Tiruchirapalli Rockfort Pendant Necklace

In my post on picturesque picture jewellery, I defined what the term picturesque meant in colonial India and how such images were used to create picture jewellery in the 19th century. Picturesque picture jewellery were those jewellery pieces/sets that were created using picturesque paintings. The earliest records of Indian picturesque picture jewellery can be seen in the Journal of Indian art – Jewellery, compiled by Sir Thomas Holbein Hendley, between 1906-09. It shows an image of the Rockfort temple at Tiruchirappalli set in a cannetille setting as a brooch. It is presumed to have been made after the Great Exhibition of 1851.

As this brooch connects picture jewellery – my area of research and Trichy, the city of my younger self, it is of immense significance to me. Finding it in the journal was like a sign from the Universe – asking me to keep going forward.

Rockfort, Tiruchirapplli

The Rockfort Temple, located in Tiruchirapalli/Trichy/Trichinopoly (Colonial name), Tamil Nadu, India, is an iconic and picturesque temple complex. Also, used as a fort complex during a war, it stands atop a massive rock formation. This 273-foot high rock known as the “Malai Kottai” or “Rock of Ucchi Pillayar.” is 3.8 billion years old, making it older than the Himalayas. The fort and the temple were built by the Pallavas, then Nayakas and eventually used by the British.

Malai Kottai Ucchi Pillaiyar

The temple complex primarily consists of three main shrines—one dedicated to Lord Ganesha (known locally as Ucchi Pillayar), second to other to Lord Shiva as Thayumanavar or Mathrubutheswarar (The God who became a mother) and the third at the foothills to Lord Ganesha once again as Maanika Vinayagar. It also has two rock cut Pallava caves (upper and lower caves) operated by ASI.

The climb to the top involves a series of steep steps carved into the rock, offering breathtaking panoramic views of the city and the surrounding landscape. The site is referenced in the epic Ramayana as a mound where Ganesha tricked Vibhishana (Ravana’s brother) to lay down a shrine and a pot of water (Kamandala) that he was carrying. The place where he kept the shrine later becomes Srirangam, the prima donna of Vaishnavite shrines in India and the water flowing from the pot carved the path for river Kaveri to flow.

Rockfort Bell

The bell tower (seen right above the modern off-white building in the photo on the left below) and the bell it contained holds a personal significance for family. The bell had developed massive cracks due to which it remained unused for decades. Then in 1999, my father and his crew of welders built a furnace on top of the Rockfort and repaired the bell. It chimed on January 1st, 2000 to welcome the new millennium. Every evening around 6 PM, you could watch the sun set, as the local mosque gave a call to prayer, the temple bell stuck atop Rockfort and the church bell at the Our Lady of the Lourdes Church at the St. Joseph college, bringing about communal and religious harmony. Those sounds are a testament to the hard work of thousands of people who plan, build, maintain and restore such monuments. People whose names do not even figure in the footnotes of history.

Main guard gate

The Rockfort Temple is bordered by the teppakulum, temple tank (see in the photos) and the Chinna Kadai veedhi (small market street). Situated about 18-20 km from where I used to live, this was the place that we went to for shopping. Clothes, jewellery (fine and costume), vessels and even Ayurvedic medicines were bought here. Shopping always ended with a snack or dinner at the new (now demolished) “New Vasantha Bhavan.” I always ordered Parotta with onion raita and my parents would at times have ice cream at the parlour below the restaurant. Due to my recurrent throat infections, I was forbidden from having some. I would be pacified with earrings, slippers, handkerchiefs or even underwear that matched my new dress at footpath stores nearby.

There was a book house near the tank where I would get study guides for all subjects from Mathematics to Hindi. Next to it came up a store where I, as a 16-17 year old first experienced a store executive taking me through a fashion catalogue. It left a lasting impact on me and I recollect that experience each time I teach a catalogue styling class.

Though this area was a big part of my life I never had any photos of it. Therefore, when I had the opportunity to visit the place in 2023 (in September and December) I photographed. In 2024, when I looked at the photos of the Rockfort, it dawned on me that I could make a pendant or a brooch that held my memories.

Pendant to Book chapter

The Tiruchirapalli Rockfort pendant, initially meant for personal use and for a blog post, prompted me to look at how memories of a place were framed. It grew into a research paper that presented at the FTSC conference in 2024 organised by Woxen University. Titled “Framing cultural memories as Picture jewelry,” it is now chapter 9 in “Cultural Heritage in the Fashion Industry: From Tradition to Innovation in India” published by Routledge. You can find a major portion of the chapter in the Google books preview here.

While the chapter looks at representing individual and collective memories as jewellery, this post elaborates the making of the Tiruchirapalli Rockfort Pendant Necklace.

Tiruchirapalli Rockfort Pendant Necklace

Since I wanted to move away from a Colonial perspective to create this pieces, I experimented with various compositions and a variety beads. I wanted to show the vibrancy of the place in a manner that lets the pendant shine.

Several iterations later, I chose a combination of wooden, acrylic, glass and fabric beads and strung them together to create the final design.

The Rockfort is not only a religious site but also a symbol of the cultural heritage of Tiruchirapalli. It has stood witness to centuries of history and continues to be a focal point for festivals, rituals, and cultural events.

It is beacon of solace to people like me who have left the geographical bounds of the city for our livelihoods but continue to hold it in our minds and our hearts.

With this, I say goodbye to 2025 and I will meet you in 2026. Wishing you a wonderful New year!

I hope you find it interesting

Cheers