Stones of time


There are things in the world which naturally remain constant like the elements - scientific or non-scientific. And there are things that were meant to remain constant and stand against the sands of time as symbols or memoirs of the glorious achievements. I am speaking ,of course, about the ancient temples of India. This is not the first time I am visiting such temples. But that does not affect the feeling of awe that those temples command. You cant help, but feel intimidated by the gigantic structures, the technology used and the history behind them. The middle eastern part of tamil nadu, amazingly, is filled with such temples. Apart from the well known ones, there exist a host of temples which are devoid of attention by the Archaeological Department. Yet, each one of them is unique and engrosses the imagination of any one who visits it. UNESCO has rightly recognised some of these as world heritage sites. Especially the Darasuram temple. The sort of planning gone into the design of the temple is mind-blowing. The main temple is carved as a chariot pulled by elephants. The design works found on each ceiling, pillar, gopuram - all stand testimony to the highly skilled sculptors of that age. Although some renovations have been made after it was declared a world heritage site, the main temple remains as it is. And it will prevail for many more centuries. It is now rightly called one of "the great living chola temples".