Continuing Down the East Coast

From Chennai it was a short trip south to Mamallapuram (also known as Mahabalipuram) which is a little tourist town built around some of the most excellent sculpture in India. I also highly recommend Le Yogi restaurant, which satisfied my lasagna craving. Here the monsoon slowed me down for half a day, and from here on, I never saw a sunrise or sunset because of overcast skies.

It's difficult to decide which carvings were my favourites. There were many similarities with the Hampi ruins, but the carvings at Mamallapuram were more realistic, used different perspectives from the traditional ones, and carried more of a sense of humour and whimsy. Beautiful carvings of elephants stand out on Arjuna's Penance. I loved the cat standing on his hind legs, at the left, under the elephant's tusks; he seems to be imitating Arjuna (who is outside the frame). The Nagas on the far left are also fascinating. A temple relief of Durga fighting stood out for the composition, and the way each person is depicted uniquely.

Krishna's butter ball, a huge stone apparently balanced on the slope, is popular for photos. It's only round from one angle.

The Shore Temple, two monolithic temples carved near the sea, is also unique, despite the extensive damage from sand, salt, water, and wind.

The Five Rakshas (Chariots) are also each unique monolithic temples, and the giant stone lion, elephant, and nandi (Shiva's bull mount) add personality to the site. These were covered by sand for centuries before their rediscovery.

A little farther south Pondicherry, one of the French colonies, still looks the most "European" of all the cities in India. Many heritage buildings are now under restoration. I spent a lot of time watching the waves roll down the beach. I was delighted to discover the only city in India that has regular street signs--this is a rare trilingual sign: Tamil, English, and French.

The monsoon blasted me here: it was the most humid place I've ever been ("breaking a sweat" was the same as "drenched in sweat"), and one night it rained so hard it flooded the street. The photos didn't turn out so well, but hopefully you can see that the street is water instead of pavement!

At the Sacred Heart Cathedral I discovered a big event; the courtyard was filled with altar boys and men in robes, and women in saris. Then a VIP arrived, and a little girl scattered flower petals under his feet. My knowledge of Roman Catholic religious garb is a little shaky, but after a little research I believe this is the Archbishop of Pondicherry.

Pondicherry has another remnant of the French colonial period. Police here wear a uniform unique in all of India: they add a distinctly French red cap.