Looking back at my stay in Chennai (formerly Madras) in Tamil Nadu state, I'm surprised that I did so much in just a day and a half. When I arrived I had to search for a hotel with rooms, but then I had the cutest little room ever! Recently remodeled, it had blue floral tiles, pink molding, one window in blue glass and one in green! I also met the harbinger of the monsoon, in the form of a very welcome overcast sky. It dropped the temperature to almost bearable, although the humidity was still ridiculous. Early in my trip, the heat really made me surly!
I started at the Kapaleeshwarar Hindu temple, and made the change to typical
Dravidian architecture. Colourfully painted deities and mythical creatures cover every inch of the temple towers. It was a drastic contrast with northern Hindu architecture.
Christianity is more popular in the south, and Chennai has two important churches. St. Mary's is located in Fort St. George, and is the oldest existing English church in India. It was quiet and friendly, although the European memorial statuary seemed out of place in India.
St. Thomas the Apostle Cathedral was built over the tomb of one of Jesus' disciples, and is only one of three in the whole world to do so. Apparently "Doubting Thomas" came to India to preach Christianity, and was the source of
Syrian Christianity in India. In Tamil Nadu I often stopped to listen to Roman Catholic mass in Tamil.
From there it was a short walk to the waterfront promenade, where I took some photos of the lighthouse as the sky darkened, watched families playing at the edge of the water, people flying kites, vendors selling
chaat and horse rides, and struggled to find the subway station.
The overpriced museum was still worthwhile for the comprehensive overview of Dravidian sculpture and the terrific collection of bronzes, many of which depicted
dancing Shiva. Poor lighting and glass cases largely prevented photography
Finally, a trek to Valluvar Kottam, a monument honoring the 1st century BCE
Tamil saint Tiruvalluvar. It's built in the form of a chariot, and has verses from the Tirukular. Part of the trouble finding it was that Indians are often SO polite that they will helpfully give directions, even if they have no idea where you are going. Lonely Planet guides also have notoriously bad maps for walkers like me, which means I can usually double the estimated time. Later, I found a special edition one rupee coin with Tiruvalluvar.
Looking back at my stay in Chennai (formerly Madras) in Tamil Nadu state, I'm surprised that I did so much in just a day and a half. When I arrived I had to search for a hotel with rooms, but then I had the cutest little room ever! Recently remodeled, it had blue floral tiles, pink molding, one window in blue glass and one in green! I also met the harbinger of the monsoon, in the form of a very welcome overcast sky. It dropped the temperature to almost bearable, although the humidity was still ridiculous. Early in my trip, the heat really made me surly!
I started at the Kapaleeshwarar Hindu temple, and made the change to typical Dravidian architecture. Colourfully painted deities and mythical creatures cover every inch of the temple towers. It was a drastic contrast with northern Hindu architecture.
Christianity is more popular in the south, and Chennai has two important churches. St. Mary's is located in Fort St. George, and is the oldest existing English church in India. It was quiet and friendly, although the European memorial statuary seemed out of place in India.
St. Thomas the Apostle Cathedral was built over the tomb of one of Jesus' disciples, and is only one of three in the whole world to do so. Apparently "Doubting Thomas" came to India to preach Christianity, and was the source of Syrian Christianity in India. In Tamil Nadu I often stopped to listen to Roman Catholic mass in Tamil.
From there it was a short walk to the waterfront promenade, where I took some photos of the lighthouse as the sky darkened, watched families playing at the edge of the water, people flying kites, vendors selling chaat and horse rides, and struggled to find the subway station.
The overpriced museum was still worthwhile for the comprehensive overview of Dravidian sculpture and the terrific collection of bronzes, many of which depicted dancing Shiva. Poor lighting and glass cases largely prevented photography
Finally, a trek to Valluvar Kottam, a monument honoring the 1st century BCE Tamil saint Tiruvalluvar. It's built in the form of a chariot, and has verses from the Tirukular. Part of the trouble finding it was that Indians are often SO polite that they will helpfully give directions, even if they have no idea where you are going. Lonely Planet guides also have notoriously bad maps for walkers like me, which means I can usually double the estimated time. Later, I found a special edition one rupee coin with Tiruvalluvar.
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