Posted on: 14 July 2017

General view from the north looking across the Mahamakam Tank towards temples on the farther side, Kumbakonam - 1892

Photograph of the Mahamakan Tank and temples in Kumbakonam, taken by Alexander Rea in c.1892, from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections. Kumbakonam, in Tamil Nadu, was an important centre during the 9th to 13th centuries under the Chola dynasty. There are fifteen temples in the town dedicated both to Shiva and Vishnu. Some of these temples have Chola foundations with later extensions constructed under the patronage of the Vijayanagara and Nayaka rulers. The Mahamakam Tank dates from the 17th century and is a place of pilgrimage during the Kumbhareshvara festival. It is believed that the waters of all the sacred rivers of India are mixed in this tank. The tank is surrounded by steps and has four shrines on each side.

Text and image credit:
Copyright © The British Library Board


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beautiful early orientalist photograph (1892). taken for the archeological survey but the photographer intuits and participates in the colonial aesthetics of the raj - india as property expressing eternity. the vimana looming in the back pyramid-like is the quintessence of cultural-religious eternity marking india. the smaller temples, pavilion and pillars by the tank and the tank itself constitute living eternities - in use but timeless. the bathers caught standing in a still prayerful mood with their backs to the camera are anonymous timeless codes for the colonized nation while the one lady with bundle looking towards the camera remains distanced enough also be anonymous. for vegetation, a few customary palm trees, also timeless emblems, sway romantically in the breeze. even knowing all this though, the photograph has its undeniable charm, a form of the picturesque, the spectatorial pleasure of territory, characteristic of india of the raj.

The present condition of this beautiful tank is pitiable. :-(

In just about 125 years, we've lost all purity, innocence & spirituality. 😢

Very cool