Southern India - 8 February 2012 (2)

 Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple from Rock Fort

We left them to it and got back on our bus to head to the island of Srirangam.  The journey there was great, with Indian rollers, drongos and lots of kingfishers adorning the telegraph wires.  We passed a brick “factory”, where people were digging sand near the river bank.  Piles of bricks were lined up beside them.

Driving wrong way up a slip road?

There was an interesting manoeuvre when we reached the main road, a dual carriageway.  We took a right turn and drove up the slip road into the on-coming traffic.  We then drove a short distance on the main road, still driving into the traffic, until we reached the next slip road, which was lined with dozens of yellow lorries, all facing us.  At the end of that, we crossed the dual carriageway and went down another slip road at the bottom of which we turned right to cross to the island.  Luckily, Lukose had done this trip many times before and knew the way.  Amazingly, we never hit anything.

1st Gopuram

3rd Gopuram

A large proportion of the island is occupied by Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple.  It has seven levels, all with their high gopurams - 21 in all.  We headed towards the first gopuram until we had to get out of the bus.  Shops lined the road towards the temple.  We walked through the first two gopurams and then turned right and went to a shop where they looked after our shoes.  Before taking them off, most of us took advantage of the public toilets nearby.  They were surprisingly clean and there were enough that we didn’t have to queue.  Then back to the shop where we took our shoes off and put some socks on to avoid burning our feet.

Carriage for a God

Gopurams & Golden Vimana from the Roof

Just past the third gopuram, but still within the second level of the temple, we spotted a carriage which is used to carry the god around in religious processions during festivals.  This called for more photos.  There was further distraction in the form of postcard sellers and other shopping opportunities.

First 3 Gopurams from Roof

I think Lukose was beginning to realise that it was going to be difficult to muster this group of eighteen people sufficiently to keep to the timetable.  It was a long time before he managed to gather us all at the third gopuram, ready for some serious temple viewing.  Still, he always took it with good grace, saying that it was our holiday after all.

Plain Gopuram from Roof

He gained some back up as we went inside.  A little man called Picchumani took control and counted us in.  He corralled us towards a small entrance from where we were able to climb up to the roof.

Plain Gopuram & Tourist on Roof

Up on the roof, we got excellent views of the three gopurams we had already passed through, plus the ones further on and two large ones to the side.  The holy of holies was crowned by a modestly sized golden vimana.  One of the side gopurams was unpainted and did not contain any figures.  I think Lukose said that it was in deference to people of the Muslim faith who had assisted the local Hindus in something.

One of Many Mandapas Full of Pillars

I felt quite comfortable up on the roof, but some people had bare feet and said that the tiles got rather hot.  There were some mats to stand on in places but that seriously curtailed any exploration.

Ladies Ready for the Temple

After many photos and talk from Lukose, we went down and walked through the 4^th gopuram.  The first building we came to was a hall or mandapam full of pillars – and of people lying down.

When we reached the point where non-Hindus were not allowed, we turned left to see the rest of the temple.  I think Lukose was getting very tired.  At one point, he was explaining the origins of the caste system, when he completely forgot his English.  He did work hard though, sorting things out for us, accompanying us to nearly every meal and guiding at virtually every site we visited.  This was the only time he appeared to wilt.

Hall of 1,000 Pillars

Carved Pillars

We continued on to the mandapam of 1,000 pillars and Lukose recovered sufficiently to finish his talk.  In front of the hall, people were gathering up and sorting through a pile of wood.  It had been used for a temporary construction for a festival two weeks before.  The next hall was also full of pillars.  The front pillars were carved into horsemen in full battle mode.  The overall effect of this hall was lessened because part of it was used to park motorbikes and bicycles.  The final part brought to our attention was when we passed where the poor and pilgrims were waiting for their free meals.

Worker, Clearing Temple

Elephant in the Road

Then we emerged through the gopuram to get to the shoe shop.  Once back in my sandals, I bought a wonderfully refreshing mango juice and some postcards.  We were surrounded by people trying to sell us things and begging.  I was very impressed with their honesty, because I accidentally dropped a Rs10 note without realising I had even been holding it and they all told me what I had done and got me to pick it up.  I realised it had been left out when I counted out the money for the postcards.  It reminded me of the time when I dropped a £20 note in a queue for the tills at Boots in York while I searched for my Advantage card.  A woman swooped in and insisted she had dropped it when other people in the queue knew it was mine.  In a comparison between the poor of India and that woman in Boots there was absolutely no contest.