Kanchipuram - A Divine Tapestry

The unique sheltered Nandi!

The Splendid Kanchi Kamakshi Temple

The legend of Kanchi Kamakshi Amman!

The imposing Varadaraja Perumal Temple!

Heritage structure - Vaikuntha Perumal Temple

The desire to visit the Kanchi

Kamakshi Amman temple and the lure of owning an authentic Kanjivaram sari drew me to Kanchipuram. Kanchipuram is a small town, one and a half hour’s drive away from Chennai. The main attractions here are the temples dedicated to Goddess Parvati (Kamakshi Amman temple- a Shakti Peeth), Lord Shiva (Egambareeswarar temple), Lord Vishnu (Vaikuntha Perumal temple) and the Lord Vishnu (Narasimhan), (Varadharaja Perumal temple).
The ‘golden lizard’ in the last temple eluded us as no one guided us properly.
Legends say that Goddess Kamakshi worshipped a Shivalingam under a mango tree and was rewarded with marriage to her consort Lord Shiva; and also that Adi Sankaracharya enabled the unique, meditative representation of the Goddess here, by placing a divine Chakra before the idol
Though it was Maha Shivaratri, the temples weren’t very crowded. We managed to see three temples in the morning. The temples in Chennai generally close at 12.30 p.m. and re-open at 4.30 p.m. Hence we had to wait till 4.30 p.m. to visit the Vaikuntha Perumal temple. So we visited the sari shops for the traditional, patented, handloom Kanjivaram silk saris.
After nerve-wracking selection (and haggling), as all the saris were equally enticing, I zeroed in on 3 saris. We had made some acquaintances in the Chennai Express, on our way to Chennai, who fortunately turned out to be sari-shop owners in Kanchipuram. Armed with their visiting card, we landed in their shop, much to their delight! Again, I purchased 2 lovely saris. Apart from two for myself, the rest were for my family members. Meanwhile my husband was becoming restless, owing to hunger pangs!
We had lunch at a restaurant that served authentic, three-course, South-Indian meals on banana leaves. We treated the auto-driver to lunch. Alas, I could only eat curd-rice, my staple lunch in my sight-seeing jaunts, thanks to a delicate tummy!
The auto-driver then pocketed his fare and showed us the Vaikuntha Perumal temple, a heritage structure, from afar. More than 2 hours remained, for it to open. We wandered around and bought 3 Tamil DVDs, reasonably priced at Rs. 30/- apiece, from a shop. Then I bought some beautiful metal and acrylic bangles. The wait for the darshan of the Lord was proving to be expensive! Tactfully, my husband suggested that we should start walking towards the temple, as it would be opening shortly.
Again, we had to wait for 2 hours, till the pujari finally made his way there, at 5.30 p.m. I explored the temple’s surroundings and captured some splendid shots of the lion-pillars and carvings on its inner walls. By then, two groups of visitors had come and left, without darshan as the pujari had the key to the sanctum-sanctorum.
My patience paid off! When we paid obeisance to the beautiful idols of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi, I was moved immeasurably. We started our return journey to Chennai, watching illuminated floats of Lord Nataraja and Goddess Durga, in street processions, en route. We felt truly blessed.
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The copyright of this travelogue and photographs is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.

Chennai – A blend of the modern and the traditional

The Ashtalaxmi Temple

Historic Fort George

The Stately Government Museum

The Colossal Thiruvalluvar Kottam

Asia's Longest Beach-Marina Beach

Recently, we visited the metropolitan city, Chennai. We were totally enamored by its wide roads, orderly traffic, cleanliness and efficient public transport system. There are very few private travel operators as the Corporation’s buses run regularly and at great frequency, within the city’s limits and also to its mofussil areas.

