Much More Than Temples ~ Tamil Nadu, India
“To other countries, I may go as a tourist, but to India, I come as a pilgrim.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Sitting on a covered terrace on a sultry afternoon watching the beautiful, stylized movements of Bharat Natyam, the traditional dance of Tamil Nadu, brought home to me as nothing else could have done the deep emotional impact of traveling through India.
This trip has highlighted as never before how incredible India truly is and all that it has to offer. The trip was titled Spiritual India, but I had finally realized that the spirituality went deeper than visiting temples and participating in the rituals and rhythms of worship.
One of the first places we visited at the beginning of our journey was the fantastic museum in Chennai. We drove up to this fabulous palace like structure, which by the way was always constructed to house a museum.
As we wandered through a few of the galleries and looked at the richness of the statuary and the stories the walls told of ancient India it sent goosebumps through my skin.
There are no famous names that people might recognize and yet the artistry of these long forgotten and long-gone artists is amazing. The level of detail on the front of the figure is repeated at the back. The loving folds of the clothes, the designs on the clothes, the arch of the body. Each piece in every museum, palace and cave celebrates the talent of the artiste and yet not a one of them left their names behind for posterity.
The state of Tamil Nadu is the southernmost state in India and has the third largest coastline in India. Riddled by many rivers the Cauvery being the largest, it is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal which in turn feeds into the Indian Ocean.
Of course, that means beautiful beaches full of color and glamour and the rhythms of the sun, sea and sand.
The most amazing seafood for under $15 (USD) for the most part was available all along the coast. I had this amazing meal where I got to pick the chef’s marinade and had fresh prawns made to perfection.
Before the gorgeous towering edifices were created, the stone masons and artisans had to practice somewhere. This is an example of early carvings representing the five chariots of the Pandava brothers and their wife Draupadi.
Like the early European churches and religious inspired art, these artists were also inspired by the myths and legends of the Hindu Pantheon and epic stories of the Ramayana and Maha Bharat.
While the production of salt is not used in commercial use for table salt these are salt flats where salt is harvested from the sea. As we crossed this area, we were reminded of the famous Dandi March or salt satyagraha led by Mahatma Gandhi to protest British taxation of salt.
I absolutely love this aspect of travel watching history come alive in front of my eyes.
In Pondicherry at the promenade by the water, is a statue of Mahatma Gandhi that replaced whichever French dignitary originally held pride of place here.
Despite this being a French city until the 1950’s there are many figures from the national freedom struggle that grace the walls in the form of graffiti art along the paths that we took towards the promenade.
While the Palace in Thanjavur itself is beautiful and houses some fantastic art it was this arched path that caught my imagination. As did the story of how the local rajah was tricked into giving up his kingdom thanks to the British laws that annexed so many kingdoms if a ruler did not have a biological heir.
The people of our group were shocked that the Indian rulers did not stand up against these arbitrary laws that the British Colonial army established to benefit them. Since today is womans day it is befitting to recall that it was the Rani of Jhansi, a queen and a woman who first rose in rebellion against this law.
The entrance to the library captured my imagination with its beautiful plaster painted reliefs and animals. I am not sure what level of restoration if any has been undertaken but it is phenomenal to see these age-old murals in beautiful living color.
The ritual of the dead at the banks of the Cauvery. Unlike Varanasi, the south Indians do not consecrate their dead to the flames at the banks of the river. However, within the first year after the passing they come here to perform rituals and make offerings of rice, food and fruit to the river and have a priest pray for the cycle of rebirth that a human is subjected to as a part of the Hindu beliefs.
Chettinad, is a region in Tamil Nadu that was populated by the bankers and merchants of India who thrived during colonial times. Beautiful large mansions survive some in ruins and some lovingly restored in this region. Many of them empty and abandoned as the people who once lived in them moved away to other parts of the world when they lost the protection of the colonial army.
Another abandoned palace which is now in the process of being restored. Beautifully painted ceilings, frescoes and cavernous rooms mark this palace. It was built to be impregnable but like anything it was foiled by the simple fact of one of the workers related to his wife on an evening the story of a secret way in which was overheard and then used by his nephew living with them to prove to the King that there was a weakness. Of course, he lost his head for showing up a king but that’s life.
These hill forts were once held by rebels in opposition of the British but eventually conquered and taxed to destitution for their folly in standing up against the conquerors of their home country.
Jallikattu is the Tamil Nadu version of running the bulls. We did not get to see this because it only happens in a certain season, and this was not it. However, this was painted on the wall near one of the sights that we were visiting, and our tour manager explained what it was and how integral a part it played in certain parts of the state.