Kanchipuram-Gingee-Thiruvanamalai (130km) Part-1
Awakened by the devotional songs from the cone speakers which reverberate the early mornings around Tamilnadu during the month of Margali,getting done with morning chorus and munching the lavish spread of breakfast the riders assemble at the starting point,after the briefing set of to what will be called "a date with Gingee Fort" thus bidding adieu to Kanchipuram crossing the Palar Bridge and on to the road which takes us to Vandavasi the ride zips past quite a few historic places located in the nearby vicinity like Ayyangar Kulam, Uthiramerur (known for Inscription on Local Self Governance by Paranthaka Chola,970 AD),Mamandur Cave Temples and Thennangur. Crossing Vandavasi here took place the historic "Battle of Wandiwash, 1760" the British defeated French and gained the supremacy of India, passing the St.Lourdes Shrine (1890) Chetpet,built on a small hillock incidentally this is one of the biggest Church in Tamil Nadu,we reach Gingee ... the opulence and grandeur of this place is such it was called "Troy of the East" by the Britishers.This Fort contains three hills the pivotal Rajagiri,the Krishnagiri and Chandragiri, even though some stone carvings point to Jaina activity in these hills during 2nd-6th AD and later to the Pallava's,evidences are available only from Chola's (9th AD) advent and thus begins the battle for the possession of this fort,it changed hands from Vijayanagar Empire, Nayaks, Bijapur Sultans, Marathas, Mugals, Carnatic Nawabs, French and finally to the British. It was a neighbors envy and owners pride but of all the chronicle's the ballad of Desingu Raja stands tall midst the ruins,but the most interesting observation about this impregnable fort comes the Frenchman Jean Deloche and his epic work published in 2000 "Sengi (Gingi) Ville fortifie du pays Tamoul" (Sengi the fortified town of Tamil County),he mentions that for a student of military architecture,it is the only one in India where a full sequence of the defense systems used in the subcontinent, from the Vijayanagar period to the European conquest, can be observed. It is also the only one where we can follow, for at least four centuries, the adaptation of the defense to the progress of artillery, he also glorifies the water management for the availability of water thought the year in this fort as something outstanding.Getting into elements with the past for a brief time we ride to reach our destination Thiruvanamalai ... after a soothing shower at the hotel now awaits the Day 2 (Part -2) the walk in the park at Thiruvanamalai.
Awakened by the devotional songs from the cone speakers which reverberate the early mornings around Tamilnadu during the month of Margali,getting done with morning chorus and munching the lavish spread of breakfast the riders assemble at the starting point,after the briefing set of to what will be called "a date with Gingee Fort" thus bidding adieu to Kanchipuram crossing the Palar Bridge and on to the road which takes us to Vandavasi the ride zips past quite a few historic places located in the nearby vicinity like Ayyangar Kulam, Uthiramerur (known for Inscription on Local Self Governance by Paranthaka Chola,970 AD),Mamandur Cave Temples and Thennangur. Crossing Vandavasi here took place the historic "Battle of Wandiwash, 1760" the British defeated French and gained the supremacy of India, passing the St.Lourdes Shrine (1890) Chetpet,built on a small hillock incidentally this is one of the biggest Church in Tamil Nadu,we reach Gingee ... the opulence and grandeur of this place is such it was called "Troy of the East" by the Britishers.This Fort contains three hills the pivotal Rajagiri,the Krishnagiri and Chandragiri, even though some stone carvings point to Jaina activity in these hills during 2nd-6th AD and later to the Pallava's,evidences are available only from Chola's (9th AD) advent and thus begins the battle for the possession of this fort,it changed hands from Vijayanagar Empire, Nayaks, Bijapur Sultans, Marathas, Mugals, Carnatic Nawabs, French and finally to the British. It was a neighbors envy and owners pride but of all the chronicle's the ballad of Desingu Raja stands tall midst the ruins,but the most interesting observation about this impregnable fort comes the Frenchman Jean Deloche and his epic work published in 2000 "Sengi (Gingi) Ville fortifie du pays Tamoul" (Sengi the fortified town of Tamil County),he mentions that for a student of military architecture,it is the only one in India where a full sequence of the defense systems used in the subcontinent, from the Vijayanagar period to the European conquest, can be observed. It is also the only one where we can follow, for at least four centuries, the adaptation of the defense to the progress of artillery, he also glorifies the water management for the availability of water thought the year in this fort as something outstanding.Getting into elements with the past for a brief time we ride to reach our destination Thiruvanamalai ... after a soothing shower at the hotel now awaits the Day 2 (Part -2) the walk in the park at Thiruvanamalai.
References: "A History of South India" K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, "History of Tamilnadu" N.Subramanium and "Sengi (Gingi) Ville fortifie du pays Tamoul" Jean Deloche and Google Search
 |
| At Gingee with Doctor Sahab |
No comments:
Post a Comment