Day 77, Madurai [Monday 18th February 2008]
Previous day: Day 76, Madurai [Sunday 17th February 2008]
Next day: Day 78, Trichy [Tuesday 19th February 2008]
We set the alarm and watch the sunrise over the magnificent temple from our hotel room. The gopurams loom over the ancient city like silent sentinels. We wander down there, getting a cup of tea from a stall on the way. We pick up a little guide book which helps explain the various parts of the sprawling temple complex, and lends a little more shape to what we'rel looking at, instead of us just walking around rather ignorantly.
So this morning we notice the carving of Meenakshi's wedding over the southeastern gopuram.; the ceiling painted with gods outside the Meenakshi shrine; the 8 carvings of Shiva outside the Swamiyar shrine; terrifying statues of the bloodthirsty gods Agni and Kali, and another, delicate one of Meenakshi's wedding. We also see the doorway with 1008 oil lamps attached to it, and the carving near the Golden Lotus tank depicting the builder of the temple.
Around the tank we see several weddings — both bride and groom draped with heavy garlands, looking a little like shire horses. The southern wall of the tank is completely lined with rugs ready for the wedding parties to sit on.
The temple is busy with worshippers. Kate buy some tiny candles and lights them at 2 different shrines. The early morning sunlight streams though gaps in the high roof. Lots of small shrines line the walls like grottoes. Groups of people pray around pillars, the stone blackened by coconut oil. One such pillar features a carving of Hanuman, the monkey god, now covered in daubs of red powder from his devotees.
It's been a rewarding morning. With a little time and help it is easier to orient yourself and understand some more about how people use the temple and what part it has in their lives.
We get dosas for breakfast on the way back to the hotel, then pack up and get on a bus to Trichy, a three hour bus ride away.
The hotels in Trichy are busy — apparently it's wedding season. But we manage to get a clean, decent place opposite the bus stand, with a 'high class' veg restaurant attached. We head straight in there and get a huge, healthy thali served up on a banana leaf.
We get the bus to the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple. Designed in 7 concentric circles, it's absolutely massive. It covers over 150 acres of land. It once functioned as a citadel and housed 40,000 people, most of whom seem to have remained and are now cluttering up its streets and passageways. It's a scruffy old place that for some reason seems indifferent, even unfriendly. It has more beggars than we've seen in any temple or city so far. 
We climb up to the roof, which is surprisingly flat and uninspired, but which has an excellent view of the enourmous, towering gopuram. It's 73 metres high and painted in pyschedelic rainbow colours. Learning from previous experience, I pick up an interesting English-language booklet about the temple, written by a French architect as part of their application to be listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. The booklet details the temple;s ancient origins, the daily rituals and its place in the historical and present Indian religious landscape.
We get veg curry and noodles for dinner, both of which contain grapes and pineapple.
Next day: Day 78, Trichy [Tuesday 19th February 2008]
Previous day: Day 76, Madurai [Sunday 17th February 2008]