Velankanni – In the Seventh Heaven!

Velankanni Church

       We had resolved to see the legendary Velankanni church, during our recent visit to Chennai. Hence, we visited it after we visited Chidambaram. Velankanni is situated about 130 kms. away from Chidambaram and the journey is akin to our Pune to Mumbai journey by the Asiad bus. 
       As we left behind the magnificent mangroves of Chidambaram, we passed by green fields, coconut groves and devoured the breath-taking scenery which sped past our bus. When we saw the blue ocean on both sides of the highway, with glimpses of fishing boats perched on the golden beaches, we knew that we were nearing our destination, as  Velankanni is on the Nagapattinam beach.  
       Nagapattinam town, on the southern-most tip of India, had been ravaged by the tsunami in 2004, as its epicenter was there. But now, a decade later, everything was peaceful and beautiful. Life was back to normal. Yet, I couldn’t avoid an involuntary shudder at the thought of that tsunami’s nightmare that the town’s residents would undoubtedly have, for the rest of their lives!

        The word stoic, played in my mind’s eye, as I observed the people going about their routine. Most of them, must’ve lost their beloved ones, livestock and property to the marauding waves of the tsunami, but now appeared to be determined to put their gloomy past behind and look forward to a bright future.

      Bright, would be an understatement, when I begin to describe the blinding white, with which all the churches there, have been painted, in the aftermath of that natural calamity which hadn’t spared them either. All the churches have been rebuilt and restored to their former glory.

       Thus, as soon as we got down at the bus-stand, the very first vision of the white, ethereal churches, bathed in the mellow evening sunshine; made us feel as if we had landed in heaven itself! (By bus!) We slowly walked to the main church of the divine Mother Velankanni, the sari-clad Madonna with her infant Jesus Christ in her arms.

'Miracle' tree!

           Legend has it that the virgin Mother Mary appeared in Velankanni first, before a shepherd boy and then later, before a lad selling butter-milk. After satiating her baby’s hunger, with their milk and butter-milk respectively, she requested them to hasten to a rich businessman there and inform him about her sighting. He was to build her church there! Thus this beautiful church has its origin in this wonderful, touching legend.

       It is customary to offer a sari, candles and a cradle at the Velankanni shrine. One may offer either or all of the above-mentioned items here. Generally cradles are offered by those desirous of having children. The cradle may be tied to the branches of a tree growing just outside the church or put inside the box of offerings kept inside the church. Similarly, there are other boxes for saris and other kinds of offerings. It is believed that all the wishes of the devotees are fulfilled by prayers at this shrine.

        The idol of the Mother Velankanni with her infant Jesus in her arms; is a beautiful one that evokes bliss and contentment. Devotees sit down on the floor or kneel down and pray and meditate in front of the altar. There is no formality here. Two bowls of the holy water are attached to the doors on either side, and devotees can dip their hands in them and seek blessings.

       The devotees may fill in a form by tick-marking their desired wishes against those mentioned point-wise in the form. This form must then be folded and put inside the box. This divine wish-list lists all material and spiritual desires such as freedom from debts, gaining wealth, marriage, children, peace of mind for self and family, etc. My husband and I filled these forms and meditated awhile, soaking in the divine and fragrant atmosphere there. We also lit candles at the altar.

       The candles and cradles can be bought at separate counters outside the church.

      We clicked some snaps and started our return journey. It was 6 p.m. Just then, we heard gongs and cymbals accompanying the chorus prayer song. The evening prayer procession had just begun. Though we’d have liked to join it, and also explore the Nagapattinam beach; we couldn’t, as we had a long journey of nearly 6 hours to reach Puducherry.

       We changed buses at Chidambaram, then at a bypass near Puducherry and reached Puducherry bus-stand at 11.15 p.m. We were surprised to see women traveling alone at that late hour, by bus, decked up in gold ornaments! It said a lot about the absolute safety there. Women are respected and there’s no eve-teasing or attempts at robbery.

