Trichy

Trichy is on the bank of river Cauvery, and is the 4th largest city in Tamilnadu, and it is mountaineous. There are mountains inside the city, and you will be driving around mountains, small ones though, if you want to get to any place.

You can get to Trichy from Chennai by train or the road. Train is preferred, coz it takes just about 5 hrs to reach, and it is a over night journey. You need to take the Rock Fort Express from Chennai Egmore Station. Trichy is called Rock Fort City, coz there is a temple fort on top of a small hillock, that is dedicated to the favorite God of Hindus, the Ganesha.

I had gone to Trichy on work, and i stayed back there for the weekend, so that I can go around and see the places around. The Ranganatha Swamy temple and the Uchi Pulaiyar Temple ( Summit Ganesha ) ie the Rock Fort Temple on top of the hillock are a must see.

Tiruchirappalli, was a citadel of the early Cholas which later fell to the Pallavas. Trichy is a fine blend of tradition and modernity built around the Rock Fort. Apart from the Fort, there are several Churches, Colleges and Missions dating back to the 1760s. The town and its fort, now in Trichy were built by the Nayaks of Madurai. This city has given great Tamil scholars whose contributions to the Tamil literature have been very significant.

Rock Fort Temple - The most famous land mark of Trichy is the Rock fort and Temple. It is perched on a massive 83 m rock which rises abruptly from the plain to tower over the old city. The actual centre of attraction is not the fort itself, of which very little remains, but the temple at the summit.

The Nayaks made use of its naturally fortified position, but the temple was built by the Pallavas as a small cave temple. ( The same Pallavas, who did the Shore temples in Mahabalipuram, near Chennai ). It is a stiff climb, up the 437 steps cut into the stone to the top but well worth the view. There are inscriptions dating back to the 3rd century.B.C. Hardly anything remains of the ramparts but the Main Guard Gate is still intact.

It was one of the main centers around which the wars of the Carnatic were fought in the 18th century during the British-French struggle for supremacy in India. And according to an inscription, this place contributed to the British laying the foundation of their Empire in India.

At the top of the rock is the Uchipillaiyar Koil, a temple dedicated to Lord Vinayaka from where one can enjoy a panoramic view of Tiruchirappalli. A flight of steps leads to the Mathrubutheswarar of Thayumanaswami temple, dedicated to Lord Siva where the lingam is a projection of the rock itself. Below the Siva temple are the two Pallava cave temples that have beautiful sculptures of the 6th and 7th centuries.

Non-Hindus are not allowed into the Vinayaka Temple at the summit and at the bigger Sri Thayumanaswamy Temple dedicated to Siva, halfway up.

From the top of the hillock, from the temple, the view of Trichy is beautiful, with Cauvery flowing on one side. All along the river, you will find women washing clothes, kids playing in the water, men bathing their buffaloes, the sight is wonderful – so very Indiaish.

At the foot of the Rock Fort are a tank and a pavilion which are used during the float festival of the temples. Near the tank is the house where Robert Clive lived when he was in Tiruchirappalli and there is an 18th century Church built by Reverend Schwartz of Denmark.

Ranganath Swamy Temple - This superb temple complex at Srirangam is on an island, surrounded by the Cauvery and its tributary Kolidam. It is about three kms from the Rock Fort, is a 600 acre island-town surrounded by seven concentric walls with 21 gopurams and is probably the largest in India. Most of it dates from the 14th to 17th centuries, and many people have had a hand in its construction, including the Cheras, Pandyas, Cholas, Hoysalas and rulers from Vijayanagar. The largest gopuram in the first wall on the southern side was completed as recently as 1987, and now measures 73m

The main temple is dedicated to Vishnu. Even muslims are said to have prayed here after the fall of the Vijayanagar Empire. Non-Hindus are not allowed into the gold - topped sanctum, but they are allowed into the sixth wall. The whole place is fascinating. Bazaars and Brahmins' houses fill the space between the outer four walls, and you don't have to take your shoes off or leave your 2 wheeler until you get to the fourth wall. Just past the shoe deposit is an information centre, where you buy the ticket to climb the wall for a panoramic view of the entire complex. There's also a small museum containing sculptures.

Ivory sculptures of Lord Vishnu in various poses and the images of Nayak Kings with consorts donated by Nayak kings who ruled Madurai during the 17th century are available here.

Pavai lamps of Marati period who ruled Thanjavur, the rest of the period, made the Nataraja image in a pearl made screen. Coins of British, Dutch, Tiruvanquor, Hyderabad, Gwalior, princely states are available. Firm leaves inscriptions, stone sculptures, very big temple lamps, copper plates of Vijayanagara Kings are available .

After visiting these places, the Rock fort and temple, the Srirangam temple and the museum, you will feel completely elated. You can take a walk around the city, and get back home.

Getting There :

Trichy is well connected.

By Air : Trichy has an airport (5 kms from the city). Indian Airlines connects Trichy with Chennai, Sharjah, Kuwait and Colombo. Air Lanka Service connects Tiruchirapalli with Colombo.

By Train : Trichy is an important junction on the Southern Railway

By Road : Trichy is well connected by road with important places and Southern Cities

Getting Around : City Bus service, Tourist Taxis, Auto Rickshaws and Cycle Rickshaws are also available.

