Thursday, September 27, 2012

Madurai from all angles



Hi Friends,

            Medias like The Hindu and Times of India are doing an excellent job in exploring the historical secrets of Madurai. I am a Fan to "The Hindu"'s editorials under City360° for Madurai and similar articles from TOI.



            It was my long term dream to gather all such informations under one place and thereby, I am dedicating this blog to the real authors of "City360°" and TOI.

            I hope, this will be much useful for friends of my generations to understand the historical importance of our beloved Madurai !!

           Let's cover our Madurai in all angles - Ready..Go..!!!

Madurai’s Lords of Books


Self-taught scholars and storehouses of knowledge in roadside shacks at the old books market

On a gloomy Saturday evening we are on the Madharkhan Tabedar Lane armed with a long, challenging list of book titles. The power goes off but M.Murugan takes on the task. A faint torchlight in hand, he plunges into his hovel stacked with thousands of books. He squints hard for titles, authors and editions. He beckons and we too enter the Amman Book Centre -- one at a time.
It is a long, narrow room in which it is hard enough for a person to stand straight, leave alone walk around. But Murugan goes even deeper into the dungeon and disappears.
We can only push ourselves sideways, taking care not to even breathe hard or brush against the delicate, leaning towers of books on either side. There is an overbearing musty smell. A small shelf emits light. Through the piles of books we see a battery-operated lamp flickering in front of a small Ganapati idol and photos of deities.
Barely 180 seconds on Murugan holds aloft a chemistry guide. In the pitch dark we see his white teeth flash as he signals us to move out. Many customers anxiously wait outside his shop. We squeeze ourselves out and meet college professors and retired principals, elderly thaathaas, a few college students mostly studying engineering, one preparing for MBA and the other an architecture student looking for journals and magazines on design and planning. Each waves a chit.
“Professional and new books are expensive at regular bookstores,” offers one young customer. “So I regularly come here.” We again watch Murugan swishing in and out of his 30 square feet shop. And always he emerges with the right book in hand!
Murugan goes hunting for books into his shop at least 20 times a day. “It is 25 years’ experience. I do it more for self-satisfaction than money. When students clear semesters, our little efforts also go into it.”
Recalls his boss Kumaravel, the second-generation owner of Madurai’s oldest book shop, “My father sold old books on the platform in 1952. Students used to throng this lane to sell old books and buy new ones. A doctor gives medicine for the sick, I give books to people with a thirst for knowledge.”
Seller-speak
We peer into the next shop and the next. Each shop owner holds a similar pride in the job he does. Most shops are just as small if not smaller. The world inside is ruled by novels, memoirs, whodunits, quiz books, classics, encyclopaedias, biographies…
In his heap of around 3,000, Srinivasan has everything – from John Grisham to Harry Potter to Paulo Coelho to Alvin Toffler and New England cookbooks. He has 20,000 books in his godown and brings a fraction each week to the shop here. That’s enough to pull in booklovers from even neighbouring districts. His collection is eclectic. Orhan Pamuk’s novels, Jaws — The Revenge, a book about Prince Charles as a young bachelor, Paul E.Erdman’s The Last Days of America, Lee Iacocca’s autobiography, a handy hardbound titled The Anatomy of Printing. “Who said literature is boring to people?” Srinivasan asks. “If not James Joyce and Joseph Conrad, then Bill Gates and Deepak Chopra.”
A few feet away near the defunct New Cinema is K.C.M. Book Stall, owned by second grade drop-out K.Chandramohan. Familiar with every Shakespeare play, he is like an audio guide for literature students. “Little did I think of doing business with books which I hated as a child,” he says at 70.
The Madharkhan Tabedar Lane has 15-odd shops. There are 20 more near the New Cinema, a dozen on West Marret Street and a few in Pudumandapam. These are the hubs of old book centres in the city. Yesteryear’s thriving book market on pavements is gone. The book bazaar is the only source of income for the 50-odd book sellers. Four years ago they formed the Old Books Shop Owners Association and got a State loan to set up permanent stalls, reducing losses due to bad weather.
The members feel a larger organized space would allow books and sellers to be better arranged. Like the Moore Market in Chennai or the one in Coimbatore, a similar one-stop venue will be a big improvement over the way it is now in Madurai.
M.Balasubramanian of Shanthi Books on West Marret Street took over from his father, who started the business in 1965. He lords over six shops, 15 employees and more than 50,000 books earning Rs. 1 lakh during lean months and four to five times that during semester opening and examinations.
Goldmine of books
Subramanian’s stalls are a great find for those who need cheap ‘course books’ and for buyers of popular titles in Tamil, English, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu. The secret of his appeal is that he sells books at one-third the original cost price.
“The books are not inherently cheaper. I share my profit with customers,” says Subramanian, who networks with 100 junk dealers. Periodically he purchases 500 kilos of books from the kabadiwallahs for Rs.20 to 30 per kilo. “We often get multiple copies of the same title. Only a sample is in the shop after segregating.”
“You can find anything you want here,” says Krishnan, retired school headmaster. A regular for the past three decades, he says, “I buy books for my students at an affordable price. I never return disappointed.”
The Barani Book Centre stands apart in stocking Hindi books. Says R.C. Pandey from Uttar Pradesh, “I am a great fan of Prem Chand and I missed reading him when I moved here 40 years ago. Now I get Hindi novels by Maithili Sharan Gupt and Harivansh Rai Bachchan.”
Showing an old book Varusha Naatu Jameen Kathai by Vadaveera Ponnaiya, the adjacent shop owner Guruswami says, “I sell only photocopies of such books. History books are rare and valuable.”
“Our professors refer us to these shops,” says Dinesh, an engineering student. “As the syllabi differ every year, we also need old editions.” His friend Jayakarthik agrees. “Out of the ten books we came for, we got nine and the best part is the price.”
Not all books at these shops are second-hand. Many publishers sell old editions at lower prices. These sellers sometimes also sell in bulk to libraries, acting as distributors themselves.
Despite competition from trendy retailers, these book sellers have survived because of their customer-friendliness. “Informed book enthusiasts who want value for their money come to us because they believe the selection in our book shops is good,” says Subramanian. “They come to get their favourite books at cheaper rates. How can I disappoint them?”

