Kadaimugam 2023

The 11^th edition of our annual Kadaimugam trip began with the usual fanfare around mid-July. This is when the flyers are sent out to regular attendees requesting their confirmation for the trip. Tickets were booked around ARP – this time with an additional caution to ensure that tickets are booked separately for people boarding at Egmore, Mambalam and Tambaram. After 6 dropouts, the final tally was 11 group members on the boarding date i.e. Nov. 15, 2023. Two first-timers this year: Radhakrishnan and Rangarajan.

Two interesting events that happened prior to the departure date:

1.   1. There were (usual) WA messages and forwards about Kaveri being bone-dry and Mayiladuthurai municipality has arranged some bore wells and sprinklers for the Thulasnanam during Ippasi month. I was confident that there will be good rains by mid-November and was expecting water to be released from Kallanai just prior to the Kadaimugam date of Nov. 16, and this water will be blocked at Keezhanai to ensure atleast stagnant water at Lagadam ghat. My hope didn’t fail.

2. 2. The departure time of Uzhavan Express was advanced by 45 minutes from Oct. 1, which meant we will reach MV at 3.30 AM itself instead of 4.30 am. While this is a better scenario from my trip planning perspective as it offers an extended buffer before we begin our temple run, it meant a disappointment for N Srini as the Pongal with Gothsu in Ramar Sannadhi at Indhalur will have to be skipped and more importantly, travellers may not get a full sleep as we must wake up at 3.15 AM.

Sasi and Sairam boarded at Egmore. Anand (brother), Prabhu, Vaibhav and I boarded at Mambalam. Kalyan, Anand (colleague), N Srini, Ranga and Radha boarded at Tambaram. Notable misses this year are Sakthi and Srikanth. Kamesh, Ram, Aswath and Subram had to drop out due to travel commitments.

The run in Uzhavan Exp was usual. He was well before time at most of the stops – courtesy: abundant timetable buffer. We got down at Junction at 3.30 AM. After the routine of refreshing ourselves in the Waiting Room, we marched outside to a coffee shop and had a hot cup of coffee. Our good old friend Dinesh had arranged his cousin Selva to bring his Tempo Traveller for the day trip. I was happy as Selva knows how challenging the grind will be for the day 😊 We started around 4 AM from Junction and reached Lagadam ghat around 4.15 AM. The weather was overcast but not rainy. Kaveri had running water with a mild current and was warm. We got in to take the bath and ritual ‘kadaimuzhukku’ facing the pravaaham of the river. It is on this day that Ganga merges with Kaveri’s water flow at Mayiladuthurai. It was almost a full hour before we wrapped up our bathing session in the river by around 5 AM. There was a change of vehicle in the meantime as Selva identified some problem in the gearbox and smartly arranged a replacement vehicle during the wait time at Lagadam. It feels happy and awkward at the same time to note that not just the regular travellers, but even Dinesh’s team also has got tuned to the wavelength of our trips! Sundar was our companion for the rest of the day.

The next three halts are usually scheduled ones: Mayuranathar, Ayyappas and Indhalur. Mayuranathar temple was open at 5.15 AM – we had a satisfactory darshan of Swami and Ambal (Abhayambiga). Ayyappas was bubbling with aroma of fresh coffee decoction; luring and enticing N Srini inside 😊 We had a dash of hot Pongal Vadai before eventually concluding the breakfast with a cup of hot Kumbakonam coffee. Indhalur temple is under renovation (baalaalayam) and hence there was no Rathothsavam on the day of our trip. Temple was not yet open when we went there, which meant we will be able to participate in the Visvaroopa Sevai. Yes, I used the word ‘participate’ instead of the usual ‘see’ or ‘witness’. There appears to be a misunderstanding on what this sevai means. Let me clarify: it is not the sevai where we get to see Him… it is a sevai where He gets to see who are the devotees who have assembled in the morning – just like how a child gets so much happiness in seeing its parents’ or siblings’ faces as first thing they wake up in the morning. Devotees stand in front to give such a pleasure to Perumal. It was a divine morning moment to participate in the Visvaroopa sevai in both Thayar and Perumal sannadhis.

