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| British built Old Thanjavur collectorate, Thanjavur flicker.com |
Standing elegantly on the Court road (also called Kutchery road), close to district Tasildar's office and old district court buildings Thanjavur, is an impressive colonial building that was built in Indo-Saracenic architecture. This style was widely popularized by the British architect Robert Chisholm (11 January 1840 – 28 May 1915) who had built a number of structures blending Indian elements with European features in Madras (Chennai). Examples are: the Senate building, univ. of Madras, Presidency College, Chepauk Palace, etc. The collectorate structure built in 1896 served as a the HQ of composite Thanjavur district as well as the present bifurcated district. Since 1896 till June 2015 it had continuously served as the Collectorate office with collector's official room on the first floor overlooking the front open yard and the main road.
The Thanjavur (Tanjore) Maratha dynasty that had been ruling the delta region for a long period had internal squabbles over the successor to the throne. When Shivaji II (1832–55), the last Thanjavur Maratha ruler, died without a legitimate male heir, the political scenario became more complicated. In 1787, Amar Singh, the regent of Thanjavur, became greedy and deposed the minor Raja, his nephew Serfoji II (1787–93) and captured the throne. However, Serfoji II was restored in 1799 with the assistance of the East India company. During this tumultuous period Fr. Christian Friedrich Schwarz, Danish missionary, who had a close relationship with the British was of great help to the Martha ruler. The British made him relinquish the administration of the kingdom and left him in charge of Thanjavur fort and surrounding areas and they put the rest of the area under their administration. The wily British who had an eye on the fertile delta region finally took over the kingdom unethically using the Doctrine of Lapse (introduced by Lord Dalhousie) as a ruse. Upon the death of last ruler in 1841 without heir, the Thanjavur fort was also annexed by the British and it became part of the then Madras, Presidency Till his death the Maratha ruler had limited administrative powers and the British kept him in check.
Details are not available where the district collectorate HQ had functioned during the early period. However, from the year 1799 onward, the district collectors had begun to administer the delta region. From 1799 to 1804 one Charles Harris was the district collector, followed by John cotton briefly (1984) and later J. Wallace (1804 to 1811). Invariably, most of the collectors in the later years had to pass a tough civil exam held in England to become ICS (Imperial Civil Service later known as Indian Civil Service) officers (now it is IAS). According to the 1871 India census, Tanjore had a population of 52,171, making it the third largest city in the Madras Presidency.
At a time when monuments and heritage structures are relegated to the back stage to be either demolished later or earmarked for complete restructuring, I am glad the beautiful collectoerate building is well preserved and repaired to run a museum there. The history of a place will never get lost if we preserve and protect the heritage buildings for the posterity. A proposal was made in June 2021 to convert the main collectorate building into a mega museum to attract more tourists. A sum of Rs 9.9 crore was allotted to carry out major repair works without damaging the heritage value of this structure. Since June 2015 the new District Collectorate has been functioning close to the Tamil University just off the Thanjavur-Thiruchi express way. Space-crunch was the main reason in the old collectorate building.
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| Indo-Saracenic style. Thanjavur collectorate, Thanjavur dtnext.in |
An excellent example of Indo-Saracenic building in this part of Tamil Nadu made of bricks and ground lime-mortar with thick walls and high ceilings, this single-story structure has three onion-shaped domes, center being bigger than the other two. The rounded arched windows around the façade of the building and the arched porch get the attention of the visitors. The doorways are large and tall, many doors are louvered. I find it difficult to get the architect's name, however, whoever designed it, he used ingenuity in designing it. Taking the hot weather into account in this part of delta area, he not only designed high ceilings with girders to support the Madras terraced roof but also introduced louvered wooden doors to keep the inner place cool. Such doors provide superior air flow due to their design; warm or cool air travels between rooms, even when the door is shut. As you find pots (kumbam or kalasam ) atop the temple towers (gopurams), the three domes in the front have small decorative pots at the center - a typical Indian style. The Chhajja below the central dome is a bit prominent. But the stone brackets -c orbels all along the edge of the first floor roof are closely spaced and visible. A spiral stairway with decorative rails connects the upper levels. The central open hall is fairly spacious and the various departments used to function in the rooms around the hall. Plans are afoot to introduce toy trains and Sound and Light show in the future.
