On the first floor of a narrow corner plot building, 91-year-old R Ponnamal sifts through the several Independence Day invites she has received. Believed to be the only surviving woman freedom fighter in the city, she’s just a shadow of her former self, suffering from age-related infirmities. Despite her small frame, limited hearing and vision, her mind is still sharp. She carefully notices the timings mentioned on each invite as she plans her day.
“My first stop is usually the corporation school at the end of the street where I hoist the flag. Then I make my way to the collector’s office for flag hoisting, even if I’m not invited,” says Ponnammal. She spends the rest of the day making all her Lion’s Club and Rotary Club visits.
Her feeble voice steps up a notch when you start talking about the freedom struggle and the events that unfolded in 1942. “That was the year I participated in the Quit India Movement marches. We began our protest in front of Pankaja Mills in Ramanathapuram, when they arrested and lodged us at the Coimbatore Central Prison. We were remanded to custody for three months,” she said. Those prison days were pure torture, she said. They were housed with convicted murderers and treated just like them.
Ponnammal refused to take things lying down and led a protest within the prison. The women refused to touch food or water for a whole day, till the jail superintendent heard their grievances. “After we argued that we were fighting for our rights and were not murderers, they started treating us better,” she says. They were kept very busy in prison, having to cook for 50 prisoners and do other physical work.
One of the most memorable moments was when Independence was announced. “We first heard it on the radio. We ran outside to find out if this was really true. When at midnight, other freedom fighters began distributing sweets, we were reassured,” she said.
Residing just one kilometer away is 94-year-old A Natarajan, another freedom fighter. He sits on the porch with a radio to his ear as TOI met him. His daughter confesses that he cannot hear a thing but just enjoys holding on to the radio.
It takes a little bit of prodding to get him to talk. “I decided to join the struggle as freedom is our right. The most difficult part of our fight for freedom was surviving the jail stays. We were made to eat and urinate in the same vessel,” said Natarajan. Though he still gets excited and emotional every time he sees a flag being hoisted, he is too weak to step out, says his daughter.
Around 93 freedom fighters or their spouses receive old age pension of Rs1,000 from the Coimbatore collectorate every month. Most of them also receive pensions from the central government ranging from Rs 9,500 to Rs 19,500.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / August 15th, 2014
The flag made of silk, which was part of the museum’s reserve collection, has been on display since Republic Day last year — Photo: R. Ragu / The Hindu
The national flag gallery at the Fort Museum, among other exhibits, traces the evolution of the Indian flag
As the nation marks its 67th Independence Day, tucked away in the second floor of the quaint Fort Museum is the first Indian national flag hoisted from Fort St. George.
“The Indian national flag that was hoisted on the morning of 15 August, 1947, at Fort St. George is made of silk and measures eight feet by twelve feet,” said an official.
The flag, which was part of the museum’s reserve collection, has been on display since Republic Day last year, the official said. The response has been very encouraging, he added.
“The flag is an important part of our history and we wanted the public to see it. Several school students and families have visited the museum and this particular gallery,” the official said.
On the morning of August 15, 1947, the then Chief Justice of Madras administered the oath to Archibald Edwards Nye, Governor of Madras, at the Secretariat in Fort St. George — Photo: The Hindu Archives
The Fort Museum, which comes under the Archaeological Survey of India, has galleries that display arms, medals, portraits and coins, among several other exhibits, primarily from the colonial period.
The national flag gallery and the adjacent freedom fighters gallery, among other exhibits, trace the evolution of the Indian flag and the earliest postal stamps of independent India.
The freedom fighters gallery has a list of over 1,000 freedom fighters, apart from photos and copies of some documents given to the museum by freedom fighters’ families.
“We request families of freedom fighters to come forward and share photos, documents or any information about them so that we can display it at the museum,” the official said.
The period museum has been functioning from what is called the Exchange Building at Fort St. George, since 1948.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai> Madras 375 / by Asha Sridhar / Chennai – August 15th, 2014
The boy took a lock out of his pocket, fixed it to the grill and turned the key. He closed his eyes, prayed and left. “He has relinquished all his troubles here,” said Nawaz, the khadim-e-dargah (caretaker). “The Pir will now take care of them.” He added that people also consigned ill health and those possessed by spirits to the locks. Everything was possible in the saint’s durbar. All you need is faith.
