Lots of Temples and Dust in My Eyes

October 24
India Day 2

Today I went on a field trip to Kancheepuram and Mamallapuram. We got on the bus at 7:00 and headed outside of Chennai. After about 1 1/2 to 2 hours of driving we eventually made it to our first stop in Kancheepuram, a large town with many temples spread out throughout it, many dating to as far back as the 7th century. Our first stop was Kailasanatha Temple, one of many temples we’d see throughout the day. This particular temple was built in honor of Shiva and for the worship of Shiva. The temple is enclosed in a stone wall (everything is made of stone) and just about everywhere (on the walls and the temple itself) are many dragons, elephants, busts of other gods, and many other carvings. Each temple we went to that day had one or several tall layered towers. We had to take off our shoes (it was the same at all the other temples here) before entering the complex. While here I was filming for my next documentary for my documentary class (it’s a real pain to shoot because you can’t take the time to appreciate things- you only are worried about what you see through the camera- it sucks). A couple of us went inside the temple and there a priest invited us in. He took us into a small room and showed us a shrine. There was one carving on each of the 3 walls. The room was dark and only lit by a candle that the priest had. He held it up to the first statue of Shiva. When he held it above the carving, Shiva looked mad. When he held the candle below, Shiva looked happy. It was the same with the other carvings. We left walked around the rest of the complex (which wasn’t actually that large) and left.
We drove through more of Kancheepuram and arrived at our next stop which was another temple called Varadharaja Perumal Temple. Many of the temples we visited had its tallest tower over the entrance to the temple complex. The tower at this temple was over 100ft tall. The temple itself was built in 1053AD for worship of the god Vishnu. We entered the open yard area of the temple (the temple complex was much larger than the previous) and then walked into the temple itself which consisted of long, open halls with shrines throughout it. Unlike the previous temple, this was a functioning Hindu temple and there were many worshippers walking around the premises. We were not allowed in the main shrine (only Hindus). There was one shrine with several small statues of gods in it (for some reason it was in a large cage) and people walked around the statues in the cage while praying. There were several long hallways that stretched probably over a couple hundred feet. Along one hallway was several crazy looking statues of gods, including a cobra with many heads (it looked awesome), a fat guy with a moustache that looked suspiciously like Ron Jeremy, and a chicken/duck playing a saxophone. There were also more engravings of dragons as well as more shrines. There was also a tall golden post that stuck out from rose out of the temple (I don’t think it was actual gold). This was a flagpole that all the temples have. The temple layout was like a square with only the outer border being the halls and shrines. The inner section was a large pool of water that had a structure in the middle of it. I just found the Wikipedia page for this temple and it’s called Ekambareswarar Temple. It is a Vishnu temple and dates back to before 600 AD.
We put our shoes back on and left for the next temple called Vaikuntanatha Temple. It too had a large tower over its entrance however this one was covered in palm leaves and wood scaffolding (I don’t know why). We only went to one shrine in this temple. It had pillars with various engravings on it of archers, peacocks, and a god riding a horse or dragon. While I was filming here there was a priest who started talking to me and showed me a certain engraving. He also recited a long, memorized talk about the history of the temple which I did not understand fully but have on tape. There was another pool of water with the building in the middle. We left this temple and went to a silk store. The store was down a small walkway, on the side of which was a shed with a couple cows under it. While shopping at the silk store, we went upstairs to where 3 people were hand making silk apparel. The process looked very complicated, involving both hands and both feet (it looked very similar to playing the piano now that I think about it).
