January-February 2012
The best laid plans....
My dear friend from Tamil Nadu whom I came to know in Singapore, MP, was desperate for me to visit his home state and hometown. We made all the plans to meet there and I got a visa and the tickets. Then, MP announced his leave had been cancelled. Such is the life of foreign workers in Singapore, and I believed what he told me. When a person is working on that rung of society around the world, trips home almost never come off when planned. I really should have known better than to make such a complex travel plan with someone who was not in control of their own calendar.
I had a decision to make - push ahead with the trip or take a loss and cancel it?
I decided to go ahead. I loved India and had not been in years. The south was terra incognita to me. With equal amounts of anticipation and trepidation, I was off to Tamil Nadu for about 10 days. First stop would be Chennai
NB: it was before I had a smart phone, so I had no camera with me. I elected not to take along the big SLR because it made me feel too much like a tourist. I happened to be between "small cameras", too. For the first time in many years, I was not taking photos. All photos in this post are taken from the internet.
Chennai
Chennai did not stick with me much - I remember very little. I found my hotel in the "Thousand Lights" neighborhood and it was acceptable. I took an autorickshaw to the main train station to buy my ticket south from Pondicherry to Madurai. That ended up being an incredibly confusing experience because I had a difficult time locating where exactly to buy the ticket (which ended up not being in the main part of the station but nearby) and then I "lost" my autorickshaw guy who had agreed to wait for me and take me back to the hotel. The station area was just a mass of people, cars and three-wheelers. I had a moment of "what have you gotten yourself into?" However, I did manage to find out where to buy the ticket and I did finally find "my guy" in the autorickshaw. At least I had a ticket for the second leg of my journey. I still had to get to Pondicherry though.
[January 30]
India is completely security conscious now. Even regulated and uptight Singapore is easier to buy a SIM card than here! I mean... the guy I bought it from was super helpful and patient and it was cheap ($5) but the process... passport, photos... incredible. And now I'm at a public internet and I had to register my passport number here to browse the internet as well! Wow! Anyway... lovely sunny day in Chennai.... so far, off to a good start
St Thomas Basilica
[January 30]
Well.... had to visit two train stations and several confusing offices, but I finally got my train ticket. Now... explain to me why my taxi ride to the station was just as much as my train ticket? hahaha AND.... my other big event today was that I visited St Thomas Cathedral (it's really not that big or old) AND in the basement is the tomb of St. Thomas the Apostle. Even if you are not religious, you have to admit.... that is pretty cool. There are only 3 known apostle's graves...and one is here in Chennai!
One of the huge ironies of Western Europeans (Portuguese, Dutch, and British) arriving in India as missionaries was that India had already been reached by the Apostle Thomas. No, the country did not convert to Christianity en masse, but the Christian communities of Chennai (where St Thomas was martyred) and the Malabar Coast (where he had traveled and taught) had been historically Christian for centuries longer than the Europeans who came to "enlighten" them centuries later.
The basilica was downtrodden and the crypt of the saint was in the basement. St Thomas' remains were actually "rescued" at some point and removed to Italy via Greece.
Some of the relics of St. Thomas still remain in Chennai, India, close to where he died and was buried. Others ended up on the Greek Island Chios at the beginning of the 13th century, where, supposedly, the skull of St. Thomas remains. Yet others made their way to Italy in 1258 when Ortona’s General Leone Acciaiuoli visited the Greek island with three galleys and had a spiritual experience.
It was an interesting experience and perhaps one of the highlights of the trip. I even got to experience Chennai's commuter rail system which was packed, but easy to use.
I really just wanted to head south.
Marina Beach
[January 30]
Oh... and Chennai has this long lovely beach, I mean...it would rival Miami or LA to be a "beach city" in India. Of course...it's really really REALLY polluted. I mean, the water is a greyish black. So sad.....
As I said, the focus of my arrival to Chennai was simply how to get out of it. I was much more interested in the smaller cities south of the capital. However, since I was "stuck" in Chennai for a couple of days I did make the best of it.
Marina Beach is famous all over India. As posted in Facebook, the place has massive potential, but at the time of my visit it was horribly polluted. The photo above (minus the blue water) most accurately portrays what the beach looked like on my visit. There were a lot of vendors, a lot of people, and a lot of garbage. I was warned by everyone "don't go at night" as the place had a reputation for petty crime and lawlessness. I was unimpressed with the beach and mainly went so I could tell friends in Singapore I had visited.
