Location: [Note: CoordiNates 11 848 N 79 3944 e] Anathandavapuram

is an village located in

Mayiladuthrai taluk , Nagapattinam district, Tamil nadu. The nearest town is Mayiladuthurai which is located 5kms to the south. The village is so well connected to the other parts of Tamil nadu through bus and train services. The village is famous for its small railway station which is located within the limits of the village. From this village we can take direct trains to Chennai, Thiruchirapalli, Thanjavur, Chidambaram, Vaitheeswaran temple etc. The village is famous for its perumal , siva (Panchavatiswarar temple) & VerrappaSwamy temple.
The name anathandavapuram:

Once upon a time there was a hermit by the name Ananda. He was a devout Saivite. Being

a person of yogic abilities, he would go to any shrine of Shiva of his choice flying through the sky. Daily he used to go to Rameswaram by air to take a bath in the sea and then go to Chidambaram from there again by air. From Chidambaram, he used to go to Mahendramalai for meditation. This had become his daily routine. By night he would return to his village of Anandathandavapuram. This was going on for quite some time. One cold morning Lord Shiva decided to test his devotee. It was Thiruvathirai, an auspicious day for Shiva puja and all the Shiva temples wore a festive look. Ananda was about to leave for his daily routine when the skies poured out. Rain started lashing and it didnt stop and the hermit couldnt use his yogic abilities too on this day. The rain didnt stop even at night and Ananda couldnt have a glimpse of his Lord the whole day. He was very angry too with nature for having spoilt

his day. Immediately, he decided to end his life as he couldnt have darshan of the Lord that day. As he was about to kill himself, Shiva and his consort appeared before him and also danced for him, the ananda thandavam (Happy Dance). Since Shiva danced in this village, it got is present name of Anandathandavapuram, a.k.a Anathandapuram.

EVOLUTION:

The evolution and settlement of the village is based upon the temples located here, people from various parts of Tamil nadu moved down to Anathandavapuram as a main reason for the location of the sthalam Sri Panchavatiswarar temple. Its believed from the holy puranas that this is one of the places where lord shiva had performed his holy dance. The settlement of the village is also

based upon the temples. There is also a Perumal temple located here, the Brahmins mainly belonging to the vaishnavite class have settled around the temple forming the AGRAHARAM which means a garland of flower. The Siva temple is surrounded by the group of people belonging to the sivate class. Thus all most the whole population of the village is evolved due to the location of the Sthalam- temple.
HISTORY: Revolutionary Thamizh Composer

Gopalakrishna Bharathi born in a traditional Brahmin family in the village Narimanam, near Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu), now famous for its natural gas resources, Gopalakrishna Bharati had enormous musical ability inherited from his father Ramaswami Bharati. In the years of childhood education, he learnt Sanskrit and perhaps the knowledge of Sanskrit classics and dramas provided him the expertise in portraying the various

characters of the dance-drama. Gopalakrishna Bharati lived in Mudikondan village, near Nannilam for a brief period. He also served at the Sri Saraswathi Temple at Koothanur village. Later, when he moved to Anandathandava puram, near Mayavaram, Annoo Iyer, a local good samaritan supported him and his stay in the village for a long period. Bharati considered Govindasivam, also called Govinda yati his philosophical guru under whom he learnt vedantas and yoga shastras. He trained in music under the veteran Ghanam Kishna Iyer and learnt Hindustani music from another exponent, RamdasThere was one man who chose to compose in thamizh. And he did it brilliantly. That was Gopalakrishna Bharati. There may be hardly any rasikas who have not soaked in the musical opera, Nandanar Charitram. The story of Thirunalaipovar from Sekkizhar's Periya puranam was the inspiration. It is the story of a devotee of lord Shiva, who belonged to the community of the

'untouchables' for whom the nandi at Tiruppunkur gave way for shiva darshanam. He was later accepted by the priests of the temple as a real worshipper and finds a place among the 63 nayanmars. When Bharati saw a sculpture of this saint at the Nataraja temple in Chidambaram (Tamil Nadu), he was inspired and he went on to write the Nandanar Charitram at the request of Nagai Kandappa Chettiar.
Demographics:

Anathandavapuram is a village comprising of an total population of 3560 with 1796 males and 1762 females and comprises about 2180 houses of various forms. The sex ration was 982 and the literacy rate 76.4.
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE VILLAGE:

