This
painting is inspired by the legends behind the shore temple of Mahabalipuram.
Englishman D R Fyson, a long time resident of Chennai, wrote a book on the town
called ‘Mahabalipuram or Seven Pagodas’. The city and its myth was made popular
in Europe by Southey through his poem, The Curse of Kehama in 1810. The modern
city of Mahabalipuram was established by the British in 1827.
Mahabalipuram,
now called Mamallapuram, has various historic monuments built between the 7th
and 9th Centuries and has now been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Megalithic burial urns, cairn circles and jars with burials dating to the very
dawn of the Christian era have been discovered near Mamallapuram. Chinese coins
and Roman coins of Theodosius I in the 4th century CE have been found at
Mamallapuram revealing the port as an active hub of global trade in the late
classical period.
Another
name by which Mahabalipuram has been known to mariners, at least since Marco
Polo’s time is "Seven Pagodas" alluding to the Seven Pagodas of
Mahabalipuram that stood on the shore, of which one, the Shore Temple,
survives.
The
legend I mentioned earlier was also recounted by Fyson in his book. He tells of
a local myth (which I recall hearing as a child in India) regarding the
Pagodas. The myth claims that the city of Mahabalipuram was so beautiful that
the God Indra sank it during a great storm in a fit of jealousy, leaving only
the Shore Temple standing. He tells of local fishermen, who claim that at least
some of the other temples can be seen glittering under the waves from boats.
A
renowned archaeologist in India, Ramaswami wrote explicitly that “There is no
sunk city in the waves off Mamallapuram. The European name, ‘The Seven
Pagodas,’ is irrational and cannot be accounted for”. However, the missing
temples continue to fascinate locals, archaeologists and lovers of myth,
especially so, since the recent Tsunami of December 2004.
Anecdotal
evidence shouldn’t be ignored and the breakthrough happened in December 2004
when a Tsunami struck the shores of Southern India. The waters off the coast of
Mahabalipuram pulled back about 500metres and tourists and locals alike saw a
long straight row of large rocks emerge from the water. Though this was soon
reclaimed by the ocean, centuries worth of sediment was lifted off these stones
and left a few previously hidden statues and small structures uncovered on the
shore. Since then the Archeology department and the Indian Navy have uncovered
more statues and cave temples off the shore of Mahabalipuram, thereby
validating the legends....