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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2013 3:39:05 GMT
Thinking of the heat, I am quite sure that any sight of water is appreciated, whether it is in a pool or being used to wash an elephant!
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Post by spindrift1 on May 12, 2013 10:50:52 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2013 12:38:51 GMT
I am so enjoying your report Spindrift. The symbolism is indeed present everywhere it seems .It is mind boggling the amount of intricate detail worked into everything.
The kolam is very similar to the Tibetan Buddhist sand mandalas. (One of which will be in evidence here in NOLA when the Dalai LLama pays us a visit this month. A sand mandala is to be made downtown and then swept away into the Mississippi River at sundown).
So sorry about your pashmina experience. I have a strong penchant for them and would have easily been seduced into buying several.
Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us. I can't wait for Pondicherry. Something about that particular place has always intrigued me. From the very name itself and the fact that it is on the sea has always been alluring.
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Post by spindrift1 on May 12, 2013 12:47:30 GMT
Thanks for your encouragement, Casimira. I am glad you are enjoying this thread. Yes, I know much about sand mandalas; indeed they are similar in many ways to kolams. Will you get to see the Dalai Lama? I do hope so. I will expect to hear about it if you do!
Pondicherry has always fascinated me too although the reality doesn't live up to the high hopes! however we spent two days there and enjoyed the town. The French influence seems to have disappeared however the colonial areas still stand and look quite good, considering... (the neglect)!!!
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Post by spindrift1 on May 12, 2013 15:29:29 GMT
A few more photos taken at the great Shiva temple. There was a puja in progress the day we visited. We did not stay for all of it. It was being officiated by many Brahmin priests with music being played by instruments and drums and lots of incense. I was riveted. There were not many foreigners present, only a handful.
Walking along the outer corridors the temple was gloomy. We tried to see and take note of as much as we could.
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Post by anshjain97 on May 12, 2013 15:46:19 GMT
Thanks for the photos.
It's been a while since I last visited Mahabalipuram- although I've tried twice to visit there this year, it hasn't happened. I would like to return.
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Post by htmb on May 12, 2013 16:08:20 GMT
Amazing photos, spindrift. I get a sense of the size of the temple, too.
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Post by spindrift1 on May 13, 2013 10:15:29 GMT
The next temple we visited in Kanchipuram was Kailasanatha Temple which was built of sandstone by a Pallava king as early as the 7th century. Some of the carvings are of half-animal deities that were popular during the Dravidian period of architecture.
A large Nandi (the bull) guards the temple entrance... It is another Shiva temple.and it is a small one
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Post by spindrift1 on May 13, 2013 10:31:45 GMT
And now there is only one more temple to look at today and this one turns out to be amazing in many ways. We arrived just before a puja (ceremony), attended by many Brahmins, took place. We were allowed to stand and watch it. The Vaikunta Perumal temple is a Vishnu temple and many offerings would be made to the deity. The entrance These are all Brahmin priests waiting for the puja to start.
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2013 11:59:03 GMT
Your photos really capture a sense of timelessness Spindrift. It's as though time is standing still and were the pictures not in color, they could have been taken any time in the last thousands of years. (I hope that makes sense, it's early yet and my brain hasn't fully kicked in gear yet. ). Again, the intricacies of the carvings is mind boggling. The second pic in this last series is haunting and so austere, the light captured beautifully. I too, could feel a sense of the vastness of the temples. Did you ever get to feeling a saturation point? This happened to me when doing an extensive tour of Mayan ruins in the Yucatan. I had to take a break on the final day and do something totally different.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 13, 2013 17:13:01 GMT
I can only echo what others have said so eloquently.
The statues continue to amaze me. Unlike almost all other statues, they seem to be looking directly out at the viewers, lending to their incredible lifelikeness.
Spindrift, what is that bright yellow column that goes up through the roof? It's the 3rd picture in #91.
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2013 17:28:30 GMT
The Shiva temple must have been amazingly creepy before electric light was added. However, it must have been a fantastic haven from the afternoon heat. As for the Brahmin priests, I may have certain questions about the sincerity of their faith.
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Post by lugg on May 14, 2013 5:48:48 GMT
I also wondered about the yellow column and then thought that it might be a chimney ?
I was intrigued by the 3rd photo down left #97 . What is that dark shape at the end of the arches ? a person , a shadow ?
Fabulous additions as always Spindrift.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 14, 2013 5:50:42 GMT
Oh my goodness -- that's spooky!
