Tamil Nadu, seen through its temple corridors

Tamil Nadu, inside the stone, out of the midday sun.

From the street a temple is a tower. Inside, it is a walk.

The tower and the corridor

In Tamil Nadu, the first thing you see of a temple is the gopuram, a tall gateway tower crowded with painted figures. It is built to be seen from far off. Walk through it and the temple changes. Long corridors of carved pillars run around the inner shrine, one ring inside another. The stone is cool underfoot, and the light arrives from the side.

How the corridors are used

These are not museum halls. People walk them clockwise on the way to the shrine, stop at the small shrines along the pillars, sit on the steps of the temple tank, and talk. Jasmine is sold at the gate for the offering. Somewhere inside a bell rings for the puja, the prayer offered at set times of day. A visitor walks the same stone, at the same pace, beside them.

Why the state draws people

Tamil Nadu has more great temples than one trip can hold: Madurai, Thanjavur, Chidambaram, Srirangam, Rameswaram. Many have been in daily use for centuries. The Big Temple at Thanjavur was built by the Chola king Rajaraja I about a thousand years ago and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The corridors at Rameswaram are among the longest of any temple in India. People come from across the country on pilgrimage, and from abroad to see architecture that is still alive.

The way in

Chennai is the main international airport. Madurai and Tiruchirappalli, usually called Trichy, have airports too, and trains link the temple towns. Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, and Chidambaram sit close together in the Kaveri river delta, a few hours apart by road. Shoes stay at a stand outside the gate. Some inner shrines are open only to Hindus. The corridors and halls are usually open to every visitor. Many temples close for a few hours in the afternoon.

In the corridor

• Go early or late. Bare feet on sunlit stone get hot by noon.
• Cover shoulders and knees.
• Walk clockwise, with the people around you.
• Many temples do not allow cameras inside, and some do not allow phones. Check at the gate.
• Look at the base of a pillar before you look up.

Come back out through the gopuram, and the tower is a tower again. Now you know what it is guarding.