MAGNIFICENT MAHABALIPURAM

We woke up on the last day of our tour of the Temple Towns of Tamil Nadu, India. After breakfast, we had a small celebration for the successful completion of the tour with cake cutting.

At 9.30 am, we started our two hour drive from Pondicherry to Mahabalipuram.

At Mahabalipuram, we were met by our local guide, who was very good with his communication skills.

First we visited the monument complex Pancha Rathas (also known as Five Rathas or Pandava Rathas). Pancha Rathas is an example of monolithic Indian rock-cut architecture, carved during the reign of King Narasimhavarman I (630–668 AD). It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site inscribed by UNESCO as Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram.

The place was pretty crowded, as it was a weekend perhaps. School kids and their teachers were having a great time, exploring the place and taking photos.

Each of the five monuments in the Pancha Rathas complex is a monolith, carved over a single, long stone or monolith, of a slightly sloping pink granite and resembles a chariot (ratha).

From South to North, they are in this order - the Dharmaraja Ratha, Bhima Ratha, Arjuna Ratha,  and Draupadi Ratha in a line. 

  

Nakula Sahadeva Ratha is to the left side of Arjuna Ratha.

 

Besides these, there are three large sculptures of Lion, Elephant , and Nandi Bull.

The architectural elegance of the Dharmaraja Ratha is its pyramidal structure which rises in three steps. It is built with a square layout. It is embellished with carvings of Hindu gods Harihara, Brahma, Skanda, Ardhanarishvara and King Narasimhavarman I.

  

There is also an independent monolithic stone sculpture of Nandi, adjoining this ratha in the open space.

Then there is the Bhima Ratha built to a rectangular plan, with lion mounted columned galleries on two sides.

 

The next in order is the Arjuna Ratha, similar to Dharmaraja Ratha, with a well decorated and elegant facade.

 

The Draupadi Ratha, the last in the line, is a square structure, resembling a village hut with thatched roof. There is a fresco of Goddess Durga inside this shrine. 

The Nakula Sahadeva Ratha is to the side of Arjuna Ratha. It is comparatively simple.

There is a stone monolithic sculpture of an elephant in the open space, next to this ratha. 

We then went to Mamallaa Heritage Restaurant, 

where we had thali lunch.

We then walked to the nearby Shore Temple (built in 700–728 AD), a complex of temples and shrines built with blocks of granite, overlooks the shore of the Bay of Bengal. As one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, it has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984. 

 

It was such a picturesque scene....

We could see the waves lashing the shore nearby.

At the time of its creation, the site was a busy port during the reign of Narasimhavarman II of the Pallava dynasty. It is one of the oldest structural (versus rock-cut) stone temples of South India.

Marco Polo and the European merchants who came to Asia after him, called the site Seven Pagodas. One of these is believed to be the Shore Temple. The temple probably acted as a landmark for navigation of their ships. As it appears like a Pagoda, the name became familiar to the seafarers. Why Seven Pagodas? Well, the tsunami of 26 December 2004 that struck the coastline there, exposed an old collapsed temple built entirely of granite blocks. This has renewed speculation that Mahabalipuram was a part of the Seven Pagodas described in the diaries of Europeans, of which six temples remain submerged in the sea. The tsunami also exposed some ancient rock sculptures of lions, elephants, and peacocks that used to decorate walls and temples during the Pallava period during the 7th and 8th centuries.

Though the temple and the surrounding garden were struck by Tsunami, the Shore Temple was not badly damaged, as the water level returned to its normal level within a few minutes.

The Shore Temple complex is a combination of three shrines, built on the same platform. Viewed from the northern end, the temples appear to be a replica of the Dharmaraja Ratha. The main shrine is dedicated to Shiva as is the smaller second shrine. A small third shrine between the two, is dedicated to a reclining Vishnu. 

There are sculpted 'Nandi's by the side of the temples.

In 1990, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) discovered a miniature shrine with the Bhuvaraha image in an elliptical well type enclosure, dedicated to Shiva.