Since our guest-house was located right near the Parry’s bus depot, it was very convenient for us to go to Koyambedu for the CMBT (Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus) for our sight-seeing trips around Chennai. This 45 minutes’ ride was itself thoroughly enjoyable, as we passed by heritage structures like the Chennai railway Station, Rippon building, etc. The ride over the heritage Harris bridge and with a view of a small island with a huge tree on it in-between a placid lake, was out of this world!
Then we rode over spiraling flyovers deftly constructed for the smooth one-way movement of traffic. We felt as if we were on a roller-coaster ride! The absence of unruly riders, traffic snarls and jams made it a dream ride. We noticed that unlike Pune, there were very few two-wheeler riders in Chennai; thanks to its superb public transport machinery.
The CMBT stand was just too good to be true! An ISO certified Bus Terminus is possible, I realized, only when I saw this certified Depot. The vast, clean and swanky waiting area, with authorized stalls, restaurant, seats, fans, clean toilets and drinking water facilities overwhelmed us. There was a pre-paid auto booth at its entrance and police on duty to handle any enquiries. Stalls sold the subsidized mineral water branded under the former Chief Minister Jayalalitha’s name as Amma mineral water, for just Rs. 10/- . When we entered the Terminus, we saw a counter manned by Health Personnel who attended to needs of the passengers who could need medical aid. This service and medicines were provided free of cost. A security officer was monitoring a dozen monitors of CCTVs, in a booth. Lady police constables constantly shooed away the beggars and vagabonds out of the premises.
A huge, decorated kiosk with a life-size cut-out of the former Chief Minister’s photo beamed at us. It contained the photos and video of her implementing various welfare schemes for the needy people of Tamil-Nadu, such as providing things, cows, etc.
A Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation’s (TTDC) Office was situated behind the kiosk from where we obtained pamphlets regarding the sight-seeing tours conducted by TTDC and also the tariff rates of various TTDC hotels.
Wherever places had been dug up for the Chennai Metro, the areas were neatly demarcated with tin sheets on which strings of lights served as warnings for motorists, in the dark. No rubble lay around.
We noticed that all the buses had their destinations marked only in Tamil, which could be troublesome for non-Tamilians. Women safely commuted, wearing loads of gold ornaments! However, the unscrupulous auto-drivers were a bane!
We saw the Ashta Laxmi temple, with various forms of the Goddess on two levels. The stone-hewn idols were benign and beautiful. Then we saw the Parthasarathy temple dedicated to the Lord Krishna and Lord Balaji with his two consorts. This temple was also ISO certified.
The half-day’s sightseeing tour of Chennai that we had booked, was a whirlwind tour of all the must-see attractions like the historic Fort George, the first Fort constructed by the British in India; that housed a museum, the Government Museum with priceless antique sculptures; the profusely carved Thiruvalluvar Kottam, dedicated to the memory of the poet-saint Thiruvalluvar; the snake park at Guindy, with its collection of reptiles; the Padmanabhaswamy temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu reclining on Sheshnag with Goddess Laxmi beside; and lastly, the famed Marina beach, Asia’s longest beach. There, horse-borne policemen patrolled its shores. We watched the milky waves lashing against the beach with awe.
Later, we visited the Kapaleeshwar temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. Peace permeated us and our Chennai sight-seeing ended on a blissful note.
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The copyright of this travelogue and photographs is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.

Women's Day

Do we need a Women’s Day
To celebrate our womanhood?
‘cause don’t we represent all that’s good?
We’d celebrate every day as Women’s Day
Only if we could, only if we could
Make men understand and realize
That we represent all that’s good and nice.
We are the salt as well as the spice
And the sugar that makes men, oh so nice!

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The copyright of this poem is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.

Ashta Vinayak Yatra - A Pilgrimage Beyond Compare!

Ashta Vinayak Glory

 
We recently undertook a pilgrimage to Ashta Vinayak. It was a 2-day, one night journey. Braving the wintry chill, we set off at 7 a.m. by bus. The first stop was at Morgaon, for darshan of the Lord Mayureshwar, as Lord Ganpati is known here. The idol has the Naga Raja’s hood on its head. It is believed that Lord Brahma had constructed this temple. Legend says that Lord Ganesh, as Mayureshwar (Moresh) or the peacock-rider, vanquished the asura Sindhu, after entreaties by all the Gods. The temple’s Mughal architecture is distinct. A Nandi sitting in front of the temple’s entrance is unique, as this is found only in front of Lord Shiva’s temples.
We had a plate of hot vegetable pohe and tea for breakfast and then set off for Siddhivinayak darshan at Siddhatek, near Daund. God Vishnu supposedly vanquished the asuras Madhu and Kaitabh after propitiating Ganesha here. This Ganapati has his trunk pointing towards the right, hence is known as Siddhivinayak. Devotees can complete the 5 kms. Pradakshina, only by circumambulating the hill.

