Thirukadaiyur - The journey not the destination - 6

We had planned to visit Karaikal from Tranquebar,  but it was already past 6 p.m. We would not be left with day time to explore and see Karaikal.  Moreover, With the high beam lights of heavy vehicles  flashing, it  would be difficult and take more time to return home. we had to travel back 100kms to reach  home on kutccha village roads. So, we skipped Karaikal but on our return route we decided to step into  a renowned temple famous for celebrating birthdays - Thirukadaiyur. ( non tamils read  it as Thiru-kadai-oor)

Like I said in my Kumbakonam post. There are  lots of huge ancient  temples around this area  which has historical, religious and spiritual significance. And Thirukadiyur is one such. Though we have visited this temple some 7 years back, we decided to step in to absorb the vibes again.

This temple is famous for the celebration of birthdays( according to hindu star calendar)  ritualistically to vedic rites and havans. 

                                                 The traditional temple tower called gopuram

Generally it is a tradition in a few south Indian communities to celebrate the completion of 60 years, 80 years etc .  This is especially with married couple who take marital vows again on the man turning 60, 70 or 80.  This is called Sashtiapthapoorthi.(Completion of 60) .

The couple offer prayers for the longevity of their healthy life  by conducting  havans like ‘Mrityunjay homam( to conquer death) and be healthy. Lots of  herbs  with medicinal properties are put into the havan . The air released from the havan is said to relieve a person  from  health ailments and rejuvenates the body, mind and soul.  Some even conduct their children’s birthdays called ‘Ayush homam.’

Lord Shiva punishing The god of death while Saint markendaya hugs the Shivling. 

There is a legend behind the reason why it is performed here.  Lord Shiva is said to have kicked  The god of death (yama ) here  with his left leg as a mark of punishment,  while he was trying to take the life of  Saint Markendaya.  Due to this Yama was inactive for a period during which there were no deaths on the Earth. Death was conquered here at Thirukadaiyur. Hence the faith of the devotees in this place. This is the main  legend, though there are numerous legends and significance associated with this small temple town.

 All these are depicted in various  colorful paintings all around the praharams(corridors) of the temple.Another legend associated is that during ‘Sagar Manthan'. Lord Ganesha was angry with the devas and asuras that they did not pray to him before the churning.  Lord Ganesha is said to have been angry and so took away the Amrith kalash (pot of nectar) and hid it here. Which later turned into Lord Shiva and hence the name of the lord here is called AmrithaGhateswarar.(Amrit + Ghatam meaning pot of nectar)

After the darshan, we entered the  corridors of the temple which looked surreal and sublime with the beautiful  lit diyas  and the divine settings.   we saw nearly 50  arrangements set for the havans. Various herbs were placed in small  bowls made of leaves in front of the havan kund. The stage was set to conduct the completion of the couples birthday. The ritual involves renewing the marriage vows and tying the mangalsutra again.   Generally, on an average 50 couples conduct their completion of 60^th birthdays here. All these arrangements are done by the couples grown up children who get blessed and have a  chance to witness their parents tying the mangalsutra. For more on this temple read here. 

The temple has facilitated online arrangements to enable devotees to book their function dates  before hand.  The temple road is flanked by many comfortable accommodations and hotel around completing the infrastructure for the visitng couples and their relatives.

 The hotels around have unique names and serve  time honored homely  traditional vegetarian  cuisine which you find is  very rare in city hotels and even in small towns where chinese food like manchurian, noodles, fried rice have invaded.

It was here at the Hotel Krishna Bhavan,  i found why  'Kumbakonam Degree Coffee' is called as degree coffee by one of the employees. I had already heard about this from my MIL, only she was not aware of the branding of this coffee.

With this post, i complete my bucketlist travelogue of my Dec'12 travel. But my journey will continue...............:) 

pic courtesy:google

The land of Singing waves - Tharangambadi aka Trankebar/Tranquebar

We know from history that Europeans had a fascination for  India.  They marked a few ideal places and  have left a stamp of their architectural legacy and cultural influence behind. Some places like Portugal Goa are famous while some like the Danish Tranquebar is pretty much unknown. It facades itself as a sleepy fishing town tucked some 200kms below Chennai, Sandwiched between an ancient maritime Chola port Poompuhar and another  French port Karaikal. Uncover it and you will discover a little slice of Danish life.  It is revived now, thanks to INTACH  and  due to the patriotic zeal and ancestral pride of the Danes who often travel from Denmark to feel the soul of their ancestors.

