Mamallapuram – Carved wonders on the sea-shore!

The Shore-temple

Arjuna's Penance

We had wanted to visit Mamallapuram (previously called Mahabalipuram), for quite some time. Recently we visited this heritage site and were awe-struck by its beauty, both man-made and natural!
We boarded a bus from Puducherry and set off for Mamallapuram. As we bought the tickets, we requested the conductor to inform us when the stop arrived. We even asked him the time it would take to reach there. He said “2 hours”. We settled down in our seats and were soon engrossed in observing the scenic beauty of the tall, swaying palm trees, lush banana plantations, fields, etc.

Pristine splendor

visible like a video from the window. Soon buildings and familiar structures of Chennai replaced them.
With a start we realized that nearly 3 hours had gone by and the conductor hadn’t asked us to get off. Slightly uneasy, we asked a co-passenger about the Mamallapuram stop. He said that the stop had been left way behind and that we would reach Chennai in another half an hour. We were stunned. The conductor had obviously forgotten to inform us when the stop had arrived. The stop is on the highway from where there is a bypass to Mamallapuram, which is roughly 1 km. and it takes about 5-10 minutes to reach the site.
As we debated about whether to confront that conductor, the passenger told us to immediately get down and cross the road and board another bus to Mamallapuram! Keen on not wasting further time, we hopped off at the nearest stop. I told my husband that instead of again going by bus, wherein probably the same matter could repeat itself, we would hire an auto and go there.
Predictably, the auto-drivers asked for Rs. 800/- (4 times the amount that we had just paid for the bus!) since they wouldn’t get passengers for the return journey. Helpless and frustrated, we had to reluctantly give in. Again we went by the same route and finally reached Mamallapuram after about an hour. Thus we had spent 4 hours instead of the two hours from Puducherry! Besides our pockets were considerably and avoidably, lighter! With heavy hearts and diminished enthusiasm, we walked towards the shore temple.
Our spirits however lifted as soon as we spotted the rock-cut temples in the distance, ringed by palm trees, with the blue sea as the backdrop and a vast lawn in the foreground. It was picturesque.
Built by King Rajasimha of the Pallava dynasty in the 7th century, the coarsely-carved monolithic twin temples are dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. We heard a guide informing tourists about how the first rays of the morning sun fell on the Shivalinga inside Lord Shiva’s temple. Quaint architectural formations are there in front of the temple, such as an amphi-theatre like step-pattern, a shallow tank, etc. Lord Shiva’s mount Nandi is carved all around the periphery of the temple’s compound.
The temple complex was separated from the sea-shore by a low wall mounted by high wrought-iron trellis. People had made their way behind that barrier and were frolicking in the waves to beat the scorching, clammy heat.
Then we walked to the Five Pandava Rathas. Firstly we saw a mammoth cave with intricate carvings on its walls. A huge Nandi occupied pride of place on the top-most portion, near the ceiling of the cave. Men and cows dominated the carvings.
Next, we saw the huge, intricately carved monolith known as the Arjuna’s Penance. Celestial beings, the river Ganga flowing down from Mt. Kailash, elephants, etc. are carved intricately on this colossal rock. Some photographers were persuading tourists to get themselves clicked and get printed photos, as souvenirs. We indulged ourselves and got a sharp photo of ours clicked, for just Rs.20/- We were glad that we had heeded their request!
Suddenly, a person ‘accosted’ us. He was a sculptor selling hand-sculpted artifacts. He showed us a beautiful paper-weight, a round ball of stone with figures of Lord Vishnu, Lord Ganesh, Lord Krishna and Goddess Laxmi; carved on 4 sides. He claimed that it had taken him 4 days of hard labor to chisel that exquisite piece of art. As he quoted a princely price of Rs. 800/- and refused to lower its price, we walked away, though my heart was set on it. He certainly deserved the amount that he had quoted, but our purses were already light, thanks to that expensive auto-drive!
Then we saw the caves dedicated to shrines of Lord Ganesh, Lord Narasimha, the ‘Gateway of Mamallapuram’ pillars, the light-house in the far distance and a huge boulder known as the butter-ball. This boulder is like a huge ball resting on a field. Children were playing around it. I quelled an irresistible urge to run around it.
I had fresh coconut water which was very sweet. I asked the vendor why it was so expensive when we could see plenty of palm trees around us. He said that the coconuts were sourced from some far-off place. He proudly asked us for a brand-new Rs.50/- note so that he could put it into his Jan Dhan Yojana account. I was pleased when he informed us that even his young son had an account in his name.
There were a couple of fortune-readers with small parrots in cages. Some families were keenly listening to their forecasts for their future. One parrot was sitting on top of its cage and the owner was away, yet it made no attempt to fly away towards freedom! I felt very sorry for that bird. Its future was doomed to life-sentence in that tiny cage! I’m sure that it must have often wondered about why it couldn’t pick its own card right and save itself from such misery! But it probably suffered from the Stockholm syndrome!
Lots of families had come for a picnic there so there was a very carnival-like atmosphere there. We had lunch at a small eatery and made our way back to the bus-stand, through numerous vendors selling bead necklaces, idols, etc.
We returned to Puducherry with vivid images of that serene and picturesque place.
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The copyright of this travelogue and photographs are with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.