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Recreating a 1974 trip to South India, through the eyes of my niece’s 2016 trip.

Yes that’s more than 40 years later!!!

Recently in Sep 2016, my niece Tanvi Sinha shared photos from her trip to South India. It was a family tip with my sis, brother-in-law and three nieces. The images she posted took me to the trip we had more than 40 years ago.

In 1974 we [ mom-dad-sis-&-me] took a trip to South India. I have memories from that trip are frozen in my mind’s eye in the form of colorful images and delightful anecdotes. I remember the mesmerizing colorful gopurams of Meenakshi Amman Temple, striking long corridors of Ramanathaswamy temple, the thousand pillar hall of Ekambareswarar Temple and the picturesque hills of Oatacamund. I remember our trip to mainland India’s southermost tip to Kanyakumari, and the boat-ride to Vivekananda Rock Memorial off from the mainland! I remember the beaches of Kerala and our somewhat long stay in Alleppey, Kerala.

I am not sure if I would be able to visit these places again. We did take some photographs, but I am not sure if they still exist, or where they would be.

So I took my niece’s permission to post the beautiful images she took!!  Of course I took help of wikipedia to get information. What would I do without Google and Wiki!!!

My niece’s 2016 South India trip included: Chennai, Kanchipuram, Mahaballipuram, Pondycherry, Tanjore, Madurai, Rameshwaram, Kanyakumari, Alleppey, Periyar, Kovalam, and Trivandrum. here are some of the highlights of the trip!

 

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Day 1 & 2: CHENNAI, Tamil Nadu.
Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Parthasarathy Temple, San Thome Bascilica and Marina Beach.

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Kapaleeshwarar Temple is a temple of Shiva located in Mylapore, Chennai. Shiva is worshiped as Kapaleeswarar, and is represented by the lingam. His consort Parvati is depicted as Karpagambal. The original temple was built in 7th century by the Pallavs. The original Kapaleeshwarar Temple was built where the current San Thome Church is located in Chennai. The original temple was demolished by the Portugese. The present temple was built in the 16th century by the Vijayanagar Kings.

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San Thome Church was built in the 16th century by Portugese explorer, over the tomb of St. Thomas, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus. It was built after demolishing the original Kapaleeshwarar Temple that stood at this site. In 1893, it was rebuilt as a church with the status of a cathedral by the British. The British version still stands today. It was designed in Neo-Gothic style, favoured by British architects in the late 19th century.

 

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Day 3: KANCHIPURAM, Tamil Nadu.
Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple and Ekambareswarar Temple.

Kanchipuram is nicknamed as “The City of Thousand Temples”. Kanchipuram is considered one of the seven holiest cities to the Hindus of India, as providers of Moksha. These seven cities are: Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Varanasi, Avantikā, Dvārakā and Kanchipuram.

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The Kanchi Kailasanathar temple is the oldest structure in Kanchipuram. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is known for its historical importance. The temple was built from 685-705 AD by a Rajasimha ruler of the Pallava Dynasty. The low-slung sandstone compound contains a large number of carvings, including many half-animal deities which were popular during the early Dravidian architectural period. The structure contains 58 small shrines which are dedicated to various forms of Shiva. These are built into niches on the inner face of the high compound wall. The niches provide space to sit and meditate.

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Ekambarshwarar Temple is one of the most important tourist attractions of the city. The temple is dedicated to lord Shiva. The temple complex covers 25 acres, and is one of the largest in India. It houses four gateway towers known as gopurams. The tallest is the southern tower, with 11 stories and a height of 180 ft, making it one of the tallest temple towers in India.

It is one of the five Shiva temples associated with the five elements, the Pancha Bhoota Stalas. “Pancha” indicates Five, “Bhoota” means elements, and “Stala” means place. These are five prime elements of nature – land, water, air, sky, fire. Ekambarshwarar Temple is associated with the element of earth, or Prithvi. Shiva is represented by the lingam, with his idol referred to as Prithvi lingam.

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Kanchipuram – the city of thousand temples – is also called as “Silk City”! Kanchipuram is a traditional center of silk weaving and handloom industries for producing Kanchipuram Saris. In 2005, “Kanchipuram Silk Sarees” received the Geographical Indication tag, the first product in India to carry this label. The silk trade in Kanchipuram began when King Raja Raja Chola I [985–1014] invited weavers to migrate to Kanchi. The city was razed during the French siege of 1757, but weaving re-emerged in the late 18th century.

