Part 6 - Rajaraja Chola's Tanjavur

Part 6 – Tanjore, Tamil Nadu (14 June,2011)

On 14 June 2011, we decided we will visit Tanjore, 60 kms away from Trichy. Tanjore is an ancient city of India with a long history dating back to the Sangam period. The Great Chola Living Temple which is a UNESCO Heritage Site is located here. It is called the Brihadeeswara Temple, otherwise known as the 'Big Temple'.

The temple was built by the great Rajaraja (Emperor) Chola.

Inside Tanjore local bus - the helpful conductor

So, we took the bus from Trichy Central Bus Stand to Tanjore, tickets RS16 each. From Tanjore Main Bus-Stand, we took a local bus to the ‘Big Temple’, tickets RS4 each.

The 6 Places that we visited on our own in Tanjore were :-

 

1. The Brihadeeswara Temple

2. Vijayanagara Fort

3. Tanjore Palace

4. Saraswathi Mahal Library

5. Sangeetha Mahal

6. The Art Gallery

1. The Brihadeeswara Temple

This is a 11th century temple built by Rajaraja Chola. The entire temple structure is made of hard granite stones. It seems it took only 6 years to complete. The walls of the sanctum are covered with wall paintings depicting Chola and Nayak periods.

The Great Chola Living Temples of Tanjore

Panoramic view of temple complex



Tanjore Big Temple - main entry



The description

The first gopuram - at the entrance



So magnificent...



Dancing pose

The old Tamil inscription

More shots of the temple



One section of the complex

Me at the UNESCO site

The blessing itself - is that a smile on the elephant's face?

This by far is the most captivating temple of all that we have seen in our India trip. It stood so solid against natural earth and sand colours. It seemd no cement was used in its construction. Just astounding! I hope this temple is kept as it is for a long time.

We paid RS90 for entrance and camera. And there is a safe shoe-storing area for free inside the temple complex.

2. Vijayanagara Fort

The fort was built in 1550AD by the Nayaks and Maratha rulers. The Tanjore Palace, Sangeetha Mahal, Saraswathi Mahal Library and the Art Gallery are located inside the fort.

The fort in ruins

More of the fort



 3. Tanjore Palace

The Tanjore Palace is about 2km from the Big Temple. It was built by Nayaks and Maratha rulers from 1532AD. The palace’ courtyard leads to a many-pillared hall. There is an imposing Tower which rises from the palace roof. It has six storeys and we climbed all the way up.

The palace central courtyard

Tanjore town viewed from the Palace Tower - the Big Temple very much visible

Tanjore Palace



The one-minute Maharajah

4. Saraswathi Mahal Library

The library was established around 1700 AD and keeps some of the oldest manuscripts in palm leaves. You can find ancient maps and nadi shastra here, including vast number of ancient manuscripts, both Indian and European. 80% of its manuscripts are in Sanskrit, many on palm leaves, some on paper.

The Sarawathi Mahal Library

Although we would have liked to stay and browse longer at the displayed manuscripts and maps, we were politely asked to leave quickly as they close for lunch at 12.30pm and re-open 3pm. We only had about 15mins to browse.

We weren't happy about this, and made it known in their 'Visitor's Log Book'. The management should look into a staggerred lunch break so that the place remains open and accessible to visitors.The staff told us they had only half an hour lunch break and so had to close. Very disappointing.

The other fact is visitors cannot access the library as only researches are permitted. Reason given was visitors may mess the arrangement order of books. Doesn't sound like a good enough reason to me.


 

5. Sangeetha Mahal

Sangeetha Mahal is in the first floor of the Tanjore Palace. This was the place where musicians and dancers performed in front of the Chola and Nayak rulers.  It has now been converted into a Handicraft Shop.

Sangeetha Mahal

We bought the famous Thalaiyatti Bommai (head-nodding doll) as souvenir for RS230.

6. Art Gallery

Tanjore Art Gallery was started in 1951 and is located in the Audience Hall or the Durbar Hall of the Tanjore Palace. On display are the bronze and granite sculptures of the Chola period from the 9th to 12th century.

A deity with my name...

stone statues from 9th-12th centuries

Lord Shiva's various dance poses



Inside the art gallery

 For lunch, we took an auto (RS40) to a non-veg restaurant and had Chicken and Mutton Briyani for RS195. Less spice and tasted all right.

The road outside the restaurant

Then we walked to the Tanjore Bus-Stand to head to the Main Bus-Stand but were unable to beat the rushing crowd. The buses we noticed never stopped at the platform but a short distance away so groups of people dashed to board the bus, some just about hanging onto the bus. We just took an auto instead, RS90.

We got down at the Main Bus Stand and took the Trichy headed bus.

Tanjore Bus Stand

The next and last day was our flight of departure from Trichy Airport.

Some Tips :

-To get to the ‘Big Temple’, just ask any local or the bus drivers, they will tell you which bus to take and where to get down. The helpful conductor of the local Tanjore bus that we took informed us when we neared our stop. The stop is very near to the ‘Big Temple’. And the best part, every other place we visited were located just within walking distance of the ‘Big Temple’.

-Do a guided tour for the ‘Big Temple’ if you can; as we were privy to some details that we would have missed if not for the guide. On one of the huge gopurams, the guide pointed out a sculpture of a British Officer in a cap and uniform. Seems the rulers then did this to please the British rulers. And there it was, right on top of a sculpture of Lord Muruga. We paid the guide RS100 for the one hour tour.

- This is one temple where you don't find shops, bazaars or beggars within its compound.

- As much as you want to go local, when it comes to extreme risks, opt for second best eg choosing an auto rather than a packed bus

End of journey, adios …

On 15 June 2011, we checked out and took an auto to Trichy Airport. Modern, spacious and clean. We paid RS120 for the ride. We checked in our tickets and had breakfast in the airport (nobody queued at the food outlet, yes again!).



Signboard outside Trichy Airport

N just before entering the airport

Inside the waiting area

The planes

We departed India at 9.15am.

Temple elephant on lunch break

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Photos : NIKON COOLPIX P300