Guide to
Temple Town of
Kumbakonam
Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Guide to
Temple Town of
Kumbakonam Visual Communication Project II Submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirement of the degree, Masters of Design in Visual Communication (2009-2011) at the Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay Guide: Prof. Mandar Rane Nimisha Drolia (09625802) Date:
Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Approval Sheet This Visual Communication Project II entitled “Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam� by Nimisha Drolia, 09625802 is approved in partial fulfilment of the requirements for Master of Design Degree in Visual Communication.
Project Guide: Chair Person: Internal Examiner: External Examiner:
Date: Place:
Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Declaration I declare that this written submission represents my ideas in my own words and where others ideas and words have been included, I have adequately cited and referenced the original sources. I also declare that I have adhered to all principles of academic honesty and integrity and have not misrepresented or fabricated or falsified any idea/data/ fact/source in my submission. I understand that any violation of the above will be cause for disciplinary action by the Institute and can also evoke penal action from the sources which have thus not been properly cited or from whom permission has not been taken when needed. Signature: Name: Nimisha Drolia Roll No: 09625802 Date:
Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Acknowledgement This is my opportunity to thank everyone who have directly or indirectly helped me complete this project. Without proper guidance and constant support this project could have not been a reality. Firstly I want to thank my Guide Prof. Mandar Rane. His guidance throughout the project kept me going. He helped me with his knowledge and experience at all steps. I am specially thank full for his patience to deal with my basic mistakes and guide me with everything that took to teach. I would also thank all my professors, for their inputs and feedbacks which takes the project to a better destination. I am grate full to Prof. Kirti Trivedi, who introduced the Temple Town to us in a trip, which became my project later. IIT Bombay and IDC library has been a source of constant useful information. Also the department with its very good infrastructure and staff has been very useful. I would specially want to mention my junior Regan Raj who helped me with planning my trip to Kumbakonam. Finally I want to thank the Almighty, my Family and my Friends for all the support, encouragement and love. This or any other project is not possible without their being around.
Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Abstract India has a very rich historical and cultural background. There are number of ancient cities here, which are very important religious and historical pilgrimage. Thousands of people visit these cities every year. Large number of tourist visit these cities from all over the world. But these places don’t have proper guides. Thousands of people visit these cities, who will benefit immensely by use of guides. Kumbakonam is one such town. Located in Tamil Nadu, Kumbakonam is called The Temple Town, because it has more than 100 temples in and around. Thousands of people visit the city every year. But there is no guide to the place. Thus when we did a study trip to the place in February, this idea to make a guide book for the city struck me, which became my project. So I decided to design a Guide for the Temple Town of Kumbakonam, which will help people visiting the town to have a more informed and guided tours.
Objective My personal interest in this project is to learn how to make information design solution for content with great complexity and variety, which needs to be used by large number of people. By doing this guidebook, I want to learn how to structure large amount of information, and see how it behaves individually and as a whole. A guide book is a package of many things, thus to learn how to manage all the elements that comes to make a good information design.
Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Content What is a Travel Guide?.......15 Kind of travel Guides Case Studies Why does Kumbakonam need a Travel Guide Travel Guide for Kumbakonam.......29 Learning all about Kumbakonam Structuring Visual Language My journey through the Project.......67 Time line of work Personal learning
Bibliography.......71
Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
14 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
What is a Travel Guide? By definition A guide book is a book for tourists or travellers that provide details about a geographic location, tourist destination, or itinerary. It is the written equivalent of a tour guide. Many travel guides now take the form of travel web sites rather than printed books. A travel or a city guide book is a complete travel documentation of the city. When someone wants to visit a new place, the book guides to the most important places. It gives important detail about what is to see there. It has important information about the food, accommodation, culture etc there. It should be presented in such a way that one can easily find his interest areas and make the most of the trip. It can be used to plan trips and also to use while on trip. It is like a friend who is accompanying you while you go to explore a new place.
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16 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Kind of Travel Guides:
There are guide books which are dedicated to kind of use. While designing the book they focus on particular issues. Like guide book best for must sees is a book for people interested in sightseeing. It is for regular tourist. Then there are specific books written for writers, business travellers, settlers, archaeologist etc. They have focus to those topics. Also there are travel guides which are based on experience of people. It is at times to read and enjoy. There are books for planning your trip before you go. And there are books you want to carry while travelling so that you don’t miss important things in your trip. Are they user specific, motive specific, do they have any particular kind of focus audience? There are books which are user specific. When the guide is called an archeological guide it attracts audience interested in that. There are books specifically written for nature lovers, business travellers, writers, artists. And finally books for general tourists who are interested in anything interesting. Also guide books are different for different places. Every place has a different attraction and a different narration. Like, Delhi is about politics, while Mumbai is about glamour. Kerala is close to nature and Rajasthan has strong historical significance. Thus the books have different focuses.
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How do they differ in Structure : Existing Different guides have different structures. The guides which are for specific use are structured for that particular purpose. Rest are majority for tourism. Some are majority text based and have in detail information about every nook and corner of the place. When there are number of places being covered, chapters come as to the places. And there is a dedicated chapter to travelling details as to where to stay, where to eat etc , either in the beginning or in the end. They will talk about the attractions and tell about the place. Few books are well structured and give data with good references and necessary tagging. They flow in a sequence and are well related to each other. Inference: The one with a well connected structure is better understood. With data well referred and interconnected the information becomes more simple to understand. If more information is given in the same place, like rather than telling about the same place in different sections, if different things about the same place is said together it becomes more easy to refer. Thus finding the most important and essential section of the place and making it the backbone, and then relating all other data to it is what should be done.
18 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Style : Existing Different guides have different styles. Some are more text based, some are more visual. Some have good maps and some have good references. They follow a particular style to tell about a place. Some are single coloured while some are multicoloured. Very few develop or design style as to suit the place they are talking about. No guide I could see had any design contribution made to make the book look like it belongs to that place. They follow strict grid and a format which can be automatically used for any place. Thus all guides look alike with visuals. Only when we read do we understand that what place it is from. Inference: There should a particular style developed that suits the place we are talking about. The book apart from text should also communicate about the place. Little design elements make the environment suitable for a place. For this a study of the colour palate and mood of the place, particular features which define the place should be studied and put. The book needs to more visual and informative. Making of easy maps and not geography 2 dimensional maps is very important. Maybe the maps can 3 dimensional or image supported maps.
