Kadaimugam 2024

 It started well with an announcement of the trip mid-July 2024 to all regular participants. The usual limit is 14, a group that can be fit into one Tempo Traveller (TT). Anything more than that will split the group into two vehicles, which may make it challenging for the organizer. I was expecting around 15 to sign up. Normal cancellations being around 2 or 3, we may end up at 14 or less. Unusually, all regulars signed up shortly after the message was sent; later I got to know that one person made a point to call a few more and alerted, “seekram reply confirm pannidu, illeinaa avan waitlist-la potruvaan!”.

Tickets were booked on the ARP day, plan being: onward by usual Uzhavan Exp to Mayiladuthurai and return by Uzhavan Exp from Kumbakonam. WhatsApp group was created and details of tickets shared.  The initial tally was 18, 14 to be accommodated in the TT and 3 to get into Ramesh’s car taking turns amongst us.

My primary target was to complete the only two pending PPS temples in the Kumbakonam belt – Senganur and Pasupati Koil. My earlier two attempts to these temples were met with locked doors and unavailable Sivachariars – I didn’t want to take any risk this time. I had one for forenoon and one for afternoon, with all other temples planned around these two visits. Incidentally, the Kadaimugam day of 2024 happened to be Ippasi Pournami – the day that sees Annabhishekam festival in all Sivan temples. I was confident, I will be able to cover them both without any hiccups.

The usual period of lull went on from mid-July to end of October. I started my homework/ prep work by first week of November. Got hold of the Sivachariar of Kallar Pasupati Koil (KCC), whom I met during my visit to Thanjavur a few years ago and checked with him on the temple opening time at Pasupati Koil main temple PPS – he asked me to call one day prior and assured that the darshan can be had without any problem. I then got hold of the Sivachariar at Senganur and arranged for the darshan. He informed me that the Sivan koil will be open from 9 AM to 10.30 AM and the Perumal koil will be open from 7 AM to 9 AM. He asked me to be there around 8.30 to cover both. Next was to get hold of a person in Tirupanandal town so I can check if we can have darshan in Oorudaiappar Koil (KCC), an unknown temple in the main road of that town. Luckily enough, I got hold of the Maniayakkarar of the temple – he informed me that the Sivachariar of main temple goes to Oorudaiappar around 8 AM for poojai and will return in 15-20 minutes. However, if we are not keen on haarathi and poojai, he can help us open the main door of the temple and we can have darshan through grill gate anytime.

As always, November was brimming with threats of heavy rains and impending cyclones. Though the travelling gang had questions on whether our trip will be affected, they did not ask it openly as the answer will eventually be, “we went on a cyclone landfall day in 2013 and during heavy rains in 2015, trip will stay as planned this year!”.

Anand (my brother) had to drop off a week before the trip as he had an important meeting to attend in his office, my son Vaibhav had to drop off a week before the trip as he had exams scheduled on that Friday. Radhakrishnan called me up on Thursday Nov. 14 morning to inform that he had to drop off due to a personal requirement at home front. Srikanth called on Nov. 14 morning and informed me that he has returned to India from his trip and was in Delhi – I immediately told him, “then your attendance is confirmed”. He threw a bomb shell and informed that he had problems with his baggage and missed his connecting flight to Chennai. I still had slim hopes in my mind and told him that I will wait till 6 PM – the last cut off for cancelling train tickets. He was practical and told me that it will be challenging as he had not got good rest for two days in a row. Finally, though he reached Chennai by late afternoon, he had to drop off due to the demanding schedule of the trip that may ask from travellers. We ended up being 14 of us, 13 aboard the train and Ramesh driving overnight from Puducherry.

Rains were on and off that Thursday night. Subram, Balajee (first-timer) and Sasi boarded at Egmore. Ram, Aswath, Prabhu and I boarded at Mambalam. K Srini, N Srini, Sakthi, Kalyan, Anand and Ranga boarded at Tambaram. I had power naps on and off all through the journey. Never forgot to witness the flurry of crossings in the mainline section after Villupuram Jn (0044/ 0049). We halted at Panruti (0114/ 0118) for Up Uzhavan, crossed a G9 hauled heavy load BCNHS freight at Nellikuppam (0138) and halted at Tiruppadiripuliyur. I slept after TDPR and got up when we halted at Chidambaram (0240/ 0245). We crossed a heavy load freight at Sirkali headed by G9 #32808 (0301/ 0302). We reached Mayiladuthurai Junction at 3.23 AM, 2 minutes BT. Ramesh was already waiting for us in the waiting hall – our first ‘go-to’ place after reaching Junction. After a bio break, we headed to the parking area and boarded our TT. We had space to accommodate Ramesh – so he parked his car in the town and joined us as one group.

Forenoon Session:

After a short coffee break in a ‘sumaar’ quality tea stall in the bus stand, we went to Laagadam ghat. Kaveri river flows under the railway tracks just before the start of platform at Junction – so one will get to know upfront what the level of water is and whether it is stagnant or flowing, before entering the station. My spotting on that full moon lit wee hours was a river with atleast waist level running water. So, we were all expecting a pleasant session in the ghat. It was smooth until we finished our customary three dips and recital of the ‘thangaiyai mookkum’ paasuram praising Maa Ganga (remember, Maa Ganga Herself comes in as a pravaakam in Kaveri on Kadaimugam/ Thula snanam day – last day of Ippasi month). The water was warm compared to the chillness in the air. There was a short spell of rain; we all came back to the Vinayakar sannadhi on the bank of the river for shelter. While some of them called it for the day, some ventured in for a second innings after the rains halted. The next spell was heavy and did not halt for almost 20 minutes. We were unable to fit inside the Vinayakar sannadhi and had to rush back in that heavy downpour to the bigger asbestos sheet shelter. Meanwhile, Ramesh’s car keys slid down into one of our bags. He announced he will be taking all our bags and wave them one by one next to his car to locate his key! Thankfully, it was found in one of the bags shortly.