      We hailed an auto and reached our guest-house, tired but happy. Our mission was accomplished and we had reluctantly returned from heaven to earth!

The copyright of this travelogue and photographs is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.

Chidambaram – Abode of the Celestial Dancer, Lord Nataraja

Carved Wonder- Chidambaram Temple

The Ancient Seat of Learning

The famed Bharatanatyam poses!

Towering glory!

Majestic, legendary edifice!

The Tranquil Mangroves of Pichavaram

             We went to the temple town of Chidambaram one day. It is the abode of the Celestial Dancer, Lord Nataraja. The massive temple complex houses the main temple, besides temples of Goddess Shivakami Amman, Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi. Hence 4 tall gopurams will be visible from a central point in the complex.

             At the shrine’s entrance, we were asked to wait by a priest who was issuing tokens to enter the temple. We were amazed that such a practice should be followed for having a darshan of the Lord. When he didn’t issue us tokens for quite some time and kept giving the localites the same, we protested that our auto was waiting for us outside. Then he reluctantly gave us the tokens after charging us Rs. 200/- as we were ‘outsiders’. No receipt was given. The localites weren’t charged anything! This discriminatory attitude really put us off.

             Next, we were told by another priest to follow the dress code. My husband was asked to remove his vest, shirt and belt. Many other devotees were also engaged in the same ritual. Then we were asked for the tokens and allowed to go inside. Lots of devotees were jostling to get a good look at the deity. We requested a devotee to kindly allow us to have darshan as we had come from afar. He agreed and made way.

           The deity, with his classical Ananda Tandav pose, was resplendent in all his finery. A priest urged the devotees to see the Chidambaram Rahasya (secret), beside the deity, after shoving aside a curtain. Beyond a grill, there is a vacant space with a garland of 51 golden Bilva leaves, symbolizing the aspect of Sky, one of the Pancha Mahabhootas; represented by the Lord Nataraja here. There are Shivalingas inside the temple too. Thus Lord Shiva is represented in all his 3 forms in this temple. The Celestial Dancer, the one with form-Shivalinga and the third without any form-the sky. Five temples exist in various places in South India, dedicated to Lord Shiva, representing each of the 5 elements of nature, namely, the sky, the earth, water, fire and wind.

           We then visited the temples of the other deities too. We saw another stone-carved idol of Lord Nataraja on which abhishek of milk and sandalwood was being performed. Then, when  it was adorned with a silk garment and adorned with sandalwood, it appeared truly Divine.

            There’s a special Nrutya Mandapam, a space where dance performances are allowed. We were fortunate to view a lady guru with her shishya, performing the classical tandav dance, in Bharatanatyam, an ode to the Lord. Many foreigners were video-recording the sequence, as the shishya sang and the guru danced, as if in trance! It is believed that the Bharatanatyam style of dancing evolved from this temple’s heritage. The stone carvings on the walls of this temple depict various poses of this dance form as well as mangrove trees.

         Lord Shiva apparently appeared in Chidambaram, in a mangrove forest and was accosted by sages/magicians who set snakes, a tiger and a demon on him. Lord Shiva adorned his body with the snakes, the tiger-skin and immobilized the demon by standing on his back and performed the Ananda tandav, a dance of cosmic peace and fulfillment, after which the sages realized their folly and acknowledged that he was the supreme Lord Shiva, who was above all magic and illusions. They then asked for his forgiveness. Hence the mangroves of Pichavaram near Chidambaram are sacred and a renowned world-heritage site.

          We were satiated as we sat and meditated there for a while and then returned to our guest-house.

The copyright of this travelogue and photographs is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.

Mamallapuram – Carved wonders on the sea-shore!

The Shore-temple

Arjuna's Penance

We had wanted to visit Mamallapuram (previously called Mahabalipuram), for quite some time. Recently we visited this heritage site and were awe-struck by its beauty, both man-made and natural!
We boarded a bus from Puducherry and set off for Mamallapuram. As we bought the tickets, we requested the conductor to inform us when the stop arrived. We even asked him the time it would take to reach there. He said “2 hours”. We settled down in our seats and were soon engrossed in observing the scenic beauty of the tall, swaying palm trees, lush banana plantations, fields, etc.

