no going back for me from Delhi. Every time I finished and tried rushing back to Thanjavur, Indraprastha would soon drag me back for some reasons. I made friends, brothers, sisters and mentors and they welcomed me to their homes, made me part of their families, appreciated me and I became the 'Chamathu Kondhay' the parents would compare their kids with saying 'look at how he is regular to temple, doing his Nithyakarmas etc.' I am hope they knew that the delicious Prasadams and the company of the people that made me going to the temple most of the times. But the fact is I got to learn a lot about my culture, identity, purpose and life. Dhanyawad to Dilli!

Vaikunthanatha Swami, Delhi

The Kaveri Phase

April 2023 - Feb 2025 was the climax of Delhi time for me. I stepped into the world of job, switched jobs within months. Towards the end, a call came from a batchmate who was not so familiar beyond just the knowledge of each other's existence and she became the reason for my homecoming (Not exactly to Thanjavur, but to the beautiful city nourished by the Kaveri river, Mysuru). The initial month was to orient myself to the place, people and the work. Then became my frequent visits to my home, being closer to mom, doing things I love (doing tours and talking about the history of Cholas & Thanjavur region). Surprisingly, the workplace in Mysuru had put me in touch with lot of good people (I am grateful for each and everyone). More than anything, it got me closer to Kaveri. I don't know from when did I grew so fond of Kaveri. But I know one thing for sure that it is the purest, cleanest Kaveri that is flowing that had made me so fond of her. Because, the same divine Kaveri when she reaches and blesses the fertile land of Thanjavur, she had seen a lot by then and carries all the dirt and sin of people along with her (Sorry got too much philosophical. Kaveri is revered even holier than the Ganges (Sorry Ganga Maiyya, we have this bias and affection towards Kaveri).

The Royal Mysuru

I am trying to recollect why I started writing this post. Nevertheless, I am enjoying my time at Mysuru and feeling home with lovely people around me (Don't Put Nazar pleej). The colors, the calm, Kaveri and Kaapi are all the reasons. The joy of being in a city that retains its rural characteristics is something that is unexplainable. Seeing agricultural fields, clean and sacred river flowing in some 10 kms radius, a chaotic and historic local market are something that I missed for a decade while I was in Delhi. Not to forget my palatial workplace filled with culturally vibrant objects and every corner to fall in love with. The work that I am doing has restored my confidence in many ways.

My Dear Kaveri

I am realizing this while writing my post that how these two rivers actually shaped my journey. Right now I am being embraced by Kaveri's warmth and I like to hold on to that. I also feel that Delhi lingers in me a little and I carry the Delhi within me.

I think the universe puts you at the right place in the right time. Trust the process!

Flavours of Karaikudi - An experience

"Too much passion for culture and heritage triggers oneself to explore different aspects of it." Likewise due to my interest, I got triggered to explore the cultural aspects of Karaikudi when my friend Annamalai invited us to his sister’s wedding. So, I along with my buddies started to plan itinerary two weeks in advance. We were all excited to go to Karaikudi and stay there for the marriage. Since we are always ready to wander anywhere all the time, Annamalai’s invite came to us as a saviour.

Front Facade of a Chettinadu Residence

Thilakesh brought his car and seven of us started at the dawn of 24th January from Thanjavur. Our enthusiasm for the trip brought a glow in our faces. Rajaguru curated the playlist for the journey. After halting for fuel and tea, Thilakesh throttled towards Kundrakudi first.

Rock-cut Shrine and Kundrakudi Temple

Kundrakudi is a famous pilgrimage site known for its Murugan Temple, located atop a small hillock. But there are also 3 rock-cut shrines from the Pandyan period. Kundrakudi is also the place which gave us a legendary violinist Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan. At the temple,we were welcomed by the beautiful sight of Subbulakshmi (64 yrs old), the temple elephant who was enjoying her morning shower. We stood there for some time admiring her and listening to her master's tales about her. But then we were disappointed to know that nobody was allowed to visit the rock-cut shrines. But we got ourselves together and started climbing the hill and had Dharshan of Lord Subramanya. I was not ready to leave Kundrakudi without visiting the rock-cut shrines. So, I entered the temple office and sought permission from the officer. Then we went ahead and saw the shrines which remained in low lighting conditions and stinking due to the family of bats living there. It was so dirty and dangerous to go further and to take a look closer since all the bats started flying. But still we had the opportunity to see few details of it. Each of the shrines were dedicated to lord Shiva. I am yet to research about these shrines in detail.

