Exploring Chennai

I started my exploration of the Chennai City at the T. Nagar Ranganathan Street Market which is suppose to be one of the places with the largest gold and silk exchange. The street was littered with paper, crowded and full of street vendors selling items from common housewares to fine silk scarfs and sarees. I felt comfortable however looking at the items and doing some souvenir shopping. It was exhilarating being a part of the rhythm of the city. While looking at some sarees in a shop one the ladies working there asked me if I was married. I told them no, I was just looking at sarees for my sister. She then smiled and asked, "You, me get married?" I just laughed and replied no. I don't believe she truly expected any other answer but it made me smile. The hardest part of being on this street were the beggars, especially the women with a sleeping child in their arms, who persistently asked for money. They kept following me throughout the street and even to the rickshaw to continue to ask for money. My heart went out to them but due to principle of being out here to help the lepers and outcasts in India realize that they can do more than just beg I had to deny them of my money.

After I was finished exploring the street I carried my journey to the Santhome Cathedral Basilica to see the tomb of the Apostle St. Thomas. Aparently his remains have already been removed and carried to Ortano in 1258 where they are still housed. At this basilica, however, there is a shrine that preserves a small bone from the hand that touched the side of Jesus after His resurrection. They didn't allow us to take pictures in the tomb but I did take some pictures of the Cathedral on the outside and inside.

I next went to the Kapaleeshwar Temple, which is the oldest temple in Chennai. It is a temple for the Hindu-diety, Shiva, who is respected as the Supreme God who with his right hand holds the power of creation and with his left hand holds the power of destruction. He is always represented as an eternal youth due to his authority over death, rebirth and immortality. Shiva is also the father of Ganesha, the God of good luck who has the head of an elephant and the body of a man, and the father of Murugan, the God of War and Victory who has six faces. The temple has around 10,000 statues built that depict Hindu stories of Shiva and his family and they are all hand painted by 300 men within a month, every ten years. Within the temple there is a wedding hall that was being prepared while I was there and I learned that married women will wear a silver ring on both of their second toes.

After visiting the temple I took a trip to the Marina Beach along the coast of the Bay of Bengal. The beach itself is not exactly pretty but it is one of the longest beaches in Southeast Asia measuring around 12 km long. While there I got to ride on top of a white Arabian horse full speed along the coast. It was quite the adventure to enjoy the seaside breeze and look out on the murky waters of of the Bay of Bengal. Surprisingly there was not a big crowd along the beach but I could see from a distance several big ships anchored to the port and huge red light house keeping guard of the beach.