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Magnificent peaks

They acted as a natural barrier and were one of the reasons why Kongu culture has retained its uniqueness

Photo : K. Ananthan

PEEP INTO THE PAST The Nilgiris range

There are many causes for the distinct culture and ways of the people of the Kongu region. One main reason could have been that this region has mostly remained independent. And the land remains so due to the hill ranges that create a natural barrier around the region, barring the area where the Cauvery flows in.

"As will be seen from a map, South India was bordered by natural frontiers on all sides except in parts of the south-west, where the country (Kongu) opened for the flow of the chief river Kaveri to enter into the Chola country. It is thus a complete block, an elevated plateau amidst natural frontiers sheltered by a series of mountain ranges of considerable height... " says K. S. Vidyanathan in "The Ancient Geography of The Kongu Country", an in-depth study of the Kongu mountain ranges.

The hill ranges of the Kongu are worth the study as they provide archaeological, cultural, political and environmental inputs into the past. The Palani, Kolli, Pachamalai, Serveroys, Talaimalai, Anamalais and the Nilgiris ranges fall in this region. A host of small hillocks and mounds also lies scattered across it.

The west of Kongu is bound by a large part of the Western Ghats. The Palghat gap is the only one that connects the Kongu region to Chera land. In this range, to the north of the gap lie the Ayyasami peak and the Dharmalingamalai. The ancient trade highway, Rajakesari Peruvali, passes through this area. Then we have the Velliangiri and Marudamalai ranges, which are important to Coimbatore as our water sources spring from them. Further towards the North, the region ends with the Nilgiris. In the south lies Panrimalai or Varahagiri range and it is from its slopes that the Shanmugha Nadi flows. This range ends westwards in the Kodai hills. Further to the west lies the mighty Anamalai range, one of the highest is southern India.

New hillstation

After the Nilgiris it was here that the British set foot and brought plantations. In 1875, King Edward VII as Prince of Wales was to visit Anamalai and it was then that the road from Coimbatore to Aliyar to the high points of the Anamalais was widened and laid.

These ranges are also home to a large number of rare species of fauna and flora. It is one of the protected sites where the Lion Tailed Macaque is found. The Anamalais are also famous for their teak trees and its wood was of remarkable quality. Says C.K.T. Congreve in the book, Southern India (1914): "It was recorded that in the year 1895 a tree was cut which was 124 ft in height, 23 ft in girth, and which contained from 500 to 600 cubic feet of workable timber."

Like in other parts of the country, this region also has a large number of temples on the summit of the hills.

But the sheer number of temples makes the ones here special. To name a few, the Ardhanarisvara temple in Tiruchengode hill, Tirumurthi Hills for its Jain caves and sculptures and the Palani Murugan temple.

The many temples are also proof of the skill of our predecessors to build such structures on hills. It is said that many sages and ascetics lived in these hills and the hills are a great source for rare herbs and medicinal plants.

Many tribes have lived in these ranges and it is important to learn about their ways, for they lived in accordance with Nature and their houses, language, food and attire drew strong influences from Nature.

Cave paintings in the hill ranges that surround Coimbatore and the Nilgiris are a good indicator of the kind of life people led then.

The ones found at the foot of the hillock in Kumittipathi near Coimbatore are of the finest examples of cave paintings.

Though much of the flora and fauna and other remains from that era have fallen prey to the ills of development, it is up to us to save our mountains and their biosphere.

SHANKAR VANAVARAYAR

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