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Studying the urban characteristics of a heritage town to develop sustainable

urban strategy – A case study of Kumbakonam

Article · August 2017

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 International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395 -0056
Volume: 04 Issue: 08 | August -2017 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

Studying the urban characteristics of a heritage town to develop

sustainable urban strategy – A case study of Kumbakonam

G.Yogapriya1, Dr.S.Senthamil Kumar2

1 Research Scholar, Department of Architecture, Periyar Maniammai University, Thanjavur, Tamilnadu, India
2 Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Periyar Maniammai University, Thanjavur, Tamilnadu, India
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Abstract - A community with a closely knitted culture and people constituted for the development of the town as an
tradition constitutes the identity of any settlement. The rituals urban centre.
and customs were the results of a myth, facts or historical
background. Though temple towns in Tamilnadu can be Table -1: The dynasties, the period and its contribution to
classified as single centered or multicentred, a strong religious the town.
and heritage characters bounds the town and in turns it
propagates the growth from earlier periods. The habitat near Time line Contributions
the temple structures are seems to be satisfied with the
Sangham period 300 B.C to 300
program goes in and around the premises. In this paper the A.D
temple town Kumbakonam is explored for its development Pallava and pandya 300 A.D to Excavation of
from the sangham period to till date and it’s concluded that period 500 A.D tanks
the town plays a major role in religious, cultural, economical
Chola period 900 A.D - Shiva temples
developments. It is also invites tourist in major role and its 1200 A.D
proper heritage town to develop sustainable urban design
strategy. Vijaynagar and Nayak 1400 A.D- Vaishanavite
Period 1800 A.D Temple
Key Words: temple town, heritage, urban centre, culture, Pandya revival and 1200 A.D -
sustainability. Muslim rule 1400 A.D
British Rule 1800 A.D - Acquired
1. INTRODUCTION Independence and Present cultural Name –
Democracy Cambridge of
Any urban area for its persistent livelihood needs a South India
sustained human life. Arguments related only to the
aesthetics of a neighborhood area are described to be 1.2 Role of a Temple
superficial as it is not concerned with the issues of any sort.
In the period of global warming and depleting natural The temples were constructed for the purpose of worship,
resources, a heritage town has to be conserved and group gatherings and religious festivals by various kings. It
preserved. Otherwise, all the globalization and economic has been ornamented in various styles of decoration.
development process will disturb the quality of life of the Kumbakonam Taluk has 180 temples in and around. During
future generation. Chola or Vijayanagar period, the dynasties don't have any
department for agricultural improvements, though it was
1.1 History of Kumbakonam taken care by few individuals, the temples also played a
major role in it. The income received from the temple was
Located at 47km from Tanjore District, Kumbakonam was redirected to the amount of agricultural development. The
called by the name Kutamukku in the medieval period. Two money is also used for the purpose of temple maintenance,
rivers Kaveri towards the North and Arasalar towards the festivals and fairs for the deities. There are more number of
South define the edge and demarcate the boundary for the Vaishanavite and the Shaivite temple in the town which is
town. The history of the town backs to Sangham Age (300 the reason for the conductance of more number of
B.C.E.–300 C.E.) and it is believed that the present day town celebrations3.
was the site of Kudavayil, the place a Chola king, retained his
court1.It was major urban complex attached to Palaiyaru, a 1.3 Role of Tanks
Chola Capitol. Both twin towns have temples, palaces,
religious institutions through the period2. Though the temple It is stated in a Telugu epic poem that the construction of
settings are the establishments by Cholas, the urban set up tanks and irrigation canals also constituted for the prosperity
was because of Nayaks. After Cholas, different dynasties of than the land extent. Tanks are mostly present inside the
temple used for religious and ablution purpose. While other

© 2017, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 5.181 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 746
 International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395 -0056
Volume: 04 Issue: 08 | August -2017 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

tanks were constructed throughout the town as a tool in town 2.1 Existing Land use and Demographics
planning, to sustain ground water table and to be used by the Characteristics
localities 4. The tanks in Kumbakonam are mostly rectangular
and trapezoidal in plan. Most of the tanks present in the town Residential area covers 83% of the total land use and
could be filled by rain water and water channels from the two commercial 5%, industrial 1% educational 3% and other few
main rivers. The Mahamagam tank in Kumbakonam is famous areas covers about 20.15%. The town area of Kumbakonam
for festival conducted once in 12 years is for the purpose of covers agricultural land also. It constitutes around 125
holy dip. Other tanks have been continuously engaged with Hectares and dry area of 48.70 Hectares. It is stated that the
the temples and its celebration. religious activities in the town went down and there was a
continuous relocation of people during 1770. The invasion
Existing Conditions from northern areas is the cause for this change5. There is a
Mahamagam Tank
gradual increase in population from the year 1951 but still
Plays a role in Religious the percentage of growth is only 4.3% from 1991 to
Potramarai Tank Activities 2001.Geographical constraints in the area because of the two
rivers is the main reason for the slow progress of population
Reddy Roa Tank growth in the town.
Pidari Kulam No major role in
religious activities
Nageswaran Kulam Became a residential
colony
Saraya Pond Illicit liquor production
in the olden days and
now it is caught in
between the
development.
Ayikulam Converted into taxi
stand
Kumbeswara Kulam Converted into a park

Pond attached to the Mettu Housing Development

Street Vinayaka temple
Graph -1: Population Trend

Source: Census of India

2.2 Economic activities

The retail activity goes around the temple premises is

directly related to the programme goes into the temple.
Starting from garlands, ritual offerings , refreshments for
devotees , copper or bronze items , local authentic products
all these things are the part of the commercial area that
originated in and around the temple premises. Having large
number of temple complexes in town creates a very active
participation of commercial areas for the running of temple
activity. The following table shows the commercial area and
its economic activity.