I wondered how Vietnam could manage to have large cities built right up the beach (like Danang) [see: China Beach, Danang] and how the water offshore remained blue? Marina Beach was that sickly brown black I have seen at so many large urban beaches. If Chennai could clean itself up, the water would revert to blue and it could rival other "beach cities" of the world. With India developing at a breakneck pace, maybe that future is not far off. As of my visit, Marina Beach was not even worth visiting - everyone headed south of the city to Mahabalipuram with its double bonus of a nice beach and ancient temples along the shore.
Chennai's most famous attraction again reminded me that I just needed a train ticket south.
Mahabalipuram
After the mob scene at the train station in Chennai I was in no mood for a bus either. I bit the bullet and hired a car to take me to Pondicherry with a stop off in Mahabalipuram. I did briefly consider spending a night there, but the hotel reviews for the whole town were lackluster. It turned out to be a good call, and there was no need for me to have a beach holiday among those ancient shore temples - a few hours was enough.
I was unimpressed with the temples (they were ancient, but also quite small), the beach, and the "scene" overall. Although I was quite happy I stopped and I am always impressed by man-made objects that have stood the test of time Mahabalipuram just didn't impress me.
The site has 40 ancient monuments and Hindu temples, including one of the largest open-air rock reliefs in the world: the Descent of the Ganges or Arjuna's Penance. The group contains several categories of monuments: ratha temples with monolithic processional chariots, built between 630 and 668; mandapa viharas (cave temples) with narratives from the Mahabharata and Shaivite, Shakti or Shaaktha and Vaishnava inscriptions in a number of Indian languages and scripts; rock reliefs (particularly bas-reliefs); stone-cut temples built between 695 and 722, and archaeological excavations dated to the 6th century and earlier. The monuments were built during the Pallava dynasty. Known as the Seven Pagodas in many colonial-era publications, they are also called the Mamallapuram temples or Mahabalipuram temples in contemporary literature.
(Wikipedia)
I was very excited to see "The Descent of the Ganges" since it is one of my favorite Hindu stories, but the relief was well-worn and not easy to interpret. No matter though, I was quite happy to be seeing these old structures and even happier to realize that they were not worth staying for a full day. There is nothing worse than arriving somewhere and realizing it must be totally rushed. As the beach was equally unremarkable, I had no regrets leaving.
Looking back, however, having seen the gross development of Kovalam Beach in Kerala a year later, I feel much less critical of the overall well-kept up Mahabalipuram Beach. I don't know that I would want to overnight there, but I appreciate in retrospect that such a well-visited monument in India along the beach manages to keep it tidy and in a reasonable state.
I told the driver I was ready to go to Pondicherry, a place I really looked forward to visiting.
Pondicherry
[January 31]
Just arrived in Pondicherry, India. This is a former "French Enclave" so it is a little mini-state within a state here in Tamil Nadu. The only thing that affects the casual visitor....liquor is dirt cheap here! woo hooo!! On the way here I stopped in Mahabalipuram to see some rock carvings near the sea. It was pretty hot and full of tourists, but I guess it was worth the detour. There were LOTS of kids on school trips... fairly well behaved, I have to say!
There are foreign enclaves of different nations everywhere - Spanish ones in Africa, Belgian ones in the Netherlands, British ones in Spain - but no one does them like the French. The French Quarter of New Orleans, half of Saint Martin, and Pondicherry, India. The Indians have long forgiven the French for their colonial exploitation - they LOVE Pondicherry (locally known as Pondy). One reason could be alcohol.
In mostly dry Tamil Nadu (which is a very conservative state), the ex-French enclave is a little rectangular cut out of the Indian east coast facing the sea where alcohol is not only available, it is cheap. When I went to a liquor store to buy a couple of beers for my room (my hotel did not serve alcohol but permitted drinking on the premises) I encountered a mob scene from the apocalypse. One would have thought Prohibition was about to start the following day!
Not only alcohol, but the street names and a smattering of vestigial colonial buildings, made Pondicherry a unique place to stay a few days. Although everyone goes on about Goa (which has far better beaches apparently), Pondy has a French flair. It may be my favorite place visited in India to date.
