A trip to the Temples in Tamil Nadu

 It has been exactly 15 years when I undertook this memorable trip with my Mother. Why it took me so long in putting up as a Blog is something even which I am not sure of. A lot of things happened after this trip. Marriage, Birth of my Daughter, Going to Gulf and so on. Also I msiplaced some of the pages and I haven't been able to tie up those ends of this weeklong trip which will remain etched in my memories due to not only the Temples but also the Railway journeys in the Metre Gauge sections.

So here goes

 16 September 2010

Started from Thrissur by Tirucchi Express at 11:45 pm on 15^th September. Our train was hauled by twin WDM2 Engines from Erode. Train reached Tirucchirapalli Junction by 10:45 am. I had been reading a book titled ‘Chai Chai’ by Biswanath Ghosh on travel to railway stations where we hardly get down but pass through. He mentioned how most of the times he had to depend on Rickshaw drivers to find him accommodations. I realized the reality in it when I also was forced to rely on one Auto Rickshaw driver to take me to the nearest Lodge or Hotel at Tirucchi. One thing in Tamil Nadu, even though Bus travel is cheaper than Kerala or Maharashtra (These being the only states I have used this mode) but Rickshaw charges are exorbitant. He charged heavily for an otherwise walkable distance. But then was I not I under his mercy?

We anyhow took accommodation in Sharada Lodge.

As the delay in the train arrival at Tirucchi by 2 hours played spoilsport with my plans of visiting three temples viz, Srirangam, Thiruvanaaikaaval & Ucchi Pillayar, we decided to visit Samayapuram, which was comparatively far also and might be having a good rush of devotees. (Samayapuram and Madurai Kali Amman were in the evening plans at the start). When we set out for Samayapuram from Central Bus Depot (The other bus stand is called Chathram Bus Depot). We fortunately got a bus going directly to Samayapuram. The bus started at 11:30 am and reached near the temple in an hour’s time. The fare for this trip is Rs 6 per head. Samayapuram is the main deity of most of the people here in Tirucchi, hence the temple is crowded all the time. The temple is open all day for the convenience of the devotees. One needs to be extra careful of roadside hawkers who literally make you buy those garlands and other archana items at a huge cost. By 2:20 pm we were done with our lunch when we discussed about plans somebody suggested that we go straight away to Srirangam where they allow devotees after 3 pm even though Darshan is allowed after 4 pm only. Then after having Darshan, we could visit Thiruvanaikaaval and Ucchi Pillayar also. We reached Srirangam in an hour’s time and had Darshan very comfortably. Here an inn called ‘Chhatram’ is available for Rs 150 per day.

We left for Thiruvanikaaval by 5:40 p.m. and reached there in 15 minutes time. As it was getting too late, we decided to skip ‘Ucchi pillayar’ as it was a hill temple and that turned to be a good decision as if started raining heavily by the time we got into the bus. We reached our lodge had dinner and slept for the day. While going to srirangam I had spotted a steam engine model kept near Tiruchi railway station and had decided to take snaps of it but wasn’t able to do so.

17/09/2010 Day 2

Early morning by 5 am we got into the Bus bound for Thanjavur. The mood was wonderful as the morning was made lively by M S Subbulakshmi’s suprabhatham. As we neared Thanjavur, nature had started playing with colours as the Sky painted a wonderful picture with some wonderful colours. In the meantime, I had enquired with Saptarishi, my co-traveller in the Bus regarding how to reach the Lodge in Thanjavur etc. He later showed us where to get down for Railway Station, nearby which the Lodge was located. We had breakfast at the Lodge and started for Brahadeeswarar Temple. This temple is at a walkable distance from the Railway Station. We had started for the temple at 8 am and reached in 40 minutes time. The temple walls are like the walls of a fortress. The main deity Lord Shiva is 13 feet in height. The statue of Nandi which faces him was earlier constructed of 7 feet height but later a new statue of 12 feet height was constructed. The shadow of the temple never falls on the ground. This is due to the fact that the ‘Vimanam’ is very large as compared to the ‘Gopuram’ unlike other Temples. Other deity presiding here are ‘Varaahi’ Devi. We were fortunate enough to see the various abhishekams being performed. The ‘Venni’ tree is also worshipped here. Thanjavur Palace is approximately 2.5 kms from here. Besides the Tower which one can climb till the one below the six storeys in all there is an Art gallery, Coin collection at display. One can see whole of Thanjavur from the fifth storey. Raja Serfoji’s sculpture is kept inside the Art Gallery. There is a small Ganesha Temple inside the Palace.

The timings for the Tanjore Palace:

Morning:9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Evening: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Counter is stopped at 12:45 p.m. and 5:45 p.m.

