Thanjavur, the small town amidst the fertile Kaveri delta was the capital of the powerful Chola of kings. This grand showcase of Chola temple architecture was also an important seat of Tamil learning and culture. A distinctive art style developed here which is usually a combination of raised and painted surfaces. Lord Krishna is the most favorite theme of the famous Thanjavur school of art. Thanjavur is also the home of Carnatic music, musical instruments, dance, and traditional handicrafts.
There are many heritage sites in the southern part of our country and Thanjavur city of Tamilnadu is one of the places. Here, you can observe many cultural traditions. The Brihadeshwara Temple that is included in UNESCO’s World Heritage site is also situated in Thanjavur.
Just by entering here, you will feel like the old period of history has halted and if you are traveling by road then the clean roads will make you reach there soon and you will be fascinated by the archaeological significance. Thanjavur which is also known as Thanjavur is the administrative headquarters of Thanjavur district. The town is located in the Kaveri Delta that is at the distance of 300 from the Chennai city. The town was an initial capital of Chola from the ninth to the eleventh century and during the Vijayanagara Empire, Maratha, and British Reign, it was equally important. If you are trying to travel there, then take enough time for the tour so that you can travel to the town and as well as you can travel to many more tourist places. There are good facilities of government as well as private hotels to stay for tourists and pilgrims near their visiting destinations. The museum is located in the Library building to reveal the importance of the Library to the Public. This Museum is small but organized into sections highlighting ancient Manuscripts, Illustrated Manuscripts, Printed copies of the Original Drawings, Atlases, Thanjavur- style Paper Paintings, Canvass Paintings, Wooden Paintings, Glass paintings, Portraits of the Thanjavur Maratha kings, and the Physiognomy charts of Charles Le-Brun. These materials give an idea of the total variety in the vast collection within the Library.
View from the Bail Tower
If you will see the Bail Tower then you will notice that it makes the scene of some action film and sculptures that are made of brass and copper are also some place of attraction. The dome-shaped tower of the palace is the symbol of this town which is also a proof of best architecture. When the giant bell of this tower is ring then the whole town could hear it. The tower is made like this so that Kings could see the whole town. From this, we can learn that even in today’s world Dancing Towers, Bell Shape Towers, and Tree Shape towers are made.
Amazing Thanjavur Paintings
Thanjavur painting is a classical South Indian painting style, which was exposed from the town of Thanjavur and spread across the Tamil country. The art form draws its instant resources and inspiration from way back about 1600 AD, a period when the Nayakas of Thanjavur under the rule of the Vijayanagara Empire encouraged art, classical dance and music as well as literature, both in Telugu and Tamil, and painting of mainly Hindu religious subjects in temples. In Thanjavur paintings, one can see the power of Vijayanagara, Maratha, and even European or Company styles of painting.
Episodes from Hindu Puranas, Sthala-Puranas, and other religious texts were imagined, sketched, or traced and painted with the main figure placed in the central section of the picture surrounded by several supplementary figures, themes, and subjects. There are also many instances when Jain, Sikh, Muslim, other religious and even secular subjects were depicted in Thanjavur paintings.
Asia Oldest Library
Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji’s Sarasvati Mahal Library is one of the oldest libraries in Asia and has on display a rare collection of Palm leaf manuscripts and paper written in Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Hindi, and a few other languages native to India. The collection comprises well over 49,000 volumes, though only a tiny fraction of these are on display. The library has a complete catalog of holdings, which is being made available online. Since 1918 the Saraswathi Mahal Library has been a possession of the state of Tamil Nadu. Its official name of the Library was changed to “The Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji’s Sarasvati Mahal Library” in honor of the great royal Marathon patron. The library is open to the public; it also supports efforts to publish rare manuscripts from the collection, as well as ensuring all volumes are preserved on microfilm. The Library has installed computers in 1998 for the Computerization of Library activities. As a first phase, the Library catalogs are being stored in the Computer for easy information retrieval. It is also proposed to digitalize the manuscripts of this Library shortly.
