[TurboOnTarmac]

Baloo & I, drive into the Pallava Kingdom @Mammalapuram

“Are we going to Mammalapuram or Mahabalipuram?”, quizzed Baloo suddenly drawing my attention from the scenic beauty on both sides of ECR.

Mammalapuram or Mahabalipuram, both names, represents the same town. ‘Mammalapuram’ is said to be its original name. Some say, this name came from the 7th century Pallava King Narasimha Varman, who had built the majority of the monuments here and also has a title of ‘Mammalan – The great wrestler’. Some attribute the second name ‘Mahabalipuram’ to the vijayanagara empire period in the 15th century. Otherthan having the beautiful carving depicting ‘Vamana story’, the fifth avatar of Vishnu, there is no relation between this place to King Mahabali, whom Vamana crushes to Pathal-lok with his third step.


In the last leg my long 11-day trip, I planned 2 days at Mammalapuram to explore its UNESCO heritage marvels created by Pallava Kings and the serene beaches. Previously, I had covered the marvels from Chola empire at Tanjavore, Darasuram and Gangaikonda Cholapuram along with speed travel into downtown Pondicherry. Below is the link for the earlier blog.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...-empire-2.html (Baloo & I: Reset at an Ashram, and drive into the glorious past of the Chola empire)

Please do check out the above volume1 and 2 of the travelogue.


Now, let’s drive into the Pallava Kingdom

Volume3 Part8:

The drive from Pondicherry to Mammalapuram is event free with less traffic and smooth 2 lane East Coast Road. I almost maintained cruise control like consistent speed all through. On the way, stopped once for a couple of minutes at the side of a marsh lake and then continued till the hotel.



Pic1: Marsh lake on the side of ECR

As I take a deviation onto Mahabalipuram town road from ECR, I was stopped by two folks with badges showing that they are from municipal corporation of Mammalapuram and I need to pay entry fee for the car. We have no choice but pay so I paid and moved on. The roads inside town are mostly cemented and narrow, just like any small town in India. Its economy is dependent on the tourism and the fishing. You can see that everywhere on the streets the shops and restaurants oriented towards the tourism. With the help of google maps, I could easily reach my place of stay. There is no dedicated parking spot available so I had to park on the street itself with least possible gap between the wall the side view mirror.


Pic2: Parking on the street at the ‘Siva guesthouse’.

The room is very small but clean with attached bathroom. It has a small CRT TV of 14 inches and am really not sure whether it is really needed in this current times, lol. Unfortunately, I was told by the manager that WiFi is not working but luckily my mobile data is working fine. So no issue on that front for me. No AC in the room and that is something anyway I was avoiding due to COVID scare. Bed is clean and mattress is probably the cheapest one that must have been purchased at that time but I felt will do the job for one night. There are not many guests and I could find majority of rooms being empty. The manager told me that was very popular with foreigners who used to stay for weeks but now due to pandemic they are not seeing much of them. I checked in and did my additional sanitization routine, which has become a default norm for me. I also requested him not to send anyone inside without my permission so as to keep it protected. After freshup and resting for a while, I was feeling hungry and decided to visit one of the restaurants suggested by the friendly guesthouse manager (Kumar).



Pic3: A curious bovine greeting on the way to restaurant. Amazing first view of beach sands and blue ocean in the background. Restaurant is seen on the right facing the beach.

The Guest house is about 5 mins walk to the beach front and the restaurant is right there facing the ocean. It was very hot with blazing afternoon sun but I could feel the coolness in the breeze. As I near the restaurant on the beach, the view there in the afternoon with blue ocean on the horizon with clean but narrow street is refreshing.



Pic4 : Fisherman area of the beach with their boats resting in hot sun

As it is a fisherman colony as well, you see the boats on the beach sands, their live stock like cows & the chickens roaming freely there. Under the hot sun, the view looked different and the cool breeze made those few minutes of walk bearable. As I entered onto the beach sands,
I instantly fell in love with the location of the restaurant, which has a clear view into the sea and is right next to a small temple.
As it is afternoon, there are hardly any people on the beach except for sightings of one or two fishermen going about their work and may a few tourists checking out the restaurants dotted across the shoreline.

On the right we have this magnificent view of the shore temple. I loved the way it looked in that afternoon sun, yellow beach sands and blue sky and bluish sea. It appeared so lonely, facing the onslaught of the sea and the elements, lol.



Pic5: The magnificent and lonely Shore temple view from the front of the restaurant. This structure, which is protrudes into the sea, has been facing the onslaught of waves and wind for 1300+ years of its existence and still standing.


The ambiance of the restaurant is simple in village dhabha style with no overtly decoration. It is kept clean and looking spacious. As I was bit late for lunch, I pretty much got the whole floor for myself.



Pic6: ‘Fullness from the emptiness’- The sea, the beach, the breeze, the boats, the food, and the simplicity of ‘Mygoodness restaurant’, that cradled me for two days over super extended lunch breaks!

I was warmly welcomed by the friendly caretaker (Bala) of the restaurant. I picked one of the dish from a shortlist of specialties of their kitchen. Boy, that turned out to be the best decision.

The food was awesome and loved each bite of it. Its right up there among the few best I ever had in life.


Pic7: one of the best lunch that I ever had so far, all my life, a perfect simplistic blend of spices and taste.

After that tasty lunch I just sat there while sipping the icy lemon soda enjoying the peaceful sea view. Time just flew while I was lost in thoughts about the trip so far and the serenity around. Its so lovely that I still feel the urge to go back in there, lol.

