Ashtalakshmi Temple.
Rungratree Thongsai
Traveling around India can be a challenge, but the offer of a trip to Chennai,
with its shopping and temples, made seeing the famous culture and religion it
too difficult to pass up.
Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the capital of Tamil Nadu state on the
Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. At 181 sq. km., it is the fourth-largest
city in India. The British, who developed it to become an important naval base,
founded the city in the 17th century. It became the capital of the Madras
Presidency in the 20th century.
Krishna Ball.
Its industries include automobile, hardware, healthcare
products and software services. It is the third-largest exporter of software,
behind only Bangalore and Hyderabad. It has one international airport, two major
ports and is connected to other regions by five highways and two railway routes.
Chennai is a major center for music, art and culture. It hosts a large cultural
event, the annual Madras Music Season, which includes performances by hundreds
of artists. It is also an important center for Bharata Natyam, a classical dance
that originated in Tamil Nadu and is the oldest dance in India. The Tamil film
industry, known as “Kollywood” is based in the city. Chennai is also famous as
the host to the only ATP World Tour tennis event held in India.
Auto Rickshaw.
The tour, supported by Pattaya’s Massic Travel, saw our group
travel via France’s Air Austral, which shares facilities at Suvarnabhumi
International Airport with Thai Airways Lounges, for Premium Economy Class. Even
in economy class, seats were comfortable and food included French dishes and
sparkling wine.
Following the 3.5-hour flight, an agent from Indo-Asia Tour greeted the
travelers and provided a solid briefing. Hotel security checked bags, creating
confidence for a safe stay. The Courtyard by Marriott, Chennai offered mango
drinks on arrival, offering refreshment before heading out for shopping.
Pancha Rathas, Mahabalipuram.
Many of the shops offered the same goods as can be found in
Thailand: cosmetics, creams, watches, and the like. But what attracted our
intention the most were the colorful Indian fashion items that came in sets:
tops, trousers and shawls. Each cost less than 2,000 baht with good-quality
leggings costing about 200 baht.
Dinner back at the hotel consisted of naan bread, bean curry, fired noodles,
Indian clear soup, fried vegetables and crisp rice.
The first full day would see the group visit the first of many Hindu temples. I
dressed in Indian attire, but added sunglasses and hat as the weather was hotter
than in Thailand with no wind.
Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram.
The first stop on the air-conditioned bus was Kapaleashwarar
Temple, a house of Shiva located in Mylapore in the middle of Chennai. We were
fascinated with the offerings that people were selling in front of the temple,
especially the big garlands made of holy basil leaves because they believe that
holy basil is the favorite plant of Shiva.
I bought a basket of white lotuses for 90 rupees, or about 40-50 baht, to
worship Shiva. Inside the temple, I saw people worshiping Shiva with great
devotion by lying prostrate on the floor three times in front of the Shiva
statue to show their most humility.
Kamakshi Amman Temple,
Kanchipuram.
In front of the temple door were Brahmins who represented the
Shiva to bless people and mark their forehead with signs of worship. The red
letter “U” marked on forehead denotes the worshiping for Narayana, while three
lines drawn horizontally across the forehead denotes the worshipping for Shiva.
The next stop was Mahabalipuram in the state of Tamil Nadu and we went to see
the Pancha Rathas monument complex. Each monument in the Pancha Rathas is carved
from one single large piece of stone.
Kanchipuram Varadaraja Temple.
Then we went to the Varaha Cave Temple where there are many
interesting stone-carved sculptures of gods and mythical figures. Many people
came to visit the site continuously either in couples or groups of families. The
locals were very friendly and always smiled, some even asking to have their
photo taken with us as a remembrance.
Despite the hot weather, we enjoyed the scenery and were captivated by the works
of fine art there for hours until it was the time to leave for the Hotel. The
dinner prepared to welcome us was special, cooked in a combination of Indian and
Chinese styles, but not too oily. There were fried vegetables, boiled shrimp in
coconut milk, fried chicken that tasted like teriyaki and many more dishes.
One of the many roadside tea
shops.
