Veteran archaeologist R. Nagaswamy

Renowned archaeologist and first director of Tamil Nadu archaeology department, Padma Bhushan R. Nagaswamy, passed away on January 23, 2022 in Chennai.

Highlights

• He is survived by two sons and two daughters.
• His wife, Parvathi, predeceased him.
• Nagaswamy is known for his epigraphy research on sculptures in Mahabalipuram.
• He is known for several books on Tamil literature.

Padma Bhushan

Nagaswamy was honoured with the Padma Bhushan award, for his research work in archaeology, in 2018. He was also the recipient of Kalaimamani award, which is the highest civilian award from Tamil Nadu government.

Ramachandran Nagaswamy

He was an Indian historian, epigraphist and archaeologist, known for his work on temple inscriptions and art history of Tamil Nadu. He was the first director of Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department, from 1966 to 1988. He also played an instrumental role in starting the annual Chidambaram Natyanjali festival in 1980. He was an authority in Chola Bronzes.

Natyanjali Festival

It is an annual dance festival, celebrated to commemorate Hindu deity Shiva. It started off as a relatively obscure event, originated in 1981. It is organized jointly by Department of Tourism of Tamil Nadu and Natyanjali Trust. These celebrations are most prominent at its original venue. They occur in a wider spectrum across Murugan and Tamil Nadu temples. Mumbai also organizes their own versions of this festival under the same banner. Current version of the festival lasts for around 13 days. Several classical dance forms of all styles offer their art up to God Nataraja.

Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department

It is archaeology department of Government of Tamil Nadu. This department was founded in 1961. It is headed by an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, who works with the designation of “Commissioner for Archaeology”.