South India: Thanjavur to Madurai

Painting the Indian flag design on ox horns is quite popular.

The godess Kali watches over a flower patch.

Outside the temple

Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram

Temple tank

Truth in advertising..

One of our frequent coconut stops. My travel mates were all having a good time poking fun at my coconut addiction.

Airavateswarar Temple, Darasuram

The temple was officially closed when we arrived, but a guardian beckoned us in anyway. Poking around the empty grounds was very different from the usual hectic temple experience, and very relaxing.

a modern take on traditional Dravidian &lt;a href=

Outer gates - Brihadeeswarar Temple

Brihadeeswarar Temple

Me and my crew :-)

A local metalworking studio, Thanjavur

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Thiruchirappalli

Hanuman the monkey-god

The usual flurry of activity on the outside of a large temple

Contrast the lineup for the pooja store with the empty ice cream shop next door.

Giant chariots like this are the origin of the English word &lt;i&gt;juggernaut&lt;/i&gt;.

Thiruchirapalli, view from the hilltop temple

Rockfort Temple, Thiruchirapalli

No sacred cow is too sacred to gobble up roadside rubbish

Awaiting the Pooja ceremony, Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai

I know nothing about Hindu religious customs, but obviously this thing is a big deal.

The soundtrack

A vimanam by night

The temple elephant -

it charged me 10 rupees for...

(umm, is this okay?)

...a personal blessing

There was a lot of shampooing that night.

Efficiency!

Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal, Madurai

Truly, sex sells absolutely anything.

Enjoying one of the unavoidable thali meals. Our

The market outside the temple, off-hours

Madurai

Kali

Farewell to Madurai and Tamil Nadu. Next stop: Kerala!