As Brahadeeshwarar Temple and Thanjavur Palace were the only places we had planned to visit in Thanjavur we decided to cover Ucchi Pillaiyar Kovil back in Tirucchi. Accordingly, we got into Tirucchi Express at 3:10 p.m. and reached Tirucchirapalli in fifty minutes. As soon as we got outside, I decided to get photos taken of the replica of the steam engine kept just outside the Railway Station.

We enquired with the Transport staff who were having tea as to directions to the Bus stand which would take us to Ucchi Pillaiyar. They told us that Buses going to Srirangam would pass through Theppakulam [which was the stop for the temple]. One needs to cross the main road and turn right and follow the straight road till ‘Sharadha Silks ‘after reaching the Temple just ahead among shops one can find entrance to the temple of Lord Ganesha called ‘Manicka Vinayagar’ we had ‘Darshan’ there and made our way towards the ‘Thayumanaswamy shrine. The path to the left leads to ‘Thayumanaswamy ‘shrine while the one on the right is ‘Ucchi Pillaiyar’ Temple. The rocks are estimated to be nearly 3800 million years old as per experts. Although a book written by Ambujam Anantharaman titled ‘Temples of South India’ mentions a mural of Parvathi which has a unique characteristic that if one observes it from any angle, it seems the eyes of Parvathi are looking at us, I found the mural to be of Shiva which had this characteristic. If there is one more mural of Parvathi with the same characteristic I cannot say for sure. We had Darshan and reached the top by around 6 pm. It had taken us both nearly an hour.  One can see the whole of Tirucchirapalli from here. We got down very quickly. While passing along the streets we came across a stall selling ‘Bhel Puri’, ‘Dahi Puri’ etc. I was missing Mumbai life especially the food items. I could not resist myself from devouring a plate of Bhelpuri. Although it cost a little too much at Eighteen Rupees a plate (In Mumbai I had never eaten anywhere for more than twelve) but it tasted good. On enquiring with the person who served the snacks I came to know that he was originally from Madhya Pradesh. Hats off to these people coming from such far-off places, overcoming the language problem and still doing good business is what one should learn from them. We had ample time at our disposal as the passenger train, which turned out to be a MEMU was scheduled to arrive at Tirucchi by 8:25 pm and it was only 7 pm. We decide to purchase some books in Tamil. We saw a Book Store by the name ‘Palaniappan’Book Store and went inside it. This Book Store seemed pretty old to me as most of the staff were very much old aged persons. In fact, when I asked one of the them, he had to think for some time before coming to the figure of 50 years. The staff were very courteous and lastly thanked us before we left. However, I would say that it must have been the other way around. We should be grateful to such persons for keeping traditions alive. We purchased ‘Kaara Boondi’ which is a snack item very famous here. We reached Tirucchi Railway Station, drank Hot milk and made ourselves comfortable in adjacent seats of a coach in the ‘MEMU’ train. At some station Mother befriended a Lady Traveller and started talking about other important shrines in and around Tirucchi and Thanjavur. The lady mentioned about ‘Erumbueeshwaran’ Kovil which could also be sighted from the train and was at a walkable distance from one of the stations on the route. By around 10 pm the Train reached Thanjavur Railway Station. There was no further activity for that day we laid down to sleep.

