13th
Ramco chairman Rajha dies at 82
Chennai:
Industrialist and philanthropist P R Ramasubrahmaneya Rajha, chairman of Ramco Group of Companies, died in Rajapalayam after a brief illness. He was 82.
He leaves behind his wife Sudarsanam, son P R Venketrama Raja, daughters Nalina, Sarada Deepa and five grandchildren.
Popularly known as the Raja of Rajapalayam, Rajha donned the Ramco chairman’s robe when he was just 27 years old, with just two businesses– Rajapalayam Mills (a textile mill) and Madras Cements (now Ramco Cements) with a single plant capacity of 66,000 tonnes a year.
Today, the group has businesses spanning across, cement, textiles, software and roofing sheets with annual revenues of more than Rs 6,000 crore. The flagship, Ramco Cements, has a capacity to make 18 million tonnes of cement a year, cumulatively the textile business has 5 lakh spindles capacity, Ramco Industries has a roofing capacity of one million tonnes a year and Ramco Systems is also on a strong footing after stuttering for some time.
“In the passing of Rajha, the cement industry has lost a stalwart. I have known him for more than four decades. He was one of the first in the industry to put up a dry process cement plant. A pious, religious person, he had a quiet and sober leadership style. All of us will miss him,” said India Cements vice chairman & managing director N Srinivasan.
The group supports eight educational institutions in Rajapalayam including Ramco Institute of Technology.
“He was one of the outstanding leaders known for his vision, values and philanthropy. His death is a great loss to Tamil Nadu and the country,” recalled TVS Motor Company chairman Venu Srinivasan.
Rajha was deeply associated with temples and donated liberally to building new ones and renovating dilapidated temples.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Chennai News / TNN / May 12th, 2017
On the trail of an ancestor
Several visitors from abroad come every year looking for ancestors — something, meaning lineages, few Indians are interested in. I can only suggest to them the Archives or this church or that cemetery. But, what is a constant surprise is how much information they already have. And, providing an example were my latest visitors, Norman and Gwen Rider from the UK. They were looking for information about Charles Robert MacGregor Ferguson (1847-1920), the second great-grandfather of Gwen. This is what they’d already found:
Charles Ferguson was the son of Private James Ferguson, 15th Hussars, and Harriet (Chinnema) Chinamal. They had married in Bangalore where Charles Ferguson was born and baptised. James Ferguson died there in 1849. Harriet Chinamal died in Madras in 1903 and was buried in St Andrew’s Kirk. Tracing her family is one of the Riders’ least-likely-to-succeed quests.
The other quest is trying to trace Charles Ferguson’s career. He married Anne Elizabeth Ward in St Matthias’ Church, Vepery, in 1868. She died in Coonoor in 1878 after bearing him three children. He then married Alice Emmeline D’Abreu and had two daughters before she died the same year he did, when she was 64. Details about his career are scanty, also occasionally fanciful as in: “1861 — Lucknow. Government Survey Department, Post and Telegraph Department and became Postmaster General in Lucknow until 1902 and received a Government pension till the day of his death in 1920.” Joining service at 14? It was possible in those days for Anglo-Indian boys who’d learn on the job. But, Postmaster General sounds like gilding the lily. He was ‘Telegraph master’ in Pudupet in 1868, then, judging by family births and deaths (all listed), in Coonoor, Lucknow and Chittagong.
The note on Charles’ retirement reads: “Government pension Yelagiri Hills area of South India. Joined a group of Scots families who farmed at Sunnybanks and Bethany where they were self-sufficient growing crops and keeping animals.” He died in Salem and was buried there. Norman Rider added that it was recorded that on his father’s death Charles was left in the care of his godmother, Maria Sandway, in Bangalore in 1849 and that, it was believed, sometime thereafter, that the boy was placed in the Madras Male Orphans’ Asylum (from which St George’s, Shenoy Nagar, grew).
That’s quite a compilation from church and cemetery records and the British Library’s India: Select Births and Baptisms, 1786-1947 and India: Select Deaths and Burials 1719-1948. Even ‘select’, those must be quite some compendiums. But, for all that, the Riders still wonder whether there are Post and Telegraph and St George’s records to help them.