 

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Day 4: MAHABALIPURAM, Tamil Nadu.
Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, which have been inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1984.

The Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram includes about 40 sanctuaries.
These were carved in the 6th and 7th century by the Pallavs.
The Group of Monuments  includes:
Rathas, or Temples in the form of chariots,
Mandapas, also called Cave Temples,
Giant open-air reliefs, such as the famous ‘Descent of the Ganges’, and
Shore Temple of Rivage, with thousands of sculptures to the glory of Shiva.

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Day 5: PONDICHERRY, Capital City of Union Territory of Puducherry.
Manakula Vinayagar Temple,  The Sacred Heart of Jesus Bascilica, Immaculate Conception Cathedral.

 

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Manakula Vinayagar Temple was in existence before the French came and settled in Pondicherry i.e. before 1666. According to Sasthra, lord Ganesha is named in 16 types based on his various forms, out which this god facing the east cost near Bay of Bengal it has been named as Bhuvaneshar Ganapathy, now called as Manakula Vinayagar. In Tamil ‘Manal’ means sand and ‘Kulam’ means pond near the sea. So the people called the god as Manal Kulathu Vinayagar [means God near the pond of sand]. Later it is named as Manakula Vinayagar. The Jesuits and missionaries tried to demolish Manakula Vinayagar, but they could not demolish the temple.

 

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Day 6: TANJORE, Tamil Nadu.
The Great Living Chola Temples

The Great Living Chola Temples – UNESCO World Heritage Site – are temples built during the Chola rule in the south of India and neighboring islands. These sites includes 3 temples of 11th and 12th century. These 3 temples are:
– Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur / Built by Rajaraja I, completed 1010.
– Brihadeeswarar Temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram / Built by Rajendra Chola I, completed 1035.
– Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram / Built by Rajaraja Chola II, in the 12th century CE.

Being staunch devotees of Lord Shiva, the Chola temples are dedicated to their favorite deity. The Chola rules carried forward the Dravidian architecture of temple-building set by the Pallavas but took their design to the next level. They used granite for the construction of sculptures of warriors, kings, dancers, deities and more. The temples they built were huge, standing tall to depict their glory.

 

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This world-famous Shiva Nataraja form evolved in Tanjore under the rule of the Cholas, in Tamil Nadu. It is the result of great development in Chola period – in the field of metalwork, particularly in bronze sculptures. Chola-period bronzes were created using the lost wax technique. Metal images have been cast throughout the centuries under the patronage of different dynasties in the north, south, east and west; but nowhere does it seem to have registered such an acme of development as it did under the Cholas. For symbolism of Shiva Nataraja..click here...

 

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Day 7: MADURAI, Tamil Nadu.
Meenakshi Amman Temple

Meenakshi Amman Temple is a historic temple located on the southern bank of Vaigai River in the temple city of Madhurai. It is dedicated to Parvati, known as Meenakshi, and her consort Shiva, here named Sundareswarar. The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2,500 year old city and is a significant symbol for the Tamil people.

Though the present temple structure was built between 1623 and 1655 AD, it is said that the temple was actually built in the 6th century BC by survivors of Kumari Kadam. In the 14th century, the Mughal Muslim Commander Malik Kafur plundered the temple and looted its valuables. It was rebuilt by the Nayak ruler Vishwanatha Nayakar around the 16th century.

The temple houses 14 gopurams [gateway towers] ranging from 140 to 170 feet. The tallest is the southern tower, 170-foot high, with two golden sculpted vimanas and shrines over garbhgrihas [sanctums] of the main deities. There are estimated 33,000 sculptures in the temple.

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Day 8: RAMESHWARAM, Tamil Nadu.
Ramanathaswamy Temple

Rameshwaram Temple or Ramanathaswamy Temple is located on the Rameshwaram Island in Tamil Nadu. Rameshwara literally means “Lord of Rama”. The primary deity of the temple is Ramanathaswamy [Shiva] in the form of lingam. According to a popular legend, it was Lord Rama who installed this Linga here.It is one of the most important pilgrimage sites for the followers of Hinduism. It is one of the 12 Jyothirlinga temples of Lord Shiva, where the lord is worshipped in the form of a pillar of light. It is considered as one of the holy Char Dhams, which includes Badrinath, Puri and Dwarka, other than Rameshwaram. The temple has also got the distinction of having the longest corridor among all the temples in India.