Saturday, September 8, 2012

The history of Puthu Mandapam

TOI traces the history of Puthu Mandapam, which once meant a lot more to Maduraiites. 

W hat really is the history of the Puthu Mandapam in Madurai? Was it always a bustling area of commerce with traders and customers alike thronging the shops? From the memory of any Maduraiite, the Puthu Mandapam is always remembered and used for a big shopping experience, as the entire place is stocked with various stalls of merchandise. But, the place holds some of the most important portions of Madurai history. 



Sulaiman, the ex-Assistant Director of the Art and Culture Department, points out the significance of Puthu Mandapam that is engraved in the pages of history. He says, "It was always used as a spot to witness the cultural programs. Also, the royal women used to halt at the mandapam during their visit to the Meenakshi Amman temple and during the Chithirai festival. There was a canal that always had a consistent water flow. This particular canal is now drained and hosts the book shops on one side and the utensil shops on the other side. The mandapam was constructed with the water canal so as to maintain a pleasant temperature inside it. The most interesting fact of Puthu Mandapam is that it was constructed during the King Thirumalai Nayakkar as a part of his service to the city." 



The shops inside Puthu Mandpam have their own demand from the Maduraiites. But, it has to be made clear that the monument is losing its glamour. The place is used just like any other commercial street. Karthiga, a college student says, "Lot of people make a living out of these shops in the mandapam. It is understandable that they are striving for existence. But, it was the same case when there were hundreds of shops around the Meenakshi Amman Temple. The government did take necessary actions to clear up the place. Now, the entire perimeter of the temple appears to be clean and pleasant. Likewise, the mandapam also should be maintained in a proper way. The statues and the artistic works on the walls and ceilings are not noticed at all." 

