I found my ambrosia in Tamil Nadu…drinking like the gods, into the cultural and historic splendors of Tamil Nadu…indulging and getting drunk on the experiences that Thanjavur and Chettinad regions of Tamil Nadu threw up for me in the my recent trip.
The short but eventful trip started on a good note at the
Thamayur fort overlooking the lush greenery and straight charcoal roads of
Tamilnadu that slice through the symetrical patches of agricultural spaces. And
then into the Athangudi region; famous for its floral and colourful tiles that
adorn the athangudi mansion and beautify its floors and open courtyards. The
wooden pillars, open coutryards and colourful array of ceilings and floors do
release a whiff of history and you could almost imagine a motley of cousins
playing hide-and-seek in that large space of peace, history and love.
The next stop was the heritage streets of Chettinad – yet
another aesthetic corner of the country where colours, weaves, pillars and
mansions will greet you at every corner of every street in this heritage
village. I ticked all the boxes including exploring Chettinad mansions,
shopping for Chettinad weaves and sinking my teeth into Chettinad cuisine and
yet I felt like there was more than what I experienced. Like a coil of
unexplored history, untold tales lay there at some corner of the street, like
the corridors wanted to whisper more stories of yonder and as if the streets
wanted to speak out..but I moved ahead promising to return for more
exploration..
The journey continued as it took me to the monument that I
was eagerly waiting for – the magnetic pull of the “Periya Kovil” in Thanjavur.
Literaly meaning the “Big Temple”, there can never be a more apt name for a
monument…it was monumental and gigantic in all senses – the façade, the
gopurams, the designs, the expanse of space and the grandeur of the idols and
carvings aplenty!
For the “hardly religious” me, the first sight of the
imposing façade of the temple ramparts took me to a step closer to humility,
towards subservience and a perhaps to the true sense of “godliness”. For what
can explain the sheer size, skill and the marvels that was built thousand years
back and still stand tall and strong despite the attacks and natural events of
the centuries that the temple has witnessed?
I was almost cockeyed in the mission to take in every
carving, every sculpture, trying to size, capture, imagine and admire all in
that few hours at the temple. That little morning was perhaps as close to
divinity as I could ever get – the breeze nestling into my hair, the silence
cleansing me and this godmotherly structure towering and soothing me into an
era of monarchs, perhaps gods and marvelous cratfmanship..
Unchartered walks through Thanjavur city was next on the
agenda – where the delicious food of Ariya Bhavan (since 1964 said the board
proudly) and the must-have coffee fueled me onwards..Of course I had to pick up
the nimble wobbly Thanjavur doll to add to my menagerie and dig into my “Chennai Tamil” with the autodrivers. And
finally the triumph of getting into a local bus and getting a free ride (being
a woman has perks in Tamil Nadu I guessed) was one of the many treasured
moments that I would take home from Thanjavur!
I was not yet ready to bid goodbye and so there was yet
another trip back to the temple but at dusk when the city twinkled and the
temple shone bright and beautiful..some more walks and some more peace and I
refused to let the trip end ..so we headed back to the little “square” and yet
again indulged in the “dosa coffee” routine before heading back home…the last
image of the magnificent gopuram blurring into the rearview mirror staying with
me as the picture of Thanjavur…my heart richer and my mind calmer – the magic of dosa, coffee and gopurams!
