Happy new year

Well, it’s been almost a fortnight since I wrote something. As if I do nothing more than stay in my room and vegetate. It’s almost true, but I did do something this Jan 1st.

A 21 year old going on a pilgrimage in south India on the new year eve instead of partying all night may sound too conservative, or price you pay for being born to a religious parents, or is it?

Temples aren’t just places of worship. They are a gentle remainder that we mortals, who revel in our technological achievements, couldn’t build things which last a century or a plane crash; Remainder that we mortals aren’t capable of thinking beyond our present, leave alone a millennium; that we still aren’t able to bring the best out of human potential that a Rajaraja chola could. Mere rewards couldn’t have produced these temples.

Some ‘experts’ say that the kings in south India amputated the architects after they constructed these temples, so that they couldn’t be replicated. It’s hard to believe that any of these masterpieces could have been constructed in a cruel ruler’s time. You can control a man’s hand, not his spirit.

We visited our small ancestral temple at thandanthottam near Tanjore, which finds a mention in Sundarar padigams (hymns) which dates the temple to atleast 8th century AD. The temple is now dilapidated and cries for attention, and only recently has some work started. Rich temples like tirupathi should donate funds to such temples, instead of going on building newer temples, which are basically cash cows for them.

We then visited Tanjore Brihadeeshwara temple or big temple as it's popularly known, is one of the architectural wonders of the world and Unesco’s world heritage site.

What is so special about this temple? The 10th century temple (shown in picture) is constructed in such a way that its shadow doesn’t fall on the ground, no matter what time of the day it is. Also, the cupola (dome) is carved out of a single stone weighing 82 tonnes moved along an inclined plane 6 kms long.

Nandi (the bull facing the temple in the picture is 12 feet high, 19.5 feet long and 18.25 feet wide and carved out of a 25 ton stone.) is the vehicle of Lord Shiva, and supposedly the head of the ghosts who worship him. All temples before this one had a small nandi. Legend has that Rajaraja chola wanted a temple and a nandi that is mighty, because no ghosts fear a puny nandi! So the temple rightfully came to be known as big temple.

So my pilgrimage is not essentially one of religious nature, but that of a curious visitor who has never become used to such marvels as to not gape in amazement. The pictures painted in the inner walls had long stood the test of time, but when I went there, there were scribbling on the pictures like X loves Y, Z came here on so-and-so date (!) by our mortal peers, who wanted to immortalize their whatever. May their souls rot in hell.

Happy new year.