After that we went to see Arjuna's Penance / Descent of the Ganges which is a monument, measuring 29 m × 13 m. It is a giant open-air rock relief carved on two monolithic rock boulders. The relief is more of a canvas of Indian rock cut sculpture at its best not seen anywhere in India. It is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984. The descent of the Ganges and Arjuna's Penance are portrayed in stone at the Pallava heritage site.

The legend depicted in the relief is the story of the descent of the sacred river Ganges to earth from the heavens led by Bhagiratha. The waters of the Ganges are believed to possess supernatural powers. 

In one interpretation, a figure in the relief who is standing on one leg is said to be Arjuna performing an austerity 'Tapas' to receive a boon from Shiva as an aid in fighting the Mahabharata war. The boon, which Arjuna is said to have received, was called Pasupata, Shiva's most powerful weapon.

 

The relief is carved on two large boulders with a cleft. Above the cleft was a collecting pool, and at one time, water may have flowed along the cleft. Figures in the cleft in the rock are covered with nagas (serpent deities), in anjali posture. The river is said to represent Ganga or the River Ganges emerging from Shiva's head. This provides the basis for an alternative interpretation of the mural. 

Another interpretation for the yogi doing penance on one leg is that it is a depiction of Bhagiratha doing severe penance to bring down the Ganges to earth to usher prosperity and happiness to the people. To break Ganga's fall from heaven to earth, she falls onto Shiva's hair, and is divided into many streams by his tresses. The nagas carved in the cleft represent fecundity and wealth. Shiva and other gods are shown blessing the saint. The scene is further accentuated with carvings of kings, sages, artists and animals.

One more interpretation of the myth seen in another part of the panel is that of a cat standing on one leg (apparently as an austerity), and perhaps an iconic figure in the relief. It is interpreted as relating to the Panchatantra story of an ascetic. It denotes the hare luring a bird to come close so that she could she catch and devour it. The artist has brought out the expression on the cat's face, its motives clearly.

A few animals - elephants, deer are all part of the carvings, as also celestial beings as well as hunters and humans.

There are lions ..., an there is a sculpture of a monkey family, the father monkey taking out lice from the mother monkey's hair, 

while the little one is resting on her lap.

We couldn't stop admiring the intricate sculpting everywhere.

 

We then walked to the last site Krishna's Butter Ball.

It is also known as Krishna's Vennai Urandai; it is a gigantic granite boulder resting on a short incline. It is best viewed at sunrise from northwest to southeast or at sundown from northeast to southwest for magical hues.

The boulder is gigantic - approximately 6 meters high and 5 meters wide and weighs around 250 tons.  It seems to float and barely stand on a slope on top of 1.2-meter high plinth which is a naturally eroded hill, and is said to have been at the same place for 1200 years. A part of the boulder on top back has eroded away, making it look like a half-spherical rock from the back, while it looks round shaped from other three sides.

Close to Krishna's Butterball, is the two-storey, relatively-undamaged, late 7th century Ganesha Ratha, similar to Bhima Ratha. The first storey has five small vimanas, the second has four, with similar patterns. There are nine ne end has a

The temple facade has two pillars and two pilasters.

The column bases are shaped like seated lions. At the sides of the entrance are two standing dvarapalas with welcoming, bent heads. There is a Ganesh statue in the

We would have loved to stay overnight there and visit all other interesting spots in Mahabalipuram. As I mentioned earlier, we were getting just a taste of each of the temple towns in this tour. We would have to take up separate tours to get a hearty fill ....

We started our drive for Chennai airport at 4 pm. We reached there at 6 pm. We were handed packed dinner, which we enjoyed at the airport before catching our flight back home to Pune.

It was 22 February 2020. We spotted very few persons wearing masks at the airport, you can't spot any mask in the above picture. CORONA scare was yet to sink in. We were glad to be home. I was a bit apprehensive and took care for the next ten days. Thankfully nothing untoward happened. Wow! That was close .... In less than a week, things started worsening and CORONA cases started spiraling ...... Within a month, temples and places of worship were shut down too......

