Thanjavur-2

Elephant Blessing

Linga

Orphanage

Jan. 7, 2013-Temple Number ...

A correction: we're in the state of Tamil Nadu. Information:Charles can't drink the water here anymore. When he started guiding he began to drink bottled water along with the tourists & lost his immunity. Warning: Blackouts aren't good if you're in an elevator. It hasn't happened to us but we've been using the stairs at this hotel. Revelation: American tourists aren't the only ones complaining about the toilets here. A major article in the paper today dealt with a rebellion over inadequate, unsafe, & filthy toilets at a girls' school. Reality: Getting dumped from wi-fi with astounding frequency is independent of blackouts. Learning: knocking on the door of the bus does no good if it's British drive & the entry steps are on the other side.

Today started with a trip to the Brahadeeswarar Temple, also know as the Big Temple. Makes directional signage easier. Covering thirty-five acres, it's a World Heritage UNESCO site & still in use. Because of its status we were allowed to go all the way into the "inner sanctum" (containing the 45x30 foot linga) & be blessed by the priest. If anyone's interested there's a shortage of priests. The study period is six years but you do have to be a Brahman. Priests can marry but parents don't want their sons to go into that profession anymore. They prefer them to be engineers or doctors.

But the most thrilling blessing was done by a fifty-six year old elephant. They can live into their 70's in captivity. We held out a ten rupee bill & she took it in her trunk. Then she placed her trunk on our heads for a blessing. I kept my hat on since there was a bit of leakage from her appendage. Charles pointed out that her loss of pigmentation & "freckling" was due to stress. Made me sad. But they do try to mitigate the stress. All temple elephants are sent to respite camp for forty-five days each year. Elephants are about to become protected Heritage animals & the older ones won't be replaced.

As we approached the temple grounds we noticed a similarity to Angkor Watt. It's an 11th century temple built by the Chola King. That was our "duh" moment. Angkor Watt was built by that same king. The red granite structure is dominated by a 216 foot high tower topped by an eighty ton dome. There were no temples in the area until the 8th century & it is thought the design was based on the Temple in Jerusalem. Guess there were tourists back then too. We also saw the influence of the Temple of Knossos in the huge statute of a bull commanding center stage in the courtyard. The inner walls were decorated with frescos dating from the 17-18th centuries & along those walls were 234 linga all facing the Himalayans, the source of the holy Ganges.

We followed the temple visit with the Museum of Chola bronze. It's housed in a palace of Indo-Mogul design dating from the 9th century. The royal family still lives there but you wouldn't know it from the condition. The bronze icons all looked alike to me after awhile so we climbed the steps to the "tower" to see the whale skeleton. Why it was there I don't know. We were greeted by a tiny old woman who "guided" us to the best viewing spot. Yes, it was a ninety-two foot skeleton but most of it was behind a wall. The woman obviously wanted a tip & pointed to the varicose veins on her legs saying "three babies." I commiserated as I raised my pants legs & displayed my own collection, but we did tip her.

For some reason (commerce) our fearless leader thought we'd want to see a bronze casting studio on a blistering hot day. We obediently followed. It was interesting in that each figure is unique & they still make them the way they made the statues we'd seen in the museum. They hand carve wax in the shape of the statue then cover the wax with clay. The clay is placed in an oven where the wax melts & is poured out of the clay. Then molten bronze is poured into the clay & hardened. The clay mold is broken to get to the statue so no two are identical. There was a place to buy the products but they were so heavy most of us were concerned about luggage weight.

Lunch was back at the hotel. We weren't looking forward to it given last night's dinner, but it was fairly good. The soup was made from a vegetable called "drumstick." I have no idea what it is in our part of the world but it was OK. There was a lentil fried ball similar to falafel served with coconut chutney. Dessert was mango ice-cream with lychees. I ate mine & David's. He's allergic to mango.

Touchable or Not

The afternoon visit to the orphanage was emotional for me. The children are from 5-17 years old. Before that age newborns to age two are called "cradle babies." There are cribs in hospitals where parents may leave young children they can't care for. The children stay at the hospital until they're two then move on to a community center  called a creche until they're five. Adoption agencies & orphanages are separate. Potential parents aren't given the pick of just anyone in the facility. They're given two choices within their parameters after being screened by the agency.

As we bounced along the road to the orphanage we were flagged down by some young middle school boys returning to the facility after their school day. We gladly gave them a ride.

The place we visited was what we'd call deplorable but what they see as a refuge. Children at this orphanage are classified as full orphans if they have neither parent or semi-orphans if they have a living parent who can't care for them. There are also children with both parents living who aren't able to care for them. The buildings are basic & there are only three toilets for all 200 children. I guess that's a better ratio than we had at the end of our Air India flight. There is also a senior retirement home on the grounds. Abandoned seniors is rare in this culture but these people have no one to care for them. The seniors interact with the children & provide a semblance of "family" by story telling & teaching them morality.

The schoolhouse is one large open air room with a concrete floor. Rural schools have no electricity. Grades 1-5 are scattered around the space by grade. Children sit on the floor & are free to write on the low level blackboards while larger, higher ones are available for the teacher. The children are taught English as a second language & recited exercises for us. They told us their names & the names of their parents. They are taught who their parents were because throughout their lives they'll need that information to fill out all kinds of forms.

We'd brought some gifts from home, books, t-shirts, etc. & gave them to the housemothers. There is one housemother for each twenty-five children. Some of the housemothers & teachers formerly lived there as orphans themselves. We then visited the dining hall which doubles as the boys' dorm at night. There was no need to store beds or provide tables since eating & sleeping is done on the floor. At night they sleep on mats. Another recitation took place & we were allowed to mingle.

All the children asked us the same questions: “what is your name? what is your favorite color? what is your work?” I was involved in a counting game/dance & was constantly being swapped out with a new group. The children seemed small to us especially the 15-16 year old girls seemed undeveloped but all had gleaming teeth and bright smiles. They seem very happy. I hope they are. There was a solicitation afterwards. The Grand Circle Foundation is gathering funds to build adequate toilet facilities.

Before dinner Charles had a surprise for us. He invited a group of Tamil dancers & drummers to perform. They're all of the untouchable caste but he couldn't introduce them as such. There's even PC here & one of the high up government official is technically an untouchable. The show was definitely cacophonous. One man played a drum, another bleated out what could have been jazz on what might pass for a clarinet.  The six female dancers were all armed with drums which they beat incessantly. There was fast footwork, acrobatics, & knee bends that would put a Cossack to shame. It was singularly ungraceful & unfeminine non-stop movement for a half hour. The spread eagle stance reminded me of the new gangnam dance style out of Korea. We learned afterwards that this was traditionally a male dance, thus the style. As they introduced themselves we were told that at least three were university students majoring in math, physics, & biology, & one was the mother of a six month old. What a way to get back in shape.

Tomorrow we have another long bus ride this time to Madurai with stops along the way.

Toby