Monday 18 March 2024

India, Sri Lanka and The Maldives - Days 45 & 46 - Thanjavor, Tamil Nadu to Pondicherry

 

A roadside stall on the way to Thanjavour selling cashewnuts that they had processed there

Day 45

A couple of hours to Thanjavur, another place we’d not heard of, though road signs to ‘The Big Temple’ did give some indication of our sightseeing. We arrived just before 11.00 so sightseeing before check in makes perfect sense. Shanthi turned up a few minutes later and told us to put socks on as it was a big temple area which we had to walk in barefoot so they’d give some protection from the heat. This made sense, though sadly she hadn’t followed her own advice so instructed Shareef to lend her some!

The factory we saw mass processing cashews in Mangalore on our cruise was unhealthy and horrible. This roadside cottage industry was still unpleasant but a lot better. In the first picture you can see the smoke from the fire where they had cooked the nut in its shell to burn off the toxins and here they are cracking open the shell to get to the nut. We bought a 250g bag for 200 rupees (£2)

The temple itself we quite liked, ornate carvings as ever, but this time no paint just the natural granite. It was built 1000 years ago by Raja Raja Chola l the first and that’s about all we really learned apart from “take photo here”. Back to the car to go to the Royal Palace which housed the museum and art gallery, some bit of which shut at 12.30, though I don’t know which bit though we were certainly whizzed round the museum where she just read what was written in front of us, not actually told us anything. We’ve had more information from free guides! The art gallery was full of stuff of varying ages that had been excavated in the vicinity. That’s all I know.

They weren't the only ones making and selling them. There were stalls every few meters, on both sides of the road for several kilometers. We did like the sign though

She did then obviously take pity on us, so rather than sit with everyone else waiting for the next showing of the movie, she took us into the foyer to stand and wait which was definitely a bit cooler. The movie was a bit of a tourist board presentation, but did at least give us a little background. We dutifully watched it (well the AC was good) while she sat in front of us and played on her phone. And that was that. The movie had shown a bit of the palace but when I said we hadn’t seen the palace she said we were in it, and now we were going. According to the internet most of the palace is actually closed, so this is probably true, though the internet did show a beautiful ceiling, in the waiting area for the movie, which we hadn’t seen because she’d put us in the cooler foyer.

Arriving at the Brihadishwara Temple (generally know as the Big Temple) with our guide Shanthi (in the pink there with an umbrella) Just follow her and keep up! It is a UNESCO listed building

One last stop, the bronze statue factory which was interesting, though Brian knew all about the process as he’d learned it as an apprentice, I was just horrified by the heat from the fire melting the metals and then the fact that he just poured the molten metal into the mould towards his feet!

It is a stunning temple, it has to be said. 1000 years old

To the hotel which was nice, a relax by the pool. The room was positively cold and the bar, Baltic. A disappointing meal rounded off a mediocre day.

The main temple through the entrance gate. She told us it's 180 feet high, 1 +8  = 9 which equals the number of planets in our solar system, an important figure in the Hindu religion. She also told us the dome on the top weights 81 tonnes, 1+8 = you get the picture (except that the video she took us in to see told us it was only 80 tonnes. She didn't seem to notice, too busy looking at her phone)


Day 46

A 4.5 hour drive today, but that’s ok, we just have to sit in the AC, to Pondicherry. Just over an hour in Shareef asked us if we wanted to go and see another temple that was not on the itinerary. He was obviously read the riot act by Ranjeet after the spice farm incident. He wanted to go in to the town, Darasuram, anyway to fill up with CNG (though they appear to have stopped stocking it) so we said ok. Glad we did, the cows carved on the walls really appealed to me, particularly as I thought they were goats and there were goats bouncing about outside. It was much in the style of the big Temple, this one was built 900 years ago by Raja Raja ll who is not as you would expect Rajaraja l’s son but his grandson. It actually shares the UNESCO classification with the Big Temple (and one more). The 160 columns are all different and all beautifully carved. We met the Shiva priest who was very friendly, and gave us the red dot on the head. He was obviously pleased with the 200 rupees, the smallest note Brian had, so called over the Parvati (Shiva’s wife) priest to give us the white dot. He was not so happy when Brian told him he had no more change and to go and get some off the first priest!

