Buying Silk in Kanchipuram, India

On March 18, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn India8 Comments

One of the most memorable day trips from Chennai was our trip to Kanchipuram. We were told that Kanchipuram was the place in the state of Tamil Nadu to buy silk, so we drove the hour southwest out of Chennai to visit the city. In addition to buying scarves and other silk products, we also visited the Ekambareswarar Temple, which was another gorgeous temple that we were able to see while we were there. It was one of the hottest days that we encountered while we were in India, but the beautiful sites and the thrill of buying the silk items more than made up for any discomfort we felt.

Walking around the Ekambareswarar Temple was one of the few times while we were in India that we weren’t overwhelmed by crowds. Obviously, it is India, so that is a relative term, but it did feel more relaxed than some of the other places that we went to. As with most temples, tour guides will come up to you and offer to take you on a tour and the price always has to be negotiated, but we chose not to pay for a tour at this particular temple. Heading southwest away from Chennai takes you to more of a jungle feel and we enjoyed seeing the parrots that were content to make the temple grounds their home.

One memory that we’ll never forget was getting blessed by a temple elephant while we were in the temple. Apparently, at the time that we were in India, many of the temple elephants were on “holiday” where they are pampered and spoiled once a year for all of their hard work. We handed the elephant a coin, which he took with his trunk, and then we bowed and the elephant gently tapped us on the head with his trunk. We were surprised by how soft the elephant’s trunk was, we were expecting it to be leathery and hard, but it wasn’t. In addition to being blessed by the elephant, another interesting site within the temple was seeing all of the ribbons tied to the “wishing tree”. We were told that many woman would tie a ribbon in hopes of getting pregnant, but people would tie ribbons on the tree for many other reasons as well. It was just another tradition that we enjoyed learning about.

Going to the silk shop was quite the experience. We were told that Indian women from around the country order the wedding saris from Kanchipuram due to the high quality of the silk. We sat down at a table and the owner of the shop started pulling out bundles of silk and laying them before us. If we found a color pattern that we liked, he would pull out several more bundles and lay them in front of us. There were two shop girls who would hold them up in front of us, wrap them around Dona’s shoulder while speaking only to Pete. We knew in advance that Indian men would rarely address women directly, so we weren’t surprised by the way that they communicated with us.

We ended up buying scarves for every female family member that we could think of as well as a beautiful table runner that we use on our formal dining room table. The best thing that we bought, however, was an absolutely gorgeous sari. Not only was the silk incredibly sensuous, but it was more than affordable. Everything that we bought in Kanchipuram that day probably cost us less than what a single silk scarf would cost us here in the United States and was even less expensive than the silk that we bought in Chennai.

If you are ever in Tamil Nadu and want to buy some silk, a trip to Kanchipuram should definitely be on your agenda. The owner of the store couldn’t have been more helpful and friendly, despite the language barrier, but fortunately we had our driver plus a coworker to help ease the communication process. Fortunately, you don’t have to haggle over prices at the silk shops, the price that they quote is what you pay and it is so reasonable, there isn’t any reason to complain. We came home with several souvenirs on our trip, but the silk items we bought are definitely some of our most treasured. Not to mention that our family and friends were quite thrilled to receive such beautiful items.

Mahabalipuram – Temples by the Ocean

On February 1, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn India12 Comments

One of our favorite day trips when we were in Chennai, India, a few years ago was to visit Mahabalipuram. Mahabalipuram is an ancient historic town with beautiful monuments and temples that has made it a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Along the way we stopped at DakshinaChitra, which is a museum and heritage village depicting the culture and heritage of South India. We also stopped at Tiger Cave, a site that we didn’t know what to expect to see since our guide didn’t tell us anything about it other than its name. After a long day of touring monuments and temples, we stopped at a Radisson Resort to enjoy a nice meal at their restaurant while watching the waves break on the beach.

To be clear, we did not attempt to drive while we were in India. The traffic is far too chaotic, with the constant blasts of horns, not used in anger, but meant to let other drivers know where you are and what you’re doing. Sort of “hey, I’m coming up behind you on your right” instead of “get out of my way”. We hired a driver from our hotel who took us around Chennai and drove us on our excursions, acting as a personal tour guide for us. We headed south out of Chennai, out of the hectic city traffic, and onto the highways following the coastline towards Mahabalipuram. Before we started, our driver let us know that there would be several tolls along the way, so we prepaid him so that he could pay as we passed through each of them.