PONDY 'HOME' REVISITED

We chose the tour of Temple Towns of Tamil Nadu, which included Pondicherry too. That was because of my intimate connection with the city - I had spent three years there when my father was posted as the Director, Public Works Department. We used to live in the government quarters, just above the PWD Office building Travaux Publics - on the first floor. My engagement was held in that residence, so it held nostalgic memories for both of us. 

Much before the tour, I had checked up the place - I mean Travaux Publics - on Google - the photo looked great - the gate looked the same as before - looking majestic and fresh!

Soon after we checked in at Hotel Atithi at 7 pm, my husband and I decided to visit the place. I must have looked like an excited little girl as we were exiting the hotel. We had no clue whether to go left or right. We asked the security guard about the distance and location of the PWD office. He said we could take an auto and be there in ten minutes.

We hailed an auto, seated ourselves and asked him to take us to Travaux Publics. He charged us Rs 100 for the short distance of less than three kms - we were in no mood to argue and we didn't let that dampen our enthusiasm.

We stood at the tall gate with freshly painted doors and gazed at the imposing building beyond. It was 7.30 pm, but the office had not closed down. A few persons were seen there.

 

We gazed up at the first floor. We could see a light there. We were hoping that the present Director of PWD must be staying there; perhaps we could pay a quick visit and look around the place. My heart started beating fast.

Looking at us staring at the building, the security guard politely inquired what we wanted. I excitedly told him that I used to live upstairs once upon a time - 50 years ago to be precise, when my father Mr. N.D. Rajan was Director, PWD. We told him that we wished to visit the house upstairs and wanted to know who was living there. He said it was occupied by an ex Minister of Puducherry but he was out of town, visiting his family in his home town Mahe. I was crestfallen - my hopes of going around the house to refresh my memories were crashed.

In fact, we saw a separate gate leading upstairs to the house - it wasn't there then; it was new. We used to use the same gate as that of the office. We double checked that separate gate - it was locked, so no chance of visiting 'our' house.

Meanwhile the guard went in and came back after a few minutes after checking out my father's name on the board. He respectfully told us that we could come to the office and see the board listing out all the Directors.

 

We walked in and saw the huge board; the security guard pointed to the first name. I told him that was not my father. Scrolling down further, I saw my father's name in the sixth spot and told him that was my father. 

When we were clicking photos, he obliged us by taking our photos in front of the board. Everyone around, though total strangers, looked at us with respect in their eyes and it made us feel good.

As we came out, the guard clicked a picture of both of us and then gave us privacy. 

We started taking photos of the first floor of the building from every angle. It was dark, but I managed a few pics.

First, the mango tree - it used to supply us with loads of delicious mangoes (lal bagh / sendoora variety). The mangoes would be plucked when ready and brought home. It was my mother's job (assisted by our Man Friday) to spread hay on the huge  pooja room and place the mangoes there to ripen. My mother enjoyed choosing half a dozen ready mangoes for each day. I still remember all of us seated around her, as she'd neatly peel each one and cut equal sized pieces and make five equal portions. This would be repeated with each mango. Everyone would get to taste equal number of pieces of each mango! The seeds also would be equally shared to relish the flesh. I was so glad to see the tree still alive and well.

I could see that particular room beyond the tree on the left side. What was new? I could see an A/C, which we could see connected from its balcony.

Behind this room was our drawing room - my most pleasant memories of that room are about the 'girl-seeing' incident, when my would-be husband had come over with his parents, and we got engaged the same day. I did not get a view of this room.

Then there was the long verandah / corridor, with large windows, right above the center of the office downstairs.  We had a long swing, where all five of our family could squeeze in to be seated. What's special about the house is the height of the ceiling.

Beyond that was our dining room, where we had a big dining table, which would double up as table tennis table, where I would agree to play with my champion brother - on the condition that he would not slam shots / aces.

Behind that was the extra large kitchen and adjoining pantry, which had their own share of stories ....