The third day, the tour guide took us to the Shore Temple,
which was built by the third king of the Pallava Dynasty located by the sea.
The temple is a complex of three stone temples that have been hit by waves for
more than 1,300 years, causing deterioration to the sculptures in the temple.
When the 2004 tsunami occurred, it brought up a lot of antiques from the bottom
of the sea, as the temple was initially identified as part of the Seven Pagodas,
of which six remain submerged.
The incidents made the temple very famous worldwide. The atmosphere was peaceful
and, because it was located by the sea, it made the visit quite relaxing.
Daily life of the local people.
Next, we went to the Vaikunta Perumal Temple, also built by
the Pallava Dynasty in the 8th century. Its architecture is very distinctive and
so stunning that it is used as a prototype for many later temples. Sculptures on
the temple walls narrate the history of the events of ancient Pallava history
for young generation to study.
The next destination was the Sri Ekambaranathar Temple, or the Mango Temple as
Thai people call it. Legend has it that Shiva gave the holy mango tree to be
planted on earth and that the fruit of each of its branches give different
flavors.
South Indian kids day out.
One of the temple’s main features is the array of 1,008 Siva
lingams. According to legend, Parvati, the consort of Shiva, was doing penance
under the temple’s ancient mango tree so that she could get married with Shiva
when the temple was flooded. So Parvati embraced the Siva lingam to protect it
from being damaged. Therefore the sculptures of Shiva and Parvati are placed
under the mango tree where many people come to worship the sculptures and pray
for luck and love.
From the temple, we traveled another five hours to Tirupati to worship Narayana
the following day. Along the way to the hotel we saw that almost every house had
drawn various beautiful patterns on their yard with colorful powder.
Preparing the basil leaves to pay
respect to God Shiva.
Residents there normally get up early to draw with kolam
powder on their yard for auspiciousness in life. In earlier times, people drew
with rice and birds would come to eat them so it was like a creative way of
making merit.
Dinner at the new hotel was biryani mutton and roti served with hot and very
strong spicy-smelling paneer curry, followed with gulab jamun dessert, which is
brown saturated balls in sugar syrup.
Kolam, a form of painting that is
drawn by using rice powder chalk, chalk powder, white rock powder and often
using naturally synthetically colored powders.
Many people who have not been to India may think it is
difficult to find good and clean hotels, but that is totally wrong. Each of
hotels that we stayed, including those I haven’t mentioned - the Fortune Select
Grand Ridge in Tirupati and MGM Beach Resorts in Muttukadu in Chennai - were
similar to hotels in Pattaya; located on private beaches, with king-size beds,
clean and with friendly service.
The fourth day began at 5 a.m. with a trip up to the hill-top Tirumala
Venkateswara temple. Here, traditional dress is required. Men wear kurta, a
loose long shirt with long sleeves, and women dress in salwa, also a loose long
shirt with long sleeves with trousers and a shawl.
Famous Gol Gappa.
With thousands of people visiting the temple daily,
preparation is important. Our group was transferred into a smaller bus because
the hill is very steep. Once we got to the temple, we saw many people, including
children, with shaved heads. They do so to make their vows to the gods.
Before entering the holy site, visitors must leave shoes outside. The path
through was narrow and very crowded. The closer we got to Narayana, the louder
people shouted “om Govinda.” For nearly five hours we walked up the steps before
reaching the altar where we stopped and prayed to Narayana for blessings.
Less than three seconds later, we were swept out by the crowd again.
Vaikunta Perumal.
When I looked around I saw many people remain sitting still
to pray, some kneeling prostrate to the wall and some embracing each other to
celebrate with delight that they got to this holy place.
The final day was the journey home, starting at 2 a.m. for the bus ride to the
airport. The group agreed the food was good, the locals nice and shopping
inexpensive. It certainly won’t be the last voyage to India.
The writer with the guard at the
hotel.
Getting ready to board the flight
on Air Austral.
Shopping for colorful Indian
dress.
Lighthouse at Mahabalipuram.
Sacred sculpture can be seen in
many areas.
Paying respect with wood and
asking for children.
