A Millennium in the Life of Uthiramerur

Let me follow in the footsteps of that delightful gentleman the Mad Hatter who asked Alice, “why is a raven like a writing desk?”, and pose a question of my own: “what is the connection between the Cholas and cows?”. Being of a somewhat saner disposition than the Mad Hatter (although there are many who will dispute that), I will provide a perfectly rational answer and spare you the vexation of thinking up a response. It is very simple, actually: of late, both of them  - Cholas and cows - have been jostling about in the upper reaches of my cerebral cortex (if indeed such a region exists). Cholas, because they are my current obsession; and cows, as I have been reading about TM Krishna’s latest book Sebastian and Sons, which is an account of the lives of the people who make the south Indian percussion instrument, the mridangam, portions of which are fashioned out of cow skin. Recently, the two - Cholas and cows - came together in the course of a most delightful day.