Now, its time to start visiting the marvels and cover as much as possible till the sunset, and pick up the remaining next day morning. Guesthouse caretaker, Kumar advised me to start with Arjuna penance, butterball and then walking up to lighthouse on covering many spots in between. After that he suggested, if time permits, to visit the five ratha’s and cover the shore temple in the morning. The weather outside is hot and humid even though its about 4pm. I took my safety kit and additionally a cap and shades this time as I will be in open sun for till the sunset.



Pic8: The view of ASI protected and UNESCO listed monuments in Mahabalipuram

As you see in the above ASI map of the monuments, there are about 20 spots to visit, which are of the historical significance. I wasn’t sure whether time will be sufficient but started walking towards the first spot, Arjuna’s penance.

‘Have a good ride into 6th Century, buddy!’ shouted Baloo as I close the Guesthouse main gate while taking a quick look at him parked next to compound wall in the hot sun. I thought, for the whole of this trip, he never got a shaded parking spot.

‘Don’t you worry about me, I am built tough!’

he reads my feelings sometimes!, bringing smile onto my my N95 masked face, lol.

‘Tell me all about it later. Am super curious about how our Pallava Kings and these beautiful monolith marvels from 1400 years ago’, he added on as I nod my head and move past him.

‘ofcourse!’ I responded while getting intrigued by his curiosity.

After about 5 mins of walk on those sparsely populated streets, I reached the monuments. There are a few tourists spread across the area. No tickets required to visit these set of monuments so I went straight to Arjuna’s penance. The first glimpse of that huge carved rock is mesmerizing. That whole big rock is carved into 3 monuments next to each other. Right most is Arjuna’s penance, in the middle is the ‘pancha pandava cave’ and on the left is Krishna mandapa. Unfortunately, Krishnamandapa was closed for renovation so I could not go in there.



Pic9: Arjuna’s Penance – carved monolith with over 120 sculpted figures depicting Arjuna getting Pasupathastra from Siva after doing Penance.

The bas-relief shows that the spectacle being witnessed by Gods, celestial’s, ghanas, sages, ordinary people, serpents and animals. Notice the relative size with the people walking on the road at front. The road is elevated by about 4 feet.

Both days (first day evening and second day morning) together, I must have spent little over an hour at Arjuna’s Penance. While I was observing this bas-relief (a scientific name for the stone carving done on the edge of the monolith rock or mountain) carving, I was interrupted by very old man selling postcards and book about these attractions. I took pity on him after his pleading that there is no business due to Corona. So, I purchased a book and set of post cards by paying the price he quoted, very well knowing that I am paying premium than the original price. I needed the book so its not fully charity but its a business with little charity premium. The old man was very happy and blessed me with a wide smile while leaving from there.



Pic10: ASI board on Arjana’s penance. Notice the last sentence about this being identified with Bhagiratha bringing river Ganga to earth. Two stories that can be interpreted from this bas-relief!

As you see in the picture of ASI board, there are two stories that are attributed to this bas-relief. The popular being the Mahabaratha story of Arjuna doing penance and getting the Pasupathastra from Lord Siva. The second one is Bagiratha is bringing river Ganga to earth by doing Penance to Lord Siva. In both stories the center part from the top to bottom in the background is referred as depiction of the river.



Pic11: wider panoramic view of Arjuna's penance with foundation visible and ‘pancha pandava’ cave on left. Notice the lonely sculpture of three monkeys on the right most side.

It is carved in a way that appears as if there are two boulders but its actually a single large stone. It spreads across about ~25 meters in length and ~12 meters in height. If you look at the image above, one can see the dominance of elephants occupying one fourth the structure. These huge elephant sculpture are considered to be one of the finest in India. The large elephant in the front often interpreted as the Lord Indra’s Airavata, the majestic white elephant that he used to ride on, due to the split tusk depicted in the sculpture.

There is so much prominence given to animals in this bas-relief and each one is carved in very beautiful poses. The three monkeys on the right, male checking the lice on the fur of partner female, which is in turn caressing its baby. These monkey figures were found by ASI while clearing the sand at the base of Arjuna’s penance.



Pic12: Closer view of Center top portion with a few figures identified per Arjuna Penance story.

One can easily notice Arjuna’s body has taken a toll of this ‘katora tapasya (Penance)’ and its all reduced to bones along with huge beard. Also it depicts him doing the penance by standing on one leg with other leg folded and both hands lifted and palms holding each other in support forming a garland shape.

Shiva is shown on left with his dwarf servants, Gana’s. One of the Gana’s is shown holding the pasupatastra, which eventually given to Arjuna by Shiva. Vishnu is shown as coming down to witness the event and so is Surya (Sun) and Chandra (Moon). It also shows the Naga king, whose daughter Ulupi is married to Arjuna. We could see many celestials like Kinnera, appear in half-human and half-animal (mostly birds or horses) form. Also visible is Gandharva and Apsara couples.

Additionally we see many common people around like hunter shown on the left and the people praying at the bottom (next picture), also peopl. Many animals, like elephants, deer, lions, monkeys, birds like peacock or shown as witnessing the spectacle.



Pic13: Closer view of center foundation portion with a few figures identified per Arjuna Story

Bottom left we see again Arjuna infront of Vishnu temple and also see three headless figures. It is said that Chalukya kings when they defeated Pallava King, in one of the many battles they fought, they removed the heads of these figures. The reason being, these figures attributed to the Pallava King Narasimha varman (ruled during 630-668AD, who got this bas-relief carved) on the left and facing him are his father Mahendra varman (600-630AD) and grand father Simha Vishnu (ruled from 575-600AD)

The Panchatantra story of cat doing penance and bluffing the mice is also depicted on the bottom right, next to the Indra’s white elephant (airavata). We could also see two monkeys sitting and curiously looking. At the bottom center, we see two common men with one praying the sun and other bowing down to pray the river (Ganga?).

