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| Nayak period Meenakshi temple @ Koothiyarkundu village Photo: A. Shrikumar |
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| Sculpture of Ramappa Ayyan Photo: A. Shrikumar |
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| 'Periya Madai' inside Nilayur tank, Early Pandya period. Photo: A. Shrikumar |
The village of Koothiyarkundu contains two important parts of
history from two different eras, one that speaks of technology and
another that hails valour.
A short bumpy ride off the Thirumangalam highway leads
to Koothiyarkundu. Flanked by paddy fields and tamarind trees, the small
village looks still and silent on this sunny Sunday morning. A quaint
little Meenakshi temple stands in the centre. Ornate arches, pillars
with sculptures and the three mandapams inside indicate that the temple
belongs to the Nayak era. This is where, a lesser known chapter of
history is said to have been recorded in the sculptures.
Koothiyarkundu
has a heroic and a historic connection. That Thirumalai Nayak was an
efficient king is a famous fact but little is known about one of his
close aides Dhalavoi Ramappa Ayyan, who is supposedly a brave army
general-cum-minister. “The temple is built by Ramappa Ayyan and is one
of two places where the sculptures of both him and King Thirumalai Nayak
are found,” says Dr. Venkatraman, Retired History Professor. Ramappa
Ayyan’s valour and integrity is praised in the literary work ‘Ramappa Ayyan Ammanai’ in which it’s also mentioned that he belongs to the village ‘Chaturvedi Mangalam’.
How
Chaturvedi Mangalam became Koothiyarkundu is another tale of history.
It was Thirumalai Nayak who donated the village to his court damsels and
rechristened it as Koothiyarkundu (the town of damsels). But the
village is said to have been a Brahmin settlement during the Early
Pandya period. The villagers inform that until recently, few families of
the Devadasi descent lived in Koothiyarkundu.
“Ramappa
Ayyan is hailed for his valour and intelligence. He is the one who
subjugated the Ramnad kings and made them pay taxes to the Madurai
Nayaks,” says Dr. Venkatraman. “He also played a major role in the
‘Mookaruppu Por’ against the Mysore Wodeyars.” It’s said that during the
reign of Nayaks, the Mysore Wodeyars marched into Madurai and chopped
off the noses of people. “It was a form of war where the people of a
particular kingdom were disfigured.” And Ramappa Ayyan led the army to
Mysore where he managed to chop the nose of a few royal members apart
from the common people.
Nilayur tank
A
little away from the main village, a sprawling expanse of the dry
Nilayur tank comes into view. One evidence that the tank was built by
Early Pandyas is the inscription found in one of the three sluices that
records the name of the Pandya King ‘Sri Veera Narayanan’. “The tank
must be nearly 1500 years old,” estimates Dr. Vedachalam. “History says
that a large canal was dug from Melakkal to the tank in order to bring
Vaigai water.” The large channel known as ‘Nattarkaal’ or ‘Nattatrupokku’ serves the water of Vaigai to six tanks in the vicinity including the Thenkaal kanmoi and the Madakulam big tank.
Villagers
claim that the diameter of Nilayur tank is over eight kilometres and
that it irrigates 3700 acres of land around the villages of Nilayur and
Koothiyarkundu. “The irrigation facility devised by Early Pandyas is one
of the finest technologies in the country, where the tank water is
divided into three equal halves and channelled in three directions by
way of strategically built sluices,” explains Dr. Vedachalam.
Of the four gates used for releasing water from the tank, the first one is called ‘Chakra madai’ as it’s shaped in the form of a wheel. The second one is the tallest at 23 feet and is called ‘periya madai’.
Calibrations are carved on the stone gates to measure the water level
in the tank. “It’s been a decade since the tank was filled last time.
Only in 2011, the tank was close to full,” says Harikumar, a villager.
“Unfortunately, the fourth ‘madai’ was demolished during the laying of
the Thiruparankundram railway line.”
The Heritage
Walk was organized by DHAN Foundation and nearly 50 enthusiastic
participants took part in the event apart from village heads, self help
groups and the local youth. “The next step will be sensitizing them
towards the protection of the tank and the temple,” says K.P. Bharathi,
the programme coordinator.
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