Art Museums We Loved In Europe & Asia – South India

During our 55 years of International travel, Art Museums in Europe and Asia always attracted my wife and I. This week we pick up the second half of our trip in India. Earlier we visited museums in the North, this time we cover museums or the likes of museums from Chennai (formerly Madras), south to the State of Kerala and by boat to islands that dip into the Indian Ocean.

The South portion of India consists of 4 states, but our visit was only to Chennai in the Tamil Nadu and to Kerala area, India’s most Southern region. In Tamil near the Bay of Bengal is The National Art Gallery with its unique collection of industrial arts, including wood carvings, ivory work, metal-ware and works with inlays and embossing. In the museums 6 independent buildings are 46 galleries, we visited just one.

The National Art Gallery

Pantheon Road, Egmore, Chennai - 600 008. Tamil Nadu

1/2 KM from the Egmore Railway Station.

2 KM from the Central Railway Station.
20 KM from Meenambakkam Air Port.

Hours:9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Holidays:Fridays and National Holidays

Republic Day (26th January),
Independence Day (15th August)

Gandhi Jayanthi (2nd October)

Entrance Fee:Rs. 15/- for adults (Indian Nationals)
Rs. 10/- for children below 12 years (Indian Nationals)
Rs. 5/- for bonafide students and teachers in groups with prior
permission (Indian Nationals)

Rs. 250/- or US $ 5 for adult (Non-Indian Nationals)
Rs. 125/- or US $ 2.50 for children (Non-Indian Nationals)
Rs. 75/- or US $ 1.50 for bonafide students and teachers in groups with prior permission (Non-Indian Nationals)

Camera Fee:Rs. 200/- per camera. Video Camera:Rs. 500/- per video camera

All of our one hour visit was with the bronzes, some of the most exquisite we’d ever seen. Their collection numbers about 1500 pieces, 85 bronzes are Buddhist, 2 dozen Jain and the rest Hindu. The museum notes that this may be the largest collection of metal figures ever assembled.

Several sculptures are so wonderfully wrought, they’ve become world art treasures. The collection comes from eras ranging from early Christian to recent times. Four Buddha figures excavated at Amaravati date from the 3rd century AD. Of the Jain bronzes a large Tirthankara metal from Madurai is thought to be from about 10th century AD. However, the greatest part of the Bronze collection is of Hindu gods, goddesses and devotees

Considered the most famous are sculptures are from Nagapattinam, one a seated Buddha, the other a small Simhanada in the graceful maharajah lila pose.

What we found overwhelming were Bronzes of Bramha, Vishna, Siva, Ganesa, and other Gods. Though no camera flash was permitted, many sculptures caught sufficient existing light at good angles, so we were able to capture some neat photos. Having the hour to enjoy the exhibit proved a good use of time; we needed every minute of it.

Here is some of the gallery exhibits: An exquisite dancing Nataraja, a 4 Faced Brahma, a Chandikesvar with a Snake Coiled Headdress and another without the Snake, Ayenar, a village God popular in the South and two wonderful Ganesa.

Our next museum visit was to a museum in description only, the temple at Mahabalipuram, believed to be the only temple to have survived erosion from sea salt and air. In mythology, Mahabalipuram is supposedly where the Serpent Sasha supported Vishna, a story depicted in sandstone on a Cave Wall dating back from the Stone Age.

Here is an overview of the site, buildings and sandstone sculptures

Moving to the South, we arrived at Pondicherry, considered the French Quarter. Looking at porches on the buildings, with their wrought iron grills and colorful plants and flowers, you instantly think of New Orleans. What made it different from Big Easy was a huge statue of Gandhi near the beach. Today Pondicherry is hub of many nationalities, but only France has its embassy there. Most others nations have their consulates in Delhi.

One morning at 6: 00 am, we waited for the Sun’s pre-dawn rays to photograph the humongeous Thanjavur Brihadishvara Temple with its magnificently preserved building structure sculptures and glorious wall murals. This is considered the greatest Shaivite temple in southern India, built by the Chola dynasty between the 9th and 13th centuries AD.

