Mahabalipuram – City of Carved Stone (part 1)

On Sunday three teachers and I boarded a local bus (16 rupees - $0.34) headed southward to the city of Mahabalipuram, a pleasant 58 km (36 miles) from Chennai. Like most local busses, this one had natural air conditioning coming through its windows devoid of glass. Plugging in a pair of headphones and listening to music helped diminish the blaring sound of the bus horn, sounded frequently as the bus made its way down the East Coast Road. A bit more than an hour later, we arrived and were greeted by a auto rickshaw driver who offered to take us to all the sights, now declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Located on the Bay of Bengal on a long beach, the city of Mahabalipuram was once a major port-city, built by the Pallava king. During the rule of the Pallavas, innovative styles of architecture and art emerged, with the area of Mahabalipuram showcasing these new styles including the style known as Dravida. Most of the famous rock-cut architecture dates back to the 5th – 9th centuries.

Wandering around the rock-hewn temples and other structures (a total of 40 architectural pieces), one couldn’t help but marvel at how these exquisite carvings and reliefs were created. Some of the temples were carved out of caves, whose columns flanked by lion-like figures at the base gleamed in the bright daylight and bas-relief stories of Hindu gods adorned the shadowed walls. Other temples, such as the Ratha temples were carved out of a single rock. Such carvings (including the multi-storey temples) were executed from top to the bottom, thus enabling the workers to execute their artistry without damaging things below. Therefore, unfinished elements tended to be at the bottom areas.

Much of Mahabalipuram’s rock sculptures remain a mystery. Even the purpose of the structures is uncertain, with many believing that they were not constructed for worship. Equally puzzling is why work was abandoned before completion.

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