The first week we had a day off on Friday and I made the journey into town with a few other women. We enjoyed taking the local bus where we were able to see lots of interesting people, and by lots I mean at times the bus was so full there were people standing on the steps and even outside hanging onto the door! The man collecting bus fare kept telling us to go back more, but there was clearly nowhere to go!
The city was full of energy, motorbikes & rickshaws going in every direction honking incessantly! But I was convinced there must be some order to their chaos, I just wasn't initiated into the rules of their roads. We indulged in coffee and dosa for breakfast then went shopping for souvenirs, sweets and some basic necessities.
It was on our second trip to town the following week that we had time to visit the famous Meenakshi Amman Temple, dedicated to Parvati (Meenakshi) and her consort Shiva (Sundareswarar). Originally built in the 7th century, the temple was almost completely destroyed by Islam conquerors in 1310, and then rebuilt in the late 14th century. I was shocked to realized the size of the compound, housing 14 pillars (the tallest being 140 feet!) and 33,000 sculptures!!! We were able to hire a tour guide to take us through the Thousand Pillars Hall, which also serves as a museum.
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| aerial photo from Wikipedia |
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| 1 of the 14 pillars, Indian architecture is extremely ornamental, covering every possible surface with brightly colored relief sculptures which tell the stories of the residing deities |
Inside the complex there are vendors selling fruit & snacks, souvenirs, photos, books, incense & flowers for offerings. We showed our respects to Ganesha and enjoyed the tour through the various temples, shrines and I particularly enjoyed the Mediation Hall ~ a quiet corner of the temple where visitors could come and enjoy the ancient energy.
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