On the right side, we could see the balcony of what used to be our bedroom - my sister's and mine, I remembered how at bedtime, we'd be discussing the stories and scenes of the movie we had recently watched, only to be ticked off by our parents in the adjoining room, their bedroom. 

Their bedroom had a balcony too, which faced the road. There was a small tea stall there, which would cater to the office staff too. It was called 'Janaky Tea Stall' - incidentally, Janaky was my mother's name. The tea stall would play film songs in the mornings and evenings. 

When I came out to see the tea stall, I saw no sign of it. Nothing along the neat wall of the building on the opposite side of the road. I asked the guards there about 'Janaky Tea Stall', and they said it had been shut down some years ago.

I remembered the numerous movies we had seen in Pondy - I remembered the many modest movie theaters of those times - all lined up on the same road - Newtone, Ratna, Raman, Raja, Kandan, and Ajanta. I ventured to ask the guard about the theaters and he started telling us which ones were still there and which ones had turned into malls / hotels. I told him we were put up at Hotel Atithi. To our surprise, he informed us that it used to be Ajanta theater. Oh wow! I remembered watching so many Tamil movies, including - 'Avalukkendroru manam', 'Engirundo Vandaal' 'Raja', even the ancient 'Ambikapathi' (re-run) ....

The beach is located pretty close to the house, but dad would choose to drive us all to the beach on some late evenings. It was not for a walk (those days we had not heard of 'walking for health'). We'd sit there and enjoy the breeze for half an hour and drive back home.

In this context, I remember my father proudly taking us to a famous French restaurant (forgot the name) on the beach front. We kids were overawed by the ambiance. Dad ordered fruit salad for all of us. We were waiting impatiently for it to arrive. Arrive it did, and as soon as the waiter left, we dug our spoon into the attractive cup and eagerly put in the first morsel in our mouth. Dad was excitedly watching our expression. What did he get to see? No, not cheerful smiles and sparkling eyes, but twitched lips and sour expressions. Why? The fruit salad tasted different - it was sour, in fact. We whispered among ourselves that they would have added curd (yogurt) in it - probably by mistake. None of us took in a second spoon. I don't know why, but we didn't make an issue of it with the management but just paid the exorbitant bill and walked out, vowing never to set foot anywhere near the precincts. Looking back, I think they must have added sour cream to the fruit salad.

We were happy to spend some wonderful moments reliving the wonderful memories associated with the house. We then took leave of the security guards, gave one more longing look at 'our' house of yore and took an autorikshaw back to the hotel - this time we were charged a reasonable 50 Rs.

That was the best one hour of the entire tour for me. I could not help remembering our visit to my father's sprawling government quarters 'Haddo Villa', when we went on a group tour of Andamans in January 2016. It is now Tribal research Center. We were also fortunate to visit in January 2015, my maternal grandfather's official residence in Cochin, where I was born. It is now Maritime Heritage Museum. Some connection - eh?

We enjoyed the sumptuous spread for dinner and retired to bed, ready to dream about my good old Pondy days....

PONDICHERRY

We left from

 

Pondicherry is the capital city of The Union Territory of Puducherry and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in South India. 

 

A French colony until 1954, this coastal town still has a number of imposing colonial buildings, churches, statues, and systematic town planning, as well as urban architecture of the local Tamil style - a unique mix of cultural heritage. The town has been referred to as 'The Europe of India'. 

 

As we were driving, I was highly excited about visiting Pondicherry. If I have to let out a secret, I should admit that I (in fact my husband too) undertook this Tamil Nadu temple tour because it included Pondicherry in the itinerary. Well, what's so great about the place, you might ask. It's unforgettable for both of us, as we got engaged there, 48 years ago. 

I have a greater association with the city. My father was posted there as the Director, PWD from 1969 to 1972. Our official residence was located on the first floor of the PWD Office building, Travaux Publics. I did my graduation from Tagore Arts College, Pondicherry. I got engaged and got married when I was in my final year; I joined my husband in Pune, after completing my final examinations.