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Case Studies What is the general trend followed in available books. Case study of existing books, and understanding of their characters. List them and see what can be explored for kumbakonam.
20 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Great Monuments of India ( A Unique Visual Guide To India’s Historic Sites) DK Publication
Inferences: Layout the pages in flexible grids, thus avoiding monotonous feel of the book Use of much visual aid to explain the place. Use of views, photographs and plans help to know the place better.
It is a visual Guide which tells about important monuments of India. The book is a good example of how to structure a monument information. The book talks all about these monuments, its history, architecture, and other details. It is not a travel; guide, and deals with monuments in details. Structure:
Visual Language:
The book has no major divisions, and has chapters to each place. In the beginning there is one chapter which introduces the country and its history, and in the end there is one chapter which briefly tells how to reach these places.
The layout of pages in the book is done in a grid which keeps changing. The grid is not very prominent and thus doesn’t make the book very monotonous. The blending of element is done well in the book. The book has used few elements to set the mood of the place like the content bullets, and motifs for caption. The book is very rich visually, with pictures, drawings, plans and views to support the content.
Then each chapter which deals with monuments in detail, tells about every important feature of the monuments. It talks about the history, mythology, architecture, and all other things with relevant pictures and drawings. Information is sorted in hierarchy with help of text style and text boxes.
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There is no structure followed in the sections of the monuments. Thus the way information is given here, is good for reading about the monuments and not as a travelling guide. There is a lot of information but no hierarchy of information which tells more important things first and then details later. Feel of the place is missing the design.
Eyewitness Travel (Top 10 Dubai and Abu Dhabi) DK Publication
Inferences:
Meant for travellers who are on short travelling trips, this guide gives information in 10 points. It is a small pocket guide, which is easy to carry and for travellers who want fast and not so detailed guidance. Thus they get top 10 things about everything of the place.
Structure:
Visual Language:
The book is divided into 2 main sections, places and travelling information which they call streetsmart.
Market, which explains it to be a pocket guide. It being longer than wider makes it more comfortable to use with single hand. Colour coding is used to separate the chapters, which is coded in the content page also. Separate boxes are used to give information. Tips boxes are there with separate treatment. Small reference maps are used at different places.
The first section of places is again divided into 2 sections of places in and around Dubai. Now every place is explained by telling ten most important things about it. Also the travelling data is given in the same format of top ten. Maps are given in the beginning and the end of the book.
22 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Division of information in clear sections. One formula used for all information, top 10 things. Thus hierarchy automatically comes in the listing. Colour coding used helps to sort out and reach information fast. Different kind of information can be given a rule of treatment, thus the user can know what to find where in the book. Fast way of giving information, where main highlights are given for fast reference.
The whole picture of the city is missing. Thus the user never understands where he is going and what to expect out of the place on whole. The mind map of the place is missing. There is no feel of the space being reflected, thus not even once does the user understand that the book is for Dubai, till he reads it.
Eyewitness Travel Guide ( India) DK Publication
Inferences: Information is very well structured in hierarchical order. But here also one misses the overall picture of the place.
It is a detailed travel guide which tells about the place in detail. One can find all about India in this book. The unique thing about this book is that it is very visual as compared to other travel guides in the market. The book tells all about the place with maximum information about everything related. Structure:
Visual Language:
The book is structures very well with 4 main sections and then part sections. Information travels from whole to part to detail. First it tells about the country as a whole and there introduces the states with quotes and points
The book is visual with many supporting images, illustrations, plans and views. Use of colour coding can be seen in the book. The states are given colour codes, which is followed through out the book and becomes very useful for the user for quick references. The grid is flexible and layout of pages don’t look monotonous. But no rule is set, thus might confuse the user for information when he need fast reference. Quality of views, maps and plans is very rich. Also the maps are well tagged and referred. There are simplified and detailed maps both available based on the requirement of the content.
Hierarchy of information is seen in the structure. The country is then divided into zones which are further subdivided as to states. Thus user travels gets a complete idea of where he is going. The book has separate sections for travellers need and survival guide, which are for quick references and help the user to plan their trip.
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The book is extremely pictorial. There is visual representation to every thing. Concentration on giving pictures and other mediums of information is given very well. The Grid in the book is not fixed and seems to be flowing. Text and images seem to be well merged with each other. Use of maps, illustration and views is very important. These give best picture of any place and explains the place in best possible manner.
Lonely Planet Guide India
Inferences:
Mainly a text based travel guide, which is very rich in detailed information about everything in and around the place. It doesn’t have a lot of visuals to support the text. There are itineraries attached to the book, which help in pre-planning of the trip.
Structure:
Visual Language:
The structure of the book is divided in sections. First they introduce the country and then each state. But again the whole picture of the place is not shown. There is section of travelling tips given in the end. Hierarchy of information in sections is not seen. Thus the sections does take you around a place in a sequence or a story.
Very less visual. Maps are only technical and mind maps giving aerial views are not there. Thus becomes very technical and doesn’t give overall feel of the place. The grid of the book is very obvious, which is mainly a 2 column grid and at times 4 column, where the end column is used for small information. There are no visual clues to the section, and one can reach a chapter only by means of content and page number.
24 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Need of structure and story telling of information. Need to relate the information to each other. Essentially for reading, and pre-planning. Need of visuals to give a better perception of the place. No hierarchy in subsections, thus information seems to come in same flow and cant understand the importance of one over other. Overall maps and plans needed. Views and illustrations are essential to make the information more perceivable.
Archeological Guides, Athens Explorer Publication
Inferences:
This is mainly an archeological Guide, which has a different user group and a different purpose. Full of information, the book is for people interested in detail information about architecture of that place.
Structure:
Visual Language:
There are 3 main sections, introduction to the city, a picture essay to the place and then site. These sites are then further divided as to number of sites. The book ends with a photo essay again.
The whole look of the book seem to need a lot of reading. The places are explained in detail. But hierarchy of the matter is not designed. Thus all text flows in same pattern throughout and seems user is reading a novel.
Inside the sections, information is divided in two layers. One main text column runs throughout the book, and second column with other secondary information with related visuals.
The book is visually rich with reference images to all the information. The maps and views are extremely informative and designed as to what information is to be given.
Every place is explained in a hierarchy of information. First overall information and then details are given.