The Ramanathswamy Temple is situated on Pamban Island also known as Rameswaram Island. It is an island located between peninsular India and Sri Lanka. The island is a part of India and forms the Ramanathapuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu. The principal town in the island is the pilgrimage centre of Rameswaram.

 

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Day 9 & 10: KANYAKUMARI, Tamil Nadu.
Kanyakumari Temple, Thiruvalluvar Statue, Vivekananda Rock Memorial,
Gandhi Memorial Mandapam, Suchinthram Temple, Treveni Sangam.

Kanyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin, is a town in Kanyakumari District in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The name comes from the Devi Kanya Kumari Temple in the region. It is the southernmost tip of peninsular India. Kanyakumari town is the southern tip of the Cardamom Hills, an extension of the Western Ghats range. A popular destination is Treveni Sangam, that is the confluence of three seas: Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean.

 

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Day 11: ALLEPEY, Kerala.
Houseboat Cruise

Alleppey, also known as Alappuzha, is nicknamed as “The Venice of the East”. Alappuzha has always enjoyed an important place in the maritime history of Kerala. Today, it is famous for its boat races, backwater holidays, beaches, marine products and coir industry.

A delightful experience is houseboat cruise. The ones you find in the backwaters of Alappuzha are in fact reworked version of Kettuvallams of olden times. The original Kettuvallams or rice barges used to carry tons of rice and spices. The Kettuvallam or ‘boat with knots’ was so called because the entire boat was held together with coir knots only. Today the houseboatshave all the comforts of a good hotel.

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Day 12 & 13: THEKKADY, Kerala.
Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is considered as the most protected area for the elephants and the tigers. The Periyar Lake is situated at the sanctuary area and the reserve is named after this lake. The Periyar National Park is set high at the Western Ghat ranges. There are availability of Jeep Safari, elephant safari, and boat cruises at Periyar Lake.

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Day 1 & 2: CHENNAI, Tamil Nadu.
Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Parthasarathy Temple, San Thome Bascilica and Marina Beach.

Day 3: KANCHIPURAM, Tamil Nadu.
Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple and Ekambareswarar Temple.

Day 4: MAHABALIPURAM, Tamil Nadu.
Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram –  UNESCO World Heritage Site – Listed in 1984.

Day 5: PONDICHERRY, Capital City of Union Territory of Puducherry.
Manakula Vinayagar Temple,  The Sacred Heart of Jesus Bascilica, Immaculate Conception Cathedral.

Day 6: TANJORE, Tamil Nadu.
The Great Living Chola Temples – UNESCO World Heritage Site – Listed in 1987.

Day 7: MADURAI, Tamil Nadu.
Meenakshi Amman Temple

Day 8: RAMESHWARAM, Tamil Nadu.
Ramanathaswamy Temple

Day 9 & 10: KANYAKUMARI, Tamil Nadu.
Kanyakumari Temple, Thiruvalluvar Statue, Vivekananda Rock Memorial,
Gandhi Memorial Mandapam, Suchinthram Temple, Treveni Sangam.

Day 11: ALLEPEY, Kerala.
Houseboat Cruise

Day 12 & 13: THEKKADY, Kerala.
Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary.

 

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Nieces send me a Miss You photo-card from Kuttanad, India..
Kuttanad in Kerala, is famous for the vast paddy fields and geographical peculiarities. The region has the lowest altitude in India, and is one of the few places in the world where farming is carried around 4 to 10 ft below sea level. FAO has declared the Kuttanad Farming System as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS).
Also love the Touchnote iPhone app.. used to send the card!

 

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Related Links

Recreating our 1974 trip to South India, through the eyes of my niece’s 2016 trip.. click here..
Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai, Tamil Nadu.. click here..
Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu – UNESCO World Heritage site.. click here..
Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu… click here..
Rameshwaram Temple, Tamil Nadu.. click here..
The Great Living Chola Temples, Tamil Nadu – UNESCO World Heritage Site.. click here..

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Incredible India.. click here..
Home State: Bihar, India.. click here..
Home Town: Patna, Bihar, India.. click here..

My Vacations Photo Gallery.. click here..

Vacation: USA / Illinois.. click here..
Vacation: USA.. click here..
Vacation: UK.. click here..
Vacation: India.. click here..
UNESCO World Heritage Site.. click here..

Places of Worship: Temples & more.. click here..
Places of Worship: Churches & more.. click here..

Home: Public Art in Chicago.. .. click here..

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