I shared this photo in my previous post - do you see a temple tower on the top right?
That is the stunningly beautiful Venkatramana Temple inside the Gingee Fort. It is unlike any temple I have ever seen. I never imagined I'd use the word
eerie for a temple, but I really cannot think of another word to describe it. It was built by a Nayak king in the 16th century, but is now dilapidated and not in use even for worship. It was a little unsettling that many of the inner shrines that usually have idols of deities are empty! When we went, free food was being distributed outside the temple, but there were very few people, and inside, there was hardly anyone. It probably looks a lot more cheerful when it is sunny, but in the rain, it was very dramatic and super gorgeous despite the decay. It was raining pretty heavily by now, so those strange circles you see in some pictures are raindrops on my lens!
 |
| Spot the people in the picture to imagine how big and imposing the temple is |
 |
| The 7 storeyed 'gopuram' or entrance tower |
 |
| Stories of Lord Vishnu on the walls of the entrance passage |
 |
| A large courtyard with many pillared pavilions |
 |
| Remains of beautiful sculptures |
 |
| The ruins of the temple with the hills of Gingee behind them |
 |
| The huge empty passage around the temple |
Now the next temple - I don't remember for sure, and am unable to confirm looking at my photos, but I think this tiny temple by a pond is dedicated to Lord Ganesh. So charming, no?
There are still tons of photos from Gingee sitting on my hard disk, but I'm not going to bore you with any more :) Check out
part 1 and
part 2 for more about the fort and how to get there.
Edited to add this warning: This was on a rainy day - on a regular day, the place gets really hot - don't get misled by the mist in these photos :D
.jpg "Gingee Fort, Tamil Nadu")
