SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

 Summary:

The historic core of Madurai is observed, analyzed and strategies are proposed for the imagiability of the city. The condition of the historic elements is mapped and factors influencing the transformation are analyzed. The activities and character of the area are responsible for the transformation of the area. The city is analyzed on the basis on its layers around the temple and the historic elements of the city.

The analyses are based on the change in land use and type of activity and the fabric of the building. The data collected shows that the city is transforming from its historical image to a commercial hub. The commercial activities of Madurai create problems of traffic and congestion in the city as its total area is 2.5sq.kmts.

 Conclusion:

The transformation that Madurai’s historic core undergoing is due to uncontrolled commercialization and lack of proper guidelines to protect the city. The city’s planning commission has rules to govern the developments but due to lack of proper follow up the new developments do not follow the rules.

Proper guidelines and rules are essential for the city which will make the city regain its historic value. Commercialization helps the city to survive but it should not be let to destroy the city’s historical value. The city needs to maintain visual character to make the future generation to know about the value of the city. so conservation programs are necessary to preserve the historic value of the Madurai core city. 

Interpretation:

The historic core of Madurai is transforming into a commercial hub. The problems that the city will face if the city is totally commercialized are,

-       The area of the historic core will not take the more population due to commercialization

-       Lack of parking area

-       Traditional buildings are used for commercial activities

-       Historic elements are being used for commercial activities which spoils the architectural features. This spoils the tourism also, as this heritage buildings are not experienced by the visitors.

-       The residents of the core area are shifted out of the core area.

-       Completely commercializing a city will result in extinct of residential activity and its heritage value.

The present scenario shows that the activity and the character of the place correspond to major transformation of the city. As commercialization is the base of the city, removing the commercial activities will make the city unsustainable. This problem which arises from the commercialization is parking and the residential buildings converted into go-downs.

The strategies suggested are to change the fabric of the building without affecting the activity of the place.  Commercial activity is the livelihood of the city. The market area , vendors , hotels , lodging are the main activity of the city.

ANALYSIS

Historic elements

The historic elements in the core city are undergoing transformation because of more commercial activities. The elements taken for study show the proportion of the structure being affected by the process of commercialization. The elements are losing their architectural features, change of use and encroachments affect the ambiance of the structure.

Though Madurai seems to be an heritage zone, the present situation portraits it becoming a commercial area. The commercialization has taken up more than 40 percent of the land and using up 37.5% of residential units for go-down purposes. This makes the residents move outside the core area, making it a commercial hub.

 Percentage of decay:

Nagara mandapam, Viravasantharaya mandapam, pudhu mandapam and raya gopuram parts of the temple complex are taken for study , which are getting transformed in to commercial spaces from historic monuments.

The historic elements are affected by the shops, through the temporary structures added by the people, the large amount of intake of people and destructions of the historic elements. Because of the commercialization, the city sustains itself but commercialization has created a situation where the city have more changes to be got converted in to a commercial hub.

 Comparison of the historic elements through time

Factors affecting the historic elements:

The historic core area is a tourist attracting place and the added to that Madurai core area is the commercial zone for the entire city of Madurai. The people from the nearby area travel to Madurai for shopping more when compared to the tourism or visiting the temple complex. During the festival season, the percentage of crowd is more including the residents of Madurai and other places of the country. In the main city , more than 37.5 % of the residential area are being used for commercial activates.

. In Chitirai Street:

The government has taken steps to conserve the historic core of Madurai. The processes undertaken are,

-       Removing the encroachments

-       Deviating the vehicular traffic from chitirai street

-       Removed vendors

Problem found:

The fabric or the activity of the street is not controlled. This result in a varied character to the place and the elements does not react to the environment. The new constructions employ new materials which is not restricted.

5.3.2. Avani  Street:

This is the second circumferential street network that covers the Meenakshi amman temple. the variety of shops ranges from textile , books to lodging facilities.

Problem due to more commercial activity are parking on streets, the facade treatments and vendors. Half the length of the streets is occupied by the parking. The parking facilities provided by the city planning department is not enough for the public.

Masi Street.

This comprises the third layer covering the meenakshi Amman temple. This area consists of commercial, residential and mixed residential area. The major land use type is mixed residential, where many buildings are getting transformed into shops and go-downs.

