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On Thaipoosam this year (February 5), Thanjavur district was packed with tourists, many of them from abroad — the fear of the coronavirus mostly overcome and the grand architectural achievements of the Chola era casting a magnetic spell anew. Against a clear blue sky after a few days of rain, the main pyramidal tower of the thousand-year-old Brihadeeswara temple with its timeless sculptures and seemingly indestructible stone architecture drew hundreds of visitors. Imagine if there were a Vande Bharat train service from Chennai to this culturally and historically important region, how much better the tourist experience would be.
The Brihadeeswara temple, the centrepiece of the tourism circuit that radiates towards the far corners of the Chola empire, has several records of the splendour of the times. The ruler Raja Raja Chola got inscribed on stone the many gifts given to the shrine including gold and 400 dancers. Evidently, Raja Raja Chola had a clear idea of scale, and the temple’s precincts can hold a few thousand people and still not feel like a modern-day concert ground. Yet, in 1997 the temple grounds became the scene of a major fire that killed 50 people in a stampede at a ‘maha kumbhabhishekam’; the blaze was caused reportedly by a firecracker that hit thatched structures.
Today, as a world heritage site, the Brihadeeswara temple- also known as the Big Temple- which is a place of worship and is not just a historical architectural marvel- looks spruced up thanks to Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) initiatives. Although the ASI has not done enough to disseminate information about Big Temple — and does not have good facilities to leave your footwear before entering the sacred grounds, luckily, photography does not involve a fee, and magnificent images of the temple and visitor selfies go far and wide.
Cradle of religious iconography
Thanjavur is surrounded by famous historical and religious sites. In his book “Indian Temple Sculpture” (Victoria and Albert Museum), John Guy provides a map of the sites of such religious architectural brilliance, which includes many villages and present-day towns of composite Thanjavur and the region: Chidambaram, Kumbakonam, Tiruvenkadu, Poompuhar, Srirangam and Tiruchirapalli. There are similar sites all over, such as Darasuram, not far from another less-frequented sprawling temple for Vinayaka at Thiruvalansuzhi, and the arupadai veedu Murugan temple at Swamimalai. There are several traditional experts making bronze icons in Swamimalai to this day.
Thanjavur is surrounded by famous historical and religious sites such as Chidambaram, Kumbakonam, Tiruvenkadu, Poompuhar, Srirangam and Tiruchirapalli. There are similar sites all over, such as Darasuram, not far from another less-frequented sprawling temple for Vinayaka at Thiruvalansuzhi, and the arupadai veedu Murugan temple at Swamimalai
But Thanjavur suffers from poor travel facilities and connectivity, something that can be remedied only with a new high-volume, fast train service. This writer, who was recently in the region, found that the Smart City scheme for Thanjavur has not been transformative. For the standalone traveller (not in a package tour or using costly hired personal transport), the Tiruchi-Thanjavur belt is not geared for tourism peaks, such as Thaipoosam. The bus system is bursting at its seams, is poorly organised, lacks a real-time transport information system and is not well connected to nearby cities such as Tiruchi. Local autorickshaws work as a cartel, charging exorbitant sums.
Recently on Twitter, some of these observations about the poor connectivity and costly inter-city private buses were made in a tweet, with a call for a Vande Bharat service to Thanjavur and Tiruchi from Chennai. This triggered a discussion, with some welcoming the idea and others pointing out that the single track between Chennai and Thanjavur-Tiruchi via Chidambaram-Kumbakonam is not conducive to a high-speed VB service, although it could still be done via Tiruchi, to which a double line is available.
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Considering the potential to boost the largely agrarian and tourism-dependent Thanjavur-Kumbakonam economy, the Railway Board could devote a Vande Bharat service covering Chennai-Tiruchi-Thanjavur.
“Yes, those steps only will bring votes for TN BJP, not these silly tricks in Twitter, Facebook, YouTube trendings,” Twitter user RamjiYahoo remarked. Others wanted the rail track via Kumbakonam and Mayiladuthurai doubled, and until then, a Vande Bharat service operated to Thanjavur via Tiruchi to which a double line was available.
A double-decker train service from Chennai to Tiruchi could also quickly add travel capacity, and such initiatives could also be considered for Madurai, another ancient city with high tourism value (Rail Coach Factory of the Union Government says it produced double-decker trains capable of 160 kmph in 2020).
But Sir, VB trains require double track connectivity for better utilization rakes. MS-TPJ-TJ is ok.
— SivaKumar_IND (@IndSivakumar) February 7, 2023
Smart tourism for today
Raising tourism values will still depend heavily on the Tamil Nadu government in terms of improving physical infrastructure, the regional and city bus service, bringing more authentic, clean food outlets to cater to visitors, and using information technology to make all facilities accessible.
A case in point is the Royal Palace Museum at Rajakrishnapuram in Thanjavur. This complex houses panchaloha and stone icons from the 8th century, many with colourful mythologies surrounding them. Presentations of Siva, such as Tripurantaka, Somaskanda, Chandrasekara, Bhikshatana, Bhairava and a unique Enthol Mukkan Emman (depicted as a snake-wearing, uncommon deity), among others, are found here. There are ancient icons of Thirugnanasambandar. The vessels reportedly used by Raja Raja Chola for worship are kept in a crude glass cabinet, blandly titled “Pooja Vessels”. At the museum, there is little light shed on the mystique. Many large bronze Nataraja idols can be touched by visitors, as they are not kept protected.
Thanjavur suffers from poor travel facilities and connectivity. The bus system is bursting at its seams, is poorly organised, lacks a real-time transport information system and is not well connected to nearby cities such as Tiruchi. Local autorickshaws work as a cartel, charging exorbitant sums
There is also a case to add a dozen budget hotels to Thanjavur, and to create an orderly travel framework with a network of buses and vans to visit Kumbakonam and other sites nearby, offering online booking.
Map shows double line from Chennai to Thanjavur via Lalgudi, and Tiruchi, and single line via Chidambaram.
Thanjavur’s Smart City planning, according to the Union Ministry website, devoted nearly Rs 49 crore out of Rs 70 crore budgeted for water supply, and the rest was distributed among green space, digitalisation of citizen services, shifting of the old bus stand and LED street lights, among others. COVID-19 and then the change of government possibly stunted further development. Today, Thanjavur town around Big Temple, particularly the old bus stand frequented by tourists, is a dusty and dirty area with muddy roads and half-finished pipeline work. A multi-level car parking machine lies idle.
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This is not the future for the region that the grandeur-loving Raja Raja would have imagined. His own structure stands tall, breathtakingly capacious, built to perfection, rock-solid and awe-inspiring. But latter-day rulers appear small, with no comparable vision, their imaginations severely restricted by electoral cycles and profitable bottlenecks, leaving even small tasks half-finished.
A single visit cannot do justice to Thanjavur and its unrivalled icons. Much can be done to augment the economy of this region, which witnessed lavish spectacles in the Chola heyday. With enough political will, Thanjavur can be transformed into a clean green city for the citizens and tourists alike, with no shadow cast over its traditions.
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