World Heritage Day special: Meet IT professional Ramesh Vangipuram, who embarked on a journey to retrace the Chola army’s march to the Gangetic plains

One thousand years ago (1023-1024 CE), Chola king Rajendra I’s army marched to the Gangetic plains, defeating many kings on the way, collected water from the Ganga, and poured it into Chola Gangam, the lake Rajendra built in his capital, Gangaikondacholapuram. What if someone tried to follow the Chola trail now? Ramesh Vangipuram, an IT professional, decided to do precisely that. Because the Cholas did not leave behind any artefacts in the regions they passed through, Ramesh had to rely on information found in the Thirumalai inscription, which gives the sequential order of the places on the Chola route. He had to fix the geographical boundaries of the kingdoms the army crossed. He drew up maps, which were validated by Odiyan scholar Kornel Das. “Rajendra did not lead his army to the Ganga, but stayed back in Andhra,” clarifies Ramesh.

Ramesh travelled by bus, train and cab to take the Chola route. But occasionally, he had to deviate because of practical difficulties such as inhospitable terrains. Of the two possible routes from Rajahmundry to Sakkarakottam (present day Chitrakoot in Chattisgarh), Ramesh believed the Cholas would have taken the route through Vengi, because they had marital ties with the Eastern Chalukyas who ruled Vengi. Additionally, feudatories of Sakkarakottam that were on this route could be defeated.