Bottom left are two very cute figures of deer with one scratching its nose. Another interesting fact that I came to know is that these cute deer figures are printed on 10 rupee note some time ago.



Pic14: 10 rupee note with deer image on the top left corner (image from the link pasted below)
Link to image source: https://www.banknoteworld.org/images...image_7088.png


Adjacent to Arjuna’s penance, sharing the same large stone, is the ‘Pancha Pandava Cave’. If finished, this could have been one of the largest cave sculptures in India. Inside the cave, its like a U shape passage, clearly indicating that they meant to carve a complete roundabout to do the pradakshina with the madapa/structure with deity in the center. All the Yazhi/Lion pillars we see are carved into the same stone. That itself is a delicate feat to ensure they don’t get broken with all the carving around. There is nothing much inside was finished and it clearly shows that the Pallava Kings could not finish the work that they had started.



Pic15: Pancha pandava Cave and the sun shining above it.

The ASI board kept there only calls it as an ‘unfinished temple’. So its a bit of puzzle why everyone there calls it as ‘pancha pandava cave’.



Pic16: ASI board about Panchapandava Cave – notice that ASI only calls it as ‘unfinished temple’



Pic17: right side close-up view of the cave. Some school kids are taking pictures in dancing poses at that time. Their traditional attire brings a unique grace and beauty to this cave picture. One can clearly see the sanctum at the center and the unfinished pradakshina path (U shaped) with its dead-end visible.



Pic18: Krishnamandapa, which is next to pancha pandava cave, is closed for renovation.

After exploring the unfinished walls inside the cave, I moved on to the next attraction, which is Krishnamandapa only to discover that it is closed for renovation. Inside it supposed to have depicted the beautiful carving of Krishana holding Govardhana parvata on his palm while the villagers taking refuge below it.

Now its time to enter inside the monuments protected area. Note that all these four (Krishnamandapa, Pancha pandava cave, Arjunas Penance and three monkeys) sites/attractions are right on the edge of protected area but on the road side. So one often visits them first before going to inside.



Pic19: Ganesh-ratha

Once I passed the security, the first spot inside was the ‘Ganesh Ratha’. Its monolithic temple that is carved from a single stone. It is called Ganeshratha as the main deity inside the sanctum is Ganesha.

According to ASI this was originally meant as Shiva temple and the shivalinga inside must have been removed later. Not clear on when and who installed the Ganesha idol inside the sanctum. The patterns and designs carved on the temple gives a preview to the famous five ratha’s and the shore temple. Like what we have seen in Chola temples, we have here dwarapala’s on either side and the lion (Yazhi)base pillars in the middle.



Pic20: Direction boards inside the monuments protected area.

Next stop is ‘the famous’ Krishna’s butter ball, which is dangerously appears to be standing on a sloped rocky surface. Its a natural phenomenon happened over millions of years where forces of nature chipped away the stone bring this shape. So its technically not that it has rolled over and stopped there, lol. In fact, it would still be attached to the bottom large foundation but giving us the illusion that it is free standing. The name ‘Krishna’s butter ball’ was given to it as it is visualized to be a ball of butter in the hand of ‘Bala krishna’, who is fond of butter. There were many lovely stories about Krishna’s mischievous and cute acts of trying to eat butter when his mother is not around. Its an apt name for this boulder.



Pic21: Krishna’s butter ball.



Pic22: its a giant one, look at the relative size, lol. Also notice the slope of the surface. That’s yourstruly giving a shot at moving it, lol.

ASI says some attempt was made to move it earlier in the century but was unsuccessful.



Pic23: ASI board on Krishna’s butter ball.

After unsuccessful attempt to push the boulder to safety (lol), I gave up moved through the interesting passage through the large boulders (see the pic24 below).



Pic24: A passage way through the huge boulders, a natural formation

One can visualize the size of the boulders relative to the guy selling books (Yep, I bought the book earlier from him only). It appears that the sculptors had some thoughts around these boulders as well as I could notice their unfinished attempt cut through these rocks.



Pic25: Unfinished attempt at cutting these huge boulders

[TurboOnTarmac]

Volume3 Part8 (Continued...):

As you move past the boulders, pathway leads to rock cut shrine dedicated to Trimurti’s. It has three different sanctums, next to each other, within the same shrine, one each dedicated to Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. Each sanctum is has an independent entrance that is guarded by dwarapala’s. On the right most we also see Durga standing on the head of Mahishasura (Bull). I kept looking at the book purchased to understand the history and thoughts behind each of these temples while I walk around to check in person.


Pic26:Trimurti cave – shown is the right half of the shrine.


Each cell has life size images of diety’s carved with Ghana’s worshiping them around. Brahma shown here only with one head, as opposed to four heads that we always find him, rarely though. As seen in other places so far in my trip, Shiva’s cell is larger and here we see both Shiva’s image along with Shivlinga in the front, which is again a rare to see both in same place.


Pic27: Collage of video grabs - Rock-cut shrine of Trimurti- Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. Each shown with four hands in exactly same pose. Two of them in Abhaya mudra – right front hand blessing all of us, and Katyavalambita – left front hand placed on the waist, while the other two at the back holding some stuff like kalasa or weapon.


Humid and hot weather, though its now little past 5pm, tiring me faster than I could imagine. I thought to move bit quickly and come back again tomorrow to check bit more relaxed.

After that I took the trekking route(lol), as opposed to well laid cemented/stone path, onto the huge boulder mountain towards the Varaha temple. Its like climbing onto a huge whale shaped hillock that appears like a single gigantic rock. On the top, one can enjoy the nice view of the entire monuments area. With sweltering sun leaning on west, its already started getting hot and body is getting into defensive mode by pumping out sweat. We walk past the butter ball and then reach the Varaha shrine.


