18 February Trichy (Tiruchirappalli)
Surprisingly, the train arrived at
Tiruchchirappalli Junction station early at 3:45 a.m., then I took a three-wheel
taxi north across the wide Kaveri River to Srirangam, a part of Trichy set on a
river island. Susindar, his wife, and Sanju had arrived by car from Chennai
yesterday. He had also booked a very pleasant room for me at Vignesh Residency
for today and tomorrow nights, for a total of Rs. 4,700 ($57) with breakfast and
tax. Hotel staff were good sports about my very early arrival, and got up from
their lobby floor sleeping spots even though the official check-in time is noon.
So what can one do at 5:30 a.m.? Visit the temple! Srirangam is home to Sri
Ranganatha Swamy Temple, perhaps the world’s largest active temple complex and
famed for its elaborate stone carvings and many towers. The vast temple area
centers on a shrine of Vishnu as Ranganatha in which the god reclines on a
five-headed snake. I entered Rajgopuram, the highest (73 meters) and newest
(1987) of the lofty towers that form gateways in the four directions. I
proceeded along market streets through the second, third, and fourth gopuram to
the fifth gopuram and temple proper. Only Hindus may continue into the central
stone building and view Vishnu Ranganatha. I walked clockwise around the central
building, detouring to see the temple tank, Thousand-Pillared Hall, and the
16th-century Sesha Mandapa with detailed stone carvings of soldiers atop rearing
battle horses that fight with tigers and enemies. The sky transformed from black
to pink as I made my way around.
Upon sunrise, the temple came alive and
I made a second loop around the central building. Priests had opened up the many
side shrines that hold stone or metal images of Vishnu in his different forms,
his consorts Lakshmi and Sarasvati, and other gods. I could look or step inside
some of the shrines, though a few larger ones are only open to Hindus. At the
Garuda Mandapa in the fifth gopuram I marveled at an enormous image of the
man-eagle mount for Vishnu. One of the temple elephants took up its station and
blessed visitors with a tap on the head by its trunk. Luckily the temple allows
photography, though not of the deities, yet only at the end of my visit did I
reach the temple bookstall that sells the 50-rupee camera ticket. Here too I got
a 50-rupee ticket to climb to a roof for modest views, including of the elephant
house.
After three hours of walking around the temple complex, I
returned to the hotel and met up with Susindar for the first time in almost 40
years! I joined him, his wife, and Sanju in the hotel restaurant for a South
Indian breakfast buffet of idly (savory rice sponge cakes), vada (savory
donuts), plain dosa (savory crepes), pongal (rice and dal mix), sambar
(soup-like lentil dish), coconut chutney, rava kesari (bright-orange sweet made
from semolina, saffron, ghee, nuts, and sugar), lime juice, and milk tea.
I innocently asked him if he sometimes wears a dhoti garment for temple visits
and he said that he had wished to surprise me by wearing one tonight. Even more
surprising, he gave me an elegant South Indian-style dhoti, white with gold
trim, to match his. We next got together at the hotel restaurant for lunch with
South Indian thalis, which I liked very much, though Susindar and his wife
didn’t think the food measured up to their home-cooked meals. Susindar then came
to my room and showed me how to properly wear the dhoti, which has to be wrapped
around the waist and folded just so.
Today is Maha Shivratri, a major
annual Hindu festival that celebrates the power of Lord Shiva to protect his
devotees from negative and evil spirits. Worshippers visit temples, perform
Shiva pujas at home, and may keep a fast and vigil throughout the night.
Susindar’s younger daughter Sanju has been doing Indian classical dancing since
she was seven, and will be performing Bharatanatyam dances tonight at two temple
venues in honor of Shiva.
We rested during the afternoon and never got
around to having dinner. After dark we got in Susindar’s car (with hired driver)
and headed south across the Kaveri River, then down narrow lanes. We climbed
just a few of the flights of stairs that lead upward past shrines and temples to
the famous Rock Fort Temple, then entered a stone hall where dances had already
begun and would continue late into the night. The program included little
girls—super cute in their dance costumes and make-up—up through young adults,
all female and all doing Bharatanatyam dances. We saw both solo and group
dances, then watched Sanju take to the stage at 10 p.m. Afterward we drove back
to the hotel for a brief rest before heading north across the wide Kollidam
River to Uthamar Kovil, an unusual temple where Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma appear
together on the main altar. The dances took place on an outdoor stage just
outside the temple wall, again with a mix of solo and group dances, including
young girls as well as experienced dancers. Sanju took to the stage a little
before 2 a.m. for a set of three dances. Afterward we retreated back to the
hotel for a well-deserved sleep for the tired dancer.
