"These stones aren't sad.
Within them lives gold,
they have the seeds of planets,
they have bells in their depths,
gloves of iron, marriages
of time with amethysts:
on the inside laughing with rubies,
nourishing themselves from lightening.
Because of this, traveller, pay attention
to the hardships of the road,
to the mysteries on the walls.
I know this at great cost,
that all life is not outward
nor all death within,
and that the age writes letters
with water and stone for no one,
so that no one knows,
so that no one understands anything."
~ Pablo Neruda, 1904-1973 ~
"To the Traveller" (trans. by Dennis Maloney)
Within them lives gold,
they have the seeds of planets,
they have bells in their depths,
gloves of iron, marriages
of time with amethysts:
on the inside laughing with rubies,
nourishing themselves from lightening.
Because of this, traveller, pay attention
to the hardships of the road,
to the mysteries on the walls.
I know this at great cost,
that all life is not outward
nor all death within,
and that the age writes letters
with water and stone for no one,
so that no one knows,
so that no one understands anything."
~ Pablo Neruda, 1904-1973 ~
"To the Traveller" (trans. by Dennis Maloney)
Mahabalipuram is pretty ancient, but the Kapaleeswarar Temple in Myalpore in the heart of Chennai is more ancient still, at least in origin. There is literary evidence that this temple was in existence hundreds of years before Christ.
We visited at a time when the temple was closed but we were lucky to have a guide to take us round and give us information about the history and the name. 'Mayil' in Tamil means peacock - the legend is that Shiva's wife, Parvati, was distracted by a peacock and did not hear him call out to her. Annoyed, Shiva turned her into a peahen and sent her to earth. The peahen arrived at this temple and performed tapas (penance), and was eventually accepted again by Shiva.
A temple was then built around the location of the peahen's tapas, and the place was named "Mayilapur" (Tamil: mayil: peacock, peahen; pur: generic place ending, like "-ville"), which was later anglicized to Mylapore .
(From Wikipedia)
Peacock designs were evident in the ornate, decorated sculptures. The main gopuram (tower) in this Dravidian temple is in the process of being painted and is covered by rush matting so that we could not see the carvings. We left our shoes by the gate to walk around inside. As it was a rest period there was an immense sense of peace and stillness - an oasis amid the hustle and bustle of noisy Chennai.
Outside the temple women make a living creating garlands of flowers. This can be seen at almost every corner and the bright garlands are used to decorate deities and as part of ceremonies. Our new car went through a puja - a ceremony to ensure it was protected from mishap and arrived bedecked with a ribbon and across the radiator grill, a garland hung like a smile.
We visited at a time when the temple was closed but we were lucky to have a guide to take us round and give us information about the history and the name. 'Mayil' in Tamil means peacock - the legend is that Shiva's wife, Parvati, was distracted by a peacock and did not hear him call out to her. Annoyed, Shiva turned her into a peahen and sent her to earth. The peahen arrived at this temple and performed tapas (penance), and was eventually accepted again by Shiva.
A temple was then built around the location of the peahen's tapas, and the place was named "Mayilapur" (Tamil: mayil: peacock, peahen; pur: generic place ending, like "-ville"), which was later anglicized to Mylapore .
(From Wikipedia)
Peacock designs were evident in the ornate, decorated sculptures. The main gopuram (tower) in this Dravidian temple is in the process of being painted and is covered by rush matting so that we could not see the carvings. We left our shoes by the gate to walk around inside. As it was a rest period there was an immense sense of peace and stillness - an oasis amid the hustle and bustle of noisy Chennai.
Outside the temple women make a living creating garlands of flowers. This can be seen at almost every corner and the bright garlands are used to decorate deities and as part of ceremonies. Our new car went through a puja - a ceremony to ensure it was protected from mishap and arrived bedecked with a ribbon and across the radiator grill, a garland hung like a smile.
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