July 21, 2007 - Mahabalipuram, India

"If you think of the past, the present becomes difficult, and the future impossible."
~ Hindi Philosophy

In 1959, the World Heritage Trust was established and began identifying World Heritage Sites across the globe. The purpose of World Heritage Sites is to conserve sites of cultural or natural importance for all of mankind.

Today we visited multiple World Heritage Sites, including temples carved from five large boulders, called Pancha Rathas and elaborately carved caves at Krishna Mandapa.

However, the Shore Temple has had the most interesting life in present history. The Shore Temple is placed on a beach overlooking the Bay of Bengal. On December 24, 2004, the sea subsided out of vision, taking a great deal of sand with it. Additional temples, buried at sea were exposed for a few short minutes, when massive waves from the tsunami rushed to shore, once again burying the quickly exposed monuments. The statement was made that the tsunami was bad for people, but good for archaeology.

Even with this disturbing thought in mind, I gazed at the mesmerizing temple surrounded by entangled palm trees, while allowing the irregular waves from the Bay of Bengal to lap at my feet. In appreciation, I smiled and commented aloud, "not too shabby of a day."