Thanks to a suggestion from Srikanth a month ago to hunt for a short term accommodation for us to refresh after the bath, I was able to get hold of a guest house through our cab wala, Dinesh. A big two bedroom portion in a guest house was let out to us for an hour on rent. We were able to refresh ourselves and get ready for the day’s grind.

First two temples (three stops) are customary: Mayuranathar Koil, Ayyappa Tiffin Centre and Indhalur Koil. Darshan at Mayuranathar was enthralling. We had the first sevai of the day with adukku haarathi being shown just as the screen was taken off in front of the moolavar (in both Eswaran and Ambal sannadhis, similar to last year). The driver was initially shocked to hear we have a fan club amongst us for Ayyappa’s Pongal and Vadai. He suggested there are better and cheaper places to have breakfast – but, the gang was firm in going to Ayyappa’s. Indhalur had uthsavar already seated in the ‘Ther’. We climbed over the thermuttu and hopped on to the center of the Ther to be in front of the Perumal. Did a pradhakshnam inside the Ther and came out to go to the main temple. Moolavar’s veerasayana sevai was as always awesome.

The schedule for the morning began with our TT taking the south bank road via Moovalur and Kuttalam to Thiruvalangadu around 7.45 AM. Not to be confused with another town of the same name near Chennai. Eswaran’s name is also incidentally Vataaranyeswarar in both the temples (giving the name of the town in Tamil: Vata – Aalam – Banyan, Aaranyam – Kaadu – Forest). It was a huge temple with three prakarams. Sivachariar was unavailable (one time poojai only around 9.30 AM). However, the Meikkaaval (security guard) and his wife were doing preparation works for opening the temple at that time. They were happy to open the main doors of inner prakaram for us and have darshan of Eswaran and Ambal.  Not to forget spotting a fragrant Panneer tree in the outer prakaram. The next stop was Thiruvavaduthurai Masilamaneeswarar Koil. Again a huge temple, situated on the other side of the railway line reachable within a 5 minutes of drive. The Sivachariar was so happy to see such a good number of pilgrims and shared a lot of anecdotes and stories. We visited the Thirumoolar samaadhi in the outer prakaram and wrapped up. Incidentally, it was Thirumoolar Gurupoojai day earlier that week.

The next scheduled stop was Tiruppanandal. It was already around 9 AM by the time we started from Thiruvavaduthurai. Google Akka was showing 25 minutes time to reach Tiruppanandal. I made up my mind to skip the Perumal Koil at Senganur in favour of Oorudaiappar. I informed Maniyakkarar that we will be there in 30 minutes. We reached Tiruppanandal Arunajadeswarar temple around 9.30 AM. It is again a huge temple with three huge prakarams. We completed darshan in 10 minutes and were waiting for the Maniyakkarar to arrive (he was attending a family function nearby). While one batch took the TT and went to the bus stand for a bio break, second batch took a stroll in the Sannadhi Street to buy piping hot bajjis, vadais and bondas, having spotted a shop while entering that street before we went inside the temple, the third batch decided to take a power nap in one of the mandapams in the outer prakaram.

With the rebels raising to power, I decided to arrest this drift by taking a call to go to Senganur and come back before the Maniyakkarar arrives; after all Senganur was less than 10 minutes away. But, He had other plans!

We started to Senganur around 9.50 AM. One minute into our journey and just as we crossed the Oorudaiapar koil on the main road, I spotted someone getting down from a cycle and opening the main door of the temple. 9.53 AM: “holdaen, oldaen, vandiya nippaatu…. Thiruppu, thiruppu” was the instruction! The driver was puzzled (might have even cursed me!); took efforts to turn the TT in the sharp curve of the main road and took us back to Oorudaiappar koil. By the time I got down from the TT, I spotted that person taking his cycle and going away towards Tiruppanandal – my cries calling him didn’t reach him either. Luckily for us, we spotted a person inside the temple and the sannadhis were open! It was the Meikkaaval, who came to clean the temple, along with the person who has the main door keys. Apparently, he has charge for a few temples like this and his visit timings for each temple are not fixed and vary day by day. This was the reason the Maniyam didn’t share Meikkaaval’s number. By the time we finished exploring the Kochengannan Maadakkovil (KCC) in its full beauty, the Maniyakkarar himself stepped by unannounced. After exchanging pleasantries and profusely sharing a note of thanks, we departed. It was a true example of Him doing an episode of ‘thaduththaatkolludhal’ to us like how He did to Appar and Sundarar!

Senganur was not far away – we reached there at 10.20 AM. The Sivachariar had informed me that he was out of town that day and another volunteer will be there in the temple till 10.30 AM. The Srinivasa Perumal Koil was open (avatara sthalam of acharya Periyavaachaan Pillai) with one mama waiting for Bhattar to arrive and his wife preparing garlands for Perumal. He asked us to visit Sivan Koil first. It was a satisfying darshan at the temple – the birth place of Chandikeswarar (Sandesa Nayanar); the place where he was given a ‘pattam’ by Eswaran. A beautiful KCC temple with broad inner prakaram at first level and outer prakaram in ground level. One of the two PPS for the day ticked off. By the time we were back at the Perumal koil, the Bhattar too stepped in. We had a wonderful sevai of the ~12 ft high Srinivasa Perumal. Somehow this vigraham reminded me of Saranatha Perumals of Thirucherai and Thiruvadhigai – more a mix of both of Them.

Next scheduled halt was Cholapuram. Two lesser known temples with odd timings, and an unannounced visit – not a favourable combination for our trip. As expected, the temples were closed with only the outer prakaram in open condition. One of them is a KCC. Had to get contended that I atleast got a glimpse of this majestic feature in this temple. We headed straight to Koranattu Karuppur Petti Kaaliamman koil on the north bank of Kaveri, just outside Kumbakonam town. Had a wonderful darshan of Eswaran and Ambal. There was crowd building up near the Kaaliamman Sannadhi. We learned that it was Rahukalam of that Friday and that Kaaliamman box will be opened shortly. Given that we were a bit tired, we decided to stay back and witness the event. The box will be opened during Rahukalams of Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Post the darshan of Kaaliamman (gave goosebumps while seeing Her at close quarters), we had piping hot Ksheerannam (kalkandu saadham) given as prasadam in plantain leaves. It was delicious and super hot that we were unable to hold the liberally filled leaf in our palms!

