Brihadeeshwara temple in Thanjavur

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A pen & watercolor sketch of the gopuram ( gateway), Thanjavur Brihadeeshwara temple

Not so long  ago, my parents had visited Thanjavur and were in raptures about the place. Ever since, I have been told by them on countless occasions that 'You MUST visit Thanjavur... there are many interesting places to sketch there. The big temple is unexpectedly beautiful' When my uncle and grandmother came to Bangalore with the aim of going to Kumbakonam, it was a good pretext for me to go and see what it was all about. My four year old cousin would also be with them, and she is an immensely fun, mischievous girl to be around - so I said yes, I would accompany them.

What awaited was a splendid specimen of Dravida architecture. A hot sultry day lay in store and the temple was lit brilliantly. A lot of tourists from Tamil Nadu and Kerala were trooping in. Some wore colored garments representing their groups, in bright colors of red and yellow with vibhuti on their foreheads. The temple is a UNESCO World heritage site, and is one among the Great Living Chola temples. It is said that most of architectural elements, engineering ideas and motifs commonly found in South Indian temples was perfected in the construction of this temple by the Chola dynasty.

The Shikhara ( main tower) resting on a solid block of granite must have been one of the tallest structures in the world when it was completed. And today, it is no less impressive. The Cholas built many temples in the Kaveri Delta and from the look of the sculptures and carvings were great patrons of Bharatanatyam. It makes you wonder about what kind of people they were...to envision beautiful things and bring them to a successful, in this case, massive, reality.







Location: Membalam Rd, Balaganapathy Nagar, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu 613007, India

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