Mahabalipuram

This weekend’s adventure was to the city of Mahabalipuram! From the research I did about Mahabalipuram I realized I had done a book report on the temples in 6th grade. Correction, my mother and I had done a book report on the temples there. I remember the red poster with pictures of each temple, specifically the Shore Temple. I also remember that the assignment was to do a book report on an author and I went and asked if I could do the report on a book about the Temples in Mahabalipuram. Classic move.

Mahabalipuram is an ancient city in Tamil Nadu that dates back to the 7th century. It was created during the Pallava dynasty who ruled the area from the 6th to 9th century. The name of the city Mahabalipuran or Mamallapuram was taken from the Pallava King Narasimhavarman who was nicknamed the Great Wrestler or “Mamallan”. The entire city was carved from rocks and consists of three different sanctuaries- rathas which are temples in the form of chariots, madapas which are cave sanctuaries, and then massive reliefs carved into rock.

I had taken the day off from work so I took an early morning flight to Chennai where I met Anjali and baby Norah. This was Norah's first vacation and I was excited to spend time with her. She had grown so much since the last time I saw her when she was just 2 months old. As soon as I saw her she eagerly came to my arms and I got to hold her. She was going to be my arm workout for the weekend.

Mahabalipuram was about an hour and a half drive from Chennai and Anjali had arranged a taxi to take us there. We made a stop along the way at a restaurant called The Farm which was a farm to table restaurant. The property was very green and beautiful. There was a small temple on site and so many animals! We saw many of my cow fwends, cats, dogs, and more. We were unsure if Bubs would allow us to eat but we ordered masala fish fry for both of us. The lady at the counter managed to convince Anjali that the masala was very spicy and I wouldn't be able to handle it so Anjali ordered a masala-less fish for me. Big oopsie! She had yet to learn how much I love spice! We ended up splitting both dishes anyway so there was no problem at all. Bubs loved seeing all of the different animals at the farm and we even took a little walk to see all of the beautiful displays of tropical fruits in the store.

We were staying right in the heart of Mahabalipuram at Radisson Blu and it was a beautiful resort. It was so big and had two swimming pools and two restaurants. Everything about it screamed paradise. Coconut trees lined the walkways along with many other brightly colored flowers and thatched huts. I felt so relaxed already.Things were quite far apart so they took us by buggy to our rooms after we checked in. Bubs had to have her afternoon nap so we all crashed for an hour before we headed to high tea.

Anjali and I were itching to explore already so we hired an auto and had him take us to whatever temples were still open. He suggested doing the 5 Rathas (Pancha Rathas), the Descent to the Ganga, and then finishing with the Shore Temple. It was already 6pm so the sun was sinking rapidly but we arrived at the 5 Rathas at the perfect time. The temples were aglow with the afternoon light. A guide harassed us enough so we said fine and he gave us a historical tour of the 5 Rathas explaining the history of the site. As the name implies, there were 5 different monolithic temples - Draupadi Ratha, Arjuna Ratha, Bhima Ratha, Dharmaraja Ratha, and Nakula-Sahadeva Ratha. Each temple had unique carvings on the exterior and a different god inside of the sanctum. There was also a huge monolithic elephant and Shiva’s bull Nandi grouped with the temples.

The second place we stopped at was Krishna's Butterball. The Butterball is a 20 feet tall boulder that sits on a steep slow. The boulder weighing 250 tons defies gravity and has not moved for centuries. It was named after Lord Krishna as Butterball is said to be his favorite food. It is believed the rock is more than 1200 years old. At one point the Pallava King made a failed attempt to move the Butterball. Again in 1908, The British governor of Madras Arthur Havelock had 7 elephants pull the boulder and even still the boulder did not budge. So today it stands a mystery. When we arrived the place was closing which meant there was not a single person there so Norah and I quickly posed as if the ball was falling onto us and moved to the next monument.

Right next to the Butterball was the Descent of the Ganga and it was so impressive to admire the detail of the relief. The last place we rushed to was the shore temple but by the time we arrived, it was already pitch black so we could not see anything. I would need to return tomorrow.

When we returned home Anjali needed to deal with a screaming Norah so I headed for a dip in the infinity pool. The water was so warm and relaxing. It was exactly what I needed and I felt at peace. I laid on my back and just floated, admiring the stars in the night sky and listening to the music of the Navratri festival right next to the pool. From the ledge of the infinity pool, I could see the colorful fabric and lights of the tent where the Dhaniya was occuring. I caught glimpses of everything bedecked in colorful sparkly outfits wondering how I could sneak in and joined the fun. I was definitely having some serious FOMO but hoped someone would take me dancing soon to one!

Anjali and I did dinner separately so we could take turns watching baby in the room. I went to the seafood restaurant called the Warf 2.0. The staff were very friendly and started me off with a welcome drink and complementary starter. For the main course I ordered fried squid with the local masala. The waiter warned me the masala would be very spicy and I reassured her I love spicy. I don't think she fully believed me because she kept returning to ask me if I was doing okay. The waiter did not lie for once. It was definitely spicy but it was also so flavorful and I loved the masala they had put. It was yum! At the end she came back with complementary pan chocolate. I think all the complementary food were included in the absorbent resort prices of the food. I was too scared to eat the pan chocolate as I thought pan was tobacco so I took it back to the room.