Veli Street:

The outer ring of the historic core of Madurai city is Veli Street. It was initially the moat surrounding the fort wall of Madurai city, which was destructed and converted in to a street during the British period. This street now serves as parking space for Lorries and entry point into the historic core.

Road networks:

The roads connecting the temple complex and the historic elements of Madurai core are studied. The visual phenomena and the character of the place are studied. The factors influencing the transformation of the historic character of the core are analyzed. 

Roads connecting meenakshi amman temple and vaigai river:

Madurai being situated on the banks of river vaigai, the city has its history connected with the river. The road connecting the river and the temple is not used much regarding activities or shopping , the road leads to the outer Madurai city. The road connects the new developing city with the historic core area. The river or the mandapam in river is not maintained to its historic value , only the bridge is used for crossing the river. The kalpalam is not used and the roads leading to river is also not properly maintained.

The character of the place constitute of the activity and type of buildings of the area. The activity connected to this stretch are , commercial till masi street , mixed commercial till veli street and residential area towards 

 the river.

People using the river side road when compared to other roads are 10 percent, who are local people who cross the river through kalpallam. The new bridge connects the veli street to the Madurai new bus stop and the highway to Chennai. Because of the negligence and improper maintenance the river and the road connecting it are not much used.

The core city is enveloped by the veli street , with which the commercial activities and tourism area ends.

Road connecting the meenakshi amman temple and thirumalai nayakar  palace:

The road connecting the thirumalai nayakar palace and the meenakshi amman temple, have a variety of activities and fabric with respect with the type of the building and the fabric produce a different image to the street.

All the buildings in the stretch are converted into commercial and mixed residential uses. The activity found is textile shopping, rice delivery  lorry booking offices and road side vendors.

All the activities connected to area need parking in more number. The parking facilities are not properly done and the pedestrian pathways are used for parking.

Users – majority of the users are from the Madurai city itself, rarely visitors are found for shopping.

Road connecting the meenakshi amman temple and azhagar kovil theppa kulam( starts from west gopuram of the temple)

The theppakulam also called as the kalzhagar theppa kulam , which is not visible from any of the surrounding roads because of the shops around the tank. There are many initiatives taken to clear the pond and removing the shops, which be fruitful for few months and later the stops accumulate again. The government has taken initiatives to make the pond as a recharge point for the water table of Madurai , by creating rain water harvesting methods but the nearby lodging and commercial spaces does not help it. The stops vary from flowers , fruits to books, being a main area , the shop keepers don’t shift the shop.

The temple pond is fully encroached by the shops around; to an extent of even the entry points could not be found.

HISTORIC ELEMENTS OF MADURAI CORE

 MEENAKSHI AMMAN TEMPLE

The temple complex have Amman and Shiva shrine with Asta Shakti Mandapam ,Meenakshi Nayaka Mandapa , Meenakshi Nayakkar Mandapam, Potramaraikulam (Golden Lotus Tank), The Thousand Pillar Mandapam, Meenakshi Naicker Mandapam, Muthupillai Mandapam, Nagara Mandapam, Sangili Mandapam, Kolu Mandapam, Arukal mandapam, Velliambala Mandapam, Mandapam of 63 saints,  The hall of hundred pillars and  Pechchiyakkal Mandapam.

The mandapam taken for study is nagara mandapam which is a part of the temple complex. This mandapam is in front of the amman shrine and it is a gateway into the temple. As this mandapam is in the entry the entire mandapam is converted in to a shopping area. 

The two area taken for study are

1.      Nagara mandapam

2.      Viravasantharaya mandapam (opposite to ayiramkal mandapam – entry through east tower.

Nagara mandapam :

The mandapam is the gate way to the amman shrine and it is an additional gate way apart from the main east gopuram.

The nagara mandapam engages shops of different varieties. The shops have different types and problems. The problems experienced are the crowd, loading and unloading of the items inside the temple. Main problem experienced is these shops make use of the mandapams and the architectural features; sculptures of the mandapam are hidden within the space of the shops. 

