It is the final weekend earlier than faculty begins, and Chennai’s famed DakshinaChitra is crowded with households. At the Varija Art Gallery a bunch of school college students is placing collectively tactile clay objects they’ve helped create. Anitha Pottamkulam, director, Culture, DakshinaChitra, says, “The Immortal Valors: Hero Stones of Tamil Nadu is an extraordinary exhibition curated by DakshinaChitra in collaboration with Tamil Nadu’s Department of Archaeology, Roja Muthiah Research Library and Yaakkai Heritage Trust. On these pictorial representations come alive stories etched in stone — of bravery, sacrifice and ancestral homage spanning over two millennia. It invites you to discover the fascinating world of nadukal, the legendary hero stones that immortalise Tamil warriors who gave their lives in war, cattle conflicts, and protection of their villages. Museums say ‘don’t touch’ but to bring these fascinating stories from the fringe to the mainstream, we have created tactile versions.”
Professor Okay Rajan, Academic and Research Advisor to Tamil Nadu Institute of Archaeology and Museology, Government of Tami Nadu
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RAVINDRAN R
“There are three ways you can date an inscription,” says Prof Rajan on a cellphone name, having simply stepped away from an archaeological website the place he’s working. “The first is based on content — name of the king, regnal year… Assuming that this is not available, the content may denote the political geography of the region or the territorial division which may have emerged after a certain period (names of dynasty or names of chieftains also give clues). The third is paleography — initially vatta ezhuthu script and later Tamil script. The shift from the first to the second happened in the late Pallava period. In addition, sculptural representation on the stone helps date them. Early stones have shields and swords, bow and arrow, and are on cattle raids. Later ones have details on capturing land and villages, a sign of social transformation.”
The tactile specimens of the hero stones at DakshinaChitra
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RAVINDRAN R
Hero stones populated the Tamil land “from 4BC to the 5th Century as just stones with inscriptions. Post that, figures made their appearance, from 6th Century to 9th Century — this is when most of the memorial stones were created. A new range came up after the 10th Century, not just for heroes but also on sati and ‘sanniyasikkal’ and ‘kovukkal’. During the Vijayanagara period, inscriptions were done away with and only sculptural representations were found. By the Colonial period, they started fading”, says Rajan, including that the oldest hero stone in India is discovered in Pulimankombai in Theni district on the banks of the Vaigai.
Whether the ‘hero’ has been buried on the scene of motion or introduced dwelling and buried is a query that begs to be requested. “Only if we excavate under them and find the skeletal remains will we know. But these stones are worshipped, and out of deference to the dead, this has not been done,” he provides.
Sudhakar Nalliyappan (left) together with volunteers from the Yaakkai Heritage Trust
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Special association
In a land profuse with such cultural artefacts that outline each time and territory, the onus of discovering, defending and pushing for his or her research additionally falls on the citizen-historian. Which is the place establishments such because the Coimbatore-based Yaakkai Heritage Trust, based in 2017 by Sudhakar Nalliyappan to create consciousness and preserve cultural heritage, step in. Sudhakar, president of Yaakkai, discovered his method to historical past by means of levels in Computer Science and Tamil Studies. “I was fond of travel and discovered hidden facets of our culture when on the road. Information was available, but scattered, and bringing this microhistory under one umbrella was our focus. Memorial stones are written in common dialects of the region. We have GPS-pinned nearly 1,200 stones and involved locals in their discovery and preservation. This gives them a sense of ownership. Almost 150 students intern with us. We also work to conserve prehistoric rock paintings and megalithic sites. Heritage should also be made part of CSR activity — it opens up funding. Time and knowledge investment is our biggest contribution,” says Sudhakar, including that volunteers are from totally different fields however comply with their ardour post-work and on weekends travelling and studying strategies of preservation.
This information now hangs on pictures with particulars of the memorial stones on the gallery. There are additionally 3D fashions created by the interning faculty college students. The exhibition invitations you to journey forwards and backwards, but it surely follows the narrative that connects trendy folks with the way in which we had been.
The exhibition is on until July 20 (10am-6pm) at DakshinaChitra, Muttukadu. Closed on Tuesdays.
Published – June 04, 2025 03:23 pm IST