I couldn't wait to visit 'our' house after 48 years ...... during the drive, my husband and I discussed about snatching an hour out of our itinerary for the visit .... we had already talked to our tour managers about our plan to take up the visit on our own .....

During our drive, we passed by towns like Vaitheeswaran Koil, Cuddalore ..... bringing memories of my visit to these places with my family .... those were the days.

 

As we entered Pondicherry, I had my eyes riveted on the scenes flitting past. What a change! So many malls, plazas, apartments, .....

We would check in at our hotel before 7 pm. I was dying to visit our 'house' at the earliest; the next day we should be able to snatch an hour in between .... the office might be working .... would we be able to make it to the house upstairs? .... Lot of 'ifs' and 'buts' ... My husband sensed my thoughts and suggested that we could go and visit the place soon after checking in. I was delighted.

 

We checked in at a nice place - Hotel Atithi. By the time our luggage arrived in our room, we had freshened up.

 

Then both of us embarked on our personal visit - to Travaux Publics, where I stayed with my family during 1969 to 1972. In fact my engagement took place in that house. So both of us excitedly visited the place, located just a couple of kms from our hotel. Our day was made. Our tour was fruitful!

 

We came back and had a sumptuous dinner - literally a feast with a spread of desserts, including laddu, badusha, and jangiri.

Next morning, we woke early in the morning as usual. After getting ready, we decided to take a walk in the vicinity and if possible, explore the road lined up with theaters.

 

As it was Mahashivarathri that day, we went to the Shiva temple on the way.

 

We also went to a Vishnu temple nearby.

 

 

Then we continued to walk for some twenty minutes, but we did not come across any theaters, but we saw residences, malls and jewelry shops.

 

We returned to our hotel, in time for breakfast.

 

We left for Auroville - located half an hour away. It was nearing completion when I was in Pondy in the late 60's. We hadn't had a chance to visit it then.

 

Auroville has its origins in the French language, 'Aurore' meaning dawn and 'Ville' meaning city. Additionally, it is named after Sri Aurobindo, whose chief disciple was Mirra Alfassa (known as 'the Mother'). Auroville (City of Dawn), an experimental township in the Union Territory of Puducherry, was founded in 1968 by her and designed by architect Roger Anger.

As stated in the Mother's first public message in 1965, 'Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realize human unity.'

The inauguration ceremony attended by delegates of 124 nations was held on Wednesday 28 February 1968. Handwritten in French by the Mother, its four-point charter set forth her vision of integral living: Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville, one must be the willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness.

 

'Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of constant progress, and a youth that never ages.

Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future.'

 

Although originally intended to house 50,000, the actual population today is 2,007, coming from 44 nationalities, 836 of whom are of Indian origin. 

 

We had two hours at our disposal to look around the place.

 

It was a shaded walk,

 

with a lot of greenery around.

 

We saw the huge, ancient banyan tree, rooting itself through the many shoots. 

 We enjoyed the leisurely stroll around the place.

In the middle of Auroville is the

 

We could not go inside, as only those who are really keen on meditation have to register on line in advance for entry passes. Casual visitors are not allowed. Silence has to be maintained inside the place to ensure the tranquility of the space.

 

Inside, there is a spiraling ramp leading upwards to an air-conditioned chamber of polished white marble referred to as 'a place to find one's consciousness'. We were informed that Matrimandir is equipped with a solar power plant. When there is no sun or after the sunset, the sun's rays on the globe is replaced by a beam from a solar-powered light.

 

The entire area surrounding the Matrimandir is called the Peace area and has attractive manicured gardens. 

 

We saw many visitors sitting and meditating. Nobody spoke, thus maintaining the unpolluted silence prevailing there. We too relaxed and sat in meditation for some time and enjoyed the bliss of calm, peace, and solitude. 

We were told that a road leads directly to Auroville's private beach called Repos, several hundred meters away.

 

Our next halt was at Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an oriental specimen of Gothic architecture. It is an imposing white-and-brown structure, supposed to have been erected in the 18th century by French Missionaries.

 

We entered the majestic church.

