A stop on their flight from Pondicherry to places like Kumbakonam and Tanjore.
A quick tour of the temple and the Toyotas and Tempo Travellers zip away on these dusty roads.
But there are some foreigners who stop, some who hang on. They are on their spiritual quest. Willing to soak in, understand the Indian system, maybe master a few shlokas or just meditate.
So when the Natyanjali is on, the dance stage is their evening destination.
One such was a Dane who we spotted in a corner, keenly shooting on his video cam some of the recitals. This is his second trip and after stays in Tiruchy and Chidambaram, Thiruvannamalai may be on his calendar. Or perhaps, next year.
Rajiv, a North Indian based now in USA was also enjoying himself shooting pictures. He went ga-gag with the Kathak recital of Janardhan Raj Urs and Ramya from Bangalore, who were sponsored by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, Delhi.
Rajiv went into a tizzy when we took him backstage so he could shoot some informal scenes.
"This is splendid. I have seen Khajuraho where the artistes look like stars but here we have all kinds of dancers keen to offer the anjali,"he says.
He livens up when we suggest he also be at Tanjore this week to get another feel of dance in the a temple.
I have said this before; our Tourism johnnies have failed in promoting the dance/music/temple circuit, best done this time of the year.
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