Wednesday January 25th - Chettinad to Madurai

Having breakfast in Chettinad at the Hotel Visalam.

Left crumbling charming Chettinad at 8 and headed for Madurai. Stopped around 9 at a marvelous Ganesha Temple (Arul Migu Karpaga Vinayagar Temple of Pilla Pillaiyarpatti) where we were lucky enough to arrive at the moment a puja was about to begin.

We went inside the main temple (where alas no photos are permitted) and waited on a long line of people who stood still waiting for....what we didn't know. After a while huge deep bells began to slowly ring and a man seated cross legged played a high pitched long horn. The excitement grew. I stood on tiptoes trying to see above the heads of people in front of me. I glimpsed a curtain with a Ganesha image on it and shadows of figures walking behind it. Suddenly Brahman priests dressed in white dhoti with grey horizontal lines on their foreheads and hair pulled in a topknot appeared and waved candles in sweeping circular motions. The crowd quietly chanted all the while and suddenly the curtain drew back to reveal a six foot tall gold Ganesha statue illuminated by candles. We moved toward the inner sanctum, as it's called, to receive blessings from the priests and grey ash to make a bindi. The entire experience was magical.  Being in a temple during a ceremony brings Hinduism, a vital element of life in India, to life.

Stopped next at a bird sanctuary to see egrets, herron and other birds at a large lake surrounded by mango and tamarind trees.

Ferris and me at the bird sanctuary.

Got onto a four lane highway for the last portion of the drive. Felt sorry for the mothers in saris forced to run across the highway carrying babies due to lack of any other route to cross. Checked into the Taj Hotel in Madurai. Our driver Bala's wife is in town for only day so I think the fact that we had an afternoon free may have had something to do with that. He plans for us to meet her tomorrow which will be wonderful.

We had a bit of a crazy afternoon. Cliff and Cathy are in Jaipur on their last day shopping. They asked if we wanted anything and we placed a couple of orders which we spent quite a bit of time on the phone and with emails going back and forth showing images before giving Cliff the OK to negotiate. Then my phone began "acting up". A mystery Indian man has my number and seemed to be calling me for fun. I got so many calls that I had to turn my phone off and ask the tour company to speak with him. My Hindi is a little rusty. Youseff, the local agent in Madurai, is on the case. I don't expect to receive any more calls. Anyway, it was a three ring circus.

View from our Madurai hotel dining room.

Finally I had a chance to go outside by the hotel's glorious pool to read for a bit before leaving at 8:15pm for a ceremony that takes place every evening at the Minakshi Temple. A center of Tamil culture, famous for its writers and poets, Madurai's history goes back to the 6th century BC. The Nayakas laid out the old town in the pattern of a lotus with narrow streets surrounding the Minakshi Temple at the center. Minakshi, known as the Fish-eyed Goddess and the consort of Siva, is the presiding deity and daily ceremonies are performed at her shrine.

Shiva on his way to spend the evening with Parvati.

What we saw was an amazing puja. I couldn't believe that photography was allowed. There were many many pilgrims plus an equal number of tourists vying for good photo positions. During this nightly spiritual ceremony Lord Shiva is carried in a palanquin and accompanied by musicians, temple singers and priests to the temple of his consort, Parvati, to spend the night. He is brought back to his temple in the morning. At the beginning of the ceremony you wait in a central area of the temple and suddenly you hear a conch shell being blown, and then a nandhpatram (a long high-pitched horn) and tabla drums are played. The music is loud and shrill and creates a feeling of excitement in the space. Devotees are praying with their hands clasped below their chins. Suddenly the palanquin is carried out and put on a stand. A priest fans with a peacock feather a fire of incense blowing smoke onto Shiva. On the opposite side preparations are made for Parvati's arrival. A small silver stool with gold feet on the top is bathed with oils. Jasmine flowers encircled the stool and mounds of pure sandalwood placed on top. After many prayers the stool and palanquin are carried out into the temple where Parvati lives. The idea is that the two, the husband and wife, are joined together each evening where they sleep. In the morning the same ritual is repeated. This goes on every day. I took wonderful videos (I hope).

The local power station.

Bala shops for Tamil music for us.

On the way back to the hotel we took one small detour to buy Tamil music.  We'd asked Bala to help us and since we are now on his home turf of Madurai he took us to a local music shop.  Can't wait to hear the final selections.