Quick! Back to the Ocean!
We resurface in Mammalapuram (aka Mahabalipuram), a town on the coast of Tamil Nadu, just south of Chennai, and the penultimate stop on this second leg of the journey. More importantly, we're back on the shore, where the torrid heat of the dead of winter is balanced out by the cool breeze off the Bay of Bengal. It's still hot, don't get me wrong - it's just no longer a blast furnace.
Yesterday we left Madhurai (set as always to 'slow roast') and travelled down the road to Pondicherry, the capital of French India. What's this? You've never heard of French India? Mais oui, il existait, et il était fort et fière and it totally got taken over by the Brits like 9 times in the 1700s. Currently the French influence is restricted to a profusion of bakeries, some pleasant and not at all impressive colonial houses, and the red képis worn by the police. Interestingly, there are four non-contiguous cities that make up Pondicherry territory, making it completely separate from Tamil Nadu, governmentally. I know, I know, you want to hear all about federal governance in the Indian Union. Well too bad! Let's talk tourism.
In Pondy (as it's known locally), we found the first neighbourhood to walk around in that felt pleasant, as oppose to exciting and foreign. Unlike most cities, where dirt and dust and trash and cows and shit are everywhere, Pondy had clean streets and trees. Trees on a road make all the difference - the air feels cleaner, and the shade is intoxicating in this environment. There are of course plenty of parts of the city that are more characteristically Indian in this regard, but having such a nice neighbourhood by the seaside made a world of difference.
We spent the day wandering along the shore (the blue water breaking against the stones of the strand making it clear just why Pondy is a tourist hotspot for les Français), eating soft serve ice cream from le Club and taking in la place de la république, with its 11ft tall statue of the Mahatma, and its less impressive statue of Nehru. We walked past the Aurobindo Ashram, one of the more popular ashrams for western travellers. We found a chemists to buy shampoo, a beer shop to buy Heineken (not Kingfisher for once!!!) and a takeaway joint to buy pizza, the last two of which we consumed on the second floor terrace overlooking Mahatma Gandhi boulevard. It was relaxed, unhurried, and almost boring. The perfect opportunity to recuperate from Shri Minakshi.
Today we drove a short way up the coast to Mammalapuram, the capital of the Pallava dynasty in the 7th and 8th centuries. Its ancient (1400 year old) temples stand unfazed by time, tourists, Mughals and even the 2004 tsunami. We saw the Sea Shore temple, which stands by the sea shore) before our Tuk-Tuks took us to see the five Rathas: five monolithic minitemples named after characters from the Mahabharata. In one of them, the acoustics were amazing; I chanted 'Aun' and it felt like the very air around me was shaking.
Finally, we went to see Arjuna's Penance, a massive cliff carving showing the hero Arjuna, of the Mahabharata, standing on one leg in front of Lord Shiva in order to earn a weapon with which to defeat an army of demons. Seriously, India had Lord of the Rings before it was cool. While the statues and carvings are all beautifully conceived and executed, my personal favourite is a cat standing one legged, surrounded by rats. He was standing so still, in the story, that the rats forgot he was a threat to them. Whereas Arjuna is depicted almost entirely emaciated, the cat has a clearly full belly. :)
Afterwards, we regrouped back at the hotel. Emma went off for an Ayurvedic massage that, in the words of its less scrupulous practitioners, can cure everything from sore backs to paralysis. Emma having done some serious yoga in Varkala, she definitely earned her oily kneading. Meanwhile, Vincent and I headed to the hotel bar, where over (unknowingly absurdly expensive) beer and calamari we talked about everything from reading people to history to the new Star Wars movie (which he still hasn't seen and which I refuse to spoil for him).
Then it was off to le Yogi for dinner - after all the pizza I was delighted to find a Greek salad on the menu, and what's more, the restaurant was actually capable of serving it to me! This is enough of a rarity (and not just with Greek salads) that it merits mention in our blog.
