The Living Ancients

It was hard leaving those beautiful beaches of Varkala... and the wonderful seafood. I boarded my train that evening and was on my way east. I went sleeper class, which meant I had a bed for the overnight journey. Here's a peek. the blue back rest folds out to create the third birth so that six sleep in one compartment...



My neighbors were all Indians who spoke almost no English, except at one stop a man resembling Ben Kingsley boarded the train and slept on the birth above mine. We had only a brief moment to chat, and his English was a bit limited but it turns out he is Daniele from Italy.

I slept well enough and the next morning, after arriving in the city of Madurai, I said "Buon viaggio" to Daniele, but this wouldn't be the last I'd see of him.

The sun was just coming up over the horizon as I walked the guantlet of rickshaw drivers into the city. I started visiting some of the hotels listed in Lonely Planet to find each of them booked. At the last one I asked where an alternative place to stay might be. They referred me to a place around the corner. As I left the hotel, who should I run into but (nope, not Irish Adam), but Italian Daniele! He also had his (Italiano) Lonely Planet at his side and was checking the same hotels. I told him it was booked but I that I was trying another place around the corner. We went together to the other place and found that they would have two rooms available after 9AM. It was still only about 7AM so we set our bags down at reception and Daniele and I went back into the city to bide our time.

The hotel was very near the great Meenakshi Amman Temple complex and so we took a stroll around the area. It was beautiful in the rising sun light...





These temples are covered with figures from Hindu epics...







Around 8:30 Daniele and I went back to the hotel and were able to both get rooms. It was nice to clean up a bit and then I went back to the temple.

There were a few Western tourists, but for the most part it was Indian worshipers of all ages and walks of life.

One must remove shoes before entering. Here is the central tank, which is often filled with water for sacred washings...




Madurai is one of the oldest cities in southern India and there has been a temple on this spot for over two millennia. Structures have replaced structures and there have been renovations and additions over the years, but most of the stone work inside this temple is hundreds of years old and is still touched up regularly with colorful paints. Thus a walk through the temple complex today is like a glimpse into the past as not much has changed over those many centuries...










Many find it nice to just sit along the steps of the tank...




Indian men are not afraid to show filial affection in public. It's more common to see two men holding hands in public than to see a man and a woman holding hands...




There are shrines of all sorts inside the temple and the outer grounds are filled with people selling foods, flowers, candles, and other offerings for worship...












With hands clasped together in prayer, Hindu worshipers stood solemnly beside various shrines to different deities and sometimes walking around them...



Meanwhile you can hear the squeak of bats flapping around the darker recesses of the temple.

Of course there was an elephant there ready to give blessings in exchange for a few rupees...







Many families brought picnics lunches with them and would find a spot on the ground to eat their lunch together...



More from the temple...















After gawking around the temple and collection my shoes, I was feeling hungry. I went to one of the restaurants recommended in Lonely Planet and as I walked through the doors, who should I run into, but Daniele the Italian boatman!

He was just finishing but stayed and chatted for a bit. We then went together through the town to visit some other sights.

One of the busy streets of Madurai...




Miss Janmooary...




Madurai also boasts a crumbling old palace from the 17th century...













Daniele and I walked back towards our hotel and the temple photographing along the way. We even stopped in a sweets shop and ate some incredible sweets.

We went to the roof of the hotel where we had a stunning evening view of the temple complex...









Also on the roof were two German ladies, one from Munich and the other from a town not far from Munich! I talked to them for a bit and practiced my German and the proposed we go to dinner together!

But first we did some more photography. Here is Daniele and I (I could also say that I hung out with an Italian Gandhi that day)...




The sound of Hindu prayers being sung could still be heard as night fell upon the city (and fireworks in the distance)...




So two Germans, an Italian, and an American walk into an Indian restaurant...



Yeah, the photo didn't come out so good.


The next morning I met Daniele at checkout and we went in search of a Western breakfast together. We couldn't find anything good and so Daniele just went to the temple and I said, "arriva derci" or whatever.

I had seen most of the sights in town and my train wouldn't leave until later that evening, and so I just took it easy enjoying the busy city, spending a bit of time in an internet cafe sipping on hot memes, and exploring some of the side streets off the beaten path.