The study on the village was conducted by dividing it into 4 wards as an objective to make an detailed and accurate study of every parts of the village & every single group was further sub divided into four groups to make

a detailed brief of the Physical,Technical,Social & the Visual aspects of every individual wards. There were several methods of studies involved in collecting and comparing the details as to the standards and a detailed inference was also submitted.. The physical aspects comprised of the total physical layout of the village including the landmarks and facilities provided. The technical aspects comprised of the classification of households based on the type of construction and materials used and a detailed technical elaboration of every single architectural element with magnified details of them. The social aspects __ comprised of the detailed study on the traditional, social and economical values which gives and detailed study of the class of people, the rate of literacy and occupancy, the annual

income based on the job and several other activities which was carried on to their day to day life which had a major influence on the pattern of settlement. The visual aspects __ comprised of an elaborated study on the visual effect thats created on the mind of the people at the first look. The only base line is that a form or a design must be done in such a way that any one of any knowledge could understand what it depicts rather than creating a illusion in mind. art is all about understanding than that of elaborating.

Overview of the village: People:

There is a total population of 3560 comprising of 1795 males and 1764 females. The major population of the village are

Hindus and a very few Christians. The settlement of the village is based on the caste of the people, people belonging to the same cast are put up on a particular location and follow almost a similar kind of settlement in housing patterns.
Occupation:

The rate of literacy level is better when compared to the other villages in general as people here have at least done with a minimal of primary schooling. As to the level of literacy many people have a proper occupation based upon their educational qualification and ther is no much opportunity available in the local so people travel from the village to the other part of the thaluks for their day today work. Other than this the local occupations are farming, masonry works, 100 days works and other localised self employments. There is only a minimal of 2-3% of below average families thats with no proper income.

Housing patterns:

The most notable housing type is the Agraharam houses, other than which Tatch houses , Mud houses, Concrete houses are found. People here are settled in various types of housing as to their economical aspects.
Facilities:

The people in this village enjoy all the facilities like residents of Big Towns. Apart from the temples and the Railway Station they have a POST OFFICE, GOVT SCHOOL, PHARMACY with DOCTOR Consultation and a good GROCERIES shop at the Agraharam. There are also proper water and electricity supply to the village and there are three ponds in the village. There are three main temples The perumal temple, Sri Panchavatiswarar temple & Ayyanar temple. Not only the residents of the village visit the temple but people from various parts visited the temples. Other than these there

are also post office, panchayat office, ration shop, library, other than the ponds there are also two water tanks.
Festivals:

Other than the usual festivals like diwali, pongal, karthigai is also celebrated in a special way ,margali thiruvila is an impotant festival for them as its the month during wich the music festival is conducted in a large scale in remembrance of Sri Gopalakrishna Bharathi, famous musicians from all over Tamil nadu come and participate in this festival. other than all this temple festivals are also carried out in a large scale, there is one special activity also a festival, in the pond next to the siva temple fishing is carried out and on the same day the caught fish is supplied among all the members of the village and its cooked on the same day this activity is carried out once in a month.
Transport:

The village had a railway station that had pass-through trains connecting to major locations, there were also bus facilities to the village, irrespective of the public transports there were also private vehicles owned by people of the village.
Education:

There are elementary, primary and secondary schools run by the government and in case of further studies students go to Mayiladuthurai or nearby village. The schools also provide mid day meals for the under privileged students.
INFERANCE: Physical aspects:

The total number of houses was calculated and a detailed and a accurate calculation on the types of houses were made, other than the houses the landmarks were also detailed out. The vegetation, electric supplies, water supplies, water tanks, telephone lines, were all exactly marked and maps were done,

comprising of an 3D view which gives an overall view of the village in a detailed way. Anyone looking into it would be easily able to understand the village on a whole. An overall 3Dimensional model for the village was also produced. Which were done to a perfect scale.

Technical aspects:

The different types of houses even those that were dilapidated were also taken and a detailed analysis of the every particular element were measured and noted and were so precisely drafted to perfect scales. Individual models for different types of houses were produced. The exact plan, section and elevation of the houses were drafted exactly and the details were shown on a magnified scale.
Social aspects:

A detailed report on the number of male, female, children were preciously noted in order to find the total population of the village and to find the ratio of people belonging to various age limits. The annual income of every house were calculated and the type of occupation, the educational qualification, economical and traditional aspects were all noted in order to make a detailed report on the habits and the day to day life of the particular village. All the calculations were carried out in a graphical manner so that the difference or the inference could be easily obtained.
Visual aspects:

The visual aspects of the village covered a clear sketch of every part of the village which also included photographs and videos covering the whole village. A precise street view, 3Dimensional view and individual drawings were made in a colorful form. Every

single house and streets were covered in this process.

Conclusion:

The study of the village was completed in a period of 5days. And the detailed analysis were represented and drafted in a suitable scale with proper and accurate information.