18/09/2010 Day 3

The next day we vacated the Lodge by around 6:15 am and made our way to the Railway Station so as to board the Rockfort Express at 6:40 am. As one makes way to the Platform one can hardly miss the remains of the Metre Gauge sleepers.   Even the platform looks so much Metre Gaugish that one cannot help imagining how it would have been in those days. There is a small ‘Ganesha’ temple under tree too making us feel nostalgic. I was lost in thoughts when an announcement was made stating the arrival of Rock Fort Express on the platform. The engine bearing the trademark Green and Cream coating that I now had got used to brought along our train. There was no big rush and we occupied seats comfortably for the forty-minute trip. We passed across Papanasam Station (One of the Total 108 Shiva Temples is situated in Papanasam) in thirty minutes time. After reaching Kumbakonam Railway Station we hired an autorickshaw up to the Hotel and paid the advance there. This Hotel offered a Television like view of two temples face to face. (These temples were Saarangapani and Ramaswamy Temples). We refreshed ourselves had breakfast and ventured out. As Kumbakonam is known as the ‘City of Temples’ and it is said that even if you stumble and fall there would be a temple there. We did not know which temple to look out for. We first went inside an open temple the doors of which however were closed. The temple was a unique temple comprising of the ‘Avtaars’ of the Lord but was desolated. We then made our way towards another temple which we guessed from the tower must be a significant one and it turned out to be ‘Ramaswamy’ Temple. Here the Lord is in ‘Marriage Ceremony’ also called as ‘Kalyana Rama’ The Priest showed us the faces of other deities there by the somewhat bright light of the ‘Deepam’ as to be Lakshmana, Sita and Anjaneya. We prayed to them and made our way towards ‘Kumbheshwar’ Temple. Once or twice, we kept following the wrong Towers and finally reached ‘Kumbheshwar’ shrine. We had to cover ‘Sarangapani’ and ‘Chakrapani’ before noon. This was necessary so as to keep time in the evening for ‘Swami Malai’, ‘Oopliappan’ etc which required some travel time and were in opposite directions. At ‘Sarangapani’ the Lord Vishnu is in a unique posture. It was nearing 1 pm and we were very fortunate to have Darshan at the last minute at Chakrapani. We returned back to our Lodge. In the afternoon we overslept and left our lodgings at 5 pm only instead of 4 pm that we had planned for. Anyhow we reached Ramaswamy Kovil Street by 5:15 pm and boarded a ‘Mini Bus’ going to ‘Swami Malai’. A boy informed us that there was a Bus (No 12 If I remember correctly) at 4 pm that would have taken us directly near the temple. All the other Buses go near the Bridge from where one has to walk to the temple. The boy was very forthcoming and also gave directions to go to ‘Oopliappan’ temple. I was tempted to ask his name and other details but didn’t do it. The bus finally arrived at 5:30 pm and travelling along a wonderful narrow path took us to ‘Swami Malai’ in some twenty minutes. There were minor halts when the cattle would stray into the road otherwise the bus journey was without much delay. Mother became nostalgic as she had been here when she was a child (Her eldest sister lived here along with her Husband at an Inn which was near a small ‘Ganesha’ temple). We had darshan of Lord Muruga in one of his abodes here in Tamil Nadu. The moon that had started peeping out and the temple domes made me grab my camera for a quick snap much to my mother’s dismay. My advice to amateur photographers like me is to travel alone. We then ventured to look out for the entrance that would take us near the ‘Ganesha’ temple. My mother’s memory was good and we did find the ‘Inn’ or at least the place where it must have stood. It seems that either the inn was razed to give way to some other construction. The temple however was intact. We prayed before the God and made our way towards a ‘Hotel’. The Hotel was less crowded and most of the occupants were old aged. The snacks were delicious and tasted well. It was a most perfect end to a wonderful day. After dinner we went out looking for Transportation to our Lodgings. There are very few buses passing through Swami Malai and going to Kumbakonam so after waiting for some time we decided to hail an auto rickshaw to the Mini Bus Stand. No Sooner had we got down from the auto rickshaw we found a bus heading to Kumbakonam. We got into the bus and reached the Lodge safely.

19/09/2010 Day 4

The next day morning we set out early as we had to cover a rather distant location, Tranquebar (locally known as Tharangampaadi) of nearly 150 kms travel to and fro. Also, we had been unable to include Oopliappan and Thiru Naageshwarar Kovil in the day before trip. We reached Kumbakonam Bus Stand and then took a bus to the Post Office stop (The Landmark for the Mamangam Tank). This tank assumes an immense form during the annual festival called ‘Mamangam’. There is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva called ‘Kashi Vishwanath’ temple which we decided to visit and it turned out to be a pleasant experience. There is a ‘Lingam’ kept to the left side of the temple along the path for the ‘Pradakshina’ which grows every year. While we were observing the Lingam two persons who were Father and Daughter also came and had darshan of the unique ‘Lingam’. The daughter in question was more or less forty years of age, was unmarried and was settled in Singapore. We exchanged greetings and bade good bye. The temple compound has been wonderfully maintained by planting a number of trees. There was also a wooden chariot in a dilapidated condition stationed along the walls of the temple. We returned back to the Bus stand at around 7:30 a.m. In half an hour’s time we reached the ‘Oopilappan’ temple. According to the Legend The Lord wanted to marry the daughter of his devotee, who remarked that his daughter was not very well versed at cooking so how could the Lord consume the food prepared by her in case she forgot to put salt in the food or if the amount was less. To that the Lord said that he would not consume the Food prepared by his Daughter as it is without salt and hence the name ‘Oopilappan’. Even the prasadam offerings like ‘Puliyogarai’, ‘Murukku’ etc are prepared without salt and yet the taste good. Accommodation facilities are available here as on September 19, 2010:

