The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : "When heritage takes a beating, the country loses a lot of its past"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 19, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

"When heritage takes a beating, the country loses a lot of its past"

Staff Reporter

Photo exhibition `Heritage of Production - An Archaeological Perspective' inaugurated Photo exhibition on `heritage of production' inaugurated

CHENNAI: Vandalism is a major problem, especially in temples where inscriptions are scribbled upon and damaged, T.S. Sridhar, Special Commissioner, Department of Archaeology, said.

He was inaugurating a photo exhibition on `Heritage of Production - An Archaeological Perspective' in connection with the World Heritage Day celebrations, organised by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chennai Circle. The exhibition focusses on the Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites at Adichanallur, Arikamedu and other places.

Mr. Sridhar said the Tamil Nadu Department of Archaeology had 87 sites, but there were thousands of monuments with charities and private trusts that required care and repair. The department had improved several sites, including the Tirumalai Nayakar Mahal in Madurai, the Jain temples of Kancheepuram and the Ramanathapuram Palace.

Sathyabhama Badrinath, Superintending Archaeologist, Chennai Circle, said that when heritage took a beating, the country lost a lot of its past. The right atmosphere must be created to preserve heritage. The year's theme for the World Heritage Day is `Industrial Heritage and Heritage of Production'.

T. Satyamurthy, former Superintending Archaeologist of the ASI, made a presentation on the Adichanallur excavations and its relevance to heritage production.

He said that the excavations on 114-acre burial ground at Adichanallur on the banks of the Tamiraparani river showed that the ancient Indians were technologically advanced.

The state department held a training programme for 40 trainees at the Kurungaleeswarar temple.

At the valedictory function of the workshop conducted by the National Mission for Manuscripts and the University of Madras, members of the State Archaeological Department spoke to the trainees at the Kurungaleeswarar temple on paleography, and the reading and deciphering of inscriptions.

T.K. Parthasarathy, Pro-Chancellor of Sri Ramachandra Medical College Deemed University; K.E. Govindan, Vice-Chancellor in-charge, Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, Tirupati; R. Nagaswamy, former Director of Archaeology, Government of Tamil Nadu; and Siniruddha Dash, professor and head, Sanskrit Department, University of Madras, participated.

The exhibition will be open at Fort St. George on Tuesday and Wednesday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

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