Trichy

Just a quick post. I spent a full day sightseeing and as I'm not fully recovered I feel quite exhausted. One thing I observed about both Madurai and Trichy is that they are cities that are both modern and old. Madurai used to be a walled city and a ring of roads still defines the wall perimeter. The 'old city' is withing the perimeter and in its center is the magnificent temple. Outside the old city limits is a very modern, prosperous 21st century city. Madurai also has a terrific train station which is extremely user friendly. Trichy is quite spread out and so are its three main temples. This turned out to be a good thing because it got me to see different parts of the city. The first temple I saw - the Rock Fort Temple - is up high on a hill, built into a rock. From up there you have great views of the city. The main temple - the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple - is quite impressive. Similar in style to the Sri Meenakshi with the colorful carvings on the gopurams, it is older, bigger, and has a more interesting history. Going through these temple towns you become aware of the great Tamil Classical age which began about 200 B.C. and went on for a few hundred years. The Dravidians, the first people of this region, were part of the Indus civilization that migrated out south. The Dravidians revered the arts and there is a treasure of Tamil literature by the great poets like Theyagarja and Thiruvur. Anyway, I'm happy I made it to Trichy. Not quite sure what happens tomorrow - except that I will definitely be leaving Trichy!