09th October 2016.
Even though there were a lot of
changes in my planned schedule (a new event of attending a family function at
Erode was added to the planned schedule about a week before, which led
to canceling of tickets, booking & canceling in the bus and trains, etc.,
), finally I was able to join with the Salem District history searchers group,
for the Heritage Walk scheduled on 9th October 2016. The
Heritage walk started around 11.30 Hrs, after a meeting held at the Boys High
School. In addition to the heritage enthusiasts and Scholars, the Govt Higher
Secondary School Students and the College students from Arignar Anna Arts and
Science College also joined in this Heritage walk. We could see a lot of eagerness on the faces of the students to learn our history. It was
interesting to note that the students had taken notes and details then and
there for their future reference.
A view from Attur Bus stand
ATTUR FORT
The fort is on the north bank of the Vashista River. The river divides this place as Attur (ஆறு+ ஊர் = ஆற்றூர் latter called as ஆத்தூர்) and Pudhupettai. As per 10 the century Parantaka
Chozha’s inscription the place was called Artrur Kootram (ஆற்றூர் கூற்றம்). During the Vanakovaraiyars period, it was a part of Makathai
mandalam. This was also the east geographical limit of Ketti Mudali’s kingdom.
Salem Chinna Bhupalan’s one of the six sons Lakshmana Naikar also ruled
this area.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ATTUR FORT
There are two statements, that
constructed this fort. The first one is the fort was built by the predecessors of
Ketti Mudali of Taramangalam. The other statement is Lakshmana Naikar,
one of the six sons of Salem Chinnama Naikar, had built the fort, which is
contradicting to the first statement.
During the 1689, Mysore War, the
captain Hambaiyah took direct control of Ketti Mudali’s Chamballi
Fort, Omalur, and Anantha Giri’s fort ( Attur fort). Since then the fort has been under the control of Mysore for about 100 years. From the year 1760, it was one
of the 17 divisions of Paramahal. Then in 1792, it became one of the nine
divisions of Salem South. From 1796, the place changed its name to Attur from
Anantha Giri. The fort was used as a war center during the Hyder Ali
and Tippu Sultan periods. It became part of the British rule in 1768. In
four years, the Fort’s control was changed between the British and Hyder
Ali. Finally, after the 3rd Mysore War, when Hyder Ali was
defeated, the Fort’s control came to the Britishers ( 1792). The British troops are
housed in this fort, for which some of the structures are added. The Attur Fort
lost its importance when the British troops moved to Sankagiri Fort in 1799. Till 1824 the fort was used as a place to keep the arms and
ammunition.
SECURITY SYSTEMS
The main entrance to the fort is
from the east, in addition to a small & narrow entrance from the south after
crossing the river. The small entrance might have been used for human passage.
The fort walls are constructed with granite stones of a width of more than 10
feet and the wall stones are shaped in the form of wedges and interlocked with
each other. Crocodiles with water around the fort ( No crocks now with
water ). The rectangular fort of 1 km circumference was constructed on 62 acres of land. The stones are brought from the Kalladithan Kunru. The fort
has a narrow entrance from the south with a watch tower/ mandapam and a
platform to position the canon. There is also a secret passage and it is
believed that it goes up to Thalaivasal and nobody ventured through it so far.
STRUCTURES AND TEMPLES
The fort has two big Palaces,
leisure mandapas, Storage structures for grains, and a store for arms and
ammunition. There is a tomb for John Murray and a Cenotaph for Jon Goyal. In
addition to this, there are 4 temples ( Vinayagar Temple, Sri Kaya Nirmaleswarar
Temple, Sri Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal Temple ( Kottai Perumal Temple ) and a Muniappan temple )
constructed during various periods and the details are posted separately.
LOCATION OF THE FORT: CLICK
HERE
FOR MORE PHOTOS ON GOOGLE: CLICK
HERE
Fort
wall
The
watch Tower/ mandapam
The
South Side entrance – might be for human passage
Grain Storage
Grain
Storage
A
Mandapa on the east side entrance
A
Mandapa on the east side entrance
Vasantha mandapam
The Arms and ammunition store
The
Place to position the cannon
This oblique was built by Henry Goyal, a British
Captain of this Attur Fort, in memory of Jon Goyal during 1828, who died after
falling from a horse in front of the Salem collectors office.
... to be Continued (
Sri Kaya Nirmaleswarar Temple )
---OM SHIVAYA NAMA---
Awesome, lovely pictures.
ReplyDeleteSuperb Photos with narration _/|\_
ReplyDelete