Selective Amnesia There was a point to this. But I forgot.

Ponniyin Selvan, relived.

I went to Tanjavur recently, from there to Kodikarai. (Leg 1 of Vanthiyathevar’s journey)

While in Tanjavur (I spent more time in Tanjavur on this trip than on previous ones) I found that a lot more things were associated with the Marathis than the earlier kings. The current palace, apparently built by the Nayaks on the site of the earlier Chola palace, is now a museum and library, devoted to the collection of Raja Serfoji. Every where you turn, it’s his face beaming out of tapestries and statues and book covers.

Yes, the Chola dynasty lived a 1000 years ago, and what is written in PS is more fiction than fact, but I am assuming some kind of copper plates or something were discovered? They have been moved, apparently, to Delhi. No idea why. The library is but two bookshelves and some display cases with Urdu and French and German books, and one meagre tamil copper plate, that too from Serfoji’s time. There is a copy of Kamba Ramayanam, in palm-leaves, from 18th century. But that is all the Tamil I could find here.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to have some of the archaeological finds from Tanjavur IN Tanjavur itself? And not some dust-ridden shelf in an ill-visited, moth-infested building in Delhi? And, none of the guides in the museum have heard/read of Ponniyin Selvan.

As for the temple – renovation is apace. The entire west side – the outer-prakaram – is being dismantled, new granite pillars and beams put up in their place. While the workers are trying hard (and achieving) to replicate the overall shape and size of each of the pillars, the inscriptions and, um, old-ness of the thing is gone. The inscriptions, I heard, will be traced out, and studied in Delhi, while the pillars will be shipped – some to Madras ASI office and some to other places. Perhaps another moth-infested, dust-ridden, ill-visited building. FUCK!