                  Double room per person : Rs 200

                 Dormitory: Rs 25

Contact Number: ( 0435 ) 2463385

Website: www.oppliappan.com

The ‘Thirunaageshwarar’ temple is nearby. ‘Pal Abhishekam’ is famous offering or practice here. We purchased two small pith work structures of ‘Lord Ganesha’. Pith work are very common here. We did not wait for the ‘Pal Abhishekam’ however as we had to visit Tranquebar also. We also skipped ‘Prathyamkara Devi’ temple due to shortage of time. We returned back to Kumbakonam Bus stand. The bus started from the stand at 10:30 a.m. and reached Mayiladuthurai nearly in an hour’s time. The Bus was bound for Thiruvanamalai. We had to get down at Mayiladuthurai from where we had to catch town bus which would take us to Tranquebar. The town bus stand is a 10 minute walk from the Main Bus stand. We got into the bus bound for Porayar, which would pass by Tranquebar.   The journey started ten minutes past 12 and ended at 1 p.m.  We actually passed by the Fort and travelled quite a distance furthermore. We had Lunch there and caught another Bus which dropped us at Tranquebar. The fort is roughly 1 k.m. from the Bus stop. It was around 2 p.m. when we started walking along the road leading to the Danish Fort. The road is lined by Houses constructed maybe a century ago by the looks of them, but still very well maintained. Just as we neared the Fort a Bus load of tourists drove by and came to a halt near the entrance to the fort. This development was very unpleasant to my ideas. I was of the opinion that there would not be a single soul around the Fort and the adjoining beach, but I was surprised to see a good sized crowd at the beach too besides the newly arrived tourists. Although it is good for tourism I prefer solitude whenever I go so I was in a foul mood.

A Board in front of the Fort states ‘The original name of Tarangampadi a port city on the Coromandel Coast was ‘Sadangapadi’ constructed by Naval Col. Ove Geddy in 1620 A.D. with the permission of Thanjavur King Rajendra Nayakkar.

Entry Fee per person: Rs 50

Camera: Rs 30

Fort is closed for an hour between 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

The Fort has two levels. First floor comprises of Godown, Prison as well as Rest area for Soldiers. Upper Floor is for the Residence of Governor and Priest. I skipped the visit inside and headed towards the beach and the ‘Nasilamani’ Temple. The beach is the only ozone rich beach and is un polluted. The temple although being slowly consumed by the Sea is a wonderful work of art. Although the Fort was full of the crowd that had arrived by the Bus, the temple however was desolated except for one or two occupants. I took some snaps of the temple from all possible angles I could explore. If one observes the layout of the Fort it is wonderfully maintained. A number of violet coloured Vinca Flowers dotted the surroundings of the Fort. We left the beach and started walking towards Bus Stop when we spotted a Board mentioning ‘Tranquebar Maritime Museum’. There are photos depicting victims of Tsunami in one room and the other room has photos taken aftermath. Although it is a good effort I felt that it might be getting low number of visitors. I purchased a Post Card depicting the Danish Fort and the Book about Tranquebar. One can find more information on the place and related History on the website named www.trankebar.net. If it weren’t for the long distance we had to travel back to.

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Going to the town would come at 1:15 pm. It was around 1:45 p.m. when we caught a Bus bound for Madurai. We reached Madurai by 4 p.m. Here there are nearly 4 Bus stands, Periyar Nilayam, Anna Nilayam. Madurai was the only place where we had trouble finding accommodations. It was nearly 6 pm when we got accommodation.

The next day morning we started for Alagar Kovil and the temple atop the hill called ‘Pazhamudirsolai’. We reached ‘Periyar Nilayam’ and from there caught a bus going to Alagar Kovil (Mostly Buses numbered 44 go to Alagar Kovil). Our bus started from Periyar Nilayam at 6:30 a.m. and reached near the entrance gate of ‘Alagar Kovil’ in Forty five minutes time. The walls of the temple compound resemble walls of fortress. Just before we enter the Alagar Kovil there is a temple dedicated to a Devi which opens only on Aadhi Poornima Day. The Alagar Kovil was not open so we decided to visit ‘Pazhamudirsolai’ first and then have darshan of Alagar Kovil. Bus fare to the top is Rs 10 per head. There are lots of monkeys here. The buses or rather mini buses take you near the ‘Pazhamudirsolai’ temple. Further journey to the ‘Thirth kund’ and Devi temples has to be done by foot. We had darshan of Lord Muruga and then started our trek upwards. No monkey trouble us en route when we neared the ‘Thirth Kund’ the people in queue behaved very indecently. Some had brought along large vessels to collect the water while some bathed in the water as if they had never taken bath. Sometimes I wonder that the monkeys are comparatively better in this kind of behaviour. Anyway we then descended the steps and started towards the Murugan temple again. We had darshan again and purchased ‘Prasadam’ in the form of ‘Adai’ which is the speciality here and returned to the Bus stand. We reached the base by 10:15 a.m. It took us another hour for us to have darshan and explore the temple complex. In a little bit