Guarding the shrine is a gigantic Bull, the mythical mount of Lord Shiva. Thanjavur is considered the second largest monolithic sculpture of its kind in the country. It’s still not known how a single stone structure of such dimension could be carved out in a region with no rock formations.

With the sunrise beginning to look over our shoulder, here are some reasonable shots we managed of the temple, the bull and the wall art.

Our next photo op was in the beach community of Mahabaliupuram, where as early as c.650 to 893, local artists changed art architectural history by creating with stone what they had previously carved from wood. This seaside temple is among the earliest with cave wall paintings. Its monolithic rocks highlight a massive 3-storied Dharmajara-ratha. Could the stones from here have been transported to Thanjavur to build the Bridhadishara Temple?

If this were Hawaii, the next temple we saw would have been called “The Big Kahuna”, because easily it’s the mother of all temples, the largest in the world. In fact, this isn’t a single temple at all, but a series of temples with each temple gate leading to the next building, six temples in all. Each structure stands at least 20 stories high with hundreds of stone sculptures of the Gods on every garrulously painted level. The total complex is named BRIDHADI SVARA TEMPLE THANJAVUR has this sign out front“ ... Raja Rajechrtam, it is the grandest creation of the Raja Raja Chola I (885-1012 AD) and was consecrated for worship on the 275^th day of the 25^th year of the king’s reign (1010 AD)”. Now that’s a real WOW!!

Continuing South, our next stop was Madurai, we found a truly important museum.

The Madurai Gandhi Museum

Location - 0.6km away from Anna Bus Stand

No entrance fee.

Camera and Video Fee:Rs.50

Hours :10:00 to 13:00 & 14:00 to 17:45 Office Telephone:2531060

The Madurai is the first of India’s many Gandhi Memorial Museums. It was dedicated by the former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Today, it is one of the Peace Museums Worldwide selected by United Nations.

On the walls of each room as you walk, you follow the story, aided by hundreds of wonderful photos and newspaper stories depicting the life and history of Gandhi and India. Built c. 1690 A.D, it was the Tamukkam Palace. In more recent times it became The East India Company offices, then for many years residence of the Madurai British District Collector. On 30-Jan-1995, the building with about 13 acres of land was gifted by the State Government to house the Museum.

In Madurai, we also visited an additional true museum, called The Madurai Art Temple, but the official name for this unique collection is …

The Sri Meenakshi Temple complex.

Admission – RS7

Not nearly as tall as the surrounding Bridhadi Svara, but much more a museum in content; it shows some relics that go back 2000 years. The “must sees” are the “1000 Pillared Hall” dedicated to temple art and decorated with many Friezes, Stone and Brass images. There’s also an exceptional exhibit of Hindu Deities.

From the roof of this temple/museum most of the city can be seen. What stood out was the roof of the Golden Domed Temple, which only local faithful could enter.

After a wonderful week all over Kerala, we headed for the West Coast and the town of Kochi, or if preferred, Chosen. We were there to see ….

The Paradesi Synagogue

Built in 1583 by Jews who came to Southern India from Palestine and other Middle Eastern Countries and refuges escaping from Europe. In number so many hundreds came that they created a community that had 7 synagogues. Paradesi, the oldest, is the only one still active. Several Indian languages say Paradesi when they mean “foreigners”. It was applied to the first early arrivals to mean “White Jews”. In old Cochin the section where The Paradesi Synagogue is located, is named Jew Town.

At the time of our visit, there were only a handful of Jewish worshippers remaining, not enough to form a “Minion”. That requires attendance by ten males over the age of 13 to recite the Sabbath prayers. Each weekend males from elsewhere are bused in, though less each year, as they die away not to be replaced because there are no replacements.

What Jewish ancestors did leave was an amazing floor and ceiling created of Blue and White “willow” patterned tiles, they bought or brought from Canton, China in the late 1500’s when the temple was built.

The Chosen Synagogue is now a part of the World Monument Fund’s Jewish Heritage Program.

Next week, we return to Paris to visit what was once the main Paris train station, the immense D’Orsay, with room after room of paintings, drawings & sculptures from all the periods of France art.