The Valluvar Kottam, on the corner of Kodambakkam High Road and Village
Road, Chennai, is a standing memorial to immortal Tamil Poet-Saint
Thiruvalluvar. It is a massive auditorium, constructed on reclaimed land
from an unused lake filled with the city's garbage and debris. It was opened
in the year 1976 and the auditorium is said to be the largest in Asia and
can accommodate about 4000 people. All 1330 verses of the poet's epic - the Thirukkural, are inscribed on the granite pillars that surround the auditorium and it has got no pillars for support. There is a 101-feet high temple chariot structure with a life-size image of the poet in it. This chariot is a replica of the temple car of Thiruvarur in Tamil Nadu. The base of the chariot shows in bas-relief the 133 chapters of the Thirukkural. Over 3,000 blocks of stone were used to create this memorial to Tamil culture.

