The water-girt hill

Tiruneermalai Hill and Temple

Last week I went in the company of friends to the hill temple of Tiruneermalai just off Chromepet. It is one of the historic shrines around the city that I had meaning to visit for years. Picturesque beyond description, it comprises as can be seen in the picture, a large tank, a hill and two temples, one at the base and another at the top. Rather uniquely, Vishnu is in four postures, standing, sitting, reclining and walking.

Considering that Bhoothathalwar (7th century CE) sang in praise of the Lord here, the temple must be of Pallava vintage. Of that period is nothing to see for it probably was then an edifice of brick and wood that perished over time. The Cholas rebuilt it with stone in the 9th century and the rulers of Vijayanagar extended it in the 14th and 15th centuries. The work of the last named period is evident in abundance here though the sanctum is probably Chola. Inscriptions are in plenty all around the two temples, making them an epigraphist’s delight. These pertain to Chola, Pandya and Vijayanagar times. When you also consider that this is also a site of megalithic importance, you can see that Tiruneermalai has been a continuing witness to historic development over ages.

When Tirumangai Alwar of the 8th century came here and sang his 19 verses, the hill was completely surrounded by water. This must have been a frequent phenomenon, giving the place its name. Several historic accounts note the presence of water and lush green groves. And it is not so surprising considering that Chennai and its environs were once noted for their water-bodies. Even now, Tiruneermalai has plenty of water in its vicinity- apart from its own tank there are the Pallavaram Periya Eri, the Kadapperi and the Pallikaranai Marsh.

In the 19th century, the temple came to be governed by Venkatachala, a rich dubash. The Sanskrit work Sarvadeva Vilasa, (translated by Dr V Raghavan) notes that Venkatachala rebuilt the temple tower and car. The latter now stands outside the lower temple, shrouded in plastic sheets. The book has a fascinating description of a soiree conducted by Venkatachala in a large grove near the temple. Performing in it were the courtesans of the patron and Sonti Venkataramanayya, the guru of the noted Carnatic music composer Tyagaraja.

The British appear to have not considered the temple of importance though there are unverified stories that Clive camped here during the Arcot wars. In the 20th century Tiruneermalai became the venue for unostentatious weddings, the most famous being that of MS Subbulakshmi and T Sadasivam in July 1940, with Kasturi Srinivasan of The Hindu being witness. The place also became notorious as the venue where lovers fearing parental wrath got surreptitiously married, earning it the sobriquet of ‘Thiruttuthali Malai’. But that is another story.

This article was published in The Hindu under the Hidden Histories column on 26th February 2013

To Mahabalipuram, 91 years ago

Lt. Col. Herbert Andrews Newell of the Indian Army was an indefatigable traveller. Between 1905 and 1921, when he was in India, he covered almost the entire country, doing several of the journeys in his trusted car – a 1913 Sunbeam, 12-16 hp. He wrote detailed accounts of his wanderings for the leading magazines of the time. In 1921, a compilation of some these was published as a book – Topee and Turban, or Here and There in India. It includes an interesting account of a journey from Madras to Mahabalipuram.

Newell sets off at 7.30 am due south on Mount Road and notes that it was a fine avenue of banyan, tamarind and the “sausage tree, an alien from Madagascar.” Much of the western side of Mount Road he notes comprised paddy fields submerged under water with the Long Tank (present day T Nagar) mirroring the palm trees on its banks. He crosses the still surviving Teachers College at Saidapet which was in his time “gleaming white in the morning sunshine.” From there it was on to the Marmalong (now the much-enlarged Maraimalai Adigal) Bridge which in his time had yellow pillars, each mounted by a white cross indicating that “nearby was holy ground.” The Adyar’s left bank was a “wonderful display of lingerie and other garments” for this was where the dhobis washed clothes.

Guindy apparently then had a statue of King George V for he makes a sharp turn to the right and drives on via the Dalrymple memorial to Pallavaram which was but a “low ridge of sharply pointed hills.” To the left a vast expanse of water and in front, several guinea fowls that scattered on seeing his car. Chromepet, where he stopped for water, was a small hamlet of “palm thatched huts, cactus and aloes” with just the Chrome Leather Factory on the right. Far away a lonely hill catches his eye. This is clearly Tiruneermalai above which, then as now, rose the spire and flagstaff of the temple.

Tambaram was nothing more than a “little railway station” surrounded by tree-clad hills and everywhere the “plain sparked with the play of sunbeams upon water.” Palm trees, paddy fields and flowering trees line the route. Singaperumalkoil is where he halts to cool the engine and refill his radiator. The temple according to him was screened by high outer walls and between palms and quiet houses towered the temple’s processional car.

At 9.20 he reaches Chingleput. After breakfast at the Spencer’s refreshment room, he resumes his journey at 11.00 am. An hour later he has crossed Tirukkazhugukunram and Sadras. Somewhere near the Palar river, the road is so bad that he leaves his car and proceeds on foot. He crosses the river, then full of water, by boat. Palar joins the Buckingham Canal and through it he reaches Mamallapuram. It takes him 5 hours in all. Today we do it in half the time but with none of the scenic beauty he mentions.