I was staying in an old merchant's house that had been converted into a boutique hotel. I loved the place because it was so retro. There wasn't a lot of swank about it, but the food was superb and the service amazing. The staff there helped guide me in my wanderings inside Pondicherry, through Tamil Nadu by setting up trips for me to neighboring towns, and to the main railway junction so I made it onward to Madurai safely. The saddest thing about my stay was that there had recently been a cyclone and many of the huge old trees had toppled around the city. That meant that a lot of historical landmarks looked slightly barren.
Pondy was definitely on the cusp of something great when I was there. Restaurants and coffee shops were opening across the city and luxury hotels were being created in old buildings. I am happy I saw it before it developed too much, but I must admit that just a tad more development would have been welcomed!
[February 1]
I had a latte on Rue de la Cathedrale in Pondicherry last night. It was SO not like it sounds.... hahahahaha
I definitely arrived in Pondy before espresso-based drinks. I found a "cafe" that had some interesting coffees on the menu only to find they were all made with either local coffee or Nescafe. It was not the end of the world - but I do love my coffee. (at least alcohol was available - je t'aime république française)
Realizing that I was not going to get coffee the way I liked it, I decided to drink coffee the following morning the way locals drink it - light and sweet. I walked up to an early morning, outdoor coffee bar on a corner near the hotel and ordered a very cheap cup of joe. Not exactly my taste, but at least it was made with real coffee and had not come out of a premade packet (as had been my experience the day before). I was adapting. To be honest, it wasn't that hard since I had a sweet spot for "kopi" in Singapore which was over-brewed, bitter coffee sweetened with condensed milk.
[February 2]
Here is the old French Governor's mansion. It's really not as good as this photo... but it gives a good sense of the buildings around. There was also a huge tropical cyclone last month and a lot of the big trees got thrown down (so sad). Mostly, this place is in a state of benign neglect.
[February 2]
Last night there were a lot of people on the streets and some kind of political rallies (nothing out of control just noisy) This morning I woke up and nothing was open. Apparently a general strike. My favorite breakfast place was closed, bummer
Chidambaram
[February 1]
I visited Chidambaram today. It is a small city with a huge temple complex. People from all over India come to worship there. If you have seen the statue of the "Nataraj", this is the original temple where Shiva did this dance. It was really amazing walking around inside although I always feel somewhat intrusive in really religious places like that. I am constantly amazed at the rudeness of other foreign tourists as well Anyway, it was a great destination and certainly made up for the HELLISH 2 hour drive there down rural roads!
No one knows about Chidambaram, yet they should. In fact, it should be one of the most famous places in all of India.
Nataraja (also known as Adalvallan - Tamil) is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the divine cosmic dancer. His dance is called the tandava. The pose and artwork are described in many Hindu texts such as the Tevaram and Thiruvasagam in Tamil and the Amshumadagama and Uttarakamika agama in Sanskrit and the Grantha texts. The dance murti featured in all major Hindu temples of Shaivism, and is a well-known sculptural symbol in India and popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture, as one of the finest illustrations of Hindu art.
(Wikipedia)
As part of the preparation for the trip, I came to know that the Temple of the Nataraj was in Tamil Nadu and relatively close to Pondicherry. I had to go there and see if I could glimpse the interior and see the original.
I could and I did!
My hotel arranged a car and driver for me (public transport would have been too slow) and we headed south from Pondy. The first town we hit was Cuddalore from where I had a friend named Arun. Oh my God, what a horrible city to transit - terrible roads, crowded, dirty, dilapidated - Cuddalore was not any place the Tamil Nadu government wanted to promote to tourists. Nearly half of the two hour journey to Chidambaram was spent in Cuddalore. We finally broke free of that city and were finally zooming across the flat, green sea of rice paddies that make up much of Tamil Nadu. The great gopuram (tower) of the temple was visible long before we reached the town much as European cathedral spires were visible to travelers on the road before reaching the city gates. I was so excited!
Meals
We arrived in Chidambaram at lunch time, so I decided an early lunch would be best before the temple visit.
Again, my hotel manager in Pondy had been of great service to me before my trip. I told him I loved thali (the fixed-price, all you can eat lunch served traditionally on a banana leaf), but I could never figure out how to order it. Even he was baffled at first about what I was explaining, but after a few attempts the lightbulb came on. "Oh sir, you mean meals". I found it odd that such a traditional dish would have an English name, but I was willing to give it a shot. The guy had not steered me wrong yet.
