Trichy and Tanjore (Feb 10-13)

Well, eventually it was time to move from the little oasis that is Pondi and into the heartland. Today was the first day for trying the train in India. It's a small quiet station in Pondi and we boarded the 7:45 am feeder train into Villapuram where we awaited the GuruVayar express. On the way from Pondi we shared the booth with 3 Indian people who turned out to be school teachers on their way to work. First they took some time to read and pray (I think it was a bible they were reading), then some Idli's they had brought with them for B'fast (of which they offered us some), and then we had a nice conversation about students in India and Canadian geography.

After a couple hours wait we got our 'express' which got us to Trichy pretty quickly (3 hrs). Once again, amazingly old trains and a fare of $3.50!!!! We were booked in 2nd class (no AC) but at least were in the cars with pre-assigned seats and with windows down, the breeze was sufficient. The other version of 2nd class with no assigned seating was jammed to the gills.

Trichy is known for a fort built on top of a huge granite outcropping and a Hindu temple claimed to be one of the largest in India. The fort also has a temple part way up the 500 stairs however non Hindus (that's us) were not allowed inside but going all the way up did allow for a great view of the city at night.

The temple was fairly impressive....7 concentric compounds with large impressive gopurams (gates) leading into each deeper compound. Once again the most inner part with the more holy Hindu place was off limits to us so can't report on that. The parts we did see also had sections with arcades supported by dozens of impressively carved stone pillars, with the oldest parts of the complex dating back to (I think) 12th-13th century.

What about Trichy town....about 1 million people, very compact, no buildings over 3 stories (except for a few hotels around the bus/train station), and then the rest crammed in narrow streets, unbelievable traffic, horn blowing, lots of dirt and dust on the streets, the streets lined with shops of everything imaginable (goods, restos, garages, stores, etc). Sheer pandemonium...and this is not even a large Indian city!

Tanjore (new name Thanjuvar) is about 1.5 hrs away by bus so we decided to make a day trip there to see another Hindu temple dated back to 1010. This was an impressive temple, spread over an area perhaps a bit larger than a football field and with a pillared arcade around the perimeter and a large tower atop an inner temple in the center of the courtyard. It had a bit of an Angkor Wat like feel about it, except of course that it is not a ruin and has been in active use ever since it's beginning. Here we were allowed to enter the inner temple 'sanctuary' where there is lots of incense and candle burning and an image of a black stone pillar 7ft high with a priest chanting some chants. I'm trying hard to imagine the Hindu spirituality (there were obviously people there for whom this was a sacred event..some with shaved heads)...what are they imagining in their minds when they are worshipping?...It's hard for it not to feel to us like it is some kind of an idol being worshipped....or is it really a divine g/God and that this image is the best way in which they can imagine their god to be? We do not know.

Okay, so this may look like another photo op but truly I believe the young boys like having photos taken and then enjoying seeing themselves afterward...and that is totally okay with us as this it so true of many young children everywhere. This is not to take away from their friendliness and genuine attempt to speak with us....quite endearing.

Once these sights had been seen, it seemed there wasn't much reason to linger in Trichy so we booked a seat on a bus for the next day heading west towards the Ghat mountains and the hillside town of Kodaikanal.