My tour started in Chennai (formerly Madras), the capital of Tamil Nadu state in southern India.
We stayed at the Rain Tree Hotel, the first of many elegant hotels on this trip. Here is a view of the rooftop pool.
The language here is Tamil, a Dravidian language unrelated to Hindi and other languages of northern India. It has a rather sing-song quality to it, but the words are all unfamiliar to speakers of any Indo-European language. English is the common language that unites India, and is spoken more in Tamil Nadu than Hindi is. The Hindu religion, however, is the same as in the north.
At our first of many Hindu temples, we happened upon a procession in which the worshipers take a god out of the temple in a litter, to parade through the streets for a festival. The temple itself included elaborate statuary on the gate and other parts of the complex of buildings.
In Chennai we also saw the church of St. Thomas (Catholic), which is based on the legend that the apostle Thomas visited India shortly after the death of Jesus. In keeping with the Hindu custom of absorbing other faiths and gods into itself, Jesus is known here as "Guru Yesu."
We also visited the complex of government buildings of the former British fort, which now serves the Tamil Nadu state government.
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