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Structure of the guide differs as to the kind of user and purpose of information. Good maps, plans, views etc make the book very rich in information. They are essential parts of the book. A very good feature of the book is the mind maps in the book. There is always an overall view of the place first given which gives an overall sense of space and then one goes into the place. Appropriate illustrations are used where images are not available. A very clear division of information in 2 sections is done, which helps reader in knowing primary and secondary information.
26 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Why does Kumbakonam need a guide? The city of Kumbakonam is a traditionally rich and important city in the history of India. It has great mythology stories to say and many temples to support them. The culture in the city is full of colours and light. People from all around visit this city for religious purpose. There is rich traditional culture of the city. It is famous for many things like silk, bronze sculpture, brass which is a huge market and attraction to people visiting. Though this is very important town for the traditional crowd of the country, where thousands of people visit this place every year for various reasons. This place has no proper guide to make life easy for the travellers. This guide will help in various manner:
It will become a structured documentation of the place It will make travelling easy for people and their visit and experience better and more informed. It will increase the heritage knowledge and value to the younger generation. They will understand and know about the what they are seeing and get more connected. The tourism of the place will be benefited as the tourist will be better informed and their trip can be well planned. Thus the book should have information about important temples and there working. Important festivals which happen around the year and daily rituals so that one can witness the religious belief people have here. Also it should have important information about purchase of its unique customs.
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28 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Travel Guide for Kumbakonam:
Learning all about Kumbakonam Structuring Visual Language
29 Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
30 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Learning all about Kumbakonam:
Trip in February 2010 Data collection from July to September 2010 Trip in December 2010
Starting with the book, first thing to do was to do was to understand the content of the data. What are different kind of information that goes into a travel guide. And then while structuring the book, the content of the book was generated. As I could not find any travel guide for Kumbakonam, this became an important part of the project and took sometime. There are number of travel and religious sites which give information about the cities and its temples, but it needed to be edited and arranged. Compilation of all the text and finding all related images was a very important work. I had decided on doing around 10 temples, understanding about each temple and putting all matter was done first. Writing the text in a order of hierarchy was done, as to see what comes first and what comes later in your chapter. Lot of matter needed supporting information which was referred from books or Internet. Thus content generation became a very important task, as it gives base to the book. After knowing that I could decide on the size and structure of the book.
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Trip in February 2010:
In February when we went to Kumbakonam as a study trip. There I realized that the town being such an important pilgrimage centre attracted a huge number of people every year. And then because it was also a historical site with very important monuments it attracted tourism from all over. The need of a travel guide was obvious. Then I did my first phase of data collection. We as a class took different projects and collected material related to it individually. I decided to make a travel guide and mainly collected information about the temples. After coming back the guide for the entire town became the guide to one temple. In the process of this exercise a base to the information was collected. I understood the city as a whole, and an overall picture of the city was developed.
Main points about the city It has more than 100 temples in and around. Bronze sculpture from the town is very famous Silk from the town is famous everywhere. Brass and steel utensils are supplied to the entire south from Kumbakonam.
32 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Thus my first data collection was collecting images from everybody, sorting them as to important sections. As a guide to temple, a structure to how a temple should be done as a chapter was also understood.
Data collection in July-September 2010:
When I decided to take Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam as my Project in the third semester, I first sorted the data I had from the previous semester. I collected everything from all my classmates. I mainly built up on the base data with help of web and library. As I started working on the structure of the book, as a whole and its part, I kept on working on the data as the requirement. First task was to make textual content, and collect related images. This was a very long process as there is no existing documentation of the place in proper structure. There is information here and there, which needed structuring and a format in which it was to be told. Thus I made a structure for the chapter and the book and built required textual content. I sorted all the related images and made a list of what was not available.
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Apart from images and text a guide needs Maps, Plans and views of the place and buildings. These were very essential elements of the information. Thus now I had a structured data of text and images which I had to start putting in book format. This would help me understand further gaps in the book. After understanding my gaps I decided to make another trip to Kumbakonam and collect missing information, which was important to complete the guide.
Trip in December 2010:
I made my second trip to Kumbakonam, after figuring out all the gaps in the data. This time I concentrated on what exactly I needed and made a short trip of two days to the town. All missing pictures, maps of the town and required important information about the place from the locals were collected. Thus now my data collection was complete and execution final execution of the book was needed.
Thus now I had filled all the gaps and found the missing links. I concentrated on static information more like information about the temples and history, mythology etc. Information about hotels, restaurants etc is always changing and developing. Thus this can be done in a format which can continue to be edited as and when required.
34 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Structure Design Of the Book Of each Section
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Points considered while structuring the Book:
A guide is used thrice while travelling, for pre-planning the trip, while being in the trip and after the trip. Thus this becomes an important point of consideration while structuring the book. The book should have easy usage during all three acts. Fast and easy access to information becomes another important criterion for structuring. The audience is so large and information so vast that to structure in a manner so that one can very easily get to what he wants to look at becomes important. Hierarchy of information is to be taken care of. To tell the information in correct order of hierarchy, from whole to part so that the user doesn’t get lost and first get the overall information and then taken to details. To make each chapter complete in itself. So the book becomes a compilation of many books. Of I want to extract one of the Temples and make smaller books on each temple I can easily do so.
36 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Structure
Deciding on the structure of the book was the most important part of the book design. I was mainly focusing on this part of the design. There are two phases in structuring the book, once doing the whole book and then doing the sections. It is a book for information and thus is important that information is given in write order, context and hierarchy. Structure of a book becomes the backbone of the book, and set rules about the book which can be followed for other such similar content. A travel Guide is an information design project where the most important work is to design the flow of content. Such a huge and complex structure needed strong relations and connectivity, so that one could see the picture as a whole and in parts.
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38 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Structure of the Book
Guide Content and Structure:
The book is divided into four main sections.
Photo Essay (introduction) Temple town of Kumbakonam Overview
Photo essay: It comes in 2 parts, one to introduce the book in the beginning of the book, and second while finishing the book to show the culture and tradition of the place.
Introduction to town: Gives an overall picture of the city, telling about the place and major important features of the place.
Mythology History Temples Bronze Silk
Temples in Kumbakonam
Temples in and around the town: Temples are the prime important attraction of the town, thus one whole section where each temple is discussed in detail.
In the town Kumbeshwara Saranagapani Someshwara Ramaswamy Nageshwara Mahamaham Tank Kasi Vishvanatha Around the town Airateshwara
Travelling Help line: A separate chapter is given to travelling information, which has all practical information about the place.