In 1620, a 23 year old Danish Admiral Ove Giedde landed on the coramandel  coast looking for a base to trade spices like pepper, tea, silk etc. He fell in love with this fishing village called Tharangampadi(the land of singing waves) .  He approached the Thanjavur Nayak king who was then ruling this to grant the fishing village for trade. King Raghunatha Nayaka who was in favour of international trade signed a treaty which  led to the creation of a prominent port of Danish East India company.

 What was till then the venue of 13^th century Masilamaninathar temple and called Tharangampadi went on to become the base for Danish settlement called Trankebar(Danish) or Tranquebar in English.

The nearly 200 year old influence (1620-1845) has left behind a  Danish soul in the form of a Fort called Dansborg fort which is now the only surviving imperial fort on the coramandel coast . It also has a few colonial houses like the Governor’s bungalow, the collector’s bungalow, the town gate, The first protestant church in india, first printing press, a maritime museum and more.

This place was my destination precisely 8 years and 2 days after the deadly tsunami washed the place(dec 28,2012).

After the 100km road journey from the Mining town of Neyveli, as I entered the King’s street through the Town gate called landsdowne, I could feel the colonial influence. The street had colonial structures on either sides in the form of quaint houses, churches, men’s  teacher training institute.

 We first visited the Maritime museum on Queen’s street  which is now temporarily housed in a palm hut. It showcases the   life of fishermen, their paraphernalia  like fishing nets , boats, the remains of the Tsunami etc.,The main attraction is a  plank boat called masula boat*. The place is  small and manned by a local fisherman, he said it is maintained by a Dane as a tribute to the local fishing community since fishing plays a major role in the history and culture of Tranquebar. It also has a marine archaeology department whose object is to explore the sea bed along the tranquebar coast where many sailing ships during the Danish period have had ship wrecks. It is likely to be shifted to a permanent structure shortly.  It has a visitors register and when I signed in my name  at the closing hours of the day, I found my family were the only Indians who visited the museum that day, the rest were from Netherlands, Hongkong, and Mauritius.

From here we drove down  the same lane past the King’s street  to visit the Dansborg fort. A beautiful Scandinavian structure  built in Sandstone. We  walked up the ramp to reach the first storey of the two storeyed fort. It  is now maintained by TN government as an archaeological museum. Excavated ruins like  Porcelain Urns, plates,  locks, seals, cannons, agreement letters  between the king of Denmark and the Thanjavur king, palm script, the names of the Danish ships that travelled to the place, The list of the Dane governors etc are displayed.  Some Danish  coins are also exhibited and the records say, this was the only place outside Denmark where coins were minted some two centuries ago. As you walk out on the deck you also find  an execution place(galley).The base floor has a godown for the goods, a jail, stable for horses etc. All around the fort walls, nearly 13 cannon guns are mounted.  I must admit here that the exhibits did not impress me but the beautiful castle like fort did.

                            A view of the Fort from the rocky shores of the bay

    

After a tour around the fort,  we whiled a few moments on the remnants of the fort  jutting into the bay what was once the ramparts of the fort. The Fort has weathered many a strong tides and waves even the Tsunami of 2004. Much of the outer walls have been washed away by the sea leaving behind an eroded brick pier. This Pier was the bridge to transport the goods from the ship to the Fort and back to the ship.

It gave a heady feeling standing on a piece of history and watching  the bobbing ships in the faraway horizon while the strong breeze was enough to push me away. It was rejuvenating and relaxing to inhale the air while watching the children play with the waves and pick the sea-shells. There are not many bayside eateries or cola, gola and candy shops except for a lady selling sundal( boiled peas) and just one pushcart selling icecreams. 

 We then walked a few steps along the shore to the oldest structure in the area, the 13^th century Masilamaninathar temple.This temple when built by a Pandya king  originally had three gopurams(temple tower). Two of which have been washed away by the sea while one still remains. The temple is not very active except for the lighting of the diya by the priest in the evening. The priest is one of the tsunami survivor,On the fateful day, the gurukkal said(priest) he held on to the Shivling and chanted mantras and waited for three days  till the water receded. The temple is still facing a losing battle with the sea. 

