The click clack sounds of artisans chipping away at blocks of stone drifed through the the bylanes of Mahabalipuram as we entered this sleepy town, home to the famous Shore Temple overlooking the Bay of Bengal. Our local guide Ashok, gave us the 'standard' tour starting with Krishna's butterball, a giant rock precariously balanced on a slope, proceeding to the exquisite bas relief of Arjuna's penance painstakingly carved out of a giant boulder, taking in the beauty of the Pancha Ratha (5 chariots) complex and ending at the marvel of architecture that is the Shore temple. The life exuding from each carving stood as mute testimony to the skill of artisans and engineers from centuries ago (the temples date back to the 7th and 9th centuries) and the resilience of the kings and their people in overcoming multiple 'problems' to create such amazing works of art. (Note: In Ashok's vocabulary everything from a tsunami, to a marauding army, to corrupt politicians was a 'problem'). Tour over, we strolled into the backpacker part of town, making our way past half the town gawking at a film shoot, ladies hawking fresh fruit and flowers and ended up at a small 'French' cafe which even had chicken with red wine sauce! As we said goodbye and headed down the coastal highway to Pondicherry, the click clack sounds slowly faded to the background, a living testimony to how art and tradition are still passed on from generation to generation, in the world heritage site that is Mahabalipuram......
“What would you like?” the person at the counter asks me.
Posted by: Cheap Air Max | February 21, 2012 at 05:06 PM