Pillaiyarpatti Temple

Then we headed to the famous Ganesha temple at Pillayarpatti. The main deity here is known as ‘Karpaga Vinayagar’. This is actually a rock-cut cave temple of Pandiyan Kings. The other rock-cut shrine adjacent to the sanctum of Ganesha shelters is the shrine of lord Shiva as ‘Thiruveesar’, which is not accessible nor visible to the devotees. Historians claim that the Ganesha is the earliest sculptural representation in Tamil Nadu. The trunk of Ganesha is curved to his right which makes him more powerful and unique. We were amazed by efficient management of the temple. Unlike the other famous temple, this is managed by the Nagarathars, who are a popular community of Chettiyars. We spent some time around the temple’s pond.

A Grand house with Colonial personality stuccos

Then we thought of visiting the famous 1000 window house which is a grand Chettiyar style residence and where a lot of movie-shoots takes place. But we got disappointed once we got to know that visitors were not allowed inside. Then we proceeded to the venue of the marriage. To our surprise, the venue of the marriage was also a grand Chettinadu residence. We were awestruck by the grandeur and the design elements of the house. We reached exactly on the time for lunch.

The First Karaikudi Meal

Talking about Chettinadu by default, it is inclusive of the spicy, delicious cuisine. I was specifically amazed by the mouth-watering vegetarian dishes of Chettinadu. We were on cloud nine after having the authentic Karaikudi lunch. The Sakkarai Pongal was the sweetest amongst all the dishes. We had Mandi, Pudalangai (Snakegourd) Kootu, Raw Banana fry, Getti Kozhambu, Thanni Kozhambu, Beans Poriyal and curd rice as our first meal. Our disappointments just flew away after having a scrumptious meal. We embraced ourselves for the next meals already. To add to the beauty of the food, the dining hall were decorated with some colonial period paintings, which also includes the famous Ravi Varma portraits.

The Dinner Menu

We spent some time at the venue and left to our retiring house. It was again a Chettinadu house but less ornamented. We again went to the Mandapam in the evening to take part in the rituals. The dinner was very appetizing. The dessert was toasted bread soaked in badam kheer (not sure) which we loved the most and enjoyed hogging it. On the evening, we saw the procession of the deities of the Shiva Temple. Finally, we reached back our room for sleeping. Since we were overwhelmed with the grandeur of the Chettinadu flavours and residences, we couldn't sleep. I played with Maddy for sometime while others were trying to sleep.

Ravi Varma's works in the Dining Hall

Later, we decided to take a stroll around the lanes since nobody wanted to sleep early. It was almost 11pm. It was frightening to witness such grand houses in the dark light. We walked even further despite of seeing the houses and imagining a ghost staring at us from the portico of every house just like how it happens in every Tamil horror movie. GP courageously stood, starred and clicked few photos while walking. Asiq left us inbetween because he was tired (for real, he was slightly afraid of the grand houses and haunting stories we were talking). We came back by 12:30 am and slept.

At the Night

It is really amazing to see those grand houses which are actually residence for joint families of Chettinad. But what is unfortunate is that most of the portions of the houses are not used and it's dark. It makes one to reminisce about the good old days where families were large and each portion of the house was occupied and there was always some sound of joy around.

A sight of the busy residence

At the day of the marriage, we went to the nearby Shiva temple which is managed by the Nagarathar. Along with the procession of the groom, we reached back to the venue after bursting crackers and pretending to throw them on each other. Then the groom tied the knot. We stayed there for some time and headed towards Thanjavur in the noon.

The View of dining hall adorned with the paintings

While coming back, we visited the Thirumayam fort and the two rock-cut cave temples of Lord Shiva and Vishnu. The fort of Thirumayam gave an edge to the rulers of the region who were known as ‘Sethupathy’ against British. The rock-cut shrines are located at the base and the fort on top of this hillock. The shrine of Lord Vishnu in the reclining position was huge. I specifically liked the shrines of Lord Narasimha and Sudharshana. This shrine of Vishnu is believed to be built by the Pallavas, while the shrine of Shiva built by the Pandiyans. 

Sathyagirishwarar and Thirumayam Fort

At the temple of Lord Shiva, the Dwarapalakas were remarkably vibrant. We then had the divine opportunity of arranging the procession Vaahanas of Lord Shiva on the occasion of Thai Poosam. The shrine of Lord Shiva is the oldest among the two shrines. Without fail, we also had dharshan of the Kottai Bhairavar temple which is located on the outer side of the fort wall. Most of the drivers definitely stops at the shrine and offer their worship since the shrine is located facing towards the road and is very powerful too.

