A soft pearly light dims the stars and lifts the opaque veil of darkness from Mahabalipuram and the pyramidal contours of a diminutive temple swim into view silhouetted against a vast cathedral sky, like a wondrous unreality spun out of early morning magic. The colours deepen; the virginal blush of dawn smears the sky. Delicate skeins of pale gold and searing orange lie intertwined in intimate embrace across the smudged horizon, suffusing the idle waters of the Bay of Bengal—an unabashed foreplay of colours. A thin hot wedge of vivid red emerges out of the sea, growing every moment into a flaming, pulsating disc that soon disowns the theatre of its birth. The lone temple, that guardian of the shore, is a becalmed spectator. It has been an apathetic witness to this impassioned spectacle every dawn for the last 1,200 years.

Mahabalipuram (or Mamallapuram, its ancient name) is one of history’s intriguing enigmas. Situated just 60 km off Chennai on the Bay of Bengal coast in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Mahabalipuram was a flourishing port town of the Pallava rulers of South India who chiselled in stone a fabulous open-air museum of sculptures under the vault of a burning sky. That much is known. But was this sculptural glorification a king’s fancy? A celebration of war victories? A queen’s fantasy? No one actually has any answer. The mystery of Mahabalipuram lingers, unravelled, but its sculptural extravaganza is a living testament of the virile artistic temperament of the Pallavas who were trendsetters in South Indian art.

Mahabalipuram with its picturesque location on a rocky outcrop between the beach and a lagoon is a happy combination of history, good beaches, hassle-free tourism and fabulous fish and lobster! Despite the many visitors, drawn by the former Pallava dynasty town, the place is friendly, relaxed, and the villagers are remarkably unperturbed by their crowds of visitors. Mahabalipuram is renowned for its series of charming rathas and the spectacular carved relief depicting Arjuna’s Penance. The magnificent Shore Temple, built by king Rajasimha in the seventh century, is a unique temple that houses the shrines of both Shiva and Vishnu while the Varaha Cave is a rock-cut mandapam with two incarnations of Vishnu—Varaha and Vamana—besides scenes of kings and queens. The Krishna Mandapam has a bas-relief of Lord Krishna lifting the Govardhan hill in his fingertips. Other important attractions of Mahabalipuram include the Mahishasuramardini Cave, Kotikal Mandapam, Ramanuja Mandapam, and the Dharmaraja Cave.

Mahabalipuram is a part of the Golden Triangle circuit of South India along with Chennai and Kanchipuram. As such, it is generally visited in combination with these two places. Kanchipuram (65 km) is the synonym for some of India’s finest silk saris. This dusty, small town, popularly called the Golden Town of a Thousand Temples, is renowned for the Kamakshi, Varadarajaswami, and Kailasanathar temples, all more than worthy of a visit. And about the Kanchi weavers, any ode would fall short! Vedanthangal is the site of a bird sanctuary, one of India’s largest, while Covelong is famous for its golden beach and other historical monuments.