Sights in Northern Tamil Nadu
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Arjuna's Penance
This relief carving on the face of a huge rock depicts animals, deities and other semidivine creatures as well as fables from the Hindu Panchatantra books. The panel (30m x 12m) is divided by a huge perpendicular fissure that's skilfully encompassed into the sculpture; originally, water, representing the Ganges, flowed down it.
It's one of the most convincing and unpretentious rock carvings in India, with the main relief showing Shiva standing with a wizened Arjuna, balanced on one leg in a state of penance. A guide can be useful to help explain the reliefs.
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Mahishamardini Mandapam
Scenes from the Puranas (Sanskrit stories dating from the 5th century AD) are depicted on the mandapam with the sculpture of the goddess Durga considered one of the finest.
Above the mandapam are the remains of the 8th-century Olakkannesvara Temple, and spectacular views of Mamallapuram. Photography is forbidden here for 'security reasons' - there's a nuclear power station a few kilometres south.
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Five Rathas
Carved from single pieces of rock, the Five Rathas are low-laying monoliths that huddle in more ancient subtlety than grandeur. Each temple is dedicated to a Hindu god and named for one of the Pandavas, the five hero-brothers of the epic Mahabharata, plus their common wife, Draupadi.
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Krishna's Butter Ball
Just north of the Ganesh Ratha is a huge boulder known as Krishna's Butter Ball. Immovable, but apparently balancing precariously, it's a favourite photo opportunity.
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Shore Temple
Standing like a magnificent fist of rock-cut elegance overlooking the sea, the Shore Temple symbolises the heights of Pallava architecture and the maritime ambitions of the Pallava kings. Its small size belies its excellent proportion and the supreme quality of the carvings, many of which have been eroded into vaguely Impressionist embellishments. Originally constructed in the 7th century, it was later rebuilt by Narasimhavarman II and houses two central shrines to Shiva. The layout is meant to resemble the perfect cosmic body, with the head and heart located over the spire that dominates the structure. Facing east and west, the original linga (phallic images of Shiva) ca…
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Relief carving
As if we couldn’t wax more poetic on Mamallapuram’s stonework, along comes this relief carving, one of the greatest of its age and certainly one of the most convincing and unpretentious works of ancient art in India. Inscribed into a huge boulder, the penance bursts with scenes of Hindu myth (notice the nagas, or snake-beings, that descend a cleft once filled with water, meant to represent the Ganges) and everyday vignettes of South Indian life. A herd of elephants marches under armies of angels, while Arjuna performs self-mortification so he can be granted Shiva’s most powerful weapon, the god-slaying Pasupata. In Hinduism, ‘penance’ does not mean suffering that eras…
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Crocodile Bank
One of the best institutions of its kind in India, Crocodile Bank, 40km south of Chennai, is a fascinating peek into a world of reptiles culled from your best dinosaur dreams, and an incredible conservation trust to boot. The Bank does crucial work towards protecting the critically endangered gharial, an enormous but harmless (to humans) species of crocodilian with a long, thin nose that feeds on fish. There are thousands of other reptiles here, including the Indian mugger and saltwater crocs of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. If you’ve got an open evening on the weekend, come for the night safari, when you can shine a flashlight over the water and catch the staring ey…
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DakshinaChitra
DakshinaChitra is a jumble of open-air museum, preserved village and artisan workshops – a well-worth-it stop (especially for the kids) for learning about the Dravidian crafts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Of special note are 17 refurbished heritage houses and recreated village-scapes. DakshinaChitra means ‘A Picture of the South’, which is essentially what you’re provided via local pottery, silk-weaving, puppet-building and basket-making workshops, traditional theatre performances and art studios. A delightfully cool 12-room guest house is in the grounds, though you might want to check your visit is not coinciding with a school overnight ex…
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Devarajaswami Temple
Dedicated to Vishnu, this enormous monument was built by the Vijayanagars and is among the most impressive of Kanchipuram’s temples. It has a beautifully sculptured ‘1000-pillared’ hall (only 96 of the original 1000 remain) as well as a marriage hall commemorating the wedding of Vishnu and Lakshmi. One of the temple’s most notable features is a huge chain carved from a single piece of stone which can be seen at each corner of the mandapam. The temple is supposedly the place to go to receive cures from lizard-related illnesses thanks to twin silver and gold-plated reptiles that crawl over the temple ceiling, where they devour platinum cockroaches (kidding).
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Wide Beach
The village is only about 200m from the wide beach, north of the Shore Temple, where local fishers pull in their boats. The beach is cleaner further north, or to the south of the Shore Temple, and you can take long unimpeded walks, although at high tide you need to walk over the rocks in front of the Shore Temple.
It's not a great place for swimming - there are dangerous rips - but it's possible to go fishing in one of local outriggers; negotiate a price with the owner. Despite the beach scene, Western swimwear is not the norm here and you (and local people) may feel more comfortable if you cover up.
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Sri Aurobindo Ashram
Founded in 1926 by Sri Aurobindo and a Frenchwoman known as ‘the Mother’ (whose visage, which you’ll either find benevolent or vaguely creepy, is everywhere here), this ashram seeks to synthesise yoga and modern science. After Aurobindo’s death, spiritual authority (and minor religious celebrity) passed to the Mother, who died in 1973 aged 97. A constant flow of visitors files through the main ashram building, which has the flower-festooned samadhi of Aurobindo and the Mother in the central courtyard.
