What they don’t tell you about good old Teppakulam

Historian weaves fascinating stories around this sprawling tank, a landmark of Madurai

Historian R. Venkatraman bringing alive an incident revolving around Teppakulam on Sunday. Photo: G. Moorthy

“The general hygiene and wellbeing of people was once determined by the cleanliness of tanks or ponds where they lived. The Nayak rulers constructed small and big tanks dedicated to important temples and Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam was one among them,” recalled historian R. Venkatraman early on Sunday morning.

More than 50 enthusiasts turned up for a heritage walk around the Teppakulam to learn about one of the city’s most important landmarks. Organised by Dhan Foundation, the heritage walk forms a part of a series of awareness walks on temple tanks in Madurai.

The Teppakulam, which was built in 1635, measures 1,000 x 950 feet. There is a huge ‘mandapam’ at the centre of the tank. Mr. Venkatraman said there were many sculptures on the sides of the tank, depicting incidents of Thirumalai Naicker era. “It is believed that Naicker heard the plight of a woman who claimed that a crocodile snatched her son away. The king went near the tank and ordered the crocodile to bring back her son, which was depicted in a sculpture near the steps,” he said.

Archaeological scholar V. Vedachalam marvelled at the superior architecture of the tank and its planning. “While there were two channels which brought water from Vaigai river to the tank, two sluices were constructed so that the flow could be regulated and impurities filtered,” he said. “Encroachments on the channels and poor maintenance have rendered the tank unfit for water storage,” he rued. Pointing at the artistic beauty of the tank, Mr. Vedachalam said even the water inlets on the sides of the tanks were beautifully carved in shapes of celestial beings. “The beauty of seeing the float making its way across the tank used to be the highlight of the annual ‘Teppam’ festival,” he added.

Later the participants of the heritage walk gave their suggestions on keeping the Teppakulam clean. “Stern rules with regard to littering and defacing are needed for good maintenance of the tank. A collective conscience of people to keep the tank clean is needed,” said Isaac Austin, a resident.