75km from Chennai, lies one of the seven holy cities of India - a pilgrim centre for Hindus. This town was once a capital of the ancient Pallavas. There was a time when it could boast of more than a thousand temples and even today it has well over one hundred. We visited only two - the Kamakshi Amman Temple where legend has it that Kamakshi offered worship to a Shivalingam made out of sand, under a mango tree and gained Shiva's hand in marriage and the Ekambara Nethar temple - a vast temple that spreads over 40 acres with tall gopurams (temple towers) and an impressive pillared hall.
The details below shows some of the carving on the main gopuram at the Kamakshi Amman temple. These offer safe haven and a fine vantage point to the bands of monkeys that roam the area.
Shoes are not allowed inside the temples. The paving slabs are normally worn smooth by the passing of thousands of feet, but in the large Ekambara Nethar temple the area inside the gate is sandy gravel - tough on soft Western feet. It was early evening when we arrived, even so the walkways were baking hot causing me to hop from foot to foot. It was a relief to enter the cool covered courtyards.
Our visit coincided with the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Ganesh is an important, non-sectarian deity that is worshipped all over India. As we drove towards our destination we saw countless idols such as the one below. These are worshipped over a period of days and at the end of the period, in great festive spirit, they are transported to the nearest body of water for submersion.
Hindus worship Ganesh, the son of Shiva, before starting anything new in their lives. He is believed to be the remover of obstacles and is worshipped as the God of new beginnings He is also worshipped as the God of Knowledge, Wealth, Wisdom and Education.The two elephants below stood inside the temple and took a small donation of money from people. The donation was slipped quietly back to their keeper with a deft swing of the trunk. Then elephant raised its trunk to the head of the worshipper to bless them.
The elephants seemed willing enough and the crowd loved them, laughing with glee at the blessings they gave, but when I looked at this photo, I thought the elephant's eyes looked resigned
Tucked away in the background this one stood, tethered on a short chain. It was swinging its trunk in the most unhappy way. We would like to have seen some water nearby for it.
I was fascinated by the clearly visible shape of the baby inside this pregnant monkey's tummy. Once it is born it will cling to this very same spot.
The gate of each temple is a place where the needy wait in the hope of a little kindness from visitors .... and, of course, there are business opportunities too for scented oils, wicks, fruits and flowers to offer to the gods.
Vehicles undergo a puja ceremony which is supposed to protect them from harm. The puja usually involves cleaning the vehicle, decorating it with flowers and images of deities, then performing an arati (this is what the man below is doing - showing a flame) and a prayer will follow. Fruits and sweets are offered to the vehicle and then consumed in blessing.