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Travel Help line
How to reach Going around in Kumbakonam Where to live What to eat Important numbers
Photo Essay (people and culture) Index
Tamil phrases Acknowledgement
Kumbakonam has more than 100 temples in and around the city. They range from 5th century to 15th century B.C. The most prominent temples are built by the Cholas and Nayakas.
40 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Photo essay: Introduction
The book starts with a picture essay. To set a mood of the place, and giving a brief introduction to the place this picture essay is given in the start of the book. This is structured such that one by one the user gets to know what is the town of Kumbakonam about. Thus from being a Temple town to place to buy silk, it gives a brief idea about what a user can expect inside the book.
People and Culture
While ending the book there is another photo essay. This has pictures and text related to the culture and tradition of the place. There is information about little things that is interesting to know about the people and place. This being an photo essay becomes an interesting read for people which also informs about the general and interesting facts of the place.
Example of Photo essay used in the introduction part of the book.
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Temple Town of
Quick facts:
Introduction
State: District: Coordinates: Main Highway: Altitude: Pincode: STD code:
KumbaKonam
Tamil Nadu Thanjavur 10° 58’ N, 79°23’ E NH 45 C 24m 612001 0435
Highlights The great Kumbha festival known as Mahamagham happens once in 12 years here at Kumbakonam. 100 temples in and around the city. Nerve centre of all the commercial activities like Silk, Bronze sculpture, Brass utensils in Tanjore district.
Names for Kumbakonam : Coombaconum Thirukundanthai Kudanmooku Kudanthai Baskarashetram
Location Kumbakonam is a town in Thanjavur District of Tamil Nadu. Kumbakonam is located 273 km south of Chennai, 90 km east of Tiruchirappalli, and about 40 km north-east of Thanjavur. The town is bounded by two rivers, the Kaveri River on the north and Arasalar river on the south. There is a gentle slope from north of the town to south. Located in the southern region of India in Tamil Nadu, at 10.97 N, 79.38E. 273 km 96 km 40 km 313 km 385 km 18 km 25 km
Kumbakonam, known as the Kashi on Cauvery, is a picturesque temple town located in the Cauvery river basin. It occupies a unique position in Hindu Myth and legend, because of the invaluable inscription, iconography and religious architecture. The city of kumbakonam is a traditionally rich city, where the modern globalization has not yet affected the culture of the people. People here are still in touch to the traditions their ancestors followed many thousands of years ago. Located in the Southern region of Tamil Nadu, one can reach Kumbakonam easily from Tanjavur, Tiruchirapalli or Chennai.
South of Chennai East of Tiruchirappalli. North east of Thanjavur. East of Coimbatore South west of Bangalore Navagraha Sthalas Thirumanancheri
42 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Temple Town of Kumbakonam This is the section where the Town is given a full overview. Thus a person understands where he is going.
Introduction:
The introduction has a basic format, where the city as a whole is first explained. And then in short the entire city is explained with appropriated picture. This explains as a whole everything a user can expect to see about the city. The first 2 pages of the section is of prime importance, as it gives the first impression and a whole picture of he town. Thus there comes the location map and a small introduction paragraph. It has the city map also. Then comes a brief introduction to the whole city talking about its history, mythology, places of visit and other specialities. After the introduction is done, I have talked about the town in detail. Mythology, History, Temple in and around, Bronze, Silk, Brass. Are all explained in the next pages.
Overview of the Town, with location and maps.
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Airavateshvara Temple
Airavateswara Temple
The Vimana over the Sanctum is the most prominent part of the complex. It is 23 mts high and has many important sculptures all around which are also important shrines. There is Sarabeswara and Dakshinamoorthy in the southern , Lingodbhava and Mahishasurmardini in the western and Vishnu Durgai and Brahma in the northern walls of the Vimana.
Southern elevation of the Vimana. The shrines of Dakshinamurthy can be seen.
Sarabeswara:
Dakhshinamoorthy:
Lingodbhava-murti
Siva took the form of Sarabha, a mixture of animals and bird, to kill Narasimha whose anger and ferociousness did not abate after killing Hiranya. The ferocious figure has 8 hands, 2 wide wings, three eyes, a tail and sharp claws. The claws of Sarabha is piercing the stomach of Narasimha. (south side of the Vimana of the Main shrine)
Siva is the great master of Yoga, music, dancing and of other sciences. As a universal teacher, he is called Dakshina-murti. Dakshina means south, and sinca Siva was seated facing the south when he taught the sages, he came to be known by this name. (on south side of the Vimana of the Main shrine)
Siva is carved on the front of the Linga. His leg below the knee is not carved. Brahma appears on Siva’s right, near the top, in the form of a swam (hamsa). Vishnu as a boar is sculptured on the left, at the foot of the Linga. The boar is shown digging into the earth. (on east side of the Vimana of the Main shrine)
Pages Is the Temple section.
44 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Airavateswara Temple
Vimana:
North western view of the shrine. One can understand the huge scale of the structure by seeing human standing near it. Apart from these many more sculpture in stucco can be seen in the first tier of the Vimana.
Temples in and around Kumbakonam
Designing the structure of the temple section
Each section starts with a the most obvious picture of the temple, which can very easily be related to the temple. This being printed in a thicker paper also becomes an easy browsing and marking each chapter.
In this section first task was to decide what are the important temples that I wanted to cover. The town has more than 100 temples in and around, thus it was important to decide the important ones. I listed 6 temples and the Mahamaham tank in the town and 1 temples with the Navgraha route as temples outside.
The first two pages here gives the overall picture of the temple. It gives the first glimpse of the temple. There are highlights about the temple, which tells user what to expect from the place. Then there is a view, giving the mind map of the temple and a sense of the size, and feel of the temple. Location and quick facts about the temple is there and a small introduction.
Points to Remember
Here the most important point to follow is the hierarchy of the content, where the temple is explained from whole to part. Secondly to understand as to how a person visits a temple, and giving information in the same order was important.
Next comes the History/Mythology and Temple Plan, which gives the background of the temple. Then one goes around the temple in sequence of entrance, main shrine, mandapa, prahara and around the temple. Thus as a person goes around a temple the story of the temple is narrated. Secondary information related to the temple, comes along with the main information. The explanation of the iconography, essential parts of the temple culture, people related to the history, stories of mythology and other little interesting facts. Data about the festivals, temple timings, etc which are not static information comes in the end of the chapter
45 Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
By Road
Kumbakonam for itself doesn’t have an airport, but one can fly down to Chennai or Tiruchirappalli which are closest cities to Kumbakonam with airport facilities. These two places are well connected to Kumbakonam by road and rail route both.
