Just shared this picture of Thirumala Naicker Mahal in FB about its beauty and how development has screwed its beauty now…
Immediately got a comment from my friend;
I read in an article that British government offered people that “whoever demolishes the statue or some building, those places belong to them.” By Hearing this, Our ancestors demolished most of them around madurai.
He even shared this link on history behind perumal maistry street… Here is a small synopsis from the article;
Then Madurai Collector John Blackburn wanted to demolish the fort walls around the Meenakshi Amman temple for the development of the city. He realised that it would cost a sizable fortune of the government to dismantle the thick walls of the fort. Besides, the channels adjoining the fort had crocodiles to prevent anyone to reach the fort by crossing the water.
“When the British rulers realised that it was not possible to demolish the fort and fill the huge channel with soil, they decided to seek public participation. To lure the public, the collector announced that people can demolish the fort wall and fill the channel to become owners of the land. People from several villages gathered and completed the work…
Feeling bad to know how Britishers enslaved us and how they used us in destroying our own heritage :(…
AnandNataraj 