There are prominent talks among the Maduraiites that the mandapam would be soon facing towards another personality as a museum. "It will always be a wonderful sight to visualize the Puthu Mandapam as a museum and it will be another major tourist attraction in the city. But, certain measures should also be taken in order to prevent such misuse of heritage structures," adds Karthiga. 

Puthu Mandapam still hosts some of the important proceedings of Chithirai festival, Theppam festival, Avanimoolam festival and Navarathiri. The shops are closed at those particular hours to ensure that the festival takes place without any interruptions. The place that was once allotted only for cultural dances and katcheris turned into a buzzing market with the emergence of shops one by one. But for now, the Puthu Mandapam waits with bated breath to know what its uncertain future holds.

Source - TOI


Visual archives In a state of disrepair :
Unfortunately in Tamil Nadu, the murals, the inscriptions, the sculptures and carvings have become targets of destruction and vandalism. The officials of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) Department, who administers the temples, are to be blamed for this state. Most often, these officials fail to appreciate and preserve these splendid works due to lack of knowledge of history.

In the famous Meenakshi temple, Madurai, several historic mandapams have become shopping complexes. The Pudhu mandapam, the Ashta Sakti mandapam, Veera Vasantharayar mandapam and Meenakshi Nayakar mandapam teem with hundreds of shops, obstructing from view pillars with incredibly beautiful sculptures. A scholar on the history of the Meenakshi temple was displeased that its 1,000-pillared mandapam, with superb sculptures, has become ‘a studio' now, with an incongruously gleaming granite floor, skewed focus lights and a big sculpture of Nataraja painted in black!
Several years ago, the earthen bed of the temple's famous ‘Golden Lotus' tank (Pottramarai Kulam) was cemented up, with the result that no water stays in the tank now and it looks barren now. The HR and CE officials of the temple also whitewashed hundreds of beautiful murals, painted on the walls of the northern corridor of the Golden Lotus tank, portraying the ‘Tiruvilaiyadal,' in the first quarter of 1996.
Source - The Hindu

Painted history - Natham Kovilpatti

Natham Kovilpatti, a small village with a 2000-year-old past, has a Chola connection

Say Kailasanathar Temple to any archaeologist or art buff, and they will break into an expression of joy. A Kailasanathar Temple in any part of India has never failed to reveal aesthetic wonders, and the one near our city at Natham Kovilpatti is no exception.

Here, the painted ceilings declare the beliefs and deepest aspirations of many an artist. Sadly, the works in both Swami and Amman Sannathis suffer from neglect. Paintings are peeling off due lack of maintenance.




The artistic liberty taken here presents us with an esoteric set of scenes from the epic Kumarasambhava. In front of the Amman Sannithi, there are two sets of paintings from the legend and incomplete paintings depicting the marriage of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi. The birth of Karthikeya is explicitly shown with vivid details. “It is a move away from the legendary story according to which Lord Muruga was born out of a flame from Lord Shiva’s third eye and it’s unique and not seen in any other art work in Tamil Nadu,” says R. Venkatraman, retired professor of art history.

“The paintings are unique in many ways,” he adds. “They depict tall and slender human figures resembling the Greek art realism.” Idealism and realism in paintings were prominent in 5th century BC Greek art and in art of the 5th century AD, the Gupta period, in northern parts of India. Paintings showing similar proportions in human figures were resurrected in the 18th century AD during the Nayak period at Kailasanathar Temple.

As early as 1978, Dr. Venkatraman highlighted the importance and distinctive features of the paintings found in the temple. He says that Krishna Deva Raya started shetradanam (visiting of holy places) and his vassals and polygars followed suit. In the ceilings of the front mandap of Swami Sannithi, scenes of the visits of Lingamma Nayak, military general of Chokkanatha Nayak (1659-1682), to temples of Tamil Nadu are painted. They are identified in both Tamil and Telugu script.

