One can see a combination of mythology and history at work within a few miles from each other in the south eastern coast of India. At Karaikkal, (which is part of Pondicherry and also has a well planned township) there is a temple for Karaikkal Ammaiyar alias Punithavathy. The story depicted on the walls of the temple dedicated to her clearly states the names of her parents, her groom and their profession etc but is largely silent on the dates or the current day evidences. She led the Bhakti movement prior to the arrival of Adi Sankara or the other Nayanmars. The myth is that she converted herself into a skeletal form and trekked to Kailash on her head. It is also said that Sundarar, a later day Nayanar refused to enter a village she passed by, as he did not want to disrespect her by setting his foot where her head has treaded. She has a pride of place among the 63 Nayanmars being the sole lady devotee (though there are other ladies in the list, they are either wives/mothers of other Nayanmars) and was the only one who had the fortune of being referred as “Ammaiye ! (mother)” by God himself. She is also credited to have authored many innovative lyrical forms and poems in praise of the Lord. The origin of her story dates her what is considered as the dark ages of ancient Tamils (around 5th century AD) , but there is still an annual festival called Mango festival where hordes of mangoes are brought in by the devotees, recalling that she was blessed with a divine mango from the God, as if it happened yesterday.
Tranqebar, which has a unique place in the history of Tamil Nadu, if not India itself is about 15 km from Karaikkal. This small port town is where the first protestant preacher Bartholomew Ziegenbalg, landed in the early part of18th century at the age of 24, when Aurangazeb was still ruling Delhi, thanks to a real estate deal between Danish East India Company (Yes….they also had one) and Raja of Thanjavur in 1620. Having experienced firsthand that he cannot survive in TamilNadu without the language (many people opine that it is true even today!), he proceeded not only to learn the language, but also managed to be the first printer/publisher in TamilNadu of the biblical material including the first New Testament in 1715. It must have taken a lot of courage and conviction to sail across the oceans and then proceed to execute the plans, all before the age of 36 when he died. Very interestingly, around the same time Veerama munivar –(born as Constanzo Besci of Italy, he landed in Madurai in 1711) a Roman Catholic missionary- was working in TamilNadu probably composing the immortal ‘Thembavani’ (written on Jesus , it is considered as one of the Tamil classics). Imagine if these two Europeans had met and debated about their respective faiths in Tamil !! Aurangazeb would have loved to join such a debate in the tamil bastion of Madurai, if only he knew the language !!!
There is a Danish Fort still on the coast of Tranqebar and a few remnants of the erstwhile harbour. In true Tamil tradition, there is a statue for him alright, but there is not much awareness about the original mission. There are a host of Churches and schools in that small area near the beach which continue the educational services even today. Friday Holiday policy of the keepers meant that we needed to skip visiting the Fort, as it was locked. Hope it is kept open on Sundays, the only reason that could justify a Friday holiday ! When the search for the Buddhist Chudamani Vihara (of Kalki's 'Ponniyin Selvan' fame) took us to Nagapattinam which is about an hour drive , the same Friday factor was at play. Enquiries about the remains of the Buddhist vihara elicited understanding and sympathetic nods for our enthusiasm, but the locals preferred to admit that they heard the story for the first time from us. Due to paucity of time, we had to move on , but not before locating the local museum which informed that they are also closed on Fridays.
Tranqebar, which has a unique place in the history of Tamil Nadu, if not India itself is about 15 km from Karaikkal. This small port town is where the first protestant preacher Bartholomew Ziegenbalg, landed in the early part of18th century at the age of 24, when Aurangazeb was still ruling Delhi, thanks to a real estate deal between Danish East India Company (Yes….they also had one) and Raja of Thanjavur in 1620. Having experienced firsthand that he cannot survive in TamilNadu without the language (many people opine that it is true even today!), he proceeded not only to learn the language, but also managed to be the first printer/publisher in TamilNadu of the biblical material including the first New Testament in 1715. It must have taken a lot of courage and conviction to sail across the oceans and then proceed to execute the plans, all before the age of 36 when he died. Very interestingly, around the same time Veerama munivar –(born as Constanzo Besci of Italy, he landed in Madurai in 1711) a Roman Catholic missionary- was working in TamilNadu probably composing the immortal ‘Thembavani’ (written on Jesus , it is considered as one of the Tamil classics). Imagine if these two Europeans had met and debated about their respective faiths in Tamil !! Aurangazeb would have loved to join such a debate in the tamil bastion of Madurai, if only he knew the language !!!
There is a Danish Fort still on the coast of Tranqebar and a few remnants of the erstwhile harbour. In true Tamil tradition, there is a statue for him alright, but there is not much awareness about the original mission. There are a host of Churches and schools in that small area near the beach which continue the educational services even today. Friday Holiday policy of the keepers meant that we needed to skip visiting the Fort, as it was locked. Hope it is kept open on Sundays, the only reason that could justify a Friday holiday ! When the search for the Buddhist Chudamani Vihara (of Kalki's 'Ponniyin Selvan' fame) took us to Nagapattinam which is about an hour drive , the same Friday factor was at play. Enquiries about the remains of the Buddhist vihara elicited understanding and sympathetic nods for our enthusiasm, but the locals preferred to admit that they heard the story for the first time from us. Due to paucity of time, we had to move on , but not before locating the local museum which informed that they are also closed on Fridays.
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