After a quick visit to Sarangapani Koil to see the ‘kidandhavaaru ezhundhu pesum Kesavan’, we wrapped up our forenoon session and headed to Rayas Grand for lunch.

Lunch was a full meal thali. I decided to head out of Kumbakonam town towards Papanasam to save time before the start of the afternoon session. We started around 2.30 PM. Just as we crossed Sundaraperumal Koil, I thought of considering Thirunallur to spend the afternoon break – a quick check among participants revealed that a good majority of them had not been to that temple before. So Thirunallur it was! I asked the driver to take a left at Vaazhapazha kadai bus stop, cross the railway gate and head to that majestic temple. It started drizzling by the time we went there. Gang decided to take rest inside the TT. I stepped out to check the main door. It was closed with only thittivaasal being open. I jumped in and found a person who was washing the vessels post annadhaanam. I requested him to allow us take rest for an hour or two in the outer prakaram, which he gladly agreed. Surprisingly enough, there were even two jute webbed cots in the mandapam. The gang stepped inside and took a refreshing nap.

Afternoon Session:

The temple, although was scheduled to open at 4.30 PM on regular days, was opened by the Sivachariar at 3.45 PM itself as he had to prepare for the Annabhishekam. While people returned home without having a darshan of Annabhishekam in crowded popular temples in Chennai, there we were, witnessing the same without anyone else in the temple – unhindered view of the festivities in full. This PPS temple is a KCC, with the Swayambhu lingam turning colour five times a day. I have personally witnessed this phenomenon during my earlier three visits. When we were inside the temple, we could witness the lingam slowly turning from copper colour to emerald green while the abhishekam was being done. The Sivachariar applied hot cooked rice over the lingam and placed the metal eye piece along with the suryan and chandran medals. We then started to Papanasam.

Papanasam has three temples: Palaivananathar PPS with an ASI-maintained granary, 108 Ramalingeswarar temple and a Perumal Koil. I wanted to visit the Perumal koil during this trip. It was 5 PM and I was expecting the temple to be open. Unfortunately only the outer prakaram was open. The flower seller outside the temple was kind enough to request one of her friends to go to the Bhattar’s house and inform him that a group of 15 have come all the way from Madras. An 80-year old Bhattar came walking briskly from a nearby house and opened the temple for us. It was a huge temple with 4 prakarams, somehow resembling Raja Mannargudi temple. Moolavar Srinivasar was a beauty to behold. The Bhattar did an awesome sevai of Perumal in his own style. He was excited to host us.

Next up plan for the evening was the ‘Sapta Mangai’ sthalams. These are seven villages in and around Pasupati Koil with names ending in ‘mangai’: Chakramangai PPS, Ariyamangai VS, Soolamangai VS, Pullamangai PPS, Thaazhamangai, Nandimangai and Pasumangai KCC. Total distance will be around 20 km covering all seven of them – we went in the order given above. I had been to Chakramangai and Pasumangai earlier.

We started with Chakramangai. As expected, the temple was literally empty. We finished our darshan and took our van through narrow lanes to park it in one side of the approach to the railway track near Ayyampettai railway station. We got down; crossed the railway track on foot and walked for a km to reach Ariyamangai village (saving 20 minutes each way). Ariyamangai had preparations ongoing for Annabhishekam, entirely coordinated by the villagers themselves. Everyone in the village was occupied in one kainkaryam or the other as a volunteer. Children (about 20) were seated in front of the Eswaran sannadhi with one lady volunteer making them recite the 1008 ‘potri’ sthuthi list. It was such a mesmerizing sight for the evening.

We walked back to our TT and drove towards Soolamangai. Luckily for us the railway gate was open both the times (onward and return). Soolamangai, also known as Soolamangalam, is famous for the Carnatic singers, Soolamangalam Sisters! The sannadhi was closed with a screen when we went. One village man seated at the entrance mentioned that it will take atleast 30 minutes for the screen to open and that the temple will be open till 9 PM. With a difficult decision to make (in favour of not missing a PPS), I was contemplating whether to start now and revisit on the way back to Kumbakonam. At this stage, K Srini spoke from one side of the screen to the Sivachariar on the other side of the screen and got to know that the screen will be taken off shortly and that the temple will be open only for 30 more minutes. It was a divine intervention to make us stay there – we would have otherwise missed this temple while returning. Annabhishekam alankaram was awesome, with vegetables and fruits used to make garlands, eyes, facial features, and necklaces.

After a satisfactory darshan of the Eswaran, Ambal and Sooladhevar (personification of the Trishoolam that Eswaran holds in His hand), we marched to Pullamangai. The Sivachariar of Pasumangai informed me earlier that he was in Madras on that day and all seven temples will be open from 6 PM to 8 PM, and that his cousin was in charge at Pasumangai on that day. We were right on time for the main haarathi and completion of poojai at Pullamangai (Pasupati Koil PPS). It is an architectural wonder in red stone, built by Parantaka Chola. We had darshan of Annabhishekam, put a tick mark against this pending PPS and went to Thaazhamangai. This temple is along the main road from Kumbakonam to Thanjavur. The temple was open with Eswaran in Annabhishekam alankaram.