The Riders are only a couple of the hundreds of persons from the UK and elsewhere who come in search of roots. With all the modern technology available, can’t some kind of network be established to help these searchers?
A dance doyenne remembered…
Kalakshetra and Nrithyodaya recently remembered someone who had made Bharatanatyam a significant part of the Singapore cultural scene for which she was awarded that country’s highest honour for artists, The Cultural Medallion, and was selected for its Women’s Hall of Fame. The remembrance was the passing away of that dance ambassador, 79-year-old Neila Sathyalingam, in Singapore, recently.
‘Neila Maami’, to all her students, did post-graduation and, later, taught, at Kalakshetra. She and husband S Sathyalingam, a talented mridangist, an alumni, and a teacher there, moved to Singapore in 1974 with his job and founded Apsaras Arts in 1977. Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music flourished in Singapore as Apsaras grew. That growth included Rukmini Devi-style dance dramas, Kannagi and Sivagami, her last, two memorable ones.
The wedding of Suntharalingam Sathyalingam and Neila Balendra linked two of Colombo’s leading Jaffna Tamil families. Sathyalingam and I grew up together as neighbours, but none of that family’s love of music and dance rubbed off on me. Instead, I learnt about politics and ethnicity at the knee of that maverick Ceylonese politician, his father C Suntharalingam, a mathematics Tripos, too, who first used the word ‘Eelam’ in Parliament. None of his family was as committed to politics.
…. and a young hero too
The ambush of CRPF personnel in Chhattisgarh reminded me of a 60-year old action that Capt D P Ramachandran of the Colours of Glory Foundation narrated to me in great detail a while ago. In the 1956 ambush, a 30-plus patrol of the Sikh Light Infantry found itself surrounded by 500 Naga insurgents. Second Lieutenant Polur Muthuswamy Raman of North Arcot District had the choice to surrender or suicidally fight it out. The 21-year-old chose the latter. Four hours later, during which Raman was twice wounded, there was relief. Another patrol of Sikhs at a higher elevation, spotting their colleagues pinned down, fought their way downhill to join them. The link-up broke the insurgents, but Raman and Major Mehta Singh, who had led the other detachment, lost their lives.
Mehta Singh received the Kirti Chakra, the second highest gallantry award for counter-insurgency action. Raman got the highest award, the Ashok Chakra. Proudly, almost six decades after its alumnus had laid down his life in Nagaland, the National Defence Academy named a new academic building the ‘Raman Block’.
The chronicler of Madras that is Chennai tells stories of people, places and events from the years gone by and, sometimes, from today.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> Madras Miscellany – History & Culture / by S. Muthiah / May 08th, 2017
On slippery soaps
Rebecca Paul says making organic soaps is not difficult and it certainly need not be so expensive
Rebecca Paul’s foray into organic soap making came courtesy of her sister. Paul, who had worked in sales and marketing in Chennai for over five years, was taking a break after the birth of her first child. “I was bored and didn’t know what to do with myself. My sister signed me up for a workshop,” she giggles. “She didn’t even tell me till that morning when she pushed me out of the house.”
The other factor that led her to take this seriously was the fact that her baby had sensitive skin. “I tried all kinds of branded stuff but nothing helped, not even the green gram flour that we traditionally use. Finally I started making specific soaps for him and that’s when we began to see a difference.” This led her husband Deepak also to start using her soaps and, when she realised that it was helping him as well, Paul plunged whole heartedly into the business of making organic soaps.
Her initial products were gifted to family and friends and slowly, as word spread, she began getting other customers. “I started with a sample pack, which had nine different varieties. So that allowed people to choose the variety they wanted. And the orders started to come in.” A large portion of her orders comes from Coimbatore but she has sent her stuff to places like Chennai and Andaman Islands. “One person who was using my soaps went to Dubai and continues to order from there,” she smiles. Paul retails through her Facebook page, The Kraft Farm, and in various exhibitions.
Her soaps are made of two different processes: cold processed and melt-and-pour. The latter is easier, so she teaches that at her workshops. “A readymade base is available, so one just has to melt and add the other ingredients, fragrances and colours. It’s so simple, even a child can make one.” Ask about the problem of sourcing ingredients and Paul returns a vehement “that’s easy. It’s convincing people that’s difficult.” But a lot of people are going organic, I protest. She agrees but points out that most people assume that such products are expensive. “So when I charge ₹60 or ₹70 for a soap of 100gm, they don’t believe it’s fully organic. When I set up a stall at exhibitions, I am constantly dealing with this question: ‘how can you say it’s organic when your prices are so low?’”
