Forts of Tamil Nadu: A Walk-Through

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History is best understood through the study of its physical manifestations, Fort H structures designed for primary defence are markers of the passage of time and history, told through tales of (bloody battles, unexpected coups, and military strategies. Tamil Nadu is home to multiple such forts that tell curious stories of succession, feuds and even unexpected friendships.

The storied past etched on these structures proves to be a reference point for a closer understanding of the region's history. While forts like Gingee and Vattakottai charted the course of the territory's interaction with its colonisers, Rayakottai and Dansborg at Tharangambadi are testaments to the myriad possibilities of strategic architecture in warfare

Apart from standing witness, and sometimes mute spectators, to pivotal moments that changed the course of history, they also served as facades that carried a quiet cultural revolution all around. Some house temples that are thronged by hundreds even today, while others wear relief art, inscriptions and laudable architecture on their expansive walls.

The Department of Tourism, in collaboration with The Hindu Group (THG), has produced this curated collection of well researched articles and telling pictures that take one on a walk through the historic structures housing tales worth centuries.

I congratulate the Tourism, Culture, and Religious Endowments Department for taking this initiative to publish a first-of-its-kind coffee-table book on some of the finest forts in Tamil Nadu.

The past speaks to us in myriad ways, but most eloquently through structures that are are left standing forts and palaces and places of worship, for instance. Forts, especially, reveal what those who built them considered the most important: what gave them the comfort of security, and what they saw as imminent threats. The love of life and the fear of death are inseparably together in every stone.

Much more than the written word, these structures that have survived the ravages of war and time provide the most faithful accounts in historiography.

The Hindu Group is proud to present this curated collection of well researched articles and telling pictures that take the readers on a walk through these historic structures. It carries articles about the over 350-year-old story of Fort St. George, Sadras's Dutch past, the hidden treasures of Gingee, the walls of Tharangambadi that seem to emerge from the sea, the geographical formations around Krishnagiri Fort, the rule of Travancore kings in Vattakottai, the ascent to Sankagiri, and more.

The book was curated by Sanjana Ganesh, and designed by A Ganeshan, Chief Sub Editor (Design). Most of the pictures are by D Krishnan, former Photo Editor, The Hindu.

We thank the Department of Tourism, Tamil Nadu, for the opportunity and aid in bringing out a comprehensive book on forts in the State. We also acknowledge the contributors of articles and photographs without whom this book would not have been complete.