After buying silk, we headed to the Mamallapuram area. Before going to any temples we stopped off at a Radisson resort in the area for lunch. There we had a massive buffet with an amazing variety of authentic Indian food. There must have been at least fifty different items in the buffet and a huge desert selection. I can honestly say this was one of the best (if not the best) lunch on SAS thus far. After lunch we walked around the resort area for a few minutes. It is huge and has a swimming pool that stretches hundreds of feet like a small pond in the middle of the resort. We left the hotel and went to a series of rock carvings called Descent of the Ganges (all of these places are on Wikipedia, most with pictures) in the town. It was a massive outcropping of granite with engravings of elephants and many other gods on its face. There was also a shallow cave that I think was once a temple. There was also an attempt to make the outside of the rock look more layered and temple-like, but our guide said that they were forced to give up because the granite was too hard to work with. Still they somehow managed to carve beautiful carvings into the rock side. We then drove to another section of the town where there was a more intact temple called Pancha Rathas (type Mahabalipuram in Wiki and look under temples for a list) that was not part of a major rock outcropping but still carved from granite. This one had a full sculpture of an elephant and a lion as well as several full temples. All the temples of Mamallapuram date to around the 7th century.
We walked back to the bus where there were some markets along the way. There were also some beggars, one of which was a tiny woman that looked like all bones and had no hands and her legs were nubs. We left there and went a few minutes to the last temple of the day, the Shore Temple. This temple is apparently very well known and popular and, as its name says, is right next to the shore and overlooks the Bay of Bengal. When you think of Hindu temples, this is what you would picture in your mind. The temple consisted of two structures, one taller than the other, and was surrounded by statues of cows. We walked around the temple for a while and then headed back to the ship. The sunsets in India are very nice, but I think it’s because of the way the sun shines through the haze.
That night, E (my roommate), who had kept in touch with one of the Indian students from the reception, and I were picked up by Aron, a tech student, and his two friends and they took us around Chennai to see more of the city. Aron works as tech support for Rhapsody and is the guy you would call if you have a problem with your account. His friend who drove us was a son of a politician (he said he will never get in trouble with the police) and the other was a heavier Muslim guy named Mohammad Mujahideen (Mujahideen meaning “One Who Fights for Allah”). While getting out of the port area we asked Aron if he had any interesting stories of calls made to him from people with problems (I’d heard that many call operators have interesting stories). In the U.S. there would be some issue of privacy he’d be violating I’m sure, but he told us a story anyway. He said one time a man called with an issue that prevented his music account from working. The man told Aron that he had a brain hemorrhage and had about 20 months to live. He said that music was his life now and that all he wanted was lots of music and he needed to get this issue resolved. Area fixed his issue and gave him a $50 credit to his account for music. We stopped at the beach (it’s the second longest beach in the world) and walked towards the water which was actually further than we thought and we actually didn’t make it there (by this time it was dark). I asked the guys about the tsunami that hit a few years back and killed many in India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia (and more) and they said that after the waves hit, the water came all the way up to the roads (the beach is very wide and the roads are very far from the water). Aron also said that after the waves hit a bunch of “black bodies” washed up on shore and thousands of bodies lay on the beach. They were eventually buried under the sand and they still lay buried there today (Aron commented, “Their bodies washed up and got were buried by the sand and that’s where they belong). While on the beach, I asked Aron (he’s 23) about the outsourcing aspect of India and what he thought about other countries outsourcing (in terms of the technology field). He said China has very good technical knowledge but can’t speak English well and lacks human resources. He said that Korea, Japan, and those countries have good customer service, etc., but do not have the best technical services. He told me India excels at both human resources and technical knowledge.
Aron is also a technical engineer (he’s actually not a student anymore) and just started an advertising business with the guy who drove us around (the other guys were 20 but I swear they looked at least 25- same thing with Aron). He said he has no business background, but also said no one can teach you business. He said the business was actually doing really well. It really makes me feel useless because I’m 20 and am struggling for career plans. Later, they took us to the Citi Center mall which was built by an architect who also worked in Dubai. The mall is not spread out like American malls, but is built more vertically and centralized. We got hot dogs there (surprisingly enough) with flavors like Buffalo BBQ and a Punjabi dog. We walked through the mall, stopping in a couple stores. They were eager to help us (perhaps too eager) and asked us when we were in a store specifically what we were looking for (I’m not sure they know the concept of browsing). We went into a store with a CD selection and bought some CDs by the guy who wrote the music for “Slumdog Millionaire” who is very popular in India. Speaking of “Slumdog Millionaire”, I found out that people have a negative view of the movie because they felt it misrepresented Indians as being mean and sinister. Earlier (before we got off the ship in India), when they were talking to us in pre-port, one of the Indian students said that many of the child beggars do actually work for gangs like in the movie.
