INDIA – Day 4

 

An early morning yoga session by the pool on the roof of the hotel was followed by a four-hour drive to Thanjavur, also known as the Rice Bowl of Tamil Nadu for its vast rice fields. Our first stop was at the Brihadeshwara Temple, one of the largest temples in India. Over one thousand years old, the granite carved temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Great Living Chola Temples.

Upon entering the high walls, you can see the temple tower, the tallest in the world, at its apex is a huge spherical structure carved out of a single rock weighing eighty tons. Another huge carving out of a single rock is Nandi, or the sacred bull, facing the entrance of the temple.

Bhadrak greeted us today dressed in a typical southern Indian costume today in a shirt and a lungi which is a piece of cloth tied around the waist that reaches to the ankles, and could be folded to become of shorter length above the knee. As we gathered around him, he explained how he felt a special connection to this specific temple since he was a child. His eyes gleamed as he told us how he was now delighted to witness the once abandoned place that was crawling with snakes and insects transformed to a temple with hundreds of worshipers and visitors nowadays. Whereas the temples we had previously visited were purely monumental.

Pharaohs vs. Hindus

We were in luck, as we were about to attend Abhishekam, a solemn ritual conducted by priests where they pour libations (offerings like milk, yogurt, ghee, honey, rosewater, sandalwood paste) on the image of the deity being worshipped in the main sanctum. In this case it was the second biggest lingam in India (nine feet high), again carved out of a single stone.

Picture of lingam taken from internet

We quietly entered into the age-old temple to the chanting of mantras and instrumental music. The high ceilings, darkness within and different aromas carried us back in time as we saw the people seated on the floor on either side watching the washing of the lingam by the priests dressed in white dhoti, bare from the waist up, with their hair tied in a knot at the top of their heads.

Two young priests didn’t want to have their picture taken at first

At one point a curtain is drawn, blocking the view for a short while, then reopened to expose the lingam now covered with flowers and cloth. As we exit, we each bow as we accept a dot of kumkum on our foreheads.

Newly weds come for the blessings

Outside, we sat to rest for a short while in the vast garden before making the customary anti-clockwise walk around the main temple. Bhadrak told us the story of how Lord Shiva challenged his wife, Parvati to a duel-dance. Let’s see if I remember it properly. Parvati was the icon of perfection, but when Shiva confronted her fearing she may be losing her humbleness she became angry. He challenged her to a dance where she managed to keep up with his steps. At one point one of her earrings fell, and with a clever step, Lord Shiva picked it up with his toes and handed it to her. Parvati who was wearing a sari couldn’t imitate that step and became angry (giving her the name Kali). Shiva wins the dual and Bhadrak points the engraving on the temple wall of his look of triumph as he looks to the side. Later Lord Shiva consoles his wife. I managed to capture a picture of our guide doing the same gesture, with his face averted to the side.

Let me go back a couple days when my sister, Sagy asked our guides if there was any chance we could see an elephant. She explained that our dear brother said he would not believe we’d been to India unless we actually mounted an elephant. Our guides were surprised by the request but promised to find out if it was possible. After all, elephants were not as common as they used to be long ago when they were used as beasts of burden.

True to their promise, they had located one of the locals who had adopted a couple of elephants, along with a few horses for the benefit of renting them for weddings and other festivities. We were welcomed to visit and maybe pay a small donation to help the owner with the expenses. Every single one in the group was delighted to jump to the opportunity. And so our van went off the road to a private dwelling in the middle of the fields.

There we found lovely Sharmila waiting for us. On her head there was a beautiful white pattern drawn with a paste of rice powder and water, and small bells around her neck. Sharmila had the kindest eyes with long lashes, and true to her name, she brought us comfort and joy.

Let me tell you that climbing on top was no easy matter; leaping sideways and upwards from a ladder onto her back. Actually I was going to give it up completely hadn’t I been the first of the group to make the attempt. I was rewarded by cheers, but felt rather silly when Amma managed it quite successfully with her recent double knee replacement to even louder cheers and applause.

The sun was setting and it was time to head to our hotel but not before Sweet Sharmila gave us her blessings.

Sharmila blessing Sagy

 

Another relaxing yoga session with our amazing Durga in the garden of our hotel and we were all ready to call it a night.