Pic 28: Walk over the rocky hill. Notice the blue arrow pointing Krishna’s butter ball


According to ASI, Varaha rock-cut shrine is the most complete one among all the shrines or constructions in this monuments area. After checking out, I could understand why. Every corner and sidewalls and the ceiling inside the shrine is appearing to be almost finished.


We find very few shrines of Vishnu in Varaha (wild boar) avatar, that he takes this form to kill the demon Hiranyaksha, who dragged the earth to the bottom of the sea. Varaha then lifts the earth out of the ocean and protect it.

Varaha mandapam is really a beautiful cave temple with huge hall at the front supported by pillars carved at the front with lion at the base of each pillar. Inside we find large panels of carvings on each wall. Imagine all this was carved into the large boulder during 7th century under the reign of Pallva king Narsimha Varman. This temple is right behind the Arjuna’s penance, carved into the same large stone/hillock.


Pic 29: Varaha avatar of Vishnu depicting the story of he lifting mother earth (Bhudevi).


It shows Varaha lifting mother earth (Bhudevi) by carefully holding her on his right thigh while resting his foot on the head of the Serpant king (Adi-seshu or sesha-nagu), who is popping out his head from ocean. According to the book, this mythological story should be taken in parlance to evolution of life. It talks about how earth is first full of water and slowly the water recedes over time thereby increasing the land are where the life flourishes. Interesting take, I thought.

The book also further argues that each of the ten avatar’s of Vishnu represents the gradual evolution of life, intelligence and way of living.

I felt like reading more on each of these incarnations of Vishnu that I have always heard stories about:
1. Matsya – Fish form,
2. Kurma – Tortoise form,
3. Varaha – wild boar form,
4. Narasimha – Lion form,
5. Vamana – dwarf human,
6. Parashurama – warrior priest or sage,
7. Rama – Lord Ram of our beloved epic Ramayana,
8. Krishna – Another much beloved avatar in many epics from bhagavata and mahabharata,
9. Budha – The last avatar spreading peace
10. Finally, the yet to come tenth avatar of Kalki.

The book argues that Balarama, krishna’s elder brother is also an avatar of Adiseshu, Vishnu’s devoted serpant king. This one is also counted as one of the ten avatars and it excludes Budha. I grew up hearing stories mentioning Buddha as one of the avatars of Vishnu. I never really paid attention these stories but now my curiosity levels gone up further with these twists, and reading about dasavatar’s of Vishnu is definitely going to be one of my next project


Pic 30: A beautiful depiction of Lakshmi (Gajalakshmi) inside Varaha shrine. Here you see elephants pouring water on Lakshmi while the maids helping her.



Pic 31: Video grabs of other sculptures and ceiling inside Varaha rock shrine. Left most is the form of Durga and thee Right most is the story from Vaman-avatar of Vishnu. At the center is the carving and colors on the ceiling.

Another panel inside the cave depicts the story from Vishnu’s fifth incarnation, Vamana (dwarf form). The mythological story is about how Vamana tricks demon king Mahabali to grant him three steps worth of space, by his own small steps. Once Mahabali grants his wish, the dwarf transforms into a giant ‘Trivikrama’ form and measures entire earth in one step, entire sky in second step and finally put his third step on the head of king, pushing him down to patal-lok. The carving shows Vamana with one feet on the ground and the second feet scaling the sky.

There is so much depicted inside the Varaha temple and the beauty of carvings, as we have seen everywhere in this monuments complex, the well rounded proportions which is kind of unique across southern India, is mesmerizing. To imagine that all of it is carved inside one single huge boulder by cutting through it carefully like a cave and then carving it inside out, is simply amazing feat. I knew in that moment inside this varaha cave, that I am coming back to Mammalapuram again sometime in future.

Next stop is Roya Gopuram, which is an unfinished structures resembles in its current form as a huge arch or entrance.


Pic32: Rayagopuram


According to ASI, this structure possibly belongs to Vijayanagara period, not the pallava. It potentially be designed to house the Adhistana, seat of the King. This is not a single rock but blocks of rocks put together or interlocked like the ones we see in Hampi. The mandapa at the center is flanked by the four unfinished squarish pillars with beautiful carvings on the panels facing inside. This whole structure is on the hill top, thereby giving a commanding view from here, Aptly suited for the Adhistana.

On the way to lighthouse, I walked past another large cave structure, which is unfinished otherthan the pillars and the hall. The panels on the inside walls are empty and shows either no carving or some appears like destroyed, not sure. I felt for a moment that I should have hired a guide to explain in detail, may be this mystery to be unfolded in my next trip.


Pic33: Another unfinished cave structure near Raya Gopuram, on the way to lighthouse.


Once we go past this structure, we see the majestic lighthouse. I wanted to go top of it so rushed in before its get closed by 6pm. The is sun is going down the west and beauty the place is getting amplified as its gets dusky.


Pic34: A favorite pic of mine - Sunset view behind the whale shaped huge rock-hillock, that houses mahishasura-mardini cave
The security guard at the lighthouse, bit reluctantly let me in by warning that I should be quick. I thanked her and rushed to the top through narrow swirling stairs.



Pic35: Lighthouse on small hillock.


From the top of lighthouse, its a magnificent view all around.


Pic36: View of the sea from the top of lighthouse



Pic37: Another favorite pic of mine- interesting view from the top, the huge rock-hillock looks like a whale.



Pic38: Views from the top (of the lighthouse)

Next stop is the famous Mahishasura-Mardini cave.


Pic39: Magnificent depiction of Durga’s battle scene in Mahishasura Mardini. See the interesting visual of umbrella over Durga and Mahishasura (I first thought they are weapons). Ghana’s fighting along side Durga and Asura’s on the otherside with Mahishasura.


Here is what ASI had put up for this magnificent cave structure.