The other problem is fragrances. “In commercial soaps, the fragrance lasts till the last bit. But I use essential oils, which evaporate when exposed to heat. So sometimes that becomes an issue. I prefer to make according to the customer’s requirement, so I ask if they want it heavily scented or mildly.”
She has started holding workshops as well. “It’s a way to encourage people to go organic. I offer to help those who want to continue. If they need ingredients, I help them source it. Or even if they want to sell.” She goes on to narrate how one lady — who was speech- and hearing-impaired — was using this as a way to earn some extra money. “She texted to say that she had bought her daughter a gift with the money she made. It made me feel good,” she says softly. She is also working with the Indian Superheroes, a group of organic farmers from tribal and rural communities of South India, to train them and their families to make products that are then retailed on their website.
She’s also looking at increasing the number of products. “I’ve started trials of the body butter. So that should be out soon. I’m also hoping to introduce lip balm, lotion bars, beard wax for guys… I have to explain the concept of lotion bars. Not many people know about it. But still…,” she shrugs, “There’s a lot you can do with organic beauty products.”
In a lather
Most popular soaps: Goat’s milk, Shea butter, Aloe Vera and Honey
Natural colours: Turmeric for yellow, beetroot powder for red/pink, annatto seeds for orange, neem/spirulina for green, activated charcoal for black
Other products: Yarn lanterns, string art, beeswax candles, painted t-shirts
More details: Visit https://www.facebook.com/TheKraftFarm/
Nature afficionado turned painter
Chennai :
As he scrapes the walls of my house, he begins talking in English. Prod him, and he says he was a practical guide to 27 PhD students until a few years ago. Meet Ramesh, who is popularly known as ‘organic’ Ramesh. Now a painter, he was a field assistant at some colleges in the city. “I started out as a teenager in New College where I helped students with their lab works and assignments. My professors saw my interest in soil, trees and worms, and encouraged me to pursue organic farming,” he says.
He is a known face to the residents of Adyar, where he is regularly seen with a shovel and a sapling. “I give a sapling to anyone I meet. I believe everyone should grow their own trees, even if it’s a bonsai,” he smiles.
Ask him about his interest in nature and farming, and he says, “When I saw a worm, I used to analyse it rather than shoving it away. Slowly my interest piqued. As I grew up, I started attending every lecture on zoology, horticulture and agriculture,” says this school dropout.
Ramesh used to spend several hours at the lab where he would explore structures of different organisms under the microscope. He admits he never knew any language other than Tamil when he started working in the college. Narrating an experience of working along with an American to learn about the biogas plant, Ramesh says, “New College had just bought a biogas plant and no one knew how to use it. A professor asked me to learn the procedure from the American and I did. Back then, when someone spoke in English, all I did was nod my head. I was dubbed thalaiaati bommai. That’s when I realised the importance of learning a language,” he says as he explains the cedure in English.
Over the years, Ramesh has helped set up biogas plants, vermicompost pit, organic plants, kitchen garden terrace garden, across homes, schools and colleges. Personal setbacks and fallouts with a few higher authorities led him to take up painting. “Zoology was all I knew. It was only later that I took the painting brush. Initially, when I started painting, I used to cry all day. But now I enjoy it,” he says.
Ramesh is still the star wherever he goes. He has clients all over the city for whom he helps set up organic gardens. “I procure all my materials from a farm in ECR. That’s the only place I trust,” he says adding that anyone can become adept in organic farming. “Avoid plastics and fertilisers. I recommend lesser use of soil and more of cocopith, neem cakes, lipstick (a solution made using honey and neem oil to attract pests which are then killed by the neem solution) as disinfectant and panchakaviyam,” he says claiming that the latter was his innovation. “As I loved to experiment, I made this liquid fertiliser using curd, buttermilk, cow dung, cow urine and banana.”
Dismissing the myth that certain trees will not grow in the Chennai climate, Ramesh says, “When you make use of less soil, you can grow any kind of plant you want.”
