India has a rich
cultural heritage ~ there are many Temples that were built by opulent Kings
more than thousands of years ago ! At
Marina beach and elsewhere on Masi Magam day, thousands thronged to have
darshan of Swami and have holy dip in sacred waters. Here is a photo taken at Marina.
Asian Civilisations
Museum is an institution which forms a part of the four museums in Singapore, it is one of the pioneering museums in the region to
specialise in pan-Asian cultures and civilisations.
Ariyalur is believed
to have obtained its name from Hari Nindra Oor, meaning the place where Hindu
god Vishnu had his presence. Ariyalur was a part of the erstwhile Trichinopoly
District until India's independence in 1947 now a part of the newly formed
Ariyalur district. The town is a part of the fertile Cauvery Delta and the major
profession in the town is agriculture. Ariyalur is administered by a
municipality established in 1994.
In 1741 the Marathas
invaded Tiruchirappalli and took Chanda Saheb as captive. Chanda Saheb
succeeded in securing freedom in 1748 and soon got involved in famous Carnatic war.
Nawab of Arcot annexed the two palayams of Ariyalur and Udayarpalayam
located with troops were in the Ariyalur district on the grounds of default in
payment of Tributes.
Every village has a
temple – the tranquil place of worship. Beautiful idols are there in the Temple
being worshipped – and sadly some are not in their designated places. The Govt Dept would conveniently say that it
is not safe to keep the idols in some Temples and sadly in some places, many
idols are kept together in the same premises, which does not augur well for the
Temple or the agama sastras.
Some beautiful idols
have been stolen and sold as artefacts. One
ancient idol, stolen from the Shiva Temple in Sripuranthan village, was
smuggled to the USA, where it was sold at Kapoor’s former New York City gallery
‘Art of the Past’. Later, ACM, an institution of the National Heritage Board at
Singapore, had purchased it in 2007 at a cost of $650,000, unaware that the
idol was illicitly trafficked. After it emerged that the idol was stolen from
Tamil Nadu, the Museum had officially returned the idol of the Hindu goddess to
ASI officials at Singapore on November 6 last year. Finally, it arrived in
Delhi on December 16, 2015.
Despite the
1,000-year-old Uma Parameshwari idol having been retrieved from Singapore Museum, the Panchaloha idol,
smuggled out by the international art smuggler Subhash Kapoor, is yet to be returned to the temple in Ariyalur reportedly
waiting till security features in the
temple pass the muster of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
The idol is one of
the eight stolen from the Brihadeeswarar temple in Sripuranthan village in
Ariyalur district about a decade ago. Presently, the Uma Parameshwari idol is
with the ASI in New Delhi after the Singapore-based Asian Civilisations Museum
(ACM) returned it in December last. According to ASI sources, the idol-wing of
the Tamil Nadu Police have approached the ASI, seeking possession of the
retrieved idol.
Asked whether the
stolen idol would be returned to the temple at Ariyalur, ASI sources clarified
that the temple authorities must stake claims for the idol. However, the (Uma
Parameshwari) idol would be returned only if the ASI was satisfied with
security arrangements to safeguard the idol, as it was already stolen once,
they added. “Till that time, the idol may be continued to be kept in the ASI
Museum in Chennai,” the official added. As per procedures, any artefact
retrieved through the ASI from abroad will be kept at the Central Antiquity
Collection in Delhi before transported to their respective ASI Museum from the
region, where the idol originated.
With Tamil Nadu being
the place of origin in the case of the Uma Parameshwari idol, it would be
ferried to the ASI Museum located in Chennai ~ and when ? – not ordinary
mortals can answer!!.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
25th Feb
2016
PS: In the 1951 General elections to the Madras
Assembly, at Ariyalur – total votes were 39262 of which Palaniandi Independent candidate securing 11422
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