In Kalki’s novel, Ponniyin Selvan, the hero Vandiyathevan happens to see a performance of Kuravai Koothu while visiting the Kadambur Palace. The performance starts with the arrival of nine girls on stage. They sing and dance praising Lord Murugan’s fame and valor, the skill of his victorious spear which killed the demons, Gajamukhan and Soorapadman. They also praise many of his qualities and his charities.
Now a terracota plaque depicting five women performing the kuravai koothu have been discovered near Mamallapuram. The location for this plaque is the oldest temple in Tamil Nadu which was discovered in post-tsunami archaeology. The original temple made of brick and dedicated to Muruga was built during the Sangam era (200 BCE to 300 CE). This temple was destroyed and the Pallava kings rebuilt it as a granite temple during 800 – 900 CE.

T. Satyamurthy, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, Chennai Circle, said the terracotta plaque depicting the dancers “is one of the fabulous collections that will enrich the archaeological wealth of the State.” It is a 13 cm by 12 cm bas-relief panel that shows the women with headgear and prominent eyes. Their mouths are open as if they are singing. The plaque belongs to circa second or third century A.D., he said.
“It is an important find because it is difficult to find terracotta figurines of the pre-Pallava period,” said P. Shanmugam, Director, Institute of Traditional Cultures of South and South-East Asia, University of Madras. “This is the first time in Tamil Nadu that such a group dance plaque has been found,” he said. `Kuravai koothu’ performed in Muruga temples find mention in the Tamil epic Silapadhikaram. [Rare artefacts found]

This particular Murugan temple, at Thiruvizhchil, which is the present-day Salavankuppam has been mentioned in a few inscriptions which give more details on the temple’s history.

All spoke of the gift of gold for burning a perpetual lamp at the temple. One inscription on a pillar belongs to the Pallava king, Kambavarman (of 9th century A.D). Another was issued by the Rashtrakuta king, Krishna III, in his 21st regnal year of 971 A.D. The third belonged to the Chola king, Rajendra III, of 13th century A.D.
During the earlier excavation from July to September 2005, the ASI had discovered the sanctum sanctorum built of bricks of the Muruga temple of the late Sangam age or the pre-Pallava period. According to archaeologists, a tsunami or tidal action damaged it. The Pallava kings subsequently converted into a granite temple in the 8th or 9th century A.D. It too collapsed because of a storm surge or a tsunami. The temple had a third phase of re-construction under the Cholas.
During the excavation last year, the ASI had unearthed two pillars with Tamil inscriptions of two Pallava kings, Nandivarman II of late 8th century A.D. and Dantivarman of early 9th century A.D. They also spoke of donations to the Muruga temple at Thiruvizhchil [Rare artefacts found]

He was around 250 years old and has witnessed the history of India like no one. If he could talk, he would have told many stories, but unfortunately he was a tortoise. Robert Clive’s pet tortoise, Addwaitya died in Calcutta this week.

“Historical records show he was a pet of British general Robert Clive of the East India Company and had spent several years in his sprawling estate before he was brought to the zoo about 130 years ago,” West Bengal Forest Minister Jogesh Barman said.
“We have documents to prove that he was more than 150 years old, but we have pieced together other evidence like statements from authentic sources and it seems that he is more than 250 years old,” he said.
The minister said details about Addwaitya’s early life showed that British sailors had brought him from the Seychelles islands and presented him to Clive, who was rising fast in the East India Company’s military hierarchy. [Tortoise that saw Sepoy Mutiny dies]

(Images via Ravages)

Our history crazy man Ravages was on a tour of Kanceepuram, Uttaramerur and few other places. During his trip he went to a temple in Uttaramerur which was a Pallava temple rebuilt by Parantaka I and in the walls of the temple he found inscriptions which talk in detail about a process for selecting an officer. These instructions which are more than 1000 years old are one of the earliest explaining the process for conducting an election.

But broadly, it tells that to elect an officer, candidates are invited from the 30 families living in the 12 villages in and around Uttaramerur. Each member will put write the name of a candidate on a piece of palm-leaf (olai) and put into a small vessel (kudam) after which, one evening, every citizen, without any discrimination or differences will assemble in the hall of the temple. Here, the current village head (Madhiyastan) will accept all the ballot-papers, without cheating (the procedure for accepting is detailed – the head-guy should spread his fingers wide, accept the ballot paper on his fore-arms and prove to the assembly he hides no extra ballot)

The head-guy will then read out the name on the ballot-paper…and as he reads, the scribe will mark it down. This way, the one who gets the max-votes will be elected and everyone in the assembly will accept him as their officer. The final tablet describes the minimum requirements for a candidate as well as what circumstances bar him from competing the elections

Requirements
1) Must own a plot of land
2) His own house on his own land
3) Minimum age: 35. Max: 70
4) Must be well versed in the vedas, and other knowledges. Should be able to explain it competently
5) Must be pious
6) Should not have occupied the same post in the preceeding 3 years

Things that would disqualify a person from the polls

1) One who fails to show proper accounts after elections. (Apparently, bribery in India isn’t new 🙂 The best thing is, a corrupt official also means his family and dependants are barred from the elections
2) The one who has committed adultery, murder, burgulary, and alcohol consumption is disqualified…these four acts are considered great-sins. Also, anybody who has committed the sins and is reforming from them is barred
3) The one who eats that which shouldnt have been eaten (what kinda rule is this?)

Finally, the inscriptions talk of the tenure of the elected official – 360 days. (Perhaps based on the lunar calendar year?) At the end of the period, the official should voluntarily resign from his post. Also, if he faults along the way, he will be removed from his post immediately.

In a followup mail Kingsley says he is skeptical of this interpretation and states that this was pseudo-democracy since it was used only to rotate officers from a pool.
See Also: India – Democracy and Identity