Believed by many archeologists to have been the site of a training school for sculptors, Mahabalipuram is situated on a rocky outcrop between a shimmering lagoon and a silver, sandy beach. We stayed in a lovely resort hotel within easy walking distance of the World Heritage monuments. With its remarkable rock temples overlooking the shining Bay of Bengal and graceful casuarinas trees showering golden yellow blossoms everywhere as they sway in the tropical breeze, this open-air museum is destination for Indian school children as well as tourists.

We started just after sunrise both to benefit from the fresh morning breeze and to witness small town neighborhood activity–milk delivery, chalk patterns being drawn om household thresholds and water vessels bing filled.

We then meandered over to explore the rock sculptures of Mahabalipuram, beginning with the world’s largest bas-relief in stone, the Descent of the Ganga. The sculpture depicts a scene from Hindu mythology, with hundreds of beings—celestial, human, and animal—that seem to be miraculously moving towards a natural cleft in the center of the stone and share their spotlight with a local, very much alive goat herd. A bit further along we saw Arjuna’s Penance, depicting a scene from the Mahabharata; the Five Rathas, “chariots of the gods” hewn from solid rock; and the twin-spired Shore Temple that overlooks the Bay of Bengal.