Considering that it was nearing 8 PM, we took a short cut from Thaazhamangai to Nallichery (Nandimangai). There are two temples in Nallichery. Nandimangai Sivan Koil and Jagathrakshaka Perumal Koil. Eswaran was in Annabhishekam alankaram. Perumal Koil was fortunately open (it was around 7.30 PM then). We completed the darshan in both temples and started through a narrow road through paddy fields to Kallar Pasupati Koil (Pasumangai). This village has two temples: Varadarajar Koil, which houses the Periya Nambigal Thiruvarasu (the arasamaram planted exactly on the place where acharya Periya Nambigal (Mahapoorna Swami) was buried (paLLipaduthudhal)) and Pasumangai Sivan Koil, which is a KCC. Periya Nambigal aged about 105 years, who accompanied Koorathazhwar (who was dressed in saffron robes disguised as Ramanuja) to the royal court of Kirumikanda Cholan at Chidambaram, couldn’t walk any further after this village, while returning to Srirangam. He attained paramapadham in this village. I had visited this temple during my Thanjavur trip a few years ago. It was closed by the time we went there. We then took our TT to Kallar Pasupati Koil in the adjacent street – a massive KCC. The Sivachariar was expecting us and was happy to take care of us. He did an elaborate darshan sevai at Eswaran and Ambal sannadhis.

Having finished all seven mangais, we decided to call it a day. 20 temples in total. We came back to Kumbakonam town and had a sumptuous dinner at Venkatramanas. We headed back to the railway station to catch Uzhavan Express. We bade goodbye to Ramesh, who will travel in TT back to Mayiladuthurai to take his car home from there. Rain clouds, which were probably holding up all the rains for us to complete our trip, could not hold any longer and a heavy downpour occurred! It was so heavy that we got fully drenched in the small gap between the platform shelter shade and coach while boarding the train. We were fully exhausted and hit the berth within a few minutes. Uzhavan dropped us the next day on time (around 4.30  AM) at various points in Chennai (TBM, MBM and Egmore). We all headed back home for a well deserved rest.

Eagerly looking forward to the next (13th) edition in Nov. 2025! Subham.

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.

Vaandhi Purush

 Sorry in advance, if you are offended because of the heading. You may most likely endorse it or worse, come up with something even more nasty than that if you get to watch the movie.

If not for Prabhas, I would have slept sometime around 30 minutes after start. I cannot fathom how can people turn such an ithihaasa into such a disaster - mind you, I went with an open mind and with zero expectations.

The first obvious things that hit me were:

1) empty forehead of Ravana (or Lankesh is he?)

2) empty forehead of Mandodari - can you believe it? Of all people, Mandodari doesn't have a bindi... She is worshipped as one of the five Sumangalis and she doesn't wear a bindi. On top of it, she wears a black saree all along, draped like a burkha. Come on, such a pious and important character in the story cannot be diluted like this for cheap commercial interests.

3) empty forehead of a lot of characters

Saif Ali Khan has a lot of scope for the character. I am not expecting him to pull a terrific performance like S. V Rangarao or R. S. Manohar or NTR, but atleast 10% of it? Such a disappointment. A poonal and some CGI viboodhi in some scenes doesn't make him the ardent Siva Bhaktha he was - the lone song or two he plays - is it Saama gaanam in Kambodhi ragam? Sheer nonsense.

While Prabhas was the only reason I sat in the theatre, I can confidently say Ram Charan did miles ahead with bow and arrow in RRR than Prabhas in this movie. Prabhas did not even do 50% of what he performed in Bahubali with the bow and arrow.

The first major scene involving Ravana's creatures coming to Panchavati is a 100% copy of Harry Potter series' dementor attack scenes. In fact, even a 5-year-old child will say they are dementors. The human-like rakshasas of Ravanan's army with their skeleton faces are exact xerox copies of death eaters in robes. Talking about Panchavati, Rama was staying in a bharnashrama right, and not a cave, at the time of abduction.

Lanka was described in Ramayana as a serene, beautiful and heaven-like city - it was exact opposite in the movie. It looked like some sinister underground cave just like how it will appear in Scooby Doo Where Are You series episodes. Or worse, Azkaban. For that matter, Rama was a Suryavamsam King - almost 90% of the movie happens without sunlight!! It was all dark, dark and dark all throughout. The people who should rightfully outrage are the citizens of Sri Lanka, for misrepresenting the facts.

Some of the thrilling scenes (as we expect them to be, they aren't is a different matter) had background scores exactly the same as the old Old Spice advertisement jingle music.

My anguish is to such an extent that I feel even Pogo channel has better CGI and representation of characters - the producers had good funding, very good technology in their hands - see what they have come up with?

There are many allegations on scenes alluding to other religions - Rama's posture in front of Dasharatha looks like Jesus (to be fair, it was a B/W scene, but has sandal colour applied throughout for some unknown reason), throat slitting to abuse and kill a woman etc.

I didn't expect Indrajit to have cheap tattoos all over his torso - it looked yuck even considering the fact that he was a rakshasa.

What is the reason for not using the proper four names - Rama, Lakshmana, Ravana and Hanuman? They seem to have been replaced by Raghav, Sesh, Lankesh and Bajrang.

And to top it all, Ravana's death resulted in some nuclear explosion! The director, for some reason, has denied a graceful death for such a warrior.

Remember, the history is that Ravana was a Brahmin, Rama was a Kshatriya. Check out how they appear in the movie.

My humble request to Bollywood - please don't attempt making ithihaasa and purana stories anymore. Leave them to the experts in Tollywood. We have grown up not to expect anyone like NTR or Manohar, but atleast they will pull out a modern wonder like Bahubali or RRR. This movie is a classic example of a cat that scratched hot rod all over its body to look like a tiger. Miserable failure.

RRR

 RRR – Forum Mall – April 16, 2022

 

What a fantastic movie to watch! SSR had clarified that it is a work of pure fiction. He turned it out to be a movie, where one cannot even tell it is a work of fiction – it was so much real like. The first thing that needs to be appreciated is the effort that has gone in to bring in early 1900s in front of our eyes without any gaffes. The art design, dialogues, costumes, set properties – everything reflects the research that has gone in. SSR has attempted to differentiate the fire (Ram Charan) and water (Jr NTR) in every frame they are in the screen. While Ram Charan displays raw aggression, fiery eyes, stiff face, regulation, Jr NTR shows calm aggression, compassionate eyes, friendly face and humility. None of the songs got registered in my mind, except for the small stanza that Malli sings in the opening sequence of the movie.

