There can't be many places where you can be blessed by an elephant and buy a beautiful new handbag in the same afternoon. But this is India, land of extraordinary contrasts, ancient and modern. So there are bullock carts alongside BMWs, girls wearing jasmine garlands and baseball caps, glass-fronted gyms with runners pounding the treadmills right next to roadside shrines.My close encounter with the giant beast took place outside a temple dedicated to Ganesh, the popular Hindu god of wisdom and success who has the body of a boy and the head of an elephant. Guided by a friendly passer-by, I nervously placed a coin in its trunk which then deposited the offering before swinging back and touching me gently on the top of my head.� What could have been a killer blow was more like a caress.Families followed, laughingly holding up their children and babies, making my fears seem even more foolish. Then I remembered our guide Akila from the tour group Storytrails, saying at another temple that these were not just places for solemn worship but for socialising, gossiping, eating and drinking, even showing off your new clothes.The Ganesh temple was in Pondicherry, about 100 miles down the coast from our main base in Chennai, and itself something of a curiosity, having once been a corner of France in the mighty empire of the British Raj. The French, in fact, ruled here for 300 years, only leaving in 1954 and there are still wide boulevards, French street names and a lycee high school. The town's other claim to fame is the renown Sri Aurobindo Ashram whose combination of yoga and science draws devotees from around the world.On our way there we have visited its spin-off Auroville, an international community about five miles outside Pondicherry where men and women strive to live in peace, creativity and spiritual harmony. Any notion that this is the last bastion of hippy tie-dye though is dispelled by the visitor centre's shop where among hundreds of lovely things I bought my vermilion silk hand-sewn bag for an absurd rupee equivalent of about �15/?17/$25.On our way back we stopped off at the Mahabalipuram Shore Temple, home to marvellous 7th century carvings on the outside and to hundreds of bats on the inside, and Dakshinachitra, the interactive museum of South Indian life. Here visitors can have a go at basket weaving, leaf painting, pottery and making a kolam - the� pattern drawn daily in rice flour outside a home to welcome guests and attract prosperity. On another day in Chennai itself we have been invited into a real house as part of our Storytrails tour. We carefully stepped in in right foot first - the left is considered unlucky - and removed our shoes. As Akila explained, furniture is a relatively new concept: previously most things were done on the floor so it was vital to keep it clean. Here again were examples of tradition and modernity: the big tv screen companion to the household altar.The house was just round the corner from the Kapaleeshwarar Temple with its extravagant 120ft tower where we learned something of the complexity of Hinduism with its thousands of gods and goddesses.There was once a substantial Jewish presence in the city linked to the export of the diamonds of Golconda to London and the import of gold, coral and pearls. The Sephardic community lived in what is still called Coral Merchants Street but by the late 18th century the trade was spent and the last Jewish merchant, Moses de Castro, left in 1786. Their synagogue is long gone and all that remains today is a small Jewish cemetery with a few stones in a corner of the larger Lloyds Road cemetery but the whole place is neglected and overgrown.The city is also a place of significance for Christians. 'Doubting' Thomas brought the faith here in AD 52 and his Basilica is built over his relics.There is no doubt that the city formerly known as Madras ? it changed its name back to its old pre-colonial one in 1996 ? has become a remarkable place: a powerhouse of technological innovation , industrial expansion and economic growth. The fourth biggest city in India, it now produces cars, computers, chemicals, software and pharmaceuticals.Yet it still retains its historic and cultural heart. So, you can be pampered with traditional ayurvedic massage, have your hands painted with intricate henna patterns, bargain at a bazaar, catch a cricket match, a colourful dancing display and a ?marsala movie? (so-called because, like the spice mix, they have a bit of everything) at one of the countless cinemas. You can wander past wonderful old colonial buildings like the high court and the railway station and do some serious shopping for exquisite silks and serious carpets.A visit to the eight mile Marina Beach, the second longest in the world, is a must. The irony is that the waters of the Bay of Bengal here are too treacherous for bathing - you have to go further down the coast for that - but you can enjoy every other seaside activity imaginable. So there's paddling, pony-riding, palmistry, pet monkeys, tattooists,� children's ferris wheels and roundabouts (all operated only by manpower), rifle ranges, souvenir sellers and snack bars. Food in Chennai is generally delicious and particularly heavenly for vegetarians. You can eat well for a fiver at vegetarian restaurants or pay only a little more at middle of the road meat and fish ones. But even at Vascos in the Hilton you?ll only pay around �17 for a buffet of dozens of different choices, local and international. Alcohol though is trickier. The city took a stern stance a few years ago and now the only decent bars are inside hotels.We stayed at the recently opened Hilton Chennai - the company is so convinced that India is the country of the future that it's opened five hotels already and plans a further ten - and were glad of its calm, comforts and efficiency. The 204-room hotel combines five star Western standards with Indian themes in decor and dining. For breakfast, for example, you can have a fry-up or a curry. There might be times when you need to chill out, such as after an hour in an auto-rickshaw ? the cheapest and most authentic mode of transport but not for the faint-hearted -� or if you?re feeling a bit sticky ? they say the seasons are hot, hotter and hottest ? or you?re getting rather dazzled by all the sights and sounds. I found a swim in the hotel?s rooftop infinity pool followed by a long iced drink soon recharged the batteries though and made me ready for the next amazing experience.Useful info: Where to stay?---We stayed at the Hilton Chennai. Prices start from �123/?139/$200 per night plus tax.Search more hotels in Chennai How to get there?---Our flight from London Heathrow to Chennai was with Emirates via Dubai. Prices are around �525 return. Find flights to Chennai from your airport: �Further information www.chennai.org.uk
30 August 2011
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