 Just beside the temple and across the Fort is the Danish Governor’s residence which is now a Neemrana Property. An employee at the property said, they have acquired a few local houses like the nayak and nadar houses and converted them into home stays like the Gatehouse (the first house on King’s street) . He also said the Danes are proud of their heritage and ancestors and often visit the Danish cemetery to pay their respects. The Danes relate and celebrate their culture here  and take a leisurely stroll around the artefacts in the museum. Infact, a group of Danes who are  proud of their heritage want to conserve the Danish heritage  and so they have come together to form an association called Danish Tranquebar association. Nearly two crores have been spent to cobble the pathways and for lighting by the association and INTACH. This heritage town is now  heading towards as a candidate for the  UNESCO’ world heritage site. 

The nearby Collectors’bungalow is being renovated to make way for a library. 

Beside the Bungalow on the intersection of the King’s street and Queen’s street is a statue you can’t miss. The statue of Bartholoaeus Ziegenbalg built in 2006. 

This place also conserves many other reminders of Danish heritage, most of them being colonial houses  which reminds us of the times when this port must have been a busy trading outpost of the Danes.

It was already 6.p.m. Two hours flew by too soon, leaving me with a decided sense of wanting to stay longer. There is so much to see, hear, feel and experience like the stories from the locals,the craft center, the interiors of the Zion church, the first rays of the morning sun, inhaling the clean  air etc.,  But in all, I had a satisfying feeling of having absorbed a beautiful slice of history, a pristine beach side, an ancient little temple. I left a little of myself here but holding so much in my camera.

Pin Tranquebar on your tourist map in case you are a history buff, photo enthusiast, have love for traditional architecture or simply If you want to relax, rejuvenate in a quaint beach town with no touristy airs.

 Oh!........  and....... i forgot to tell you........ while here on the beach, don’t forget to take a deeeeeeeeeeep breath and fill your lungs to the maximum. Because, this is one of the two places on the planet where the  Ozone readings (thickness)  are  high( the other is in Switzerland). 

Check this long photo tour( click on the pics to enlarge):

                        The 'landsdowne' town gate to enter into King's street. Note the Danish seal at the top

          Tranquebar maritime museum housed in a palm and bamboo hut has a few fishing paraphernalia, a model fisherman house, a few old  maps. This will soon be housed in King's street where a house is being renovated for this purpose.

The Masula boat is unique to the coramandel coast. It has several planks sewn together thus making it elastic. These boats helped the ships to transfer the goods to the fort. The making of the boat will be shown live to the visitors  when the museum shifts to its new premises.

           That's the Scandinavian structure Dansborg  built in sand stone. The second  largest Danish fort after Kronborg in Denmark, the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Hamlet

                                   The history of Dansborg fort at the entrance to the fort( click on it to read)

                                          A glimpse of the bay through the window of the fort. In the foreground is a cannon which is now silent but from here you can hear the crashing giant waves of the bay

              Letter from the Thanjavur king Raghunatha nayak displayed in the museum(click on it to read the message)

                                                        An old map of Tranquebar displayed in the museum

                                                    Some excavated ruins and remains

The original drawing of the fort with the outer walls which were eventually washed by the waves of the sea.

The back view of the fort, the basement has a jail, godown for stocking the goods,gunpowder,  stable for horses etc.

                                                             One of the basement cells

 A view of the collector's bungalow from the terrace of the fort.This INTACH renovated house will soon turn into a library.

                     

  A view of the lovely little  Masilamaninathar temple, two of its three temple towers built in 13th century  have  been swallowed by the sea.

A close-up side view of the temple. The Front entrance is towards the bay.

 

 The brick pier through which goods where transported from the ship to the fort at the far end. The beach shores are covered with black sand.

 

 A view of the  INTACH restored Neemrana property ' The Bungalow on the beach'.  Neemrana is the delhi based group which refurbishes dilapidated  heritage property into a hotel property without disturbing the feel of the bygone charm. They rightly call themselves as non-hotel hotel. There is no air of a commercial space when I entered the property. A nice place for the vacationing family to stay, relax, rejuvenate and experience the Danish charm. The 13th century temple is to the right of the property.The pathways have been cobbled and ornate lamp posts  adorn the area between the fort and Neemrana hotel.

 After renovation, this hotel was thrown open to public on Dec 24, 2004. Two days later a deadly Tsunami struck the property and disrupted the functioning of the hotel for three months. It was restored later and the interiors are earthy, warm  and  stunning and  it transports you to a  bygone era, you wished you belonged to.

The corridors of the hotel on the ground floor facing the swimming pool. The terrace of this place serves as a view deck for the Bay. A nice place to relax, rejuvenate on a  vacation.

