""Kaalam thazh eendu innum iruthi pogalam" said Prime Minister Narendra Modi quoting from the Tamil Kamba Ramayana in his speech at the Ram Mandir Bhoomi Poojan in Ayodhya.

While he named various forms of Ramayana from different parts of the country, he mentioned this quote which means 'we need to fulfill our duty without any time delay' and added that we need to act per Lord Ram's words.

But unfortunately, the birthplace of the man who wrote this epic in Tamil at Therazhundur in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam district is lies neglected and uncared for.

Kambar, a Tamil bard called “King of Poets” or Kavi Chakravarthi by Rajendra Chola in the 12th century, was instrumental in penning the Ramayana in Tamil.

Kambar was asked by Kulothunga Chola, who got to know about Valimiki’s Ramayana, to write the epic in Tamil. Besides writing Ramayana, Kambar has written verses in praise of Goddess Saraswati, a literary work in praise of Vaishnava saint Nammalvar called Sadagopan Andhadhi and a couple of others, including one on Pallava king Karunakara Tondaiman.

It is believed that one reason why Kambar was blessed with such a talent was that he was born at Therazhundur, one of the 'divya deshams' or 108 must-see sacred sites for Vaishnavas.

This village is also one of the 276 places that figure in the hymns sung in praise of Lord Shiva in the Tamil Saivaite devotional poetry Thevaram. One of the 63 Nayanmars (saintly devotees of Lord Shiva), Thirugnana Sambandar, has sung about this village, particularly the Vedapureeswarar (Lord Shiva) temple.