Home Page

Tamil Nadu is a living museum where cultures and traditions that developed over 2,ooo years ago still flourish. Perhaps more than any other Indian state, Tamil Nadu dispalys not only the great antiquity of its culture, but also the viability-even the necessity-of this culture in todays's rapidly changing society addivted to the next episode.

Indian elephants and their keepers cross the shallows of the Kaveri Rives in the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary.Located in the central part of India's Southern state of Tamil Nadu, this preserve is one of the state's several important Animal Sanctuaries.

The Hindu Temple of Sri Venkateshwara atop the Tirumala Hills is probably one of the Biggest pilgrim centers in India,situated at an attitude of 2800 ft.among 7 hills covered with abundant greenery in the Eastern Ghats,this temple is believed to in existence for over 2000 years.

Madras is a clean and efficient city.It has an excellent public transport system; its auto-rikshaw scooters are all new and well maintained and its airport is modern and well planned.Important places:Ice House, Marina Beach, St.Thomas Mount, San Thome Cathedral Basilica, Parthasarthy Temple, Kapaleeswara Temple, Mylapore Temple, Kalakshetra Auditorium, Guindy National Park, Children's Park, Deer Park, Snake Park and Government Art Museum.

MAHABALIPURAM:

60 kms south of Madras is Mahabalipuram, the city the Pallava king MAhendra Varman built as a seaport to connect his empire with Southeast Asia.Over the centuries Pallava architects evolved their techniques. From cutting into rock to create their temples, they began to use the same rock for building. the first, and most perfect example of this develpment is the Shore Temple, the sole survivor of seven such temples.

70 kms(44 miles) west of Madras on the road to Banglore, Kanchipuram is in many respects a typical South indian town. But as one of India's seven sacred cities, this city of a thousand temples is a major centre of Hindu worship and Tamil history.

Close to the center of Tamil Nadu on the River Cauvery is Tiruchipalli, known better as Trichy. an ideal base from which to explore the temple towns of South India.North of the city, between the Cauvery River and its tributary the Kolidam, is an island where Trichy's two great temples are located. The largest, the remarkable Srirangam Temple, and the surrounding secular buildings are enclosed by seven great walls.Two kms (just over a mile) east of Srirangam, there was once a simple shrine under a jambu tree where, so the legend goes, an elephant used to worship Shiva. This shrine is now the splendid temple of Tituvanaikkaval- also called Jambukeswarwaram, after the jambu tree.

After leaving Trichy the Cauvery river flows east through Tamil Nadu's rice growing region and 55 kms (34 miles) away it arrives at thanjavur(Tanjore). South Indian culture has always revolved around temples. In Tanjavur the centre of such activity is the Chola temple, the Brihadeshwara,built by Rajaraja I (985-1016), the greatest of the Chola kings. Suffering from leprosy, rajaraja learned from his guru that he would be cured if he built a temple to Shiva. It took 12 years for the work to be finished, but when he finally took a bath in the temple tank, he was immediately cured of his affliction

MADURAI:The name 'Madurai' is said to be a corruption of mathuram, 'nectar' , a name given to the city after a drop of nectar fell from Shiva's hair. Madurai is a temple town; everythign physically, emotionally, culturally and commercially evolves around its great temple, the Meenakshi.The temple complex is one of the largest and most impressive in India and its soaring towers, the tallest over 48 metres(157 feet) high, are visible for miles around. In 1959 Jawaharlal Nehru opened the Gandhi Museum here, situated to the north of the Vaigai River. The museum contains a wealth of information about the Mahatma in the form of letters, photographs and personal possessions.

Kanya Kumari, at the extreme southern tip of India, is named after this goddess. As the presiding deity of the Kumari Amman Temple by the sea, she is now a symbol of unity and devotion. Kanya Kumari is especially regarded, for it is the meeting place of the arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal, and here Mahatma Gandhi's cremated ashes were brought immediately after his assasination in 1948.Kanya Kumari is noted for its magnificent sunrises and sunsets. It is also the only place in India where, when the moon is full, can the sun be seen setting while the moon rises on the same horizon