Pristine splendor

visible like a video from the window. Soon buildings and familiar structures of Chennai replaced them.
With a start we realized that nearly 3 hours had gone by and the conductor hadn’t asked us to get off. Slightly uneasy, we asked a co-passenger about the Mamallapuram stop. He said that the stop had been left way behind and that we would reach Chennai in another half an hour. We were stunned. The conductor had obviously forgotten to inform us when the stop had arrived. The stop is on the highway from where there is a bypass to Mamallapuram, which is roughly 1 km. and it takes about 5-10 minutes to reach the site.
As we debated about whether to confront that conductor, the passenger told us to immediately get down and cross the road and board another bus to Mamallapuram! Keen on not wasting further time, we hopped off at the nearest stop. I told my husband that instead of again going by bus, wherein probably the same matter could repeat itself, we would hire an auto and go there.
Predictably, the auto-drivers asked for Rs. 800/- (4 times the amount that we had just paid for the bus!) since they wouldn’t get passengers for the return journey. Helpless and frustrated, we had to reluctantly give in. Again we went by the same route and finally reached Mamallapuram after about an hour. Thus we had spent 4 hours instead of the two hours from Puducherry! Besides our pockets were considerably and avoidably, lighter! With heavy hearts and diminished enthusiasm, we walked towards the shore temple.
Our spirits however lifted as soon as we spotted the rock-cut temples in the distance, ringed by palm trees, with the blue sea as the backdrop and a vast lawn in the foreground. It was picturesque.
Built by King Rajasimha of the Pallava dynasty in the 7th century, the coarsely-carved monolithic twin temples are dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. We heard a guide informing tourists about how the first rays of the morning sun fell on the Shivalinga inside Lord Shiva’s temple. Quaint architectural formations are there in front of the temple, such as an amphi-theatre like step-pattern, a shallow tank, etc. Lord Shiva’s mount Nandi is carved all around the periphery of the temple’s compound.
The temple complex was separated from the sea-shore by a low wall mounted by high wrought-iron trellis. People had made their way behind that barrier and were frolicking in the waves to beat the scorching, clammy heat.
Then we walked to the Five Pandava Rathas. Firstly we saw a mammoth cave with intricate carvings on its walls. A huge Nandi occupied pride of place on the top-most portion, near the ceiling of the cave. Men and cows dominated the carvings.
Next, we saw the huge, intricately carved monolith known as the Arjuna’s Penance. Celestial beings, the river Ganga flowing down from Mt. Kailash, elephants, etc. are carved intricately on this colossal rock. Some photographers were persuading tourists to get themselves clicked and get printed photos, as souvenirs. We indulged ourselves and got a sharp photo of ours clicked, for just Rs.20/- We were glad that we had heeded their request!
Suddenly, a person ‘accosted’ us. He was a sculptor selling hand-sculpted artifacts. He showed us a beautiful paper-weight, a round ball of stone with figures of Lord Vishnu, Lord Ganesh, Lord Krishna and Goddess Laxmi; carved on 4 sides. He claimed that it had taken him 4 days of hard labor to chisel that exquisite piece of art. As he quoted a princely price of Rs. 800/- and refused to lower its price, we walked away, though my heart was set on it. He certainly deserved the amount that he had quoted, but our purses were already light, thanks to that expensive auto-drive!
Then we saw the caves dedicated to shrines of Lord Ganesh, Lord Narasimha, the ‘Gateway of Mamallapuram’ pillars, the light-house in the far distance and a huge boulder known as the butter-ball. This boulder is like a huge ball resting on a field. Children were playing around it. I quelled an irresistible urge to run around it.
I had fresh coconut water which was very sweet. I asked the vendor why it was so expensive when we could see plenty of palm trees around us. He said that the coconuts were sourced from some far-off place. He proudly asked us for a brand-new Rs.50/- note so that he could put it into his Jan Dhan Yojana account. I was pleased when he informed us that even his young son had an account in his name.
There were a couple of fortune-readers with small parrots in cages. Some families were keenly listening to their forecasts for their future. One parrot was sitting on top of its cage and the owner was away, yet it made no attempt to fly away towards freedom! I felt very sorry for that bird. Its future was doomed to life-sentence in that tiny cage! I’m sure that it must have often wondered about why it couldn’t pick its own card right and save itself from such misery! But it probably suffered from the Stockholm syndrome!
Lots of families had come for a picnic there so there was a very carnival-like atmosphere there. We had lunch at a small eatery and made our way back to the bus-stand, through numerous vendors selling bead necklaces, idols, etc.
We returned to Puducherry with vivid images of that serene and picturesque place.
**************************************************************************************
The copyright of this travelogue and photographs are with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.

