Keezhadi excavation findings infuse a sense of Tamil pride

The archaeological findings unearthed during excavations at Keezhadi in Sivaganga district have grabbed the attention of many across the country. Several people including foreigners started visiting the excavation sites to learn about the ancient civilisation which once existed. Apart from creating a stir among various political parties, archaeology forums, and other stakeholders, Keezhadi has become a topic of discussion among youngsters in the city.

A couple of months ago, Chennai-based architect Namrata Narendra had come up with a design project at the site by connecting the past and present landscapes. 

The youngster's aim was to transform the landscape and throw open the years of history accumulated on the site to the viewers for an unbiased perception. "What piqued my interest is the 'concept of identity'; apparently, that's what archaeologists are exploring at Keezhadi. After the news came out in media, people were intrigued and eager to visit the place,” says Namrata.

The archaeological remains traces back to the rich civilisations and the urban settlement of the Sangam era. But what’s more fascinating is that people started relating the findings to the folk stories, poetry, and literature they have heard from previous generations. “It’s not just a piece of archaeology that was uncovered for all of us. I grew up listening to stories from Sangam literature and stories about kings who ruled Tamil Nadu. And now the stories I heard are getting real with the findings. Definitely, there was a sense of pride when I visited the place,” she smiles.

Since a lot of stories have been translated into other languages, non-Tamils too could relate to the findings. Interest in archaeology has been there since the findings of Indus Valley Civilisation. But since no habitations were uncovered in the south, people didn’t show much interest in finding the history of our ancient culture.

With a few month's time, Keezhadi has become a matter of pride for many Tamils, including history enthusiast-linguist rights activist Komakkambedu Himakiran.

"Actually, controversies surrounding the findings helped gain more momentum. Excavations have been happening in places like Kodumanal,  Adichanallur, Porunthal, etc., but it didn’t yield much information, in terms of history and culture of our civilisation. But at Keezhadi, a lot of important findings were released that attracted people to read about ancient culture. We believe in a lot of things our parents told us and the findings are validating them,” Himakiran tells us.

There is a very famous and yet often misinterpreted Tamil sentence in the book Purapporul Venbamalai from 9th century AD. Kal thondri mann thondra kalathe thondriya mootha kudi thamizh (Before the rock was made and formed into sand, the Tamil race rose with a sword in hand). But there was no material evidence to support this saying. Now, with the real and wholesome findings at Keezhadi, things have changed, says historian Ramakrishnan Venkatesh. “Tamils have great pride in their antiquity and the Keezhadi findings just increased the curiosity. So far, Tamil history was fuelled by literary evidence only. But Keezhadi seems to have changed all that," he remarks.

For the past few months, designer Kathir Arumugam has been shuttling between his office at DPI, Nungambakkam, and Archaeological Survey of India office. The youngster has been working on a book on Keezhadi that will be published by the Department of Archaeology, Government of Tamil Nadu. Titled Keezhadi: Ancient Civilisation on the banks of River Vaigai, the book will be published in 22 languages including Malayalam, French and Portuguese. "T Udhayachandran sir called and asked me to design the book that will be released in a couple of days. The images and the content are provided by archaeologists who are associated with Keezhadi excavation," he tells us. Kathir, who designs the Tamil Nadu State Board textbook covers, was excited to learn and understand the excavation process. "I used to debate with my non-Tamil friends saying Tamil is the oldest language. Now, I can show them a better proof," he smiles.