Faith is what drove Bahadur Khan, the Killedar of the Bangalore Fort, to defend it with his life on March 21, 1791, during the Third Anglo-Mysore War. Like his fellow soldiers, the fort Commandant fought for Mysore and its freedom.
The former Faujdar of the Krishnagiri Fort had been recently shifted to Bangalore under Tipu Sultan’s orders. Tipu himself was busy fighting a determined and desperate General Lord Cornwallis. He trusted that Bahadur Khan, assisted by Muhammad Khan Bakshi and Sayyid Hamid, would be an able protector of the oval Bangalore Fort. The ancient mud structure had been reinforced in stone around 1761 by its erstwhile Killedar, Hazrat Ibrahim Khan, Hyder Ali’s maternal uncle and a Sufi pir of the Shuttari order.
Close to midnight, the English army stealthily attacked the fort. They crept along its walls (now busy KR Road), scaled its ramparts and cut soldiers down quietly by moonlight. A popular conspiracy theory whispers that the Mysorean army was betrayed from within and that the breach blown through earlier by English cannons was deliberately left unguarded. Bahadur Khan and a handful of soldiers fought fiercely till he died of a gunshot through the head. His body was stabbed repeatedly by bayonets.
Approximately 2,000 men lost their lives that night. The prosperous town of Bangalore had been laid siege to earlier, and now the fort had fallen. A victorious Lord Cornwallis commended his bravery and wrote to Tipu asking him where his noble Killedar should be buried. Tipu is said to have wept publicly, and replied that a soldier must be buried where he fell. He requested that the Killedar be handed over to the Muslim population of Bangalore who would ensure that his last rites were attended to appropriately
Bahadur Khan was buried near what is now the KR Market flyover. Flags flutter high over his green domed mausoleum at the corner of Avenue Road and SJP Road. It is revered by local populations and also called ‘The Lock and Key Dargah’ of Hazrath Mir Bahadur Shah Al-Maroof Syed Pacha Shaheed. Other warrior-saints sleep inside the Pete’s labrynthine streets. They create a sacred landscape that is interwoven with this densely commercial area.
The seventy-year-old Killedar was described by historians as a majestic figure, “a tall robust man… with a white beard descending to his middle.” The prophet-like reference only adds to the shrine’s reputation. People of all faiths walk in and out all day. They petition the saint and pray quietly amidst jasmine flowers and incense sticks, while buses ply and frantic commuters run to and fro outside. At dawn, the shrine is surrounded by roses in buckets, as wholesalers from KR Market squat outside its door. Sometimes, I find musicians with harmoniums and percussion instruments singing devotional songs as offerings. There is no courtyard or wall. Its doors remain open for the busy world to take refuge within. The custodian of Bangalore’s historic fortress continues to watch over the city’s population, centuries later.
The writer is a cultural documentarian and blogs at aturquoisecloud.wordpress.com
source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Columns> Other / by Aliyeh Rizvi, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / August 03rd, 2014
The latter half of the 19 century in the port city of Madras found Colonel Kenney-Herbert, an Englishman serving in the British Indian Army, extremely annoyed.
Despite having scoured through various books, an adequate cooking guide for the average Englishman in India simply could not be found. Wasting no further time, he produced Culinary Jotting for Madras, a ‘treatise in thirty chapters on reformed cookery for Anglo-Indian exiles’, under the pen name ‘Wyvern’.
In 1878, Higginbothams published the first edition of the book traversing 30 dinners of multiple-course meals.
While Wyvern’s love for English cuisine was unquestionable, the dependence on tinned foods was something he particularly despised. This meant introducing new garden habits or using local ingredients in ingenious ways to suit the Victorian palate.
Vikram Doctor, a food writer, says, “I was so surprised to learn that Jerusalem artichokes were grown in Chetpet around 140 years ago! Topinambours a la Chetput was one of his signature dishes.”
However, Wyvern was not the first to conceive of a recipe book dedicated to serve expatriate Britishers in India. An anonymous ‘Old Lady-Resident’, it appears, beat him to it with The Madras Cookery Book, a bilingual in English and Tamil published in 1877.