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| View from the road. Thanjavur collectorate covaipost.com |
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| Thanjavur collectorate in 2016 in bad shape.covaipost.com |
Steeped in history, this British-built heritage structure is a landmark in the old part of Thanjavur and gives character and aesthetics to this old city. A legacy of British India, it was a silent spectator during the freedom struggle, particularly when the salt satyagraha yatra was held under late Rajaji (C. Rajagopala Chari former CM and first Gov. General of India) and other freedom fighters in April 1930 from Trichinopoly to Vedaranyam ( coastal area in Nagapattinam district) via Thanjavur District (then Madras Presidency). It was from this Collector's office J. A. Thorne, rude but duty-bound district collector of Tanjore, issued a stern warning ''that those who provide food and accommodation to the marchers shall be punished.'' He tried his best by widely publicizing his order throughout his jurisdiction through notices and public announcements (locally called Thandora). This collectorate functioned both under the British Raj and also under the Indian Union. Then Tamil Nadu was part of Madras Presidency. It was in 1954, effective and energetic Collector T. K Palaniappan kept the composite district in good shape and conducted a major government exhibition in the summer of 1955, if I remember rightly, The venue was the palace grounds including the play ground once used by St. Peter's High School and also V.H School. The exhibition with lots of shops, etc.,was a big success and lots of people from various parts of the district visited it. The exhibition was educative as well.
The proposed museum in the main hall will have a host of facilities, including a 5D theatre to exhibit the grandeur of Thanjavur and will carry artifacts, etc., of heritage value. The museum will be beneficial to the children and for the elders it will give them a break from the mere mundane existence. This improvement is part of smart city mission of the central government.
Tit-bits:
Indo-Saracenic architecture:
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| Ujjain Collectorate, Madhya Pradesh, districts.ecourts.gov.in |
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| Ujjain Collectorate, Madhya Pradesh. indiasthan.com |
Above images: Indo-Saracenic architecture. Ujjain Collectorate. look at the the three onion-shaped domes and the large doors in the front. This collectorate building (also called Vikramaditya kothi) in the historical city of Ujjain , Madhya Pradesh has close similarity with Thanjavur old collectorate building. At Ujjain there is a stairway on either side in the front to access the first floor. The building itself is much wider than the one at Thanjavur. Chhaija and hanging eaves are quite visible in the facade of the building on the first floor....................
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| Indo-Saracenic style.Senate House, U. of Madras, Chennai. |
Indo-Saracenic architecture (also known as Indo-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal, or Hindoo style) was more or less a revival architecture mostly used by British architects in India in the later 19th century. They used this design particularly in large public and government buildings in the British Raj with fine decorations and attractive architectural elements to get the attention. Many rich Indian Maharajahs also followed this style with embellishments when they built their palatial palaces to establish their pride and status as a Princely State ruler. Part of inspiration was from Mogul and Indo Islamic architecture mostly followed in the northern states. It was blended with western classical features. Good examples are the High Court buildings in Chennai, Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata, Chhtrapathi Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria terminus) building, Mumbai, Napier Museum, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, etc. The main features of Indo-Saracenic style are: onion (bulbous) domes, pointed arches, cusped arches, or scalloped arches Chhajja, overhanging eaves, often supported by conspicuous brackets. Pinnacles, towers or minarets may be included for decorative purposes. This style was popularized in Madras by Robert Chisholm, British architect who was in great demand in India then, particularly among the Maharajahs of the princely states ............. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Saracenic_architecture)
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