Before I start, I wish to sincerely apologize to my sister Caroline. She missed out on a great Chennai experience, because I didn't know about it before she came. Therefore, she must visit again so she can join me on the Peacock Trail.
My friend Kristin has family in town and arranged for a walking tour of the Mylapore neighborhood with Storytrails, an "alternative tour" group. She had an extra spot and asked if I wanted to come along. What a fantastic experience!
The Storytrails idea is that India and its culture should be experienced rather than just seen, and based on this morning's tour I'd say they're reaching their goal. Our walk took us through the oldest part of the city and included a visit to the huge Kapaleeshwarar Temple and its tank, a walk through the home of one of the Brahmin priests, an autorickshaw ride to the San Thome Basilica and a tour of the church and museum there, and a South Indian breakfast at one of the Saravana vegetarian restaurants. I will be dragging any and all future visitors on this tour. Be warned.
The only photos I have are from the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, because I forgot to bring my decent camera and was limited by the space on my cell phone.
Here's the temple tower.
The temple tower, or gopuram, is typical of South Indian temple architecture. It sits over the main entry to the temple complex, and it depicts scenes from Hindu scripture and mythology. The height of the tower depended on the power of the king who had it constructed. The original Kapaleeshwarar Temple was built by the Pallava kings and was closer to the seashore. This incarnation of the temple was built about a kilometer inland in the 1600s after the original temple was destroyed by the Portuguese (or so it's thought ... the history is foggy).
The color, detail and sheer busy-ness of the tower are just dizzying.
Chennai must have thousands of temples dotted around its neighborhoods, but most are small and some are tiny -- big enough for a priest and one or two people. The Kapaleeshwarar Temple is huge. I've driven by several times and wondered about it, but this was my first time inside.
The complex has several smaller shrines inside. Though the main temple is dedicated to Shiva, the Ganesha shrine is the first you see if you enter by the main gate.
I'll try to give a short version of Ganesha's story. Like all things Hindu, there are several versions out there, but this is the one our guide today told us. Shiva's consort Parvati wanted to take a bath, but there was no one available to guard her residence while she took the break, so she used some turmeric paste to create a boy. The boy was on guard when Shiva came to see Parvati, and he wouldn't let the god enter. Shiva (known for his short temper, as he is the destroyer god) chopped off the boy's head. When Parvati heard the noise and came to see what was going on, she found her son beheaded. Let's just say that Shiva was in big trouble. To make it up to her, he told his guards to go to the forest and bring back the head of the first animal they saw, which turned out to be an elephant, and then he stuck the elephant head onto the boy and breathed life into him. Strangely, Parvati wasn't placated. To up the ante, Shiva decreed that Ganesha would be the first god worshipped each morning and at the beginning of all other rituals. Hence, his is the first shrine at just about any temple that has multiple shrines.
I've noticed that Ganesha is everywhere, including on my very own front gate. Being the remover of obstacles makes him pretty popular, I guess.
Here are some of the other shrines.
One of the unique things about the Mylapore temple is this "wish-yielding tree." The orange strings tied with bits of tamarind root are placed by women who wish to get married. The wooden cradles are placed by women who wish to have children. Our guide didn't tell us what the other strings and scarves are for, but she did say that this area is extremely popular around examination time.
The tree is special because the goddess Karpagambal (a form of Parvati, I think) came in the form of a peahen and worhipped Shiva in its shade.
If you can't make it to the wish-yielding tree, you can also try whispering your wish into a bull's ear. The bull is Shiva's vehicle, so he can carry your message to the god. Here are some of the temple cattle.
Luckily for you, that's the end of my photos and so the end of my virtual tour. I wrote a bit about the San Thome Basilica after attending a wedding there. The guide today pointed out a lot of interesting ways in which Indian Christianity has absorbed some local traditions.
Kristin and I were so impressed with the Storytrails guide that we're planning to check out some of their other trails, too, including one about traditional jewelry. Woot! I'll let you know how that goes.
My friend Kristin has family in town and arranged for a walking tour of the Mylapore neighborhood with Storytrails, an "alternative tour" group. She had an extra spot and asked if I wanted to come along. What a fantastic experience!
The Storytrails idea is that India and its culture should be experienced rather than just seen, and based on this morning's tour I'd say they're reaching their goal. Our walk took us through the oldest part of the city and included a visit to the huge Kapaleeshwarar Temple and its tank, a walk through the home of one of the Brahmin priests, an autorickshaw ride to the San Thome Basilica and a tour of the church and museum there, and a South Indian breakfast at one of the Saravana vegetarian restaurants. I will be dragging any and all future visitors on this tour. Be warned.
The only photos I have are from the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, because I forgot to bring my decent camera and was limited by the space on my cell phone.
Here's the temple tower.
The color, detail and sheer busy-ness of the tower are just dizzying.
 |
| closer view of the tower |
The complex has several smaller shrines inside. Though the main temple is dedicated to Shiva, the Ganesha shrine is the first you see if you enter by the main gate.
I'll try to give a short version of Ganesha's story. Like all things Hindu, there are several versions out there, but this is the one our guide today told us. Shiva's consort Parvati wanted to take a bath, but there was no one available to guard her residence while she took the break, so she used some turmeric paste to create a boy. The boy was on guard when Shiva came to see Parvati, and he wouldn't let the god enter. Shiva (known for his short temper, as he is the destroyer god) chopped off the boy's head. When Parvati heard the noise and came to see what was going on, she found her son beheaded. Let's just say that Shiva was in big trouble. To make it up to her, he told his guards to go to the forest and bring back the head of the first animal they saw, which turned out to be an elephant, and then he stuck the elephant head onto the boy and breathed life into him. Strangely, Parvati wasn't placated. To up the ante, Shiva decreed that Ganesha would be the first god worshipped each morning and at the beginning of all other rituals. Hence, his is the first shrine at just about any temple that has multiple shrines.
I've noticed that Ganesha is everywhere, including on my very own front gate. Being the remover of obstacles makes him pretty popular, I guess.
Here are some of the other shrines.
One of the unique things about the Mylapore temple is this "wish-yielding tree." The orange strings tied with bits of tamarind root are placed by women who wish to get married. The wooden cradles are placed by women who wish to have children. Our guide didn't tell us what the other strings and scarves are for, but she did say that this area is extremely popular around examination time.
The tree is special because the goddess Karpagambal (a form of Parvati, I think) came in the form of a peahen and worhipped Shiva in its shade.
If you can't make it to the wish-yielding tree, you can also try whispering your wish into a bull's ear. The bull is Shiva's vehicle, so he can carry your message to the god. Here are some of the temple cattle.
Luckily for you, that's the end of my photos and so the end of my virtual tour. I wrote a bit about the San Thome Basilica after attending a wedding there. The guide today pointed out a lot of interesting ways in which Indian Christianity has absorbed some local traditions.
Kristin and I were so impressed with the Storytrails guide that we're planning to check out some of their other trails, too, including one about traditional jewelry. Woot! I'll let you know how that goes.
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