Forenoon Session:

Next-in-line was Karunkuilnathanpettai (take your time to get the correct pronunciation). This is a recently renovated, serene temple in a quaint little hamlet on the north bank of Kaveri river. The temple was open when we went there at 7 AM, with calls of peacocks, cuckoo birds and the general early morning vibes. Sivachariar turned up in a few minutes and took us inside the temple to give us a wonderful darshan of the murthis. I considered this as an auspicious sign for what is in store for the day – an satisfactory trip as planned! Post this temple, we drove along the Rajapaattai for another 20 minutes to reach our second Padal Petra Sthalam (PPS) for the day: Keezhaiyur. This town is also known as Kadaimudi – literally the end point of the path of Kaveri river as she drains into the Bay at Poompuhar, which is less than a dozen km away to this town on the east. Unexpectedly, the indirect demands for a route change via mumbles and unconnected topics came up from the backbenchers in the van a tad earlier than usual – a few group members were expressing their intent to see the Tharangambadi Fort. They knew this request will be turned down instantly. So, they were camouflaging it with an addendum that some of their friends told that there is a famous Pillayar Kovil right at the entrance of that Fort. This was so obvious a lie that they could not control their smiles while sharing this piece of information. Decision: Request denied!

We then took the road down south from Sembanar Koil to our next halt – Thiruvilayattam. This is one of the Maadakovils built by Cholan Kochengannan (‘KCC’ in our group’s parlance). We understood that the Sivachariar had completed the morning poojai, locked up the temple and went out only a few minutes earlier. One villager was kind enough to call the Meikkaaval (Temple Security Incharge) and inform that “a big gang from Madras has come and we should not disappoint them”. He turned up within 10 minutes and opened the doors for us to have a wonderful darshan. The tiered structure of the Maadakkovil was intact and even the inner prakaram atop the maadam was well-maintained. Some of the group members conjured an instant plan (a jail break-out?? 😊 ) and sneaked out to the ‘kadaitheru’ (bazaar) while I was trying to dry the wet towels on the window bars of the van during the wait time. Full marks to guess who they would have been… the usual suspects! Their delayed return caused a slight delay in my schedule, which cropped up a dilemma: whether to skip the next scheduled halt along the mainroad – Nallaadai. Luckily for us, our driver (more likely guessing from the stern face I had while receiving those escapees back) got the hint and drove a bit faster to Nallaadai. This temple was also a recently renovated one with beautiful vavvaal-naththi mandapams. With a quick round-up of the prakaram filled with sand that was wet with overnight rains, we started towards the U.T of Puducherry. A fairly long run of some 10 km inside the UT brought us to the Tamil Nadu border on the Karaikal – Kumbakonam Main Road. Luckily, we were not stopped at the checkpost.

Kottaaram (PPS) is a big temple neatly tucked inside with orchards on all four sides. We had a nice darshan here. The Sivachariar recommended us to visit Dharumapuram, Karaikovilpathu and Thiruvettakudy in that order as against the reverse order I was having in my mind. His recommendation proved to be effective! He also guided us through a short cut to Tirunallar, post which we will be able to reach Dharumapuram easily. We entered PY again before Tirunallar and proceeded to Dharumapuram. This temple is where Thiruneelakanta Yaazhpaanar was about to break his yaazh (harp) due to a frustration that he was unable to match the rhythm of the hymns that Sambandhar was penning. Yaazhmurinadhar appeared there, consoled him and played a matching rhythm in that harp.

Karaikovilpathu, a suburb of the town of Karikal had a beautiful PPS that appeared to have got drenched in rain probably less than an hour ago. Clock was ticking 11.40 AM. It is unlikely that Thiruvettakudy will be open beyond noon. Google akka mentioned it will take 18 minutes to reach there. I told our driver Sundar, “let us plan for our best. If we are destined to have a darshan, nobody can stop it”. Enroute, K Srini called up and mentioned that lunch will be ready as planned at 1 PM. He suggested to visit Tirunallar if we have a buffer. After a few frustrating tailgating moments, a few (delightful) overtakes and a good run, we reached Thiruvettakudy exactly at 12 noon, from the western side (main entrance is on the eastern side). I literally stuck my neck out to see whether the main entrance was open – voila! It was. A wedding ceremony was going on and all sannadhis were kept open. Pallaandu Vaazhga!!

