The fresh concrete coat given to the 185-year-old Sulochana Mudaliar Bridge across the Tamirabharani here just 33 months ago is in a bad shape now.
The damaged surface of the bridge stands testimony to the quality of materials used in the Rs. 10 lakh-worth renovation.
At the same time, a place of worship, situated just 1.50 km away from the bridge, stands majestically inside this perennial river for 300-odd years braving shine in the hottest summer and inundating heavy floods during monsoon.
Whenever the Tamirabharani experiences flood, the Murugan Temple at Kurukkuthurai, which was constructed during the Naick period with lime, palm jaggery, gallnut etc., gets submerged continuously for a few days or even a couple of weeks. The temple would have experienced severe floods on hundreds of occasions ever since it came into existence.
However, its brilliant design and excellent quality of materials used for construction have given the structure immortal value while six-month-old roads and bridges are being washed away in just a 15-minute-long downpour.
Whenever the Tamirabharani swells, the idols, ‘hundial’ and other articles in the Kurukkuthurai Murugan Temple are taken to a nearby temple.
Since the stone idol in the sanctum sanctorum cannot be removed it also gets submerged in the floods.
Even when the Tamirabharani carried over two lakh cusecs of water during the 1992 floods, the temple and the idol withstood its fury majestically while only a few tiles on the terrace alone got damaged.
“This is due to the quality of construction and thoughtfully designed structure by our ancestors. Since the ancient architects had fully understood the nature of the Tamirabharani, especially during floods, the western side wall of the temple has been designed like the front portion of a ship. Hence, even a furious flood does not affect the sturdiness of the structure,” says Yagna Narayanan, Executive Officer of Swamy Nellaiyappar Temple. The entire Tamirabharani – from Papanasam to Punnaikaayal -- is dotted with a number of ‘mandapams’ with granite pillars.
Most of these ‘mandapams’ have vanished, not because of the Tamirabharani’s fury, but due to rampant sand mining that had been done over the years.
