untamed

"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; Where words come from the depth of truth; Where tireless striving stretches its arms toward perfection; Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Into that heaven of freedom it should be our intent. ( my adaption from Rabindranath Tagores famous lines)

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Arni Palaces in ruins by chandru arni

The Arni Jagir, given as a Gift from Shajee, the great Mahratta warrior, to my ancestor, Vedaji Bhaskar Punt, for military services rendered in the former's invasion of the Carnatic had existed since 1640. The Jagir covered an area of 180 square miles and is situated in the North Arcot District, Tamil Nadu, INDIA.

The Government of India abolished it in 1951 by a Zamindai Abolition Bill, and as a First Amendment to the Constitution, giving the Jaghir a small compensation. This resulted in the bad upkeep of the Palaces due to lack of funds.

The video below reveals what existed then and what is the current state and seeks the Government of India's help in restoration and make it a heritage and tourist site.

The photographs were taken in 2008 by Mr.Megarajan and friends in his TRAVELOGUE blog for which I thank him.

Labels: , ,

posted by untamed @ 11:09 AM   19 comments