Blessings and stray dogs in Kanchipuram

This kolam must have been made by children as it seems like cartoon bunnies!

Kolams and traditional Tamil Bungalow, the Kolam is put on the threshold of the home at dawn and soemtimes at dusk with rice flower, walking over it brings the blessings of the Goddess of good fortune, Lakshmi into the house. These are usually seen most frequently in South India

Women making their kolam, people are very gracious about being photographed!

stray dogs at dawn only me, the dogs (gods also) and the chai wallas

This is the bathing tank of a small temple I came across on the way to the larger temple, I loved the reflections in the pool, south Indian temples are known by the red organge stripes

The gopuram of the temple I was searching for suddenly loomed in the distance, but it was covered by thatch, it must be being painted

I came across this ceremony bring the icon (murti) of Vishnu back into the temple

Traditional tamil house, they are much larger inside than they look from the outside usually with multiple coutryards and high ceilings for the heat

House and kolam





Click on any image to make it bigger, I tried to put some on larger today, but it takes nearly 5 minuites each, but then, I pretty much have all the time in the world here, I've even started walking slowly. The images are a little out of order, I thought some had loaded that didn't so it starts with houses, goes to temples and bakc to houses. (and stray dogs, who are more timid than they look, if I bark at them they run off with their tail between their legs)

I just had two lovely days in the 2nd holiest city in India after Varanasi, Kanchipuram. There are 5 major famous temples there, some very ancient,and others you stumble into all the time, just as beautiful, it reminded me of being in Seville Spain where you fell out of one church into another this time following the tall temple towers unique to South India,(gopurams) rather than steeples. The setting is nowhere near as grand as Varanasi on the Ganges, I'm not sure why it became such a sacred center, its a busy dusty small flat town, but pretty walkable compared to Chennai which is the most unwalkable city I've ever been in, though I keep trying as its better than haggling with rogue rickshaw drivers. Tomorrow I'll see if I can photograph or scan and post a great political cartoon in todays Times of India, they are complaining about the current political party leaders, the caption was "when Pak (Pakistan) attaks, they run to Mama (the US) but soon it will be Obama"

I was sure impressed by the temples but even more by my love of vernacular architecture, the lovely little Tamil bungalows, many orginal, some "improved" in unfortunate ways, but most still intact. They look like they would be very low roofed, but inside the ceilings are high, and they are very long, and full of interior courtyards. Some are broken into two side by side parts after a large main room open to the sky, for joint families, and the kitchen is large enough for several women to cook for their families at the same time. I found two houses that were open as museums so had a chance to see the floor plan, unfortunately I didn't get photos inside, but in one view, there was a house taken down next to one (they are like rowhouses) so you can see the length nad how the roof line goes up and down for the courtyard roofs. Doors are never closed so I tried to photograph some so you can see all the way through.

I was up at dawn to day to walk to a temple, it was only me and the stray dogs, some chai wallas, but got lost in a maze of little streets and saw women putting down their kolams in front of their very charming bungalows, (did you know Bungalow is an Indian word by the way, somes from Bengali house, the distinct type of roofline a bungalow has) anyway, soon word got around and people came out to pose with their works of art on the threshold. I got quite lost, but luckily kept the rising sun to the east and finally found someone who spoke English who could direct me to the temple which was a few miles away (I am a walker in India, the only way to see things) and amazingly I prounced the name well enough to be understood, then along the way more directions and finally I saw all the tour busses, pilgrims wearing black lungies, and the dramatic temple tower silouhette (gopuram) that I have a photo of, though it was covered with thatching as it is being painted. I have one shot of the temple well, with orange strips, reflected in the water, its where people bathe and bless themselves. I was very fortunate to witness the returing of the temple deity (this was Vishnu's neighborhood, the other temples closer to the town center are all for Shiva) the deity is carried by groups of Brahmin priests of all ages, and they are chanting and banging drums, then they stop every now and then to prostrate themselves. In South India for some reason, non-Hindus are not allowed into the inner sanctum, but there is plenty else to see.

The next time you hear from me I'll be in Sri Lanka, can't wait!