Beatrix D’ Souza, former MP and an old-time Anglo-Indian resident of the city, confesses that some of the dishes mentioned in these cookbooks are still made by many in the community. “Madras qurma, bully beef, and masala chops are all dishes typical of both our community and the city,” she says.
The famous Railway Running Room recipes, a treasure the community prides itself on, boasts of delicacies such as mutton breast bake, head bake, and kutti pi (made of the unborn kid in the goat’s womb). These were made by cooks stationed in running rooms, for engine drivers who halted to rest en route to various destinations.
Dr. D’Souza, who is now over 75, emphasises that tinned meat and sardines from Spencers on Mount Road, fish patties, and specially-made ding ding (marinated dried meat) for long journeys were other staples that people of the community consumed.
Be it fish curry or the Brightons pudding, the Anglo-Indian cuisine in Madras seems to have not merely fused the best of two worlds, but also made it its own.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai> Madras 375 / by Nitya Menon / Chennai – August 10th, 2014
The city has not one but several streets called Mahal Theru numbered 1 to 8 named after Thirumalai Nayak Mahal. All the streets from Manajanakara Theru lead to Nayak Mahal, a standing testimony to the architectural mastery of the Madurai Nayaks.
An important landmark in the city, Nayak Mahal was constructed in 1636 by Nayak King Thirumalai Nayak who ruled Madurai between 1623 and 1659. It is an architectural wonder which attracts tourists from all over the globe. In its glorious days, Nayak Mahal was four times bigger from what is remaining at present and extended up to Manajanakara Theru in the city.
According to archaeologists Mahal Streets were once part of the Nayak Mahal which was left to ruin before the British took measures to conserve the remaining structure in 1866. C Santhalingam, a retired archaeologist from city said present day Mahal streets were once upon a time the western part of the Mahal. “The palace was huge and extended up to present day Manjanakara Theru. Nayak rulers moved their seat of power to Trichy after Thirumalai Nayak and demolished the major portion of the Mahal to construct a palace there. The remaining portion fell apart over the ages. Even today many houses on Mahal streets dilapidated pillars which were once part of the Mahal,” he said. Later British used some portions of the Mahal as government offices and Lord Napier played a crucial role in renovating and conserving the present day Nayak Mahal, he said.
K Mohan, 65, a resident in New Ramnad road and student of Thiruvallurvar Mahal High Sec School near Nayak Mahal recalled his student days in these streets. “In those days, the Mahal functioned as district court and there were not many restrictions to enter inside. As children we used to play around the palace during lunch break since drinking water was available inside. Some of us used to act as guide for visiting tourists and earn some pocket money,” he said. Mahal Streets was the hub of textile industry in those days since most of the residents were of Sourastran community who are generally expert weavers. They used to dry their yarns in these long lanes and there were also many paper and printing units functioning in Mahal streets”, said Mohan. Now the streets look different as many previous residents have shifted to other parts of the city and other industries and shops have cropped up.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / TNN / July 28th, 2014
The War Memorial stands where the Cupid’s Bow used to be. / Photo: Vaishali R. Venkat / The Hindui
The Marina Beach is largely a late 19th/early 20th century phenomenon, caused by the expansion of the port. Till the 1870s, when harbour works began, the sea practically lapped the walls of Fort St George, barring a narrow promenade of sorts. This pathway extended southwards from the Fort and expanded into a circular space, a short distance before where the Cooum fell into the sea.
The roundabout became the spot where high society met, to converse, gossip, quarrel and much else. This was where romances were conducted, the lonely English officers and company servants courting young ladies who had been shipped out of England with strict instructions to find a suitable husband, or perish. There were occasional scandals too, such as when Warren Hastings romanced the married Baroness Imhoff or when Police Commissioner Edward Elliot wooed and later eloped with the wife of Colonel Napier. The place was soon christened Cupid’s Bow.
As the popularity of the spot grew, amenities were added. Ornamental lights and a bandstand came up. These regularly corroded with exposure to the salt-laden breeze and the Corporation of Madras records regularly report expense incurred in replacements and repairs. The Governor’s band performed each evening. The route from the Fort to Cupid’s Bow, now the southern end of Rajaji Salai, became Band Beach Road and that from the Island, now Flagstaff Road, was Band Practice Road. There was a strict dress code in force at Cupid’s Bow – men had to be in top hat and full formal morning dress, the dhoti no doubt not even a remote possibility. Women of course, were dressed at the height of then prevalent fashion.
