Shore Temples of Mamallapuram

Sunday 20th
This morning we visit the magnificent ancient temples of Mamallapuram, quite close to Fisherman's Cove. This is one of the Five Rathas, each dedicated to a Hindu god and, amazingly, carved from a single piece of rock. The Pallava-era sculptors had to start at the top of the rock and work their way down, judging the size of the finished temple before they began carving.
The middle temple, Bhima Ratha, has a frieze of faces with distinctly Caucasian features, likely evidence of the coastal town's extensive trade links with ancient Rome.

This handsome life-size elephant is regarded as one of the best sculpted in India.

Moving on to the Shore Temple, originally built by the Pallava kings in the 7th century, we hear that the 2004 tsunami (which I narrowly escaped in Phuket) temporarily exposed the outlines of six sister temples, covered by the sea for centuries. The tsunami also permanently uncovered foundations of the temples - a small silver lining of that devastating event, whose impact reached even these shores. Hundreds of people drowned along the coast of Tamil Nadu.

Sunday afternoon is a time for relaxation at Fisherman's Cove, a lovely beach hotel reminiscent of Caribbean resorts. My roommate, Mimi and I opt out of an outing on a 'catamaran' (the original Tamil fishing boat kind), and so miss a surprise dunking in the Bay of Bengal experienced by the rest of the group!