Tamil Temple Towns: Conservation and Contestation

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The project arises from pressing issues of contested heritage in the great, living temple complexes at the heart of rapidly growing cities in Tamil Nadu. It examines two distinct temple cities of Tamil Nadu, Madurai and Kumbakonam, to address current concerns over the ways in which some functioning temples are being restored. Such concerns have recently led to court cases, and the involvement of UNESCO in an attempt to find ways to create appropriate conservation guidelines acceptable to different stakeholders. These must take into account the prescriptions of ancient Sanskrit ritual and architectural treatises, still much revered though not sufficiently understood. The project therefore aims to provide an authoritative body of research to inform inclusive and sustainable guidelines for heritage conservation and management in the temple cities. It will provide a well-researched history of the architecture, urban settings, and phases of renewal of the representative temple structures, and articulate the different narratives and perceptions about these sites. The nature of recent restorations will be ascertained and evaluated. Sanskrit texts will be studied for an overview of their relevant instructions, and to show how their theoretical concepts relate to the actual practice of temple design and conservation. Digital models will be created to encapsulate the research findings, to provide data for architectural analysis, and as a tool to elicit and express the multiple viewpoints of the community and stakeholders. The findings, as a basis for the future guidelines, will be presented in a report, which will appear on the project website along with the models. Other outcomes will include a special issue of a peer-reviewed journal.