A couple of years ago I spent a blissful couple of weeks in and around Thanjavur and Chidambaram, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. I was part of a small group organized and led by someone I had long admired from afar, Saskia Kersenboom. I had read her deeply researched, ground-breaking and brilliant book Nityasumangali, about the Devadasis who lived and worked in the Kaveri Delta region. Her Yatra residency brought us, a group of dancers and me, together, as we visited people, towns, villages, temples and so much more, that were in some way or the other part of the Devadasi world and its heritage. I was there to soak up the ambiance and learn everything I could, particularly as it related to the Cholas, a remarkable dynasty that ruled those parts a thousand years ago.
It was a marvelous experience. Best of all, I got to know Saskia and discovered what a delightful person she is with her sparkling laughter and indefatigable zest for life, in addition to witnessing in person her passion and enthusiasm, her unwavering dedication, to her work. And I made a brand new set of friends with my fellow Yatris who embraced me as one of them, even though I was old enough (and more!) to be a parent to them.
Every morning, before breakfast, I spent some time writing about the previous day, just so that I didn't forget. This is what I am sharing with you. As with many chronicles, it started off with full sentences and a lot of detail; as the days went by and the schedule got busier (and I got lazier!) the sentences fractured into bullet-points, the little details which are the first things to be forgotten vanished, but I did manage to put down something for nearly the entire trip.
Here is Day One, my arrival in Thanjavur.
Flew in from Madras to Trichy. Small plane, uneventful flight. Even on this super-short flight they served a tasty sandwich (chicken for non-veg, paneer for veg) with water, tiny tamarind golis, and a hydrogenated oil and chemical-laden Kit Kat bar (sigh for the last). Two elderly Americans in the row in front were pleasantly surprised when they were informed that they didn’t have to pay for it! Movie-villainish looking (but completely silent and tame) guy with large diamond stud and paunch, bright green jacket, long hair tucked into a baseball cap, in the seat across the aisle from the Americans. Stared at the air hostess while she sat in the seat for takeoff; she stared at an empty spot somewhere ahead.
Trichy. Flat, bustling, typical Indian city. Saw the Rock Fort away in the distance! The driver told me that Srirangam Temple lay beyond. But we were turning the other way, towards Thanjavur. Reached T in about an hour. And there, along with the dust, buses, auto-rickshaws, roadside stalls and frenetic activity all around, loomed the Brihadeeshwara Temple! Last saw it several years back and didn’t think (but did hope) I’d see it again! Calm and solid against the chaos all around. Looked somehow diminished against the sheer volume of buildings, vehicles and movement all around.
Came to Hotel Gnanam, our home for the stay in Thanjavur. Clean but would not be deemed fancy. Staff verged on the Fawlty Towerish but then steadied back to normalcy. They ring a bell to summon the bellboy, a thickly bespectacled, bucktoothed lad whose other duties include polishing the long brass handles of the front door. He does this with languid thoroughness, moving his polishing cloth up and down the handle with meditative slowness, all the while gazing at the commotion of the street outside. The commotion is a default state: a constant stream of honking motorbikes, autos, buses, cars and bicycles veers into the street from every direction.
The Yatra group arrived around 45 minutes later from Thirupugalur, where they had been for the past two weeks (I was able to join them only midway through, alas). Apparently the roads had been closed for a while as people protested about water shortages. The rains have been bad this year.
Nice group. Saskia! Imagine meeting her a decade and a half after I bought her Nityasumangali! Tall and elegant, in a Kanchivaram silk saree, diamond thodu and jhimiki. The rest of the group all young - two guys, Kiran and Veshnu; and 3 girls - Sumati, Julie and Bianca, all delightful. Sumati is to be my roommate. From Boston. Bianca is from Rhode Island and Julie, from Montreal. Kiran lives in Berlin and Veshnu, in New Zealand.
A substantial lunch (thali) in Gnanam’s restaurant, a short rest, and off to Brihadeeshwara. The chaos is, well, chaotic, but people are so friendly. There’s the Big Temple, again, an oasis of calm. How much it has seen! I wish it would talk to me, tell me its tales. I have to find them wherever I can, which is why I’m here.
There is a Mahavarahi shrine off to one side. I had heard of Varaha (the boar avatar of Vishnu), but never Varahi. She was apparently Rajaraja’s Kula Deivam (personal, or ancestral deity). She is stunning. Her eyes and snout are bejeweled and her jewel eyes look at you with a bright and knowing intelligence. We wander around to other shrines and then go inside. Before the main lingam we see a lovely Soma Skanda (Shiva, Parvati and an invisible Skanda hidden somewhere in the cloth that drapes his parents). Many of the the deities have names and forms that I have never heard of. And opposite, a shrine to who the priest claims is Rajaraja. The line between ruler and his god is very often blurred.
We see the huge lingam. I am streaked with vibhuti and kumkumam and have divested myself of a large number of 10 and 50 rupee notes. My precious stash - I have to be mindful.
It is a beautiful evening. When the sun sets, the temple glows a gentle pink. We sit for a while along a side corridor, savoring the breeze, swatting away the mosquitoes.
Come back to the hotel and go for a crazy walk on a crazy street. Julie wants Vitamin C in the form of a no sugar added Tropicana orange juice and we are sent from one side of the road to the other to shop after shop that has no idea what we are talking about.
Back to the hotel for dinner (mattar paneer! And excellent phulkas) and to the room and sleep.