 

Service was going on. We too sat in prayer for a few minutes.

 

This Catholic Church has rare stained glass panels depicting events from the life of Christ. This old Church has been fully renovated both inside and outside after 2005.

 

As we came out, we saw a train passing by and noticed the railway station on the opposite side of the road. We remembered the few times, when our family had come to see my husband off to Pune, via Chennai, after visiting us. There was no direct train to Mumbai from there.

 

Other notable churches in the city are The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception and The Eglise de Notre Dame des Anges (The Church of Our Lady of Angels), which we did not visit. We were also told that Meeran mosque, built over 350 years ago, is the oldest mosque in Pondicherry.

 

The evening agenda saw us visiting Aurobindo Paper factory, located close to our hotel.

 

We visited the samadhi of Sri Arobindo. (Pic courtesy - By Rameshng at Malayalam Wikipedia). Photography was strictly prohibited.

 

Absolute silence had to be maintained. The garden was abloom with lovely flowers.

 

Next was the visit to the famous Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple, which was in existence before the French came and settled in Pondicherry - before 1666.

 

It has a golden spire and walls portraying forty different forms of Ganesha.

 

The ceiling has an exquisite painting of the marriage of Ganesha.

The temple also has a smaller shrine dedicated to Lord Murugan, who is Ganesha’s younger brother. Over 5000 devotees flock to this site everyday.

 

There is also a temple elephant, Lakshmi, who gives blessings to the devotees.

 

 

We also got her blessings.

 

From the temple, we walked to The Government Park or Bharathi Park,

 

in the green center of the town. The Government Park is aptly located in the central region of the old colonial town, which was known as the 'white town'. The significance of this park is that it is surrounded by some of the most important government buildings like the Lt. Governor's Palace, the Legislative Assembly, Government Hospital, Ashram Dining Room, the Cercle de Pondichéry private club, and the old Hotel Qualité. I would like to add that my father's official residence, above the PWD Office, Travaux Public, was also located in the vicinity, a few meters from the Government hospital.

 

Aayi Mandapam (Park Monument) situated in center of Bharathi Park, is a white monument built during the time of Napoleon III, Emperor of the France. The monument commemorates the provision of water to the French city during his reign. It was named after a lady courtesan called Ayi. She destroyed her own house to erect a water reservoir to supply water for the city.

Rock Beach (also known as 'Pondicherry Beach') is the popular stretch of beachfront in the city of Pondicherry, along the Bay of Bengal.

 

We could see the lighthouse at one end of the beach.

The beach, a 1.2-kilometre-long stretch, starts from War Memorial and ends at Dupleix Park. What I remembered were the daily driving lessons my brother and I would have from our driver early in the mornings during summer vacation - along this beach road. We would drag our kid sister too - she'd choose to catch up her sleep, lying on the back seat! That was so long ago.

 

Gandhi Statue is a four-meter statue of Mahatma Gandhi, surrounded by eight granite pillars.

 

Opposite to it is The French War Memorial, a war memorial dedicated to residents of French India who died for the country during the First World War.

We walked along the promenade beach, 

 

admiring the majestic buildings on the opposite side of the road.

 

We saw Le Cafe, a landmark cafe, which has stood the test of time. We enjoyed coffee outside the cafe.

 

Our tour managers played Cupid to all the senior couples and handed placards to us and clicked photos.

               

We walked on, enjoying the breeze playing with our curls. The only regret was that we could not let the waves kiss our feet.

 

There was no sand beach, the waves lashed against the rocks.

 

At best, we could stand on the rocks and pose for photos!

Before we realized it, we had reached the end of the promenade beach, where there is a small park, where the chief attraction is the 2.88 m tall statue of Dupleix, Governor General of French India in the 18th century.

Our bus was waiting there for us. We returned to our hotel.

After dinner, we hit the bed.

 

Next morning, after breakfast, we had a small celebration with cake-cutting, on the successful completion of the tour.

We left Hotel Atithi for Mahabalipuram at 9.30 am, all set for the two-hour drive.