There are other unusual things about this temple. According to K. Muthumani, temple gurukkal, both Swami and Ambal face west and the temple is sought after by people with ‘sevvai dhosham’. Nandhi here becomes Parvathi’s attendant and is seen in front of Ambal Sannithi also. Navagrahas are found in sitting position. ‘Ashtma siddhis’ get shaped here as statues.

“The temple is constructed following ‘maguda aagamas’ and pujas start with Swami and end at Nandhi, unlike other temples where Lord Vinayaka is entitled to have the first puja,” he says.

The temple was believed to have been constructed during the Pandya regime between 10th and 11th centuries. The extension works were taken up during the Nayak regime.

According to retired archaeological officer C. Santhalingam, during this time, Dwarapathi Vels took control of this region as subordinates of the Pandya rulers. They claimed that they were descendants of Krishna from Dwaraka, so they named their region Dwarapathi.

Inscriptions

Inscriptions belonging to the 13th century refer to Maravarma Sundara Pandyan and Kulasekera Pandyan. They indicate that the temple was earlier known as ‘Kailasamudaya Sivaprakasam Eswaram’ Temple and a devotee Madhu Periyal alias Mangayarkarasi installed a perpetual lamp and donated 11 sheep to the temple.

Another inscription found at the entrance of the temple refers to establishment of an annachatram. A copy of the inscription is also found at Lingamma Nayak’s mud fort at Natham.

A 12th century inscription refers to funds and tax paid to the temple by the mercantile guild. An 11th century inscription found in the village reveals the existence of Eripadainallur, a fortified mercantile centre. The guild ‘Disai ayirathu inutruvar’ was settled here and engaged in business activities. The fortified centre was guarded by security guards such as ‘eriveerar, munai veerar, and kodi veerar’. A similar inscription was collected from Samudrapatti near Natham. Both these inscriptions are displayed at Mahal Museum. There are also copper plates that give an insight into the tax collected from Muslim traders.

According to Dr. Santhalingam, the little brook Thiru Manimuthaaru divides the village into parts. On the northern bank it is called Natham and on the southern bank it is Natham Kovilpatti. He adds that Silapathikaram refers to three different routes from Chola country to Pandya country. It is believed that Kannagi and Kovalan took the second route around Thuvarankuruchi, Sirumalai, Sirukudi, Samudrapatti and Natham to reach Madurai.

Many invaders too came via Natham to Madurai, including Sanda Sahib, 18th century military general of Arcot Nawab, whose ploy to attack Madurai was foiled by the village Kallars. During the same period, Khan Sahib alias Marudanayagam also ruled this region.

Natham has a 2000-year-old history, as evident from the burial urns that were unearthed from the village. The word ‘Natham’, meaning agro-based habitation site, had two divisions – Brahmin and mercantile settlements known as Sundara Chola Chaturvedi Mangalam and Eripadai Nallur, respectively.

The village was named after the King Sundara Chola Pandya. Starting from the regime of Raja Raja, Chola kings ruled Pandya country. In those days, the Chola kings added the suffix ‘Pandya’ to their names to pacify their countrymen. The Chola Pandya ruled Pandya country as viceroys of Chola monarchs.

Natham with all its history, lush fields and the Kailasanathar Temple merits a visit anytime. The village never fails to reward the visitor with a surprise or two.


Source - The Hindu

Temple with rich history

The Thiruedakam temple, in Madurai, is a storehouse of information.

Thiruedakam or Thiruvedakam, as it is also called, lies at a distance of about 19 km from Madurai on the Madurai-Sholavandan road. It is an over-grown village nestling on the bank of River Vaigai. One has to cross NH-7 through the under-pass to touch T Sholavandan road. The entire stretch from the road branching off from NH-7 is green and full of paddy fields and coconut groves as far as one can see.