Pic40: ASI board at Mahishasura mardini cave


Right opposite to Mahishasura mardini panel is the depiction of Vishnu resting on Seshanagu, that ASI calls it as ‘Anantasayi’


Pic41: Calming depiction of Vishnu resting, in yoganidra, on Adiseshu as ‘Seshasayi Vishnu’.


According to the book, the two people represented on the right most are the demons trying to sneak in with intention of harming resting Vishnu. On the top two attendants of Vishnu are shown as charging onto these two demons.

Both of these carvings on either sides inside the Mahishasura mardini cave are so mesmerizing and at the same time quite contrasting images. One end the ferocious Goddess Durga charging on to the demons and other end has Lord Vishnu in yoganidra peacefully resting, wonderful contrasts. I sat there at the cave for a few minutes lost in admiration.

There are a few other structures there but I decided to walk to five ratha’s, which is about 500meters away from there. By the time I reached pancha ratha’s, its already past 6:30 and monument is closed for visitors. There I was mobbed by the vendors trying rather forcefully and rudely sell me photos, books and small souvenirs. I was bit taken back by the fierce push by these vendors, may be out of desperation to earn some bucks. It took a while to escape from them and move towards shore temple, which is again about 750meters away. All the pleasant feelings I had so far vanished with that incident with sellers but tried to regain posture and peace by walking towards the beach. In that moment, I decided to skip hiring guide next day as I don't want to be hackled for money any more and found the book to be good enough.


Pic42: Winding up the day at the mammalapuram beach. Shore temple is in the background.


I sat on the beach till it became dark watching the people around, waves and the view of shore temple protruding into the sea. It was peaceful time and my super tired body tried to regain energies in that pleasant sea breeze.

After dark, I walked back to Guesthouse while absorbing the evening life around.



Pic43: sparsely populated streets after dark. Notice Baloo resting on left side.


After freshup and resting a while in the room, I stepped out for dinner. I decided to go with the advise of my friendly guesthouse manager (Kumar) and walked towards the ‘Searock restaurant’ facing the beach.


Pic44: my dinner hosts, Searock restaurant.


Surprisingly, I found the restaurant quite crowded and I had to wait for a few minutes to get the table. Its fully dark by then and though its on the beach facing the sea, we could hardly see anything otherthan hearing the gushing sounds of waves. Weather is pleasant and less humid with cool sea breeze around.

This time I went by chef’s suggestion. I found the taste to be good, nothing to complain but did not bring the wow that I had in the afternoon at ‘myGoodness restaurant’. The food is nice and I spent about over an hour slowly enjoying the dinner and the beach weather.

It was a busy but very satisfying day. Starting with a sunrise over the beach in Pondichery and ending with the beach side dinner at mammalapuram beach, wonderful!.

“So finally calling it a day?”, quizzed Baloo with that cute face as I move past him into the Guesthouse.

“Yep, its a good day!.”

Before I could say anything more, “Glad you are having good time! Dont worry about me. I enjoyed the wonderful humid roast day here. Wanna sunny side up? Just ask!”, winked Baloo, trying his best to bring a smile on my face by joking about his miserable day out there in the hot sun on the roadside.

I laughed and went inside by saying goodnight to him.

Its time to just crash and look forward to beautiful sunrise on the beach tomorrow!

[TurboOnTarmac]

Volume3 Part9:

The Shore, the Temple and the five Chariots



Next day started at 5:45am with a walk towards the beach for a glimpse of sunrise. I headed to the same beach that is next to the shore temple entrance so to get in there after sunrise. Unfortunately its a cloudy morning so not much luck of seeing the sun rise above the water. However, the early morning on the beach in that twilight has its charm. The horses used for jolly rides for tourists are left free to roam there at that time. So they are moving around everywhere and sometimes just standing still, as if they are lost in their thoughts, lol.


Pic1: My companions for sunrise.


After 6:30, well past the sun rise time that day, I moved on towards the shore temple complex. Due to Covid the ticketing is online and after a couple of attempts, I could manage to get the tickets on my mobile. Shore temple complex has laid out cobble paths with curated lawns and plants. As I walk past the main gate, luckily, sun started to emerge from the clouds. The golden rays started to magically transform the look.

And there I see, the majestic shore temple, withstanding the extreme harsh winds, humidity, gushing waves threatening to swallow it over the past 1300 years. Built by Pallava King, Narasimha Varman II, this probably, arguably, had started the great architectural temple building spree across South India. Its all carved using the granite stone, not from single stone. The shoreline, the temple on the edge and those majestic pagoda’s cast a spellbound charm in those early centuries since it was built in 8th Century.

At first, I decided to walk around the temple complex and absorb the serene beauty in that magical dawn lighting.


Pic2: Collage from video grabs of golden moments as I walk towards it from entrance.


Photos won’t do justice to the way the whole place looked in those magical golden rays. The clouds and sun played hide and seek enthralling the folks out there.


Pic3: A favorite pic for me, in Golden shadows. Wished this moment stayed longer.


I kept walking around and some moments staying still in just taking in the serenity and beauty. The two pagoda’s of shore temple and the sound of the waves gushing to the temple stones perimeter and the nice cool breeze in that twilight lighting, I wish I knew poetry to describe it better. Another good part is there are hardly any visitors around, may be I could count a single digit total.

Here are ‘Four more shots’ of those magic moments .


Pic4: Four more shots, - frame1 – The aura



Pic5: Four more shots, - frame2 – Front view



Pic6: Four more shots, - frame3 – The Siamese twins



Pic7: Four more shots, - frame4 – Nandi battalion keeping a watch


After walking around a while, I walked past beautiful Nandi guarded compound wall to go closer to the temple structure. These Nandi carvings are dotted across the compound wall with similar proportion and the head tilted to look outwards to check on, the incoming threats. This is one feature I found across most of the famous shiva temples in Temples in Tamilnadu. All three UNESCO heritage temples that I visited before has the same feature of Nandi statues dotting across the temple compound wall.