When we had earlier visited this temple, we had crossed the swollen Bhima river in a row-boat. But now a bridge over the river has made it possible for the bus to directly reach near the temple and cut down the journey time.

Our co-passengers broke juicy, sour tamarinds from the trees and distributed them. After a delicious buffet lunch at a restaurant there, we proceeded further to Theur.
The Chintamani Ganapati of Theur is believed to relieve all the devotees from their worries. The wooden temple has a small stone fountain inside it. A huge paved courtyard, an enormous bell and a Shiva temple, are the other attractions here. It is believed that the Lord retrieved the precious Chintamani jewel from Guna, for Sage Kapila, here. In return, the Sage garlanded him with the jewel and named him as Chintamani Vinayak.

The last Ganapati darshan for that day was of the huge Ranjangaon Ganapati known as Maha Ganapati. This Ganapati had aided Lord Shiva in fighting the demon Tripurasura. This idol is believed to have 10 hands and 20 trunks. The sun’s rays fall directly on the idol, at a particular time of the day.

The awesome entrance arch of the Ranjangaon Temple

Security being strict, none of the pilgrims was allowed to carry anything inside the temple. Hence we visited the temple by turns.

Then we went to Lenyadri, watching the movie “Oh My God” enroute; again had a sumptuous buffet dinner and spent the night at the Lenyadri Ganapati Devasthan Trust’s lodgings. The room was very neat, with clean bed-sheets, pillows and blankets. The attached toilet - cum- bathroom was also spic and span.

Next morning at 5.30 a.m., we had tea and started climbing the steep 283 steps to the Lenyadri, the 3rd century, Buddhist-cave shrine of Girijatmaja Ganapati. The idol is carved on the stone wall of the cave and faces eastward, with its trunk turned to the left, with Lord Shiva and Hanuman on either side. Legend has it that Goddess Parvati created her son Ganapati by bringing a mud idol to life there. Lord Ganapati had supposedly spent his childhood days there.
                                                                                              

The steep climb to the cave-shrine at Lenyadri

We saw the glorious sunrise with a panoramic view of the surroundings from the temple’s precincts. We participated in the 7 a.m. aarti, clicked photos of the 6 stone pillars, with carvings of cows, elephants, etc. and started descending.

A huge horde of monkeys was making its presence felt there. One huge monkey leapt at me and vigorously tugged my carry-bag, denting it. As my husband shooed it off, it retreated reluctantly. A baby monkey clambered on to a man’s back and sat cutely on his head. That man didn’t seem to mind it! We warily descended the hill.
We had a breakfast of piping hot upma and tea at the same restaurant where we had had dinner, shopped for collectibles and resumed our pilgrimage to Ozhar.

The Vighnaharta/Vigneshwara Ganapati of Ozhar relieves one of all the obstacles in one’s life. Lord Ganesha killed a demon named Vighnasur, hence the name. The idol has gems for its eyes, on its forehead and in its navel. Brass statues of His divine consorts Riddhi and Siddhi flank the idol. The temple, with its gold dome, twin deepastambhs (stone pillars for holding oil lamps) and two life-sized, stone-carved, dwarapalas (guards); is awesome.

Behind the temple, was a huge lake. It appeared misty and tranquil. As there wasn’t any time for boating, we started for Mahad.

Mahad, is very far, about 200 kms. from Ozhar. It was a 4- hour journey to this place in Raigad district. En route, we saw fresh sugarcane crop being harvested and ferried for crushing by trucks, tractors and bullock-carts. The cleaner of our bus adeptly pulled some sugar-cane from the passing vehicles and gave them to some passengers (who had strong teeth!).

The magnificent entrance to the Ozar temple

We passed by horticulture farms. The farmers were busy in their fields as we feasted our eyes on the lush greenery all around. Nature was kind to this part of the state, it seemed, as abundant water was visible in the water-bodies there.

The serene lake behind the Ozar temple

The elongated idol of Varada Vinayak at Mahad is benign and this is the only Ganapati in this yatra that can be touched by the pilgrims. We can personally offer garlands and flowers here. This idol is swayambhu and had emerged from a pond behind the temple.

Then it was time for the last of the Ashta Vinayaks, the Ballaleshwar temple at Pali. This is the only Ashta Vinayak Ganapati named after an ardent devotee of the Lord. The idol in this temple is attired in traditional clothes, as he appeared to Ballal, in the form of a Brahmin. The prasad offered here is besan laddu, instead of the customary modak. The Dhundivinayak Ganapati must be visited before the Ballaleshwar Ganapati, as per tradition.

