Gangaikonda Cholapuram in Ariyalur district in Tamil Nadu wore a festive look on Saturday, a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to the ancient capital of the imperial Cholas built by Emperor Rajendra Chola I.
The village and the Brihadisvara Temple, situated along the Tiruchi-Chidambaram National Highway, has been decked up with flags and garlands to welcome the Prime Minister, who will participate in the valediction of the Aadi Thiruvathirai festival marking the birth anniversary of Rajendra Chola I.
Mr. Modi will release a commemorative coin in honour of the king, accepting a request made by R. Komagan, Chairman of the Gangaikondacholapuram Development Council Trust.
The king had built Gangaikonda Cholapuram along with the Brihadisvara Temple and the Cholagangam, a massive lake, after his victorious expedition to the Gangetic plains about 1,000 years ago.
Reaffirming the Chola capital’s link to the river, Mr. Modi would hand over a pot of water brought from the river Ganga to the temple priests. “The Prime Minister will hand over the pot brought from Varanasi to the Sivachariars of the temple to perform abishekam,” Mr. Komagan told The Hindu.
