Road Trip

Over the weekend our group took a road trip...I will never be able to capture how much we expereinced...but will give it my best shot. We left early SAturday morning and drove to Kanchipuram where there are some of the oldest and most famous Hindu Temples in southern india. At the 1st (I don't have my notes with me - so I can't give the name) I was impressed by the huge grounds of the complex. It turns out that at some point back in time (I am bad on history and remembering dates...always have been) the Muslim invaders were coming in and destroying the Hindu temples...which is why most of the temples in NOrthern India are much newer than those that survived in the South. What they started doing in the South was to build a "fake" temple that the invaders would find 1st and destroy - hopefully leaving the "real" temple that was more in the interior. At this 1st temple we non-HIndus were allowed in the outer temple and on the grounds =which included a beautiful pool of water that had a structure in the water...but we were not allowed into the inner temple. One of our group is an Indian-American, so he was able to enter - but as he is not a practicing Hindu he said he didn't have a clue what was going on inside...so I guess the mysteries are still safely contained wihin the temple. This temple did, however, have several beautifully decorated elephants which were receiving their morning bath. Most of us decided to take the opportunity for a short elephant ride for the great sum of 100 rupees (about $2). It is not so easy to get up onto a huge elephant. She very kindly extends her front leg for you to climb up like a mountain...as you hold the rope and haul-ass on up. When she starts to move you definitely think you are going to fall off and it's a LONG way down. But fortunately there were no casualties!

At the next temple - the Temple of the Mango Tree (again - i dont' have the name in Tamil) it has a place on the Tamil historical register (or it may be the archeological register - something like that). As a result - all are allowed entry. It is a temple devoted to Shiva - the god of destruction. It is huge and magnificent...i't almost like being in a self contained village, it's so huge. Around the inner perimeter there are 108 Shiva lingams - those of you who don't know what these are can look it up...I know my Yoga buddies are familiar.

There were many pilgrims at this temple...men dressed all in black who walk barefoot to the temple. Yet pilgrims or not - they like many people we have met on our travels - wanted us to take their picture in the temple.

All in all we visited 4 temple in Kanchipuram with beautiful ornate architecture. At some point there will be photos. After lunching in Kanchipuram, we went sari shopping. The proprietor had an old loom in the showroom, demonstrating how all the saris they sell are still hand loomed. For some of the ornate saris - it takes 22 days to complete one sari. The place was crammed floor to ceiling with sari fabrics - both cotton and silk - and punjabi fabrics (these are the tunic and pants)...which you then have individually tailored. I selected a fabric I liked, but am having a "mofdified" punjabi made out of what is actually sari fabric...since I just don't see myself ever wearing that uncomfortable-looking little top with all the unfortunate rolls of belly fat hanging over the side. I went to a local tailor today - so wil see by the end of the week whether I'm satisfied with the result. What i never understood about how saris are sold is that the single piece of fabric is designed to have a portion used for the little shirt, and the pattern has a special place for the area that goes over the head. The punjabi fabrics some all together will one piece for the top, another for the pants, and a third for the scarf. Then the woman tells the tailor what design she wants.

We continued on to Pondicherry - a small city that was settled by the French. It has a "french section" along the sea coast..looking a bit like New Orleans, and a Tamil section. As you cross from the Tamil side to the French side, the noise level drops and there is a completely different feel. We walked along the ocean which has a cement boardwalk and - miracle in INdia - is CLOSED TO TRAFFIC - eliminating the need to constantly be on the alert for being run over.

In the morning we visited the Sri Auribindo ashram which was peaceful and beautiful - beautiful gardens and silence. I enjoyed a short meditation and wished I had realized how close it was to our hotel and gone early...but...anyway - visited the bookshop and have some materials for my yoga community (yoga buddies - there is a Thai Noy dinner in your future - complete with publications fromthe Self-Realization Fellowship). We went on to visit Auroville - a utopian community developed by the same folks in 1968. They have reforested some 40 acres of land and have followers from many nations around the world. Some day I would like to spend enough time there to be allowed to enter this crystall dome that has been constructed for meditation. The outside is a golden ball - the inside is allwhite with an opening at the top for the sun to come througha huge crystal. it sounded pretty new-age awesome!

We then drove to Mamallapuram - a location know for its stone carvings - representative of Dravidian architecture. I didn't expect anything to surpass the awe I felt at seeing the KAnchipuram temples - but it did! I was blown away by the enormous stone structures and bas reliefs carved out of solid rock. At the 1st location we visited - the huge temple like structure originally was designed to be in the water...but an artificial retaining wall was constructed to help preserve teh structure. The structures apparently were carved from the top down using a wooden model as their guide. The craftsmanship is unbelievable. My photos will not do it justice...i want to find a good quality book and scan in some photos. After a very long day, with one last little hike to see the local monkeys...we trooped back on the bus for the ride home. It ws not far in kilometers - but we ran into the Chennai traffic which ground our journey to an almost-complete halt. But - eventually we made it and, thankfully, our tour bus was air conditioned.

HAd a short morning with my kindergarteners and will head early to SEAMS shortly. We are going early so t hat the group can attend a performance of Indian dance this evening, which i am looking forward to with great anticipation.