KANCHEEPURAM -- MAHABALIPURAM

                        A VISIT TO  KANCHEEPURAM- MAHABALIPURAM

                           It was about 9:30am when we reached Chennai by the early-morning train from Bangalore. The time was the last week of October. our guide Arjun welcomed us at the station and we headed towards Mamallapuram. Mahabalipuram also known as Mamallapuram is a town in Kancheepuram district, around 60km south from the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu .

By the 7th century, it was a  port city of South Indian dynasty of the Pallavas . It has various historic monuments built largely between the 7th and 9th century and has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . So needless to say, I was overwhelmed with excitement for the trip, but unexpectadely the rain started tremendously pouring water to my excitement! But may be the nature took pity on our excitement and after 15-20 min there was bright sunlight

THIRUKADALMALLAI , KANCHEEPURAM

                     Our first stoppage was Thirukadalmallai , a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu , built by the Pallava king in order to safeguard the sculptures from the ocean. After building the temple, the remaining architecture was preserved and was not corroded by sea. The large entrance gate is the main attraction. A number of small tented shops were there outside the temple. Here a few cows with surprising look caught my gaze --the cows were large in size and had horns of about 3ft long. The foreign tourists were very much excited clicking pictures of those cows. A small crowd had been formed.

SHORE TEMPLE, MAHABALIPURAM

                         We had our lunch on the way to Shore Temple and Five Rathas (Pancha Pandava Rathas). The Pancha Rathas or Five Chariots are five monolithic pyramidal structures (Rathas), literally Chariots named after the Pandavas (Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva) . Beside these, there is also a chariot named after Draupadi . These sculptures are complimented by some enormous stone animals including a large elephant. Dating from the 7th century, the sculptures were sculpted from the craved stones from the cliffs of the shore of the Bay of Bengal . In the Pancha Rathas, each Ratha is sculpted in a different style. The different sculptures, some half-finished, may have been examples of different styles of architecture, probably practised on by young students. An interesting aspect of the Rathas is that, despite their sizes, they are not assembled --each of these is carved from one single piece of large granite stone. The carvings are instance of the hard labour of hundreds of years. 

SHORE TEMPLE, MAHABALIPURAM

                   After the Five Rathas, we headed to the Shore Temple , the oldest structure in the area. Built in c.700 A.D. it is spread along the Bay of Bengal with the the entrance from the western side away the sea. 

BAY OF BENGAL TO THE EAST

                                 Unlike Mamallapuram's other monuments, the temple is not carved from rock, and the bulk of the current structure is a reconstruction after it was struck by cyclone. Recent excavations have revealed new structures here. 

VIEW FROM SHORE TEMPLE

                                   It's not particularly large and the carvings have been badly eroded by the salty wind and the tide, but this adds to the sense of tranquility. The area around the temple consisting a landscaped park, lush greenery and hordes of souvenir hawkers at bay enrich the beauty of the place making a huge tourist attraction.

FOREIGN FIGURES

                        The drizzles had just started then and we took shelter under a tree but that was just for a few minutes, as the rain had ceased. We came out of the shade of the tree AND was spellbound to see the rainbow formed over the sky, beneath there was the gushing deep blue sea!  It was a moment treasured...

WHERE THE RAINBOW FANCIES ON THE DEEP BLUE SEA

                  But anyway, we had to rush back to our car as the sun was biding adieu and the evening was gradually setting in. We had to cover two more places --Arjuna's Penance Bas-relief and Krishna's Butter Ball, about which I had blogged last year, when I had just started blogging! Here is the link http://photoshreya.blogspot.in/2013/07/krishnas-butter-ball-one-day-at.html