This statue of Bartholoaeus Ziegenbalg built in 2006. To commemorate the 300^th anniversary of the German Missionary who was sent by the King of Denmark to spread the gospel. He was the founder of Lutheran mission and translated the bible into Tamil after learning the local language in three months time.  To print the bible the first printing press was started in India here and from  here Lutheranism is supposed to have spread across India. Hence Tranquebar is called ‘The Gateway of Protestantism to India’ and also bibliophiles know that The tamil bible is the first book to be printed in India.

 An old nadar(business community of Tamilnadu) house has been brought by the Danish association  on King's street. This is now being renovated to house a catering institute.

 The renovated Flora cottage opposite the maritime mueseum houses some of the Danish tourists.

 This is the first house on King's street called 'The Gate house'  a lovely accomodation for tourists. The  above are a few properties which are restored into quaint original Danish homes to retain the charm of the place.

Tillai - The journey not the destination -5

Like i said in my previous post after coming back from the lignite mines, the elders insisted we should give up on Tranquebar. They felt we were tired to take on the journey and as it is we had to drive next day afternoon to Chennai. My husband whose passion other than high way driving is sleeping was only too eager to stall of the journey.

But thankfully, i could convince everybody but by then it was 2 in the afternoon. So after  a refreshing mug of coffee /tea we left to Tranquebar at 3 in the noon.

The weather again was  supportive, cool, breezy and even cloudy. We journeyed   through Bhuvanagiri and a Saivaite temple town , Chidambaram( called Thillai in tamil).

Driving through Bhuvanagiri which is famous as the birthplace of the madhwa saint Sri Raghavendra swami cut me off from the colors of  Rainbow except two. The Blue sky and the green paddy fields is all i saw when we drove through this beautiful plains. A sight i missed at Thanjavur  i  caught during my drive here. We enjoyed the  country side plains of this agricultural town.

                                           The above are moving shots. Did'nt  i tell you, the weather was perfect driving weather considering it is coastal region, the weather was salubrious and not sultry.

                  This is a shot taken from the petrolbunk where we refilled fuel. All around i could only see green and sky blue.

 And we bypassed the othe famous temple town which is a destination for many. Chidambaram, the temple town famous  for the Thillai Nataraja temple. Here the main idol is the dancing Shiva and this form of shiva frozen in bronze is the icon of Indian culture and adorns many Indian homes. Two of the idols adorn a place of pride in my home too. This place hosts one of the world's unparalled classical Indian dance/ballet fest called 'Natyanjali' which draws classical Bharatanatyam dancers from farway countries like Aust, Maldives, Srilanka, UK, US amongst others. This fest generally happens in March and coincides with the Mahashivratri festival. It is on my wishlist to visit Chidambaram during the fest and soak the cultural atmosphere. Someday i will.

                                           (pic courtesy: google)
But this time we traveled on the eve of another shaivaite tamil festival called Arudra Darisanam. Having visited this temple some 6 years back, we took  the chidambaram bypass road to tranquebar.  We could see the temple tower lit beautifully with the words 'Shiva Shiva' in tamil from the bypass road. If interested, more about the architecture legend and history of the temple read here.

From here it was just a few more minutes drive through typical kuccha roads towards tranquebar. Though this area is  close to the coast there is no road laid out here parallel to coast or to extend the east coast road. Laying such roads may cost agriculural land.   The drive through kuccha roads took us to  a fork road  where one indicator read Poompuhar 8kms and the other indicator read  MARG Karaikal. MARG is the marine infrastructure company and promotor of the ONGC port city and hence enroute from Chidambaram you will see MARG indicators for Karaikal but you will never find even one Tranquebar indicator. We took the Karaikal route since we knew it fell on this route and drove  amongst lively villages.   Just a  few kms to drive into King's street to experience a slice of bygone  Dutch India.There was something in the air which spelt and smelt of sea and a great history. More on my next travel post.......

The board says it all - the land of singing/dancing waves

Kumbakonam- The journey not the destination -4

On our way back home to Neyveli, we drove through Kumbakonam. This town which is around 37 kms from Thanjavur has many famous temples scattered around. All these temples are huge and have ancient written over them in culture and history. It draws theists from all over the world as each temple has a significance and keeps the faith of its  devotees. This town also hosts the ‘Mahamaham’ a kumbhmela which is held every 12 years once. This agricultural town is famous for brass vessels. Silk, scented supari(betel nut), sandal talc, betel leaves and many more. It also  lends its name to the filter coffee brewed in thanjavur household, The GI marked Kumbakonam degree coffee.

a section of the mahamaham tank, famous for Kumbhmela held every 12 years( a NatGeo spot too) 

Apart from the above, it also has thrown to the world some eminent stalwarts, scholars and educationists, the chief among them being Srinivas Ramanujam, The great mathematician. They were all educated in the premier college of this old town The Government arts college, which is proudly acclaimed as the ‘Cambridge of South India’.

It was close to 5.40 p.m when we were travelling through this temple town, we passed through the Mahamaha kulam( a sacred temple pond), but we had no intention of stepping into any temple. Not that we are atheists, we had already seen most of them during our previous visits and we had even washed our sins;) in the mahamaham tank  a couple of years back  on an ordinary day with no one around.(  it draws people only on auspicious days)

We were busy scouting for the landmark monument this time, Srinivas Ramanujam’s home.  After a cup of degree coffee in a hotel ( a separate post on this)  for which this city is known, we entered the Sarangapani street with the help of our GPS to visit the house of the Great mathematician. We could not locate the house in the busy narrow street and so enquired a few people who were localites. Nobody had a clue to where this house was. Finally a man suggested we ask at the town school which was at the end of the road, since Ramanujam studied there. We went around the main entrance of the town school and finally managed to get the direction from an autodriver. We followed his instructions around the school and guess where we landed?

Exactly at the place, where a  person directed to the town school. It is a very narrow and small house as you will see in the picture and not many localites are aware of it.

the thinnai( the platform ) of his house from where he solved many mathematical problems on his own without anybody's help.

It is taken over by SASTRA university and turned into an international monument now.  We were here on DEC 26^th, just 14 days after his 125^th birth anniversary. A fortnight back, There was a huge delegation of mathematicians from Europe to celebrate this event @SASTRA University. We spent a few moments with pride hopping in and out of each room and I signed the visitors register placed there. WE were lucky to be the last visitor because the visiting hours of the monument was only till 6.p.m and luckily the power also went off when we walked out of the place. The visit to this house was most fulfilling said my son who loves mathematics and all of us nodded our head. (Anybody who loves reading biographies, i would suggest read Robert Kaniegel's the man who knew infinity- a tribute to this mathematician and an inspiring read)

Out from there , we drove straight to our uncle’s place to Neyveli.

 The next day, we had a local visit to the lignite mines and the thermal power station of Neyveli. On Dec 28^th,  after a lot of deliberations as to should we visit the gingee fort enroute to Chennai or tranquebar( which many elders like our uncle and aunt dismissed as a fishing village), I insisted we  visit Tranquebar and Karaikal.... and......I would rate Tranquebar was one of the beautiful places, I have ever seen.

@ Thanjavur - The land of rich culture

It was 10.a.m when we reached Thanjavur, the head quarters of the Thanjavur district. Before i share my travel experience, a brief history of Thanjavur which i am proud of:

 Thanjavur which was the domain of the The Great Chola rulers is the cradle of Tamil culture . The successful Chola kings patronized art, craft, cuisine, architecture and literature during their epoch making period marking a cultural renaissance. To name a few are the famous Chola period Bronze sculptures of which is the famous dancing shiva called ‘Nataraja’. It is not news anymore how this idol fetches a huge value in the international market even today(courtesy: Subhash Kapoor). The famous dance form ‘Bharatanatyam’ originated from the temples of Thanjavur. The traditional seat of Classical music- The carnatic style also has its birth here,  The thanjavur art plates with intricate engraving and in-lay work called thanjavur thattu, the papier maiche mirror work plates, The rich art called  'Thanjavur painting' made with gold leaf and gems,  bell metal castings, the grass mats called 'Korai Paai', the musical instruments like veena, ornamental jewellery called ‘The temple jewellery’, handloom silk and cotton, the beautiful GIS bobble head dolls called ‘Thanjavur Thalaiyatti Bommai’ , The famous Thanjavur cuisine -  all owe its origin to this civilization. No wonder, people who originate from here take pride in the fact that they are Tanjoreans.

 This district's prime occupation  is agriculture and it is famous for its agricultural activities and is rightly acclaimed as the Granary of South India. All thanks to the River Cauvery, which was channelized due to the foresightedness of a great chola king whom I mentioned here.  The criss crossing network of the river channels irrigate the paddy fields, coconut groves, mango orchards, sugarcane plantations lending its name. Apart from agriculture, it is also famous for pisciculture or marine fishes. Sadly though, of late many agricultural lands have been transformed into  industrial and residential plots due to famine and ryot problems.