Bus: Tamil Nadu state transport corporation buses connect Kumabkonam with almost all cities in Tamil Nadu. Regular buses are available from Trichi, Chidambaram and Chennai to Kumbakonam.
The nearest airport to Kumbakonam is Trichy at distance of 96 km away. Domestic flights operate from this aerodrome. Regular flights are available to Chennai International airport. Taxis are available from Trichy to Kumbakinam and it charges about Rs 1,000.
Every 5 Mins. there is a Bus to Trichy, Tanjore, Mayiladuthurai, Chidambaram, Cuddalore, Mannargudi, Thiruvarur. Tamil Nadu State Transport Corp. and Private buses are running daily To/From Kumbakonam from Trichy,Thanjavur,Mayila duthurai, Mannargudi, Nagapattinam, Neyveli, Villupuram, Coimbatore, Madurai, Erode, Chidambaram, Pondicherry, Cuddalore,Tirunelvelli
The major international airport is at Chennai at distance of 273 km. Prepaid taxi is available from Chennai to Kumbakonam charging about Rs 2,500. Tiruchirappalli Airport(TRZ) Madurai Airport (IXM) Chennai International Airport (MAA) Bengaluru International Airport (BLR)
Domestic Domestic International International
78 km 190 km 243 km 311 km
Taxi: One can hire ac and non ac taxi also to come to Kumbakonam. It is a good option if there is a family or more number of people travelling together. Also if one wants to travel to many places its good to have a booked taxi.
Kumbakonam railhead is connected by trains from Chennai, Quilon, Tirupathi and Rameshwaram. Travellers can use trains to reach this place comfortably from Chennai and other places.
Personal Car: One can also hire a car if wants to explore the place on their own. The distances around are not much and is a good option for a group of people or family trip.
By Rail:
46 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Travelling Helpline
Travelling Helpline
By Air:
Travel Help line
This section deals with all travel related information. This kind of information is not static in nature, and keeps on changing and growing. Also this information is needed for pre planning of trips. This part of information is needed for fast reference and easy sorting. Before and during the trip. Here it is important that the information is given such that sorting and checking becomes easy. Sections to travel help line: How to reach: Moving around Where to stay Where to eat Important numbers Some important travelling tips. There is another Photo Essay that comes after this which tells about people and culture of the place in a more interesting manner rather than textual reading. Finally the Index comes where the Tamil phrase and glossary is lined.
A Section of the travelling section.
47 Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Visual Language of the Book: Form of the Book Kumbakonamness in the Book Design Explorations
In Visual Language we deal with firstly Form of the Book. This is an important design decision and leads to many further technical decisions of grids, type, etc. As an observation, most of the books we see in market don’t have the feel of the content in the design. The same was seen in the guide books as well. The books have no visual feel that connects it to the place it is talking about. This is an important point which I am trying to bring in my guide to Kumbakonam. Thus I will try to make my book have the Kumbakonamness come which the user can relate to every time he opens the book. Also setting of basic rules forms the basic Visual Language one wants to follow. These rules become important because they help the user to access the information fast and have a better sorting of information in correct hierarchy.
49 Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
50 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Form of the Book
The most important point considered while deciding on the form of the Book, was to make its use convenient while travelling. As an observation, we all know that while travelling we carry many things, and guide needs to be such that it can read using only one hand, can be easily pocked or kept in a small hand bag. Size of the Book is taken as 131x 210 mm. Longer in length than in width makes it possible to read from single hand. Thus fixing the length at 210 and getting a golden proportion value for its width got the size of the book. Grid: The size of the book and the content largely guided the decision of grid. I have used 2 column and 3 column grid largely. Sometimes 6 column grid has been used. Typography: Body type- Cambria Headings- Myriad, 13
51 Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Kumbeshwara Temple
Location: Centre of the town, in Big Bazaar.
Highlights:
Deity: Shri Adhi Kumbeswara and the lord’s Consort Manthrapeeteswari Mangalambika
This temple is the namesake of the town. Distinct with its Gopuram (45 m high)
Holy Water: Mangala Theertham Kumbeshwara Temple
Spread in an area of 4 acres, the real spread cannot be felt because of the covered market all around.
Holy Tree: Vanni Maram What Clan: Biggest Saivite temple in town.
Kumbeshwara Temple
KUMBESHWARA TEMPLE
Quick facts:
In the temple town of Kumbakonam the most important temple to visit is the Adi Kumbeshwara. It is the biggest Saivite temple in the town. This temple was built in the Chola period of the Tamil history. It is assumed that present temple is a renovated one during 16th century by the Chieftain of Achutha Nayakar of Thanjavur Govinda Theeksithan. This is a huge temple complex. The temple is situated in the centre of the city, in Big Bazaar. The most prominent feature of the temple is its large Gopuram which is 128’ high. The main diety in the temple is Lord AdiKumbeshwara, and Goddess Mangalambika. The temple covers an area of 30181 sq. ft. with a lenght and breadth of 750 ft. and 252 ft. respectively. Number of festivals are celebrated in this temple all the year around and some annual festivals are grand processions. A very interesting section of the temple is the market in the temple, which is a must visit for all.
Who Build: Built by the Cholas. It is assumed that present temple is a renovated one during 16th century by the Chieftain of Achutha Nayakar of Thanjavur Govinda Theeksithan
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52 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
What is Kumbakonamness??? One main objective in this book design was to make the book look like it belongs to Kumbakonam. The character of the place can be seen in the design of the book. Also the feel and look of the book belongs to the place, thus we can say the book has Kumbakonamness in its design. Kumbakonam for me in words: Colour, Texture, Life, Tradition, Culture, Religion, Old, Small, Hindu, South Indian, Noisy, Crowded, Temples.
Use of elements from the place to add character to the book:
Use of Borders taken from the temples of Kumbakonam, which were painted in bright colours, are used in the page layout. The border on the top keeps on changing to mark change of section. Also the side border changes as the major section changes, with colour of the border. Introduction is in Yellow Temples is in Blue Travel help line is in Red Index in Red Other parts of the border, which one can easily see in the temple, are used in the book The floral motifs which we could see very commonly on the ceilings of the temples, are used for page markers. Colours used in the book are all to suit the character of the place. Use of bright colours like yellow, green, blue is done.