To set up your garden, call 7092195939
TIPS
Avoid pots. Grow your trees in grow bags.
Make sure you have a vermicompost pit with red soil in your garden.Use cocopith and natural elements to enhance plant growth.If you wish to have a terrace garden, apply cooling oil on the terrace before placing your plants. This helps cool your house and prevents water from pots seeping into your homes.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Anushree Madhavan / by Express News Service / May 08th, 2017
When Dalits were also landowners and Vellalas slaves
Palm leaf manuscripts reveal a history of slavery in Nanjil Nadu, now part of Kanniyakumari district
“The severe drought has left us with nothing, not even gruel. Our legs and calf muscles have become swollen and we are not able to walk. So as suggested by the head of our family, we sold ourselves to Raman Iyappan.”
A 1459 palm leaf manuscript faithfully records the grim story of a Kerala Samban magan, Avayan, his nephew Thadiyan and his sister Nalli, in the note prepared for their sale as slaves.
The lush green fields of Nanjil Nadu, the rice bowl of erstwhile South Travancore and now part of Kanniyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, hide a history that cut across the social spectrum. Slavery was common in the region as recently as 200 years ago.
Interestingly, while members of the Vellalas, a land holding community that wielded enormous influence during the reign of the Travancore kings, were sold as slaves, Dalits, who were also often sold as slaves, also owned land.
A collection of 19 palm leaf manuscripts, part of the so-called Mudaliar Olaigal, reveals details of the practice. Written in Tamil script, the language of the manuscripts is mixture of Malayalam and Tamil, reflecting the composite culture of the region.
“A manuscript recorded in 1601 that records the sale of land by two Dalits — Avaiathan and Konathan, who belong to the Pallar community — proves the claim that Dalits also owned lands,” said folklorist A.K. Perumal, who has translated and edited Mudaliar Olaigal, published by Kalachuvadu.
The term ‘Mudaliar’ refers to the head of the family in Azhagiyapandiapuram in Kanniyakumari district. The community of Saiva Vellalas were conferred the title ‘Mudaliar’ by the Travancore kings and they ruled Nanjil Nadu on behalf of the kings.
Late poet Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai copied a few manuscripts in 1903. In addition to records on slave auctions, they contain a wealth of detail on the revenue system, maintenance of irrigation tanks and rivers and professions of many communities.
Chronicling a reality very different from the present, the manuscripts speak of wealthy Dalits.
A manuscript from 1462 says one Sundarapandian Chetti borrowed four ‘kaliyuga Raman panam’ (money used in that period), from one Kesavan of ‘sambavar’ caste, a sub-sect of Dalits. A 1484 manuscript, when referring to the border of a piece of land, says it lies “south of [the property of] Perumparaian”, a big land owner from the community.
Women punished
“But in the case of Vellalas, the women sold as slaves were used as maids in their owners’ houses. Only a Vellala was allowed to own another member of his community as a slave and this was openly announced before the commencement of an auction,” said Dr. Perumal.
The women slaves from the Vellalas were known as ‘Vellatti’. According to the Madras University Lexicon, ‘Vellati’ means a servant maid or slave.
“Slaves from the upper caste were clearly differentiated from Dalit slaves. Vellattis were used for the housekeeping,” explains said Dr. Perumal, who collected the manuscripts from the Thiruvananthapuram archives.
Women from upper castes were often sold as slaves after they were found to have had relationships with men from lower castes.
Dr. Perumal said slave markets existed in Aloor ( present day Kalkulam taluk), Aralvaimozhi, Thazhakudi (Thovalam taluk) and Rajakkamangalam (Agastheeswaram taluk).
K.K. Kusuman, who has studied the history of slavery in Travancore, had recorded that the price of a slave depended on the social hierarchy.
The manuscripts contain records of the prices fixed for slaves. In the records, the caste of a slave is used as a prefix unlike the modern day practice in which a caste title is used as a suffix.
Dr. Perumal said poverty was the reason for slavery.
A 1458 manuscript records a slave as saying: “We sold ourselves because of poverty.” Another one, recorded in 1472, records the poignant story of a man pledging himself and his daughter as he was unable to repay a loan and interest due on it. Subsequently he is recorded as having become a permanent slave.