A refreshing glass of kokam sarbat was served to us instead of tea.Then we returned to Pune at 7.30 p.m.

We had already vowed to return for the pilgrimage at the earliest; as the pilgrimage had satiated our souls.

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

This travelogue has been published in the Sakal Times' Spice edition dated 28th June, 2015.

Happy Pongal and Sankranti

Dear readers,
                         Wish you all a Happy Pongal and Sankranti. May you all be blessed with abundant peace, prosperity, happiness and contentment.
                         
                                                                    Priya

Bewitching Udaipur

Stairway to Divine Bliss?

Majestic Abode of Lord Jagdish

     Our wander-lust takes us to several exotic places.  One such place was Udaipur, renowned as the Lake City and the City of Palaces. It was founded by Maharana Udai Singh in 1559 and is known as the ‘Venice of the East.’ Indeed, it abounds in the beauty of vast, natural lakes like Pichola, Fateh Sagar, Udai Sagar and Swaroop Sagar; and historical marvels.

      

    Firstly, we paid a visit to the Jagdish temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It was constructed by Maharana Jagat Singh 1^st in 1651 A.D. It’s a marvelous marble edifice with meticulous carvings on its exteriors and interiors. The temple can be accessed through a flight of around 25 steps and has huge marble elephants standing guard outside.  Smaller temples dedicated to Lords Shiva and Ganesh stand in the marble-tiled courtyard of the temple.  We participated in the morning aarti. 

    

Lost childhood!

    Interestingly, each male devotee can offer seva to the deity by fanning the idol with a bushy fan with a silver handle.  My husband also participated enthusiastically and reverently. 

      

   

   We were shocked to see a small girl, her face painted chalk-white, with a long side-plait and traditional attire, sitting motionless on the first step of the temple.  She sat there throughout the day like a statue and watched with forlorn, starving eyes, as sympathetic devotees dropped a coin into the plate in front of her.  She exemplified a childhood lost in the commerce of life. 
    A variety of puppets, to be used as wall decorations, and other artifacts were on display in the shops near the temple.

      Then we walked to the City Palace, better known as the Lake Palace, as it’s built beside a lake, built by Maharana Uday Singh, in 1559.  The sheer dimensions of that palace’s complex were breath-taking.  A sloping wide road leads to the main structure.  A vast parking lot with landscaped lawns draws attention, before we enter the rather narrow entrance to the palace.  The royal insignia of the erstwhile rulers of Udaipur is mounted over the entrance.  It shows a flaming sun, as the rulers claimed to be descendants of the Sun Gods. Since ‘Uday’ means rise, this emblem of sunrise was apt, I thought.

Regal Splendor - City Palace

The Entrance to a Slice of History!

 Several priceless antique weapons, ammunition, paintings, furniture, textiles etc. were displayed on the various floors of the palace.  The colorful inlay work, stained glass and carved arches were splendid.  The whole city could be seen, panoramically spread out, for miles around, from the topmost portions of the fort.  The landscaped garden jutting into the lake could be seen through the huge windows. 

      

Priceless Heritage!

Aesthetic Backdrop!

      We spotted a century-old, huge, hand-painted Lord Ganesh’s painting on the wall, as we exited the fort.  It had been recently restored to its former glory.  We clicked snaps in front of the compound walls painted with life-sized Rajasthani paintings of warriors on elephants and dolis. 

    Then we had lunch at a nearby restaurant and walked through narrow alleys lined with curio shops, to reach the Pichola lake where tourists had lined up for boating. A launch will take you to the Jagmandir Island Palace which has been converted into a 5-star hotel. The lake’s waters glistened in the afternoon sun.  Beside it was the City Palace Museum. Too tired to explore it, we skipped it and walked back to our guest house.  En route, I bought a unique post-card painted with a standing Lord Ganesh, in bright colors and gold ornamentation.

       

    I quizzed the proprietor of the store, a talented and dynamic lady who painted these exquisite paintings of various deities, on papers of various sizes and sold them to the eager foreign tourists.  She informed me that the ones painted on original, old, used post-cards sold like hot-cakes for their novelty.  She took around 2 to 10 hours, or even several days, to paint her art pieces depending on their size.  The paints were special dyes.  We appreciated her painstaking work and went our way. 