Trip Duration : 2 days

Accomodation :

Jenny’s Residency, 3 / 14, McDonalds Road, Trichy, Ph : 2461301, 2414414
Femina Hotel, 14 – C, Williams Road, Trichy, Ph : 2414501, 2414274
Hotel Abirami, 10, McDonalds Road, Trichy, Ph : 2415001
Hotel Ajanta, 6 – A, Rockins Road, Trichy, Ph : 2415501
Hotel Anad, No. 1, Racquet Court Lane, Trichy, Ph : 2415545

Tanjore

Tanjore Paintings, Brahadeeshwara Temple, Tamil literature, Paddy fields….this is Tanjore for all of us. Tanjore is originally Tanjavur in Tamil. The British could not pronounce the name, and made in Tanjore…which is its anglisized version. Tanjore is in the Cauvery river delta, with rich alluvial soil, making it the Granary of the South. Needless to say, Rice is chief crop that is cultivated by the people here.

If you see today, Tanjore is like any other sleepy town in TamilNadu. The two main attractions are the Bhradeeshware Temple and the world famous Tanjore paintings. Tanjore has about 93 temples, and most of them were built by Raja Raja 1 – the Chola Emperor, and was the capital of the Chola Dynasty from 9th to the 13th Century. It was the center of learning, culture and architecture.

I went to Tanjore by bus, from Trichy. It is a 40 minute ride in the local buses. Tanjore is a very important city in Tamilnadu, and hence it is well connected from all places, by buses and trains.

The Bhrahadeeshware temple and Fort in Tanjore is a World Heritage Site. It is very beautiful. This temple stands inside a fort, and hence has huge walls with monstrous entrance gate, watch towers, and also has a moat. It seems, during war times, people of Tanjore hid inside the temple fort, and the doors were closed.

Chola emperor Raja Raja I – The sailor king of India, (AD 985 - 1012), built it in 1010, just a few years before the Kajuraho temple was completed. Raja Raja 1, ruled most of Tamilnadu at that time. Appropriately called Brihadisvara and Daksinameru, this famous Saiva temple was inaugurated by the emperor himself in his 19th regal year (AD 1009-10) and named it after himself as Rajesvara Peruvudaiyar. It has the reputation of being the most ambitious structural temple built of granite ever. The fort like features, were added later during the 16th century. This monument is a culmination of temple architecture of the Dravidian style. Raja Raja was deeply involved in the temple construction, and hence one can find several inscriptions in the temple basement, in praise of the King.

The temple has its entrance in the East. As per Vasstu shastra, a East facing entrance was the best. The entrance gate has a huge vimana or gopuram. This entrance structure is aligned to the inner temple itself. The sanctum sanctorum has the hugh Shiva Linga.

This temple is beautiful and is an architectural marvel in more ways than one. It has a pyramid or vimana, which is 70 metres high, and is done in such a way, so that the shadow of the vimana does on fall on the ground at any point of the day.

There are smaller temples for Lord Subrahmanya, Lord Ganesha and Lord Nataraja ( the Dancing form of Lord Shiva ). Shiva’s vahan, the Nandi’s ( Bull ) shrine is right in front of the Shiva temple.

There are many cute stories attached to the Nandi here.

It seems several years ago, during the time of Kings, there was no rain at all. People prayed to Lord Shiva, but the prayers were not answered. The situation was getting grim. People assumed that the Lord must be in deep penance, and hence their prayers did not yield any response. They felt that the only way to get his attention was by tormenting him. The Nandi was very dear to the Lord. So, the people of Tanjore, applied lots of pepper powder on Nandi’s back. As time went by, Nandi could not tolerate the burning sensation on his back, and began to run helter skelter. Nandi’s cries woke up the Lord. The only solution that Lord Shiva had was to pour water on Nandi’s back to reduce the burning sensation, and relieve Nandi of the problem. It started pouring rain like never before, and the people of Tanjore were pleased.

After this, it became common practise at Brihadishwara temple, that all those who came to Worship Lord Shiva, went to Nandi, and repeated all the prayers into its ears. The reason being, if the Lord was in penance, then he would not yield, then Nandi would remind him. Interesting isn’t it.

The Palace was built partly by the Nayaks of Vijayanagar in 1550 AD, and partly by the Marathas. Adjacent to the temple the palace is a series of large and rambling buildings of fine masonry.

Tanjore paintings are very famous. It is a unique art, where images of Hindu Gods and Goddesses are drawn and also mythological characters. Gold leaf and precious stones are used in the paintings to make the jewelry and the clothing of the gods and Godesses depicted. Therefore, Tanjore paintings are very expensive.

How to get there :

By Air : Trichy – 65 Kms. Madurai – 200 kms. Chennai – 350 kms

By Rail There is a railway junction in Thanjavur. It's well connected with Trichy, Chennai and Nagore.

By Road Thanjavur is well linked with all the major towns in Tamil Nadu and is also connected with Kochi, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram and Bangalore.

Trip duration : 2 days

Best time to travel : Throughout the year

Accomodation :

Oriental towers hotel, 2889, Srinivasam Pillai Road, Thanjavur

Parisutham Hotel, 55 Grand Anicut Canal Road, Thanjavu

Sangam Hotel, Trichy Road, Thanjavur