A wonderful sculpture of the Goddess, is dressed with a bright green cloth near the mandapam. The light and the color was amazing and inspiring.
Kambattadi mandapam – the hall of light
Hi friends! This would be the final installment of the madurai meenakshi amman temple series.
Earlier parts are here: PART 1 | PART 2
For many years i have been believing in god religiously though i do not know how spiritual i was. As a photography enthusiast i slowly started studying light and started realizing the importance of it and believing light is god which was proved during my visit to this temple. Once i entered the kambattadi mandapam in front of the Sundareshwarar shrine, i saw the play of light. The hall is famous for the sculptures and beautifully carved pillars. Though my mind raced to click pictures, i sank admiring the place and it became a lasting impression.
Here are some post able pictures:
Light coming through different slits to bless every soul at the hall of the kambattadi mandapam. The sculptures and the pillars at the hall are so remarkable and through out the hall there are places dedicated to different deities (Shivan, Ganesha, Murugan, etc).
A lady prostrates before the flagpole at the Kambattadi mandapam. This is another common way of worship in India.
A devotee walks around the hall as light bless him. He appears to have removed his shirt while inside the temple. This is a common sight in some of the temples of South India, especially in kerala where men remove shirts while inside the temple to show the humbleness before the deity.
Another devotee prays where lighted diyas (‘the vilakku’ or the oil lampls) are kept as offering.
A devotee touching the feet of the sculpture of Hanuman.
People appear hazy as they move around the hall. For many years people appeared to be moving and changing, but the temple remain to be the same and static.
People take a walk along the hall. Many people and many activites could be seen by a silent spectator when standing at one end of the hall.
Ladies having a peaceful time at the sanctum sanctorum of the Sundareshwarar shrine. At sanctum santorum the play of light is many times more than the halls of the temple. Unfortunately photo/video is not allowed at this place and i had to click this blindly without anyone’s knowledge. The slit opening on the ceiling is an ancient technique to let natural light fall inside that creates magic and a feeling of godliness.
A devotee feels the light and prays to it at the sanctum sanctorum of the Sundareshwarar shrine. On seeing this i automatically took the camera to capture it. The security came running to me but politely asked me to keep the camera inside…I was expecting worse 
A lady resting at the hall in front of the small place dedicated to a form of Lord Shiva. On the granite floor one could see a movable stone slab with handle made of stone. This must have been used as a lid to manage sewage water.
In Indian temples, it is a custom to sit for a few minutes after finishing the darshan. Temples provide great oppurtunities to have a meet/small get together. Here these ladies seems to be spending some time by having a chat after finishing the morning darshan.
A man walks past the fire lit near the Murugan shrine.
Light blessing another soul as he is about to place the sacred ash (the viboodhi) on his forehead.
This man became very angry when i tried to shoot him and shooed me away. I slowly moved on, hid myself near a pillar and slowly showed the camera reaching out to him and clicked . Here he is cleaning all the oil lamps to be used again.
Another man getting blessed by the light as he pass through a deity.
A man praying and is so devoted that he does not even bother to look around.
A man spend some silent and peaceful time at the corridors of the temple. I saw many people sitting like this at different corners of the temple. To some it is a place to get together and chat while for some it is a solitary place of peace.
People walk through the granite floored hall as light fall from opposite direction.
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Superb MRK….. Brilliant play of lights.
Excellent photographs from my fav place in the world.
September 14, 2011 at 8:43 am
your shots make me to go there again specifically for these shots…
September 14, 2011 at 10:52 am
Very inspiring!!
September 14, 2011 at 12:01 pm
Highly motivating to see comments from such wonderful people
Thanks very much 
September 14, 2011 at 7:40 pm
chancee illa sir….all of them are good…i like ur choices of BnW…best part wit ur pics is that, story has more importance than post processing show-offs…
September 14, 2011 at 8:20 pm
Of course…
U’ve captured fantastic light throughout….
one more inspiring blog MRK…
September 14, 2011 at 10:26 pm
Sir – Its amazing, light velayaduratha seema capturing!!!!!
Keep it up annen!!!!!
September 14, 2011 at 10:51 pm
Sema documentary… Thala onga documentries mass kaatuthu..ovuru release um nalla irukku..
September 14, 2011 at 11:04 pm
very interesting play of light .. tokina 11-16 rocks .
September 15, 2011 at 12:36 am
Thanks friends
Motivating 
@Irfan – Wow.. That Tamizh was super fine
September 15, 2011 at 8:25 pm
Wonderful post !! love it all. Thanks For Sharing it !!
September 18, 2011 at 9:29 am
My dads house is near west tower,he loves this temple and knows each and every corner of it…when i just showed ur clicks to him he was awestruck!…. sema clicks! ..it ll be great if u share the kit used /took any tripod??
October 18, 2011 at 8:41 am
Hi Venki,
Its great and very happy to know that your dad likes it. I feel so good. Since ur Dad knows much about the temple, i am always interested to learn
Regarding the kit: I did NOT use any tripod. Just handheld shots. I used D7000+tokina 11-16mm. Mostly ISO1000. I strongly feel the temple’s vibrance is due to the divinity itself. All i did is just press the shutter button.
-MRK
October 19, 2011 at 2:12 pm
really i felt divine with these photos… i’m glad i caught one moment..there and would like to share it with you brother…
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7021/6730037997_4becbca778_z.jpg
January 22, 2012 at 10:35 pm
Divine light
Always a pleasure to be at Madurai Meenakshi temple 
January 24, 2012 at 9:15 pm