 

The action sequences are a delight to watch – of course, keeping aside the logical flaws that are rampant in them. Prominent of them all is the way in which the heros of the movie (especially Ram Charan) recover almost instantaneously from any grave injuries – be it the whip with nails, the primitive claw that Bheem uses, arrows, heavy beatings et al (the arrow injury in his left shoulder vanishes in a matter of minutes!). These could have been avoided.

 

A must see movie for everyone. During a period when Kollywood is going through a big void, these movies (RRR, KGF, ASN, Bahubali & Co) are a real refresher for a movie goer.

 

Btw, this is the second Telugu dubbing movie I have watched in a theatre, first one being Police Lock-up in Krishnaveni theatre during early 90s.

Up and Down - Demystified

There has been a lot of confusion and worse, misunderstanding on the words 'Up and Down' used in Railways parlance. Let me attempt to decrypt them for all of us to understand better! Remember, every point generalised herein has an exception.

To begin with, the 'Up and Down' refers to the tracks and the trains separately. Eg. A Down train can travel in Down direction paths to a junction and then take Up direction path from there to another station.

Paths:

Railways trace their origins to England, where all tracks leading out of London were called Down direction paths and all tracks leading to London were called Up direction paths. Similarly, when Railway Companies were setting up tracks in India, all tracks that were going out of their headquarters or junction points were Down tracks. Eg.:

Great Indian Peninsular Railway (GIPR): Bombay to Pune

Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway (BBCIR): Bombay to Baroda/ Ahmedabad

Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway: Madras to Mangalore/ Bangalore

Branch lines and spurs going out of a junction point are called as Down line from the junction point. Eg.

GIPR: Daund to Baramati

MSMR: Bangarpet to Marikuppam

The only exception was the East India Railway, headquartered at Calcutta. Since their railway lines were laid along the upstream of Ganga River and people have been used to steamer services along the river with Upstream travel being denoted as Up, they named tracks originating out of Calcutta as Up and tracking coming to Calcutta as Down.

Usually, the km markings along the tracks (chainage) increases in Down direction and decreases in Up direction.

Trains:

The general convention is it is always 1 Down and 2 Up (odd numbers for Down trains and even numbers for Up trains). So, the Madras Mail from Bombay to Madras, run by GIPR was 9 Down (Bombay VT to Madras Central) and 10 Up.

As you may be able to observe now, a train can take multiple types of tracks along the way. Let us take 121 Dn Tamil Nadu Express (now 12621) as an example. The train for its entire journey is 'Down'. However, the tracks differ as explained below:

Madras Central to Vijayawada Jn. Down. (MSMR lines radiating from MAS)

Vijayawada Jn. to Sewagram bypass Down. (GIPR lines radiating from Bombay/ Wardha Jn.)

Sewagram bypass to Nagpur Jn. Down. (GIPR lines radiating from Bombay)

Nagpur Jn. to Itarsi Jn. Up. (GIPR lines radiating from Bombay, branching towards Nagpur at Itarsi Junction point)

Itarsi Jn. to New Delhi Down. (GIPR lines radiating from Bombay towards Delhi Jn.)

You may have to study the history of tracks and trains to understand these. For eg. 12607 Lalbagh Express is maintained by South Western Railways/ Bangalore Division. However, the number 12607 is given for its Madras - Bangalore leg and not vice versa. It was due to the fact that this train was introduced by Southern Railway when Bangalore division was with SR and not SWR.

Trains switch their divisional loyalties often, so it is always recommended to do a thorough review of the history before concluding Up and Down.

Please share your specific questions (if any) as comments. I will try to answer/ clarify as early as possible.

-Ara.

Credits: IRFCA Website and DSP Anirudh.

Kadaimugam 2019

It was a 2-year break after we started our annual pilgrimage during mid-November, in 2011. Six consecutive years saw six successful trips to mark the end of the month of Ippasi (Thulaamaasam), technically called as Kadaimugam. First day of Ippasi is when Kaveri river gets Her pravaagham marked by the bubbling up of fresh water from the tank in the town of Talakaveri, where She originates.

In golden olden days, it was a custom to take bath (Thulaasnaanam) in Kaveri on all 30 days of the month of Ippasi, starting at Talakaveri on day 1, walking along the course of the river and taking bath in each designated town/ bathing ghat for that day, and ending up in Mayiladuthurai on Day 30. Some of the famous bathing ghats enroute are:

Srirangapattinam – Aadhirangam
Madhyarangam
Trimukudalu Narsipura (Kabini sangam)
Bhavani kooduthurai (Bhavani sangam)
Kodumudi (town where Kaveri turns East after running South/ South East)
Kulittalai/ Musiri
Thiruparaithurai
Amma Mandapam (Srirangam)
Thirukattupalli (Kudamurutti divergence)
Tiruvaiyaru
Bhagavath Padithurai (Mela Kaveri, Kumbakonam)
Kuttalam
Laagadam (Thulaakattam, Mayiladuthurai)

The fairly large town of Mayiladuthurai cries to get carved out as a separate district from Nagapattinam district. It once had a lot of posters calling out their MP, “Mr. x, when are you going to convert Mayiladuthurai as Dubai, as promised during elections”. I sincerely do not wish this town become Dubai – let it retain its quaint charm of an old-world town, with two big temples, their maadaveedhis, rathams, small roads, a holy river flowing through the town with a beautiful ghat that is equivalent to Benaras – Yes! Laagadam is equivalent to Kasi as it has the twin shrines of Tundi Ganapathi and KaalaBhairavar, just like that city. What else will mark its significance than the fact that the holy Ganga river Herself takes a bath in Kaveri at Laagadam on the Kadaimugam day to wash of sins that we drop off in Her all through the year.

