The Coromandel Coast refers to the southeastern part of India that stretches between Chennai (a.k.a., Madras), the capital of Tamil Nadu, and the town of Kanyakumari, which is the southernmost point on the Indian subcontinent. As you travel down the coast, the Bay of Bengal eventually gives way to the Indian Ocean. If you continue around the tip of India, traveling northwest from Kanyakumari along the Malabar Coast of Kerala, the Indian Ocean melds into the Arabian Sea.
The Western Ghat mountains run down the center of south India, separating Tamil Nadu in the east from Kerala in the west. The ghats are known for their remarkable biodiversity, and for the valuable spices that are cultivated there, such as pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and ginger. Until recent times, the waters between Tamil Nadu and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) were also a thriving center for pearl fishing. Add to this India's long history with cotton and silk production, and the region was ripe with luxurious commodities.
The Coromandel and Malabar coasts were extremely important in ancient maritime trade. The Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Japanese, Arabs and the Indonesians are all known to have traded here, with the port of Muziris in Kerala possibly dating to 1,000 B.C. The Portuguese arrived in Kerala in 1498, and by the middle of the 17th century, the Dutch, French, Danish-Norwegians and British had set up trading posts on the Tamil coast. After endless skirmishes with locals and Europeans alike, the British prevailed, and in 1785 Madras became one of three Presidencies of the British East India Company in India, the others being Bengal (Calcutta/Kolkata) and Bombay/Mumbai.
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, October 2023 - Tamil Nadu is known for its vibrant temple towns, where massive temple complexes take center stage, serving as places of pilgrimage for millions of Hindus. It is also known for having well-preserved Colonial architecture, particularly churches, government buildings and schools. I had already been to many of the popular (and crowded) sights in Tamil Nadu, so on this trip I was looking to discover the less-visited towns on the Coromandel Coast. I was also looking to find textile and craft traditions that are unique to India's coastal regions.
I started my trip in Chennai, which is located on the Bay of Bengal and is one of India's largest cities. On my first night there, I explored the busy lanes of Mylapore, which was a major trading port of the Pallava kingdom in the 7th and 8th centuries. The neighborhood is dominated by the Kapaleshwara Temple, the largest Hindu temple in Chennai. The temple is dedicated to Shiva in his mayil, or peahen form. Mayilapura, now Mylapore, means Town of the Peacocks. I was fortunate to be in India for Navratri, a nine-night festival that marks the beginning of autumn and is celebrated in various forms throughout the country (see 'The Durga Puja Festival' to learn how Bengali Hindus celebrate Navratri).
One Navratri tradition particular to south India is that of displaying golu, or dolls. Homes, businesses and temples set up tiered stands and fill them with colorful figurines that depict scenes from Hindu epics and everyday life. New doll designs are introduced each season, and families amass large collections of these figurines over many years. People visit their friends and family to eat and talk in front of their golu displays, similar to how we admire a display of ornaments on a Christmas tree. When the festival is over, the figurines are put away until next year. Often the golu are enhanced by the addition of rangoli, which are geometric and floral designs made on the floor using colored rice powder.
The present Kapaleshwara Temple dates to the 16th century, when the original 7th century structure was destroyed by the Portuguese. The Portuguese were drawn to this part of Tamil Nadu due to its connection to early Christianity. It was long rumored that St. Thomas, who visited south India in the first century A.D., is buried somewhere near Mylapore. In the 10th century, Nestorian Christians from Persia supposedly discovered the location of the saint's burial, and built a church and tomb on the site. In the early 16th century, the Portuguese established a settlement here called San Thomé and rebuilt the church, perhaps in search of good luck for their trading activities. The current Basilica of San Thomé, which dates to 1898, contains a tomb which is said to contain a small bone from St. Thomas' hand, as well as the weapon that killed him. According to Syrian Christian tradition, St. Thomas was killed by a spear in Chennai in 72 A.D.
Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, October 2023 - Approximately 350 miles down the Coromandel Coast from Chennai sits the island of Rameshwaram. This long, narrow stretch of land juts out into the Gulf of Mannar, which separates Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka. To reach Rameshwaram from the mainland, we drove over the spectacular Pamban road bridge, which was built in 1988. Until that time, the only way to reach the island was on the Pamban Railway Bridge, India's first sea bridge, which dates to 1914. Just last year, this railway bridge was closed due to extreme corrosion, though it is in the process of being rebuilt. The picture to the right shows the old railway tracks over the water.
Rameshwaram is a major pilgrimage site for Hindus. As told in the Ramayana, it was here where Lord Rama is said to have worshipped a Shiva linga after his victory against the evil King Ravana who had kidnapped his wife Sita. The Ramanathaswamy Temple complex is utterly massive and enclosed within a high wall with five gopuras, or entrance gates. The corridor that surrounds the inner sanctum is the largest and most elaborate of its kind, containing 1,212 pillars in total. Unfortunately, most Hindu temples in south India do not allow cameras inside, so I don't have any images of the remarkable interior architecture...only of the exterior gopuras.
A short drive takes you to the ghost town of Dhanushkodi, the closest point in India to Sri Lanka. The town was destroyed in the 1964 Rameshwaram cyclone, though the remains of old houses and churches can still be seen. A chain of limestone shoals extend under the water, roughly connecting Tamil Nadu and Mannar Island in Sri Lanka, 19 miles away. In the Ramayana, it was in Dhanushkodi that Rama built his bridge to Lanka, with the help of an army of monkeys, to rescue Sita. The actual existence of a sacred land bridge under the water is still a topic of discussion among historians, and in 2022, a Bollywood movie called Ram Setu (Rama's Bridge) was released about an archeologist on the hunt for the truth!
Rameshwaram is home to the largest seashell processing facility in India. The factory is set over five acres, and imports shells from all over the world. I saw room after room filled to the rafters with sacks of different kinds of shells. The workers clean and polish them...turn some of them into keychains, chandeliers and nightlights...and export them back to shell shops around the globe. Not exactly sustainable, but quite fascinating to see. I had no idea that the snow white conch shells sold in Florida's tourist shops are actually processed 7,000 miles away.
Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, October 2023 - Thoothukudi, a.k.a., Tuticorin, is Tamil Nadu's second largest natural harbor after Chennai, and is a main port for ships coming from Southeast Asia and Australia. It has been an important maritime center since the 6th century A.D., and until recently, it had a vibrant pearl fishing industry. For almost two thousand years, Thoothukudi pearls were in demand all over the world. Bizet's opera "The Pearl Fishers" involves Tamil pearl fishermen in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), just across the Gulf of Mannar from Thoothukudi. In the 1960s, the oyster beds ran dry, but the Tamil government is now attempting to seed the beds in order to restart the industry.
Thoothukudi was occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century, by the Dutch in the 17th century, and eventually by the British in the 18th century. The region around Thoothukudi, which is rarely visited by foreign tourists, is home to beautiful Colonial buildings, as well as fascinating Hindu and Jain temples and rare craft traditions. Today the town is a center for salt production and thermal power, and is a pleasant beach retreat for locals.
In the village of Kalugumalai, I visited Vettuvan Koil, a rock-cut temple dedicated to Shiva that was built by the Pandya dynasty in the 8th century A.D. (lower left). This jewel of a temple was carved out of a solid piece of rock. You can still see individual chisel marks on the stone, as it was never completely finished. Just up the hill from this Hindu temple was a Jain rock-cut temple, also built in the 8th century and also unfinished (lower right).
In the village of Alwarthirunagari, I discovered the Perumal temple, which dates to the 6th or 7th century A.D. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams (Divine Realms), which are temples dedicated to Vishnu as mentioned by the Tamil Alvar poet-saints in their writings. The Alvars espoused bhakti (pure devotion) to Vishnu through devotional hymns, and were instrumental in popularizing Vaishnavisim between the 5th and 8th centuries A.D. The Perumal temple is also the birthplace of Nammalvar, one of the twelve Alvar saints. The current structure was built around a sacred tamarind tree that is said to be over 500 years old.