The main temple inside the walls, a stunning building. You can take a picture she told me, so I did

A second stop brought us to the third temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, built by Rajendra Chola l who might be the missing generation, between the other two, possibly! I put my socks on for this one as I’d shoved them in my day pack this morning jolly glad I did too, Brian has sore feet from walking barefoot!

The Nandi (bull) outside the main temple, associated with Shiva to whom the temple is dedicated

We finally arrived in Pondicherry, to our hotel in the French Quarter. I think ‘rustic’ describes it. It’s beautifully situated, one street back from the seafront, but does smell slightly damp and could do with a little work. We are happy to be here though, unlike the French lady who threw a complete fit at her room upstairs….

The temple inside

We went for a walk around looking at restaurants and to buy beer. Pondicherry is its own state so beer shops are freely available, unlike Kerela and Tamil Nadu where without Shareef we’d never have found them, and we needed to as in those states hotels with less than 25 rooms are not able to sell beer! A much better dinner than last night, rounded off with a proper gelato and a walk along the promenade. Very civilised.

In front of the main temple

Entering the museum in the Maratha Palace. This was about all we saw of it

Lots of interesting figurines that had been dug up in various places around here. All Hindu gods but we know little more than that

They were in quite a nice room but nothing was mentioned of that

Onto the bronze casting workshop and here's our man lifting out the molten bronze. They make the molds using the 'lost wax' principle where a wax model is uncased into the mold material and then heated so the wax runs out to leave a void in the mold into which the molten bronze is poured at 500 C. 24 hours later the mold is broken to reveal the bronze figurine.

Jackie was upset at the way he was pouring it into the mold towards his bare feet. Where's the 'elf and safety eh Bill?

There's some they did earlier. They chop off the feeder bits to leave the bit they want, polish it up, put it into their shop where they hope people like us will buy some. We didn't, but gave them a donation

That was the extent of our guiding, the rest of the day was by the pool in a quite nice hotel. We seek out the shade where the temperature is a bit more bearable, but an occasional dip to cool off is needed

Next day we were off, it was only a one nighter in Thanjavour. Here we are on a main dual carriage way on the way to Pondicherry. In case you have any doubt, they drive on the left in India, as we do in the UK. We're going along on the left side of the dual carriageway, but look, those two cars are going the same way as us but on the wrong carriageway

This is after we'd passed them looking out the back window. They are in the outside lane but that truck, going in the correct direction and head on to them didn't seem bothered. It's just what they seem to do here!

This is the river Kollidam, a major river in India that is very long. Just one problem here, there's no water in it. Think they need some rain

Shareef asked if we like to stop on the way at this temple. It's the Thirumigu Airavateswarar Temple and is the second of three UNESCO listed temples built by the Raja Raja dynasty, 100 years after the Big Temple. We thought it worthwhile, and it was. It's located here

We just walked round on our own in this one, no guide

Except our white faces were spotted by a priest who wanted to tell us all about it, put a red spot on our foreheads and then ask for a donation

After being accosted by another priest who put another colour of dot on our foreheads and also wanted a donation we headed outside. Jackie sensibly was wearing socks, very necessary in the heat. Mine were locked away in my bag so I went barefoot. What a mistake, think I have mild burns on my heel now!

Further on and Shareef asked if we'd like to stop here. Its the Gangaikonda Cholapuram Temple and is the third of the three UNESCO listed temples built by the Raja Raja dynasty. Its located here

A very big Nandi at this one

Unlike  the other two we weren't allowed to take photos inside, but its pretty similar to the other two

Not sure of the relevance, but a nice statue. By now my feet were suffering and I was seeking out any kind of shade to walk on. Grass I found was better than stone paths, despite the possibility that there might be hidden pebbles waiting to embed themselves in my feet

There it is from outside the less than effective outer wall. All in all, we're glad we visited all three UNESCO temples

On to Pondicherry, a lovely old French colonial town and our room in a converted colonial building. Jackie's right, it is rustic, but at least the aircon works very well and it has everything we need, plus a great location close to the sea in the middle of the heritage area. Its called La Cedille and its located here

But we do have a nice outdoor sitting area, which has a fan and is in the shade. I'm sitting there right now, writing this. Three nights here, the promenade is a great walk and there are almost too many restaurants to choose from. We'll do our best!