The Prep work:

As always, the announcement was made 5 months in advance, to select recipients who share the wavelength. The number of participants were on the increasing trend consistent with earlier years. Tickets were booked on ARP – only change was that I had to come from Coimbatore while the gang has to come from Chennai. Appa, Vaibhav*, Anand, Sivakumar mama, Prabhu, Sasikumar (replaced by his son Keerthivasan*), Srikanth (‘Sri’)*, Ramesh*, K Srini* and Sakthi were the ones from Chennai. Sateesh* and Subram had to drop off due to personal work. N Srini* literally hopped on to a house-full bus, details to be covered elsewhere in the blog. From Coimbatore were Ram*, Prabhakar* and Jay*, with Karthik* joining them at the last minute.

* indicates first timers.

How we arrived:

I had multiple options, ended up taking a new blue/ grey (what I call the ‘LHB’ of TNSTC!!) bus from Singanallur to Tiruchchirappalli Central Bus Stand. He started at 6 pm and dropped me at 11.15 PM on the preceding Friday (Nov. 15, 2019). I was curious to know what would be the water levels in Kaveri at Laagadam – the scene of a bone dry river and being forced to taking a bath in one of the make-shift sprinklers in the river bed was still fresh in my mind. So, the sound of river water flowing through one of the hundreds of channels (vaaykkaal) was a pleasant thing to hear, and in fact made me wake up from a short nap, when my bus entered Kulittalai. The stretch from Kulittalai to Kambarasampettai is where the Karur – Tiruchi road runs right next to the Aganda Kaveri river. The very sight of Kaveri, running bank-to-bank full with water to the brim, on that chilly November night was a delight that can hardly be expressed in words. I finished my late evening dinner at Shree Sangeethas and took a Kumbakonam bound 1-to-1 bus at Central BS. As it was a bit empty for an odd hours departure, the conductor allowed Thanjavur passengers also in. He reached Kumbakonam at 2.30 AM. I hopped on to a Mayiladuthurai bound bus at 3 AM. He dropped me at Kaveri Nagar stop next to Junction at 3.45 AM. Our friend Dinesh had already informed that his cousin Selva will be our driver this year. He proved to be no lesser than Dinesh, for he called me at 3 AM to check where I was and offered to pick me up at Kaveri Nagar by 3.45 AM. I went to the waiting room in PF1 at 4 AM and found N Srinivasan already in – he had come by a crowded Antyodaya Express (what railfans fondly call as ‘Aunty’!!) as he missed to book Tatkal by 2 minutes. He had been through the crushing grind of a typical unreserved coach with 4 pax in 3-seater arrangement!

The majority of the gang arrived shortly by Uzhavan Express at 4.30 AM. A short round of introductions and then we were off to the waiting hall again for two reasons – charge the phones and wait for morning sun rays to hit the town. I had earlier observed during my journey from Thanjavur that all the distributaries of Kaveri were running full with strong current. I didn’t want to take any risk with so many people in the gang who don’t know swimming. Ram, Jay, Prabhakar and Karthik have arrived the earlier night at Peralam and were staying in Prabhakar’s house. They joined us at Junction at 5 AM.

Laagadam session:

We took a call at 5.15 AM to start and have a light snack at Ayyappas in Kutcheri Road in Town. We were welcomed with hot vadai, idly, pongal and coffee, albeit at rates at par with Saravana Bhavan! In the meantime, it was one spell of heavy rainfall for nearly 20 minutes that made even the Kutcheri Road a mini Kaveri river. The sky was overcast. With some early morning refreshment going inside, we got our energy batteries recharged and decided to go to Laagadam. Being very early around 6 AM at Laagadam has its own benefits – one such benefit was that we were able to take our Tempo Traveller to the mandapam in the bathing ghat area before the barricades were placed.

Laagadam area was its usual aesthetic best, afresh with audio-visual delights. The sight of Kaveri river in full flow, water full to the brim, the Nandi mandapam in the middle of the river, devotional songs played over the speaker sets, thousands of people taking the holy dip in the river… it is sheer bliss. No wonder that the entire gang had a wonderful time bathing in the river. The customary three full dips ‘muzhukku’ facing the pravaagham were done, followed by reciting the Deva Prayag paasuram of Thirumangaiazhwar. Yes, this is the day on which the holy Ganga river will Herself take a dip in Kaveri, right?

It was almost 7.30 AM by the time we wrapped up, figuratively with our towels and literally with the session, and moved to the Tempo Traveller (‘Van’ going forward in this post). It so happened that the day, on which Sri had sponsored for Veda Parayanam at Vallalar Kovil, was on the day of our visit.  Ramesh and Sri were trying to figure out where the temple was… I peeped into their conversation and told them all they have to do is to turn around 180 degrees to see the temple’s entrance – they didn’t realise they were standing right in front of it as the main nameboard was hiding behind a bus that was standing there. Sri introduced our gang to the coordinator there and then we had a very good darshan at the temple.

Next was our bunch of customary visits – Mayuranathar Kovil, with darshan of all the deities in their respective vahanams ready for the visit to Laagadam by noon, followed by Tiffin at Kaliyagudi. Unfortunately, the restaurant was full (it was almost 8.30 AM by the time we were there). We took a call to switch over to another hotel nearby, Saravana Bhavan. Food was good, not better than Kaliyagudi though. After filling ourselves with food, we ventured out to the next customary stop – Indhalur Parimala Ranganathar Kovil. We had spent a lot of time in the river, so it had a consequential impact here as well. By the time we reached the temple, the temple chariot was half way down the South Mada Street. We went into the temple, had a sevai of Perumal and came back for the ‘Forenoon session’ of the day.

Day 1 – Forenoon Session:

I asked Selva to do a ‘vudraa Shammugam povattum’ towards Vaitheeswaran Kovil. Enroute, gang in the van had some entertainment with Vaibhav sharing some PJs from the Animals Jokes book he had brought. The gang’s request to peep into Vaitheeswaran Kovil was turned down as we had a bunch of remote temples to cover. Our trip rules favour remote temples over temples on main roads and inside fairly big towns. The first stop was Sivalokanathar temple, Thirupungur, the birth place of Nandanar. Popularly known as Thirunaalaipovaar, Nandanar had the opportunity of Sivan Himself ordering Nandi to shift Its place so that he can get an obstruction free darshan from outside the temple. One of the dwarapalakas, who was surprised to hear a voice coming from inside the garbhagraham is seen with His head and shoulders in a slanting position. We also had darshan of KuLamvettiya Vinayakar, who helped Nandanar finish his task of deepening a tank and strengthening its bund overnight. The Nandi in this temple is huge in size.

