Gods And Monsters

On the temple circuit of Tamil Nadu in India’s vibrant deep south, ancient rituals and everyday spirituality combine to form an intricate journey of enlightenment.

- Helen Anderson

There’s nothing simple about a lesson in Hindu cosmology. ‘There’s Brahma, the creator of the Universe, with his wife Saraswati,’ says our guide Charles, pointing to a candy coloured riot of gods and monsters gazing beatifically from Kapaleeshwarar Temple’s facade in Mylapore, old Chennai. He continues at length, describing the powers of the supergods, their animal chariots of choice and the names of their avatars and children. Some say there are 33 million Hindu gods; others 330 million. There’s a lot to remember and much that needs explaining, and the divine genealogy is only the half of it.

Though Tamil Nadu is a populous state approaching 80 million people, it feels distinctly different to the ‘golden triangle’ tourist circuit of northern India. In the capital Chennai, the traffic jams are more civilised, the touts fewer and less persistent, and the dress code sari-specific. ‘Tamil is the world’s oldest language,’ says one guide, adding that this is one of the few Indian states that doesn’t teach Hindi in government schools. This helps explain the palpable northsouth divide that pervades everything from politics to cuisine.