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And drove very cautiously all along. We reached Bodimetu, which should be the highest peak here. Here we stopped for Tea and Lunch. I took two snaps, one each from the Digital and traditional cameras that I had brought along. My traditional camera’s roll ended with the snap from the top while the Digital Camera also was full in capacity. Hence I had to satisfy myself with visions of my eyes. Nevertheless it was a most satisfying end to our week long tour. We started from Bodimetu, which is also on the Border of the two states at around 2 p.m. or so. We passed across roads covered with mist even in the afternoon. We also crossed two waterfalls for sure. One of them was near a milestone which indicated Munnar was still 51 kms ahead was so serene that I have decided to visit it for sure next time. It had a small temple nearby. We reached Munnar at around 3:30 p.m. We then crossed the Bridge to find that NH-49 did bypass Munnar after all. What I couldn’t make out was that how Bodinayakkanur stay away from NH-49. We then got into a Bus bound for Ernakulam which passed through Perumbavoor and Aluva. Although initially we had thought of getting down at Aluva we decided that Perumbavoor was a better and safer option. We reached Perumbavoor Market stop and took an auto to the Bus Stand from where we got a bus bound for Thrissur. We reached home by around 10 p.m. It was a most satisfying and enjoyable week long trip that I had ever undertaken till now.

Visit to Pulpally Seetha Devi Temple

 

November 5, 2023

It had been almost a year when I had undertaken a spiritual trip with Sudhesh. Last time around we had visited three Temples in Tirur, Malappuram District. Hence this time, we made it even further into Kerala and ventured into Wayanad district, Pulpally town which is near Sulthan Bathery.

We had been talking about the place for two months prior to the actual trip and it was an article online which made us think about visiting it.

So, on a Sunday early morning at 12:30 am I took a ‘Go Taxi’ to the Coimbatore Railway Station to board the Train which would take me to Kozhikode Railway Station where I would be joined by Sudhesh who was coming from Kannur on a train at 2 am. He reached before me as his journey was all but of 1 and half hour. Actually, due to the changes in Timings of few Trains, Sudhesh had to board his train a lot early than when he had booked the Tickets. In October Train Time Table changes every year.  However, in my case the timings were the same so I was a bit lucky.

The Taxi dropped me at 12:50 and I made my way to the Platform to board the Puducherry to Mangalore Train (Train number 16857) which was supposed to arrive at 1:57 am. Even at this time there was much of a crowd there so I sat on a chair and waited. The train was around 10-15 minutes late eventually and I climbed to my upper berth and after confirming the TT of my presence might have dozed off as I didn’t realize the Train reaching Palakkad Station and around 4:30 am I awoke to find the Train at Shoranur Junction. It was now late by half an hour. I had asked Sudhesh to call me by 5 am just in case I fell asleep. Train was supposed to reach by 5:37 am but it reached around 6 am.

We got outside the Railway Station and made enquiries on how to get to Pulpally. All suggested to going to Kozhikode KSRTC Bus Stand and board Bus to Sulthan Bathery and from there another bus to Pulpally.

So, we booked a prepaid Auto to KSRTC Bus Stand (Actually the Bus Stand is at a walkable distance only) and reached Bus Stand around 6:40 am. A Lottery ticket vendor suggested to board a Bus going to Mysore or Bangalore which will take us quicker to Sulthan Bathery and from there we could get Bus to Pulpally. So accordingly, we started looking for a Bus going to Bangalore and we found one to and asked the Conductor for seats (Nowadays KSRTC online booking is being used in good numbers so one can not be sure of whether we will get seats or not for long trips). Anyhow he gave us two seats till Sulthan Bathery and informed us that Bus will start at 7 am sharp. We decided to have Coffee in the meantime. I also relieved myself and then boarded the Bus again which started around 7 :10  am.

It was very chilly morning and I was totally unprepared. The Bus passed through Thamarassery, Vythiri, Kalpetta, etc before finally reaching Sulthan Bathery at around 9:45 am. From here we had to stand just outside the Bus Stand to catch the next Bus going to Pulpally. On reaching Pulpally around 10:30 am. We enquired with a person at a store selling Pooja items about the two temples. The one ‘Moolasthanam’ would close early by 11:30 am so we asked him how we could arrange to visit both. He then hailed an auto rickshaw driver and told us to go with him and he would take us to both places.

The ‘Moolasthanam’ has the spot where Seeta Devi is supposed to have gone inside the Earth and also the place where Ram did penance. The priest informed us that the Temple was almost 200 years old. The main temple was holding two marriages it seems but still I would say it wasn’t crowded. We quickly took darshan and got out.

