On the day of your wedding, when a God appears before you and says that you are a slave to Him and shows a bond executed by your grandfather for the same in agreement with Him, how would you react?
On the day of your wedding, when a God appears before you and says that you are a slave to Him and shows a bond executed by your grandfather for the samein agreement with Him, how would you react? When such an incident had happened in the life of Sundarar, the famed shaivite saint-poet, he grabbed the bond from the God, who was in the disguise of an old man,and tore it to pieces.
'Disguised as an old man bent with age, Lord Siva appeared at Sundarar’s wedding, and told him that he and his generations have to be servitors to Him. The old man also showed him the bond signed by his grandfather. But Sundarar grabbed the bond, which was a palm leaf manuscript, and tore it to pieces. However, the case, which goes to a ‘court', is depicted in a mural painting dating back to the Chola era.' says Balusamy, a noted art critic, author and retired professor of Tamil from the Madras Christian College.
'When Lord Siva said at the marriage marquee that Sundarar was his slave and not entitled to marry, how would the groom's kin have felt the shock ?The mural painting, dating back to the Chola period, expresses the vivid feeling on everyone’s face. The artist, who painted this incident on the wall of the temple, was sure to have a close study of the human mind and body in response to the incidents in life. The anonymous painter has brought alive the shock on the faces of the people sitting in the 'court' where the old man claims his right with a ‘documentary evidence’ to have Sundarar as his servitor' explains Balusamy.
The art critic says that ancient Tamils had an ardent love for art.
'Though the classical Sangam literature reflects a culturally developed ancient Tamil society, we haven’t come across the art works of the Sangam period, since its architectural structures built with red soil, bricks and timber, could not withstand the test of time. Following Sangam literature, the great Tamil epic Silapathikaram speaks of many institutions related to fine arts such as Chithira Koodam (Hall of art), Chithira Maadam (Storied houses for art) and so on. Such references in Silapathikaram throw light on how the ancient Tamil society had reached the pinnacle of fine arts centuries ago' informs Balusamy.
Tracing the outline of the art history of Tamil Nadu, Balusamy says that the ancient tradition of art, after a gap, continued in the Pallava period and journeyed through the periods of Pandyas, Cholas, Vijayanagara kings and Naickers.
'While the famed Kailasanathar Temple at Kanchipuram displays Somaskantha ( A Pallava period mural art depicting Lord Siva with his consort Parvathi and Skantha as a child), the Sithanavasal cave displays the Thaamarai Thadaagam (lotus-bloomed tank)the only, surviving, mural painting of the Pandya period. The Thanjavur Brihadeshwarar Temple has a few mural paintings of the Cholas. Thus, from the Pallava period, the tradition of mural paintings continued till 10th century CE. Thereafter, the Naicker period of 16th, 17th and 18th century CE witnessed the flourishing of art with their construction of a number of temples and drawing of mural paintings. Alagathri Nicker, the brother-in-law of king Thirumalai Naicker is ever remembered for his beautiful construction of the Kanaka Sabhai (Golden Hall) in Perur Patteeswarar Temple of Coimbatore' details Balusamy.
Tracing the root of mural paintings of the Naicker period to the art tradition of Andhra Pradesh, Balusamy informs that scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharatha were depicted in their paintings.
'Similar to the present day comics, the Naicker tradition of mural paintings narrated the stories from literature. Such paintings also had footnotes written in vernacular Tamil. One such painting found at the Azhagar Temple in Madurai displays a scene of Rama, Lakshmana and others studying in a ‘classroom’ with their ‘school bags’ hanging on the nails driven into the classroom wall! While sage Vashista teaches in the classroom, Rama is seen writing on a palm leaf.
'But, what Rama writes, as read from the Tamil phrase in the mural art, is ‘Sri Rama Jeyam’! 'Balusamy says in a lighter vein:
The art critic has also something to say about King Thirumalai Nayak:
'The Naickers ruled the Tamil land for over three centuries, and the most famous of all the Naicker kings was King Thirumalai Nayak. However, he did not know how to speak or write in Tamil!'