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Published: June 20th 2008
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Mahabalipuram
Mahabalipuram is still very much a fishing village Tamil Nadu, what a relaxed state it is! I had already heard that down south the people were more easy going then up north, but to experience it is something else... Why is it that wherever you are, in whichever country, it is a golden rule that the further south you travel the more chilled out the people are? Must be some natural law or something...
So I began my journey in this wonderful state in Mahabalipuram, which is famous for it's seashore temple... It's a wee little temple, but has a nice setting and of course the fact that it was carved out of a single rock (or so I am told) and has withstood the effects of time and seawater so remarkably well makes it quite impressive... The five rathas on the other hand I found a bit disappointing, I had expected more... More interesting to me were the relief carvings and rock temples scattered across the main hill... Arjuna's penance was exquisite! Also exquisite was the little village itself, with a super relaxed atmosphere and waking up to the sound of the stone masons chiseling away at their various statues was something different then the usual clamour
Mahabalipuram
Krishna Mandapa, with Krishna lifting up the mythical Govardhana mountain to protect his kinsfolk of horns blaring that I normally wake up to...
After having rested up a bit in Mahabalipuram I left for Tiruvannamalai, a recommendation of Noa's... Another great town, with a very big temple dedicated to Arunachaleswar, an fire aspect of Shiva... The town is dominated by the temple and Mt. Arunachala, where Shiva is said to have appeared as a column of fire (a fiery lingam), which is commemorated on full moon in November/December with the lighting of a 30 meter high wick immersed in a whole lot of ghee (oil) and which blazes for days on the top of the mountain...
When I got there all was quiet though and after visiting the temple I decided to scale the mountain in my flip-flops... It was a stiff two hour climb, but I made it and the views were amazing... On top of the mountain I met Rajesh, who had clambered up on his bare feet, which he told me one is supposed to do as a mark of respect to Shiva... Ignorance is bliss sometimes! Anyway he wasn't to sure about it himself as on his way up, he heard the flapping of sandals and was overtaken
Mahabalipuram
Relief carving of Arjuna's Penance (the guy standing on one leg)
by a shoe wearing priest! So much for the respect of Shiva! We decided that we had made the ascent at the wrong time of day (close to midday) and as the rocks were getting hot and Rajesh could feel his feet burning up we decided to make our way down... It was a struggle for poor Rajesh, but he made it and took a brake at Skandasramam, where an guru is said to have meditated in a cave for 20 odd years... As far as I know Rajesh didn't stay that long...
After all this climbing it was time for a bit of French flavour, quite literally... Pondicherry a former French enclave in India, where I indulged in croissants for breakfast and baguettes for lunch while strolling through the wide, leafy, streets of the former French quarter, with it's elegant fading colonial charm... And for dinner? Masalla Dosa! Not quite French, but hey, I wanted to make sure I was still in India... Sacre Blue!
Recovered from Shiva's fiery lingam, I went to Chidambaram's Nataraja Temple, dedicated to Nataraja or the dancing Shiva... That dude does everything! Dance, blazing dick (sorry, lingam) and in the meantime he
Mahabalipuram
A monkey looking at some carving of his brethren vanquished demons... He must be a chick magnet! The temple was colourful in the Dravidian style of things and had the usual Nandi (bull, which is Shiva's vehicle) statue, a big lingam in the main temple, a temple tank and a 1000 pillared hall... I was approached by a guide as soon as I neared the temple and after I had made clear that I wasn't paying anything or maybe just a very little and he still clung on to me, I let him do his thing... I personally don't enjoy being guided around, they always rush you through stuff, tell you were to take photo's and I just generally don't feel comfortable with a guide around... But that is me, I am sure many people find what they say enlightening... Of course as expected at the end he wasn't satisfied with my token payment (and I can assure you it wasn't a pitance I gave him), telling me that 'normally' other tourist give him 200 rupees... I referred him to my speech at the beginning of our encounter, so he was forewarned and after some muttering he thanked me and left me be... As guides go he wasn't that
bad and unlike my experiences in the north he didn't push his request for more very hard... Fair go to him to try, I would probably have done the same in his situation...
And now I am taking in Thanjavur, which has the superb World Heritage listed Brihadishwara temple and it's worth the listing! A great piece of architecture, very, very, beautiful... In fact maybe one of the nicest temple complexes I have seen in this country and again it is free, and not just free in the monetary sense... It is also blissfully free of guides, pushy priests, big tour groups and even beggars (well there are a few of course, but they are very sedate and discreet)... I have been to the temple twice now, once in the evening and this morning... I got blessed by the temple elephant, watched the priests bathe Shiva in his lingam form, strolled around the various other temples in the complex, sat for hours in the cool shade of the temple walls as I observed the faithful quietly pass through the different shrines and pay homage to their god... Life is good!
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I loved reading this -- thank you. The photos are great too. I haven't been in Tamil Nadu since the tsunami 3 1/2 years ago. I was just thinking about those people the other day... Dod they get on with their lives? Are things back to "normal", whatever that is supposed to mean? Best; A