Tamil magazine of art, knowledge, stories and poems

Santhosh and Ayshwarya with flat Stanley

Ekambaranath temple, Kancheepuram - photograph:akr

Stanley: Hi Santhosh, Hi Ayshwarya,

Iam flat Stanley, friend of Sarika Nadar.
I came to learn about Kancheepuram. I am very excited to be with you! In school we are learning how to locate our state and county as well as other countries on the maps and globes, I wish to take an interview of you so that I can convey as much of information to Sarika. It will be very helpful for us.

Santhosh: Hi Stanley,

we are very pleased to meet you.
We shall be very happy to tell whatever we know of Kancheepuram which is a district head quarters located in the east from Chennai, the state capital of Tamilnadu in India. Kancheepuram is a holy place where Adi Sankara, the nobleman who refined the minds of people who followed the Hindu religion and established the famous Kanchi Kamakoti peeda, the mutt being maintained ever after him by his disciples who take charge of the mutt successively as Sankaracharayas.

From time immemorial, the Hindus had the habit of offering animals as sacrifices when performing pujas and yaga to worship the almighty. It was during this period that Gowthama Buddha came to limelight by his preachings on 'ahimsa' about not to kill animals or other lives for any purpose. People were attracted by Gowthama Buddha's policies and were switching over to Buddhism from Hinduism. Adi Sankara made the Hindus to realize the principles of 'ahimsa' and advised them to avoid killing in the name of yaga and puja bringing back Hinduism to life.

Stanley: Ayshwarya, can you tell me about the temple tower that is seen behind us?

Ayshwarya: Yes my dear friend, It is the tower of Lord Ekambaranath temple which is a Siva temple. Lord Siva is also called Ekambaranath. The ancient Tamil poet Pattinaththar who turned a sage from a wealthy familyman realizing the tutile nature of life after enjoyig life to his heart's content, suffering from leprosy as a result of his bad habits and getting cured by the mercy of the lord. This temple tower was constructed by the famous emperor Krishnadevaraya who ruled the ancient Vijayanagra in southern India. Tenali Rama, the ancient comedy character was serving in his kingdom as 'vikadakavi' meaning the poet of humor. Robert Clive of the British East India Company, who played a major role in the establishment of British rule in India, is said to have presented an emerald necklace called the Clive makarakandi, still used to decorate the Lord on ceremonial occasions at this temple.

Stanley: Santhosh, how enjoyable is life in Kancheepuram for you people?

Santhosh: Oh, dear Stanley, we really enjoy life here. There are a large number of temples with plenty of sculptures and artwork in and around Kancheepuram. There are 108 temples exclusively for Lord Shiva out of these. The famous Varadaraja perumal temple for the Lord Vishnu is also situated in Kancheepuram. We can go to these temples and spend our time peacefully and happily in our leisure. Several festivals associated with these temples are celebrated quite often during which you can see a large gathering of people from allover Kancheepuram and the surroundings to witness the Deity being taken along various streets of the city with decorations and variety of celebrations.

Stanley: The city itself appears too small to me without multistoried buildings like what we see in our country. How are the living amenities here?

Santhosh: Yes Stanley, This city is small compared to your place but we can have a more peaceful life here free from environmental pollution characteristic of big cities. In fact Kancheepuram has won the award for being the cleanliest city in Tamil Nadu several times. Here people keep the surroundings clean. The streets are being wiped off to remove dust regularly and there is not much vehicular traffic which cause atmospheric pollution with the burnt diesel and petrol smoke. One can move around freely without fear of traffic accidents that occur very rarely in certain plates. All essential commodities for livelihood are available at Kancheepuram and any special things required are obtainable from Chennai which is only 65 kilometers away.

Stanley: What is special about Kancheepuram? Ayshwarya, can you tell me something you know.

ayshwarya: Sure Stanley, Kancheepuram is one of the oldest cities of India and was ruled by the Pallava dynasty for quite some time. The city is located near Palar river and it is famous for high quality genuine silk sarees with gold and silver zaris apart from being a place with a rich agricultural base. Several prominent personalities have born in Kancheepuram. The former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Arignar Annadurai was born in Kancheepuram. There are many educational institutions in Kancheepuram.

There are many more things special about Kancheepuram. More information on Kancheepuram is available in several websites of which some are:

Kamakoti

Kancheepuram

Temples & Legends Of Tamilnadu

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We have told you whatever was in our mind now. I hope you enjoyed your stay here.

Stanley: Yes, Ayshwarya and Santhosh. I shall take leave of you now. Please do email me whenever you have time and visit our place whenever you can. If you know of some one else that might like to share my adventure please put me on to them. Please also send an email to Sarika's teacher at: My Teacher about my meeting with you.

Good bye.

Children of today are the future Leaders

Interview by Stanley

Santhosh and Ayshwarya with flat Stanley