Sometimes you don’t know the hidden gems right in front of you. So is the ‘7th century Cave temples of Thirumayam’.Though it is a 2 hour drive from my native , never made an effort to explore until now. So , this time during our recent visit we did a road trip to Thirumayam and Karaikudi.
Thirumayam is credited as a place of historic significance in the ancient Tamil history . The Pandyas , Pallavas and Cholas were the three major dynasties in ancient Tamilnadu .The last war between Pandyas and the Pallavas happened here. Pallavas defeated Pandyas and gave full freedom to Vijayalaya Chola who supported the war effort. He was offered few areas as a token of appreciation. This became the starting point for establishing the mighty Chola dynasty.
The magnificent fort spanning across 40 acres , was built by the kings to protect the kingdom from enemy attacks.
Present day,the fort and surrounding areas are important tourist attraction in Pudukottai district -Tamilnadu.
The fort is surrounded by water bodies ,also used as a barrier for enemy attacks(though you see blue -green algae now!). The step pond inside the fort for community use is also a structural beauty.
The fort hosts Shiva and Vishnu temple and many other small temples. These temples excavated more than 1500 years ago by the kings are testament to the ancient architecture.
The entrance gopurams in both these temples were built during the 17th century. The Vishnu deity here is a high relief statue lying in sea similar to Srirangam temple.
An external view of the rock cut temple.
In ancient Tamil tradition, every other village and fort is guarded by demigods , village dieties and ‘Kala Bhairavar’. Thirumayam fort is no exception.There is a small Bhairava temple at the fort entrance.
It is believed Bhairavar uses dog as a vehicle, hence got a sacred thread to protect our furry friend.
Ayyanar protects the village and Ayyanar shrines are present in the periphery of the villages with the shrine surrounded by terracotta sculptures of horses , cows , elephants.
The famous Chettinad Heritage homes are just 10 mins away from the cave temple.
These massive homes were built by Chettiyars , a trader community in Tamil Nadu who used to live/trade in Burma , Srilanka and Malaysia. These home have a central courtyard surrounded by family rooms , kitchen , backyard etc .The Chettiyar’s lived with their family and extended families under one roof.
While there concept of joint family is almost vanishing ,these homes are now converted as heritage hotels and holiday homes.
Chidambara villas (https://www.sangamhotels.com/chidambara-vilas-pudukkottai/) is one such home which is now a heritage hotel .
Beautiful Rangoli(drawings using rice flour) in front of the house is common across Tamilnadu.
We stayed for a night at Saradha Vilas (www.sarathavilas.com) , a traditional chettinad home , beautifully restored and run by a French architect.Few glimpses of Saradha Vilas.
Most of my travel pictures feature plants than humans! This is the largest Adenium I have ever seen.
Cave temple Karpagaya Vinayakar at Pilliyarpatti , Periya Veedu, and Athangudi tile making are must see in this area.
Periya Veedu is the only Chettiyar home open for public viewing. Intricate wood carvings on the doors, ceilings , windows made using Burma teak wood, Italian marbles are some standard feature in all homes .These homes shows how the chettiyars took pride in displaying their wealth until their business collapsed during the Great Depression in 19th century.
Even the compound walls and gates are beautiful.
The streets are well planned, each house is so huge that it almost occupies a street.
The Chettinad region is organised around the Nagarathar ( clan) temples . Pillayar Patti temple located enroute to Thirupattur is one of the clan temples dedicated to lord Ganesh.
This cave temple was carved during the Pandiyan period and in its current form extended during the 19th century.
Athangudi is a small village famous for hand made tiles, used for kitchen, living room and balconies. These are glazed cement tiles with beautiful flower patterns. Whether you buy or not ,the villagers do not hesitate to demonstrate their art of tile making.
Chettinad is also famous for antique market.Few pictures from a shop owned by a veteran, now spending his next phase of life in his roots .
Cashew nuts typically used in Indian households for desserts and festive cooking is grown in this region. We could see villagers processing cashews from ‘fruit to nuts’. Hand roasted using wood fire , dried and packed for sale.
Chettinad food is typically is spicy non vegetarian. If you are a hard core vegetarian, there are very limited options.
While we have some more places to visit (Sittanavasal , Nartamalai, Kundrakudi Cave temples and surrounding area) nothing is more satisfying than a long drive at night,fireflies , traffic free highway , listening to Mastero Ilayaraja songs!
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