Madurai :

The lane called Pathuthoon Sandhu could be easily missed by a first-time visitor to the city as several textile shops dominate it. This protected archaeological site near the historical vilakkuthoon (lamppost) in Madurai was part of the erstwhile Nayak Mahal. It was at Rangavilasam where Thirumalai Nayak’s brother Muthiyalu Nayak stayed. The 10 pillars (Pathuthoon) were part of the palace.

The pillars are 12 meters high and have a diameter of 1.2 m. They were constructed with ring-shape stones placed one above another. The magnificent pillars inside Nayak Mahal are also of the same pattern, but they are plastered, archaeological sources said.

According to historians, Rangavilasam was dismantled when the capital of Madurai Nayaks was shifted to Trichy after Thirumalai Nayak’s rule in 1665. It was Thirumalai Nayak who turned Madurai as the capital of Nayak kingdom, but his predecessors and successors preferred Trichy instead. When they moved the capital again, they moved the materials from the dismantled portion of palace – Rangavilasam -to the new capital, said R Venkataraman, a city-based historian.

British rulers, who captured power in Madurai after the Nayaks, preserved the 10 pillars as they were quite amused by its architecture. “British rulers were curious to learn the architectural methods of the natives and they protected the pillars,” he said, while adding that “silk weavers living near the palace occupied the area after Rangavilasa was dismantled. Pathuthoon Sandhu was a typical silk weavers’ lane.”

There is a reason why the lane is so narrow, Venkataraman said. “After the Gupta dynasty, silk became the attire of royal families for it symbolized peace and prosperity. Silk weavers – predominantly Sourashtrians – were patronized by several dynasties across the country. Chola, Pandya, Nayak and Vijayanagara rulers patronized them in the south,” he said.

“Silk weavers lived near palaces and silk processing and weaving were conducted discreetly. The streets were meant only for use by the weavers. The narrow lanes were used to dry silk threads. Anyone sneaking into the streets was questioned by guards deployed at military outposts near the lane,” Venkataraman explained.

Several textile shops fringe the lane now. “There are not many houses when compared to about 30 years ago. The lane has been turned into a commercial hub for textiles in the last three decades,” said Balakrishnan, a textile merchant.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / by J. Arockiaraj, TNN / June 09th, 2014