The layout shows that the entire mandapam is filled with shops in which only 20 % is related with the temple activities. The other activities are related with the tourist shopping. The architectural features, ambiance of the mandapam and half the mandapam is hidden back at the shops. The shops use the rear end of the mandapam for storage which destroys the quality of the mandapam

Viravasantharaya mandapam

The mandapam that continues from the east gopuram,leading to the shive temple. The complex constitute of the ayiram kal mandapam in one end and kalyana mandapam at the other end. The shops uses some parts of the viravasantharaya mandapam , some parts of ayiramkal mandapam and the path leading to the vinayagar temple.

The whole pathway is used for shops which are of different varieties, ranging from pooja items, kolu dolls shopping,fancy items , gift shops, bangles and cosmetics items.

The shops that are connected with the temple complex are very less in number when compared to the other shops.

The shops connected with the mandapam are majorly gifts , books , and fancy articles. Handicraft items and bangle shops are found in large numbers.

Pudhu mandapam

Pudhu mandapam , majority of the shopping activites happen in this mandapam of Madurai. The commercial activity started in the mandapam during early 1970’s and increasing till today. This activity affects the mandapam in its spatial use, architectural features and the entire mandapam is covered with commercial activities. 

The mandapam has hundreds of sculptures and mandapams , with nayak style. The architectural features of the mandapam are hidden within the shops and the sculptures are broken and modified according to their needs. The mandapam’s visual phenomenon is affected and the physical features of the mandapam are destroyed due to negligence of the people. The visual impact of the mandapam makes one feel the commercialization of the Madurai area

. 

Raya gopuram:

The unfinished gopuram that is the gate way of the temple complex of Madurai is a 16 century element, which stands as an architectural excellence of nayak style. The tower has a broad base whose one side base is larger than the base of temple’s towers. The current scenario has transformed this element into a commercial stand. The seating area of mandapam is converted into shops for textiles.

The whole usable area of tower is fully used for commercial activities. The architectural features are hidden behind the shutters. The gopuram exhibits more number of sculptures and murals which are destroyed by the additions of the shops. 

History of elements:

Meenakshi amman temple:

Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple or Meenakshi Amman Temple or Tiru-alavai is a historic Hindu temple located in the south side of river Vaigai in the temple city of Madurai. The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2500 year old city of Madurai. The complex houses 14 gopurams ranging from 45-50m in height, the tallest being the souther tower, 51.9 metres (170 ft) high and two golden sculptured vimana (shrine) over sanctum of the main deities. The temple is a significant symbol for the Tamil people, and has been mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature; though the present structure is built during 1623 to 1655 CE. The temple attracts 15,000 visitors a day, around 25,000 during Fridays and gets an annual revenue of sixty million INR. There is an estimated 33,000 sculptures in the temple and it was in the list of top 30 nominees of the "New Seven Wonders of the World". The annual 10 day Meenakshi Tirukalyanam festival celebrated during April–May attracts 1 million visitors.

History:

The Meenakshi temple is believed to be founded by Indra(king of Devas, celestial deities) while he was on a pilgrimage to cure his misdeeds. The temple was believed to be sacked by the infamous Muslim invader Malik Kafurin 1310 and all the ancient elements were destroyed. The initiative to rebuild the structure was taken by first Nayak king of Madurai, Viswanatha Nayak (1559–1600) under the supervision of Ariyanatha Mudaliar, the prime minister of the Nayak Dynasty and the founder of the Poligar System. The original design by Vishwanatha Nayak in 1560 was substantially expanded to the current structure during the reign of Thirumalai Nayak(1623–55). He took considerable interest in erecting many complexes inside the temple. His major contributions are the Vasantha Mandapam for celebrating vasanthorsavam (spring festival) andKilikoottu Mandapam (corridor of parrots). The corridors of the temple tank and Meenakshi Nayakar Mandapam were built by Rani Mangammal.

Pudhu mandapam:

The hall is 330 feet long and 105 feet broad over the plinth. It is 25 feet high with 124 Pillars of four rows on either side of the central corridor of this hall there are imposing pillars having the figures of 14 of the Naick rulers including Thirumalai Naick. The date of construction of the Pudu Mandapam is known to be 1628-35. Hence it forms as the Vasantha Mandapam.

