If you’re into history of text don’t miss this if you visit. Very rare glimpse of the state of Asian textual culture just before print and European influences hit. The temple is more in your face impressive but this was the highlight for me.
Conversation
I think I was a complaining 12-year-old the last time I was dragged by parents in their 40s on a major temple visit ~1986. Now I’m in my 40s helping parents in 80s navigate the brutal stone steps.
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These temple complexes are brutal on < 15 (boring for kids) and > 60 people (brutal on knees etc). Takes hours and it’s all barefoot walking. Often on hot stone.
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The steps are all 18” or higher for some reason. And the original stone railings just about a foot high. And they wisely don’t put modern railings, it would ruin the effect. But this means elderly need major help getting around everywhere and disabled basically need to be carried
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Doing this trip with parents and an aunt/uncle/cousin. Just learned that a Sanskrit book by my great grandfather is supposedly in the library. We looked for it but only the major stuff from 1700s to early 1800s is on display. He’d have been b 1870s.
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Back to parents place in Coimbatore
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And here’s a squirrel asleep on a plantain leaf
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Replying to
Squirrel. Indian squirrels are striped like chipmunks. There are no chipmunks in India.
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Replying to
It sort of is the mascot of Rama’s army in the Ramayana. There’s a story about how it got its stripes from Rama stroking it for helping build the bridge to Lanka.
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