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Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
54 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Design Explorations: Cover Page Other design elements
55 Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Kind of Book Covers Multicover:
Single cover:
Multicover is a concept where the book has number of covers which come one after the other. There is not only one cover page, but the book has many covers . Marg is a good example of such cover. The cover can be of any number from 4 to 8 as to how many important images one wants to show as the introduction of the book.
On the contrary single cover is one single cover for the book which makes the first impression of the book. Most of the books have single cover, travel guides like lonely planet and rouge has single covers. Here we can see that number of books on travel with single cover will have the title and one image peculiar to the place. Also sometimes there are number of images neatly organized in strips to show more places.
Example: Marg
The quarterly magazine of art in India. Here as to issue and number of topics there are number of covers. The cover can be a single image or a collage of many images. The main front cover has the magazine name and themes of the issue, and then there are other pages inside with flowing pictures.
56 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Cover Page: Cover to the book is the face of the book. It is a very important part of any book, as it gives an overview of what to expect inside the book. Books communicate its use, content and user group with help of its cover page. It has the prime market value.
57 Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Cover Page for Travel Guides:
One image is used mostly, which is particular to the place. It might be some structure, animal, landscape, event, people, culture anything else that can be directly related to the place. This is most common practice. Then the name of the place is written in large font, which takes a large space of the cover composition. If there are a set of books, as in number of places from the same publication they will have a basic colour used and a basic design. The picture and its kind will vary. They are usually single covers. Most of the popular guide books series will follow this pattern.
Second method of doing the cover is by putting number of small images in a row, with or without a large main image. This is an attempt to give a glimpse of different things about the city. Picture of food, monument, people, city etc. Here also the name of the place is most important and covers a large area of the page
58 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Then there are a few exception 1. One with no picture at all: It is a blank page in some colour and the name of the place and other details. 2. One might have the map on the cover with images in the map making a collage: 3. With illustration of interesting things from that place, which gives hint of the place: 4. Map of the place with monuments and places shown: 5. Metaphors of travelling used with images from the place:
59 Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Temple town of
60
Ku
Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam, known as Kashi on Cauvery, is a picturesque temple town located in the Cauvery river basin. It occupies a unique position in Hindu Myth and legend, because of the invaluable inscription, iconography and religious architecture. The city of kumbakonam is a traditionally rich city, where the modern globalization has not yet affected the culture of the people. People here are still in touch to the traditions their ancestors followed many thousands of years ago. Kumbakonam is known for its temple architecture and epigraphy. The city originated as a religious city, with areas like Kumbeshwara Temple and Mahamaham Tank in the core of the city. Kumbakonam was the capital of the historically important Chola dynasty who ruled the region during the medieval period.
Temple town of
umbakonam
Temple town of
Temple town of
Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam Temple town of
Kumbakonam
Kumbakonam, known as Kashi on Cauvery, is a picturesque temple town located in the Cauvery river basin. It occupies a unique position in Hindu Myth and legend, because of the invaluable inscription, iconography and religious architecture. The city of kumbakonam is a traditionally rich city, where the modern globalization has not yet affected the culture of the people. People here are still in touch to the traditions their ancestors followed many thousands of years ago. Kumbakonam is known for its temple architecture and epigraphy. The city originated as a religious city, with areas like Kumbeshwara Temple and Mahamaham Tank in the core of the city. Kumbakonam was the capital of the historically important Chola dynasty who ruled the region during the medieval period.
The great Kumbha festival known as Mahamagham happens once in 12 years here at Kumbakonam. 100 temples in and around the city.
Designed by,
Nimisha Drolia VC 2009-11’ IDC, IIT Bombay
Nerve centre of all the commercial activities like Silk, Bronze sculpture, Brass utensils in Tanjore district.
61 Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
ADI KUMBESHWARA
ADI KUMBESHWA A
In the temple town of Kumbakonam the m temple to visit is the Adi Kumbeshwara. It Saivite temple in the town This temple was b period of the Tamil history. It is assumed tha is a renovated one during 16th century by Achutha Nayakar of Thanjavur Govinda The a huge temple complex. The temple is situat of the city, in Big Bazaar. The most promin temple is its large Gopuram which is 128’ h diety in the temple is Lord Adi Kumbeshwa Mangalambika. The temple covers an area with a lenght and breadth of 750 ft. and 252 Number of festivals are celebrated in this tem around and some annual festivals are gran very interesting section of the temple is th temple, which is a must visit for
r This temple is the namesake of the tow r Distinct with its Gopuram (45 m hig r Entrance passageway which functions as a cov
ADI KUMBESHWARA 62 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Other Design Exploration: Number of other elements in the book needed design explorations. One objective of the project to bring the feel of place was important. For that exploration in headers, borders, and colours were made. Even while trying to bring the feel, it was important that the functionality of the book is not compromised with.
ARA RA
most important t is the biggest built in the Chola at present temple the Chieftain of eeksithan. This is ted in the centre net feature of the heigh. The main ara, and Godess of 30181 sq. ft. 2 ft. respectively. mple all the year nd processions. A he market in the r all.
wn. gh) vered market
ADI KUMBESHWARA A RA
ADI KUMBESHWARA A RA
�
� r This temple is the namesake of the town. r Distinct with its Gopuram (45 m high) r Entrance passageway which functions as a covered market
In the temple town of Kumbakonam the most important temple to visit is the Adi Kumbeshwara. It is the biggest Saivite temple in the town This temple was built in the Chola period of the Tamil history. It is assumed that present temple is a renovated one during 16th century by the Chieftain of Achutha Nayakar of Thanjavur Govinda Theeksithan. This is a huge temple complex. The temple is situated in the centre of the city, in Big Bazaar. The most prominet feature of the temple is its large Gopuram which is 128’ heigh. The main diety in the temple is Lord Adi Kumbeshwara, and Godess Mangalambika. The temple covers an area of 30181 sq. ft. with a lenght and breadth of 750 ft. and 252 ft. respectively. Number of festivals are celebrated in this temple all the year around and some annual festivals are grand processions. A very interesting section of the temple is the market in the temple, which is a must visit for all.
