A Memorable trip to Mahabalipuram - Pancha Rathas

18 October 2019: Arrived at Chennai from Coimbatore by Cheran Express. From Central Station lugged our strollers across towards the underground Chennai Metro, bought tickets and boarded the train towards Meenambakkam. This is my maiden ride in Chennai Metro and the journey was exhilarating. Reminded me of Singapore Metro in which I had traveled extensively in 2018. Crossed familiar stations like Government Estate,LIC, Thousand lights, Nandanam, Saidapet,Guindy, St.Thomas Mount & Nanganallur Rd before alighting at Meenambakam. The ride was completed in 30 minutes and cost me Rs.50/-At Meenambakam booked an Uber ride and took the cab to Keelkattalai where my nephew lives in a nice compact, convenient and pleasingly furnished house. We started the day with two cups of invigorating piping hot decoction coffee. Then a refreshing bath followed by early lunch. Next we proceeded to Mahabalipuram accompanied by my nephews family in his newly acquired Maruti Suzuki Ertiga - a very roomy, luxurious and comfortable MUV with air conditioning at both front and rear. There were traffic snarls for while until we hit the ECR road after which it was a smooth uninterrupted drive upto Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram an ancient port town 58 kms from Chennai on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. This ancient town dates back to the 7th Century AD when it was founded by Pallava King Narasimhavarman I. It is known for its intricately carved cave temples, sculptures & brilliant bas reliefs. We landed at this historical location immediately after the conclusion of an important summit held here between Indian & Chinese Heads of State. The town was amazingly clean and we enjoyed bright sunshine.
The first group of monuments we visited was the Pancha Rathas or Pandava Rathas (Ratha means Chariot) - a fine example of monolithic rock cut architecture. The five ratha styled temples are named Dharmaraja Ratha, Arjuna Ratha, Bhima Ratha, Nakula-Sahadeva Ratha & Draupadi Ratha. There are also life size sculptures of an elephant & a lion and a bull (Nandi).The Europeans referred to this as the seven pagodas based on the seven pinnacles atop the temples.This entire complex has been declared a World Heritage Site. Entrance fee per person is Rs.35.00
Revisiting these monuments after a gap of several decades. A memorable visit capped by some excellent pictures largely due a beast of a camera: Redme K20 Pro and a brand new selfie stick.

THE LIFE SIZE ELEPHANT SCULPTURE

NAKULA SAHADEVA RATHA

THE LION & DRAUPADI RATHA (L) ARJUNA RATHA(R)

DRAUPADI RATHA

THE BHIMA RATHA

THE DHARMARAJA RATHA

THE BHIMA RATHA

THE FOUR RATHAS FROM REAR:DHARMARAJA-BHIMA-ARJUNA-DURGA

BHIMA RATHAM

THE ARJUNA RATHA