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Post by spindrift1 on May 14, 2013 8:36:43 GMT
So pleased everyone is interested and liking my thread. It's full of fascinating details and I don't know the answers about everything! Bixa - I shall find out for sure about the bright gold/yellow column. At the top of this one was a solid flag. I do not know what it means but it had occurred to me that it might be a form of 'lingam'. Kerouac - some of the outer corridors of the great temples were indeed very unsettling. I could feel it somehow. Yet I was not very afraid. I had a belief in the concept of overall goodness around me. I won't be able to expound on the subject of Brahmin priests for I don't know enough; probably you know as much as I do since you made that statement! Casimira....yes that picture could have been taken a millenia ago...i was spellbound watching the entire scene. My friend took that picture. He got it just right! Do you see that they are wearing a thread over one shoulder? This thread signifies that they have been born Brahmin - a double thread if they are married. A single if not. lugg - I think that's just an alcove...is it not? Some of it was very spooky....
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Post by rikita on May 15, 2013 9:01:40 GMT
very interesting so far!
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Post by spindrift1 on May 15, 2013 9:31:45 GMT
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Post by spindrift1 on May 15, 2013 9:48:14 GMT
The following day we drive south down the coast road to Pondicherry, also known as Puducherry which is a large town having a population of nearly 220,000. It is at this stage that I feel I should put up a map of India showing Chennai down as far as Rameswaram.... ...not a clear map, here is another one.You can see how very close Sri Lanka is to Rameswaram..more about that later.
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Post by bjd on May 15, 2013 11:15:18 GMT
That's a really nice picture of the young woman on the steps, Spindrift. Her brightly coloured clothes stand out against the muted colours of the water and steps.
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2013 12:00:44 GMT
Ah, I found Pondicherry to be so nice and calm after the streets of Chennai...
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Post by nycgirl on May 15, 2013 14:31:49 GMT
Such beautiful temples. Again, its amazing how intricate and well-preserved the carvings are after all these centuries.
My favorite photo is the girl by the water. Her attire is gorgeous, and I like how you captured a look of pensive repose.
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Post by spindrift1 on May 15, 2013 16:24:36 GMT
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Post by fgrsk8r1970 on May 15, 2013 17:56:27 GMT
I have been enthralled by your report and photos spindrift. This is a world very foreign to me and I have not a lot of knowledge so I am really enjoying all the insights (from you and all the others and the questions of course) and of course the absolutely beautiful photos you are capturing. The carvings and the temples are incredible but I am also really enjoying the pictures of the people (the bathing women in the sarees as well as the young lady with jasmine in her hair are just gorgeous), the Elephant and the fishing village/beaches just as much.
Amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing!
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Post by htmb on May 16, 2013 0:49:56 GMT
Wonderful photographs, spindrift! I would love to hear more about the silk.
I found the salt photos fascinating. Thanks for posting the maps. That helps.
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Post by spindrift1 on May 16, 2013 8:55:48 GMT
fgrsk8 - i am delighted that I am opening up another world for you. Although I have travelled in India many times, yet I also discovered so much on my temple trip in Tamil Nadu....I constantly feel the need to return there where so little has changed over hundreds of years. Tamil Nadu is one of the most conservative parts of India and resistant to change. htmb - unfortunately I don't know much more about the Indian silk industry, but in a thread to come I will show pictures of village silk-making in the forests of Laos!
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Post by spindrift1 on May 16, 2013 9:25:21 GMT
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Post by anshjain97 on May 16, 2013 15:49:37 GMT
I too like Pondicherry- unlike many at Thorn Tree. But then I'm a local- maybe that matters.
As I'm against any politics-influenced name changes I will always stick to Pondicherry rather than Puducherry.
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2013 5:00:28 GMT
It looks like Pondicherry has changed hardly at all since I was there.
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Post by spindrift1 on May 17, 2013 20:55:07 GMT
Kerouac? When were you there? You are probably right. I don't think much changes over the years. Just as well....
We did visit the Sri Aurobindo Ashram but it was a very quick visit. When you enter the gate you are guided through a small garden to the place of 'samahdi' covered with flowers and then ushered out again through the bookshop were one is allowed to make purchases. I felt there were people watching us (the visitors) and not in a very nice way. I don't think I would return there for any reason.
At night we walked to the promenade to join masses of people strolling around. We had supper in the garden of a popular cafe where we could people-watch but I have to say that the attempts at European food were dismal.
I was very happy to see Indian women dressed in sarees/salwars and many had sweet-smelling jasmine in their beautiful long hair. It's wonderful that, as a rule, jeans are not worn.
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2013 4:46:39 GMT
It's practically 30 years ago since I was there.
Actually, I had a pretty thorough tour of the ashram and the Matrimandir was far from complete back then. There wasn't all that much to see besides the construction sites and some scraggly trees which had been planted recently but I don't remember any unfriendliness.
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