Puducherry - A Tranquil Haven Part 2

Matrimandir meditation center

The ancient banyan tree

The Mahatma Gandhi memorial

Sunset at Puducherry beach

The next day, we went to Auroville, by a city bus. It took nearly 45 minutes of a bumpy ride through narrow streets; to reach there. An auto ferried us to the registration center. It took another half an hour. En route, we saw some foreigners riding bicycles. The auto-driver told us that these tourists often rent houses, or stay at the center’s rooms, for weeks to many months; to get a feel of the place and recharge their spiritual batteries! We also saw numerous cashew-nut orchards. The auto-driver-cum-guide, told us that the trees would bear fruit in another few months’ time.
When we reached the registration center, he informed us that he would wait for an hour for us to see the Matrimandir meditation center and return. What was left unsaid by him was understood by us! He would further charge us, for any delay! Hence we skipped the inviting cafeteria and the boutique there.
The receptionist politely informed us that we could visit the meditation center only on Wednesdays. Since that day was a Tuesday, we realized with a sinking heart that we’d miss out on that experience as we couldn’t afford to stay there for another day, as our return tickets were booked for the next day! However, we were relieved when he said that we could see the meditation center from afar, from the viewing point.
We walked around and saw an exhibition hall with information about the Mother and her guru. Another hall was showing a video of the meditation center, with its history’s and architecture’s narration, in great detail. The International township project of Auroville had been established by the Mother (Mirra Alfassa) on 28th February, 1968. The meditation center doesn’t have images of any religious figures nor does it have any offerings like lamps, flowers, incense, etc. Thus it’s dedicated to the religion of humanity. One has to just concentrate on meditating in absolute silence, there. After that 10 minute video, we got free entry coupons to visit the viewing point.
There was a free bus-service to and from that point. (Autos are not allowed there.) We opted for the 20 minute walk through a rough path in the woods. We felt as though we were strolling in Mahabaleshwar, as there was red soil all around, and dense vegetation on both sides. The cool breeze lulled our senses as we walked briskly. The walk was relaxing and invigorating!
The Mother’s world-wise philosophy of 12 glorious paths leading to spiritual awakening, with virtues like kindness, compassion, courage, etc. was enunciated on a board there. At several milestones, we came across boards with the picture of a particular flower and the virtue associated with it! Impressed, we hurried on, remembering the auto-driver’s ominous warning!
Then we came upon the huge, more than a century-old banyan tree, just outside the viewing point. I was overwhelmed on seeing it as I had seen its picture in my childhood and had always longed to actually see and touch it! I lovingly felt its sturdy, aerial roots, spread all around. The shady canopy was soothing. I imagined the Mother strolling in its benign shade, in her lifetime! I could feel peaceful vibes radiating from that well-maintained place and permeating my soul.
Through a short, landscaped path, surrounded by rocks, flowering champa trees and well-manicured lawns, we sighted the sparkling, golden globe-shaped structure - the meditation center. It was breath-taking; glinting like an over-sized football, in the bright sunlight. We saw several motionless figures, clad in white, under some trees. At first glance, I was taken aback, as they resembled apparitions! But then I realized that they were some foreign tourists, meditating in absolute silence.
This was in stark contrast to some of the noisy Indian tourists who were cracking jokes and clicking snaps of that divine place. We sat down on a rock and meditated for about 5 minutes. We used the clean washrooms, equipped with soap and toilet paper and then hastened to the waiting mini-bus there, which started only when it was full to its capacity. The foreigners were with us, clad in cool white linen clothes.
We apologized to the auto-driver for the half-an-hour delay by saying that the bus-driver had waited for everyone to come, hence we couldn’t return in an hour! We saw several tiny boutiques selling Indian hand-loom attire, artifacts, etc. We also saw open-air, life-size statues of various Gods and Goddesses like Lord Ardhanarishwara, Goddess Kali, Goddess Durga and several folk deities revered since decades, at wayside shrines. I requested the auto-driver to halt for a few moments and got some snaps of those unique shrines.