Dwarapalaka at the Rock-cut Shiva Shrine

After all the fun and blessings, the trip to Karaikudi came to an end. Throughout the trip, Rajaguru made us laugh with his rapidfire counters for which Kumar became the scapegoat most of the time. His playlist kept us cheerful while Thilakesh was driving with full focus and made us reach home back safely. All thanks to Annamalaiyaar for inviting us to experience the flavours of Karaikudi. We are looking forward for another invitation by Annamalai actually.

Yours East Gaterr

East Gaterr with a Star Gazer

As a kid, we have always dreamt of reaching the sky and catching the moon and stars. We were curious to meet the old lady making Vada(i)s there in the moon for who, only she knows. Often, moon is the toy which is shown to a small baby by the mother, to make that stubborn child eat the food. Grown-ups still love to observe the astronomical events through whichever means they could afford. Just observing the space will make our mind just blow and make us fall in love with this marvelous creation.

A Simple Snap of the Moon by Me :)

As a child, we always tried to run along the moon or to hide from it. We got surprised, shocked by a shooting star which appears just for a fraction of second. However hard we try, we always forget to make a wish when a shooting star flies in the sky. While there are many memories to reminisce about the vast space, moons and tiny stars, there are people who are doing serious business by learning, observing and researching about this grand space.

Saturn

Now, while all of the mentioned above are still happening with full curiousity, one of my friend is also observing the space from THANJAVUR. I was thrilled to witness the space closely through him for the first time. The stories and fact he tells about the galaxy makes me want to observe and fall in love with the space and planets more. 

Orion Nebula captured by Madhavan

Madhavan aka Maddy among his friends is a smart IT professional by day and a curous astrophile y night. Like everyone, Madhavan also wanted to run along the moon. Later when he grew up, he developed his childish curiosity into a hobby. He recalls this turning point came when he was listening to one discourse by Sri U.Ve. Krishnan Swamigal about some constellation in 2019. Madhavan recalls that this discourse was a catalyst to boost this tiny spark and made him to delve into the subject seriously. Also when he became part of some amateur astrophile groups in Facebook, he got some clarity on how and where to begin this space journey. After saving a big part of his salary, he bought the 8 inches Dobsonian reflector and made his terrace as his observatory. With the information from his astrophile networks, he observes the events on the sky. He also spends whole night awake just to observe few events that happens in the mid night or early morning. He has a beautiful Instagram handle, where he uploads shots from the space which he clicks with utmost patience. 

Jupiter's Moon - Lo

For the first time, I met him and it was a day before or after a full moon day. That’s when I discovered the bright shining stars are not stars, but they are planets. I learnt about this fact and he showed me the Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. Twin stars/binary star system is another interesting star to watch, the name of the star is Albireo which shines in 2 colors. Glad that we got to know each other and I got to witness the magnanimous space from Madhavan’s terrace with facts about what we are observing. I have seen Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the binary stars and a small glimpse of the Andromeda Galaxy.

I am grateful for this astronomical experience that I had with the help of Madhavan. And also, we share one common interest i.e. the love towards the history and evolution of Thanjavur. Madhavan hopes that his interest to observe the space to grow more personally and also he welcomes anybody to get to known about the simple and mind-blowing facts about the space.

This specific hobby of observing space is unique. At least for me, I have come across only Madhavan doing this in Thanjavur. Space, galaxy and universe will be always one exciting subject for a commoner. Looking forward to witness more events that happens in the vast space.

Yours East Gaterr

The Treacherous Tributary of Cauvery

Thanks to this pandemic. This lockdown is giving everybody their personal space for which the masses were yearning for. I used this to the fullest and the lockdown is yet to be completed. I came back to my hometown in the middle of this nationwide lockdown on June. I am having a great time exploring the lesser known yet important heritage structures of Thanjavur. I’d been to the rivers which are now flowing fully with their might because of the bountiful rains in the neighboring states.