Pic8: Inside the temple compound


To my unfortunate surprise, ASI had blocked the entry inside temple due to ongoing renovation work.


Pic9: wholesome view - sun kissed gold stone ~1300 years old shore temple.


My timing is bad due to ongoing ASI renovations works and that has cemented my resolve to come back again later with more time at hand so I could leisurely explore all of Mammalapuram.


Pic10: Another view – Greens and Golden browns



Pic11: Browns, more browns, and the brown-blacks, lol



Pic12: The loneliness of being!


This place was once called as the place of seven pagodas. Some people think there were more temple towers than this single one. There are no formal evidences for this were mentioned by ASI yet, so it remains a local legend.


Pic13: The temple and the deity, Sculpture of Somaskanda on the west and the Granite Linga on the east.



Pic14: The corridors, currently closed for renovation. I kind of leaned over to get these shots on either side.


Almost 1400 years of exposure to strong sea winds, humidity, the sun and the rains have chipped away the stone carvings. You could see in the above pictures the finer details of these carvings are no more visible.


Pic15: Closer look at carvings on the temple. Lions everywhere.



Pic16: Durga and her Lion. She is seated on the right leg of the Lion. The deer without head at pedestel.



Pic17: Front of the Durga’s Lion. Notice the window carved into the chest of Lion and the deity inside.



Pic18: The carving of Durga inside the Lion’s chest.



Pic19: Side view with monolith of wild boar



Pic20: Mini temple next to the boar



Pic21: A beautiful carving and the pit, may be for making fire during pooja?



Pic22: Final parting shot – another favorite pic for me - the shore, the sun and the temple


This temple is considered as one of the oldest in south and probably defined the temple architecture for other temples to follow. The temples built later evolved from here on and increased in size but more or less stuck to this core principle architecture.

After a satisfying time spent at the shore temple, I moved towards the five rathas, the last stop for me. On the way, near lighthouse, is another unfinished yet beautiful bas-relief. ASI board says it may represent the ‘Kiratarjuniyam’ from mahabarata. It also speculates that may be the same sculpture, who built Arjuna’s penance experimented here first before building the Arjuna’s penance later. It also has some major figure (Arjuna?) in penance and all other figures seems to be oriented towards it.


Pic23: Unfinished bas-relief near the light house on the way to five rathas


Next stop is the Pancharatha or five ratha's.


Pic24: ASI board on the five ratha

[TurboOnTarmac]

Volume3 Part9 (Continued...)

Five ratha’s are probably the most famous of the monuments at mahabalipuram. I have heard stories about them while growing up. The visuals infront of the eyes doesn’t disappoint them at all. These beautiful monolith carved structures are over 1300 years old. Can you believe that all these five ratha are carved out of the single huge rock, which is the size of a hillock? I was amazed knowing that and ASI says that’s true. Amazing craftman ship and huge effort in those days.

As you enter the complex, first we are welcomed by a lion. Fitting the first temple or ratha at the northern edge is dedicated to Goddess durga and hence it is called Draupadi’s ratha.


Pic25: Beautifully carved lion welcoming visitors to five ratha complex.



Pic26: Draupadi’s ratha or Durga temple, the first one in the five ratha complex from the northern end.


Draupadi’s ratha is also the smallest of all the five rathas. It is said that the rock is sloping downwards here and hence the temples or rathas getting smaller as we move towards north. On the southern edge is the dharmaraja ratha, which is the tallest of all. At the bottom of Draupadi’s ratha is the interesting carvings of the elephant and lion alternatively as if the pillars supporting the ratha.


Pic27: Durga inside the Draupadi’s ratha



Pic28: Arjuna’s ratha, which is dedicated to Lord Shiva


The next one is Arjuna’s ratha. This is exact replica of the Dharmaraja ratha but smaller in size. Its main deity inside is Shiva. It is exquisitely carved with many Gods and goddesses inside in all three wall panels and three layers of carvings on the pagoda or gopura as well.


Pic29: Nakula-sahadeva ratha, dedicated to Indra with Airawata, the white elephant, standing next.


I initially thought five rathas are named after each of the Pandava's. But after coming here, realized that Draupadi got one but Nakula and Sahadeva together share one.


Pic30: The biggest, not tallest, of all, Bhima ratha on right. Bhima ratha is dedicated to Lord Vishnu.



Pic31: Dharmaraja ratha, the tallest of all. It is dedicated to Hari-Hara both Shiva and Vishnu.



Pic32: Depiction of Ardha-nareeswara on Dharmaraja ratha.



Pic33: Eastern side view – Giant Nandi and the rathas.

I was bit exhausted by the scorching sun and humidity at that time. Sat in the corner under the tree shade for a while admiring the five rathas in the front. As I waked back, decided to take longer path to hotel via the Arjuna’s penance so I could look at it one more time. Bit more curious after seeing its earlier experimentation at the light house.


Pic34: Finally, a memory framed, ‘yourstruly’ drinking ‘Amrutam’ infront of Arjuna’s penance, lol.


A good coconut water replenished body fluids and rejuvenated self, thereby giving bit more energy to walk back to the hotel. I also started feeling bit hungry after the thirst is quenched.


Pic35: Simple yet quite satisfying western breakfast at Joe’s cafe.


Post the breakfast, I scribbled a few of my thoughts of the trip for my memories. After a while, exhausted, went back to room and slept for couple of hours. Remembering the promise of Bala at mygoodness restaurant for another wonderful lunch, I got up at around 1pm and walked across to restaurant.

