Tanjore Big Temple tower expedition.

As on date this is the most daring adventure I have ever done,  I am not a big fan of selfies , but this is worth sharing I thought.

From childhood I have learnt a lot about the big temple’s architectural marvel through my textbooks and fascinated a lot about it . Growing up,  with my mother telling Ponniyin selvan of kalki as bed time stories . And later in my life I was fortunate enough to meet the right scholars to develop my childhood quest to know more about the chola dynasty and its influence on todays indian culture.

I always wanted to find out, first hand , myself,  some of the so called architectural marvels on the big temple , it is a great example for the Dravidian architecture , One of the very common thing it has been said was the top dome made out of 80 tonnes of monolithic granite.

With some special permission from the authorities and accumulating lots of guts I wanted to check it myself . It is a 25 story high tower, no stairs to claim up, I have to use only our temporary scaffoldings and climb up.

It took 30 minutes to climbup . Very windy conditions . My legs were shivering at that height with no proper railings to hold. Twice thought I should call off the expedition , but it was my sheer intoxication towards this temple and having a feeling of hat I will be one of the very few people including the great king raja raja who stood on a very spot where I am going to stand gave me the motivation to climb further up. . I got mobbed with the sheer size of the granites used at such heights. Finally I climbed on to the top. It took a few minutes to come to reality , did a good assessment of the stone, it was huge,  And it is not monolithic , looks like made with 8 pieces , but the precision of the work to join them was mind boggling . The kalasam (Metal crown ) was 12 ft tall , but it looks like a 3 inch piece from the ground. The following are my findings in one of my lifetime expeditions as on date.

 

1. The top granite it not monolithic, made with multiple pieces, mostly 6 or 8 nos if I am right. A thorough inspection from inner side will reveal it better.

2  The present kalasam instated by the Maratha king Shivaji , clear inscription on the piece is available .
3 . The Stucco work on the gopuram is done by various kings over the period of 1000 years, change in the consistency of the plastering.
4. The 8 Nandis you can see from ground as a small toys are actually each 5 ft tall .
5. A beautifully designed rainwater harvesting mechanism in the whole gopuram collects every drop of the water to the ground and to the adjoining sivaganga tank. This could be the worlds first rainwater harvesting on a high rise building .
6. One could very well see the kind of stunning corbelling technique used to build the tower, no mortar or cement . All the stones are interlocked. No wonder why invaders like Malik Kafur failed to break the tower,
7. It was a breathtaking view around tanjore , backside of the temple is the present srinivasapuram ,which is presumed to be the place for the old chola palace and the flow of the grand Annaicut canal and today's Marata palace.

8. The Meru (Mountain) structure in the middle of the tower and the Stucco work are real huge, some  about 25 ft tall.
9.The shadow of the top dome actually falls on the ground, so one more myth proved to be wrong.

But beyond a few myths this temple has some stunning architectural marvels we should really see and cherish. It was such lifetime experience for me and my friend who took the risk to claim up with me. .I really felt that i was on the top of the world.

I will share some of the unique photographs like the rare inscriptions, fine details of architecture of the gopuram in my proposed book.