In the temple town of Kumbakonam the most important temple to visit is the Adi Kumbeshwara. It is the biggest Saivite temple in the town This temple was built in the Chola period of the Tamil history. It is assumed that present temple is a renovated one during 16th century by the Chieftain of Achutha Nayakar of Thanjavur Govinda Theeksithan. This is a huge temple complex. The temple is situated in the centre of the city, in Big Bazaar. The most prominet feature of the temple is its large Gopuram which is 128’ heigh. The main diety in the temple is Lord Adi Kumbeshwara, and Godess Mangalambika. The temple covers an area of 30181 sq. ft. with a lenght and breadth of 750 ft. and 252 ft. respectively. Number of festivals are celebrated in this temple all the year around and some annual festivals are grand processions. A very interesting section of the temple is the market in the temple, which is a must visit for all.
Quick facts:
Quick facts: Location : Center of the town, in Big Bazaar. God and Goddess: Shri Adhi Kumbeswara and the lord’s Consort Manthrapeeteswari Mangalambika What clan: Biggest Saivite temple in town. Who build : It is assumed that present temple is a renovated one during 16th century by the Chieftain of Achutha Nayakar of Thanjavur Govinda Theeksithan Temple timing: Open 6 am - 12.30 pm and 4 - 8.30 pm
r This temple is the namesake of the town. r Distinct with its Gopuram (45 m high) r Entrance passageway which functions as a covered market
63 Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
Location : Center of the town, in Big Bazaar. God and Goddess: Shri Adhi Kumbeswara and the lord’s Consort Manthrapeeteswari Mangalambika What clan: Biggest Saivite temple in town. Who build : It is assumed that present temple is a renovated one during 16th century by the Chieftain of Achutha Nayakar of Thanjavur Govinda Theeksithan Temple timing: Open 6 am - 12.30 pm and 4 - 8.30 pm
History:
Ramaswamy Koil Of all the temples in Kumbakonam that of Ramaswamy at the south end of the bazaar street is the most important. It shines as an art gallery exhibiting exquisite works of the Naick kings of Tanjore. The Muka mandapa is filled with more than 62 massive sculptures, all illustrating Dasavathara episodes.The prakaras in the inside are adorned with paintings of Ramayana. The coronation scene in this temple is the prime attraction of the pilgrims.
The story of the erection of this Rama temple is an interesting one. Raghunath, who ruled Tanjore from 1614 – 1640 A.D. was a devotee of Rama. Once he dug a tank in Darasuram, which is west of Kudandai, and while digging he found the idols of Rama and Sita. That tank can still be seen on the border of Darasuram and is called Rama’s tank. Inspired by the discovery of these idols, the king with the help of Govinda Dikshatar caused temples of Rama to be built in three places Kudandai, Srirangam and Rama Sethu,of which that at Kudandai achieved fame by its sculpture.
Lord Rama : Main Diety of the temple, is one of the most popular incarnations of Vishnu. Seen here in tribhanga pose with arrow in the right hand and bow in the left
Only sthala where one can see Rama and Sita on the same pedestal.
Varadaraja: Vishnu riding on his vehicle Garuda, with eight hands carrying emblems. Vishnu as the bestower of boons and benefactor.
Achuthappa Nayak (1560-1614) Ragunatha Nayak (1600–1634) (He is regarded as the greatest in the Thanjavur Nayak dynasty. He is famous for his patronage of literature other scholarly research.) Vijaya Raghava Nayak (1633–1673)
RAMASWAMY TEMPLE Introduction: Of all the temples in Kumbakonam that of Ramaswamy at the south end of the bazaar street is the most important. It shines as an art gallery exhibiting exquisite works of the Naick kings of Tanjore. The Muka mandapa is filled with more than 62 massive sculptures,all illustrating Dasavathara episodes. The prakaras in the inside are adorned with paintings of Ramayana. The coronation scene in this temple is the prime attraction of the pilgrims.
You may want to know ?
Quick facts:
108 Sivacharyas with names for some are found.
Location: Almost in the centre of the town, at the southeastern part of ‘porthmarai kulam’ which is near the big street.
Representation of the 63 Nayanmars illustrating some event in their life.
Deity: Has a unique idol in the form of Lord Rama and his consort Sita in the Pattabhishekam Posture.
Mandapa with more than 62 massive sculptures, all illustratin Dasavathara episodes.
Ramaswamy
Sevappa Nayak (1532-1580)
It is listed with other two great Chola temples as world heritage monuments.
3 Important points:
The prakaras in the inside are adorned with paintings of Ramayana.
Nayak Kings of Thanjavur
Pattabhishekam: Scene of coronation of Lord Rama where He is seated with his consort Sita onequal pedestal. One can also see His three brothers Lakhshman, Bharat and Shatrughan standing beside him and Hanuman with a veena in hand singing in praise of the Lord.
Navanita-Nritta-Murti: Dancing with joy. Krishna as youth.
Coronationa scene of Lord Rama, with Sita, his three brothers Lakhshman, Bharat and Shatrughanand and Hanuman.
What Clan: Vaishnavite Temple Who Build: King Raghunatha Naicka, who ruled Tanjore from1614 – 1640 A.D. built this temple. Govinda Dikshita,a minister of this king was instrumental in erecting this edifice. Temple Timing: Open 6 am- 12 noon and 4-9 pm.
Entire deity is said to be made from Saligrama monolith. The Salagrama Shila or Saligrama Stones are the embodiment of Lord Vishnu. It is usually black in color with the symbol of sudarshana chakra. The chakras can be seen both outside and inside. It is found only at Gandaki River situated high in the Himalayas in Nepal. It is believed that the chakra symbols are formed by river worms called Vajra Keeta. It is believed that these wormsdrill the stones, get inside and use the stones a dwelling place.
Varadaraja: Vishnu riding on his vehicle Garuda, with eight hands carrying emblems. Vishnu as the bestower of boons and benefactor.
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September 2010
October 2010
64 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Design Development: Design keeps on developing, with change of content, structuring and other factors. For me this being first experience with book design the difference can be seen in a larger scale. Also structure of the chapters decide the what matter should come first and what later. This also affected the design decisions.
Sevappa Nayak (1532-1580) Achuthappa Nayak (1560-1614) Ragunatha Nayak (1600–1634) (He is regarded as the greatest in the Thanjavur Nayak dynasty. He is famous for his patronage of literature other scholarly research.) Vijaya Raghava Nayak (1633–1673)
Quick facts: Location: Almost in the centre of the town, at the southeastern part of ‘porthmarai kulam’ which is near the big street. Pattabhishekam: Scene of coronation of Lord Rama where He is seated with his consort Sita on equal pedestal. One can also see His three brothers Lakhshman, Bharat and Shatrughan standing beside him and Hanuman with a veena in hand singing in praise of the Lord.
