''Ginjee'' 9th century AD

Originally the site of a small fort built by the Chola dynasty in 9th century AD, it was later modified by Kurumbar while fighting the Chola and again by the Vijayanagar empire in the 13th century to elevate it to the status of an unbreachable citadel to protect the small town of Gingee. The fort was built as a strategic place of fending off any invading armies. The fort was further strengthened by the Marathas under the leadership of Shivaji in 1677 AD, who recaptured it from the Bijapur sultans who had originally taken control of the fort from the Marathas. During Aurangzeb's campaign in the Deccan, Shivaji's second son who had assumed the throne, Chhatrapati Rajaram, escaped to Ginjee in the distant South and continued the fight with Moghuls from Ginjee. The Moghuls could not capture the fort for seven years in spite of laying siege. The fort was finally captured in 1698, but not before Chhatrapati Rajaram escaped. It was later passed on to the Carnatic Nawabs who lost it to the French in 1750 before the British finally took control in 1761 despite losing it to Hyder Ali for a brief period. Raja Desinghu ruled Chenji and he was one of the famous kings to be known when it came to Chenji. He also worshipped Singavaram Sri Ranganatha Temple located in between Chenji and Melmalayanur. The temple is full of rock sculptures. The Bijapur Nawabs who held the fort from about 1660-77 AD called it Badshabad, while the Marathas who succeeded them called it Chandry or Chindy. The Mughals, on their capture of the fort in 1698 A.D. named it Nasrat Gaddah in honour of Nawab Zulfiquar Khan Nasrat Jang, the commander-in-chief of the besieging army. Later, the English and the French called it Gingee or Jinji. The early Madras records of the English give the spelling Chingee or Chengey. The chief source for the first two hundred years of the history of the place is the "Complete History of the Carnatic Kings" among the Mackenzie manuscripts. One Narayan, who claimed to be a descendant of the Ananda Kon Clan of Gingee, compiled it, after a consultation with numerous authorities, both Hindu and Muhammadan. According to Narayan, Gingee became a fortified place only about 1200 AD. Ananda Kon of the shepherd community, accidentally found a treasure in one of the cavities of the Western hill while grazing his sheep. Making himself the head of a small band of warriors, he defeated the petty rulers of the neighbouring villages and built a small fortress on Kamalagiri, which he renamed Anandagiri after himself. The Kon dynasty ruled Gingee from 1190 to 1330 AD, and was succeeded by the chief of a neighbouring place called Kobilingan, who belonged to the kurumba caste and ascended the throne of Gingee. He was a feudatory of the powerful Cholas. This way Gingee came into the hands of various ruling dynasties of South India, starting from the Cholas.Senji fort was builted by the king of senji's ananda kone, the actual name of Gingee is 'Sengiri' meaning perhaps the "Red Hill" in Tamil that has got corrupted into Gingee. Some say that the name Sengiri originated from 'Sanjeevi' the hill mentioned in Ramayana from where Hanuman got the life saving herb, the Sanjeevini Booti for Lakshmana when he was lying unconscious during the war between Rama and Ravana. The Sanjeevi herb is the panacea of Indian mythology. It has been explained as the combination of two roots, Sam (pleasure) and Ji (life). The name has also been traced to Singavaram the neighbouring Vaishnavite shrine, whose lord is considered the guardian deity of the place. The local tradition has another explanation to offer. The legend runs that seven virgin sisters once lived here and one of them was known as Senjiamman. Their modesty was threatened with the possibility of violation of their chastity. Even though a valiant man named Thadikara Virappan rescued them from danger, they could not survive the insult and so committed suicide. Their spirits are even now believed to be haunting the place and considered the genii loci. Each of the sisters has got her own little shrine still existing and attracts votaries from the neighbourhood. It is very probable that Senjiamman who is worshipped on top of one of the hills gave her name to the particular hill and this afterwards came to be the common designation of the whole circle of hills and villages below. Another of the sisters, Kamalakanniamman, has a shrine dedicated to her at the base of Rajgiri, which, on certain days in the year attracts a great number of worshippers. This hill was originally known after the goddess as Kamalagiri. Gingee also had an earlier name known as Krishnapura. This name was possibly given to it by its first ruling dynasty that were of shepherd class and whose tutelary deity was Lord Krishna. However, it is possible that it might have received the name from its powerful ruler, Krishnappa Nayak.

ginjee 9th AD / photography © abulkalamazad /pigment prints 

ginjee 9th AD / photography © abulkalamazad /pigment prints 

ginjee 9th AD / photography © abulkalamazad /pigment prints