Heritage in black and white

To mark its fourth anniversary, Manasthala is holding an exhibition of pen and ink drawings depicting various aspects of the Marundeeswara temple in Tiruvanmiyur.LAKSHMI VENKATRAMAN writes...

IN EARLY times a temple or the place of worship for any religion was the hub around which the activities of the community revolved. In villages and towns the temple provided the space where the members of the community met and discussed their common concerns and where cultural activities took place. The building itself provided the space for the development of not just architecture alone, but various art forms like sculpture, painting and crafts, besides the classical and the folk performing arts.

Tiruvanmiyur, once a suburb on the southern side of Chennai, is now very much part of the expanding metropolis. On the highway leading to Mammallapuram is the temple of Marundeeswara, Lord of Medicine. It has a hoary tradition, occupying the 25th place among the 32 sacred centres of Saivism. Though the exact date of its construction is not known, the temple has been in existence since the 7th Century A.D. as we have records of the visits of the saints Thirunavukkarasar and Thirugnanasambandar, who lived at that time.

Tiruvanmiyur owes its name to sage Valmiki and the Lord here is also known as Valmikinathar for having blessed the sage after he performed rigorous penance. The name Marundeeswara was bestowed on him as he initiated sage Agasthya into the mysteries of herbal medicine. Kamadhenu, who was wandering about at that time under a curse, is said to have anointed the lingam, which she had sighted beneath a 'venni' tree, with her milk everyday, and regained her celestial abode due to the Lord's grace. The 'sthalavriksha' of this temple is also the 'venni' tree. The lingam it is claimed still bears the footprints of the divine cow.

The temple abounds in several such legends. Besides the Saivite saints, several scholars and devotees have visited it and composed poetry in praise of the Lord. The Goddess here is Tripurasundari or Chockanayaki. Through the centuries several kings have added architectural and sculptural elements to the temple. There are shrines dedicated to several deities. Even in very recent times, work which had commenced on a tower was abandoned due to a superstitious belief.

On the occasion of its fourth anniversary Manasthala is holding an exhibition from July 12 to 20 (10 a.m. - 7.30 p.m.) , on the theme of Marundeeswara and Tiruvanmiyur. Twenty-five exquisite pen and ink drawings of the temple by self-taught artist J. Prabhakar depicting the various aspects of the temple from the innermost sanctum enshrining the the lingam to the gopurams on the east and west, will be on show. He has covered several important spots, including an aerial view and the temple car festival. Some beautiful scultures, such as an unusual one of Ganesha dancing on the head of a snake, a high relief on a pillar, a rider on a rearing horse, are excellently drawn. The dried-up temple tank, whose steps suffered damage when a service organisation inserted PVC pipes from the outside to supply water, is also depicted.

This brings us to the question of how the Tiruvanmiyur area itself has been exploited over the past few decades. Manasthala focusses on how man's greed has spoilt the once-serene environment, filled with groves of trees and herbs, tanks brimming with water and the like. The exhibition portrays the village as it was in bygone days and the proposed ideas for improvement based on research done by the INTACH. The sinking of numerous borewells in the multiplying apartment blocks in Valmiki Nagar and other colonies in and around the village have depleted the ground water and the temple tank is a major victim of such exploitation. Hawkers and vendors use it as a garbage dump and even as a public toilet. This has affected the rituals and festivals of the temple in which the tank plays an important role. There were apparently other water bodies here too which were filled up and built upon.

All around the temple there are commercial establishments and the open space to its east, besides serving as a playground for children, is open to hawkers and vendors. Here and around the tank the daily market people load and unload their goods. The busy traffic on the East Coast Road adds to the chaos and shatters the tranquillity of the temple and its surroundings.

The exhibition includes information on the temple and the legends connected with it. Manasthala hopes that with this exhibition an awareness will be created among the public about the significance of this temple and the steps taken to restore its sanctity and former glory and provide space for the community to congregate.

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