Through the Land of the Cholas - Concluding Part

Continued from Part IV

It was a one-hour bus ride to Vaideeswaran Kovil past another temple town, Sirkazhi. As we stepped down from the bus, we were surrounded by local agents who offered to show us around the temple and take us to the best chuvadi josiyam centre. We managed to shake them off and go inside the temple. It was a smallish temple dedicated to Siva, believed to be powerful in curing illnesses and a popular pilgrimage centre.

While we were wondering how to find a chuvadi josiyar unobtrusively, a young priest came forward offering to help us of his own accord. He took us out of the temple and then around it via a dimly lit lane, all the while extolling his family's connections with the temple and hinting heavily about how the priests survived on the low salaries they got there. After a ten-minute walk, we reached a busier lane where he led us to a big well-lit building. He told us that this was an authentic josiyam centre, which by now we were inclined to disbelieve. The 'sales' guys, for that's all they were, at the chuvadi centre put us off totally, though we didn't openly show it. They said the astrologer had retired for the day (though it was only 8 p.m.) and brought out charts showing various plans of how one's chuvadi could be read. Rs. 200 for family details, Rs. 500 for answers to business-related queries, Rs. 200 for such and such, and so on and so forth. Extra charges for recording the readings on to a cassette - the sales guy explained that this was very much in demand because people came to their centre from various other states. They asked us to come back early the next day with a copy of my horoscope. We nodded sagely, conferred among ourselves, and confirmed that we would be there early the next day.

As the priest led us to the nearest bus stop, it seemed that he was more concerned about our returning to the place the next morning than the astrologer's sales guys. Luckily, a bus was waiting and it started as soon as we got in. The priest was still telling us where to find him the next day! We of course had no intentions of going back. It all seemed a crass, quick way to make money banking on people's sentiments and beliefs. We reached Chidambaram around 9 p.m., had dinner and slept early - we had another adventure trip to make the next day.

Gangaikondacholapuram - we managed to get into a bus which passed through this glorious Chola town. We didn't know how far away it was and were worried that the conductor would miss the bus stop. The bus rumbled down bad roads with trees and shrubs on either side. We knew we wouldn't miss the temple in that sparse landscape. But nothing prepared us for the magnificent brown structure that loomed suddenly into our vision. We were scrambling to get down before the conductor could blow his whistle. Gangaikondacholapuram consisted of a few tea kadais, roadside eateries, a bank and of course the temple itself. The temple was built by Rajendra Chola and was the counterpart of the Thanjavur Brihadisvara temple built by his father, Raja Raja Chola.

As we entered the broken-down arches of the temple what struck us was the similarities with the Thanjavur Periya Kovil and yet it could not have been more different in many ways. In size, it was a wee bit smaller than the Thanjavur temple. The Nandi was there facing the sanctum sanctorum though it was smaller and did not have a mandapam covering it. We were allowed to go right up to the main sivalingam where the priest performed the aarthi for us. As we talked to the priest about the temple, he told us that the secret tunnel which led from the nearby palace at Maaligai Medu to the temple had been sealed off by the ASI. He also told us to visit the Durga temple just outside the main temple. This was the kuladeivam (clan goddess) of Rajendra Chola, and it was here that he would first offer prayers before going in to the presence of the main deity. Facing the Durga temple was the huge well into which vassal kings from the banks of the Ganga poured pots of water from the sacred river as part of their tribute. This was how the place got the name Gangaikondacholapuram, which means "Town of the Chola who conquered the Ganga."

Thus ended our tour of the Land of the Cholas - at least to those parts that we were determined to see. You wouldn't seriously believe that you could see all of Cholanadu in a mere five days!