Essential South India

Temples, Empires and Spices in Tamil Nadu and Kerala

30 Nov.–13 Dec. 2023 (mj 132)

14 days • £5,810 International flights not included Lecturer: Asoka Pugal

Hindu art, architecture and rituals in the finest temples of Tamil Nadu. Colonial history in Chennai, Pondicherry, Kochi. Silk and coir weaving, bronze moulding, teapicking and spice-growing. Tropical landscapes.

The geographical features of the Indian Subcontinent have played a major role in its long history. While the riverine plains of northern India have allowed migrations and invasions, the southernmost tip of the Indian peninsula has remained protected from the north by a series of mountain ranges and rivers, uncrossable for centuries. Surrounding the peninsula the Indian Ocean brings a distinctive tropical climate. Its predictable monsoon rains make the land highly productive; rice paddy fields, coconut groves and spice plantations have sustained many Hindu kingdoms and empires for millennia. Monsoon winds have also brought settlers and traders from East Africa and Europe to both coasts since antiquity; early Christians and Jews landed on the Malabar Coast in 52 ad, while the Portuguese, Dutch, French and English all established trade posts, following the sea route supposedly discovered by Vasco de Gama in 1498.

Itinerary

Day 1: Chennai, Mahabalipuram. The hotel is situated on the peaceful, coastal outskirts. First of three nights near Chennai. Day 2: Mahabalipuram. The Shore Temple combines shrines to Shiva and Vishnu. 7thcentury shrines catalogue the architectural possibilities inherent in the Dravida tradition. Day 3: Chennai. The bronze collection of the Government Museum; Fort St George and St Mary’s, India’s oldest surviving British church. Day 4: Pondicherry. A former French enclave retaining much of its colonial architecture. Overnight Pondicherry. Day 5: Kumbakonam, Thanjavur. Kumbakonam has numerous Chola temples. The Airavateshvara temple, Darasuram, is a late Chola masterpiece. First of two nights in Thanjavur. Day 6: Thanjavur. The colossal Brihadishvara temple of Thanjavur was built c.1010; the museum in the Thanjavur palace houses Chola sculpture. Day 7: Chettinad. Lunch at The Bangala, renowned for its food and cooking classes; saree silk-weaving at a Chettiar family mansion. First of two nights in Kanadukathan. Day 8: Kanadukathan. Excursion to two rural temples, the Vijayalaya-Cholishvara, Narthamalai and the Arivar Koil cave temple (8th-century). Day 9: Madurai. The vast Meenakshi Temple complex, the epitome of a South Indian ‘templecity’. Overnight in Madurai. Day 10: Kumily. Leave Tamil Nadu for Kerala. Afternoon walk around a spice plantation. First of two nights in Kumily. Day 11: Peermade. Full tour of a tea plantation in the hills of the Peermade region, with tea-tasting and lunch on the estate.

Day 12: Keralan backwaters. Cruise on a houseboat modelled on the traditional kettuvallams. Kochi for two nights. Day 13: Kochi. A walk through Fort Cochin; Mattancherry Palace (the murals in the king’s bedroom are a masterpiece of Keralan painting); the Paradesi Synagogue, built in 1568. Day 14. Transfers to Kochi Airport are arranged for your onward journey.

Right: Pondicherry, portico of a pagoda, engraving c. 1880.