I found a simple place near the temple and peered inside. Everyone was eating thali with gusto. I entered the place and sat down. The place went silent and they all stared at me. The waiter approached with a terror-stuck, deer-in-the-headlights look. He might have to speak English - a fate worse than death. I just said "meals". He smiled broadly and confirmed "meals?" "Yes, meals". A banana leaf was produced upon which was heaped an array of delectable vegetarian dishes (we were near the temple, after all). Tamil veg food is one of my favorite cuisines in all of India. I was in heaven and the food servers were at the ready to top up any part of that day's offerings I requested more of. Sated, I paid my bill. It was far less than one dollar. Yeah, I could live in India forever.
I tentatively entered the temple. No entrance fee. I wandered around and the entire place was surprisingly open to visitors. I got in the small queue to pay respects to the deity. After a stuffy wait (Indian temple inner sanctums are always so claustrophobic to me), I had my few moments to file past and see the Nataraj. Wow! That was it! Smaller than I expected, there he was, Shiva, the Cosmic Dancer. I was seeing the original of an image that represents Hinduism worldwide as much as Christ on the Cross represents Christianity. It was an incredibly awe-inspiring moment even if the icon was not some massive sculpture on a pedestal in a cavernous space. Although only a diminutive bronze cast in the cave-like darkness of a massive stone temple, I was awed.
Feeling very satisfied, we returned to Pondy. I didn't even mind passing through Cuddalore again.
Thillai Nataraja Temple
Thiruvannamalai
[February 3]
Incredible journey to Arunachala Temple in Thiruvannamalai. About half the journey was on a highway! Wow.... so much better than that nerve wracking temple run two days ago! The land around here is pancake flat and mostly rice fields but then you get these massive granite outcroppings (think countertops...a lot of granite comes from India) some the size of small mountains. They rise dramatically out of the plains. So at the base of a particularly high one....Mt. Arunachala is a HUGE Shiva temple. It was devoid of tourists but there were lots of pilgrims. Really an incredible experience!
After visiting the temple of the Nataraj at Chidambaram I was stoked. I learned more about that temple and found out that it was one of the "five element temples of Shiva". Another one of those temples lie to the west of Pondy in the town of Thiruvannamalai. I asked the hotel manager about a day trip there and he confirmed that half of the journey would be via highway and the trip was actually even faster than driving to Chidambaram even though the distance was greater. I was sold! I booked the car and driver and started to do more research. I simply love Hindu epic stories:
In Hindu mythology, Parvati, wife of Shiva, once closed the eyes of her husband playfully in a flower garden at their abode atop Mount Kailash. Although only a moment for the gods, all light was taken from the universe, and the earth, in turn, was submerged in darkness for years. Parvati performed penance along with other devotees of Shiva Then her husband appeared as a huge column of fire at the top of Annamalai hills, returning light to the world. The Arunachala, or red mountain, lies behind the Arunachaleswara temple, and is associated with the temple of its namesake. The hill itself is sacred and considered a lingam, or aniconic representation of Shiva. Once a year atop Mt Arunachala towering behind Thiruvannamalai, a huge bonfire is lit and devotees come from all over India to commemorate this event. In yet another tale of this temple:
Once, while the deities Vishnu and Brahma contested for superiority of who is the creator, Shiva appeared as a flame, and challenged them to find his source. Brahma took the form of a gander, and flew to the sky to see the top of the flame, while Vishnu became the boar Varaha, and sought its base. The scene is called Lingodbhava and is represented in the western wall at the sanctum of most of Shiva temples. Neither Brahma nor Vishnu could find the source, and while Vishnu conceded his defeat, Brahma lied and said he had found the pinnacle. Angry at this, Lord Shiva took the form of Bhairava and took apart one of the five heads of Brahma and in punishment, Shiva ordained that Brahma would never have temples on Earth in his worship. As Shiva cut off Brahma's fifth head, he had committed the sin of "Brahma Hatya Paap" (hurting of a Brahmin) and had to roam the three worlds as Bhikshatana a naked, beggar to get absolved of his sin. The sin gets finally absolved at Varanasi on the bank of the Ganga river. (Wikipedia)
