Saturday - July 26, 2008.
At 7:30 a.m., the team eagerly set off for our much looked-forward-to weekend down the coast. Destination: Pondicherry and several ancient temples along the way.
It was soon discovered that we had an uninvited passenger along and a first stop was made to evict the small green lizard. Shortly thereafter a major traffic jam was encountered caused by a jack knifed jackknifed tractor trailer completely blocking two lanes. Traffic diverted well of the highway in to and through an adjacent field to bypass the scene. On the outskirts of Chennai we passed an impressive number of institutes of engineering.
Everyone was grateful that the day was sufficiently cool that socks were not necessary and we could walk barefoot, shoes being forbidden on temple grounds. We did, however, have to step gingerly around sharp pebbles and some cow patties at the first temple, Kamakshi. This temple, dedicated to the warrior goddess Parvati, wife of Shiva, covered a large site where many pilgrims were in attendance seeking blessings of the goddess. At this temple the adventurers among us: Ricca, Karen, Deeanne and Jim, hoisted themselves onto the back of a ceremonial elephant. All agreed that their elephant ride would rank as a major highlight of time spent in India.
The Ekambranatha temple dedicated to the destroyer god Shiva was our next stop. Here, Steven told us, there had been a mango tree which grew for 3500 years, dying only 2 or 3 years ago. A beautiful wall painting in the entryway depicted the many myths related to this tree. Seedlings from the tree have given rise to its replacement.
The next temple, Kailashnatha, also dedicated to Shiva, is constructed of sandstone and dates from the eighth century.
The last temple, Varadarajasavry, dedicated to Vishnu, featured two massive linked chains one on each side of the temple entrance. Remarkably, each chain was carved from a single piece of granite.
An amazing luncheon buffet at the GRT Regency Hotel in Kanchipuram followed the temple visits, then a stop at the Silk House where the shoppers among us found lovely saris and scarves we just had to have.
Approximately one hour south of Kanchipuram we began to make better time on a 4-lane highway, the median of which was beautified by red flowers, yellow flowering bushes, and every so often a contented cow. Here, due to slipstreams of wind created by passing traffic in opposite directions, flies cannot pursue and harass the cows.
Indian cows, goats and dogs are much smarter than their North American counterparts. Without fencing, cows and goats graze alongside the roads, never darting out into traffic and the wonder is whether it is DNA embedded or learned behavior.
Along the way were statues of Ambedkar and we learned that in
India there are more status of him than of any other man including Gandhi. This remarkable man spent his entire life fighting the caste system and is revered. After check-in at our hotel in Pondicherry we enjoyed a stroll along the waterfront on the way to dinner at the Rendezvous Restaurant. This wrapped up a very full day, on emphasizing again that India is truly a feast for all the senses.
Phyllis Donnelly
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