Poompuhar

From Riches to Rags - Musings from the Past

We didn’t plan to go to Poompuhar. We went to Thirunellar temple near Karaikaal for a family function on a saturday morning and we were done a bit early. So we decided to go to a nearby tourist spot and spend some time. We debated on many options including Gangai Konda Chozhapuram and Kodiyakarai. During our onward journey, we saw an arch leading to Poompuhar. Considering the distance and being on the way, we finalized on Poompuhar. None of us had any idea on what to expect. We were on the road most of the time, so we did not have the option of googling.

Poompuhar or Puhar or Kaveripoompattinam (as it was called in olden times) was an important port city in the early Chozha times. It was described in the famous epic Silapathigaram, penned by Illangovadigal as a rich port town with traders from various countries selling silks, gems and precious stones. It was destroyed in what was believed to be a tsunami that occurred thousands of years ago.

The present town that we see as Poompuhar was Tamil Nadu government’s attempt in the 1970s to portray the historical importance of the Puhar and to promote it as a tourist destination. There is an art gallery and statues that were created according to the descriptions from Silapathigaram.

Once we started from Thirunellar, everyone sat vigilant, the younger bunch for not missing the arch, the older bunch for the roads being too narrow for the speeding Sumo’s, Scorpio’s, tourist buses and vans. For a couple of times, we thought we’ve missed the arch, but finally we got it. Glimpses of Silapathigaram and nostalgia of learning it in school days made all of us to expect something mystical.

After traveling a kilometer or so, we found another arch, named as “Kovalan Thoranavayail” (Kovalan Entrance). All of us were very excited and we started assuming names for the further arches. One by one, we crossed, Madhavi, Kannagi and Silapathigara Thoranavayil's. The entire route was via Tamil countryside, with village houses on both sides. However, you cannot ignore glimpses of the occasional modern houses on the road sides. En route, we saw an archeological site and a narrow path leading to a temple. We decided to follow the thoranavayil's.

The last thoranavayil opened into a sunny little fishing town crowded with notably irresponsible tourists. Plastic bags and bottles were found everywhere. We found a local street vendor and asked him for directions. He showed us the art gallery and the sea shore and went on his way.

Art Gallery

The Art Gallery or the Yezhunilai Mandapam (seven storied building) was our next stop. We took the entrée tickets and first visited a normal park on the opposite side of the gallery. Again, we couldn’t tolerate the irresponsible behavior of the tourists; they’ve littered almost the entire park. There was a normal Vasantha Mandapam (a place for resting in a garden) with dancing figure statues. We felt that there was nothing interesting for a traveler, but the couple of crows munching on the littering or the fine gentleman napping in the mandapam or the family that was happily eating and washing vessels in the park might not agree with us.

Statues inside Art Gallery

Yezhunilai Mandapam might look impressive with the Pandya king’s statue on one side of it and Illangovadigal’s statue on the other, but everything about is kitschy. The Art Gallery definitely needs maintenance. The feeble replica of the ancient Puhar with its market place and residential areas might have interested us, if only the glass covering was not too stained to let us see through it. There were some replicas of ancient musical instruments which looked more dusty and older than Puhar itself. The epic Silapathigaram was sculptured in the walls with what seemed like plaster of Paris. Tourists buzzed the place and it was quite difficult to get a clear view of the flow of story. We did manage to get some decent pictures.

Poor maintenance and the graffiti

The “Illangi Mandram” was a lone building very near to the shore with normal pool and a room for changing. It was the place where the princesses and queens were believed to have bathed in the holy waters that had medicinal properties. The bathing scenes of the princesses were sculptured which were again kitschy. The pool, designed based on the one that had holy waters, is now a huge garbage bin and it looked nothing better than a sewage pool. The only entertaining part here was the graffiti. When are we going to learn responsible tourism?

Illangi Mandram

There was a beautiful rocky beach. For us, this rocky beach was a surprise as we’ve seen only beaches like Marina with sand and only sand (and the litter). But it was jam packed and we were not even able to find an empty rock. We enjoyed the sea standing over the Illangi Mandapam.

The Shore

Apart from the tourists, there were people selling fishes, handicrafts made of shells and dried fishes. We did taste some of the fried fishes and it tasted excellent. The fishes were fresh catches but we cannot guarantee hygienic conditions or fresh oil. I believe the tourism has generated some income for these groups. Otherwise, Incredible India and Enchanting Tamil Nadu have to work a long way to make Poompuhar get back to its shape. Puhar has to be enjoyed and left unpolluted so that the future can enjoy the rich Puhar as in ancient times. 

Dried Fishes

All of us were thoroughly disappointed. Neither did we want to see the ancient prosperous Puhar nor this very touristy, polluted, little village. The unanimous feeling for all of us was that we could have enjoyed the place (at least the beach) a bit better if it was a weekday. We feel that this place, which almost every tamilian keeps close his heart deserves much care and maintenance than what it gets.

There is a tourist bungalow right on the shore. The building looked impressive and it seemed that it might have a nice sea view room. Please check with Tamil Nadu tourism website for more information.

Be it nobles or kings or saints like Ilangovadigal or the traders carrying silk or precious stones or the ravaging tourists with loads of plastics — Poompuhar continues to attract the crowds — the reasons however might be different!