NB: there are only 6 temples to Brahma in all of India and he is a major deity. I loved both of those stories and was totally excited to explore the town and its famous temple. The temple complex was one of the largest in all of India. Its Western Gopuram was also the tallest in India. Honestly, I was mostly there because its stories were so compelling and it was not a temple that graced most tourist itineraries. We arrived in the city, parked, and then I made my way into the center (which was the temple). Compared to my well-ordered visit to Chidambaram, the trip to Thiruvannamalai was one of missteps and getting hissed at by ascetics and priests for stumbling into "Hindu only" zones. I was being ultra-careful, too. After a time, I just got tired of the whole business and developed a bad attitude. If the place were so f...g holy, then make the whole complex off-limits. I was doing my best not to offend anyone and NOT enter where I should not go and still had people shouting and hissing at me. After a point.... I didn't much care. I was permitted in the huge expanse as a tourist and avoided the few sign-marked areas that warned "Hindus only". If I blundered into a place I should not have been, then at least ask me to exit with a bit of grace. Unfortunately, Thiruvannamalai was only a taste of what I would experience a few days later. Overall, those random scoldings didn't sour my visit too much. I liked wandering the huge enclosure. It was one of my best temple experiences in India. In any case, even though not a warm and fuzzy visit, the whole complex was as amazing as it was confusing. I think a guide would have been useful. Meanwhile, Mt Arunachala dominated the city and temple - the largest Shiva lingam on earth. I was worn out and worn down. It was time to head back to Pondy.
Arunachaleswara Temple
Gingee Fort
[February 3]
On the way back from the temple we stopped at an 18th century fortress that has partially been restored. Imagine three of these granite outcrops...each with a fort on top all connected by a wall (like the Great Wall of China) enclosing an even larger complex. It was really amazing.... some excellent restoration and preservation work too!
On the way to Thiruvannamalai, we passed by Gingee Fort and I made a mental note that if we had time, I wanted to stop off and explore. That, in fact, came to pass and the taxi driver indulged me to pull off the road and let me explore the fort ruins (it was officially not on our itinerary even though the road literally passed THROUGH it)
Gingee Fort is one of the surviving forts in Tamil Nadu, India. It lies in Villupuram District, 160 kilometres from the state capital, Chennai, and is close to the Union Territory of Puducherry. The site is so fortified that Shivaji, the Maratha king, ranked it as the "most impregnable fortress in India", and it was called the "Troy of the East" by the British. Originally built by Ananta Kon around 1190 AD and later fortified by Krishna Kon, it was later modified in the 13th century to elevate it to the status of an unbreachable citadel to protect the small town of Saenji. It was also the headquarters domination in northern Tamil Nadu. The fort was built as a strategic place of fending off any invading armies.
(Wikipedia)
I had seen many forts in India on my first trip with Brian [see: Istanbul to Kushinagar], but none were like Gingee. It looked part fort and part "Great Wall of China" as the fortress wall snaked down each hill to connect the three hilltops. The place was an amazing piece of engineering to say the least. I enjoyed scrambling around the site during our short break, but I knew the taxi driver preferred we push on, so I only climbed one of the hills for a view of the place. I didn't have a whole lot of historical context until after the visit as it was one of those "surprise finds" anyway. It made for a nice rest stop on the return trip.
We headed back to Pondy. It was another successful (if frustrating at times) road trip.
Leaving Pondicherry
I was sad to leave my lovely heritage hotel in Pondy. The manager had been wonderful and a fount of information and assistance. The food was excellent, too. He recommended I not use my train ticket from Pondicherry to Tindivanam Junction because the train connection was too long and the taxi ride from Pondy was cheap and fast. I had to agree - why would I want to stay for several hours in a minor railway station if I could just take a car and arrive 15 minutes before the train? Luckily for me the train turned out to be on time. It was about a six hour journey south to Madurai. I was back on Indian railways after 20 years - as it turns out, it had not really improved.
Madurai
[February 5]
It was a total of 7 hours by taxi and train to Madurai. The train was AC but full...not too comfortable. Then my hotel has a bad mattress and mosquitoes. Ugh. However... I woke up early before the crowds and went to see Sri Meenakshi Temple here. All I can say is "wow" and "I was impressed" and it really takes a lot to impress me travelling these days! I would rank this as one of the finest religious structures I've seen anywhere...the carvings inside and out are amazing...and it's really OLD too. So... although Madurai has not impressed me and this HOT and EXPENSIVE internet cafe sucks, it was totally worth it to see the temple. Now, can I leave tomorrow or not? I'm only waitlisted on my train ticket! haha
Well... I saw the other big tourist attraction here. Also impressive but it's very "non-Indian" influenced so it just didn't blow me away like the temple did. It's still pretty old. What is left is the audience hall and the dance hall, of a huge palace complex. It must have been HUGE
Sri Meenakshi Temple was astonishing, so much so that on my second trip to Tamil Nadu, brothers MP and I visited [see: Sri Meenakshi Temple] at my request for a repeat viewing. What Notre Dame was to Paris and France, Sri Meenakshi was to Madurai and Tamil Nadu. Madurai is the cultural capital of the state and the dialect of Tamil spoken there is considered "standard". Sri Meenakshi Temple is the beating heart of the city.
I also saw the Thirumalai Nayakkar Palace which was not too far from the temple complex. Only part of the palace remains and it was very European and North Indian influenced. It just seemed out of step with ancient Madurai and its grand temple. Perhaps if I had seen the palace in any other city, I might have been impressed, but in Madurai - it was just a distant second attraction. At least there were no crowds - I was the only visitor.
Most unfortunately, even though my good friend, MP, grew up near Madurai and I had other friends from the city itself, the place did not grow on me. Having a bad hotel and a bad internet connection really cast a pall over my short stay in Madurai. Add to it that I wasn't confirmed on my train seat out the next day. Madurai was not cooperating, Sri Meenakshi's Temple grandeur notwithstanding.
Somehow I managed to get my seat confirmed and was on the train the next day to Trichy Junction. Upon arrival in Trichy I realized just how good Madurai actually had been!
Sri Meenakshi
Thirumalai Nayakkar Palace
Trichy
[February 6]
Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) gets my vote for the dustiest most unpleasant town I have had the pleasure of arriving in on this trip. And.... Vodaphone.... YOU SUCK! They said they are going to cancel my SIM card (phone number) cuz the guy back in Chennai didn't file the paperwork correctly. UGH. This is SO not my idea of a good time....
I can say two good things about Tiruchirappalli, the hotel was much nicer than the one in Madurai and the new airport was nice (and I had a direct flight back to Singapore from there, so I didn't have to hassle with getting back to Chennai). Other than that, Trichy just sucked! As I mentioned, right after I arrived in town I found my SIM card had been misregistered and it would be switched off. I checked with Vodaphone and the amount of hassle to correct the issue didn't justify the time for my remaining couple of days. As it turns out, my SIM lasted until just about the end of the trip anyway, but what a hassle.
Trichy was dusty and dirty and seemingly had no redeeming features except its MASSIVE temple complex which is purported to be the largest religious structure on earth (or at least in India). I was in Trichy to spend a few more days exploring and to be close to the airport.
Trichy Junction
[February 7]
Trichy....I dub thee the "armpit of Tamil Nadu" Not a great place to end what has otherwise been a good holiday. I'm off to Thanjavur today on a day trip... me hopes it's a better place. But at least the hotel here is nice and no mosquitoes and bed bugs like the last one. (and you all thought my travel was so glamorous....)
[February 8]
Once again my beloved town of Trichy does not fail to deliver on being an unpleasant place.... hahaha I saw the three big sites here today: The Rock Fort and two temples. The Rock Fort is a huge granite outcrop in the center of town that has been carved into temples and grottos with one small temple on the top that gives a stunning view over town.
I had an early start and headed off to the Rock Fort. It was visible from all over Trichy.
Considered one of the symbols of Tiruchirappalli, the Rock Fort is a fortress which stands atop a 273-foot-high rock. It consists of a set of monolithic rocks accommodating many rock-cut cave temples. Originally built by the Pallavas, it was later reconstructed by the Madurai Nayaks and Vijayanagara rulers. The temple complex has three shrines, two of which are dedicated to Lord Ganesha, one at the foot and the Ucchi Pillayar Temple at the top, and the Thayumanavar Temple between them. The Thayumanavar temple, the largest of the three, houses a shrine for Pārvatī as well as the main deity.
(Wikipedia)
I climbed the steep set of stairs mostly cut into the rocky outcrop itself to reach the tiny temple at the summit. I was far more interested in the views than the temple (which was non-descript). It was hazy, but I got a sense of how Trichy was laid out. Just as I was leaving, the temple priest came to scold me for entering a Hindu only area. Really? then why did the guard at the bottom let me enter? I was leaving anyway and wanted to tell him his little temple didn't impress me (although the views were nice). The visit turned out to be a harbinger of things to come that day.
Rock Fort Temple
As for the temples of Trichy -- Ranganathar is supposedly one of the largest religious structures on earth. Well, it is a HUGE area but some of the temple walls simply enclose part of the normal city....so I hardly see that as being part of the temple itself. Anyway....it was interesting in that it represents what many Indian temples USED to be like.... concentric squares that only certain people could enter. The center was the image of veneration and the most holy. The temple has SEVEN walls around it. I mean, it would be about 1/4 of my town Milford! As per true Trichy.... the people inside were rude and crude. Most of the inner temple is poorly sign-marked and I had people shouting and hissing at me not to enter certain places. If the place is that damn HOLY.. just don't let non-Hindus in, period! hahaha It seems I was in much holier places so far and did NOT run into this kind of behavior (and I was even being very cautious)
After the Rock Fort I made my way to Ranganathaswamy Temple, the heart of Trichy and a superlative religious space.
The Srirangam temple is the largest temple compound in India and one of the largest religious complexes in the world. Some of these structures have been renovated, expanded and rebuilt over the centuries as a living temple. The latest addition is the outer tower that is approximately 73 metres tall, completed in 1987. Srirangam temple is often listed as one of the largest functioning Hindu temples in the world, the still larger Angkor Wat being the largest existing temple. The temple is an active Hindu house of worship and follows the Tenkalai tradition of Sri Vaishnavism. The annual 21-day festival conducted during the Tamil month of Margali (December–January) attracts 1 million visitors. The temple complex has been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is in UNESCO's tentative list.
(Wikipedia)
Meanwhile, reality check. Srirangam has been encroached upon by the city itself. People actually started to live inside the various temple enclosure walls. After being deposited at the main gate it became very difficult to figure out what was sacred (temple) and what was profane (the houses and shops). It should not have mattered except that I kept blundering into "Hindu only" spaces and getting roundly scolded. I had experienced it a little in Thiruvannamalai and just a short time before at the Rock Fort, but nothing compared to the shouts and hisses I experienced in this temple. After a time I just gave up and left - I certainly didn't want to offend people, but I also didn't like the idea of being shouted and hissed at for simply walking around a section of that run-down city of Tamil Nadu. It was a singularly bad experience - one of the worst of its type I experienced anywhere. I can say I visited Srirangam - I can also say I didn't like it.
Trichy was NOT growing on me.
Ranganathar
The OTHER temple of Trichy....far more chill and I thought more beautiful, was the Shiva temple of Jambukeshwara. Here you could walk around freely without people shouting at you and only the inner sanctum was off limits (which is usually the case). There is an elephant here which gives "blessings" to people. It's always fun to watch as the Devotees are half afraid to have the trunk touch their heads or bodies.
I almost didn't visit the "other" big temple of Trichy, Jambukeshwara because I was so angry after Srirangam, but I ended up feeling happy I went. It was far more welcoming and peaceful. It was also the third of the "Shiva elemental temples" that I happened to stumble upon on the trip. The temple didn't redeem Trichy for me, but at least it redeemed the day and restored my faith in visiting religious spaces. The best part of the visit was watching people get blessed by the elephant. Most of them looked extremely doubtful (I might have as well). Elephants are quite massive beasts when standing next to one.
Jambukeswarar Temple
Thanjavur
[February 7]
Oh happiness returns to Tamil Nadu for Matt. Thanjavur is a nice town and the two major sights "The BIG Temple" and the Palace are both interesting. The temple is 1000 years old and basically is pretty original The carving and craftsmanship are amazing, really. I know I keep saying it....but again "wow" this very old temple has impressed me. It is still functioning but the air is not thick with religion as it is in some of the other temple sites. This place is just really OLD and really WOW.
