We had just decided to return to Surat after a long journey across Mumbai, Pune, Kolhapur, Udupi, Mangalore, Payyanur, Nileshwar, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Vellinezhi, and Kochi. Suddenly, Adithya suggested we take a detour to Tamil Nadu, and in no time, we had our map set for Thanjavur - a 460 Km trip from the west coast to the east coast. Our crafts expedition was about to enter its second phase.
Tamil Nadu (pronounced 'Nada' by a slight curling of tongue) lies on the other side of the western ghats. We played Tamil songs by Hariharan and AR Rahman to prepare for the cultural change on our 12-hour drive to Thanjavur from Kochi. Formerly known as Tanjore, this city was the capital of the Chola Kingdom, and we found ourselves listening to the PS1 songs' Chola Chola' and 'Ponni Nadi' in celebration. We were lucky enough to stay in a hotel with a direct view of the Brihadeswara temple, a famous tourist attraction that has stood for over 1100 years. Unfortunately, we couldn't see the temple that night, but the thought of being so close to it was overwhelming and kept me up, thinking about the city's glorious past.
On the following day, we had breakfast at a nearby inn. The place was always packed with hungry diners eagerly awaiting their turn. The inn owner laid down fresh banana leaves topped with assorted chutneys. We ordered onion Rava dosas, which had a delightfully crunchy exterior and soft interior. If you're a fan of dosas, Tamil Nadu is the place to be! Surprisingly, the inn was quite accommodating for a North Indian visitor.
After having a hearty meal and walking 500 meters, we finally came upon the awe-inspiring entrance to the Brihadeswara Temple, also known as the 'Big Temple,' built during the Chola Dynasty under the reign of Arul Morzhi, or Raja Raja I. This Hindu temple is one of the largest in India and is known for its classic example of the Dravidian style of architecture. The temple walls still bear some original Tamil text, which is still legible to the locals. The courtyard walls are adorned with hand-painted artwork, though much of it has faded with time, obscuring the story it may have told.
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Our next destination was Swami Malai, the land of the descendants of Lord Vishwakarma, the Hindu God of craftsmanship and architecture. Swami Malai, situated on the banks of the Kaveri River, is a small town with picturesque views. It is the home of the Vishwakarma community, which includes carpenters, blacksmiths, stonemasons, and ironsmiths. They settled in the city and began to practice their craft of carving deities from Panchaloha, bronze, silver, brass, iron, and gold. Here, we encountered a bronze artist creating a 10-foot Panchaloha Nataraja figure. It is believed that chanting prayers as the artisan pour the molten metal into the wax mould invokes the deity in the sculpture. So we joined in the prayer with them.
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On the second day, we started our journey from Thanjavur to Pudukottai, revealing a terrain of rocky mountains, light brown boulders, and grasslands. The purpose of the visit was to search for something rare. Pudukottai is a quaint ancient city situated near the banks of River Vellar and Thanjavur. There's a tradition in the villages of Tamil Nadu of offering terracotta animals to please a deity. One can find a huge temple sanctorum with such offerings in the villages. But these temples are most often situated far away from the settlement. No google maps lead you to such places. You have to keep your eyes open and keep asking locals about them. The language barrier makes it even more difficult to find it. We wandered around by car and foot, but it was elusive to locate the temple, and the sun was setting. So we decided to leave before it was completely dark. Suddenly, a hauntingly beautiful line of half-broken terracotta horses appeared out of nowhere in the forest. We saw an abandoned temple area without any roof or floor. It was just the forest land. Upon entering the site, two lines of horses at least six feet high, some reaching ten feet, appeared and formed a path leading to the main deity, the Ayyanar God. It is believed that offering terracotta horses pleased him, and he protected the village from famines, droughts, and other evils. A little nervous, we started to go inside. Unexpectedly, an angry cock blocked our entrance. So from afar, we could see the ruined terracotta figures of the Ayyanar god; With a round face, big eyes, and curled moustaches, the ruined terracotta figure of the Ayyanar God stood imposingly, with nobody around to tend to the sculpture. Without anyone to explain the meaning of what we had just witnessed, we could only delve into our individual contemplations.
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On our way back to Thanjavur, we had an unexpected stroke of luck near the highway; we saw another horse figure. Immediately we stopped the car and went closer. We saw a man waiting outside a structure that looked a little dilapidated to be confirmed a temple in the dark. After a little conversation, we realised he was the priest of that temple. We were overwhelmed and thanked our stars that not only did we find another temple but also a priest this time. He took us inside. It was a small temple with no roof except where the main deity was. We looked around and saw half-broken horses estimated to be at least 70-80 years old. He took us to where the main deity was placed and lit the 'Kapur.' In that light, we saw the sculpture of the deity for the first time. It was an irregular stone marked with 'Tilak.' The priest began his 'aarti,' and we paid our obeisances. He gave us holy ash to put on our forehead and neck. The priest started talking to us as we tried to process the experience. Even though he spoke Tamil, he could make out some Hindi. After a few attempts, we learned he was the Ayyanar terracotta horse craftsman we were searching for.
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