Thanjavur got its perfect name “Granary of Tamil Nadu”, with all its natural resources in abundant helping the fertile lands to produce more. All this feats just because of the holy Cauvery flowing and blessing the lands of Tamil Nadu. Different tributaries of the holy rivers gives life to the farming lands along the river bed

Pudhu Aaru in the City

One such tributary is the Grandanaicut Canal aka Pudhu Aaru, which takes it birth from Cauvery in the great Kallanai Dam. This Grandanaicut Canal runs around 150kms and helps in the irrigations thousands of hectares of agricultural land in the Thanjavur and Pudukottai districts. This canal from Kallanai flows through the villages along the Trichy-Thanjavur route and then enters the city of Thanjavur. This canal kisses the moat of the Brihadeeshwarar temples, recharges the moat with minimum water because of the poor maintenance. Then this canal continues its journey further and reaches the other end of the city and enters the neighboring Pudukottai district. This Grandanaicut Canal has this frightening name called “Ponanthinni Aaru” (means carrying or washing away dead bodies). It is usual for the people to witness this river carrying dead bodies every season without fail. This tributary of the holy river is a deadly one among the others.

Me and my friends usually take bath and play in one of the major drains of this deadly river. We escape from the chaos of work, family and the disturbances of city and play here once in a week at least. We already knew about the evil might of this river. Our parents keep on advising us to play carefully in the river, since it is known for taking away many people’s life.

Unfortunately, day before yesterday (29^th Aug, 2020), we witnessed a dead body completely drowned and floating near the drain. We immediately reported to the Superintendent of Police office through a call and we immediately left the place after informing to the police. But the scene is still flashing in our mind. That morning, we dropped the plan to bath at the river. GP firmly said, he will never visit or bath in the river again. It was a lesson for every one of us. Because, with lot of enthusiasm, we also tried jumping from the top of the shutters once when the water level was low. Otherwise we don’t try such risky stunts.

A snap of the other side of Grandanaicut Canal

There are people who doesn’t know anything about the river and jump in it from a bridge and lost their lives. At the other hand, there are brilliant idiots, who intentionally do such risky adventures and lose their lives. The scene we saw was disturbing us for a day, eventually we moved on.

Rivers are beautiful indeed, but those shallow water have succumbed many innocent souls to death, not only of humans, but many animals indeed. I admire the beauty of the nature by standing from two feet distance, getting closer might cost your life. Take care and be safe!!!

 

Yours East Gaterr

 

Dr. Kudavayil Balasubramaniyan, Thanjavur and East Gaterr

Thanjavur is well known for its great history and culture. As a fledgling, I have embarked on this journey of unravelling historical facts and lesser-told stories about Thanjavur, whose legacy spans beyond the Brihadeeshwara Temple.

With Dr. Kudavayil Balasubramaniyan

When we moved back to Thanjavur in 2010 from Chennai, the seeds of intent to understand the history of Thanjavur, was in all likelihood sown by my mother. She was the person who took me to the Brihadeeshwara almost every alternate day. When I left for Delhi to pursue higher studies, my homesickness nudged me to revisit Thanjavur and its rich culture. My postgraduate course in heritage studies further helped me with the technicalities. This is an overview of my journey which took me closest to the heritage.

This is a post out of my excitement after meeting Dr. Kudavayil Balasubramaniyan, who has been an instrumental historian and researcher of the great Cholas and Thanjavur. Apart from his academic rigour, he is a kind-hearted person and an excellent human being. He welcomed me when I spoke to him for the first time.

When I wanted to learn about the history of Thanjavur, one of my mentor suggested about the works of Dr. Kudavayil Balasubramaniyan. He is the authoritative historian and epigraphist on the subject of Rajarajeshwaram, Cholas and temple inscriptions. He is a student of Padma Bhushan Dr. Ra. Nagaswamy, who is also a historian, archaeologist and an epigraphist.   

I was excited to write about Rajarajeshwaram after reading about the temple in detail from the book titled 'Rajarajecharam' by Dr. Kudavayil Balasubramaniyan. This book is treasure which has greater details of information about the temple's architecture, iconography, inscriptions through which details like the economic transactions, offerings to the temple and many such information are deciphered. Then I read his book 'Thanjavur', which has a brief history of Thanjavur from 6th Century CE to the colonial era. The information was thought provoking. Gobbling the details from these books increased my excitement to read and understand the history of my hometown. I could see Thanjavur with a whole new perspective after reading the books. Apart from the great Rajarajeshwaram, the palace, Thanjavur painting, the Saraswati Veena and few other temples, I was not aware of the historical Thanjavur that was over shadowed by the grandeur of Brihadeeswara. The lesser knwon history was intriguing and enthused me to explore the other side of Thanjavur. These books pushed me further to the author’s way of validating the history. 

