You leave your shoes and the hectic city of Kanchipuram at the door of the Kailasanatha (Shiva) temple and enter an oasis of calm, the silence broken by chanting and singing, the air filled with incense and jasmine the inner sanctum an ideal place to be alone with your own thoughts.

Kanchipuram was once the capital of the Pallava dynasty during the 6th to 8th centuries. Today a typically hectic 'modern' Indian town, famous for not only its high quality silk saris but more appealing to us its numerous important and vibrant temples.