OAT: Oh, Another Temple

Officially, this was a “free” day on our itinerary, and several members of the group elected to remain at the hotel to rest, relax, and enjoy the beach and the amenities of the resort. Most of us, however, opted for the Optional Tour. We boarded the bus for a two-hour journey inland to the city of Kanchipuram.

Our first stop as an ashram and monastery. These are not particularly common in India anymore, and most that exist are in rural areas. But this one is an exception.

As we entered the complex we viewed artwork depicting the life of the founding priest, as well as photographs of recent head gurus. We walked past people engaged in various religious activities, such as praying before a shrine, priests washing their cars, young students memorizing Vedas by chanting them aloud with their teacher, women singing hymns, other women tending the community cows, etc.

Our tour leader interrupted one of the teachers and his chanting pupils. The teacher, understandably, did not appear pleased, but nevertheless chatted with us briefly about the curriculum. We also engaged a man, probably in his 60s, who had adopted the ancient practice of leaving care of his family to his sons and entering a life dissociated from them and from the world, in preparation for death. He’d been there five years and still looked pretty healthy. Also, he was reading a newspaper when we encountered him, so I’m not sure how well the whole dissociation from the world thing is going for him, but at least he isn’t dealing with his wife and family.

From the ashram we walked only a short distance to an enormous temple complex. This one was similar to the one we visited yesterday, except that it was much larger, and the pool was inside the cow gate rather than outside.

The temple itself was enormous. It had been built around the stump of a sacred mango tree. The story associated with it had to do with the banished wife of a god who prayed under the mango, and as a result, was reunited with her husband in a family of perfect unity.

Because the focus of this temple was on family, a feature here is more than 130 pair of yoni and linga — fertility symbols, where couples come to make offerings and pray for the gift of children. The sheer size of this temple, as well as the ornate carving of the walls and pillars, made it quite remarkable.

We then went by bus to another nearby site where ruins of an 8th century CE temple have been restored by archaeologists. Because the temple was originally done in sandstone, preserving it is a challenge.

An excellent lunch in the city center was included in this day trip, and we enjoyed sampling many new foods on the buffet. Less enjoyable was a stop at a silk sari weaver, and of course, the associated shop filled with items that clearly had been made elsewhere — possibly China.

After the large meal, it was difficult to keep our eyes open on th bus ride back to the hotel. But once there, we rallied for another dip in the pool and opportunity to do some reading poolside. Today the pool has a soundtrack that could be straight out of Slumdog Millionaire. A large wedding is being held at the hotel and the band is loud.

Our evening meal was at an all-vegetarian restaurant a short distance by bus from the hotel. Because so many in our group complain that the food is too spicy, our tour leader has to ask that it be bland — a terrible waste of good Indian food.