We had good Darshan at both places and the Auto driver charged us totally Rs 50 which surprised us both. I don’t know if that person told him to do so or it was normal but we felt it was pretty less considering he waited us at one of the temples for us to have a visit and return.

After the darshan we then boarded a lone bus at the Pulpally Bus Stand for Sulthan Bathery. The Bus reached around 1 pm and we went to a hotel to have meals. It was a duplicate ‘Udupi’ Hotel but nevertheless satisfied our appetite. So, then we boarded a Bus for Kozhikode which took us to the KSRTC Bus Stand. Here we parted ways after having ‘Ghee Roast’. I decided to walk to Railway Station as I had ample time. My return train was scheduled to arrive at 7:30 pm. So, I reached the Railway Station a lot earlier and got my phone charged (Battery was almost drained off) at the Waiting Room. Around 7:40 pm my Train arrived and I reached Coimbatore around 11:40 pm. Late by almost half an hour sleep was affected but the trip had been thoroughly enjoyable.

Bus upto Sulthan Bathery from Kozhikode : Around 131 per head for Buses going to Mysore, Bangalore. A TT Bus fare will be around 118 per head

Bus upto Pulpally from Sulthan Bathery : Rs 35 per head

For Temple Priest name and Contact Number : Sudeendaran 9446253712

Three temples in Tirur

 Date : 4th November, 2022

I have been purchasing a monthly travel magazine by the name ‘Yathra’ whenever I get to travel to Kerala since long. I also have been taunted often saying that I just buy and keep the same in the shelves without undertaking a trip to any one of the places in it. To an extent it is true also.

So this time around I had made up my mind to visit some place that found a mention the magazine. I had already applied for a one day leave two weeks before in my office. I then tried glancing through one August edition of the magazine for a place where I could travel for a day trip. Wayanad was dropped as it would need two days minimum. Then I saw an article about a temple near Tirur, which also happened to be the only temple dedicated to ‘Garuda’. When I checked the distance and time needed for travelling to Tirur it was very much possible one.

So I informed a friend staying in Kannur and he also agreed to join me from there. I made enquiries regarding the temple ( such as how to reach from Tirur station to the temple, What all offerings will be available and the timings ) from a person whose contact number was shared in the article.

My onward train was starting from Coimbatore at 6 am and it was the starting station. As it was too early for Buses to ply I booked through ‘Red Taxi’ a cab at 4:45 am. I prefer to be a bit early for any journey. So I was at the platform where my train was stationed at around 5:10 am. When I neared my coach I could see that the lights weren’t switched on. When the lights were put on I boarded the train. The train ( 22610 ) started around 6:03 am ( a delay of 3 minutes ) The compartment was mostly empty. The train passed through some lovely sceneries ( green mountains, mist, etc ) and was almost on time check till Shoranur ( the last halting station before Tirur ) and reached Tirur with a delay of 15 minutes. My friend from Kannur who was supposed to reach lot earlier hadn’t reached yet and so I decided to make enquiries as to from which side we could travel to the temple.

I asked a person manning the automatic ticket vending machine. He told me that Buses were on the other side. I wasn’t able to see foot over bridge and hence crossed the tracks to go to the next platform. After some time my friend arrived and I informed him that we need to rush a bit as the temple will be closing by 10:30 am.

We went outside and hired an auto to take us to the temple. He charged us 170 Rs. We had good darshan and enquired with the priest regarding the next temple. He told us that we could visit not only Hanuman temple but also Triprengode Siva temple as well. So we purchased the offerings ‘Manja Payasam’ and ‘Garuda Panchakshi enna’ and after finishing the rounds inside the temple started towards the second temple. After coming out we took an auto to the Hanuman temple. He charged us 40 Rs.

The temple is actually dedicated to Lord Rama but is more popular by ‘Hanuman Temple’. ‘Avil’ is the popular offering here. We hurried along to the next temple. The main sanctum is very high and the deity looks grand. The priest after enquiring about our whereabouts told us the legend of the temple. When we went outside and were leaving when a temple worker called us and gave ‘Ganapathi Homam’ prasadam.

After the visit we then asked directions for the main road and reached the bus stop. We got a bus almost immediately which took us to Tirur Railway Station.

Similar to the morning scenes I feel evening scenes were even more as the setting sun had spread some wonderful colours

It was almost 8 when I reached Coimbatore but the day was memorable.

 

Isha Adiyogi Centre

 

Isha Adiyogi Centre

The last time we visited Isha Yoga Centre it was closed due to COVID-19 restrictions. My daughter was upset also because she would not have been allowed inside as she had not completed 10 years then.

So as to makeup for her dejection and my own curiosity we decided to visit again.

