Discovering The Charms of Chengam
Chengam
Not an unknown name , for sure . But truth is, it had remained merely a name ; a signboard on the often traversed Bangalore - Pondicherry highway , never a pit stop . Chengam, then, meant only Chengam Road to me, a stretch of highway horribly potholed and splattered with goo from the tamarind pods crushed under speeding wheels. ( glad to say, that abominable stretch was made decent and motorable sometime last year . )
It took six decades and more for me to discover the true worth of the town behind the name on the green signboard. Thanks to a very enlightening tour , organised by Ratham Heritage , with Prof. Madhusudhanan Kalaichelvan helming it , and the untiring Mr. Madhavan V taking care of the essential nitty-gritties.
A truly memorable trip.
This post will try to collate all info gleaned during this trip , with much gratitude to the aforementioned gentlemen.
So, to Chengam. 32 Kms from Tiruvannamalai.
Today , a small town which doesn't advertise its hoary history and heritage with banners or arches. It is just as sleepy , dusty and featureless as any other mofussil address .
But, talk about not judging a book by its cover !
செங்கம் - செங்கண்மா
Chengam lies at the foot hills of the Javvadu Range of the Eastern Ghats, on the banks of River Cheyyar . Cheyyar , in mythology , was created by The Sei ( The Child , Murugan) for his Mother Parvathi's use when She camped here. Oral history says Cheyyar / Chevvar is the River That Ran Red ( Chev : red) with blood of enemies during any one of the many Wars fought here , details unknown . Such blood sport was par for the course in those days , i guess.
The name, Chengam , is the abbreviated form of "Chenganma" (Old Tamil) meaning "a wild animal with red eyes " ( Chen : red , Kann :eye, Ma : feral animal )
The curious - frankly, intimidating - name must indicate the once wild terrain in which the present town is situated. Ancient poems sing of fearsome beasts of prey , brave hunters , and highway robbers roaming here, across the thick forested vales. Today , the only red-eyed feral creatures to be spotted are those near TASMAC kiosks.
Not any old , but ANCIENT old !
Apparently , the region's archeologically documented history goes back to Iron Age and Megalithic times . Excavations have yielded stone chisels, pot sherds , arrow heads, stone circles, burial urns, dolmens, anthropomorphic monoliths and the like. Thats one heck of an antiquity not many towns can boast of !
Recorded history of Tamil lands start with Sangam Literature and Chengam too has a Sangam head start .
மலைபடுகடாம் / கூத்தராற்றுப்படை
The Sangam era song "Malaipadukadam" ( aka Koottharaattrpadai) in 583 lines, of Aattrupadai genre , found in the Pattupaattu anthology , composed by Iraniyamuttatthu Perumkunrur Perumkowsikanar is said to contain detailed descriptions of the land , people and culture of this region during the reign of a king named Nannansei Nannan who ruled from his Capital in Chenganma. The Song is devised as an oral road map given to some wandering minstrels wishing to reach the Royal Court in the hope of getting rewarded for their panegyrical songs.
Scholars give this poetic work the date 210 CE. What is amazing is that the geographical descriptions in it are so precise that some present-day researchers were able to trace the exact path shown to the ancient minstrels to reach Chenganma !
After the Sangam Age , the region passed through the hands of many dynastic rulers as warranted by the twists and turns of history. Because of its fortuitous location on the ancient trade route connecting the interiors ( Karnataka) to the ports on West Coast , it thrived as a busy transit town, even upto Colonial times.
Of historical monuments , no forts or palaces remain . But two venerable temples, one dedicated to Vishnu and the other to Siva , continue to be in worship .
VenugopalaParthasarathy ? Sri Krishna could not possibly have played a flute as He chauffeured Arjuna to battle . As suspected, the original name for the Deity here is different : Gopalakrishnaswamiyar.
The Moolavar is four armed , with a shepherd's crook ( Go-pala's chendu) in one hand , which probably got interpreted as a horse whip , leading to the name Parthasarathy. He is flanked by His two Devis. A small sized copy of His image can be seen in bas relief on a pillar in the mahamantapa.
While the moolavar is of average size, the dwarapalakas are 9ft tall ! An additional Dwarapala , sans his team mate, is also seen standing outside the mantapa.
