Halo Backwaters

When  Indians refer to “the South”, it’s usually Tamil Nadu they’re     talking    about.    While   Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh   are  essentially cultural transition zones buffering the Hindi – speaking    northland  Kerala  and Goa maintain their    own     distinctively    idiosyncratic   identities ,   the peninsula's    massive    Tamil     speaking   state is India’s Dravidian     Hindu    heartland.   Traditibnally  protected by distance    and    the military might of the southern Deccan kingdoms,   the   region  has, over the centuries, been less exposed    to   northern   influence than its neighbours.As  a result, the three powerful dynasties dominating   the South   India  –  the Cholas, the Pallavas and the Pandyans – were able, over a period     of    more     than a  thousand years, to develop their own unique religious and political institutions,    largely    unmolested   by   marauding   Muslims.   The most visible legacy of this protracted cultural  flowering is a crop of astounding temples, whose gigantic gateway towers, or gopuras, still  soar above just  about every town  large enough to merit a railway station. It is the image of these colossal wedge – shaped pyramids,highabove the canopy of dense palm forests, or    against   patchworks     of    vibrant    green  paddy  fields, which Edward Lear described as “stupendous   and    beyond    belied”;    indeed ,  the   garishly   painted  gods, goddesses and mythological creatures clinging onto the towers linger in the memory of most travelers.

The  great Tamil temples are merely the largest landmarks in a vast network of sacred sites – shrines, bathing places, holy trees, rocks and   rivers – inter – connected by a web of ancient pilgrims routes. Tamil Nadu harbors 274 of India The great Tamil temples are merely the    largest landmarks in a vast network of sacred sites – shrines, bathing   places, holy trees, rocks and rivers – inter – connected by a  web of ancient pilgrims routes Tamil Nadu harbors 274 o  India ’s holiest  Shiva temples and 108 are dedicated to Vishnu. In addition, five    shrines devoted to the five Vedic elements (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water  and  Ether)  are to be   found  here,  along   with eight to the planets, as    well as other places   revered by Christians and Muslims. Scattered from the pale orange crags    and forests   of Western  Ghats, across the fertile deltas of the Vagai and Kaveri rivers to the   Coromandel coast on the Bay of Bengal, these sites were celebrated in the hymns of the    Tamil saints,   composed between one and two thousand years ago.Today, so little has changed that the same devotional song are still widely sung and understood in the region.

The Tamil’s      living  connection with their ancient Dravidian past has given   rise to a     strong nationalist   movement.   With a few fleeting lapses, one or other  of the pro – Dravidian parties have been in power here      since the  1950s,   spreading   their anti – Brahmin,anti Hindi proletarian message to the masses principally through the medium of movies.Indeed,  since    Independence,   the majority of Tamil Nadu’s political    leaders have    been  drawn from the state’s prolific cinema industry.     Indians from    elsewhere    in the country love to caricature their southern cousins a “reactionary rice growers’    led by “fanatical film stars.  While such stereotypes should be taken with a    pitch of salt,     it is undeniable    that    the Tamil way of life, which has evolved along a distinctive and      unbroken    path     since  prehistoric  times, sets  it apart from the rest of the subcontinent. This remains, after all, one of the last places in the world where a classical culture has     survived     into the present -  India’s Holy Land”,    described by Marco Polo as ‘the most splendid province in the world”.

Despite     its    seafront fort, grand mansions and    excellence      as a        centre for the  performing   arts, the state capital Chennai is probably its    least appealing   destination: a scruffy,dusty,noisy  city that still carries faint echoes    of   the Raj.  Much the best   place to       start a         temple   tour   is nearby    Mamallapuram             (      also   known as Mahabalipuram),    a sea    side village that    quite apart    from some  exquisite     Pallava rock       – cut      architecture    (05^th to 09^th centuries),      boasts a long stretch of white sand beach  . Inland,the pilgrimage town   of  Kanchipuram    is filled with    reminders     of an     illustriouspast    under         successive dynastic rulers, while further   down the coast is      one    of   India’s    rare French colonial possessions ,    Pondicherry,where  Auroville has found a     new role as a “New Age” focal point.    The road south    from   Pondicherry  puts you   back on the temple trail, leading    to    the   tenth  century    Chola   kingdom    and    the   extraordinary     architecture  of Chidambaram,      Gangaikondacholapuram,  Kumbakonam and         Darasuram.   For the best Chola bronzes,however,and a glimpse of the      magnificent paintings that    flourished under       Maratha rajas      in the eighteenth century,         travelers      should     head for Thanjavur.Chola capital for four centuries, the city boasts    almost a hundred temples  and was the birthplace of Bharatanatayam dance, famous throughout Tamil Nadu.

In the very centre of Tamil Nadu, just northwest of Thanavur,the commercial town of Tiruchirapalli (Trichy) held ome interest for the Cholas but reaches its heyday under later dynasties, when the temple complex in   neighboring Srirangam become one of the South India’s   largest. Among its patron      were the Nayaks     of Madurai,    whose erstwhile   capital further south, bustling with pilgrims,prists,peddlers,tailors and tourists, is an unforgettable destination.

Rameshwaram, on the   long spit   of land reaching towards Sri Lanka,and Kanniyakumari,at India’s southern  tip (the auspicious meeting point of the Bay of Bengal, the Indian   Ocean and the Arabian Sea),are both important pilgrimage centres,with  the added attraction of welcome cool breezes and vistas over the sea.

While Tamil Nadu’s    temples   are undeniably its   major attraction,  it would take months to   see them all,    and there are plenty of other distractions for even the most ardent architecture     buff. In the west      of the state,    where the hill stations of Kodaikanal      and Ootacamund (Ooty)  are the     premier      attractions,     verdant hills    offer  mountain views, and a network      of trails     winds    through    forests and   tea and coffee plantations.  

Nearby, the teak forests of the Mudumalai Wildlife   Sanctuary, as well as Tamil Nadu’s     other major     national park,   the Indira Gandhi   or Anamalai Sanctuary       (Closer to Kodaikanal  in the Palani hills),have been closed to visitors for several years to local   terrorist activities, and coverage       in this guide is necessarily limited – however, it’s worth     asking at   tourist     offices     to see if either park has reopened, and a cluster of       hotels at     the edge of  Mudumalai     provide a  relaxing stopover on the route to or from   Mysore.    To get close to   any real wildlife,    you will  have to head fore the coast, where areas of wetland provide perfect resting    places for migratory birds,   whose number soar during       the winter     monsoon at Vedanthangal, near Chennai, and Point Calimere. 

Temperatures    in    Tamil Nadu ,  which usually    hover around 30 Degree Centigrade, peak in   May and June  when they often soar above     40 Degree Centigrade   ,   and    the overpowering    heat makes all but sitting in a shaded café    exhaudting. The state is barely affected      by the   southwest monsoon  that pounds      much     of India     from   June  to September:      it      receives  most of its rain between     October and January.Cooler,rainy days      bring their   own problems;widescale flooding and disrupts    road and rail links and imbue       everything    with  and all pervasive dampness.

Accommodation prospects are good; all but the   smallest towns    and villages    have something for every budget. Most hotels have their    own dinning halls which,  together with local         restaurants,     sometimes    serve sumptuous     thalis, tinged with tamarind and presented      on    banana leaves. Indigenous dishes   are almost exclusively vegetarian; for North Indians    or Western alternatives, head for    the larger  hotels or more up market city restaurants.