Kallile Kalaivannam on display until Sep 19

VELLORE: Ancient stone sculptures and pictures of the Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur and other stone temples in Tamil Nadu and other parts of India are on display at ‘Kallile Kalaivannam,' a special exhibition organised in connection with the millennium celebrations of the Big Temple at the Government Museum inside the fort in Vellore. The exhibition has colorful pictures of the Big Temple, besides the 8th-century Shore Temple and the Five Rathas in Mamallapuram, the 11th-century Shiva Temple in Gangaikonda Sozhapuram and the 12th-century Ariavateswarar Temple in Darasuram, all of which have been declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as world heritage centres. The exhibition has on display the stone idol of Vishwaksena, dating back to the 16th century A.D., which was discovered a fortnight ago on the Palar riverbed in Kandaneri in Vellore district during quarrying. Ancient stone sculptures such as those of Jain deities of Brammadevan and Dharmadevi found in Kunnathur village in Polur taluk in Tiruvannamalai district, Mariamman (Anaicut, Vellore district), Hanuman (Vellore), Vishnu and Sridevi (Vinnampalli, Vellore district), Brahma (Achamangalam, Tirupattur taluk, Vellore district, 19th century), Sridevi (Akkur, Tiruvannamalai district, 15th century) and Bhoodevi (Melpalur, Polur taluk) were also on display. Pictures of all three types of temples — cut-in temples (cave temples), cut-out temples such as the stone temples carved out of hill formations, and built-in temples such as the Big Temple and the Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram — are on display. Temples and stone sculptures from other States whose pictures find a place are Ellora cave temples (Maharashtra), Keshava Temple, Somanathapura (Karnataka), Mallikarjuna and Kasiviswanatha Temple in Pattadakkal (Karnataka) and Amaravathi casing slab (Andhra Pradesh) are also on display.