Blogs from Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia
September 20th 2011
This Summer vacation did not have any major trips, but it was dotted with short and interesting trips around Tamilnadu. It started with, visit to Madurai, followed by Nagarkoil, Thirupurankundram and culminating in Kanyakumari. It was a pleasant trip, and Nagarcoil being a relatively new place to us, was exciting to get acquainted with the little town, which seemed to be an interesting fusion of Kerala and Tamilnadu! Kanyakumari as always was awe-inspiring, and a sense of calm and peace descends, while you are there. Another mini trip was made to Tanjore, which is hardly an hour's drive from Trichy. The highlight was, our visit to Saraswati Mahal Library and another museum nearby. The Library is a very old one, dating back to 16th century, started by the Nayak kings; but it was Serofji II, a ... read more
June 1st 2011
Next up was the Brihadeeswarar Temple. Another amazing place which I had the privilege to visit. As I have just learnt that this temple is thought of as one of the most important architectural sights in India, it is a shame that I didn't upload the photos of it and have left my memory card back home. A temple like Brihadeeswarar Temple does not disappear easily from the mind however, so no big deal should those photos have disappeared forever amongst dad's 'storage'!!! Brihadeeswarar Temple is according to Wikipedia the world's first complete granite temple dating back to 1010 and having very recently finished celebrating its 1000th birthday, it's a temple about 300 years older than the first recorded human settlers of New Zealand. It was very impressive, but it is outflanked in the memory banks ... read more
May 24th 2011
The main reason I came to India was to travel to Tamil Nadu, India’s southernmost state, to see its temples. I’ve enjoyed the three temple towns I’ve visited – Madurai, Trichy, and Thanjavur – more than Bangalore and Mysore. Partly it’s me; I have adjusted to India. But partly the towns are more manageable and the sights are better. Tamil Nadu is a great place to visit. Tamil Nadu was never conquered by Muslims, in contrast to most of India. It therefore maintained a uniquely vibrant Hindu culture. My guidebook says that Tamil Nadu is one of the few places on earth where a classical culture has survived into the present. Ancient Greek chroniclers wrote about Tamil towns and temples, and their descriptions of religious life largely ring true today. While that may be guidebook hyperbole, ... read more
Lost in Translation : Chapter Three Madurai / Thanjavur
Published: December 29th 2010Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » ThanjavurDecember 29th 2010
Meenakshi temple Madurai Chapter three : Madurai/ThanjavurThroughout the journey I was dozing till drizzling opened up my eyelids. By the time i reached madurai,it started raining heavily...madurai is a busy,crowded,dusty down with world famous Meenakshi temple...so without wasting my precious time I hired an auto to the Meenakshi temple....Temple's security is pretty impressive and irritating at the same time...I was carrying my laptop in one hand while offering my prayers to the GODs and Goddesses. ...Meenakshi temple is beyond your imagination when it comes at its internal and external architecture. ..superb and vivid architecture. despite of Meenakshi temple,madurai was unable to stop me for a night stay and rain attributed mor... read more
May 5th 2010
Après avoir passé quatre heures dans un autobus gouvernementale sans air conditionné… nous étions finalement rendu à Thanjavur. Après s’être trouvé un hôtel à notre goûts, mangé un bon repas et avoir pris une bonne douche froide, nous étions encore une fois parti pour visiter un temple impressionnant qui se nomme Brihadishwara Temple. Ce temple était différent de celui que nous avions visité à Chidambaram. Il n’avait pas quatre entrées principales comme la plupart des autres temples dans le Tamil Nadu, les figurines en pierres n’était pas peinturés mais quand mêmes très belles. Le temple principal qui se trouvait au centre du site, s’élevait jusqu'à 66 mètres. Nous y avons passé toute l’après-midi ainsi que la soirée à examiner les temples, les sculptures et les gens qui s’y promenaient. Nous avons eu la chance de voir ... read more
March 12th 2010
Thanjavur - Ancient Temple Town A few more hours on a bus took us to Thanjavur, with a completely different kind of temple. Brihadishvara Temple is made entirely of natural stone, laid out over large walled gardens, with two star attractions: a 217ft gopura (again with carved 'gargoyle' gods), and a 20ft 25 tonne granite cow (Nandi). Once again we visited twice it was so good, and on the second visit we were fortunate enough to witness the Nandi Ceremony. Washing the cow with gallons and gallons of milk, before drying, and dressing Nandi with garlands of pink and yellow flowers and a sari! (Nandi in this case is a 6m high Granite cow) It was absolutely amazing, practically the whole town had turned out for the occasion, families brought picnics and partied well into the ... read more
Hindu Temples at their most glorious
Published: February 15th 2010Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Thanjavur
February 14th 2010
Over the past 3 days we have travelled through towns and cities of South India and seen the most spectacular Hindu temples. Their age, character and beauty is breathtaking. Hopefully the pictures will give you some idea of their splendour.... read more
Thanjavur - facing my biggest fear
Published: September 23rd 2009Asia » India » Tamil Nadu » Thanjavur
September 22nd 2009
I am now in Thanjavur, which is famous for its breathtaking temples and incredible statues. The temples are huge and I think they are just as beautiful as the churches in Rome and Venice. The exterior is so intricately designed that every part of the wall has some type of design on it, there isn’t an empty space. The interior is full of statues of gods. Hinduism has over 100,000 gods!! I went to this Hindu museum and finally learned about all the important gods. It took me forever to find out who the ultimate god was because whenever I asked somebody who the ‘#1 god’ is, they’d all tell me something different. They’d say Vishnu, Siva, Krishna or some other name. I guess it’s because they all think the different gods are most important. Anyway, ... read more
September 20th 2009
I am now in Thanjavur, which was previously called Tanjore The town is famous for a very decorative style of artwork and for a very large temple erected by Rajaraja, the Chola king who was so good they named him twice. As we drove out of Madurai we went past a painted temple elephant being led along the side of the road. This seemed like a good omen. Further along, just about as we were passing the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court (sic - the court is still that of Madras, though the city has changed its name) on the right hand side of the road, I saw an interesting looking rock on the other side. At first it seemed most like a crouching tiger or a sphinx but it was very long. And ... read more
August 4th 2008
Everyone got up early due to Jet lag and were ready by 6:00am. Had Idly, Dosa, Egg-Dosa (Johns staple diet) some French toast and tea for breakfast. Our van driver Balu arrived sharp at 6:30AM. Said goodbye to the family and started our South India trip. Our trip route was Coimbatore-Trichy-Chidambaram-Tanjore-Madurai-Kodaikanal-Thekkady-Kumarakom-TopSlip-Coimbatore. Our first stop was Karur for some Tea and snacks. John tried to buy "The Hindu" newspaper (his favorite one in India) but couldn't find one. The gang tried fresh Pamogranite no one liked except Heather and Becca. We continued our Journey to Trichy. We went straight to Chidambaram temple. I wore Dotti to maintain my local looks! We hired a guide from the Archeology department office in the temple and it was well worth it. We paid him about 300RS for his service. He ... read more