Bala and his cook didn’t disappoint me at all. The lunch was excellent again.


Pic36: Another scenic, peaceful and tasty lunch.


After that wonderful tasty lunch, I sat there continuing to scribble my thoughts till the dusk. There were a few customers visiting while I was having lunch but after that it was just me. Bala kept replenishing my lemon soda while I was lost in my laptop. The sea breeze, the calm and natural environment around, the openness is just what an ideal solitude normally ask for. In the dusk, as the natural lighting started to fade, I decided to walk along the shore for a while.


Pic37: The moon and the waves.


Moon is already out there and is surprisingly bright. The waves are bit more ferocious than they were before. It was nice walk across the beach. I took a walk on the streets for a while and sipped tea, an evening ritual for many of us. As recommended by Kumar, the manager of my guesthouse, I tried dinner at ‘sea breeze’ restaurant. It was simple daal roti as I was in no mood for any experimentation and wanted a light and simple dinner.

Next day, the last day of this trip, got up early hoping to get the sunrise without clouds blocking the view. I was partially lucky and the clouds, though were there but not high enough to block, gave way to sun after a while.


Pic38: The magical orange glow at Dawn on the final day at mahabalipuram.



Pic39: And, I got company too, lol


Satisfied to get the beautiful sunrise on the last day at mahabalipuram, I walked back to hotel.


Pic40: Ofcourse, who would miss a tea toast to Sun in the morning, lol.


Finally, back in room, did the packing and kept everything ready to move out. Settled my bills with Kumar and walked across to Joe’s cafe for another simple breakfast before I hit the road back home.


Pic41: Simple and nice place to hangout for a coffee or a snack. Baloo keeping an eye on me from other end, lol.

After that filling breakfast and coffee, I was ready to go. As usual, reading my thoughts, Baloo jumped across with unbounded energy, “Let’s go, buddy”, bringing smile on to my face.


Pic42: My no-frills, economical yet functional, stay at Mahabalipuram.


“I love the glow on your face”, Baloo bringing out all that he is holding on alone outside for these couple of days. “Now tell me about Pallava Kingdom” he continued unable to withhold the curiosity any further after a brief pause also throwing me into a laughter.

Yourstruly: “You know Pallava dyansty has its origins in 2nd or 3rd century, right after Satavahana dynasty. Pallava kings, in their peak, especially during the reign o Narasimha Varman, have controlled the the present day northern Tamilnadu, entire eastern karnataka, most of the Telangana and Andhrapradesh, and some sourthern parts of Maharastra. They were eventually conquered by Cholas in 10th or 11th century ending approximately 800 years of Pallava’s reign”.

“Why did the pallava king carved his figure and his father and grand father on the Arjuna’s penance story?” Baloo’s curiosity has no bounds and “we should thank their enemies Chalukya’s for not destroying anything other than decapitating these three king figures”.

These conversations continued

Its a peaceful and fun drive back home discussing about the two dynasties that we visited and the whole experience. Baloo had proven to be a quite a chatter box and a good companion all along this trip.



The Capstone:


The travel brought me a feeling which is something like a ‘satisfying vacuum’. The fact that I was able to do the solo drive for 11 days, breaking a big mental barrier and trying to rise up from the lows on my own novice way, is something that felt really good. The fact that its done, now kind of left vacuum in my mind on whats next. At the same time a firm resolve, with a sense of urgency, taking shape in mind that I must continue doing things that makes me feel happy and make me feel belong.

Lastly, in those 11 days, even in this solo travel, I felt more moments of happiness, awe, belonging, compared to less moments of depression. Those days at ashram, in the ruins, at those architectural marvels and with Baloo’s cheerful company gave this tiny self a ‘spec of space’ in this ‘whole wide world’!

Parting shot, the interesting transportation of huge fan blades of the windmills. See how small the SUV looking next to it. This convoy, along with their pilot vehicles, was observed on my way back to Bangalore. Amazed by these gigantic structures and wondered how tough and equally satisfying would be for the respective engineers to finally to bring it to its final functioning shape on top of those small hillocks or open barren lands where we normally see them.


Pic43: Transporting the fan blades of a windmill



Pic44: relative size comparison with the SUV

Thank you in advance for your time reading this travelogue and the valuable feedback.

Until next time!



P.S:

With the experience and confidence from this 11-day trip, I did follow through on my resolve by doing another 25-day solo in September into the ‘Mountains, clouds, valleys and rivers’ (Sikkim, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh) finally ending it on my birthday by a visit to Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi.

It was a trip to cherish for this life!

I was fortunate to get the perfect one month window of opportunity at work and lucky to have made that quick decision to take time off. A big thanks to my bosses at work who had allowed me with that long ‘complete hands off from work and not contactable’ time.
My next project is to work on the travelogue for these 25-day trip in much crisper and more visually narrating the experience, taking in all the feedback received from this first travelogue.

From these solo travels, I also discovered that Tourism Industry is not used to seeing a single man traveling, lol. So many queries faced by me from many folks on why I am alone, sometimes eyebrows raised with suspicious looks at me & strange behavior directed at me. To make peace, at times, I told them about me working for a magazine and traveling to write an article, or work in construction industry like making roads & bridges so visiting by taking a few days as I am in this region...etc. These answers kind of satisfied them and made peace in their minds, lol.

A few stand out visuals and snippets as a teaser until I could finish the travelogue.


Big trip teaser1 – The city that breathes into clouds! Beautiful and sacred Kanchenjunga range in the background.



Big trip teaser2 – The mighty Kanchenjunga gets the first sun rays!



Big trip teaser3 – Mesmerizing Yumthang valley!



Big trip teaser4 - Yourstruly taking in the once a life view of sacred Gurudongmar lake and its glacier at ~17800 feet high from sea level.



