‘Heritage Hunt' organised at Meenakshi Temple

Participants of the hunt at Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in the city on Sunday. Photo: S. James

In an effort to instil an awareness and knowledge of the architectural splendours that the ancient city possesses and the rich heritage which needs to be preserved and protected, an event called ‘Heritage Hunt' was organised at Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple here on Sunday.

The event was organised by the Department of Architecture, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, and was part of the Architecture Student's Symposium titled, “Renaissance 2020”.

G. Balaji, Assistant Professor of Architecture in Thiagarajar College of Engineering, said that the objective of the programme was to create an awareness among people of the architectural and heritage values of the city through local interaction.

Another aspect was that it includes the idea to explain about the city to the students in an exploring and experimenting way. The method followed in the heritage hunt was that each team has to identify the spot using the clues that were made available to them at the respective spots.

The clues were in the form of picture puzzles, drawings and photographs. For example: Spot Name: “Thermooti” the clue was God's Own BMW parked at the royal path to Palace.

The teams were selected on a random basis and members from all the participating colleges were shuffled around to give a multicultural look. The team that arrives first completing all the given tasks and clues within the stipulated time will become the winner.

More than a hundred students participated in the event. The colleges that participated in the event were Bharathi Vidyapeeth College of Architecture, Navi Mumbai, R.V.College, Bangalore, Bharath College of Engineering, Chennai, Tamil Nadu School of Architecture and Prahar School of Architecture from Coimbatore, McGan College, Ooty, and Salem School of Architecture.

The starting point of the hunt was Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple's West Tower and the spots in between include Pathu Thoon, Vilakku Thoon, Pudhu Mandapam, Jain Temple, Vitta Vasal, Thermooti and finished at Tirumalai Nayak Mahal. The time given to the participants was two-and-a-half hours and use of vehicles was not allowed. Participants from outside Madurai were provided with a local student as navigators.