South India by Joseph Scafuro

Tiruvannamalai, Gingee, and Chidambaram

2008-01-27T11:13:00.013-05:00

In January, 2008 I took a trip to South India (Tamil Nadu and Kerala). I didn't have much of an agenda, just a guide book and a map with too many places circled in red ink. In the end, I headed southeast to Tiruvannamalai.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Blessed by the temple elephant

Arunachaleswar Temple

Sir Ramana Ashram is also here and offers an oasis of calm. I was not prepared (though I'm from NYC) for the (apparent) chaos of even small Hindu cities.There are no traffic lights, stop signs, or rules really of any kind. A driver communicates his intentions by constantly tapping his horn. It all seems to work pretty well, but the noise is exhausting.

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Gingee is a very nice side trip from Tiruvannamali.

View from the Queens Fort to the Kings Fort

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If you are in or around Tiruvannamalai and need transportationI can highly recommend Anand Kumar. He drives a tuk tuk in town and will be your driver for the day, he charges very reasonable rates. He also has a Tata Ambassador (the standard taxi in India) very good for longer distance, I hired his taxi for a week with anexcellent driver (very important). anandaramana@india.com

Tel 944-241-6444

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A small temple on the road from Tiruvannamalai

to Chidambaram

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Chidambaram

Nataraja Temple and tank

Temple sweeper

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Thanjavur next ...

Vaitheswaran, Thanjavur, Rameshwawaren

2008-01-26T18:51:00.014-05:00

I met two women, Beta and Niki, in Chidambaram

and we traveled together for a few days. They wanted to stop in Vaitheswaran, a town famous for Nadi Josiyam, a form of astrology which includes, to put it crudely, fortune telling. (I abstained). As it turned out, it takes a really long time (4-8 hours) and is really REALLY expensive. Fortunately there was an interesting temple and small town for me to explore.

Typical Pongal (harvest festival) decoration

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Thanjavur

Thanjavur is known for its famous Brihadishwara

temple and the Marath Palace, but you

won't see them here.

Airtel

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Back on the Road

We came across this scene, driving through the country side: a grass hut village with a small open Christian church (one of the few in Tamil Nadu). The local people were lined up with their cattle to be blessed by the priest. This may also have been tied in with Pongal, their year-end harvest festival.

Cows in their Sunday best

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Rameshwaram

(Rameswaram)

A causeway connects the mainland to the island of Rameshwaram. The temple is dark and mysterious, but the pilgrims and Brahman priests are very welcoming. There is a lot of excitement and joy in the air.

Claimed to be a holy man on Dhanushkodi beach

Pilgrims

Fishing village nearby

Some rakish lads we encountered on Dhanushkodi beach

Banyan tree with small temple

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Next: Madurai, Kanakumari

Maduari and Kanyakumari

2008-01-25T21:19:00.005-05:00

Back on the road from Rameswaram, we stopped for tea and met this woman who has the most amazing, and heavy, earrings.

Tree stump splitter

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Another middle of nowhere wonder in India

These horses and soldiers remind me of the buried

terracotta army in Xi'an, China.

The statues surrounded a small temple.

Slowly returning to the earth.........

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We arrived in Madurai; Niki and Beta had a flight the next morning. Madurai is a large city with good hotels (where I had a banana split). Sir Meenakshi is a beautiful and well maintained temple complex. It is surrounded by shops filled with really exquisite jewelry, carpets, and scarves with starting prices to match. You had better know how to bargain (they do)!

Sir Meeknakshi Temple gopuram

(towers)

Detail

Ceiling painting with Hindu angles

Detail

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Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin)

At the very southernmost tip of India

The temple is dark and I think that photography is forbidden. The area around the temple was littered with trash and was generally dirty, but the town, full of pilgrims, has a lively, festive feel. One full day is probably enough.

Pilgrims bathing

Drying saris

Pilgrims

What can I say?

A quiet public tank a short walk from the beach

Detail

Next, Kerala

Kerala

2008-01-24T16:58:00.005-05:00

Kerala

Driving from Kanyakumari at the southern tip of India northwest into Kerala, I did not expect to see much of a change. Almost immediately the food changed from savory to spicy sweet, the Hindu temples gave way to Christian ones and overall things were much more orderly and clean.

Woman thanking Jesus for curing her breast cancer

(if I understood correctly)

Class photo

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Munnar

Munnar is all about tea plantations. The British and

Scottish did most of the planting in the 1920s.

Picking tea

Bagging it up

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Town of Munnar

Mall

Tidy vegetable stand

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Picking pepper corns

Pepper picker picking pepper corns

He was anxious to leave as he didn't

quite have permission to pick.

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Elephant moving log

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Making Jaggery

Jaggery is lightly refined from sugar cane, it is

said to be a very healthy alternative to the stuff we use.

Jaggery

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If you are going to Munnar, I can highly recommend the Pavithram home stay, owned by Mr. N.C. Rajesh. It's a few miles out of town (quiet). He has a chef on premise who does an excellent job with traditional Keralan food. He will also arrange for a jeep with driver or anything else you might need. On top of that he is an extremely gracious host.

pavithramhomestay@gmail.com

Tel:91-9447214400

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Next and final stop Ft. Kochi (Cochin)

Ft. Kochi (Cochin)

2008-01-23T17:41:00.008-05:00

Ft. Kochi

Ft. Kochi is a well known tourist stop on the west coast of Kerala. It is a very relaxing place to spend a few days, with a nice mix of people from around the world. I spent the last few days in India here, eating fresh sea food (gigantic prawns the size of a small lobster), shopping, and wandering the streets.

Good-bye India, I hope to see you again...

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One final recommendation is, if you are in Ft Kochi, The SITHARA HOMESTAY! Comfortable rooms on a quite street 5 minutes from the waterfront. PapaJohn will take care of all of your needs, change a plane ticket or arrange for a Royal Enfield motorcycle for the day. Best of all is the Kerlan home cooking,breakfast and dinner are really the best I had in Ft. Kochi, stroll by the waterfront to get an idea of the freshly caught seafood and tell Papa john what you want, you wont be disappointed.

www.sitharahomestay.com

Tel: 91-484-2215065