Tablet update - the tablet is being taken to Kolkata by courier. It should arrive in 3-5 days. I think it's being taken by Tuk-Tuk. Either that, or the courier is unclear on how courier services are meant to operate. :)
We resurface in Mammalapuram (aka Mahabalipuram), a town on the coast of Tamil Nadu, just south of Chennai, and the penultimate stop on this second leg of the journey. More importantly, we're back on the shore, where the torrid heat of the dead of winter is balanced out by the cool breeze off the Bay of Bengal. It's still hot, don't get me wrong - it's just no longer a blast furnace.
Yesterday we left Madhurai (set as always to 'slow roast') and travelled down the road to Pondicherry, the capital of French India. What's this? You've never heard of French India? Mais oui, il existait, et il était fort et fière and it totally got taken over by the Brits like 9 times in the 1700s. Currently the French influence is restricted to a profusion of bakeries, some pleasant and not at all impressive colonial houses, and the red képis worn by the police. Interestingly, there are four non-contiguous cities that make up Pondicherry territory, making it completely separate from Tamil Nadu, governmentally. I know, I know, you want to hear all about federal governance in the Indian Union. Well too bad! Let's talk tourism.
In Pondy (as it's known locally), we found the first neighbourhood to walk around in that felt pleasant, as oppose to exciting and foreign. Unlike most cities, where dirt and dust and trash and cows and shit are everywhere, Pondy had clean streets and trees. Trees on a road make all the difference - the air feels cleaner, and the shade is intoxicating in this environment. There are of course plenty of parts of the city that are more characteristically Indian in this regard, but having such a nice neighbourhood by the seaside made a world of difference.
We spent the day wandering along the shore (the blue water breaking against the stones of the strand making it clear just why Pondy is a tourist hotspot for les Français), eating soft serve ice cream from le Club and taking in la place de la république, with its 11ft tall statue of the Mahatma, and its less impressive statue of Nehru. We walked past the Aurobindo Ashram, one of the more popular ashrams for western travellers. We found a chemists to buy shampoo, a beer shop to buy Heineken (not Kingfisher for once!!!) and a takeaway joint to buy pizza, the last two of which we consumed on the second floor terrace overlooking Mahatma Gandhi boulevard. It was relaxed, unhurried, and almost boring. The perfect opportunity to recuperate from Shri Minakshi.
Today we drove a short way up the coast to Mammalapuram, the capital of the Pallava dynasty in the 7th and 8th centuries. Its ancient (1400 year old) temples stand unfazed by time, tourists, Mughals and even the 2004 tsunami. We saw the Sea Shore temple, which stands by the sea shore) before our Tuk-Tuks took us to see the five Rathas: five monolithic minitemples named after characters from the Mahabharata. In one of them, the acoustics were amazing; I chanted 'Aun' and it felt like the very air around me was shaking.
Finally, we went to see Arjuna's Penance, a massive cliff carving showing the hero Arjuna, of the Mahabharata, standing on one leg in front of Lord Shiva in order to earn a weapon with which to defeat an army of demons. Seriously, India had Lord of the Rings before it was cool. While the statues and carvings are all beautifully conceived and executed, my personal favourite is a cat standing one legged, surrounded by rats. He was standing so still, in the story, that the rats forgot he was a threat to them. Whereas Arjuna is depicted almost entirely emaciated, the cat has a clearly full belly. :)
Afterwards, we regrouped back at the hotel. Emma went off for an Ayurvedic massage that, in the words of its less scrupulous practitioners, can cure everything from sore backs to paralysis. Emma having done some serious yoga in Varkala, she definitely earned her oily kneading. Meanwhile, Vincent and I headed to the hotel bar, where over (unknowingly absurdly expensive) beer and calamari we talked about everything from reading people to history to the new Star Wars movie (which he still hasn't seen and which I refuse to spoil for him).
Then it was off to le Yogi for dinner - after all the pizza I was delighted to find a Greek salad on the menu, and what's more, the restaurant was actually capable of serving it to me! This is enough of a rarity (and not just with Greek salads) that it merits mention in our blog.
Tablet update - the tablet is being taken to Kolkata by courier. It should arrive in 3-5 days. I think it's being taken by Tuk-Tuk. Either that, or the courier is unclear on how courier services are meant to operate. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment