Sacred Groves- Thirumalai samudhram, Thanjavur
Sacred Groves- Thirumalai samudhram, Thanjavur
Place: Thirumalai Samudhram, Thanjavur (closer to the Thanjavur-Trichy high way). In the middle of the paddy and sugarcane fields.
I noticed this patch of trees almost every time when I happened to cross this place. One day I dared to visit that place when I was armed with my camera. It is just half-a-kilometer from the Thanjavur-Trichy national highway. As I correctly guessed, it was a sacred grove or koil kadu. Sacred groves are communally-protected forest fragments with significant religious connotations. These sacred groves, which are dedicated to local deities or ancestral spirits, are protected by local communities through social traditions and taboos that incorporate spiritual and ecological values. Preserved over the course of many generations, sacred groves represent native vegetation in a natural or near-natural state and thus are rich in biodiversity and harbor many rare species of plants and animals. I am really concerned about these sacred groves since our urge for “development” may soon deplete or remove these green patches from the faces of our villages and towns.
The sacred grove I visited was having a good number of big trees including neem, tamarind and peepal along with many thick scrubs and creepers. There was a partially built temple inside the grove. I think it was a Murugan temple. A comparatively clean (new), partially broken Vinayaga statue was also there. A stone with Tamil inscriptions was also erected in a cement structure. I couldn’t read the inscription as it was not clear. Some spears are also there to mark the sacredness.
Temple
Pillayar (vinayaga) at the grove Tamil inscription (high resultion image is in my flickr)
As I was looking for wild-life there, I could easily see many birds, reptails and insects. A monkey was the only mammal that I could see readily. I could notice an almost complete food-chain staring from insects-reptails-birds and birds of prey.
I could photograph some the birds and reptails which I post here.
Red vented Bull Bull (சின்னான்),
Owl (ஆந்தை)
Bird of prey: Shikra (வல்லூறு)
Monkey (குரங்கு)
மல்லிகை
Place: Thirumalai Samudhram, Thanjavur (closer to the Thanjavur-Trichy high way). In the middle of the paddy and sugarcane fields.
I noticed this patch of trees almost every time when I happened to cross this place. One day I dared to visit that place when I was armed with my camera. It is just half-a-kilometer from the Thanjavur-Trichy national highway. As I correctly guessed, it was a sacred grove or koil kadu. Sacred groves are communally-protected forest fragments with significant religious connotations. These sacred groves, which are dedicated to local deities or ancestral spirits, are protected by local communities through social traditions and taboos that incorporate spiritual and ecological values. Preserved over the course of many generations, sacred groves represent native vegetation in a natural or near-natural state and thus are rich in biodiversity and harbor many rare species of plants and animals. I am really concerned about these sacred groves since our urge for “development” may soon deplete or remove these green patches from the faces of our villages and towns.
The sacred grove I visited was having a good number of big trees including neem, tamarind and peepal along with many thick scrubs and creepers. There was a partially built temple inside the grove. I think it was a Murugan temple. A comparatively clean (new), partially broken Vinayaga statue was also there. A stone with Tamil inscriptions was also erected in a cement structure. I couldn’t read the inscription as it was not clear. Some spears are also there to mark the sacredness.
Temple
Pillayar (vinayaga) at the grove Tamil inscription (high resultion image is in my flickr)
As I was looking for wild-life there, I could easily see many birds, reptails and insects. A monkey was the only mammal that I could see readily. I could notice an almost complete food-chain staring from insects-reptails-birds and birds of prey.
I could photograph some the birds and reptails which I post here.
Red vented Bull Bull (சின்னான்),
Owl (ஆந்தை)
Bird of prey: Shikra (வல்லூறு)
Monkey (குரங்கு)
மல்லிகை
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