12th Pechu Kacheri on archaeological expeditions held

CHENNAI: The 12th edition of Pechu Kacheri, an annual event organised by Tamil Heritage Trust, was held in Kotturpuram on Saturday and Sunday. The event, titled ‘Tholliyal Kappiyam’, was based on the archaeological expeditions of Tamil Nadu, comprising talks and discussions on overall perspective and specific site findings.

Experts spoke about Tamil Nadu's history, ancient ports and trade, economics and wealth, women's cultural lives, and experience of expeditions like Keeladi and Gangaikondacholapuram.

During the interactive sessions, the trust member discussed with the speakers the specific methodology and details involved in their work.

V Vedachalam, epigraphist, spoke about his experiences during the expeditions in Keeladi.

"Every year, we conduct a programme called Pechu kacheri. When music and dance are exhibited, we want to exhibit other aspects of heritage. We had topics like Pandyas, Cholas, Kalinga, Vijayanagara, Pallavas in the past. This year, it was decided to concentrate on Tamil Nadu,” said H Gowri, an organiser.

"This is the first time we got a complete set of professionals who have worked on the actual excavations to talk. Whenever there is an excavation, findings and everything associated with it is widely documented and circulated everywhere, but we felt the actual experience of the person who works on the site gets largely ignored,” said T Ravisankar, another organiser.