The Cholas extended their territory in the north till the Ganges and in the south till Anuradhapura in Ceylon. Their epoch making 1000 year rule was taken over by the Pandyas, Khiljis, Nayaks,  the Mahrattas( son of Chattrapati Shivaji)  and then the British till 1947.

All these rulers have left their stamp of power and  genius in the  form of art, culture and architectural grandeur none of which were massively destroyed during alien invasions.

We marked our presence at some of the places. The Thanjavur palace, The Saraswathi Mahal library, the Palace Art gallery and the finest specimen of  Chola architecture - the Grand Brihadeeswara temple- a UNESCO world heritage site again which is a historian and archaeologists delight.

Our first entry was at India’s best kept secret - the Royal Saraswathi Mahal library which was on my bucket list for long. The library was formed and developed in the name of ‘Saraswati Bandar’ by the Nayak kings. The Mahratta kings later developed the library into a Royal Palace library in their palace compound. King Serfoji II ( the second son of Chattrapati Shivaji) is called the architect of the library which has some of the world’s rarest manuscripts(47,334) and personal collection of books numbering 67,233. The Encyclopedia of Brittanica hails it as the ‘most remarkable library in India’. Photography again was not allowed inside the library museum which is small but gives a glimpse of what’s store in the huge library. We missed the library due to the ‘facelift’ given to the library. But the small library museum itself housed some rare time defying treasures like  rare photographs called Daniel prints, maps of 1786 A.D( in this map Australia was marked as New Holland) and some rare paintings. It was an enriching experience. 

Check  a few pics here. Will make a photo post with the remaining pics later.

The board at the entrance to the library museum

The stats of the library at the entrance(click on it to read them)

                                               The art worked ceilings in the portico. (An elephant and cow)

                                                         The artwork @ the arched portico

                           The entrance to the Palace art gallery adjacent to the palace library

                               The mil-dewed goodagopuram called the watch tower, one can take the narrow steps above which gives a view of the city,. It has beautiful stone sculptures in the open space around. The right side is the durbal hall of  king serfoji. Actually the palace is not a palace in the true sense, it is a  huge royal mansion of the Nayak kings and later the mahrattas.

The corridor in the palace,  the palace is not maintained to be showcased. It has some secret passages which leads to the Big temple. The H and sonny boy tried entering  by going down a few steps, but it was suffocating and  not well maintained. Infact, no one dares to venture. The palace needs a huge revamp to be showcased to the world.

                         Another view of the durbal hall and the art gallery housing bronze sculptures

The artwork above the durbar seat

A statue of King Serfoji gifted by the Dutch on the durbar seat has a removable cap and scabbard. Many foreigners are in awe and fascinated by the  Indian culture and bought lot of handicrafts. There were more foreigners than Indian tourists. In the pic, you see Italian tourists from Tuscany with their guide who are on a south indian trip.

                                               These are a glimpse of the artefacts in the art gallery. There were huge Idols too.

The bell tower near the art gallery

  The Brihadeeswara temple, another UNESCO world heritage site, maintained by the ASI. This temple is  a huge mystery to archaeologists. The temple is made up of granite the strongest stone in the world. It amazes them to how they have cut and carved when there were no high precision tools 1000years ago.

                               One of the three temple towers through which you enter the temples. The rocks, the guides say were filled with water and after a long period the rocks eventually broke.

This temple recently celebrated its 1000th year. It gives you goosegumps as you run your fingers over them.

That is the main temple tower called Vimanam which is a architectural wonder made of single stone granite. The biggest wonder is the huge cap stone in the top of the big temple. The weight of the cap stone is 80 tons . It is amazing how the stone was lifted to the top when there were no high end equipments like cranes. It is said the elephants carried the stone to the top and a ramp was used.  It is constructed in such a way that the shadow of the temple gopuram does not fall on the ground. It falls on itself. Not an easy task wonder archaeologists.. 

The bull(Nandi) overlooking the shiva is supposed to be the second largest in India. 

 The huge temple has corridors on all the three sides. Alongside run shivlings like these with  high quallity paintings and inscriptions on them. The paintings explain the greatness of the Chola kings and depict many stories. It is sadly concealed behind grilled bars like these and not easily seen. The colors chosen for the paintings are still good and healthy.

The temple also has lot of secret passages and underground passages which are now closed. THe passages had lots of paintings too said the guide. The  temple was crowded unlike GKC and it was difficult to capture the temple without visitors.It has a temple elephant which blesses the visitors.

Now off to Tranquebar - my next travel post.