The Chola trail ..
July end will go down in my travel diary as one of the best trips Ive ever had this year. And I must thank a few people for this. First and foremost, my uncle, second, my mother and then, a couple of friends Sivaram and VJ Kumar and my father for not missing my mother’s absence 🙂 
So where did I go ? I was in interior Tamilnadu and was lured by the art and architecture of the Chola kings- Raja Raja 1, Rajendra Chola and Raja Raja 11 , all built between the 11th and 12th century. Words defy me as I stood near the Big or the Brihadeshwara temple at Thanjavur whose Vimana is a staggering 216 feet tall, the Brihadeshwara temple at Gangai Konda cholapuram, the forgotten capital of Rajendra Chola and Darasuram of Raja Raja II. When someone asked me how I felt, I said – humbled ! 
heyyy
love the 1st n 2nd pic… which temple is this???? entha ooru?
:)cute pic of mom n perippa[he’s looking totally content n lost in thots]…:)
i have never been there 🙁
Nice pictures.
Thanks for sharing.
Nice to know you had a great trip! 🙂
This is a lovely temple indeed.Got a chance to visit it and the palace two years back.
Did you get your nadi reading done on your visit.
The people in the picture. They are having the time of their lives. 🙂
I also saw a banner that says that you are in the top 100 travelling sites. Congrats.
Just three weeks back I was there,in addition to kumbakonam,Uppiliappan temples..wow such wonders they are and as you rightly said humbling
TC
CU
Love the temples of South India…they are so beautiful and clean!! Sacred places that are littered turn me off!
hi laxmi…lots of roaming around of you to catch up 🙂 nice shots as usual…
– tanu
Captivating pictures! One can feel the atmosphere.
TN for sure is fascinating. Rock ON Chola’s 😛
Cheers!
I guess Raja Raja Chola had invaded a place called Kedah in Malaysia…as the word kedah is from Tamil…
nice pics…
Lakshmi…fantastic photos…I love the architecture..the elephants are amazing..So glad you had such a successful trip…good blessings for you and yours…
It would be nice to visit this place.
Very impressive! I am afraud I cannot even imagine the grandezza of this place and the atmosphere around it, never having seen anything like it in real life.
Those stairs with the elephants are out of this world!
Once again your images of this country amaze ME!
Is this your dad? I love this photo.
x…x
steph
Very impressive! Would love to see this. Thanks for sharing.
Wow… you have quite a way to capture a beauty (bow). I have been to this the temple a number of times from when I was very young and this one still never stops to amaze me. I still have to visit a lot of temple in the list I gave you, hope it happens sometime soon.
I really can’t believe Aarthi, the first commenter asking what temple is this? Is she really serious? And thanks for the thanks 😉
hey lakshmi..
Looking fwd to reading more about your trip…. was showing gramma some of the posts, she was like ‘i shall learn and sit and check them out”… 🙂
Siva- well,i asked entha ooru cos i knew she was travelling to many places..:)
I’ve not been to these places, its only now that i’ve been bitten by that ravel bug and exploring places around TN…
Amazing architecture, all hidden in pockets of India.
I love your photos of people…you capture them well.
lovely pictures… isn’t history a pleasure when it involves travelling! I did a similar trail a few months back and learnt more about the Cholas in a few days time than I had after years of history lessons.
Hi Lakshmi,
Your post brought back a flood of memories of my trip to Thanjavur a decade ago.
The sheer engineering feat of the temple!
I was mesmerized back then and now by the place.
Must visit again 🙂
Thanks – Avi
Hey Lakshmi, these pictures are beautiful. Fortunately they are not oil-painting the temples and the natural color looks splendid.
btw, the third thumbnail (is that your mom?) is not loading.
wow…………….
nice pictures
travel India
The last picture of the gentleman leaning against history is very evocative.
Excellent feel to the picture.
Man that temple is huge. Did you take advantage of any Cheap Airport Parking?