According to the work Thiruppani Maalai all the sculptures in the mandapam were executed by Sumandira Moorthy Asari.Since the sculptures were new at the time the mandapam was built, it was called Pudhu Mandapam(New Mandapam). There are interesting episodes of events that took place while the sculptures were being carved.

Nagara mandapam

Nagara mandapam situated opposite the Amman sanctum in East Chitra street was built in the year 1635 by Achutharayan, minister of Rani Mangammal.The dimensions of this mandapam known as Vasantha mandapam and Thirumalai Naickerr Choultry are: length - 333 feet (100 meters), width 105 feet (31.5 meters) and height 25 feet (7.5 meters).On both sides of this mandapam have been carved the statues of ten famous kings of Naicker dynasty. These statues which range from King Viswantha Naicker to Thrimalai Naicker had been chiseled in a life like manner.

On the six pillars next to the western entrance to the mandapam, there are sculptures of Thiripurasankarar, four heroes on horses, Ravana trying to lift Mount Kailash and others.

This mandapam was built for the purpose of sounding the Nagara drum toannounce important events and festivals to the devotees. Even though many shops are situated in the premises, the practice of beating the Nagara drum continues.New Mandapam : The New Mandapam, situated opposite the East Rajagopuram was built by King Thirumalai Naicker with the work starting in 1626 and ending in 1645.

Rayagopuram
                        To the east of the Pudhu Mandapam is the Royagopuram. The base of an unfinished Gopuram may still be seen to the east wing of Puthu Mandapam. Had it been completed it would have been completed it would have been the tallest man-made structure ever created in Africa, Asia or Europe.

Road networks:

In Madurai, the city’s planning layout is based on the temple layout. The roads starts from the temple tower and it is connected to the veli street, which was earlier the fort wall. Vaigai River, being one of the reasons for the settlement of Madurai city have bonding with the history of the temple. The roads taken for study are the roads connecting the temple and palace and the river. 

ELEMENTS OF STUDY

 List of Historical Elements

Temples:

               -Meenakshi Amman Temple -  7th century ,  1600 ,

               -Kali Kovil-

               -Iyanar Kovil

               -Vinayakar Kovil

               -Kariamal Perumal Kovil Tank

               -Kudal Alazhar Temple

               -Nanmaitaruvar Temple

               -Madagopalswami Temple

-Mandapam :

               -Pudumandapam - 16 th century

               -Raya Gopuram – 16 th century

               -Nagara Mandapam- 16 th century

               -Anna Kuli Mandapam

              -Vilaku Thoon -1832-35

              -Remain Of Fort Wall

             - Pathu Thoon Street -1636

Palaces

              -ThirumalaiNayakar Mahal – 1636

Other Religious buildings

            -Churches:

            - St Mary's Church

            - Holy Emmanuel Church

            -St George's Church

            -Kajimer Mosque

Historic elements taken for study

-       Meenakshi amman temple

-       Puthu mandapam

-       Nagara mandapam

-       Raya gopuram

-       Thirumalai nayakar mahal

Road networks taken for study

-       Ellu kadi street : connecting the pudhu mandapam to the veli street

Analyzing – the road connecting the meenakshi amman temple and the thirumalai nayakar mahal.

-       Town hall road : connecting the meenakshi amman temple and kal azhagar theppakulam

-       Roads connecting the meenakshi amman temple and vaigai river.

Case study

Heritage conservation Pondicherry

- restoration ,adaptive reuse and extending of listed buildings , design of new heritage precinct’s and conducting awareness.

- in adaptive reuse  old houses are converted into shops , restaurants, hotels and offices.

- First priority is to restore heritage buildings so that they can be made to meet owners modern facilities.

Process:

Mapping of historical buildings, study about the type and material usage of the house, conservation of individual buildings.

Guidelines for the streets and individual buildings regarding the material and the façade treatment.

   

2.5.2. Initiatives in conserving Kolkata’s rich heritage

Assigning responsibilities to owners of heritage buildings to maintain preserve and conserve them

Incentives to maintain Heritage buildings

Integration of modules across departments

2.5.3. Inference:

The case study shows the process of conservation in different places. The methods used are common which includes study of the area, historicity of the place and mapping the activities. The conservation does not only aims at the historic building but the surrounding environment also.