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Resurrection of Tranquebar
The New Jerusalem Church, Tranquebar, which was restored and re-dedicated recently
There were thousands in Tranquebar on July 8
and 9 to celebrate the tercentenary of the
arrival of Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg, the first
to formally establish a Protestant mission in
Asia but whose contributions were much greater
to Tamil scholarship, Indology, education
and printing. The official presence which
would have recognised these major contributions
to Tamil Nadu and India was noteworthy
by its absence, but there were a score of bishops
from Germany _ including that country's
first woman bishop, Margot Kassmann of Hanover
_ Denmark, Sweden, the U.S., and from
elsewhere in India, as well as a couple of
hundred visitors from these parts, not all connected
with the church. To greet them, Tranquebar
had put on its best face _ and that is
what struck me most: If with just a lone restoration
and a lot more paint and limewash, this
historic town the Danes once held could get
visitors interested, a proper job of restoration
of major streets and buildings, coupled with its
seafront location and reminders of its history,
could make it an important tourism destination.
The highlight of the weekend's celebrations
in Tranquebar were the re-dedication of the
New Jerusalem Church that Claus Krockel
designed and Ziegenbalg built and consecrated
in 1718. And the Thanksgiving service the next
day. The New Jerusalem Church, restored by
architect Jesudiaan Inbaraj and contractor
Deva Daniel, certainly sparkles. And when it
resounded to the rousing choral voices of hundreds,
its acoustics were as sound as you could
wish.
Restoration purists might quibble over a bit
of work here and another there, but the overall
effect is striking and demonstrates what a
commitment to restoring the past can do. Not
only has the church been restored, but so have
the tombstones in the cemetery in its garden.
During the restoration, Inbaraj tells me, they
found a wall painting out of the past and a
ringed well, both of which have been given a
new lease of life. They all add shine to a building
that gleams.
Many of the buildings on King's Street and
Queen's Street _ including the Zion Church,
which was restored by a Danish group a couple
of years ago _ were given new licks of paint for
the occasion and showed what great possibilities
they hold for restoration as two streetscapes
out of the Danish age. Meanwhile, the
German Government has agreed to fund the
restoration of Ziegenbalg's house, and work on
that bungalow that's in fairly good condition
should start soon. The only building in a shambles
here is the Tamil Nadu Tourism-owned
Governor's House. An Indian National Trust
for Art and Cultural Heritage-Tamil Nadu
Chapter proposal to restore this building has
been awaiting Government's nod for over a
year now.
In the same campus as Ziegenbalg's house is
an orphanage which, to celebrate the Tercentenary,
has teamed with the Madras Printers'
&Lithographers' Association, the Salem Offset
Printers' Association and the Madras Ink
Manufacturers' Association to set up in a small
building that was said to have housed the
Tranquebar Mission Press (1712), which was
responsible for the revival of printing in India,
the Ziegenbalg Printing Training Institute, to
help train students from the orphanage. A beginning
has been made with screen-printing _
and the first batch of students produced the
badges for the inaugural function. As the institute
adds equipment _ hopefully with the
support of German manufacturers _ it is also
proposed to develop a printing museum and
exhibition here. The first step to the museum
was taken when the ink manufacturers donated
to it an antique ink-mill. It is hoped that
those at the training institute will maintain the
museum and demonstrate to visitors printing
techniques long-forgotten in today's world but
which were responsible for printing developing
as it has.
With the Fort restored reasonably well by
the Tamil Nadu Archaeological Department _
which still needs to do much work on it _ and a
beach that could be made inviting without too
much effort, Tranquebar could well be resurrected
and prove a major tourism destination.
Particularly with the variety of accommodation
now available. The Neemrana Group,
which has been developing heritage hotels, has
restored one of the main official buildings and
now offers upmarket accommodation here. It
also runs the Tamil Nadu (Tourism) Hotel,
offering more moderately priced accommodation.
And Tirukkadaiyur, ten minutes drive
away, offers several modest but clean hotels.
Thus, there's ample accommodation here for a
restored Tranquebar.
S. MUTHIAH
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