Old political nerve centre goes dormant

MADURAI: Till 2000, the lanes in Maina Teppakulam, near the East Gate, witnessed intense political activity ahead of election. Four lanes known as Maina Teppakulam, situated in the heart of the city off Kamarajar Salai, used to stage political meetings. Stalwarts of Tamil Nadu politics as well as former Kerala chief ministers E M S Namboodiripad and E K Nayanar have addressed meetings here.
N Nanmaran, veteran CPM functionary and former Madurai East MLA, recalled that EMS and Nayanar addressed meetings at Maina Teppakulam seeking support for CPM. "It was the most prominent place during election times as leader after leader spoke here," he said.
K S Karl Marx, 71-year-old city Congress vice-president, stays near Maina Teppakulam. He recalled that the place had several trees and a small pond half a century ago. "It was a venue for election and political meetings from those days. The stage used to be set on Maina Teppakulam lanes towards Kamarajar Salai. M G R, M Karunanidhi and present chief minister J Jayalalithaa have addressed followers from this place," he said.
The place derived its name from a non-existent pond. Several trees here used to be the home for birds, Marx observed, while adding that Maina Teppakulam lost its earlier significance after 2000 when the venue of political meetings was shifted to less crowded areas. However, R Sivakumar of DHAN Foundation, who has documented the water bodies of Madurai, said that it was named after Nayak King Thirumalai as Nayunu Teppakulam. The king's actual name was Thirumalai Savuri Nayunu Ayyalukaru and the water body should have been created during his rule between 1623 and 1659 AD. It should have been within the premises of Nayak Palace which was far bigger than its present area now, he said.
"Thirumalai Nayak was known for developing water bodies in and around Madurai. The renowned Mariamman Teppakulam was created by him. A foreign missionary named Taylor has made some notes on Maina Teppakulam stating that King Thirumalai Nayak, along with his courtiers, used to go for evening walks around this pond which also had a beautiful garden," Sivakumar said.
From Nayunu Teppakulam, the name changed to Naina Teppakulam and later to Maina Teppakulam. It has no connection to birds as is believed. Though, Thirumalai Nayak created many water bodies, this teppakulam was the only one named after him. Like many other water bodies in the city, it too vanished with the time, Sivakumar added.