Thiruedakam literally means, in Tamil, a respectful home for palm leaf (‘edu’ in Tamil). The ‘edu’ and the place are strongly associated with saint Thirugnana Sambandar, first of the Thevaram-trio, that spread Saivism in the South through the soul-stirring songs.

Legend has it that during the seventh century A.D. when the entire Pandya Kingdom was under the influence of Jainism, Koon Pandya’s queen, Mangayarkarasi, a Chola Princess, who was steeped in Saivism, wanted the ruler Arikesari Parankusa Mara Varman – 670-710 A.D. to follow Saivism. And for this she sought the help of Thirugnana Sambandar, who was staying at a mandapam adjoining the Meenakshi-Sundareswarar temple in Madurai.

The effects of Thirumarai

The mandapam, where Sambandar stayed, caught fire. The saint through his hymns (3339 to 3349 of third Thirumarai), prayed to Lord Siva that the heat of the fire that engulfed the mandapam be redirected towards the king, but with a plea not to kill him so that he might become a staunch follower of Saivism. Koon Pandya was afflicted with heat boils and Sambandar cured him by applying vibhuti. Later Sambandar had to take on the opponents in Anal vadham and punal vadham - test by fire and water. The palm leaf bundles carrying his hymns and those of others’ literature were set on fire. Sambandar’s verses survived. Set afloat in the Vaigai, his scripts were carried safely to the bank where an idol of Ganesa stood. A grateful saint called the place ‘Edu Senranai Tharum Edakam.’ It is said that a Siva lingam was installed by Sambandar for worship though it is said to be ‘swayambu.’

The Pandya king became an ardent Saivite. To commemorate the spiritual role of Mangayarkarasi, a mandapam was built at the Meenakshi-Sundareswarar temple, south of the 1,000-pillared mandapam.

Of the 63 Nayanmars, Mangayarkarasi ranks the 55 for saving Saivism, the king and the subjects. The Thirugnana Sambandar mandapam in South Avani Moola Street owes its origin to the saint and the 292 head of this mutt is Arunagirinatha Sri Gnana Sambanda Desika Paramacharya.

Two rajagopurams

The temple, with such a historical and hagiological background, faces East and has two five-storeyed rajagopurams, one at the entrance of the shrine of the presiding deity, Edakanathar or Edakanatheeswarar, and the other at the entrance of His consort, Elavaar Kuzhali also known as Sugantha Kuntalambika. The lingam is small and attractive. The shrine for the goddess is on the right side of Edakanathar’s. There are a maha mandapam, ardha mandapam and garbha griha at both the sannidhis.

The prakaram of the Lord’s sannadhi has a separate niche for Dakshinamurthy (on the southern wall of the garbha griha), Lingothbavar on the west and Durga on the north. At the western corner is Lord Subramanya with His consorts.

On the southern side are the idols of 63 Nayanmars, presenting a sculptural feast. On the northern side of the prakaram are the statuettes of Saptha Kannis. Near the navagrahas is Bhairavar, a fine piece of sculpture. The ‘tirtham’ of this temple is Brahma tirtham and the sacred tree is ‘vilvam.’

There is a passage from the maha mandapam of Edakanathar to the Amman sannidhi. The idol of Elavaar Kuzhali is a fine piece of sculpture.

While circumambulating the shrine, one can see the figurines of Itcha, Kriya and Gnana saktis on the southern, western and northern sides of garbha griha. A noticeable feature is the presence of the Nandi in the goddess’ sannidhi.

The pillars supporting the maha mandapams of both the shrines have been tastefully sculpted with yakshis in the corbels, which resemble the pillars of the longest corridor at the Rameswaram temple.

On the left side of the entrance to the temple is the high rise basement built in granite which is said to have been left unfinished by a Vijayanagar ruler.

Though shorn of epigraphical evidence to establish the historicity of the temple, it can be easily assumed that it dates back to the seventh century since Gnana Sambandar and Koon Pandya belong to the latter part of that period. Later on, a proper temple must have been built.

In the past century nagarathars took the initiative to renovate it, and the temple ranks fourth among the 14 Siva sthalams in the land of the Pandyas.

The ‘pathigam,’ comprising 11 hymns, sung by Sambandar on Thiruedakam brings out the divinity of the saint and the greatness of the sthalam.

The 11 sloka is ‘Pala Stuthi’ and Sambandar avers that those who read these pieces will be blessed with wealth and freed from all diseases.

The first, second and third ‘thirumarai’ of ‘Panniru Thirumarai’ were sung by Thirugnana Sambandar and are called ‘Thirukadai Kappu’ besides the general name ‘Thevaram.’ Though Sambandar is credited with 16,000 pathigams only 384 from it, and 4,159 songs have so far been traced out.


Source - The Hindu 

What Maadakulam is to Madurai

Namma Madurai traces the canals and irrigation system that once fed the lush vicinity of the city.

You leave behind the din and bustle of the bypass when you enter the cement road of Maadakulam village. Cool air carrying the smell of cow dung announces you have arrived in a place that still has all its old charm intact.




Maadakulam udainthaal Madurai Paazh. This simple saying implies the importance of Maadakulam to the Temple City. Biggest of all the tanks in the region, it was the main source of irrigation for the entire wetland of Madurai.

“I believed the tank to be the sea, where people fish often,” my brother once told me. Now, the tank resembles a pond filled knee-deep with slush and silt. Spreading across 326 acres, it can hold 47,25,000 cubic metres of water. Once, the water from this tank filled all the tanks in Madurai before reaching Keezh Madurai, says A. Sakthivel, a villager.

According to C. Santhalingam, retired Archaeological Officer, most of the later Pandya inscriptions refer to our city as ‘Madurodaya vazhanatil Maadakula keezh Madurai’. This inscriptional reference notes that Maadakulam was situated within the limits of ‘Madurodaya vazhanadu,’ a geographical division.




Likewise, later Pandya inscriptions belonging to the 12th and 13th centuries refer to Maadakula keezh Tiruparankundram, Maadakula keezh Ariyur, Maadakula keezh Kulasekarapuram, Maadakula keezh Kodimangalam. From these references, it is inferred that the term ‘kulakeezh’ means a separate geographical division, like kootram or naadu, which is similar to our present taluk and panchayat unions. This simply means the tank fed the wetlands of Madurai. No wonder it looked like a sea to my brother two decades ago.

GUARDIANS AND GODS


The tank has two inscriptions. The 12th century Pandya period inscription found near the north sluice gives detailed information about the water management system that existed in those days.

It talks about a group of tank security guards who are often referred to as ‘eri veera kanam’. “People from various villages (eight sides) were selected and employed as a guarding force of the tank,” says Santhalingam. He says the inscription also contains the symbols of whisks, lamp, dagger, plough and horns. The symbols refer to mercantile guilds. Perhaps, the guild members who were also involved in agro-based activities might have managed the tank with the help of their guards.




Another inscription, belonging to the 18th century, refers to a sluice as ‘Thiru Aalavayan madai’, named after the presiding god of Meenakshi Temple, Aalavaiudaiyar. It recounts an incident in which Arya Puthira Kanaker Nayan Pillai repaired the damaged sluice. Archaeologists have unearthed pieces of black and red ware and burial urns from the vicinity of the tank. If those finds are taken into account, the tank is at least 2000 years old.

All irrigation tanks have a protective deity and Maadakulam has its Edadi Ayyanar on the southern side of the village. Villagers link the birth of Edadi Ayyanar to the mythological story of Mohini Avathar of Lord Vishnu. At the entrance, the temple has two sets of white elephants, statues of Vedan and Vedatchi and Chinna Karuppu and Periya Karuppu, guardian deities of Ayyanar.

The village has places named ‘Arali aadi’ and ‘Thamira Pallam’, referring to the flowers that grew in and near the water. Besides, it is believed that the villagers ground sugarcane and sent cane juice through a canal for the construction of King Thirumalai Naicker’s palace. The presence of an alakal (grinding stone) and use of the name ‘vaikal’ provide credence to that belief. According to 85-year-old Ayyan, both the channel and the alakal have gone underground owing to accumulation of sand. The serene, narrow village road suddenly bustles with activity when a vehicle is heard. Women and children run haphazardly carrying pots and utensils, thinking the water tanker has arrived. Water scarcity has not spared this village.

No matter how many resources we have, unless we learn to maintain and use them properly we won’t benefit by them. Maadakulam as it is now is a standing example of a neglected resource that might have kept a land prosperous.


Source - The Hindu

Information system of Nayak time

Revisiting the remnants of an information system prevailing during Tirumalai Nayak's time

Today we have information relayed to us through various sophisticated equipment and systems, but a somewhat similar system, though rudimentary, existed long ago in and around our region. 
In the earlier days, people shared information mainly through pigeons and messengers who were often known as ‘runners’ (Oottan). But during Tirumalai Nayak's regime, when there was a message to be sent a series of bells rang.

 
It is believed that King Tirumalai Nayak (1623 to 1659 AD), an ardent devotee of Srivilliputhur Andal Temple, used to eat his breakfast only after the pujas were performed at the temple. To get the information that the pujas were completed, the king built mandaps about every five kilometres on the route from Madurai to Srivilliputhur and installed loud bells in them. Each mandap also had a small kitchen.


Mandaps


The bell man lived with his family at the mandap, which also served as ‘chatram’ for travellers and pilgrims. Now, only three mandaps can be identified on the route to Srivilliputhur. Of these, the mandap at Pilliayarnatham is maintained by the local Sanmarga Sangam.




This 17th century mandap has about 30 pillars in the form of a chariot pulled by elephants. The pillars are adorned with ‘dasavatharam’ and erotic sculptures. Sevanthi Asari designed and constructed the mandap, according to an inscription found there. The portrait of the Asari is also found at the entrance.


One of the other two mandaps hosts a firewood shop, while the other remains in tatters on the Srivilliputhur Road. Similar mandaps are found at Tiruparankundram, Pasumalai, Moolakaraipatti and Pazhanganatham near Madurai.


A similar story is told of Veerapandya Kattabomman, who was hanged in 1799 AD. It is believed that Kattabomman took his breakfast only after hearing the bell that passed on the information that pujas were over at the Tiruchendur Temple. He also built about 40 mandaps between Panchalakuruchi and Tiruchendur to pass on the message from the temple.

 
Copper plate evidence 


“There is no recorded and documented evidence for the king waiting for the bell to have his breakfast,” says C. Santhalingam, retired archaeological officer. “But there is copper plate evidence at Arittapatti near Madurai which recorded the alarm system – a mode of relaying information.”


During the Nayak regime, local chieftains ruled some pockets of the country and often they revolted against the monarch. To keep them under control, Tirumalai Nayak raided their territories.


According to the plate, Chetty Dalavay, a military chief, appointed Vekappunathan, a resident of Kalikottai, to keep a watch on the border and pass information about invasion, if any, with an alarm. Vekappunathan was to stay in a high rock shelter, to which he would climb with the help of an iron ladder.


On one occasion, the raid of Tirumalai Nayak's army failed because of Vekappunathan's timely alarm. After identifying the reason for his army’s failure, the king’s men bribed the alarm man. Next time, the man did not inform the chief about the forthcoming raid and Tirumalai Nayak's army looted the village.


When the treacherous act of Vekappunathan came to light, Chetty Dalavay took away the iron ladder and let him perish atop the hill. The copper plate is now in possession of a person who has the same name, Vekappunathan.


Santhalingam says, “Belonging to 17th century, the plate gives interesting information about the history of the area and the information system that existed.”
Whatever may be the level of sophistication in passing on information, the crucial importance of communication remains. 


Source - The Hindu