Deity: Has a unique idol in the form of Lord Rama and his consort Sita in the Pattabhishekam Posture. What Clan: Vaishnavite Temple Who Build: King Raghunatha Naicka, who ruled Tanjore from1614 – 1640 A.D. built this temple. Govinda Dikshita, a minister of this king was instrumental in erecting this edifice. Temple Timing: Open 6 am- 12 noon and 4-9 pm.
Ramaswamy Temple Of all the temples in Kumbakonam that of Ramaswamy at the south end of the bazaar street is the most important. It shines as an art gallery exhibiting exquisite works of the Naick kings of Tanjore. The Muka mandapa is filled with more than 62 massive sculptures, all illustrating Dasavathara episodes. The prakaras in the inside are adorned with paintings of Ramayana. The coronation scene in this temple is the prime attraction of the pilgrims.
Quick facts: Location: Almost in the centre of the town, at the southeastern part of ‘porthmarai kulam’ which is near the big street. Deity: Has a unique idol in the form of Lord Rama and his consort Sita in the Pattabhishekam Posture. What Clan: Vaishnavite Temple Who Build: King Raghunatha Naicka, who ruled Tanjore from1614 – 1640 A.D. built this temple. Govinda Dikshita,a minister of this king was instrumental in erecting this edifice. Temple Timing: Open 6 am- 12 noon and 4-9 pm.
Varadaraja: Vishnu riding on his vehicle Garuda, with eight hands carrying emblems. Vishnu as the bestower of boons
RAMASWAMY TEMPLE Highlights: It is listed with other two great Chola temples as world heritage monuments. 108 Sivacharyas with names for some are found. Representation of the 63 Nayanmars illustrating some event in their life.
Ramaswamy Temple
Nayak Kings of Thanjavur
Ramaswamy Temple
History: The story of the erection of this Rama temple is an interesting one. Raghunath, who ruled Tanjore from 1614 – 1640 A.D. was a devotee of Rama. Once he dug a tank in Darasuram, which is west of Kudandai, and while digging he found the idols of Rama and Sita. That tank can still be seen on the border of Darasuram and is called Rama’s tank. Inspired by the discovery of these idols, the king with the help of Govinda Dikshatar caused temples of Rama to be built in three places Kudandai, Srirangam and Rama Sethu, of which that at Kudandai achieved fame by its sculpture.
Of all the temples in Kumbakonam that of Ramaswamy at the south end of the bazaar street is the most important. It shines as an art gallery exhibiting exquisite works of the Naick kings of Tanjore. The Muka mandapa is filled with more than 62 massive sculptures,all illustrating Dasavathara episodes. The prakaras in the inside are adorned with paintings of Ramayana. The coronation scene in this temple is the prime attraction of the pilgrims.
You may want to know ? It is the only sthala where one can see Rama and Sita on the same pedestal. The Mandapa has more than 62 massive sculptures, all illustrating episodes of Dasavathara The prakaras in the inside are adorned with paintings of Ramayana.
Lord Vishnu: He is the protector God. Of the three gods of the Hindu Triad, his followers are called Vaishnavites. Lord Rama is the seventh incarnation of Vishnu.
Entire deity is said to be made from Saligrama monolith. The Salagrama Shila or Saligrama Stones are the embodiment of Lord Vishnu. It is usually black in color with the symbol of sudarshana chakra. The chakras can be seen both outside and inside. It is found only at Gandaki River situated high in the Himalayas in Nepal. It is believed that the chakra symbols are formed by river worms called Vajra Keeta.It is believed that these wormsdrill the stones, get inside and use the stones a dwelling place
Entire deity is said to be made from Saligrama monolith. The Salagrama Shila or Saligrama Stones are the embodiment of Lord Vishnu. It is usually black in color with the symbol of sudarshana chakra. The chakras can be seen both outside and inside. It is found only at Gandaki River situated high in the Himalayas in Nepal. It is believed that the chakra symbols are formed by river worms called Vajra Keeta. It is believed that these worms drill the stones, get inside and use the stones a dwelling place.
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66 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
My Journey through the Project: Every project is about Good Result and Personal Learning. The project result will always vary from one person to another, depending on his experience and background. The process of learning is as important as the final product. It tells about a persons growth and capacity to learn. This project being my first in Book Design and Information Design was great learning experience. From learning technical details of grid, layout, typography to understanding content design, information structure and finally management of projects as big as this where in a real situation many people will be working together, it was all a great experience.
67 Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
My Journey through the Project:
February
July
August
September
Content generations Structuring Layout and execution
68 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
October
November
December
Personal Learning: My primary learning from the project is how to structure complex and vast data. The main focus of understanding how to do Complex Information Design is achieved here. To understand hierarchy of information and telling it in right order and sequence. Learning how to do a book design. I learnt the basics of any book design, that is use of grids, typography, image setting etc from this project. Doing a good layout, understanding of how to deal with space in a book design and getting more sensitive about the arrangement of elements on the white space of the book. How to manage with number of elements in a project. This project had many elements. Text, images, maps, illustrations, thus to manage and coordinate all the elements is an important learning. How to manage a project with extensive content. Thus how to sort and manage project data. In a project of this kind a very important learning is to plan and schedule out your work. There have been many failures but it is a learning as to how to plan a project. I learnt a very important software called InDesign while doing this project. Using XMind I made my work schedule, and it helped me overview my work. Also other software like Photoshop, Auto cad were used.
69 Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
70 Guide to Temple Town of Kumbakonam
Bibliography: Text Books:
Web References:
- V.Narayanaswamy, Kumbakonam, Pathippu Chemmal, 2nd Edition- December, 2008. - R. S. Gupte, Iconography of the Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, D. B. Taraporevala Sons & Co. Private Ltd, 2nd Edition, 1980. -‘07 Batch, M.Arch Urban Design Studio, Report on Kumbakonam_the temple city, The Cauvery Delta Studio 2, School of Architecture - RV College of Engineering, Feb - March 2008. - Ramanathan, Ramiya, Guidebook for Chennai, Mumbai : IIT, 2001 -Sandee Cohen, Visual Quickstart Guide, Indesign CS4, for Macintosh and Windows, Peachpit Press. -Josef Muller-Brockmann, Grid Systems in graphic design, Heer Druck AG, 5th edition 2007.
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Visual Communication 2009-11, Project 2 | Industrial Design Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay