Next up, a drive to Puducherry. We passed some salt flats and salt farms, and these farms are a part of India's independence story. As the British tried to impose a monopoly on salt production and Ghandi walked to these salt flats (10 miles/day for 24 days - the Dandi/Salt March), gathering a large crowd of followers, and made salt. This inspired more 'civil disobedience' (The peaceful and deliberate breaking of laws you deem to be unjust), and while it didn't immediately get any concessions, it did kickstart the Indian independence movement.
Out the other side of the bus was a picturesque view, so I snapped it. On looking in more detail I found what I believe to be a Black Headed Ibis and a group of Painted Stork! Bonus!!!
We got to Puducherry and went for a wander around the town. We visited a temple to Ganesh where you can get an elephant to bless you (the elephant gets blessed first and then passes it on). Again, moderate ethical issues with elephants being used like this, but when in India!
There was also the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, a spiritual community of some sort where we had a bit of a go at meditating (no photos!), the local governor went by and the police stopped traffic for her, and we wandered about generally touristing.
Next day we drove to Madurai, one of the oldest constantly inhabited cities in the world (the recorded history goes back to at least 300BC). All of Sanna's usual local guides were away on holiday, so we had someone new, but he did a pretty good job. Even took us to his father's shop, but didn't pressure us to buy anything or even mention it was his dad's until we left. Jack got a dodi so he didn't have to wear his jeans to visit the temple in the scorching heat.
We visited the palace first, built in the 1600's. It's a mix of 4 different styles, including Roman columns (there was trade with Rome), Dravidian (the local southern Indian style), Muslim and Rajput. It was beautifully detailed and some of it was recently refurbished. I did comment on the 'wonkiness' of some of the ceiling art, but Sanna was fairly sure that was it was the English restoration that made it wonky rather than poor quality Indian work as I cheekily suggested :-)
Next up, the famous Meenakshi Temple, dedicated jointly to Meenakshi (an incarnation of Parvati, Shiva's wife) and Sunderareshwar (an incarnation of Shiva). I have been getting soooooo confused with the Hindu religion. It seems that as well as there being multiple incarnations of each of the gods, there are also regional differences in what the gods or incarnations are called. It was so confusing trying to keep up with it all. There has been a temple here since at least 600AD though most of the remaining structure was built between 1400-1700AD. Thousands of people visit every day, particularly around the festival of Meenakshi and Sunderareshway's marriage. The main gatehouses are amazing. 9 stories tall and covered in figures. Apparently the paint-job is new, and intended to make the figures stand out more, but it seems odd that archaeologists would allow painting of something that wasn't painted before.
It was bakingly hot again, and we had to go barefoot into the temple. In places there were coconut mats to walk on, but where there wasn't the paving nearly burned my feet. Also, no cameras or phones are allowed inside now as supposedly someone's battery exploded, started a fire and burnt down part of the building, but I think it's just an excuse to banning photography. It was very annoying for me as I like to take photos to help me remember where I've been and what I've seen (did you notice that?). Grumpy Martin thought about refusing to go unless I could take my camera, but sensible Martin prevailed, and luckily our guide, Sanna, had taken photos on her previous trips and shared them with us, so I do have pics from inside.
The main thing in the temple were the many carvings and the beautifully painted ceilings in the corridors. There were some areas non-Hindus weren't allowed into, so I've no idea what was in there.
There were also various long queues of people wanting to go in and pray. I really do wonder at the amount of time, effort and money spent on religion worldwide and what we as a race could have achieved if we focused it on science and social welfare instead.
Last activity for the day was a bicycle rickshaw ride around the city. We were taken through various backstreets where a lot of the people, particularly the kids, were very keen to wave, say hello and shake hands if they could. Was a bit of a weird feeling slightly like a celebrity, but Sanna had warned us it would happen as there are not many white visitors to the area. About 20 minutes in, the skies opened and it absolutely poured with rain. I felt incredibly sorry for the rickshaw guy, I mean even more sorry than I had previously when he was having to tow my big fat bum around in the dry. We did pause till the worst was over, and then carried on, making a few stops to see local weavers using (I think) Jacquard looms (I did buy a tea towel), a banana market and suchlike. Nothing particularly spectacular, but very nice to get a feeling for it all.
Out the other side of the bus was a picturesque view, so I snapped it. On looking in more detail I found what I believe to be a Black Headed Ibis and a group of Painted Stork! Bonus!!!
We got to Puducherry and went for a wander around the town. We visited a temple to Ganesh where you can get an elephant to bless you (the elephant gets blessed first and then passes it on). Again, moderate ethical issues with elephants being used like this, but when in India!
There was also the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, a spiritual community of some sort where we had a bit of a go at meditating (no photos!), the local governor went by and the police stopped traffic for her, and we wandered about generally touristing.
Next day we drove to Madurai, one of the oldest constantly inhabited cities in the world (the recorded history goes back to at least 300BC). All of Sanna's usual local guides were away on holiday, so we had someone new, but he did a pretty good job. Even took us to his father's shop, but didn't pressure us to buy anything or even mention it was his dad's until we left. Jack got a dodi so he didn't have to wear his jeans to visit the temple in the scorching heat.
We visited the palace first, built in the 1600's. It's a mix of 4 different styles, including Roman columns (there was trade with Rome), Dravidian (the local southern Indian style), Muslim and Rajput. It was beautifully detailed and some of it was recently refurbished. I did comment on the 'wonkiness' of some of the ceiling art, but Sanna was fairly sure that was it was the English restoration that made it wonky rather than poor quality Indian work as I cheekily suggested :-)
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| Come on - it's wonky! |
Next up, the famous Meenakshi Temple, dedicated jointly to Meenakshi (an incarnation of Parvati, Shiva's wife) and Sunderareshwar (an incarnation of Shiva). I have been getting soooooo confused with the Hindu religion. It seems that as well as there being multiple incarnations of each of the gods, there are also regional differences in what the gods or incarnations are called. It was so confusing trying to keep up with it all. There has been a temple here since at least 600AD though most of the remaining structure was built between 1400-1700AD. Thousands of people visit every day, particularly around the festival of Meenakshi and Sunderareshway's marriage. The main gatehouses are amazing. 9 stories tall and covered in figures. Apparently the paint-job is new, and intended to make the figures stand out more, but it seems odd that archaeologists would allow painting of something that wasn't painted before.
The main thing in the temple were the many carvings and the beautifully painted ceilings in the corridors. There were some areas non-Hindus weren't allowed into, so I've no idea what was in there.
There were also various long queues of people wanting to go in and pray. I really do wonder at the amount of time, effort and money spent on religion worldwide and what we as a race could have achieved if we focused it on science and social welfare instead.
Last activity for the day was a bicycle rickshaw ride around the city. We were taken through various backstreets where a lot of the people, particularly the kids, were very keen to wave, say hello and shake hands if they could. Was a bit of a weird feeling slightly like a celebrity, but Sanna had warned us it would happen as there are not many white visitors to the area. About 20 minutes in, the skies opened and it absolutely poured with rain. I felt incredibly sorry for the rickshaw guy, I mean even more sorry than I had previously when he was having to tow my big fat bum around in the dry. We did pause till the worst was over, and then carried on, making a few stops to see local weavers using (I think) Jacquard looms (I did buy a tea towel), a banana market and suchlike. Nothing particularly spectacular, but very nice to get a feeling for it all.
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| A new TV show perhaps? |
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| Piles of rubbish |
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| The temple from a distance in the dark - looks like something from Star Wars or Blade Runner |
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