The Sculptor of the Divine Lord Ganesh

      We also chatted up a middle-aged Gujarati sculptor who was chiseling exquisite, smooth figurines of Lord Ganesh.  He sourced the expensive stones from quarry owners and made impeccable figures of the Lord in various postures.  I bought 2 small ones, one in black and the other in brown, for my collection. 

         

       The next day, we went by rickshaw to Fateh sagar lake, Maharana Pratap Smarak and a spacious museum devoted to paintings of Udaipur’s erstwhile rulers.  

      

The Serene Waters of the vast Fateh Sagar Lake

      The vast lake ringed by mountains, has an island containing a garden and Asia’s only Solar Observatory, the Udaipur Solar Observatory; which can be reached by a launch-boat. Recently, on 4th August, 2015, a Multi Application Solar Telescope (MAST), became operational there.The Smarak is located on a hillock which can be reached by battery-operated vehicles. We of course, trekked uphill, savoring the panoramic view and were awe-struck by the huge bronze statue of Maharana Pratap, astride his favorite, loyal horse, Chetak. This memorial commemorates the Battle of Haldighati.     

    

    In the late afternoon, we visited Saheliyon-ki-Badi, a small enchanting ‘cooling resort’ for the ladies of the royal entourage of the Princess of Udaipur; in the hot summers. Its USP is the central tank, a lotus pool, fed with water by a perennial underground water-source; that has marble pavilions and elephant-shaped fountains all around it. Even as one enters the central compound, it takes just a clap of one’s hands, to get the fountains sprinkling thin jets of water on the unsuspecting, delighted tourists.

      

  

Saheliyon ki Badi - The Unique Summer Resort!

    A small Science Museum nearby has rock specimens, scientific instruments, etc.

     

   Later, we visited the Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal which houses a museum of puppets and folk arts. We enjoyed a puppet show there. The dancing puppets mesmerized the small audience, with various back-drops and scenarios. A puppet which resembled a female on one side and a male on the other; was expertly handled by the puppeteer who made it dance wildly, round and round. After the riveting show, the puppeteer popped out of the stage, literally dropping from above, with a single puppet and bowed to the audience. He demonstrated the real technique of maneuvering it and amazed us with his dexterity. Every one of us gave him a small token amount, in appreciation; and clicked snaps alongside him and his puppet.

    

You better behave, as I'm your Master!

     The next day, we went for a whirlwind sight-seeing trip. We saw the famed Haldighati, with its turmeric-yellow soil, the Maharana Pratap Museum with tableaus on the life and times of this Marwar ruler, (we bought rose attar, manufactured there in a quaint contraption), the Chetak Samadhi, dedicated to his loyal horse who sacrificed his life for him in the Battle of Haldighati, after saving his life; Nathadwara’s Lord Krishna’s temple, where the deity is adorned and worshipped throughout the day, at regular intervals as per the various stages of his life, like childhood, teenage, adulthood, etc. and the Eklingji Lord Shiva’s temple.

      

  

 Sukhadiya Circle Garden's Majestic Fountain

    The following day, we visited the garden at Sukhadiya Circle, which has a huge fountain, well-manicured lawns and huge trees. Paddle-boats are a highlight here.

   

   Though we longed to extend our stay in Udaipur, we had to fondly bid adieu to this bewitching city.

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

This travelogue has been published in the Plus Eight Edition of Sakaal Times, dated 30th August, 2015.

The Journey Beyond

As my soul soars, higher and higher

I look down below, amused,

At all the mourners crying, wailing

Some genuine, some fake

Crying for pretense’s sake!

          My journey into the realm yonder

          Has only just begun!

          I think of my life, its ups and downs

          My near and dear ones

          My friends, my comrades;

          Still strapping bombs to their bodies

          Fired by, what I now rue,

          False, misled ideology

Tomorrow, their limbs will probably lie askew,

Ripped apart by fanaticism;

As mine lay, just hours ago!

          Was it worth it?  I ask myself,

          Being a pawn of zealots

          Who have nothing to lose, but a bomb?

Mine will not be a revered tomb

But only an unpleasant reminder

Of inhuman deeds, avoidable tragedies

Of a life wasted, chasing an illusion!

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The copyright of this poem is with Mrs. Priya  Ramesh Swaminathan.