Today's Top 10 : Narendra Modi-Xi Jinping meet at Mamallapuram and story of Tamil prince who took Buddhism to China.

Choice of Mamallapuram near Chennai for an informal meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping came as a surprise to many. But the choice of venue was fashioned by certain considerations - interest of President Xi in history and culture, the region's ancient connection with China and also the BJP's political ambition in Tamil Nadu.

Mamallapuram, more famous as Mahabalipuram, is a historic city dating back to 1,200-1,300 years. During the age of Pallava dynasty, Mamallapuram was one of the major ports in South India and the main connecting point for trade with China. Many articles including pottery have been found in Mamallapuram and the neighbouring areas showing close trade relationship with the Chinese.

President Xi is said to be an avid follower of history and culture with a particular interest in China's ancient relation with the world. At the same time, PM Modi is said to have asked officials to choose a venue that is away from New Delhi for the informal meet. Mamallapuram fits the bill perfectly.

Besides this, there is another connection. That too dates to the rule of Pallava dynasty in Tamil Nadu. This is the story of a Tamil prince who is revered in China by millions as Bodhidharma. His real name is not really known but he is believed to have been a Pallava prince and was the third son of the king.

At an early age, he turned to Buddhism, mastering "Dhyan", a form of meditation that was once taught by Gautam Buddha. He was also a master of traditional weapon-less warfare of South India. After having risen through the ranks in a Buddhist monastery, Bodhidharma became 28th patriarch of the organisation. Chinese texts place him in direction chain beginning from Gautam Buddha.

Bodhidharma travelled to China appears as a messenger of Buddhism. He remained, according to prevailing legend, extremely reclusive for nine years during which he did not speak to people who were mesmerized with his Dhyan meditation and display of martial arts.

There is a legend saying that a Chinese king named Wu summoned him to his palace hoping to receive blessings from Bodhidharma but expelled the Buddhist monk after he did not speak positively of the king.

However, Bodhidharma continued attracting people and finally started preaching Buddhism and gathered a huge following. Later, he started imparting physical training to monks of Shaolin temple. His physical training is said to have led the foundation of Shaolin martial arts, made a hallowed form of warfare by Hollywood movies.

The form of Buddhism that Bodhidharma taught in China came to be known as Chan (corrupt form of Sanskrit word Dhyan) Buddhism. It reached Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and other parts of the Far East. As it spread, it came to be known as Zen Buddhism.

This Bodhidharma connection of Tamil Nadu or Mamallapuram makes the choice of the venue more obvious for hosting President Xi.

There is still another angle to this choice, an angle that is governed by domestic political consideration. The BJP is trying to take maximum advantage of the political vacuum created by the death of J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi, two stalwarts who dominated the politics of Tamil Nadu for decades.