One of the things I love about India is that you only have to walk down the street and turn a corner and suddenly you will see something completely unexpected and usually quite random.

For example:

In one narrow street I was greeted by several kids who thought it pretty cool to have an American walk by their front door.

One of the boys had a cardboard box and when he opened it up I saw a rainbow of colored chicks. No explanation...




I walked a bit further down the street and suddenly an army of kids came out yelling and crowding around "photo! photo!" So I indulged them and took their photo. These two wanted one with the cow...



Madurai is famous for its tailors and everyone wants to get you to buy a shirt. Thus you often see ironers in the street...





Madurai was nice, but it was time to move on. I boarded my train to take me north. It was sleeper class and so I had a bunk, but as I started getting ready for bed I noticed little cockroaches running around all over the compartment. But if it doesn't bite, buzz, pinch, or sting, then it's ok by me.

I slept fine and the next morning I was at my stop and after a short bus ride past small templed villages, where ox-drawn wagons worked alongside old Tata trucks, and thatched-roof huts sat along the roadside, I was in the town of Mamallapuram, on the eastern shores of Tamil Nadu.

I found some decent accommodation near the beach and I took a morning stroll to see the fisherman getting ready for a day out on the Bay of Bengal...








Mamallapuram is a city of stone and stone cutters. For centuries, this little town has boasted some of India's finest stonework. Craftsmen could be seen carving, chiseling, and polishing away throughout the town...




And most of it's for sale...




Mamallapuram's stone-cutting heritage can be seen all over town.

One of the most striking monuments is just south of town, where 200 years ago the British dug up these temples and sculptures, all of it carved from one single gigantic rock...





Pretty impressive... they were built around the time of the Romans...




All from one rock, mind you...




Still the same rock...




As I walked through the town, I saw ancient carvings almost like graffiti on the large stone hills along the roads and in the park. Some depicted gods and heroes, but others depicted scenes of day-to-day life...



And some things never change...




This one was cool...




After a hot day of exploring, I was ready for a dip in the guest-house pool. I did my best to follow the rules as well as I could understand them...




Just around the corner from my guest house was the Shore Temple. I went over when the light was just right. Of course there were kids there wanting to have their photo taken...




But this is my all-time favorite: This man comes over to me and says, "you take photo of my son." He pushes his frightened little son in front of my camera and as all the other kids are crowding around trying to get in the photo he whips them away with his stick. The photo captures the scene nicely...



The Shore Temple, which is the only remaining of a series of temples along the coast. The 2004 tsunami revealed the areas now underwater, where previous temples stood...















I had peace of mind knowing that my room was safe and secure. That's right, Der Fuerher himself tested the padlock on my door!




The next day I chatted with a nice Swedish couple as I rode the bus two hours north to Chennai (Madras)...







I dropped my backpack at the train station and explored a bit of the city around the station. There really isn't much to see in Chennai, despite it's being India's fourth largest city. I ate a terrific lunch on a banana leaf, however, rubbing shoulders with local businessmen and white-collar workers.

Street scene...




Some people still live in grass-roofed huts in the middle of the city, right on the side of the road!




Fruit...



Shoes...




That evening, I boarded my night train. This time I was in 2nd class A/C, which meant there were fewer people to the compartments and I got fresh sheets, a crisp pillow and a bit cleaner quarters (I only saw two cockroaches!)

I slept well and the next morning I got to know my fellow travelers a bit better. There were two six/seven-year-old girls, unrelated, who spoke English quite well and were intrigued as I did some Sudoku puzzles. I let them have a go on the easy ones and they did quite well.

Here is one of the girls and her brother. She had the most darling Indian-English accent you ever did here, especially when she told me that her brother was "too much naughty!"





Here is a Bengali boy who was always peeking around the corner to see what I was up to. He was really interested in my camera...

So I let him run around and take pictures. Here I am trying to get the camera back...




All the while we passed peaceful scenes of rural life in Andrah Pradesh. Rice paddies, sugarcane fields, coconut trees, small villages, and working buffalo with white egrets by their sides...






I stoped in Vishakhapatnam, on the coast, for one night and then my journey continued further north.

Ahhh... Vishakhapatnam, your story will have to wait for another day...

Today's blog on the map...




View India - Southeast in a larger map

...