Not everyone looked upon Cupid’s Bow with favour. In B.M. Croker’s 1892 novel, A Family Likeness, Nita Perry “a natural beauty of Madras” would walk all evening on Cupid’s Bow with her dog, “running the gauntlet of every carriage”, leaving her shy suitor to murderous thoughts. Lord Napier and Ettrick, the Governor of Madras in the 1860s, did not think much of it either. At the end of a particularly hot day, he was writing to his friend Madame Novikoff who was in far away Russia:
“The sun has just set. The world begins to breathe. I fancy that the musicians are just tuning their instruments at the bandstand. Round the bandstand there is a curved walk which is called Cupid’s Bow, but, alas! The god never draws it.” Interestingly, the roundabout was connected across the Cooum to the south by a bridge named after him. Its successor is still called Napier’s Bridge.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Friday Review> Hidden Histories / by SriRam V / Chennai – August 08th, 2014
As the school guard rings the bell, children and teachers walk along the arcaded corridors and the school echoes with the now rare Anglo-Indian accent. St George’s Anglo Indian School will soon turn 300, just 75 years younger than Madras itself.
Considered the oldest school in South Asia, its seeds of the school were sown in 1715 as the Male Orphans’ Asylum, a home for the orphans of British soldiers. From the British’s ‘Black Town’, the school was shifted to the Egmore Railway Station in 1872, and finally established itself as the Civil Orphans’ Asylum in its present location on Poonamalle High Road in 1904.
Today, the orphanage building — Conway House – still stands, with the structure mostly unchanged but now painted a lime green. Most of the blocks in the school are single-storeyed red buildings with wooden windows and quaint, green painted grills. The school chapel that stands in the middle of a large, overgrown lawn appears straight out of an English village — a warm and homely exposed-brick building with steep tiled roofs and spires — the way it was in 1884.
“The orphanage now has 30 children, there were 300 when I joined,” says Isabel Manoharan, the oldest staff member of the school, who joined the school in 1976. “The Anglo-Indian community now has greatly reduced. Earlier the orphanage was open only to Anglo Indian children, and then we began taking children whose fathers were Anglo Indian, now we take them if one parent is an Anglo-Indian,” she says.
The orphanage students study in the school, which is government aided. “There are around 600 Anglo Indian students in the school today,” says N George, Headmaster of the school. The school provides midday meals to deserving students and the government aid helps in the fees of the Anglo-Indian students.
“We have been carrying forward the old traditions of the schools,” George says. One of the long standing traditions is hockey, and the school has a strong team that takes part in national and State level tournaments.
The tri-centenary celebrations are scheduled for April 2015 and the countdown has already begun, with events and competitions. “Alumni from across the globe are expected for the event,” says Isabel. The school will also be holding a carnival to join in celebrating Madras Day, with stalls, photo exhibitions and competitions.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Education> Student / by Archita Suryanarayanan / August 08th, 2014
Hero stones, commemorating the death of persons who have laid down their life in battle or died while fighting for the cause of a particular community, can be seen in places near Thirumoorthi Hills and Gudimangalam. Photo: Special Arrangement / The Hindu
The space is not commensurate with the number of artefacts on display-exhibits made of stone are often kept on the ground in poorly lit corners and at locations that hamper visitor movement.
A visit to the district museum is unlikely to figure in the list of places one likes to spend time on a holiday. For, not many know that there exists a museum in almost every district in the region, which partly has to do with it low-key presence in locations where the rent is affordable. Invariably the locations are government owned buildings.
The poor patronage has to do with the way the museums are maintained. The space is not commensurate with the number of artefacts on display-exhibits made of stone are often kept on the ground in poorly lit corners and at locations that hamper visitor movement. In some museums a few items are in the open, outside the premises.
Security at the museums is another issue. In a few museums, valuable finds are no longer there as the Department of Museums has shifted it to Chennai. Historians and history enthusiasts, who wish to remain anonymous, want the Tamil Nadu Government to improve the museums in the region in such a fashion that they become a sought-after destination.
