Foreword...

 

This is the story of an interesting landscape that has everything. 

The Sea, the Coast, Salt Pans, Hills that remain green throughout the year, stretches of dry lands with shrubs, plants, ‘forests’ that have no mighty trees now but for the Eucalyptus trees planted in the more recent times, Many Lakes and Agricultural Lands.

This sacred land has nurtured humans for thousands of years and was nurtured by our ancestors who were deeply conscious of her kindness and revered her.  Every gift she gave, was received with humility and gratitude.  She was a mother not a mere resource to be exploited. 

Several events that shaped the history of this country had happened right here and many personalities who made them happen had been here too.

Countless common men and women are making their presence felt to this day, in the form of numerous lakes created by them, and as inscriptions on the temple walls. 

Inscriptions in the temple walls, of the Pallava, Chola, Pandya, Vijayanagar, Nayaka, Sambuvarayar times share wealth of information – they mention names of great kings, feudatories and generals, common citizens who were donors and benefactors, interesting anecdotes and finer details of the past for those who are interested.

 This land has supported human life since the pre – historic Megalithic times as attested by the Megalithic burial cists and Cairn circles - Stones arranged in Circles are seen.

Perhaps inspired by the Sangam Text Puranaanooru, where Poet Kudapulaviyanaar exhorts the Pandya king to build Reservoirs where the land is curved, to store water and enrich life, the ancients had created numerous water bodies that support plants, animals and birds to enrich human life.

Most villages here had sustained themselves and grown based on a lake or two in their neighbourhood.  Through the centuries, a sophisticated culture with high agricultural productivity, artisanal skills, trade links with elaborate networks of administrative, defense, economic, cultural and other essential services had thrived.

Ancient Temples in tiny hamlets, or temples in larger towns, come with Sthala Puranams that lay special emphasis on the rare sanctity of the place.  The more you read, the more you are convinced that our ancestors of Ancient Bharat wanted every inch of this sacred Geography including the skies, land, water and air to be appreciated and adored by us.  Gratitude, a deep emotion felt towards the Pancha Bhootas for nurturing life had inspired this civilization of Bharat; Attuned to nature, to live with introspection, to enrich the living experience.

This area had come under the power of the British East India Company in 1763. The detailed study of the Chengalpattu district during 1764 -1774, done by the British from palm leaf manuscripts sourced from every village to familiarize themselves with the lands over which they were to wield power, is a good source of information of those times for us with very limited information about our own civilization.

Chennai, the Metropolitan city has seen massive growth in the recent decades with indiscriminate destruction of its inheritance. When it is poised for the next phase of growth, the earlier errors can be avoided, and disasters averted with better awareness. 

Time travel need not always be a science fiction. Inscriptions and Fine Data can take us on a time travel too.