So around 1 pm we started by Taxi for the Centre and passing through Perur we covered the 34 kms in almost an hour by reaching around 2 pm. Parking for own vehicles cost 30 Rs.

After getting down from the Taxi we started walking towards the Shiva bust sculpture. There was a good enough crowd and we made one Pradakshina of the bust. The floor was hot and after the Pradakshina we made our way towards the place where Linga Bhairavi, Dhyanalingaa etc were situated. These can be reached by taking the path behind the bust sculpture. One needs to deposit mobiles and Valuables, Bags at the counter and proceed inside as Photography is not allowed here.

After walking along the path along areca nut plantations one reaches the Sarpa Sthal behind which is the ‘Suryakund’ where males can take a dip in the water and touch the Lingams immersed in the water. This is a man-made creation. Towels and ‘Mundu’ is provided. After that we move towards the ‘Linga Bhairavi’ temple. The temple was closed as the curtains were drawn and we could only see the place from small openings at the temple door.

From here we went to the ‘Dhyanalinga’, which is one of the best place for meditation. Inside a dome one feels immediately at eternal peace. This is followed by ‘Chandrakund’ and finally we returned back to the Adiyogi sculpture.

Evening at 7 pm there are some songs played out and around 7:20 we have Light show on the Sculpture.

It was a wonderful experience with scenery all around

 

 

Valparai -- Vazhachaal

A desire to undertake a journey through the Vazhachal Valparai route had developed since long in my mind. But for one reason or the other it never materialized. Although initially there was a doubt also that Two wheelers weren't being allowed to pass but Midhun, who was also going to be my companion informed me that of recent they had started allowing Two wheelers.

Thus a sudden plan to undertake the trip the next day itself came about when Midhun called me to check if I was free the next day. As he would be coming from Paliakara, Thrissur I was supposed to meet him at Nemmara at 6:00 am. I was to make a night halt at my parent's place in Thrissur as it would be pretty late when we would end the journey. Midhun advised me on dress ( Not to have to too colourful clothes, Jeans, Pants, bringing water/sunglasses etc ). What I forgot to ask was regarding footwear and regretted wearing a sandal. As I usual I got very less sleep in anticipation of the day ahead. I left the house at 5:30 am. Walked till Kaipencherri and got into a KSRTC Bus bound for Thrissur and got down at Nemmara. Midhun was to meet me here and we would pass through Kollengode and reach Pollachi to start the route.

I had tea from a mobile Tea stall. Midhun reached at around 6:40 am. We had crossed Kerala border in 45 minutes or so. During the time we crossed Kollengode to reach Anaimalai, Pollachi. I wasn't aware that Midhun also had become a vegetarian by choice. I was a little taken aback when he skipped hotels which had non vegetarian food or were near a mutton shop. I was left wondering if I was a Non-vegetarian !!!

Anyway at around 8:15 am we reached the Main Road which indicated Valparai was 44 kms. Here we had breakfast comprising of 4 idlis and an Oothapam. There was a 'Pudina' chutney along with the normal 'Coconut' chutney and Sambar. Four Ladies were managing the stall. What was more comforting that there were idols of 'Shirdi Sai Baba' and 'Ganesha' in front of the eatery. After a nice breakfast we started for the real journey. There were a total of 40 hair pin bends for reaching Valparai. Valparai has become a hub of Tea Estates. We sighted some monkeys and Midhun took out his SLR camera and took some good snaps. There was a person riding a bike with the 'Charm' symbols who almost rode along with us till the end.

Although we purchased a bottle of mineral water we didn't open it at all as we refilled the water bottle I had taken from home with the water flowing between the rocks en route. The water was cool and tasted good too. Midhun also stopped at some picturesque locations. He also told me to tell him when I wanted to stop. Though it was summer both of us didn't feel the heat at all. We must have reached Valparai at around 10:15 am. Here we had tea at a stall

While descending we saw a sign board indicating 'Karaimalai Balaji' Temple and as even Midhun hadn't seen it decided to pay it a visit. We reached the spot at around 11:30 am. As the temple was going to close by 12 pm we hurried atop the small hillock. Of the many 'Balaji' temples I had visited this was the only one which was located atop a hill amidst tea plantations.

