Happy Pongal Everyone … Tiruchirappalli

Published: January 13th 2018

Woolly says – Following a dreadful night of noise we were bleary eyed and tired climbing onto our train, Jo’s foresight in reserving us onto a Class 2 AC carriage meant that we had beds for our eight hour journey, we made quick work of getting into them and snoozing the ride away. Our first sight of Trichy was a welcome relief, lots of greenery and although horns still blared from every direction it felt calmer than the madness of Chennai. Tiruchirappalli to give the district it’s correct name is still in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, it’s history began in the 3rd century BC, when it was under the rule of the Cholas. The city has also been ruled by the Pandyas, Pallavas, Vijayanagar Empire, Nayak Dynasty, the Carnatic state and the British. As our rickshaw flew through the streets it was appealing to the eye and colourful, the smell of incense and flowers drifted around us, I sighed happily, this was more like it.

Having booked in and wandered across the street for a meal that cost us just under £1.00 GBP for the three of us including drinks our weary group headed back to our beds to prepare for a busy day ahead.

Woolly says – The morning was cloudy and with streets that were nearly empty I suggested a quick visit to the huge church that we had seen on our arrival. Less than a two minute walk from our rooms the huge gothic building presented itself. Squeezed in amongst small shops and miles of electric wiring it was tricky to get a clear shot of its majestic qualities but Jo persevered. We trotted across the road to see if we could gain access to Our Lady of Lourdes Church, constructed in 1840 AD, it’s 220 feet tower rises above the city, a most impressive sight. Inside the pink paintwork and wonderful stained glass windows gave a feeling of peacefulness and tranquillity, photos weren’t allowed but we sat for a while watching people praying and placing offerings of flowers at the altar in what appeared to be a cross-religious of incorporating the Catholic prayer format and Hindu offerings, wonderful.

Outside the area in front of the church had been chalked as had most of the pavement around the city in preparation for Pongal.

Woolly says – I just loved saying Pongal it’s a brilliant name for a festival that was to take place the following day, where the farmers harvest the wheat and celebrate their crop, as we headed towards a rickshaw I could here the residents wishing each other a Happy Pongal, Happy Pongal my friends and may your harvest be rich.

I had a feeling that the word Pongal was going to feature a lot and hoped that my small friend might grow bored of it before I did!

Woolly says – I suggested that we Pongal a rickshaw to get us to our next Pongal, Jo ignored me and my Pongalling which I though was rather rude. Our next port of call was a ten minute drive through the city and up through the rock that towers above everything. The Rockfort is a historic fortification and temple complex constructed on 83 metres (272 feet) of high rock, it is said to be one of the oldest formations in the world at around 3.8 billion years old, making it as old as the rocks in Greenland and older than the Himalayas, in fact pretty much older than me! As our driver dropped us off and our bags were checked, and shoes removed I looked up at the red and white steps leading upwards, it would take me a year to climb that, I grinned at Jo who having considered the issue of getting me to the top told me that I could be carried if the word Pongal didn’t get muttered, I gave a momentary thought to this and decided that it would be worth supressing the need to Pongal for a short while at least.

The climb up was steep and having passed one of the Temples in the rock that was for Hindu’s only it was a welcome relief to get to the last of the stairs and a chance to catch our breath and take in the views across Trichy itself.

Woolly says – As I slurped at my Fanta and let loose with a few Pongal’s I looked at our ultimate destination still a few steps above us, if anything it reminded me of an ice cream shop and not at all like a temple, I just hoped the climb would be worth it. Having finally reached the small building I hurried inside and nearly pongalled over, the room comprised of a huge brass wall with a hole in it in which I could just about see one of the Hindu gods, a man held a tray out to us and summoned us over before placing a white finger print on each of our foreheads and saying a blessing over us, what a wonderful experience and as I thanked him profusely and headed towards the viewing area I felt very honoured. Having taken a few more photographs we started the descent, at each level we had the option to view more rock temples or continuing going down, we of course stopped at each one. One presented us with a huge area covered in pillars were the carvings were faded and hard to make out, the room felt serene, I sat and watched a few people make offerings to one of the small rooms that were offset before walking round the room and then leaving. Tall statues guarded the entrance and as we left I managed to catch a quick selfie with an interesting man who looked not unlike Buddha.

As we reached the next level down we could hear mooing as the fragrances of cow drifted towards us.

Woolly says – Brightly coloured walls led us to what appeared to be the cow sheds, the three of us looked at each other and at the steps we were having to climb and wondered how on earth they had got the beasts up there! Having reclaimed our shoes we realised that there were more steps leading us down to the centre of the town so rather than be driven we wandered downwards admiring another Holy place and its decorations surrounding it. I really love the Hindu vibrancy of colour, their religious buildings and clothes make the country feel alive and fresh wherever you look. It seemed like a good time for a snack and as we refreshed ourselves and watched everyone buying fruit and vegetables from the stalls we felt that we were finally finding India.

A short ride across the river and into the other part of the city didn’t take long and as we climbed out of our rickshaw we were all stunned at the sights in front of us.

Woolly says – The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Ranganatha, a reclining form of the Hindu deity Vishnu. Constructed in the Tamil style of architecture it dates to the 6th centuries AD, occupying an area of 155 acres (63 ha) with 50 shrines, 21 towers, 39 pavilions our first glimpse was amazing. A huge colourful shrine towered above our heads and once the women had handed over their shoes once again we entered an extensive hall of pillars with small shrines dotted around. A short climb up to the viewing platform gave a complete wow factor as we admired the towers and buildings that made up the complex, from the golden and vibrant through the faded and blue to one of gold and a massive completely white one, it was incredible. We passed by the Temple elephant and gave him a cherry greeting before entering the cooling interiors of another area filled with more columns. The main shrine looked incredible from the doorway but again was only for Hindu’s so sadly we moved on, skirting the building and finding ourselves under the white shrine that we had seen from the rooftops, it looked very new and I wondered if in the not to distant future it would also become a canopy of colours like the others around it. Prancing horses carved into the columns below it led us through to an immense carving of an elephant that looked as though it was being chased by a hunter, each corner that we turned gave us another photograph opportunity to capture the wonders around us.

So much to take in it was a feast for the eyes while our noses loved the smell of incense that floated everywhere, what more you could want.

Woolly says – As we wandered back towards the main streets passing a few cows along the way I couldn’t wait to see what India could present to me at our next destination.

Happy Pongal to you all.