The Hindu looks at some of the museums in the region and how they fare.
In Udhagamandalam, the Government Museum is awaiting new place – the wait is around a quarter-a-century old. And, it will end in 2015 when it moves to the Connemora Cottage. At present it functions at a rented building on the Ooty-Mysore Road.
The Connemora Cottage is near the historical Stone House, which now forms part of the Government Arts College. The Cottage, constructed in 1884-85, is named after Lord Connemora. At its present location, the Museum attracts only about a hundred visitors a month during the off season period. During the season, the Curator K.A.Murugavel claims, the flow increases. The items on display are coins, megalithic burial urns, tribal goods, stuffed birds, rock art, palm leaf manuscripts and a few musical instruments. A few stone idols have been displayed at the entrance.
Geetha Srinivasan, Convenor, Indian National Trust for Art, Culture and Heritage (INTACH), the Nilgiris Chapter, says the potential for developing the museum is enormous.
In Erode, the Government Museum enjoys the advantage of a good location – it is opposite the VOC Park. This makes the visitors to the Park to hop into the Museum. On an average, not less than 1,000 persons, most of them students, visit the Museum.
Inadequacy of space is, however, conspicuous. Though moving to its own permanent building on a sprawling area would be the permanent solution, the Department of Museums is understandably in a dilemma since there is no certainty that the existing public patronage will continue. The array of stone sculptures placed outside the museum is enough indication of the space constraint.
“Space is a constraint. But the inculcation of the sense of history that the Museum is now able to ensure by virtue of its location is of higher importance,” said S. Jayasankar, Professor of History and Principal of Vasavi College.
Among the prized possessions at the Government Museum is the statue of Lord Dakshinamoorthy dating back to 12th century, the oldest among the collection of statues. Urns used for storing grains, burial urns and materials used by Sholaga tribe of Erode district reflect the civilization in the region.
An excavation at Kodumanal in the district being carried out by a team of Pondicherry University is expected to add to the collection.
In Tirupur, a newly carved district, the demand for museum has only increased. Dr. K. Manivannan, a historian, told The Hindu that a museum was essential for Tirupur so that lots of hero stones and other valuables artefacts presently lying scattered or under the possession of different persons could be brought under one roof.
Hero stones, commemorating the death of persons who have laid down their life in battle or died while fighting for the cause of a particular community, can be seen in places near Thirumoorthi Hills and Gudimangalam, he said.
R. Sangameswaran, an Assistant Professor of History, said setting up a museum would enhance the tourism in the district.
In Salem, the District Museum, functioning since 1975, has exhibits related to numismatics, philately, stone balls and canons, exquisitely-carved stone sculptures and display on articles used by the British. Among the interesting exhibits are the six burial urns that were unearthed in Musiri, Omalur, Mohanur, Kamalapuram and Salem. Each weighs about 80 kg.
A 300-year-old stone carving that was retrieved from Pethanaickenpalayam in Attur that depicts a man taming a bull is on display. A picture of this was submitted as a proof to the Supreme Court in the Jallikattu case to show that the bull taming existed in olden days as well.
Also the wardrobe and articles used by Namakkal V. Ramalingam Pillai were also on display. But those that are in display are in competition with those that are lying dumped in a room, in dust.
Members of the Salem Historical Society had been asking for revamping the museum for a better display of the exhibits, said its secretary J. Barnabas.
Curator M.N. Pushpa told The Hindu that proposal for constructing a new building has already been submitted .
In Coimbatore, the Government Museum is in a pitiable condition because exhibits of historical importance are few. Apart from a few stone idols, urns, megalithic tools and wood carvings from a temple car, there is very little. The floor is damaged and roof is full of cobwebs.
