Mullivaikkal Muttram, Thanjavur - Timings, History, Best Time to Visit

At a distance of 4 km from Thanjavur Junction Railway Station, the Mullivaikkal Memorial or Mullivaikkal Muttram is a memorial situated at Vilar suburb of Thanjavur. Located on the Thanjavur-Tiruchirappalli National Highway, it is one of the best places to visit in Thanjavur, especially for history buffs.

The Mullivaikkal Memorial serves as a tribute to the tragic Mullivaikkal massacre, which involved the deaths of Tamil civilians during the final stages of the conflict between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan armed forces in Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka, in 2009. The memorial's construction commenced in 2010, and was completed in 2013. This initiative was undertaken by the Ulaga Tamil Peravai (World Tamil Confederation) and overseen by Pazha Nedumaran, the founder and leader of the Confederation, alongside the Tamil National Movement.

Spread over an area of 1.75-acre, the Mullivaikkal Muttram has come into shape through contributions of sculptors and artists from far and wide. The sculptures are inspired by the line drawings of artist Veera Santhanam and have been skillfully carved by Mamallapuram Sthapathi Murugan and his team. A prominent stone sculpture representing Tamil Pavai (Tamil Mother), who holds a lamp in memory of those who perished at Mullivaikkal, forms the centerpiece of the memorial. This statue, hewn from a single stone, weighs over 60 tonnes and is elevated on a 15-foot pedestal. Beneath the statue of the Tamil Mother Goddess, soil soaked with blood from Mullivaikkal is preserved in two glass vessels.

Flanking the Pavai are two friezes, each measuring fifty-five feet in length and ten feet in height. One frieze commemorates 20 young men from Tamil Nadu, including Abdul Rahoof, Muthukumaran, Murugadasan, and Pallapatti Ravi, who self-immolated in support of Tamil Eelam. The other frieze honors the individuals who lost their lives during the fourth Eelam war.

The memorial features a series of sculptures that narrate the experiences of the Eezham Tamils, highlighting significant events such as the destruction of the Jaffna library in 1983, the tragedy of Sencholai, the hardships endured by internally displaced persons in camps located in Menik Farm and Kilinochchi, the horrors of cluster and phosphorus bombings carried out by the Sri Lankan army in designated no-fire zones, alongside images of wailing mothers, shattered limbs, firearms, and lifeless bodies. Notably, there are sculptures commemorating Charles Anthony and Balachandran, who lost their lives during the civil war in 2009.

Adjacent to the Tamil Pavai stands a building that contains portrait and photo galleries. This space displays portraits of individuals who perished in the Eelam wars, including the parents of Tamil Tigers leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, Parvathiammal and Thiruvenkatam Velupillai, as well as his sons, Charles Anthony and Balachandran, and LTTE ideologue Anton Balasingham, among others. The photo gallery is filled with hundreds of images of Tamil kings such as Pandara Vanniyan from Vanni Tamil Eelam, Sangiliyan from Jaffna Tamil Eelam, Kattabomman, Puli Thevan, Velu Nachiyar, Sethupathy, the Maruthu Brothers, and Theeran Chinamalai, all of whom resisted colonial domination.

Timings: 10 AM - 7 PM

Entry: Free