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Puducherry Museum
Goodness knows how this cute little museum keeps its artefacts from rotting, considering there’s a whole floor of French-era furniture sitting in the South Indian humidity. As you amble through the colonial-era building, keep an eye peeled for Pallava and Chola sculptures, a small Versailles’ worth of French Union–era bric-a-brac, and coins and shards of pottery excavated from Arikamedu, a once-major seaport a few kilometres south of Puducherry that traded with the Roman Empire during the 1st century BC.
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Vedantangal Bird Sanctuary
Located about 52km southwest of Mamallapuram, this wildlife sanctuary is an important breeding ground for waterbirds – cormorants, egrets, herons, ibises, spoonbills, storks, grebes and pelicans – that migrate here from October to March. At the height of breeding season (December and January) there can be up to 30,000 birds nesting in the mangroves. The best viewing times are early morning and late afternoon; head for the watchtower and look down on the noisy nests across the water.
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Sanctuary
Located about 52km southwest of Mamallapuram, this wildlife sanctuary is an important breeding ground for waterbirds – cormorants, egrets, herons, ibises, spoonbills, storks, grebes and pelicans – that migrate here from October to March. At the height of breeding season (December and January) there can be up to 30,000 birds nesting in the mangroves. The best viewing times are early morning and late afternoon; head for the watchtower and look down on the noisy nests across the water.
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Sri Ramana Ashram
This tranquil ashram, 2km southwest of Tiruvannamalai, draws devotees of Sri Ramana Maharshi, a guru who died in 1950 after nearly 50 years in contemplation. It’s a very relaxed place, set in green surrounds, where visitors are able to meditate or worship the shrine where the guru achieved samadhi (conscious exit from the body). Day visits are permitted but devotees only may stay at the ashram by applying in writing, preferably at least three months in advance.
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Cholamandal Artists’ Village
There’s a tropical bohemian groove floating around Injambalkkam village, site of the Cholamandal Artists’ Village. This 4-hectare artists’ cooperative (18km south of Chennai) is a serene muse away from the world and a quiet chance to both see and purchase contemporary Indian art direct from the source. There are two simple studio-cum-guest-houses available for visiting artists only (Rs500 per day; book well in advance).
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Arunachaleswar Temple
The Arunachaleswar is awash in golden flames and the roasting scent of burning ghee, as befits the fire incarnation of the Destroyer of the Universe. Covering some 10 hectares, this vast temple is one of the largest in India. Four large unpainted gopurams, one for each cardinal point, front the approaches, with the eastern tower rising 13 storeys and an astonishing 66m.
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Jalakanteshwara Temple
JalakanteshwaraTemple is a gem of late Vijayanagar architecture, was built about 1566. Check out the small, detailed sculptures on the walls of the marriage hall. During the invasions by the Adil Shahis of Bijapur, the Marathas and the Carnatic nawabs (Muslim ruling princes), the temple was occupied by a garrison and temple rituals ceased. Now it’s once again a place of worship.
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Vedagirishvara Temple
About 14km west of Mamallapuram in Tirukkalikundram is the hilltop VedagirishvaraTemple dedicated to Shiva. It’s often called the Eagle Temple; according to legend two eagles come here each day at noon from Varanasi, a good 2000km away (they often don’t turn up on time). It might also be called the Eagle Temple because that’s what you should be if you want to visit the shrine.
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Rajagiri & Krishnagiri
Rajagiri & Krishnagiri was constructed mainly in the 16th century by the Vijayanagars (though some structures date from the 13th century), these edifices, which poke out of the Tamil plain like castles misplaced by the Lord of the Rings, have been occupied by the Marathas, the Mughals, the French and finally, the British.
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Krishna Mandapam
Many mandapams, featuring fine internal sculptures, are scattered over the main hill. Among them is Krishna Mandapam, one of the earliest rock-cut temples and predating the penance relief. Its carvings of a pastoral scene show Krishna lifting up the mythical Govardhana mountain to protect his kinsfolk from the wrath of Indra.
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Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple
Don’t miss the chance to watch tourists, pilgrims and the curious get a head pat from the temple elephant who stands outside Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple, dedicated to Ganesh and tucked down a backstreet just south of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram; the temple also contains over 40 skilfully painted friezes.
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Dolphin City
We weren’t able to visit on our last trip, but if you love your dolphins (or water slides), Dolphin City, 6km south of Crocodile Bank, is a huge water-park complex that features daily dolphin and sea-lion shows, plus a nice range of water slides, pools and kiddie rides.
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Tamil Nadu government museum
The Tamil Nadu government museum displays hero stones in the forecourt dating from the 8th century and depicting the stories of war heroes in battle. The dusty exhibits have seen much better days, but the small collection of tribal clothes and artefacts is interesting.
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Museum
This museum contains more than 3000 sculptures and paintings that run the gamut from interesting stonework to still-life depictions of fruit bowls that could have been found in grandma’s basement. We can safely say: you get your Rs2 worth.
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