Friday 15 March 2024

India, Sri Lanka and The Maldives - Days 43 & 44 - Chettinad, Tamil Nadu

Our room key at Saratha Villas a hotel converted Chettinad Palace

Day 43 and 44

Didn’t know what Chettinad had to offer, and actually I’m not sure we are there. We are in Kothamangalam, in a beautiful Chettiar heritage property (Saratha Vilas - read about it here - its the actual property we are in)  The Chettiars in the 19th and early 20th centuries were trading through SE Asia,the in parts of the British Empire particularly Burma where they made lots of money, until they were thrown out by the Burmese, after independence, with nothing. They then went in to banking, until Indira Ghandi nationalised all the banks, without paying them any compensation. Despite having been dealt this double whammy they still seem to be wealthy people.

They are very high caste, just below Brahmin, so the 90 or so clans are now quite interbred. Our guide, (organised by the hotel, not Ranjeet who had asked Daisy to come which she’d declined as her daughter has been doing exams) Meenakshi, is a Chettiar and told us that she is married to a man 11 years older than her (obviously that is nothing!) and that he is her uncle. So her mother is her sister in law , and her grandmother her mother in law. She knows she is lucky that her children are OK and worked hard to get them both married into different clans.

The area is full of the most amazing houses, all built along the same plan of courtyards leading one from another as meeting rooms, dining halls and storage areas for the dowries that brides were sent off with. Many of the houses are now owned by the descendants of the original owners so are difficult to maintain and live in as so many people have a say in what should happen. The houses cannot be sold to non Chettiars (though they can be stripped and demolished), but they can be leased. This is what has happened to our hotel, two French architects, who themselves don’t seem to quite know how it happened are now hoteliers to this amazing property.

Just take a moment to look at the features of where we're staying as the weathly Chettinad people built their properties along similar luxurious styles. This is a typical main hall with polished marble (from Italy) floor, ornate teakwood (from Burma) ceiling and mirrors, stained glass and chandeliers from Belgium. Our room was off this huge hall

You first come in to the welcoming hall, where business would have been done by the men (women entered at the back) then into a big meeting hall or entertaining or wedding space (off of which is our room) then into an open courtyard with a tank in the middle for collecting rainwater, down the sides of which are the storage rooms for the dowries, full of furniture, brassware, enamel cook ware and such that girls were sent away with, along with shrines and birthing rooms. These rooms are effectively the bathrooms of the hotel rooms with the bedrooms being made from a divided dining hall behind. You move on through to a third hall (here used for indoor dining) before an outdoor cooking space. And here then on to the swimming pool, which obviously wasn’t original. Although we haven’t actually got the huge columns of teak wood, from Burma in our first hall, we do have the Carrera marble from Italy and the Belgian coloured glass and chandeliers. They were all made with the best of things, tiles and safes from England, glass and mirrors from Belgium, Italian marble and Burmese teak. Some of them are very dark and heavy, while some are amazingly art deco, but all built to the same basic, luxurious plan.

The front of the properties all follow a similar theme. There are 76 houses remaining in the villages and they all seem to have images of English gentlemen on them, one's with hats on at the top and others on horses

The two half day tours on day 43 and 44 have basically been looking at many of these hotels, some of which are still lived in, some not, though still used for extended family gatherings, with the family actually staying next door in a newer property (with inside bathrooms) and some converted to hotels. The Chettiars were also philanthropic building temples and schools. We did go into an amazing old, barely used temple today where the guide told Brian he could take photos, though the caretaker obviously didn’t agree with this and got very shouty.

Just inside the front door (we're looking towards the door, the main hall is behind me) is the verandah, called a Thinnai, where the men did their business. They all have this feature

The temple yesterday was very open so we could see everything, including the plaster statues of horses that are ceremonially placed in the hope that they will produce a son. There are also elephants and cows, but we can’t remember what they are hoping for. What is sad though is that as time goes by the old horses are just shoved off the edge into the undergrowth to be replaced by new ‘wishes’.

The door from the verandah to the main hall has beautifully carved features



We’ve also been to a tile factory where beautiful handmade tiles are made, on glass before being seasoned, dried in the sun and the removed from the glass. These tiles are in evidence throughout the houses we’ve visited but are also now being shipped elsewhere in India. We also went to the flea market where the ‘stuff’ from the dowry storage rooms is being sold. Much like junk/antique shops in the U.K. we could have spent ages poking about, except we didn’t want to buy anything.

This is the main hall in another house we went into. The columns are solid teak 

I’m not sure I’ve explained any of this very well, but it has actually been one of the highlights, to me, of the trip (though so hot I could barely focus). It’s just been very different.

Through from the main hall is the main courtyard. These are mostly open in the centre. Each side are small rooms used for storing the dowries of the married ladies of the family. Weddings are usually conducted in here

We finished off today’s tour, much earlier than expected, thankfully so we could come and enjoy our space and spend some time in and by the pool.

At the top, between the main hall and courtyard is this area also used for business

Tomorrow we have a one night stop in Thanjavur. We flagged the hotel we were booked in to before we left the U.K., and again a few days ago, just asking Ranjeet if he had read the reviews? It all went very quiet, after getting told that they had “assured their best services, however I am still looking into it”. As Shareef dropped us off today he told us that our hotel for tomorrow has been changed. He described it as 5 star, bookings.com as 3 star, but either way, I’m so pleased as it looks infinitely better than where we were originally. Ranjeet triumphs again!

Running down the building either side of the main courtyard and behind the dowry storage areas are these main dining areas, one for men and one for women. In some of the hotel conversions they've divided this room up into bedrooms, access through the dowry storage areas on the courtyard

Further back is another meeting area which has been converted into an indoor dining area. We didn't use this as, beyond it is an open courtyard which is a nice outdoor dining area

This is the open courtyard at the back where we ate. The mesh is to stop the monkeys getting in

Beyond that, a non-standard feature, a swimming pool. Most hotel conversions had these

This is much grander and is private (it's owned by the owner of a large cement factory in Chennai) but, apparently it follows a similar layout, albeit a bit grander. The area and houses are frequently used for filming although they have apparently caused damage in some house by chipping tiles. A film crew were hovering around outside here when we were there

And this one, built in the 1930's is an art deco style, but still the same layout inside. We went in quite a few and the luxury to which they were built is outstanding. Some are well maintained, some are decaying gracefully as the owners are business people in Malaysia or Singapore and only come home infrequently for family gatherings. They appoint caretakers who live in them and look after them. Not a bad job I suppose. Some have been demolished completely giving a very good second hand market for beautifully carved doors, solid teak columns and furniture

This is a cottage industry tile making factory


Here's our worker pouring in a coloured mortar mixture into a mould on top of a sheet of glass

He takes the mould out, fills the remaining cavity with a dry sand and cement mix, turns it over and there's a tile. Its left for three days in water and 7 in the sun and its done

Here's one they did earlier. They sell for between 50 and 75 Rupees each (50p to 75p)

Lots of different designs

Next we visited a temple - another temple, but quite amazing

Our guide said I could take photos, so I snapped away. Lovely place, big with an interesting layout

This is the Hindu god Shiva sitting on the bull known as Nandi. This one is encased in solid silver. At this point a priest or temple warden went off on one with our guide as I took this. He clearly was upset at me photographing it, but our guide, a local brushed it off and said not to worry. We could hear him go off moaning to others about it, but our guide just carried on. I had no wish to offend, but was told it was OK, so I did. Thought you might like to see the photo that caused the trouble


We visited a local snack making 'factory'. Yummy snacks, we sample and then bought some which we ate with a bottle of beer later. Nearly put us off dinner, but not quite!

So back to the hotel to try out the pool. It was about 38 C outside so the pool was a welcome escape from it. Absolutely no problem in getting in as is normal when getting into a cooler pool. It was straight in and oh so refreshing!

And later, dinner  at the hotel. All local traditional Chettinad food. We've got Chapatti, tomato rice, onion rata, spicy raw banana, sauteed cauliflower, pumpkin curry and emperor fish curry. Absolutely delicious. And you can just see, bottom right our huge room key. It's been a really interesting couple of days here. The post may not have inspired you much if you're not into architecture, but we found the whole story of the history of the influential Chettinad people and how they suffered a double blow of losing property in Burma after Independence and then their banking businesses on nationalisation in the 1970's, but still bounced back, shows them to be a very resourceful people. Apparently the British held them in high regard when they were here using them for loans and banking. We felt quite sorry for them and it added to our visit with our guide being a Chettinar personally involved in its history. That's it for now, Thanjavore tomorrow, famous for brass making. What will we find out there?