Our first stop was at DakshinaChitra, which means “a picture of the south”. We had a wonderful time wandering through the village, where each section of the 10 acre site represents a different portion of southern India. Each is meant to represent the culture of the region, from art, clothing, typical homes, etc. Even though they are merely representations, it is still a site worth visiting and walking through the Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh sections. The Kerala section features a Hindu house and granary and textile exhibition. The Tamil Nadu section features a merchant’s house with basket weavers and art exhibits. Those are two largest sections, but we had a wonderful time on our self-guided tour of the whole site.

Next was our stop at Tiger Cave. On the way, we conjectured that we might be seeing some sort of zoo with tigers or perhaps a giant cave with tigers carved into its walls. It turned out to be closer to the latter, but still not what we expected. It is a Hindu temple complex located on the Bay of Bengal. There is a cave with the heads of tigers carved into the mouth of it, but the site is all about the temples. When the waters of the tsunami of 2004 receded, more temples were revealed, which is the only good that could have possibly come out of that horrific event. They are still excavating new temples and monuments today, which is quite exciting to see. As you enter the site, tour guides approach you and you negotiate the price that you’re willing to pay for your tour. Our driver had told us what the maximum amount that we should pay should be, although we’d read similar information online. Once the amount was agreed upon, our guide took us through the complex, providing history on the ancient temples and carvings, which are over two thousand years old. It was quite interesting, but just a slight build-up to what we’d see when we reached Mahabalipuram.

Upon arrival at Mahabalipuram, our driver found us a tour guide, which again we had to negotiate the price we would pay for our tour. It is hard to describe how beautiful the temples and monuments are when you see them in person. Throughout our trip to India, we rarely saw any westerners, and even at such a tourist site as this, it continued to be the case. There were so many interesting things to see, from Krishna’s Butter Ball, which is a huge boulder that balances on the side of hill, seemingly defying gravity. Its name comes from Hindu mythology where Krishna’s love of butter as a child, stealing butter from his mother’s butter jar. Legend has it that several kings tried to pull the stone down the hill using elephants, but the stone wouldn’t budge.

There are several important structures at the site. There is the Thirukadalmallai temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Bagiratha’s Penance, which is a giant rock relief. Vahara Cave Temple, which again isn’t really a cave, but giant rock that has been carved out with sculptures carved into its walls. The Shore Temple with its beautiful views of the Bay of Bengal. And Pancha Rathas or Five Chariots, which are five enormous pyramid-like structures, each carved from a single stone. The carvings on each of the temples and monuments represent stories meant to glorify the gods. Our guide took time to explain each of them to us as we were overwhelmed with the amazing Hindu mythology. There is so much to see and take in that a single visit to Mahabalipuram probably doesn’t do it justice, but unfortunately we only had time for a single visit.

When our tour was complete, our driver decided that he and the tour guide would grab a quick meal so that we could have time to do “some souvenir shopping” at the store of a relative of our tour guide. It was a little frustrating, we didn’t want tourist trinkets and the collusion between our guide and driver to try and make us feel obligated to buy something was all to obvious. Shortly, however, we were on the road back towards Chennai where we stopped at the Radisson for a late lunch. It was actually a beautiful resort and was actually one of the only non-Indian meals that we had during our time in India. After relaxing at the beach bar for a little while, it became apparent why this area is a destination for beach lovers wanting to enjoy some relaxing time by the Indian Ocean.

As we drove back into Chennai, we kept seeing what looked like bodies being hung in effigy from the roofs of several buildings. We knew that the elections had happened just prior to our arrival and that there were some protests (will tell you about our arrival at the Chennai airport in another post), so we thought that they might be related to that. We asked our driver and were surprised to learn that they were there to keep bad spirits from inhabiting new construction before it is completed, thus bringing the owners bad luck and misfortune. We didn’t take any pictures of them, not wanting to get any bad luck ourselves for doing so. All in all, it was an incredible day, full of exploration, learning, and appreciation for India’s rich culture. If you make it to southern India, whether to Chennai or to Pondicherry, you should definitely make your way to Mahabalipuram for an experience that you’ll never forget.