Big trip teaser5 – Thunderous Noora teaming up with Sun and forming a Rainbow.



Big trip teaser6 – India’s own Table top mountain and the village at its edge!



Big trip teaser7 – PINK sun rises over Ganges at Varanasi! I never saw a Pink sunrise before.




Big trip teaser8 – Peace, beauty and Innocence and personification of all the good in this world!

Please stay tuned...

Thank you.

[Aniket Verma]

Excellent travelogue and some amazing pics.


The structure on the top of the Whale shaped rock is Old Mahabalipuram Lighthouse, often credited as the oldest Lighthouse of India and was built around 640 AD.

Nice to see railings along the stairs of new lighthouse. During my last visit in 2016, there were no railings and coming down was a scary experience for me .

[Raghu M]

Man, that was one hell of a travelogue. I read every word of it. Felt like walking the street of Mahabalipuram with the way you wrote. Good luck on many more such trips. Thank you.

[TurboOnTarmac]

Originally Posted by Aniket Verma

Excellent travelogue and some amazing pics.

The structure on the top of the Whale shaped rock is Old Mahabalipuram Lighthouse, often credited as the oldest Lighthouse of India and was built around 640 AD.

Nice to see railings along the stairs of new lighthouse. During my last visit in 2016, there were no railings and coming down was a scary experience for me .

Thank you, Aniket Verma

I was wondering what exactly on top of the whale rock. My guess was it may be a small temple. But glad to know that its the oldest light house in India. This also cements the facts i heard about Mahabalipuram being the trading post and a sea port during the Pallava reign.

I cant imagine on climbing down that extremely narrow swirling stairs without holding the railings only one person at a time can use.

Originally Posted by Raghu M

Man, that was one hell of a travelogue. I read every word of it. Felt like walking the street of Mahabalipuram with the way you wrote. Good luck on many more such trips. Thank you.

Thank you, Raghu M

Sincerely appreciate you taking time to read every word and sharing valuable feedback, an encouraging one.

[bhargav2015]

I don't know which one to applaud; the traveller, the travelogue or the thousands of men and women who dedicated their lives to build something so magnificent and unique that would stand the test of time for millenia to come. Or the Kings and architects who envisioned and saw their vision turn to reality. And so, a bow to all of them, with my humble Namaste.
The intricacy of the carvings is a delight. The Devis and Devatas in their avataras is a treat to the eyes. Immensely thankful to you for covering this history and heritage of our land.

[K_Drive]

Excellent travelogue buddy! The good thing is that you are keen in understanding the history of these monuments. So it never will be boring. You are also on solo trip so no need to compromise on others opinion. Verify informative. Awaiting more from you.

[TurboOnTarmac]

Originally Posted by bhargav2015

I don't know which one to applaud; the traveller, the travelogue or the thousands of men and women who dedicated their lives to build something so magnificent and unique that would stand the test of time for millenia to come. Or the Kings and architects who envisioned and saw their vision turn to reality. And so, a bow to all of them, with my humble Namaste.
The intricacy of the carvings is a delight. The Devis and Devatas in their avataras is a treat to the eyes. Immensely thankful to you for covering this history and heritage of our land.

Thank you, bhargav2015 So nice to see your wonderful comments. much appreciated.

100% echo your views on these timeless marvels and their creators.

Originally Posted by K_Drive

Excellent travelogue buddy! The good thing is that you are keen in understanding the history of these monuments. So it never will be boring. You are also on solo trip so no need to compromise on others opinion. Verify informative. Awaiting more from you.

Thank you, K_Drive

If we pay little bit attention to the history and architecture behind these marvels, they will intrigue us more and makes us awed by the grandiose and the vision of those creators along with the historic culture.

Agree, solo comes with some perks like you are your own boss! But, nothing beats happiness of sharing with your loved companion or family as Tom Cruise once said in a famous movie (you can guess the movie name), "They Complete you". I am not fortunate in that department, yet (optimism and hope powers our life, haha) but who knows the future. Till then, as Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev advised, "No more letting life bypass us",

[WizSatish]

Wonderfully written. Have been there numerous times cutting college, never once took the time to learn about the architecture. Makes me wanna go again to enjoy the rich history at a mere 40min drive from home.

[RaceHorse]

Wow, you covered everything, every monument there to see and with anecdotes of history. Thanks a lot. Writings like this inspire people to travel more. Keep it up.

[TurboOnTarmac]

Originally Posted by WizSatish

Wonderfully written. Have been there numerous times cutting college, never once took the time to learn about the architecture. Makes me wanna go again to enjoy the rich history at a mere 40min drive from home.

Thank you, WizSatish

I fully understand your comments as I had the similar feeling when I visited Ramappa temple (New entrant to UNESCO heritage list from India) during Vijayadasami long weekend this month. I was thinking, I spent my college years here in this city but never visited this marvel! It was a last minute, a day notice, plan made by a few of my college friends meet up in Warangal as we were all in a driving distance by chance, visiting our respective families or relatives for holidays.

Originally Posted by RaceHorse

Wow, you covered everything, every monument there to see and with anecdotes of history. Thanks a lot. Writings like this inspire people to travel more. Keep it up.

Thank you, RaceHorse

So glad to to know it inspires a few to travel. Its a wonderful weekend getaway ticking the boxes of nice drive, history, architecture, beach and wonderful food.

[MadSnapper]

Mod note: Post edited, please avoid quoting entire large post for short replies. Thanks.

Originally Posted by TurboOnTarmac

Volume3 Part8 (Continued...):

======
Its time to just crash and look forward to beautiful sunrise on the beach tomorrow!

The place reminds me of the numerous trips I took to Kanheri Caves in Mumbai. Anybody who has been there will surely agree.