Madhurai Trip
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Pearls Of Pandyas
Nalanda's master and degree (final year) students along with the principal Dr. Smt. Uma Rele and esteemed faculty were taken to Madurai as a part of the sculpture/study tour dated from 29th September to 2nd October, 2022. The tour was organized by Heritage inspired, a tour agency based in Chennai, India.
The tour covered almost the entire Madurai. The Pandya Dynasty of South India was a pre eminent era, having rich socio economic, religious cultural background. Madurai was the land of the Pandyas. The Pandyas extensively worked to expand their culture which can be seen in their splendourous temple architectures brimming with beautiful sculptures and intricate paintings. The theme presented through these sculptures and paintings were of various Gods, Goddesses, life of a comman man, trade, stories/scenes from the epics etc.
Over the course of the 4 day trip, we covered temples namely The Meenakshi Amman, Narasimha perumal, Aznagar Kvil, Thirupudaimarudur alone with Sankaran Kovil, Kazhugu Malai and Tenkasi Vishwanatha. Also, a Jain monument 'Keezna Kuyil Kudi.
The tour wasn't restricted to any visiting the temples but to understand and scrutinize each and every sculpture, painting architectural construction and the background and history of the temple.
We relished the authentic food prepared by the locals at Kazhugumalai. We also drank 'Kapi' during a pit stop. We also drank 'Jigarthanda' which is a popular sweet drink.
As a part of the tour, we got to see the beautiful local folk traditions of the country - Thappattam, Shilappadikaram, Tholpavai kutti and Kuravanji Natakam.
All in all, it was a great experience. We got to learn a lot as well as have fun. We were very fortunate to have offered our dance at the feet of the Gods. We are grateful to our principal and teachers for having accompanied us and guided us throughout the trip. We also extend our gratitude to the professors Dr. Vedachalam and Dr. Kanan who selflessly showered their knowledge to us.We created innumerable memories to cherish forever.
Experiences of students who attended the trip
1. Gayatri Sathe - The trip was insightful and exciting.We got to learn so many things about our land's history and also gave a different perspective according to our classical dance form.We also saw the locals perform their specialities in the form of percussion and plays making it one of the most memorable nights!It was an amazing experience overall with so much to learn from and so many memories to take on.
2. Anushkaa Ramanatan - I remember, when i was in F1 and F2 my seniors who were in the degree batch had gone for the sculpture/study tour. Since then i have been looking forward to my turn to go on the tour. Few months into the college, we were informed about the study tour, i was filled with joy as i had heard great reviews of the previous tours and saw beautiful photos. Our trip was Pearls of Pandyas with the heritage inspired.Cut to, the experience of the study tour - to state the obvious it was one of the best trips i have ever taken in my life. Apart from having fun with my classmates, there was so much to see and learn. I have never been a fan of going to different temples, but this trip changed my entire outlook. I personally felt deeply connected with this entire tour. It became more than just a tour for me, from the time we got down at Madurai Junction I could feel a personal connection to the place. This tour connected me to my roots and I am so glad that I have such a rich cultural background. I conversed with the localities there in Tamil. I was the mediator between my friends and them (locals). I wore 'poo' or flower in my hair typical to the tamil people.
3. Shefali Wadekar - Madhurai trip was educational with understanding the History of our very own country. It gave us a vision of understanding the theoretical aspects into our practical (dance). We could relate the sculptures and idols into our Karanas. The live performance of the locals whether it's theatrical or the instrumental it was ecstatic. Note: A big thank you to Heritage Inspired and Anand Sir and Parvathy Maam for arranging such an educational trip. It gave us a wonderful experience.