With inputs from D. Radhakrishnan, R. Krishnamoorthy, R. Vimal Kumar, S.P. Saravanan and Karthik Madhavan
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Coimbatore Bureau / Coimbatore – August 02nd, 2014
Venkatesan, former director of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) explaining about the abandoned monuments to the volunteers of ‘Ahimsa Walks’ at a cave in Vallimalai in Vellore on Sunday | Express Photo
Vellore :
A group of self-motivated individuals keen on protecting ancient monuments undertook a walk to Vallimalai Hills near here on Sunday to create awareness on the significance of such monuments while underlining the need for protecting the abandoned ones by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Led by Puducherry-based businessman Sridharan, volunteers from across the State held the‘Ahimsa Walk’ to publicise the importance of non-violence and peaceful living, which was preached by Jain saints in Vallimalai region in the eighth century.
“Most of such ancient sites that contain Jain inscriptions are not known to the people by and large. We would like the messages of the Jain saints, who had stayed in caves in various parts of the State since the Sangam period and which have a lot of relevance in today’s turbulent lifestyle, to be understood by the locals and the general public,” said Sridharan. He said the neglected cave temples created by Jain saints and kings in the southern part of Vallimalai should be taken over by ASI or “otherwise we would lose these valuable messages to anti-social activities in these caves,” he said.
Further, he said, Jain saints had evolved these caves as monasteries of peace and social work where they had extended healthcare to locals and inscriptions in this regard could be found out in Vallimalai caves. These monuments contained wealth of information, which were relevant even today and hence should be protected, he added. Sridharan and his team have been undertaking ‘Ahimsa Walks’ since January 2014 mostly in Villupuram district to promote the concept of Ahimsa and to create awareness about the Jain saints of yesteryear who preached ahimsa.
“We started our first walk in Chenji area in Villupuram to create awareness on many abandoned sites that contained Jain monuments. An estimated 500 such sites are present in the State and we would like to organise walks to highlight the significance of each one of them while emphasising the need for protecting them,” he added.
Professor Ramesh, who is heading the Departments of History and Archaeology at a private college in Villupuram and is participating in the walk, said the Sunday walk was the first one in Vellore district. “We usually study the inscriptions in the abandoned sites and document the same during walks,” he said. The abandoned monuments in the caves in the southern part of the Vallimalai Hills eulogised the period of Ganga dynasty in Vellore region during the eighth century, he added.
Noted epigrapher Venkatesan(retired director of ASI), who accompanied the team, quoting an inscription found in Vallimalai caves, said a Jain monastery had been established there by the Ganga King Rajamalla after he captured this region from Chola king and another one at Seeyamangalam.
The next walk by the team would be in Tiruvannamalai district in Seeyamangalam area near Thellar to create awareness about some abandoned Jain caves in the region next month.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> TamilNadu / by V. NarayanaMurthi / August 05th, 2014
A brass trident and a nandhi idol believed to be dating back to a few centuries were unearthed by the corporation workers in Dindigul when they were desilting the famous Kottaikulam in the foothills of the rockfort in the city on Saturday.
The rockfort, which was constructed in 1605 by the Nayak dynasty in Madurai assumes historical importance. In the 18th century it passed on to the Kingdom of Mysore. Tipu Sultan was crowned the king of Dindigul and he used the fort for the purpose of training his soldiers and also storing their weapons. The Kottaikulam tank at the foothills was dug by him to meet the drinking water needs of his forces. The fort is now maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India and the tank has not been desilted for many decades.
Now, the Dindigul Corporation has taken up desilting work of this tank for the purpose of rain water harvesting. On Friday, workers struck something hard when they reached the depth of about 10 feet and unearthed a brass trident and a little later, the nandhi idol. The trident is said to be weighing about 12 kg and is six feet in height while the idol is two feet tall. Mayor V Marudharaj and corporation commissioner Rajan and other officials rushed to the spot on being informed and later the discovered items were handed over to the Dindigul West tahsildar. Last week the workers discovered an entrance to a secret passage on one side of the tank, which had been covered by silt.
Sources said that a temple dedicated to goddess Abirami Amman had existed on top of the hill during ancient times and it was destroyed during Tipu Sultan’s period. “The idols from the temple seem to have been thrown into the tank after the destruction of the temple,” they added.
The desilting work of this tank has been taken up at a cost of Rs 10 lakh and is said to be one of the most stable RWH structures in the region, because it can harvest all the rain water that gushes down the rockfort during heavy rains. Once restored it would definitely impact the water table in the region.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai / by Padmini Sivarajah, TNN / August 03rd, 2014