19 February Trichy
(Tiruchirappalli)
We slept in until about 9 a.m., then again had a South
Indian breakfast buffet at the hotel. Although totally different from any
Western breakfast, I find the South Indian version very tasty and satisfying.
Susindar, with advice from his daughter, helped me search for a hotel in
southern Chennai that would be close to his home, and we chose the oddly named
Treebo Trend Eco Stay Nandanam, then reserved it though Booking.com for Rs.
13,672 ($166) for ten nights, which seems a good deal. The hotel also has the
advantage of being just 700 meters from the Nandanam Metro station.
After two nights of little sleep, a rest day felt good, and I hung out in my
room during the day with a little reading, catching up on news, sorting photos,
and a doing bit of writing. Susindar and his family went out for temple and
friend visits. They didn’t get back until late, so I had dinner on my own at the
hotel restaurant, going for North Indian cuisine of paneer pakora (savory
batter-fried cheese) appetizer, malai kofta (potato dumplings with cheese and a
rich cream sauce), tomato soup, tea, and butterscotch ice cream.
20
February Chennai
We knew today’s drive to Chennai would be a long one, so
loaded up in Susindar’s car about 6:30 a.m. with plans to have breakfast along
the way. The four of us plus driver in the little SUV made for a tight fit, but
we managed fine. Our route headed east into the rising sun to Thanjavur where we
passed by the 11th-century Brihadeeswarar Temple and Thanjavur Maratha Palace.
There wasn’t time to stop, but I had been here previously on two cycling rides
and a backpacking trip. At the three-hour point we pulled into a nice restaurant
in the temple town of Kumbakonam for a South Indian breakfast.
Farther
northeast in the town of Mayiladuthurai, Susindar wished to visit a man who had
long been his family doctor. The white-haired doctor still had a practice,
always charging just 5 rupees for a visit. A little farther northeast we stopped
at Vaitheeswarankoil Temple, a Shiva temple that houses what Susindar considers
his family god, and is also known as a place for healing. We first headed for
the temple tank to wet our feet and splash a bit of water on our heads in a
symbolic bath before going to the main shrine that houses a Shiva lingam.
Turning north across the green countryside of rice fields and abundant coconut
palms, we crossed many rivers including the Kollidam on the way to the great
Nataraja Temple in Chidambaram. The temple—dedicated to Shiva as the cosmic
dancer—occupies an entire block and has four massive tower gateways. We first
had lunch at Adyar Ananda Bhavan, a chain of South Indian vegetarian
restaurants, where most of us went for a thali. Susindar then wished to visit
the temple right away because we still had a long drive ahead, but the temple
closes during the afternoon and wouldn’t open for another hour at 4 p.m., so we
found a comfortable place to wait in the restaurant. We then headed inside
through the east gate, but had to wait a half hour before the inner area opened.
Susindar passed the time chatting with one of the priests. Susindar, who is a
Hindu Brahmin, confided that he would like to be a priest in a future life. This
temple is open to non-Hindus, so I was able to join Susindar, wife, and Sanju
for a viewing of the heavily garlanded image of Nataraj, lit by a multi-flamed
oil lamp waved in front of the image by a priest. Priests in the temple go
shirtless, and Susindar and I had to remove our shirts before going inside the
gold-roofed shrine. Afterward we walked around the Nataraj shrine, then stopped
at a nearby shrine for a viewing of Vishnu, the same reclining form of
Ranganatha as at the great temple in Srirangam.
With the afternoon
getting late, we still had a long drive to Chennai. Except for a few rare
stretches of smooth four-lane highway, the entire day’s drive had been on
crowded, dusty, and broken two-lane roads—slow going nearly all the way. India’s
incredibly bad highway infrastructure has greatly held back the country’s
development. Somehow our driver had the stamina to put in a very long day of
dodging potholes and traffic on the narrow roads. The 208-kilometer route that
paralleled the coast from Chidambaram to Chennai took about five hours with a
stop only for petrol. I got dropped off at Treebo Trend Eco Stay Nandanam, the
Chennai hotel that I had reserved through Airbnb. Susindar and Sanju came up to
the third-floor reception to make sure that I was able to check in okay. My
little marbled-floored corner room looked good at first with a tiny table, large
bed, and a hot-shower bathroom. It was too late for dinner, so I fixed a hot
cocoa for a nightcap. A persistently barking dog below on the street and buzzing
mosquitoes in my ears gave me doubts about the room, but I managed to sleep with
the help of earplugs. The ceiling fan had only one setting—hurricane—so I used
the air-conditioner even though the night was cool.