Let me use the language of Namma Metro, mundhina nildhaana, Thalainayar (Thalai Gnaayiru). The name given in Thevaram is Thirukaruppariyalur. The architecture of this temple is called ‘Kogudi Kovil’. Kogudi means mullai climber (Arabian Jasmine). Like how a mullai climber attaches itself to a support and stands upright, the kattumalai temple complex stands adjacent to the main sannadhi. This is one of the 72 maadakovils built by Kochengannan Cholan. The kattumalai is a beauty to behold. It is very similar in this regard to Sirkali, so has got the name mElaikkaazhi, which literally means Sirkali of the West. While there are no sannadhis in its ground floor, the first floor has a big vigraham of Thoniappar and Ambal, along with a facility to do a prakaaravalam. A plight of narrow and rickety wooden steps leads us to the Sattainathar sannadhi in the second floor. There is no place to stand in front of Him there – we need to have darshan while standing in those steps itself. The handsome moortham of Sattainathar is beyond words. He will probably be around 4 ft in height, but the features in the vigraham are so lively and mesmerising that one will feel as if a person is standing there alive.

The next stop was Thirukurakkaval, on the other bank of Varaganaaru that flows in between. Had I known swimming, I would have probably attempted to swim and reach there. Our group had no choice but to come back to Manalmedu, cross the river and follow that river’s left bank again for the same 2 km to reach the temple. This temple was worshipped by Anchaneyar and has a separate sannadhi for Him. By the time we were there on that Saturday, it was buzzling with activity – lots of devotees were queueing up to tie a rakshai on their right hands.

Having finished, we marched on to Thiruvaalaputhur. This was the biggest among the temples in that session, complete with three prakarams and all goshtamoorthams. It was nearing 12 noon. We were in a dilemma now. Suddenly, the next stop in the list, Pandanallur seemed far away. We took a calculated risk and attempted going to Iluppaipattu. Enroute, Prabhu had called Pandanallur temple and confirmed that it was closed for the morning nadai. Fortunately for us, Iluppaipattu temple was open at 12.15 PM on that day. They were just about to wrap up, but put it on hold seeing this big crowd of 16 getting down from a van and a car. One cannot miss noticing the huge Iluppai tree (Mahua) to the left just as we enter the temple. This temple is also a maadakovil built by Kochengannan. It has separate sannadhis for each of the five lingams worshipped by Pandavas and the one by Draupati. The name given for this temple in Thevaram is PazhamaNNi Padikkarai (the one on the banks of PazhamaNNiaaru, a distributory of Kollidam). Readers familiar with delta may recollect that Kollidam is the only left bank distributory of Kaveri.

Lunch mela:

Yes, I intentionally used the word ‘mela’. Just as we finished our darshan at 12.30 PM, we were hungry, so much hungry that the gang voted against going all the way to Kumbakonam just for having lunch at Venkataramana. This is where Sri gave a timely and brilliant suggestion – let us have lunch at Seetharama Vilas at Aduthurai. We drove there and incidentally happened to be at the right moment just before the crowds starting pulling in. It was a full course meal, ripe with an awesome sundakka vaththakozhambu and semiya payasam. It was a real feast/ mela for all of us. I gave out a guide announcement that we will head towards Tiruvarur, do a check in at Hotel Selvies, take one hour rest and be ready at 4 PM.

Day 1 – Evening Session:

With a heavy duty morning session, a heavy lunch and a good full-meal, it was a lazy stroll for us in the afternoon. We first headed to Thirukondeeswaram, near Nannilam. It was fairly large temple with a huge agazhi (moat), similar to Nandaankoil. We had a satisfactory darshan here. The ‘car vechirundha karagattagoshti’ from Peralam, went to Peralam after lunch as they didn’t require a room in a hotel. They went to Thirumeeyachur and were supposed to join us at Panaiyur. After a brief stop at Sannanallur for fuel, we abandoned the plan to Panaiyur as it was getting dark earlier than anticipated and the temple was approachable only through a single road. The next stop was decided as Virkudi. Google akka guided us through a what seemed to be a good road on the map, however, it turned out to be a narrow strip of a village road – I motivated the doubting driver to drive further in the road... it had to be stopped at a place where road has caved in to an extent even two wheelers found it difficult to negotiate. Luckily enough we were just metres away from a puliyamaraththadi which offered enough space to take a U turn. Virkudi visit was abandoned in favour of a visit to Thoovainathar temple in Tiruvarur (Aroor Paravaiyunmandali, in Thevaram). The day happened to be a Thiruvadhirai natchathram day and we were just in time to have darshan of Abhishekam to the main moortham.

Selva took the cab and brought Appa, Anand and Vaibhav who opted out of afternoon plan to take rest in the hotel. We all assembled in front of Maatruraitha Vinayakar sannadhi (Melavaasal/ West Gopuram). Vaibhav along with the gang demanded a detailed guided tour of the Tiruvarur temple. I heeded to the request and covered the following in detail, along with guide notes and temple history:

Maatruraitha Vinayakar
West Mada Street and the story of Sundarar coming back to the town
Kamalambal sannadhi
Vanmeeka nathar sannadhi
Navagrahams in straight line
Runahareswarar sannadhi
Thiyagarajar sannadhi
Achaleswaram
East Gopuram
Vittavaasal and
Stone chariot of Manu neethi cholan

I have never got such an extended period of time to stand in front of Thiyagarajar sannadhi – almost 10 – 15 minutes in front of my most favourite vigraha moortham! It was enthralling. Manu neethi cholan stone chariot was closed, so gang had to get contended with a view from the outside. As always, time spent was not enough for Sakthi – I told him to come ‘aaraam se’ and spend one full day in the temple to cover all the sannadhis.