Slavery was abolished in Travancore on July 18, 1853 by a declaration made by the King Uthiram Thirunal.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by B. Kolappan / Chennai – May 08th, 2017
Chekku ennai makes a comeback
When Immanuel S, employee at a private firm was diagnosed with a heart ailment recently, his doctor advised him to switched to cold-pressed gingelly (sesame) oil. Since then, the entire family has been following suit and they consider the change, an informed choice. “We didn’t want to spend on medicine and hence, changed our dietary habits. The move seems to have worked as no one in the family has fallen ill since then,” he says. Just like Immanuel, many households in Coimbatore are gradually switching to cold-pressed oil. After millets made a comeback on Coimbatorean’s menu, it’s the turn of cold-pressed oil (chekku ennai) to find its way back in health-conscious Coimbatorean’s life.
For the last three months, homemaker Rajeswari N has been making a trip to the nearest oil mill in her locality. She opts for cold-pressed gingelly oil, groundnut oil and coconut oil. “During my childhood, back home in my village in Theni, we used cold-pressed oil for cooking. But, after I got married and moved to Coimbatore, it became an arduous task to find chekku ennai and I switched to refined oil. It was only recently that I heard of an oil mill near our house and immediately went back to those good old days of cooking. Life has come full circle,” says Rajeswari.
According to BS Venkatachalam, proprietor of a cold-pressed oil chain in the city, “There is an increased awareness among people today and they are extremely conscious about their health. They are now aware that many health issues can be addressed by changing one’s food habits and opting for cold-pressed oil is an example. It’s a misconception that oil in itself is bad for the body. Human body needs lubrication and hence, it needs oil. It’s in the extraction process that we go wrong. In the days of yore, the oil was extracted in chekku made of vaagai maram and the vaagai marachekku oil (vigin cold-pressed oil) was considered extremely beneficial to one’s health. Vaagai maram has the propensity to absorb heat and the hence, the oil churned out from such an oil expeller is beneficial in the long run. They would also use bulls to operate the chekku as they would move slowly. This would ensure that the same temperature is maintained throughout the extraction. The cold-pressed oil extracted with this press (oil expeller) has no LDL (bad) cholesterol. On the other hand, adulterated oil when heated extensively becomes toxic in the long run. ”
K Velusamy, who runs a cold-pressed oil mill in Ganapathy, says, “People who have been making the switch to cold-pressed oil consists of two types- those who are suffering from a health issue like joint pain or sugar; and those who want to prevent diseases. But, merely switching to cold-pressed oil will not improve one’s health. One needs to cut down or stop the intake of unhealthy options like white sugar and white rice. Cold-pressed oil has a unique colour, texture and taste.”
Seconding him is fitness nutritionist Almas Sajjath, “Any product in its refined form is unhealthy – be it rice or sugar. Cold-pressed oil is a healthy alternative. In India, coconut oil is considered the best as it contains Omega 3. It has the property to cut down bad fat and keep you healthy. Cold-pressed gingelly oil (nallenai) on the other hand, has the property to keep food intact for a long time. Apart from switching to chekku ennai, one should follow a good dietary pattern that provides proper nutrition to remain healthy in the long run.” Venkatachalam adds, “Our ancestors enjoyed good health, because they opted for healthy cooking habits. It’s time we followed suit and taught our younger generations about the same.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Chennai News / by P. Sangeetha / TNN / April 19th, 2017
IIT-M makes white light from pomegranate, turmeric extracts
This could be used in applications such as tunable laser, LEDs and white light display
Dr. Vikram Singh, former research scholar in the Department of Chemistry, IIT Madras won the BIRAC Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Award 2017 for his work on producing white light emission using natural extracts.
Dr. Singh and Prof. Ashok Mishra from the Department of Chemistry, IIT Madras used a mixture of two natural extracts — red pomegranate and turmeric — to produce white light emission. The researchers used a simple and environment-friendly procedure to extract dyes from pomegranate and turmeric.
While polyphenols and anthocyanins present in red pomegranate emit at blue and orange-red regions of the wavelength respectively, curcumin from turmeric emit at the green region of the wavelength. White light emission is produced when red, blue and green mix together. This is probably the first time white light emission has been generated using low-cost, edible natural dyes. The results were published in the journal Scientific Reports.