Divine retreat, tranquil repose!

Back at the bus-stop, as we waited for a bus to return to Puducherry, we had delicious tea at a stall. On its façade this stall had tiles of Hindu, Muslim and Christian revered figures, effectively symbolizing the gist of the Mother’s teachings of universal brotherhood!
Again, after a bumpy ride, we were back at our guest-house, deciding to revisit Auroville on some enchanting Wednesday, in future!
That evening we visited the beach. The promenade was clean and wide. No traffic was allowed there. We watched the milk-white waves of the vast blue Bay of Bengal, crashing against the huge boulders on the sea-shore. Later, we sat on the steps of Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial there and chatted

Unique wayside sculpture!

awhile.
As children played noisily, sliding down the sides of the memorial, several vendors were jostling with each other to sell us their wares. A jasmine vendor refused to budge and followed us around till I purchased a fragrant strand from her (although I had already worn one!).
Another lady, a self-proclaimed fortune-teller, tried her best to get us interested in her talent. But I wasn’t swayed and told her that my Dad was himself an excellent palmist. When she persisted, I requested my husband to pay her Rs.10/-, just to get rid of her annoying presence.
My trick worked and at last we were alone, but not before we had told off a small boy who was hawking his amateurish drawings! It was amusing as all the vendors were very pushy and hell-bent on harassing us as we obviously didn’t look like the localites. We must have looked like sitting ducks to them!
We watched a motor-launch, probably a fishing vessel, bobbing on the sea- water. I wanted to watch the sea bathed in the golden rays of the setting sun and hence urged my husband to wait some time longer. When the sky turned orange, red and finally purplish, the sea looked splendid with each changing color. Meanwhile lights had come on and the memorial was bathed in neon light.
An amateur videographer was filming a small dance sequence in front of the memorial, on the promenade, with an over-sized tri-color. The 4 male dancers were wearing leaf-green T-shirts and dancing in its foreground! They performed cart-wheels and walked upside down, on their hands and then struck a Shahrukh Khan-like dancing pose, with salutes to the Nation. The Director was continuously requesting the motley onlookers to clap their hands in tune to the rhythm being belted out on a loud music-system, but he got only a lukewarm response.
We walked to a nearby park filled with couples and families. It appeared well-maintained. Banners of the Puducherry cycle-marathon loomed on a dais. Outside the garden, a huge crowd had gathered around a life-sized portrait of a local politician created on the ground, with a thick floral garland outlining it. Much ado was being made about the ‘creation’ and over-enthusiastic tourists were climbing on side-tables and capturing it on their cameras for posterity! Fortunately (or otherwise) my camera’s batteries gave up, just then. I mentally apologized to that politician.
Since our short stay had ended, we couldn’t visit the French Quarters; a vestige of Puducherry’s famed history. The clean, former French colony, a bustling Union Territory today; will linger on in our hearts till we get an opportunity to explore it again.

Concluded

The copyright of this travelogue and photographs is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.