Page:Hindu Feasts Fasts and Ceremonies.djvu/99

Rh and Chingleput. There is no road between Mahabalipuram and Tirukkalukkunram. There is a rough path by the thick copse of shrub wood in which the whole plain round about Mahabalipuram abounds, and a walk through it by the setting sun repays all the pain and trouble of a day’s sojourn at Mahabalipuram. The fine breeze, the rosy rays of the setting sun, the scenery of the blue flowers of the Kasan shrub, the fluttering peacock which happens to be peculiar to this copse, and the sweet scent of a thousand wild flowers cheer the exhausted pilgrim and when the sun sets, the heart of the pilgrim droops down with he approaching night. To add to his gloom the copse changes into marsh and broken country tracks with ruts and muddy pools—till Tirukkalukkunram is reached. Thence it is all a nice road to Chingleput, which is performed in two hours by a Jutka.