In the villages around Alwarthirunagari, I met with Chedi Butta sari weavers and a group of widows who make intricate grass mats for weddings and special occasions. In the coastal town of Manapad, I visited a cooperative of women who make colorful crafts from palm leaf. The Catholic churches in Manapad had recently been repainted...the exterior statues, painted in gold and silver, were quite striking. One could easily spend several days exploring the small towns near Thoothukudi...I did not expect to find such beautiful architecture and coastal scenery. There were several good hotels in the area, as well as the charming Alwarthirunagari guesthouse, Anantya in the Village.
Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, October 2023- The town of Kanyakumari marks the southernmost point of the Indian subcontinent. It is where the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean all meet. It is the home of the goddess Kumari, the adolescent girl manifestation of the Supreme Goddess Mahadevi. Kumari is said to have done penance here in anticipation of her marriage to Shiva. After years of austerity and devotion, Shiva left Kumari at the altar, thus enshrining her for eternity as the Virgin Goddess.
The Kumari Amman Temple on the shore was originally built by the Pandyas in the 8th century, and it was expanded substantially by later south Indian dynasties. It is one of the 51 ancient Shakti Peethas on the Indian subcontinent, which are places of worship dedicated to shakti, the divine feminine force that governs all cosmic creation, existence and change. These temples are sited where parts of Sati Devi’s corpse fell after Vishnu cut it into pieces with his sudarshana chakra. The Kumari temple is said to be where Sati's spine fell, thus infusing it with Kundalini energy, a form of femine energy that emanates from the base of the spine.
The waters around Kanyakumari are rougher than in other coastal towns in Tamil Nadu, and have a dark, wild nature to them. On a rocky outcropping that is constantly lashed by waves, the Vivekenanda Memorial shares space with a giant statue of Tiruvallavur. Swami Vivekenanda was a renowned spiritual leader and philosopher who meditated in Kanyakumari prior to attending the World Conference of Religions in Chicago in 1893. His dynamic lectures at this gathering introduced many in the Western world to yoga and vedanta (a school of Hindu philosophy), and raised awareness of Hinduism as a major world religion. Tiruvallavur was a 1st century BC Tamil poet who wrote Tirukural, one of the most important works in Tamil literary history. Comprised of 1,330 kurals (couplets of only seven words), it is divided into sections on virtue, wealth and love, and is an epic treatise on ethics and morality.
Vadasery, Tamil Nadu, October 2023 - After exploring Kankyakumari, we drove north to the town of Vadasery, a center for south Indian temple jewelry. This distinct form of jewelry is said to have originated in the 9th century under the Chola dynasty in the area around Nagercoil. It was originally meant to decorate the idols in Hindu temples, and was made out of solid gold and set with precious gems. In later years, it became a form of jewelry worn by temple dancers in south India. Today, it is an integral part of the costumes of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancers, and of a south Indian woman's bridal trousseau.
Contemporary temple jewelry is made from 24K gold-plated silver, and the gems are primarily spinel (which resembles ruby) and colored glass. Stones are typically red, green or clear in color, and many pieces incorporate artificial pearls. A complete set owned by a dancer or bride might include earrings or ear chains, a necklace, bangle bracelets, a nose ring, arm bands, a head piece, a hip belt and anklets.
I have been fascinated by temple jewelry ever since I purchased a broken piece in a tiny shop in Fiji in 1996. Fiji happens to have a large population of Tamil Hindus, and when I was there, I also purchased several saris and a pair of Indian brass and enamel earrings. The necklace that I discovered, shown in the left photo below, is made of brass and turquoise-blue glass stones. It was clearly old, and I could never find any information on it. Jump ahead 15 years. I was browsing through the workshop of a bronze sculpture artisan in Swamimalai, Tamil Nadu, when I came across another broken necklace that I also fell in love with, shown in the right photo below. It was made of bronze, and was set with red, pink, and blue glass stones. The sculptor told me that it was a piece of old temple jewelry once used to adorn an icon!