We left the mall and drove to a small restaurant to sample some Indian food. Before we left the mall, they bought us sodas in cups. I took mine in the car with me because I couldn’t find a trash can. I was holding the empty cup in my and when Aron grabbed it from me, rolled down my window, and threw it out the window and said “This is India, buddy”. I was shocked to say the least. I guess now is a good time to tell you more about India’s cities. They are extremely dirty with trash all over the place. There are mounds of trash on the sides of the road and next to the sidewalk there is a lot of animal and human feces. Especially in the port area there is a lot of dirt and smoke and when a car drives by, a lot of it is kicked up and I have inhaled quite a bit of it. After the experience with Aron, I noticed people who would finish water bottles and just throw them to the side of the road. Driving to and from field trips in and out of the city, I see (and smell) the waterways and all the trash and filth that lines it. India really makes me appreciate America’s cleanliness and also the lack of poverty (this goes for all the other countries I’ve visited too). One thing I think I forgot to mention is that on the ship, the night before we arrived in India, the crew was busy putting down cardboard and plastic wrap on the carpet floor of the gangway deck because of all the dirt that is tracked in. My running shoes (the only shoes I dared to wear in India) are filthy and gray with dirt There’s also a lot of goats wandering the streets too. I washed my hands and face that night and the water was a dark brown from all the dirt that stuck to my face (anyway, more on this subject later).
Getting back to the Indian food we tried, we tried a Black Forest Cake which is popular here as well as a vegetable pie with spices in it (all of which was very good). The father of the heavier Muslim friend of Aron has a friend who manages the entire complex that the small restaurant (more of a cafe actually). His son was working there that night and was friends with one of Aron’s friends. The heavier Muslim guy was funny but also really rude as he would make fun of everything and everyone. I asked them where they thought India would be in 10 years. They laughed and didn’t answer. I then asked where they themselves would be in 10 years and the heavier Muslim friend said “Right here” pointing to his chair in the restaurant.
They drove us back to the port and we got back on the ship. One thing I wanted to quickly mention was how horrendous traffic is. The small motored rickshaws swerve in and out everywhere and come within inches of everything. Motorcycles do the same but are smaller and quicker. I cannot tell you how many close calls on a trip bus we have had with almost running into a rickshaw or motorcycle. Bus drivers drive their buses as if they’re motorcycles and swerve through traffic. All the bus drivers I’ve had so far (I’m actually writing this section of the blog 2 days after this day happened) drive into oncoming traffic in an attempt to pass slower cars. This would normally be ok if there were no oncoming cars. However, there are usually oncoming cars and we have forced a couple of them off the road because we did not fully pass other cars. Also, drivers in India depend heavily on their horns. Everyone uses their horns CONSTANTLY for any reason whatsoever. Anyone can get a license in India and it’s really easy to attain one. Most people ride motorcycles, sometimes fitting 4-5 people on 1 (just one) motorcycle. These are always families with small kids whom they squeeze onto the bikes. The way one of our guides put it, a motorcycle is a family vehicle.
Anyway, despite India’s many problems, I had an amazing day and feel like I’ve sufficiently covered the historical aspect of India. I’m writing the last half of this post 2 days after it happened. The next day I would get a great look at India’s city life and then today (Oct. 26) I got a great rural village look of India which is most of India. I’ll see how soon I can post my next 2 posts (which I might combine) plus my last day (when it happens). By the way, there is no way on God’s green earth I am going to reread/proofread what I just wrote. I’m too tired and I know there’s a lot of typos, etc, etc. blah blah you know the drill. Looking forward to another exhausting day in India!