1/9/11 - Mamallapuram

Sight-Seeing in Mamallapuram

Shobhana stayed with her mother while Tricia and I went on a day trip to Mamallapuram, about an hour away.  This is the site of an amazing collection of carved stone temples, sculptures, and reliefs that date back to the 8th century AD. 

We were struck by the sign at a tollboth on the drive there.

Arriving in Mamallapuram, we first stopped at the Shore Temple, right on the edge of the water.  It has suffered some weathering from the salt spray but was still very impressive.

Then we visited a nearby cluster of cave temples and reliefs carved into the rock, including Arjuna’s Penance, the world’s largest bas-relief.

Next we saw the Five Rathas, a cluster of small temples that were apparently just carved as models for planned large temples!

Lunch and Shopping in Mamallapuram

For lunch and shopping, we again successfully resisted the wishes of our guide and driver, and struck out on our own.  We had fun wandering around, and found a small shop that sold beautiful and crazy cheap silk clothing.  The owner was the tailor, and he told us that his son, who studied fashion design in Chennai, created the designs.

The Indian Ocean

Tricia did not want to leave Mamallapuram without finding a place where we could dip our toes into the Indian Ocean.  So our driver took us to Tiger Cave.  This was another ancient stone carving, and it was set in a lovely park that abutted on the water.

The Chelliahs

Shobhana’s mother Sita had prepared a lovely dinner for us.  I enjoyed talking to her about cooking and many other topics.  It was so generous of Sita to open her home to Tricia and me.  We really appreciated getting a view of home life in India.  Sita had a spacious apartment in a large complex – it was larger than my modest home.  The décor was not too different from that of my European family and friends, although with a more Indian flavor.  She employed three part-time workers: a driver, a cook, and a maid.  They were always coming in and out.

Shobhana’s father, Raja Chelliah, who died in 2009, was a nationally-recognized economist.  He founded the Madras School of Economics as well as the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy in Delhi.  He was an expert on tax reform and economic liberalization.  Here is a plaque commemorating an honor he received from the national government.  The photo was taken by me, that's why it's so bad.

1/10/11 - Chennai

We decided to have a non-tourist day and instead participate in ordinary activities.  So we accompanied Sita and Shobhana on some shopping errands, and visited with family.

The shopping included a curtain store, where Shobhana looked for curtains for the new room she recently added to her house; a sweet shop; a department store/supermarket, sort of like Target; and a small shop that sold inexpensive textiles for the home, such as tablecloths and sofa pillows.  Here are some pictures of the sweet shop.

We had lunch with Shobhana’s sister, Masil, who is a doctor.

We also visited Masil at home later, where we were able to see her son and husband.  Her husband is an English professor at a local college.

In addition, Tricia took pictures of several Hindu “mini-temples.”  I had been seeing these all over India and wanted to get pictures of them.  So Tricia kindly accommodated my wishes.  We were intrigued by how often we saw these little religious sites, and how they seemed to pop up in the most incongruous places.

After another lovely dinner served by Sita, we had Sari Dress-Up Night!  Tricia, Shobhana and I all tried on Sita’s saris.  So much fun!  The way the saris were wrapped was quite different from what I had expected.

1/11/11 - Return to Delhi

We had another smooth, uneventful flight from Chennai to Delhi.  In late afternoon, we met up with two friends of Shobhana from college days, Devalina and Bishakha.  We hung out with them at a bar, then checked into our hotel, then had dinner with Devalina at a Chinese restaurant.

It was really lovely to talk to Devalina and Bishakha.  Tricia and I had already met Devalina at the start of the trip, but Bishakha was a new acquaintance.  She is a journalist and features editor for a Bengali newspaper.  She and I had a very interesting conversation that ranged from the Nayar – a matrilineal group in Kerala – to street food in Delhi.  Likewise, Devalina was a warm and engaging conversationalist as well.  Over dinner we talked and laughed about many topics, from the dangers of Indian wine to our travel adventures.