Trivandrum, Kerala, November 2023 - One of the highlights of my trip was a visit to the Agasthyam Kalaripayattu in Trivandrum. Kalaripayattu is a form of martial arts that developed in Kerala out of battlefield combat techniques in the 11th and 12th centuries, although many techniques are much older, possibly dating to 600 B.C. This is why kalaripayattu often is called “the mother of all martial arts.” Legend has it that Bodhidharma, a Tamil prince who lived in the 6th century A.D., renounced his princely life, took up Buddhism, and traveled to China to spread its teachings. Here he encountered the monks of Shao and began teaching them the traditions of physical combat and mental discipline that he grew up practicing - traditions that likely had elements of kalaripayattu. The Shao monks learned these practices from Bodhidharma, and eventually created the Shaolin temple and the art of Kung Fu.
The medieval period in Kerala was the Golden Age of kalaripayattu. Every village had its own kalari, a specialized training ground, where gurukkuls (teachers) imparted technical training and spiritual guidance to a group of shishyas or disciples. Training featured hand-to-hand combat and self-defense, both with and without weapons. Traditional weapons included the spear, sword, shield, bow and arrow, katar (push dagger), mace and club. One of the most fascinating weapons I learned about during my visit was the urumi, a double-edged, flexible sword...see the video below.
Modern kalaris are designed and built according to the principles of the Vastu Shastra, a Hindu treatise on architecture and construction. The floors are typically made of red sand mixed with herbs that are said to aid in the treatment of small wounds. The entrance of the kalari faces east, while a Poothara, or “flower ground”, faces west. The Poothara (left photo below) is a stepped platform with a lotus-shaped khumba (jar) at the top, which represents Bhagavathy, the principle deity of kalaripayattu. It must be saluted by each student as they first enter the kalari and start their daily training.
The widespread practice of kalaripayattu began to decline in the 17th century, as the invading Europeans introduced guns and cannons and the use of modern firearms surpassed traditional weaponry. In 1804, the British actually banned kalaripayattu in Kerala in response to the Kottayathu War, a rebellion led by King Pazhassi Raja of Kottayam that relied on many kalaripayattu masters. Thankfully, many gurukkals resisted the ban and continued to teach their disciples in secret. A widespread revival began in the 1920s, with gurukkals such as Chambadan Veetil Narayanan Nair and Chirakkal T. Sreedharan Nair leading the charge. The latter wrote the first authoritative text, Kalaripayattu – A Complete Guide to Kerala’s Ancient Martial Art, which is still utilized today.
The 'southern style' of kalaripayattu that I witnessed in Trivandrum incorporates marmashastram, or the striking of vital body points called marma. In the 6th century B.C., the philosopher-surgeon Sushruta identified 107 vital points in the human body, of which 64 could lead to death if properly struck with a fist or a stick. His work formed the basis of the ancient practice of Ayurveda, which today offers marma (pressure-point) massage as a treatment modality.
Agasthyam Kalaripayattu was founded by Dr. S. Mahesh, Co-Principal Investigator of the IKS Center for Kalaripayattu & Sidhar Tradition under the Indian Ministry of Education. He is devoted to expanding awareness for kalaripayattu worldwide, as well as for creating programs for people of all ages and skill levels. His devoted students are invited regularly to exibit their remarkable skills all over India. Don't be fooled by Gurukkal Mahesh's cherubic face and twinkling smile. His skills in marmashastram are fierce. I naively asked him to clarify how the practice worked, and grasping my left hand, he proceeded to press with one finger on my inner wrist, eliciting a shriek of pain and several expletives, and rendering my arm numb for about five minutes.
