Mahabalipuram – Sonata of the shores

 

 

I was staring at an artwork hung from polished timber walls of the Bureau of Tourism Department. It was a fresco of a temple done in oil on wood. The canvas looked arresting. The sacred structure stood in all grandeur against an azure sky and green sea offered a fitting background. The entire scene was captivating, temple sculptures intricately set and the artist had finished his work with masterstrokes that evoked pure magic.

Tablets of memory frisked through the pages of Indian history. The cluster of temples looked familiar. Which Indian temple could this be? I pressed hard on the fringes of memory. The name, at last, came up in a hazy flashback. The shore temples of Mahabalipuram on the tassel of the 17th-century port city of the Pallavas, a dynasty that once ruled the Deccan.

Exquisitely sculpted pavilion and temple chariots, the open air rock reliefs and elaborate motifs have taken the clump of Dravidian edifices to the helm of design excellence. I made up my mind on the spot and called up my friends for their collective opinion. They agreed unanimously to take a trip to Mahabalipuram. Asked for a travel brochure from the Bureau desk for this place. The destination looked appealing and I booked a flight for 4 of us to Chennai without an iota of dithering.

Heard that Mahabalipuram have been a star attraction for those touring Tamil Nadu and I was willing to get a firsthand experience. The flight was delayed by fog for an hour. We landed at Chennai airport and headed for a train to Chengalpattu from there boarded a bus to our destination. It was not long before I could feel the sea breeze against my face bringing in the stench of sea fish. We alighted in front of the shore temple, Mahabalipuram’s biggest and the oldest shrine. The structures were in ruins and the foundations were all that was left of the holy shrine.

The temple facing the Bay of Bengal left indications it had been a victim of rising sea level. The main altar was still intact but barred from tourist contact owing to its fragile structure. The altar, however, did not look majestic but the cool breeze and the serene garden surrounding it added to its aura.

 

The ancient construction seemed to tell a thousand tales of its land and culture.
The temples were chipped out of granite blocks and they were most artistically designed depicting one of the most primitive reminiscences of Dravidian architecture. Weather beaten and eroded by sand, sun and salt what still remains is a flamboyant example of art prevailing in the Deccan during an era buried in time. One could practically feel the gaze of the sculpted bovine guarding the altar.

Mahabalipuram gets its name from Bali, the hideous demon king whom Lord Vishnu had vanquished in a tumultuous battle. The Dwarf incarnation of the Lord popularly known and revered as the Vamana Avatar gets the credit for defeating the fiend. The shore temple shrines were dedicated to both Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu.

When we arrived the place was literally crawling with tourists from India and abroad. Most of them relished the laid back ambiance of the riveting beach holiday destination. The place was just like you had been here before, comfortable and the local crowd friendly.

Not far from the sea was a patch of lush wooded area. Macaque monkeys were scurrying across this shady grove. They foraged for seeds and plant roots setting up a vibrant acrobatic movement. To our surprise, the macaques washed their treasured collection in a shallow catchment occasionally fed by the sea waters.

A sense of hygiene and the need to wash food before eating seemed a common instinct, a basic knowledge of health and sanitation shared by our primate ancestors as well! The temple overlooking the sea brought us to the beaches of Mahabalipuram.

A perfect seashore fitting the requirements of Bay of Bengal is what would flash through a tourist’s mind, one who has had the fortune of visiting the other two water bodies surrounding the subcontinent.

The stench of sea fish is never a welcome experience, but if you are on the beach of Mahabalipuram, it hardly matters as one gets lost in the scenic beauty of the morning sun dancing on waves and the fishermen hauling their nets in a bid to take on choppy waters of the eastern coastline.

We saw horses making rounds on the beach and children of the fishermen always fascinated by such magnificent creatures, chased them across the sand. Nothing pleased me more than an hour’s swim in the early hours of the day in those rough waters.

Though it wasn’t a very advisable dare to go for, we took sufficient precautions to stay safe and close to the shoreline. We were surprised by the hustling life in town as we walked through the streets strewn with junk jewelry, which was quite contrasting to the outskirts of the town.

It was just hilarious to watch foreign tourists bargaining with shopkeepers in broken English given the fact that very few locals are multilingual. Trying out beachside fish delicacies was a big mistake. Had we have set up a shop there, we could have given these restaurant runners a run for their money.

Our next stop was nature’s own miracle: Krishna’s butter ball. This gravity defying granite boulder had mystified geologists since ages. A 250-ton rock had perched precariously on a slope would scare anyone out of their wits if it tumbled down the incline. The hillock is surrounded by a garden with two marine museums at a stone’s throw distance.

As we walked up the hillock we found ancient temples from the long-gone period. Though the town was on the coastline, a minutes’ walk in the sweltering heat of Tamil Nadu is enough to get you down with a heat stroke. At the top of the hillock was a lighthouse. The climb was exhausting but the breathtaking view from the top of the tower made it worth the trek.

The entire town looked like a painting. The cool sea breeze added to the resplendence of the vista. The hectic hustle along the wonderful sea beach including the swim and followed by the treacherous climb made us ravenously hungry. The beachfront cafe we moved into was called ‘Chika –Boom- Chick’ Bar and Restaurant.

The expectation of good food in accompaniment to symphonic beats seemed moments away for sure.  But names can be illusory. Nothing sort of a musical program was in progress inside. But the snack was delicious. The restaurant offered us a platter of Deccan delicacies plus steaming coffee.

We ate dosas and vadas over a bout of animated conversation hoping that a load of diet would gear us up with a renewed vigor. The food had done its job and we moved ahead in the quest for more travel.

 

Diverse scenes made us stop for a moment and have a closer look at a combination of human activities. Children sculpting sand castles, tourists from alien land frozen in deep meditation, fortune tellers pouring over extended palms and young people thrown in a boisterous melee after a game of beach volleyball were what created a mixed human response to this splendid getaway. It was an environment charged with fun and relaxed vibes until unforeseen events creep in changing your future course of action.

A phone call from Kolkata spoiled our spirits. News of a close relative being hit by car was enough to disrupt our further travel plans. How short-lived our wishes are, they are open to external mishaps. We prepared for Kolkata though I insisted my friends may stay back.Why spoil a good time on my crisis. They smiled and replied they were the same old timers sharing the same bunker with me in a battle field.

It will be inhuman to desert a buddy and leave him all alone to fight uncertainties lying to the fore. They promised to keep company wherever I went.   Mahabalipuram once again felt warm and accommodating. A cab had arrived and had parked in front of us. After an initial bargain, we walked in between negotiating a midway price. The cab drove along a dirt track. The shore temple shone in glory in the backdrop with a strong beacon of enticement. I am in all praise for this fabulous sea side tourist spot would come back to it soon.