Post #213 30 March 2020

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our drive from Pondy to Trichy, and our time in Trichy where we stayed for one night Sunday 8 March 2020.

The landscape near the coast reminded Vera & me of parts of Indonesia, especially Java: coconut palms, rice paddies, dense population.  But as we left the coast, the landscape grew steadily drier and the villages we passed looked poorer.

The condition of the highway today was the worst we experienced during our time in India; rough surfaces; but a new highway is being built - can't come early enough.

We stopped at Kumbakonam to see the town market, always interesting.

Market scene.

Another photo of the market.

The inevitable cow wondering through the market.  But generally there seemed to be fewer cows here than in northern India.

We passed the Shiva Temple at Gangakondacholapuram (what a long name!) but only looked at it from the perimeter. Built in the 10th century, the tower is 49m high.

A close-up of some of the restoration work taking place.

Our next stop was the immense Brihadishwara Temple in Tanjore, the ancient capital of the Chola Empire. Construction started in 1010AD. The Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. 

 The central courtyard of the Temple. There is a covered statue of Nandi, Shiva's sacred bull and transporter, 6m long and 3m high and weighing 25 tonnes. Unlike most South Indian temples where the welcoming gateway gopuram towers are the highest, here the 66m (13 storeys!) Central Tower (vimana) dominates. How on earth did they build such structures 1,000 years ago?  Our guide told us that the approach ramps were 6km long, and elephants would slowly drag materials up as the tower grew in height.

Visitors relaxing, often sleeping, in the shady arcades around the Temple. It was Sunday, and lots of visitors. 

Some of the buses bringing people to the temple were colourfully decorated.

Another colourful bus.

From the Temple we visited house/shop and watched how bronze statues were made using age-old, traditional techniques. 

The villages in this area seemed poorer than elsewhere.

Poor villages seen from the bus on the drive to Trichy.

In Trichy we stayed in the Sangam Hotel.

View of the main entrance of Sangam Hotel, Trichy.

A view of Rock Fort Temple, perched on top of an 83m rock outcrop overlooking Trichy City.

The next morning, Monday 9 March 2020 we visited two temples. The first was Rock Fort Temple, perched on top of an 83m high outcrop of rock. This is the main entrance. Actually there are two temples here, one half-way and the other on the top. Both are dedicated to Ganesh.

Half way up, from left: Bryan, Debra, Peter (partly obscured), and me. Bryan and I had to buy sarongs as we were wearing shorts.

The top was in sight.  There wer 437 steps from the bottom. It was a long climb but worth the effort.

Elaine on the way up.

Great views of Trichy city from the top.

Priests guarding the inner sanctum - only Hindus could enter.

Coming back down - Debra near the bottom.

Every morning Hindus draw (using rice flour) holy symbols in front of their homes, as offerings to the gods.  In Bali the offerings comprise small flowers, but here they are drawn pictures of flour.

Devotees bathing in holy river nearby.

After the Rock Fort Temple, we visited the Sri Ranganathaswarmy Temple in the northern part of Trichy. Dedicated to Lord Vishnu, this is one of the largest Hindu temples in India. You first pass through seven welcoming gateways (gopuram - the highest is 73m!) to arrive at the inner sanctum. What a busy place. There were crowds of people, shops, motorbikes, the noise was deafening. But great fun, seeing all this humanity.

Once you entered the central area, it was much calmer. This sort of viewing platform gave one a bird's eye view of the huge temple complex.

The symbol of Vishnu was everywhere; priests and devotees had it painted on their foreheads. I think this was the temple where Peter got into a minor altercation with a local priest (he seemed annoyed at non-Hindu visitors), who screamed at him "you know I can have you arrested for blasphemy!".  We pulled Peter away, and luckily nothing came of the incident.

Some of the beautiful carvings.

The carvings were life-size.

Hanuman, the Monkey God.  Haven't seen much of him so far.

Sacred symbols drawn with rice flour.

Visitors taking their ease in the arcades.

Not a statue.  Isn't she a cutie?

We then drove from Trichy to Madurai; on the way out of Trichy we passed this impressive church. Made me think of the enormous sacrifices people have made in the name of religion over the centuries.

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And so ended our visit to Trichy, short but memorable.

Our next stop will be Madurai, the subject of my next post.

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Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Monday, 30 March 2020