I wanted to accommodate the gang’s request to visit Tirunallar as we had ample time before us. We took the road to Karaikal, entered the bypass and reached Tirunallar by 12.20 PM. Moolavar sannadhi was literally empty while there was an accumulated crowd in front of Sani Bhagavan sannadhi as it was closed and abhishekam was expected to begin. We waited for a few minutes, witnessed abhishekam for a few minutes and then came out.

K Srini, along with his father-in-law, had organized lunch for all of us in one of the mini-halls in Karaikal. He has been doing this selfless service for second year in a row. Gang was delighted to hear that Ashoka Halwa was indeed part of the menu. Our menu for the day: Baadhusha, Ashoka Halwa, Sambar Rice, Potato poriyal, potato chips, curd rice and pickles. The taste was awesome and the quantity sufficient for our hunger pangs. This was followed by an hour of rest in the mandapam. Ever thoughtful Srini brought a big container with one of the best filter coffees to taste – Vadivel Coffee, Karaikal. Balance Ashoka Halwa was neatly packed by K Srini in casseroles and shared to the gang. We thanked Srini and his father-in-law and left Karaikal.

Afternoon Session:

We started (after almost a delay of an hour from the scheduled start time) at 3.40 PM. Nobody can be blamed as all of us lacked proper sleep as the train reached MV at wee hours. Our first stop was Keezhaiyur (different one) Ranganathar Kovil. This is a KCC. We waited in the temple for a few minutes for the Bhattachariar to arrive. We had an amazing sevai of the big Ranganathar Perumal through a door and two windows very similar to Abaranadhari. Inner prakaram along the tiered maadam was well maintained. What then followed was a bunch of PPS temples, two of them from the saptavidanga sthalangal of Thiyagarajar. We started with Thiruvaimur PPS, then visited Ettukudi Murugan temple (as it was Kanda Sashti period), followed by Thirukuvalai PPS (birth place of former CM Thiru Mu. Karunanidhi) and Katchanam PPS.

Time was running short and I had to quickly decide whether to cover Thirukaravasal PPS before attempting the trio of Thirunellikaval PPS, Thiruthangur PPS and Thirukollikadu PPS. There was a Level Crossing enroute the trio. A wait for a train to cross will puncture almost all my plans. The gurukkal at Katchanam mentioned that his nephew is the sannadhi kainkaryam at Thirukollikadu and asked us to go there first.

Van then proceeded to Thirukollikadu. Gate was open enroute. However, just past the gate, just out of a random thought, I asked the van to halt, popped out my neck to check with a random chap to confirm the temple closure timings at Thirukollikadu. He mentioned that it will be usually at 7-7.15 PM, however, he will call and inform the Sivachariar there to wait for us. Blessings come in any form and through any person – proved once again! We went to Thirukollikadu and had a good darshan of the Swami, Ambal and Pongu Sani. On the way back, Thiruthangur PPS was unfortunately closed for the day – we had to call it a skip. However, it was more than compensated with an amazing darshan at Tirunellikaval PPS. Time was 8 PM. We decided to call it a wrap for the day. Trip was by and large consistent with the schedule I had in my mind, with one miss and two unplanned add-ons.

We returned to Tiruvarur around 8.30 PM. Had a light dinner in Hotel Vasan next to the Junction. We started to feel the ‘upto-that-point-we-totally-forgot’ tiredness and the craving to stretch our legs and sleep, by then. We settled, thanked and bid adieu to Sundar at the Junction, dragged our feet to PF 1 and parked ourselves in whatever empty benches that were available. Mannai Express rolled in at 11.25 PM to Tiruvarur Junction and dropped us in Madras (Tambaram and Mambalam) around 5 AM.

We were blessed to complete one more edition of our Kadaimugam series. I would attribute whatever punniyam I had gained from this trip to the fact that it would have been more from guiding adiyaars to temples than visiting temples as such. Nothing is more satisfactory than being a ‘thondaradippodi’, isn’t it?

Am eagerly looking forward to our 12^th edition in November 2024.