Built by Dalavoy Thimmappa Nayaka , a Chieftain reporting to the Senji Nayakas in the17th Century, the temple has all lakshanas of standard Vijayanagara-brand temples : composite pillars, yali riders on pillar shafts, pan-dravidian katanjana, portrait statues of donors in anjali mudra , gracefully curving eaves . And story board panels on pillar faces , illustrating various parent-unfriendly antics of the adorable , roly-poly Baby Krishna . Chweetoo !(Thaye Yashoda ! how did you cope with it all ma ? )
The sumptuous image of the pious Dalavoy is seen on a pillar in the Mahamantapa and also as a small figure , with wife Tirumalamba and a son , in a niche in Andal sannadi.
Murals
The pie'ce de re'sistance of the Mahamantapa is the ceiling . The central slab sports the lotus motif , surrounded by tiny dancing figures. The broad , outer band is plastered and covered with exquisite, typically Nayaka style Murals. Fine outlines, copious ornamentation, patterned clothing, faces in profile , vegetable and mineral colours .
Sadly , just a few remnants are left ; patches showing a few episodes from the Yuddha Kandam of Ramayana . All the rest are wiped out without trace , fallen prey to seepage, weathering and neglect.
The illustrations follow the Telugu version of the Epic called "Ranganatha Ramayanam" which deviates from the standard version in certain small details.
Ranganatha Ramayanam was composed in the early 1300s by Gona Budda Reddy, alias Ranganatha, in Dwipada meter. It contains 7 cantos with the basic fabric of Valmiki Ramayana embroidered with elements from Folk lore and local traditions . This version has always been popular in performing arts like Puppetry and Folk Dances. Some well known legends (like the helpful squirrel getting the three white stripes on its back )can be sourced to this work.
Among the better visible panels in this temple is the unusual story of the Vanaras beating up Mandodari in a bid to disturb Ravana , who is trying to perform a black magic ritual called patala homa to win the war against Rama . Wife wails , hubby abandons homa to run to her rescue , black magic fails , hero is safe.
Some panels have captions in Telugu and Tamil .
Sita's Agnipravesham and the Pattabhishekam panel are, relatively, in discernable condition.
It is very distressing to see such exquisite artwork flaking off , steadily making its way to oblivion. Shuddering to think what a good-intentioned "renovation", if any, might unveil . Calendar art in oil paint ?
Counting it as good fortune to have seen the original , even if only fading patches of it.
Sri Rishabeshwarar Temple :திரு இடபந்துறை நாயனார்
Older , existing from before Pallava times . Mentioned by Appar Nayanar . Currently undergoing renovation . The big Nandi outside the Gopuram is said to be bathed in Golden Light once a year only - ie, in the month of Panguni on the Pradosham day before Shivaratri. The smaller Nandi inside is so installed that he gets a direct view of the Lord in the sanctum through a small jaali window in the wall. Cute.
Nadukals and Inscriptions
A few loose sculptures of considerable antiquity , depicting self sacrifice by Arikandam ritual and lovely saptamatrika icons have been collected and kept safe in a nearby Kali temple.
Chengam region has such a profusion of inscribed Hero Stones ( Nadukals) that Dr. Ra.Nagasami has published an entire book titled "Chengam Nadukals".
Of the many inscriptions , one in particular is of some importance. It finally clears the longstanding and much debated mystery of the "Kanthalursalai" demolition feat by categorically stating that RajaRaja had sliced off the heads of certain Chieftains running an independent (hence a security threat ) Martial Arts Academy there . "காந்தளூர் சாலையில் மலையாளர்கள் தலையறுத்தருளினார்" Thanks, Chengam . So that is one matter less now to lose sleep over !
It was also learnt that another Nadukal from Chengam region ( not in this town) is famous among epigraphists , for immortalising a dog. Named Kovivan. A majestic name worthy of revival in the pets world.
The Chengam visit , covering half a day , gave so much material to chew upon , that one can keep busy with follow up reading for quite some time .
Foot prints that people leave behind them , either as material relics or racial memories , lie scattered all around us . They will yield their stories only if actively sought . Do we have it in us to seek ?
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