Take the Chance and Reap the Reward

On October 8, 2015October 9, 2015 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn India2 Comments

The old saying is true, without risk there can be no reward. Perhaps risk is too strong of a word, maybe it should be that if you don’t take the chance, you’ll miss out on a great experience. There have been several examples of this during our travels, but there was one experience that stands out for us. A few years ago, we had the pleasure to travel to Chennai, India, on business. The trip as a whole was one of our favorite trips, even though there was work involved. While we were there, a co-worker invited us to their home for dinner. We immediately accepted, not wanting to offend anyone, but to be honest, we were a little apprehensive.

The night of our dinner was one of our last nights there, so by then we had eaten quite a bit of Indian food, which we love, and had done our best to eat every meal like a local. We had a driver while we were there, not quite ready to take on the challenge of driving in India, so we gave him the address where we going and we were off. We turned off the main road and quickly found ourselves in a maze of tiny side streets filled with a mix of poverty and middle class buildings. After a few minutes, our driver informed us that the way that he thought we needed to go was not correct and he needed some directions. We gave him the number of our co-worker and after a few minutes of back and forth, we were on our way again. Then a few minutes later, we were at a stop, apparently the directions were too difficult and again he was on the phone. This time we waited until the husband arrived on motorcycle to escort us to their home.

We arrived at their apartment and walked up to the third floor where we went through a large wooden door with an image of Ganesh intricately carved into it. Typical to our experience in India, beauty can be found in surprising places. We entered into the living room, which had a couch, chair, coffee table, and large TV on an entertainment center with MTV (or something similar) playing. We were ushered to the couch as their two young children, both boys, showed us their favorite toys, much to their parents annoyance, not that we minded. We have a friend who is a cultural anthropologist, so he had prepared us for many of the things that we encountered while in India, but having dinner at someone’s house was not one of them. Our co-worker and her mother-in-law were in the kitchen, diligently wrapping up the meal that we were about to be served. There was one other room in the apartment, the bedroom, to be shared by all five members of the family. This was the life of a middle class family with a dual income from jobs working for American companies.

After a little conversation, translated by a friend of the family, TV trays were placed in front of us and our meal was about to begin. As we had been sitting on the couch, friends and neighbors had been slowly arriving and there was a small gathering outside of the door to the kitchen, not saying anything, just there to observe these strange westerners. We were given glasses of water and our first dish of fried fish was brought out to us. We needed to drink some of the water during our meal, but we didn’t drink too much, just in case. We did our best, using only our right hand, to eat while still having conversations with those that had gathered. We were their guest, so we would eat first and they were honored to serve us. It was just their way of showing us respect, but we weren’t prepared to eat while everyone watched, especially without utensils.

We wish we could describe the food in a way that would give it justice, but it was all delicious. After each course, we were offered “one more” of what we were having. When we said yes, we would get two more. We’re not big eaters, we usually share meals when we go out, so this was one of the largest meals either of us had eaten in years. After the fish came a potato curry with some flatbread (and then one more). Then for dessert, we were served a bowl of Rasmalai, which is made of sweetened condensed milk and a round dumpling in the center of it. It was wonderful, but eating that with our fingers was definitely an adventure, I’m sure many of the smiles were smirks at our clumsiness.

After the meal came the blessing. We were given gifts, a statue of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus as a symbol of respect to our God and a statue of Vishnu in honor of their religion. Flower wreaths were placed around our necks and we were given fruit. Then a small round container was opened and handed to Dona for her to put the Bindi on the center of the forehead. That moment turned out to almost big our biggest faux pas of the evening as we didn’t realize that it was powder and instead of using the thumb to apply it to the forehead, Dona started to raise the canister to her forehead. Everyone quickly came to the rescue and showed us the proper way to do it. We thanked everyone profusely and left to find all of the neighbors crowded around to watch us leave.

Our driver had waited for us, so we got into the car and started making our way back to the hotel. We didn’t get far before we got behind an ox cart with a large statue of Vishnu on it. The cart would stop every few buildings and people would come out to the street and offer prayers. Slowly but surely, we made our way back through the winding streets, past the animals and throngs of people, and back to the familiar honking, motorcycle and rickshaw filled main thoroughfare. Back at the hotel, we were full and exhausted, but we knew even then that our evening at their home for dinner would be one of our fondest travel memories ever. We wish we had more pictures to share of the evening, but we were there as their guest, not as tourists, so we did not take any other pictures of that wonderful evening. Since returning home, we’ve tried several times to replicate the potato curry that we were served, without much success. Some things can’t be duplicated.