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

Post #212 29 March 2020

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our drive from Chennai to Puducherry (aka Pondicherry, or just Pondy to the locals), and our stay there on Saturday night 7 March 2020.

Pondy became a French colony in 1674. The Dutch occupied it once, and the British 3 times, but it always reverted to France.  In 1954 it finally became a Union Territory of the Republic of India.

With its French history and atmosphere, Pondy has become a magnet for French (and Other) travellers.  The so-called French Quarter covers less than one square km, but most of the street names are French and much of the architecture has been retained.

We stopped for a 'toilet break' at this resort hotel (I think it was part of the Wyndham chain). The resort had wonderful buildings and facilities such as this magnificent swimming pool (and spotless toilets!). There was a beach close by, but we didn't have time to check it out. We saw few guests.

The site map of Auroville.

The Sri Aurobindo Ashram was established in 1926 by Sri Aurobindo (Calcutta 1872 - Pondy 1950) and Mirra Alfassa (Paris 1878 - Pondy 1973).  He was born Aurobindo Ghose, studied at Cambridge Uni, spoke 10 languages, and is described as a philosopher, yogi, guru, poet, and nationalist.
Aurobindo started calling Mirra "The Mother" and the name stuck. In 1968 she founded Auroville as a "model universal town" dedicated to human unity and evolution. 

The philosophy (Integral Yoga) of Sri Aurobindo attracted followers, including Mirra Alfassa; they jointly established an Ashram in Pondy in 1926.  He died in 1950 and she carried on his work.

As the number of followers of Integral Yoga continued to grow, in 1968 "The Mother" founded Auroville 12 km outside Pondicherry.  About 1,800 people from many countries now live in the township. All followers/residents must work in some field; work is an essential prerequisite to be able to live in this community.  

We had lunch in the busy restaurant near the big Visitor's Center. The food was all vegetarian.

We went to the Matrimandir, the spiritual center of Auroville. The huge 29m high golden dome is like a giant golf ball or golden spaceship. Construction started in 1971 and it was finally opened in 2008. Entry is restricted; apparently the inner chamber is lined with white marble, and the 'altar' features a huge crystal 70cm in diameter.

This magnificent banyan tree at Auroville, one of the biggest I have ever seen.

Another view of the amazing banyan tree.

From Auroville we drove to Pondy and checked into the Accord Metropolitan Hotel. Swim. Later Eugine led a walk around the French Quarter.  The city is on the coast, but the beach near the center of Pondy had to be reinforced with boulders, which unfortunately made it unsightly  and unsuitable for swimming. Apparently there are good swimming beaches not far away.
It was Saturday evening, and there were many people on the Esplanade along the beach.

The former residence of the French Governor, now the local government's HQ.

Many of the old French colonial buildings have been renovated.

A statue of Mahatma Gandhi. 

Street art of MG.

More street art - Mother Theresa.

Poster, in English!

Another poster, also in English.

Statue of a policeman.  They still wear the French-style hat!

Former colonial-era building - looked better at night, all lit up.

There was a crowd at the Sri Manakula Vinayagar Hindu Temple dedicated to Ganesh. 

The elephant in front of the Temple gave blessings for a fee - a pat on the head with his trunk.

Impressive memorial to Tamil writer Ambedkar Manimandabam.

One of the many Catholic churches in Pondy. In French 'Notre Dame des Anges'.

The entrance to the church. It was re-built in 1858; attractive pink & cream colour.

Inside the church.

Eugine took us to a local liquor store to stock up. He said that liquor prices were cheaper in Pondy because there was no State tax here.

We had dinner in a boutique hotel, a tastefully-renovated colonial era building. It was a lovely setting, but most of us were disappointed with the food. 

For me Pondy was a little disappointing after all the build up of "a slice of France in India". It had potential, but I guess we just had too little time there.

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Early the next morning we left for our next destination, Trichy.

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Womens basketball

I neglected to mention a significant event which took place in Canberra last Wednesday night. The Canberra Capitals beat Melbourne's Southside Flyers 71-68 to win the WNBL for back-to-back titles. 

Well done, girls!

Vera & my favourite player, Olivia Epoupa, was named Most Valuable Player of the Finals. She is the smallest player in the Capitals, but wonderful skills and tireless.

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Coronavirus update

Tragic scenes on TV of many thousands 'migrant workers' in India walking back to their villages (sometimes hundreds of km). They have lost their jobs as a consequence of the national lock-down, and can't afford to stay in the cities and towns.

Our tour ended just in time - we were lucky - even Singapore has stopped allowing transit passengers.

Tonight PM Scott Morrison reduced the size of permitted groupings from 10 to just 2.  Mandatory, supervised 14 day isolation started today for all new arrivals.

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Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Sunday, 29 March 2020