On our way North to Chennai from Auroville, about 3 hours drive, we stopped in an archaelogical site Mahabalipuram.
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| Entrance fees for foreigner 600rp, local 40rp |
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| maintenance works on going |
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| takes 10 men to move a piece of granite manually today |
THE SHORE TEMPLE
Mahabalipuram is 58 km south of Chennai. An ancient historic town and a bustling seaport in the 1st millennium CE, now a beachside tourism center with a group of Hindu monuments declared as UNESCO world heritage site.
These monuments carved out of rocks are dated back to the 7th and 7th Century : RATHAS (temples in the form of chariots), MANDAPAS (cave sanctuaries ), SHORE TEMPLE dedicated to Shiva, Durga, Vishu , Krishna and others.
and we moved on to KRISHNA'S BUTTERBALL
Perched on a steep rock slope in the historic town of Mahabalipuram.
This massive round boulder known as Krishna's Butterball refuses to give in to gravity or the shoves of tourists.
It is approx 6 meters high and 5 meters wide and weighs around 250 tons !
It is called Krishna's Butterball because butter is his favorite food and it is a myth that it falls from heaven. It is also known as "Vaanirai Kal " which means "Stone of the Sky God ".
Even it is unmoved by tsunami, earthquakes or cyclones for over 1200 years old.
Isnt it strange that whatever the reson this butterball failed our science. There is a story behind it ...in 1908 the Governor of Madras Arthur Lawley, decided to remove this ball because he feared the safety of his people. So he sent seven elephants and tried to move the rock but it didnt move an inch !
Be it science or supernatural powers, this Butterball is giving gravity a real challenge .
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| Iron lady from Malaysia coudnt even moved an inch |
Marina Beach in Chennai
Marina Beach in Chennai along Bay of Bengal is India's longest and world's second longest beach. This predominantly sandy of nearly 12 km extends from Beasant Nagar in the south to Fort St George in the North.
We took the Metro from our Hotel Lotus Sameera only 10rp and very clean and new Metro, I guessed, to the next stop at Estate Govt station and was suppose to catch the feeder bus to Marina Beach but lucky for us we met a University student who was on her way to the University (which is opposite Marina Beach ) . So she offered to take us there.....we jumped on the public bus and within 8 minutes we were at the doorstep of the University and across the road is the beach.
around the city ....
