The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
Thanjavur – it was a jungle when the Cholas decided to make it their capital. They not only built what was to be their signature-temple here, they made it the centre of their cultural and literary activities. Their temples were built not just for prayer and religion, but they were also the seat of the fine arts – music, dance, sculptures and paintings – and also their records, which were etched on the walls of these temples. The Brihadeeswara temple (now popularly known as the Big Temple) was built by Raja Raja Chola. His son, Rajendra Chola celebrated his conquest of the north right up to the Ganges, by building Gangai Konda Cholapuram. The grandson, Raja Raja II is credited with the grand temple at Dharasuram. These 3 generations of Cholas greatly enriched this land now known as Thanjavur. Later rulers, the Pandyas, Nayaks, and the Mahrattas left their own marks on this city, making it what it is today. We made two visits to Thanjavur during this trip – the first was on the...