Southern India - 9 February 2012 (1)

Madurai - Flower Market and Palace

Blooms Spread Out for Sale

Ladies Selling Bags of Blooms

Flower Sellers and Me

Gentlemen Selling Bags of Blooms

Gentleman Selling Bags of Blooms

Bag of Blooms

Dried Leaves for Thatching

Garlands for Sale

Making Garlands for Sale

Me Wearing Some of My Presents

We left the hotel at 0830 and set off for the flower market.  It was fun walking round.  The traders were happy for us to take photos and some gave us flowers.  At one stall, they gave me a straw headband and attached a couple of flowers.  I passed a stall which just sold banana leaves.  I asked if they were used for thatching and they said yes, but they might not have understood.  Very few of the flowers had stems as they were mostly used for garlands and offerings.  Some people were just selling flower buds.  Most purchases were sold by weighing out the flowers.  When we met up before getting back on the bus, Diane got carried away and put all the flowers I had been given into my headband.

Courtyard in Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal

Then we headed off to the palace - the Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal.  I was probably dehydrated because I began to feel dizzy and about to throw up or worse.

Decoration in Courtyard

Throne in Palace

The palace started with an open courtyard which was full of seats as if for a concert or a conference.  The walls were very ornate and the holes in the decorations were used by parrots and other birds for nesting sites.

Design on Ceiling above Throne

Statue Room Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal   

The next room contained little more than a throne.  I got on the floor and lay on my back to take a photo of a decoration on the ceiling.  I did spot a notice saying “Do not write on the columns. Punishment.” Despite that, there was quite a bit of graffiti and, by the writing, done by Indians.  Perhaps they couldn’t read the notice.  A room off to the side contained more bronze statues, similar to those in Tanjore.

Bronze Statues

Bronze Statue

On the way into the palace, a little old lady accosted me and sold me five small silk shoulderbags.  When I came out, she accosted me again, together with her daughter, and they sold me four anklets.

My Favourite Purse & Bracelet Seller

Overloaded Lorry

Sari Guard on Motorbike

Our Rickshaw Driver

Then Lukose put all of us on cycle rickshaws and we headed in convoy to the Sree Meenakshi Temple.  We passed some interesting traffic,  including a lorry packed high with cardboard boxes, with two men sitting on top.  On previous visits to India, I had been worried about women catching their saris in the wheels of motorbikes, but I got a good view of a sari guard to protect them, which was a big relief.  Having disembarked from our rickshaws, we walked to the shoe deposit place. A picture of Diana, Princess of Wales caught our eye.  She was advertising “salwar and nightwear”, which I am not sure was entirely appropriate.

A Somewhat Controversial Advert!

Southern India - 8 February 2012 (3)

On to Madurai

Once back on the bus, we reached the hotel very quickly.  Jen went for another swim and I went to the coffee shop, where I joined Pat and Chris.  It was buffet only so we went to the restaurant.  We told the waiters that we were in a real hurry.  Mike joined us and then Reg and Pam, and finally Jen when she had finished her swim.  We finished eating at 1415 and the bills arrived soon after.  Then there was a frustrating delay while they tried to get change for us.  We experienced similar delays throughout the trip.  Then we dashed back to our rooms before rushing back down to get on the bus to move on to the next city, Madurai.

Madurai was 132 kilometres away.  I nodded off and woke up to see coconut plantations and more paddy fields.  Some of the houses had thatched roofs.  Lukose said that the thatch was made using coconut leaves and it would last 3-4 years, depending on rainfall.

Random Rocky Outcrop

At 62km, the ground sprouted with small steep hills and we began a gradual climb which slowed the bus.  Although the scenery here was less green than before, there were still rivers and the occasional pond.  We saw some jute beside the road, which reminded me of our school trip to the Commonwealth Institute way back when jute had been a major export from India.

We arrived at our hotel, the Hotel Pandipan near the race course in Madurai, around 1700.  Jen and I tried to get two card keys so that we could go out separately, but it took three tries to sort it out – and I’m not sure they even managed it then.  They seemed to cancel the first card when setting up the second and it was all frustrating.  Other than that, the hotel was fine.

Making Doshas (1)

After a brief rest, we gathered to go into town for dinner.  The centre of town was across the river so it was quite a drive.  The restaurant was on the roof of the Hotel Supreme, which was the 7^th floor.

Lukose recommended the doshas, so we all complied.  I ordered a mushroom dosha, which was very nice although some of the sauces were cold.  Lukose instructed us in the correct way to eat a dosha.

Making Doshas (2)

As we ate, the moon rose.  It was large, nearly full and appeared orange as it came through the clouds.  The city lights came on and we could see the first two gopurams of the temple.  I could see Orion immediately above.  There was a brief power cut at one point.  I wished it could have lasted longer because the view of the stars was incredible.

Doshas Ready for Stuffing

I had a banana pancake for dessert, which was also very nice.  With a lime and soda and the tip, my meal came to Rs 220 – less than £3!

After dinner, it was back to the hotel for an early night.

Note: The Dosha photos were taken on 10 February in the market in Usilambatti.

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.

Southern India - 8 February 2012 (1)

Grand Anicut Dam

Parrot by Grand Anicut Dam

Statue by Grand Anicut Dam

I woke up three times in the night and got up before the alarm went off.  Jen and I went to breakfast at 0700.  We had a power cut while in the lift on the way down.  Luckily Jen had her torch with her, so we had light until the power came back on.  The lift automatically took us back to the 5^th floor and then gave us back control so we could go down again.  I had curry for breakfast again – a vegetable korma which was much hotter than the curry the night before.

Grand Anicut Dam

River Kauveri below Grand Anicut Dam

At 0800, we set off for the Grand Anicut Dam.  The drive there was great with several interesting birds.  There were lots of paddy fields.  The rice had mostly been harvested but we did see some people busy doing the harvesting.  Some black birds were watching them and had to be shooed off.  We also passed some banana plantations.

Cormorant Drying Off, Grand Anicut Dam

Egret and Cormorant

I was sitting at the front of the bus with Pat, so I got a good view of the traffic.  At times things got quite hairy, with narrow roads and oncoming overtaking traffic, plus pedestrians and motor scooters.  But we made it unscathed.

Statue by Grand Anicut Dam

Children Going to School Across Dam

Fishermen Beside Grand Anicut Dam

Catch of the Day from River Kauveri

The dam, which dates back to the 4^th century, was huge and made a beautiful spot.  We took a long leisurely stroll on it across the River Kauveri, admiring the scenery and, in my case at least, the wildlife.  The first bird I saw was a very co-operative parrot.  Lots of cormorants and egrets were fishing and Lukose distinguished two darters amongst them.  A brahmini kite flew overhead and we watched a small black and white bird, possibly a white-browed wagtail, plunging headfirst into the water for a fish.  Goats were wandering about, some being herded and some alone.  There was even a flock of goats in the children’s playground.  At one end, some fishermen hauled in a successful catch, which included an eel.  A brother and sister going to school on one bike posed for a photo.  The dam was lined with a series of brightly painted statues, which had no alternative but to pose.

Brahmini Kite over Grand Anicut Dam

Goats on Grand Anicut Dam

On the way to the bus, we saw some things set out for sale, including the twig brooms which are used for sweeping up, banana flowers and some small fruits.  Further on, we passed the local no. 2 bus.  It was in some difficulty and the passengers had to push it.  It’s a good job the buses have more passengers than the no. 10 in York or there would never be enough to get it moving!

 

Lukose beside Info on Grand Anicut Dam

Brooms, Banana Flowers & Berries for Sale