Music, films and...well... more temples
Trip Start
Nov 15, 2004
1
21
70
Trip End
Nov 10, 2005
Chennai (Madras),
India
Saturday, March 5, 2005
We arrived in Chennai, the capital of the great Dravidian state - Tamil Nadu, after a surprisingly comfortable train journey. Chennai was, like Kolkata, full of homeless people and terrible poverty and somehow managed to smell even worse - the main river through the city being one big sewerage system. Apparently short on tourist attractions, we decided to sample its fame for movies (Tamil - not Bollywood) and Carnatic (classical southern) music. Kate was also excited by the prospect of dining in a state full of fellow vegetarians.
We took in a cultural comedy, Thirachi (which of course was in Tamil), which despite the language difficulties proved entertaining and amusing. Besides the audiences cheers, the blatant overacting and sound affects as well as the tendency to break into highly choreographed song and dance were the highlights. FOllowing this taste of south Indian culture we went to the Music Academy where we were captivated by a brilliant performance of carnatic music trio, followed by some highly animated dancing.
Food as always, has been a highlight, mainly for Kate this time round as southern India is quite possibly the vegetarian capital of the world - restaurants specify if they have non-veg dishes and all else is correctly assumed to be vegetarian. Not only does she not have to worry about whether some strange piece of food will be in her dish (a la Vietnam) but menus often consist of at least 30 different dishes, not to mention the variety of breads (dosai, naan, roti...) and rices.
Homes lining the river, Chennai
The choice has often confounded her to marked indecision and overwhelming joy! Mammalupuram and Kanchipuram
We joined a tour (full of Indians) to visit some famous world heritage temples along the coast; the Shore temple at Mammalupuram and some Chola temples. The Shore Temple is on the beach and is carved out of a massive rock, while the massive Chola temples are still used for worship (which is a spectacle in itself) and have numerous carvings and Chola bronzes. All were spectacular.
Mammalupuram and Chennai, were both affected by the Tsuanami, with about 300 people dying. While the affects were not so apparent on the landscape, the impact on the people was, with numerous tent and shack villages set up by international organisations to house displaced people lining the coast. This, along with some Sri Lankan refugees we met, provided a sobering reality check on an otherwise great stay. (The two men had fled Sri Lanka so their children were not forced to join the rebel Tamil Tigers - they had already lost one daughter to the fighting - and had just spent the night in jail for not being able to pay Salvation army hostel fees, after coming to Chennai from their refugee camp to look for work. They also had some interesting insights on India).
India is living up to its reputation as a bizarre yet intoxicating place to visit. We are often confronted with images and actions that defy our Western logic but which make it all the more interesting to travel.
Until next time.