This temple had been constructed 35 years ago by the Estate Owner. Below there is a board that indicates various other places of significance like 'Veeramalai' Tunnel, Mudis, Vella Pilayar kovil, Sholayar Dam etc. Actually these are not in the main route and one has to return back to main route from Valparai to Malakkapara. As this was a new route for Midhun also he also was enjoying the ride.
We reached Malakkapara by 2:15 pm and had lunch in solitude at a hotel that Midhun frequented. The lunch was sumptuous comprising Rice, Sambar, Pappad, Rasam, Cabbage curry and Salad. After lunch and rest we started at 3 pm. All through the route we looked for any indications of any movements indicating the one we wanted to sight the 'Elephant' but we didn't see one at all. All hopes had gone by the time we neared Vazhachal around 5 40 pm. When we saw some vehicles stationed near the edge of the road and some onlookers. We asked if there was an Elephant and yes on the opposite side near the banks of the river were a Mother and two small ones enjoying the bath !!!

We reached home by 6:40 pm and I bade Good Bye to Midhun and after dinner slept like a log 

A TRIP TO KAIWARA VILLAGE

After being dejected with the so called popular spots in and around Bengaluru I chanced upon this nice place through a casual talk with the Landlord of my friend with whom I stayed in Bengaluru. It was around 9 am that we started for Kaiwara which has many historical and mythological stories. It is said that Pandavas stayed here while in exile and the Cave where Bhima deposed the body of the Bakasura is nearby.

Besides the folk lore in the 18^th Century a legendary saint Narayanappa called popularly as ‘Kaiwara Narayan Thata’ lived here and attained Samadhi near Kaiwara. There is a Mutt here. The ‘Jeeva Samadhi’  of the saint who lived for 110 years is just behind the main deity. We reached around 11 am after having a healthy breakfast at Hosakote. ( Hosakote was supposed to be our earlier destination but we extended it to Kaiwara and didn’t regret it a bit !! ). We passed through little and huge farms with Mango trees, Snake Gourds, and many other Fruits and Vegetables cultivated. It was a typical village setting which I had  longed for. We first visited the Mutt and were fortunate enough to bear the ‘Palkhi’ carrying the Saint’s Statue. Although I felt the ‘Palkhi’ a little heavy (This was the first time I had lifted one!!) I soon thought maybe by bearing it at least some of my sins will be lessened. There was one pradakshina done and we sat at the Mutt for some time.

It is a nice place and has a wonderful atmosphere. There was ‘Annadhanam’ and we ate the tasty food. After the food we went to Kailasagiri where there are ‘Vinayaka’, ‘Shiva’ and ‘Ambaji Durga’ deities. On top of the hill there is a good view of the surroundings and a water reservoir can be seen. From there we went to Vaikuntam or ‘Taathaiyya Gavi’ which is the cave where he meditated. It is also on a hill top. Next we went to Bhima lingeshwara temple and lastly Swami Narayana Temple. The Temple was closed and would only open at 5 or so. However as we had to cover a huge distance to get back, we returned back before the temple opened.

Roughly 80 Kms from Bengaluru.

Carry sun glasses, Cap or any other protection as the heat is too much. Take drinking water also.

FAILAKA ISLAND

Failaka Islands - Deserted Island Trip

One Day Trip

After nearly six years since the thought came to visit this place after coming to Kuwait from home this was made reality on 3rd November 2017( Exactly six years and one day !!!). We booked tickets beforehand from Ikarus counter, located just behind Marina Crescent and it costs kwd 15 per person for the return journey as of 1st November. They had changed the rates starting November 1st. This one is return trip without food and sightseeing by the Bus from Failaka Heritage Village.

Me and my roommate, Adarsh started at 8:45 am by Taxi to reach Marina Crescent from where the boat starts. We reached there at 9:30 am for a departure at 10:30 am. The Boat name was BINT AL KHAIR and had started services from January 2001. It weighed 59 Tons as per the same being mentioned on the top deck reserved for VIP travellers. It departed at correct time and soon we were riding the high waves. The seats are quite comfortable and so was the ride. The bluish colour turns somewhat like brown as we move ahead. It takes nearly 40 minutes for the trip and at 11:10 we sighted Failaka Islands.

We decided to walk around the places and so skipped the coaster that takes us to Heritage Village. Although there are some people still staying here most of the houses were deserted. We decided to head where the beach was and started walking in that direction.We saw a sign of Beach Entrance and found it closed.

We then walked ahead and came near Failaka Lake entrance and the small zoo. Here we rested for a while and took photos of each other. When we enquired about the Beach a Egyptian caretaker took both of us to the Beach Entrance. The Beach is very well maintained and is clean and we were the only souls there.

Tea and coffee is more costlier here and can be had at the Oasis Cafe near Ikarus Hotel.

Most of our time was spent there. Return also the boat took off at correct time. They are very much punctual.

The ruins of Greek civilization cannot be seen unless you have a letter from the Kuwait Museum it seems as mentioned in many a reviews on this Island. If you prefer solitude and don't mind just roaming around this is a good place else there isn't anything here.

Ikarus can be contacted on these numbers : 22244767/60066444