Heritage Landmarks – Tanjavur Naalu Kaal Mandapam

It has now become customary to lament the dearth of Carnatic music in Tanjavur, once the very heartland of the art form. But far from the sabha-s and the sabha culture of Chennai, a music festival that is 106 years old still continues to be held year after year, albeit with some gaps in its history.

The Prasanna Venkateswara Swami shrine of Tanjavur is very well known. Muthuswami Dikshitar has dedicated a kriti in raga Vati Vasantabhairavi (the 14th melakarta in the Dikshitar scale corresponding to Vakulabharanam) to the presiding deity here. Locals aver that when it was built, the temple and its environs were expected to rival Tirumala itself. Hence there is a shrine to Lord Govindaraja not very far away. The Venkateswara Swami temple is at a slight elevation and can be reached by climbing steps. The area in front of the temple is a small town square, a rare piece of open space in old Tanjavur. This has a four pillared hall that faces the temple. On the right hand side of this 'naalu kaal mandapam', as one faces the temple, is a 'termutti' or the elevated platform from which the utsava moorti (processional idol) of the temple is placed in the chariot during the annual car festival. The space below the pavilion houses a shrine to Lord Hanuman, who in local parlance is referred to as Sangeeta Anjaneya Swami.

Legend has it that the floor of the pavilion had a hole in it, which could not be filled up despite many efforts. The bricks would simply fall through. When the avadhoota saint and composer Sadasiva Brahmendra visited the spot, he recommended that a statue of Anjaneya be installed below the pavilion in a niche. This was immediately done and the saint consecrated the idol.