I knew about Thanjavur long before I visited. One of my friends from Singapore was from the city and he often talked about the "big temple" there. When I looked up the place on the internet, I also discovered that many of the brass and bronze casts of the Nataraj (Shiva the Cosmic Dancer) were made in Thanjavur. Interestingly Thanjavur was some distance from Chidambaram where the original existed. The main reason for any tourist to visit, however, was its ancient stone temple. There was an express train twice a day between Trichy and Thanjavur which allowed travel in less than an hour and a solid half day to explore the city. I got my tickets and was on my way across flat Tamil Nadu with fingers crossed Thanjavur would be better than Trichy. I was not disappointed - Thanjavur was smaller and had a more relaxed feel to it. I walked easily to its famous temple. Brihadishvara Temple and known locally as Thanjai Periya Kovil (lit. 'Thanjavur Big Temple') is a Shaivite Hindu temple built in a Chola architectural style located on the south bank of the Cauvery river in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the largest Hindu temples and an exemplar of Tamil architecture. It is also called Dakshina Meru ("Meru of the South). Built by Chola emperor Rajaraja I between 1003 and 1010 CE, the temple is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Great Living Chola Temples"... Built using granite, the vimana tower above the shrine is one of the tallest in South India. The temple has a massive colonnaded prakara (corridor) and one of the largest Shiva lingas in India. It is also famed for the quality of its sculpture, as well as being the location that commissioned the brass Nataraja, Shiva as the lord of dance, in the 11th century. The complex includes shrines for Nandi, Parvati, Murugan, Vinayagar, Sabhapati, Dakshinamurti, Chandikeshwar, Varahi, Thiyagarajar of Thiruvarur and others. The temple is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Tamil Nadu. (Wikipedia) The most striking thing about "the big temple" of Thanjavur was that it was all natural, carved stone and not the riot of colors on display at most other temples. For me, that actually made the carvings all the more beautiful. Due to the temple being a huge tourist attraction there were no issues wandering the full enclosure - I was not once hissed nor shouted at. I loved Thanjavur all the more. The temple's age, beauty, and overall serenity (there were few visitors) made it one of the best places I visited on the trip. I was happy I was finishing off my Tamil Hindu Temple Tour on a high note. Nearby, there was another palace similar to the one I visited in Madurai. Compared to the temple, the Maratha Palace was an "also-ran". Built much later, the architectural style was not unique, copying both North Indian and European styles like in Madurai. The place was a lot more intact than its twin in to the south, and a visit gave a better sense of what such an intact palace felt like (while in Madurai only portions of a much larger palace remain). Nonetheless, the "big temple" was the star of the show in Thanjavur. I caught the late afternoon express to Trichy and watched the sun drop low in the sky from the train. Late afternoons in India are sometimes gorgeous, and the sun, a fiery orange ball, appears suspended just above the horizon. I was going to leave the next day and I only had to suffer through one more day in that city I had come to dislike.
Brihadishwara Temple
Maratha Palace
Last Day in Trichy
[February 9]
Definitely not fun spending my last full day in Trichy. A friend might come this afternoon to hang out with me till it's time to go..... sure hope so. I have to check out of my room at 3pm and then I'm really just stuck roaming around for about 6-7 hours. This is so NOT a relaxing town! hahahaha
Trichy's final kick in the pants was making me wander around outside of the hotel for HOURS until my flight in the evening. Luckily, one of the guys from an internet cafe I frequented in Singapore (I have since forgotten his name) lived outside of Trichy and was on home leave. He agreed to come and spend a few hours with me. It was actually quite a sweet gesture from someone I didn't know all that well. I had contemplated a day trip somewhere, but I was too nervous to travel just before a flight. I was in India - who knew what would happen? I ended up spending a few hours with my "kind of friend" helping me pass the time in a city I really had come to dislike.
When I finally made it to the airport, it was one of India's new, next generation airports that was super modern. I checked in and entered a modern waiting room that could have been anywhere. Compared to much larger (and dumpier) Chennai, Trichy had a lovely airport. It was perhaps the only redeeming feature of the entire city!
Thus ended my first trip to Tamil Nadu.
I went camera-less and actually loved NOT trying to capture everything around me on my phone or in a camera. I admit that I missed taking photos, but it was quite freeing also. The trip made me want to return to Southern India and I ended up going back twice more - once to Kerala and once again to Tamil Nadu.