Writing and photos by Bhushavali Natarajan
Reblogged from My Travelogue
Remember my earlier post on Kovalam Kailasanatha Temple? Remember, that day I tried to find more about the megalithic burials at Siruthavur and Thiruporur, but in vain? As such, its not a great place for women to venture alone. Well, recently I ventured once again with a couple of friends! And this time I successfully saw the places pretty well. By the way, what are megalithic burials? Read more about it in my earlier post on Pudukottai Megalithic Burials!
My first stop was Thirupporur. Just as I said in my Kovalam Kailasantha post, hardly 100m from the OMR – Thiruporur junction on Thiruporur-Chengalpet road, on the right, behind the building of Income Tax Department of Tamilnadu, was the dark blue board of ASI. We parked our car at a small by-lane and started walking in the little dirt track beside the ASI board. Well, there were a few scattered rocks, but nothing that could be termed as a megalithic stone circle.
We walked further and slowly I started spotting a few arcs. Further ahead were some perfect circles. Some even had a central partition.
Some were very small circles that got me thinking, ‘graves of children’? I did not spot any dolmens, however.
Unlike my last visit, when the place was dry, this time, the vegetation was pretty good, thanks to the recent rains! That’s me in the centre of a huge stone circle. See how small I am? That was a size of the circles mostly!!!
Anyways, my animal luck worked here. There was huge herd of cattle that were grazing here. One particular cow did make me intrigued – the pattern on it was more like spray painting!!!
It’s not a flat plain. It’s a slight hillock. Walking, walking, walking, we finally reached a place where we started hearing some devotional music. Soon we spotted a temple. It was a Siva temple – the Pravamalai Balambikai Kailasanathar Temple. This time I did not venture into this temple as the sun was already setting, and I had to visit Siruthavur Megalithic Burials before heading back…
But definitely I couldn’t help but think that the Lord who dances on ashes with skull, was there atop a hillock surrounded by megalithic burials!!!
And here’s are a couple of tips. Women DO NOT venture alone… Its a pretty lonely area!!! Wear sturdy shoes… You’ll have to step on several broken glasses of whiskey, rum bottles!!!
By the way, my Puma El Ray was here at Thiruporur Megalithic Burial site!!!
TO GET THERE:
In Chennai
From Chengalpattu / Chengalpet: 25 km on Chengalpet – Thiruporur Road.
From Tambaram: 36 km via Vandalur, Mambakkam, Kelambakkam, OMR
From Mahabalipuram: 15 km on OMR.
Hardly 100m from the OMR – Thiruporur junction on Thiruporur-Chengalpet road, on the right, behind the building of Income Tax Department of Tamilnadu, you’ll spot the dark blue board of ASI. Start walking on the dirt track beside it and go as your heart wishes, you keep on spotting circles!!!
On Google Maps: http://goo.gl/maps/JbLi7
Dedicated to Gopu, Siva, VSS.
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