“We had to mix the two extracts in a particular ratio to get white light,” says Dr. Singh, the first author of the paper; he is currently at Lucknow’s CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI). By changing the concentration of the two extracts the researchers were able to get different colour temperature (tunability).
“When we mix the two extracts and irradiate it with UV radiation at 380 nm, we observed energy transfer (FRET mechanism) taking place from polyphenols to curcumin to anthocyanins, which helps to get perfect white light emission,” says Dr. Singh. For FRET mechanism to take place there must be spectral overlap between the donor and acceptor.
Energy transfer
In this case, there is a perfect overlap of emission of polyphenols with absorption by curcumin so the energy from polyphenols is transferred to curcumin. Since there is also a perfect overlap of emission of curcumin with absorption by anthocyanin, the energy of curcumin is transferred to anthocyanin.
As a result of this energy transfer from one dye to the other, when the extract is irradiated with UV light at 380 nm (blue region of the wavelength), the polyphenols emit in the blue region of the wavelength and transfers its energy to curcumin. The excited curcumin emits in the green region of the wavelength and transfers its energy to anthocyanin, which emits light in the red region of the wavelength.
“Because of the energy transfer, even if you excite in the blue wavelength we were able to get appropriate intensity distribution across the visual wavelength,” says Prof. Mishra, who is the corresponding author of the paper.
Without turmeric
Taking the work further, the duo produced carbon nanoparticles using pomegranate and to their surprise it was producing fairly green emission. So instead of using turmeric to get green wavelength, the researchers used carbon nanoparticles made from pomegranate extract. “We could get white emission, though it is not as white as when we use turmeric. It’s slightly bluish but well within the white zone,” says Prof. Mishra. “It is an attractive to use a single plant source to create white light emission.” The principle by which the pomegranate extract and carbon nanoparticles made from the extract is the same as in the case when pomegranate and turmeric extracts were used. The results were published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry C.
Though this natural mixture of dyes can be used in a wide variety of applications such as tunable laser, LEDs, white light display, much work needs to be done in terms of photostability and chemical stability before it becomes ready for translation. Biosystems have an inherent tendency to breakdown and so this has to be addressed.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sci-Tech> Science / by R. Prasad / May 06th, 2017
18th century Maratha-style Thanjavur choultry on verge of collapse
Chennai :
An 18th century chatram (choultry) in Thanjavur is now in ruins due to lack of maintenance and care. The Yamunambaal chatram , built by Maratha King Pratap Sinha (1739-1763) in Needamangalam, 30 km from Thanjavur, may collapse anytime if sufficient care is not taken immediately. Despite repeated requests from activists, the government has not taken any steps to preserve this architecturally-rich building.
A couple of months ago, historian and archaeologist Ayyampettai N Selvaraj had filed an RTI petition to revive the historic importance of the building, but he didn’t get a proper answer from the concerned authority. “As this is a charity, we can’t give you the details you want,” was the reply from the collector’s office. The chatrams, introduced by Maratha kings, played a major role in accommodating people from other parts of India visiting Rameswaram, during their reign from 1674 to 1855. The chatram and village were named after the king’s wife, Yamunamba Bhai. The village was known as Yamunambal Puram and the choultry, Yamunambal Chatram. “The king constructed a palatial chatram and a lake here. He also raised temples for Shiva and Vishnu along with an Agraharam for the temple priests and supervisors,” he said.
“When the Marathas ruled Thanjavur, they introduced charitable institutions, which were quite new and novel to this soil. Those days, pilgrims from the northern parts of India would reach Rameshwaram on foot, with carts, and it was difficult to meet out their basic needs in an alien soil. The Maratha rulers could understand the hardships the pilgrims faced and built at least 20 chatrams with a tank in Thanjavur alone,” said Selvaraj, who has excavated many ancient idols in and around Thanjavur.
These chatrams were designed and constructed in the Maratha style. The main mandapam of the Yamunambaal chatram is designed as if it was pulled by horses and elephants with mahouts on their back with swords in hands. Granites were used in the construction, up to the basement. “The chatram may collapse any time. It’s now under the Thanjavur Collector’s jurisdiction. It’s high time action is taken to maintain the building,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Chennai News / by M T Saju / TNN / May 05th, 2017