His autograph in the book

After reading about Thanjavur in details through his book, I had a few important questions in my mind. Especially the question about the clashes if any between Shaivites and Vaishnavites, since Cholas were close to Srirangam. He answered that, “There were no clashes. Both the communities flourished under the Cholas rule.”

He also gifted me a book written by him about the forgotten Tamil King ‘Konerirayan’. This book has good answers for the questions about the rumors of clashes between Shaivites and Vaishnavites, as Konerirayan ruled major regions of Tamil Nadu during the 15th century only.

Overall, it was a great experience to meet such a humble historian.

Yours

Nepathya's Kudiyattam

It was the beginning of winter season in Delhi and I came across this news about UNESCO and the Aga Khan trust hosting the Nepthya’s Kudiyattam in the amphitheatre of Sunder Nursery, a world heritage site hosting the first intangible cultural heritage element of the UNESCO’s list on 15^th Nov 2019.

Just after that, I couldn’t contain the excitement to witness the 2000 years old traditional theatre art form. I never knew that I was about to witness such an energetic performance that day.

Balivadham - Lord Rama, Lakshmana, Sugreeva and  Hanuman (Left to right)

Nepathya – centre for excellence in Kudiyattam, headed by Sh. Margi Madhu is the only institute which still continues the long historical practice of this two millennia-old Sanskrit theatre form. Initially, this play was confined just for the temples on various traditional occasions.
 

Margi Madhu as Vaali, Dr. Indu G as Tara

There are permanent structures called 'Koothambalam' ('Koothu' means drama and 'Ambalam' means stage) in every prominent temple of Kerala, dedicated just for the performance of this theatre form. Long back ago, 18 families took up this sacred art form as a profession, but now it’s just only five families and a few have professionally taken this art.

Vaali in deathbed

Kudiyattam ('Kuti' means combine and 'Aattam' means performance) is a much more inclusive form than it was originally performed. The male actors are called as 'Chakyars' and the female performers are known as 'Nangiars' and the drummers are known as 'Nambiars'. The Kudiyattam comprises of both 'Nangiar Koothu' and 'Prabhandha Koothu'. 

Rahul Chakyar as Sreerama - The divine smile

One single act of Kudiyattam could stretch up to forty nights as well. One important feature of this art form is that this considers single Acts from Sanskrit as full-fledged plays. They will light up a big lamp in front of them, even in such long duration of the act the actors will be performing for the Gods assuming the lamp as a god. The individual acts are given importance rather than going into the full text of Sanskrit. The enlargement of the movements and emotions are the primary focus of the Kudiyattam.

With the whole team

With Shri Mari Madhu

About the make-up which is another great art and needs much patience to work for it. Make-up takes at least five to six hours to get ready for the performance. All the make-up cosmetics they use have only natural ingredients and the costume that all they use is handmade only.

With Dr. Indu G

Since the emphasis is more on the acting, this, in turn, provides bare minimal dialogues for the actors. This, in turn, results in the improvised expressions as the audience engages and imagine and dwells into the play.

Angry Vaali

At the first place, after reaching the venue of their performance, seeing them closer with the make-up, I recollected my memories of silly fear that I had during my childhood, seeing such artistes since a child doesn’t know about it. 

With the Mizhavu players Jinesh and Aswin

I don’t have words to explain my first ever experience of lively watching Kudiyattam. I had at least hundreds of goosebumps and the chills running through my spine throughout the play of 'Balivadham'. I never cared about the winter since we were watching it in the amphitheatre. Throughout the play, I couldn’t take off my eyes from the actors. Also, the 'Mizhavu' players at the back, played with such coordination and their energy was like that of one thunder. The actors were still covered with the help of their costumes whereas the Mizhavu players were with their bare bodies and were like sweating during their play. That sums up the energy and dedication they have. 

Shri Margi Madhu when portraying Narasimha in the play

The actors, be it Chakyars or the Nangiars, the acting was in such detail, the eyelids, eyebrows, cheeks and even the fingers were moving in such detail. Every actor on stage does not only plays his/her role, but they should also portray other characters they talk about, but such is also the powerful acting they do in Kudiyattam. The dedication and intense expression come as a result of such dedication and their respect towards the art form. They are not just learning and acting, the tradition of their whole family is being devotionally followed throughout different generations and is passed on to the next.

Starting the play

I became a die-hard fan of this art form in the very first live experience. I couldn’t come out of the energetic vibes after the performance. I couldn’t resist myself from clicking selfies with the best every Kudiyattam performers. 

Yours East Gaterr
 
Note: Photo Courtesy - Nepathya & UNESCO