Table -2: The commercial area and its economic activity

Area Activity

Ayikulam Road Lodging , Hardware

Dr.Moorthi Road General Shopping Nehru

Image 1: The existing condition of Ayikulam tank Market
Chakkarapani South Street Godowns , Whole sale
markets

© 2017, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 5.181 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 747
 International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395 -0056
Volume: 04 Issue: 08 | August -2017 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

Kumbeswarar North Street Brass Stainless steel Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Vaitheeswaran Koil,
Vessels Sirkhazi, Chidambaram, Virudhachalam and Thozhudhur.
TSR Big Street Jewelry , Banks ,
Financial Services
Head Post office Road Automobiles , Lodging

Town Hall Road General Shopping

Thanjavur Road Textiles

Kamarajar Market Vegetables

Source: -
http://tnuifsl.com/documents/ccpbp/Kumbakonam.p
df
Image 2: Showing the interim circuit
3.1Tourism
Source: Interim Report-Priority Circuit
Visiting a pilgrimage center for an important occasion is a Tamil Nadu July 2012.
part of religious life. It gives the sense of assurance and
confidence to a devotee. Since the temple town has lots of
programmes in a form of festivals, celebrations, fairs there is  Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services
a gradual growth of tourist from all over the world. Limited (TNUIFSL) has prepared a report on the
Mahamagam festivals attract lakhs of people for every 12 Conversion of City Corporate Plan to Business Plan for
years. There is also a progressive growth of domestics and Kumbakonam Municipality in May 2007. They have
foreign tourist to the town. identified Heritage areas as Temples, Religious
Institutions, Environmentally sensitive areas & Minor
Heritage areas.

 Government of India with Ministry of tourism and

culture has given a final report on 20 year perspective
tourism plan for the state of Tamil Nadu. According to
this in 2019 the expected tourist 17.70 lakh approx
which comprises domestic tourist 17.66 lakh &
international tourist 0.04 lakh.

Graph -2: Tourism Statistical Data of Kumbakonam Town from

2003 – 2009

Source: Kumbakonam Municipality and TNSTC

Kumbakonam

GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS

 In 12th five year plan, Ministry of Tourism has Graph -3: Tourist arrival Data
appointed National Level Consultant (NLC) as IL&FS
Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (IL&FS IDC). Source: Results of Market Research by the CONSULTING
They have identified tourism circuits across all States and ENGINEERING SERVICES (I) PVT. LTD.
Union Territory after due consultation with all the
stakeholders. Under this one of the circuits covers Trichy,

© 2017, IRJET | Impact Factor value: 5.181 | ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal | Page 748
 International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395 -0056
Volume: 04 Issue: 08 | August -2017 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072

3. CONCLUSIONS

The growth of a temple town can be clearly seen from

sangham period to till this century through the chronology,
heritage characters, tourist arrival and economic activities.
The urban fabric is bounded with cultural values and
developmental aspects. Protecting the temple town with
urban design strategies will help to preserve the heritage
character which in turn will have its effect on sustained
human occupation.

REFERENCES

1. K. N. Sivaraja Pillai, The Chronology of the Early

Tamils - Based on the Synchronistic Tables of Their
Kings, Chieftains and Poets Appearing in the
Sangam Literature (New Delhi : Asian Educational
services, 1984) 88.
2. Champakalakshmi, R. 1979. "Growth of Urban
Centres in South India: KudamakkuPalaiyirai, the
Twin-City of the Colas. Studies in History 1, no. 1: 1-
30.
3. The Economic weekly Annual - The State, the
Temple and Agricultural Development. A Study in
Medieval South India. Burton Stein , February 4,
1961.
4. Kubilay kaptan, Heritage management of temple
tanks in an urban scenario - a case study of
Thiruporur, a traditional town in the state of
Tamilnadu, India. Report Disaster Education,
Application and Research Center Istanbul Aydin
University, Turkey.
5. Urban centres in the state of tamil nadu: A case
study of thanjavur district C A D. Raja, M C
6. http://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/Other/ta
milnadu.pdf. (Government of India ministry of
tourism and culture department of tourism market
research division final report on 20 years
perspective tourism plan for the state of Tamil
Nadu)
7. Planning for pedestrian infrastructure in a heritage
town- kumbakonam –Unpublished thesis submitted
by Hariharan.S , Anna University , 2012.
8. Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services
Limited (TNUIFSL) Final Report Conversion of City
Corporate Plan to Business Plan for Kumbakonam
Municipality June 2007.
9. Saving the temple tanks by Suganthy
Krishnamachari published on March 24, 2016
http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-
review/history-and-culture/temple-tanks-are-
vanishing-due-to-urbanisation/article8393383.ece

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