King Thirumalai Nayak decided to replicate the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple\u2019s \u2018Golden Lotus Pond\u2019 at the digging site. According to a book titled\u00a0Madura, A Tourist\u2019s Guide<\/em>, an illustrated tour guide that was first published in 1913, this structure measures 1000 feet by 950 feet and it is almost a square.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sides are faced all round with cut granite and surmounted by a handsome parapet of the same material, just inside which is a granite paved walk, five feet wide, runs all round the tank. Flights of steps, three on each side, run down at intervals to the water\u2019s edge,\u201d states the book.<\/p>\n The Madura Country<\/em>\u00a0by J. H. Nelson, a book of records from 1868, raves about the striking architectural marvel that the Teppakulam is. The central mandapam is aesthetically built and has idols of Hindu gods and animals. British men and women often walked along the tank in the evenings to get a whiff of fresh air.<\/p>\n N.S. Rajendran. \u00a0 | Photo Credit:\u00a0G. Moorthy<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe whole effect is exceedingly tasteful; particularly as the tank always contains water,\u201d the book stated.<\/p>\n It has been four years since the pond has had any water. The theppa-ther (float festival) that happens in the Tamil month of \u2018Thai\u2019 is now a thing of the past and mere a ritual sans water, according to a resident A. Shanmuganathan.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen there was water, Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar would be taken on the float around the tank. Now they are carried by men afoot,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Empty liquor bottles and matchsticks are found on the steps of the tank and garbage is strewn around along the lawn-like foundation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is difficult to walk along the tank during rainy season as there is a foul smell emanating from the tank. At the weekend, the tank turns into a picnic spot. People eat food and dump plastic covers,\u201d says T. Kanakavalli, a resident of Anuppanadi.<\/p>\n Corporation workers regularly visit the spot and clean it about four times a week but people continue to dump plastic waste, she says.<\/p>\n T.R.A. Shanmuganathan. \u00a0 | Photo Credit:\u00a0G. Moorthy<\/p><\/div>\n Men can be found taking a nap at the inside mandapam and youth play cricket inside the tank.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n N.S. Rajendran, a resident of the area for 58 years, says that many men drink liquor inside the tank and urinate along the walls. \u201cIt is a holy space but it is defiled by many people,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n The tank comes under Madurai\u2019s Smart City Mission. The beautification of the tank is currently in the \u2018Detailed Project Report\u2019 stage, according to Corporation Commissioner S. Aneesh Sekhar.<\/p>\n An official from the Corporation said that the area would be monitored regularly to prevent people from urinating the place. Dumping of garbage would be curbed, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Mariamman Teppakulam and stories of its origin are often raved about in Madurai\u2019s rich history. Builders in 1645 dug clay from the Vaigai banks to make bricks for building the Thirumalai Nayak palace. At some point, a pond-like structure was formed out of the digging. King Thirumalai Nayak decided to replicate the Meenakshi Sundareswarar […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[212,2126,2127,123],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102451"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=102451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102451\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=102451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=102451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalpress-new.hinduismnow.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=102451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}