Tour Highlights 

Siva Nataraja, Lord of Dance Nayak era fresco. Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu

We will explore treasures of Tamil Nadu, the southeastern state of India, with various scholars as available, including:

• Four UNESCO World Heritage sites

  —Mahabalipuram with its 6th–8th century chariot shaped temples, caves, and monolithic rock-cut monuments

  —The playful Brihadisvara Temple at Gangaikondacholapuram, capital of the Chola Empire for 250 years

  —The refined Airavateshwarar Temple at Darasuram completed in 1166 by Rajaraja Chola II & film site of Carl Sagan’s television series, Cosmos, episode 10

  —The majestic thousand-year-old Brihadeeswarar Temple of Thanjavur, built by Raja Raja Chola I in 1010.

  The last three are also designated “Great Living Chola Temples” by UNESCO and are the finest examples of Dravidian style temple architecture.

• Thillai Nataraja—The world’s largest Siva temple, the home of Nataraja, Lord of the Dance and his consort Parvathi. We shall witness ancient Vedic rituals; learn the secrets of the temple’s anthropomorphic architecture; examine rare, exquisite dance reliefs of the devadasis (sacred dancers), learn about their role in ancient temple culture and their demise during the colonial era; analyze Nayak era frescoes; and receive a special puja conducted by the Deekshithars, the hereditary caste of priests unique to this temple, descended from the 3,000 sages who witnessed Siva Nataraja’s Dance of Bliss here thousands of years ago.

• Madras Literary Society—Thirupurasundari Sevvel, architect/preservationist/activist, will introduce us to Tamil history, traditions, and the historic Literary Society’s programs to promote and preserve Tamil culture. She will conduct a special workshop for the group.

• Puducherry (the former French Indian territory of Pondicherry) on the Bay of Bengal. Home to Tamil-Franco traditions, the French Institute, and Auroville, the utopian universal community dedicated to human unity and inspired by the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

• Temple of Patanjali, author of the Yoga Sutras and first disciple of Nataraja.

• Visit a Bharatanatyam classical Indian dance class at Annamalai University conducted by the award-winning scholar and dance historian, Dr. Esther Pradeeba

• Thanjavur Palace and its collection of Chola bronzes.
  

• Saraswathi Mahal Library with its collection of rare ancient palm-leaf manuscripts.
  

• 2 half-day cooking courses (optional) at the The Bangala in Karaikudi, renowned for its South India Chettinad cuisine & named #7 by Condé Nast Traveller in its 2019 Top Indian Restaurant Awards; tour of local Chettiar heritage mansions, Nagarathar temples. and local hamlets with life-size terracotta horses in honor of Ayyanar, guardian deity of villages

• Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram, the southernmost village before Sri Lanka. One of the most sacred Hindu pilgrimage temples in India, it is believed that being blessed by water from its 22 “tanks” helps achieve liberation of the soul (moksha). Its thousand pillars corridor is the longest of any Indian Hindu temple.
  

• Madurai—the great Meenakshi Temple; the Gandhi Memorial Museum; spice and flower markets.

Tamil Nadu

I am deeply grateful to Debra McCall for introducing me to India, especially Chidambaram. Her sensitive eyes, passionate presence, and direct knowledge permitted not only a cultural encounter, but also a spiritual embodiment of the precious treasure hidden in the pillars, the deities, and architecture of the sites we visited. A lifelong dancer and “dance archaeologist,” she followed her call to the Temple of Siva Nataraja and completed documentary research on its stone reliefs. I am also grateful for the people and community I had the privilege to meet. For westerners, India can represent a borderline experience of “otherness,” but Debra offers and guides us to embrace a mutually respectful attitude so that interactions are fully experienced as rich and pleasurable exchanges.

A. Monteleone  Milan, Italy

I have traveled to many remarkable countries and this was my best tour ever! Debra McCall is a delight; her knowledge is deep and wide. We learned so much specific historic information all the while exulting in the richness of the contemporary culture around us. Debra McCall's tour of the southern temples was pure joy. 

M. Salter New York, NY

I spent a few days in Chidambaram in February 2017. Debra welcomed me, introduced me to the temple and even the Deekshithars, the unique caste of priests found only at the Nataraja temple. I enjoyed her enthusiasm and her precise knowledge of Indian culture, spirituality and history. The trip was fascinating and rich thanks to her.

F. Ferin Sumene, France