It was around 8 PM by the time we finished our tour. Vaibhav, Appa and I returned to the hotel to have dinner ordered through room service, while the rest of the gang marched to a hotel that Sri, Ramesh and N Srini have screened during their afternoon stroll for a good filter coffee. A deep sleep was then in the offing for we had an equal amount of temples lined up for Day 2.

Sri, Ramesh and N Srini had to return that Saturday night – they signed off to board Mannai Exp at Junction, while the car goshti returned to their den in Peralam.

Day 2 – Morning Session:

A bright morning at 7 AM with a prominent view of East, South and West gopurams of the main temple the window of my room was enough to charge the batteries. It was raining heavily despite the sunshine, indicating a passing cloud. We went to the same hotel where they had the dinner. We got to meet Peralam gang there. It was all set – a good breakfast with regular Idly, Vadai, Dosai and Pongal combination and batteries fully charged.

Our first stop was Kivalur on Nagapattinam Road. One of the 72 maadakovils built by Kochengannan Cholan, this temple had recently seen a Kumbabhishekam. All the prakarams were super clean and neatly maintained. A session for some group photos and we were off to the first of the Pancha Narayana kshetrams, Yadava Narayana Perumal Kovil in Kivalur. The temple was closed and set to open only at 10.30 AM. This was the only temple where we did not have darshan during our trip.

The next step was Thevur, another one of the maadakovils. Literally empty compared to Kivalur. We were also in time for a good sevai of the second of the five Narayana Perumals, Deva Narayana Perumal. We abandoned the plan of visiting the third one at Vadakalathur in favour of going straight to the fourth one, Damodara Narayana Perumal Kovil at Thirukannangudi, which is also one of the 108 Divyadesams. Enroute, to satisfy my passion, SR decided to close the level crossing at Kivalur station. A full load of BOX-N wagons hauled by revving multiple EMD WDG-4 locos was just entering the loop. This meant a delayed departure for Tea Garden Express at Tiruvarur. Finally, it crossed the station at a moderate speed, after 15 minutes of us waiting there.

It was an excellent sevai of Perumal at Thirukannangudi. I was sharing guide notes on the saying, “ooraa kenaru, urangaa puLi, kaayaa magizh, thOlaa vazhakku Thirukannangudi” and how moolavar and uthsavar are alike like a scale model. It was a tough choice to skip Aavaraani in favour of Nagapattinam. K Srini would have sure been screaming inside to go to Aavaraani, where a Perumal who has stolen his heart, resides! Nagapattinam scored ahead as it was a Divyadesam. True to our decision, Soundararaja Perumal (after a brief wait of 10 minutes), gave us a beautiful sevai. It was a first time that I heard a bhattar doing archanai in Kaanada ragam! He was also kind enough to recite all the 10 pasurams of Nagapattinam by Thirumangaiazhwar, along with their detailed explanation and told us how one will get the palan of visiting 10 divyadesams by visiting Nagapattinam. He also made sure that we had something to eat and satiate our ‘mudhal pasi’ by giving us kadhambam, sakkaraipongal, dhadhyonnam and karasev. It was 12.45 PM by the time we finished our mini lunch and an inquiry with the temple authorities revealed that Neelayathakshi Amman kovil would have anyway got closed at 12.30 PM itself – it was not worth the planned attempt. This was the second time I had to give that temple a miss. May be She wanted to test me for more time!!

We returned to Selvies for lunch and some rest before the afternoon session.

Day 2 – Evening Session:

We started sharp at 3.45 PM after the check-out formalities are completed. We were sharp at 4 PM at our first stop for the session, Patanjali Manoharar temple, Vilamal. Temple opening time was learned to be 4.30 PM. We asked Selva to take us to a tea shop for treating us with hot beverages. We walked the way back to the temple and spent some time chatting on the steps of an about-to-overflow awesome-during-monsoon type temple tank. It reminded us of typical Kerala side temple tanks. The temple was opened at 4.30 PM sharp. Gurukkal had also arrived. He asked us to keep quiet for the entire time we spent in the temple. It is an idheeham that all Devargal will do poojai for this Sivan and Ambal between 4.45 PM and 5.45 PM and our conversations would disturb them – he even locked up the grill gate of the main shrine after finishing his poojai in 15 minutes.

Next step was Ohai Peraiyur. We took the Mannargudi road for some distance and took left where the road to Vadapathimangalam diverged. A couple of village roads, a few narrow vaaykkaal bridges and we reached the temple. As suspected, it was closed. This temple has only one poojai everyday and the Gurukkal has left already. He was some 15 km away. However, some kind hearted villagers, when they came to know that we have come all the way from Madras, brought keys of the main door and let us in. We were fortunate enough to have darshan through the keyhole of the wooden door. Experiencing such a darshan for the first time!

A few village roads for some 20 km in what seemed to be a dull and dark evening took us to our next stop – Kottur. I had to abandon my plan to visit Thirukalar as it seemed to be a touch and go. The darshan at Kottur was followed by a visit to Thiruvanduthurai temple enroute Mannargudi.

We finally reached Mannargudi at 7.35 PM. My train was at 8.20 PM. I decided to run inside first, finish my darshan of Rajagopalaswamy, take the van and get dropped at station before sending it back to the temple for Madras gang to use it. It all happened at rapid pace – I had already changed my dhoti to a pant by stopping the van in a dark niche along the main road enroute, so it was easy for me to walk fast. I saw the gang entering the temple at a leisurely pace near the fourth prakaram on my way back to the van. I boarded the van at 7.55 PM, went to an ATM, withdrew money and settled Selva at 8 PM, and finally reached the station at 8.05 PM with 15 minutes to go. Train started sharp at 8.20 PM. It had an extended halt at Nidamangalam Junction, where there is a reversal - I bought a packet of poori and a packet of chappathi for my dinner. I was awake till Tiruchi, where a wave of hands and (cell phone torch) lights happened from my PF2 to Deepak who was in PF5 – his Boat Mail was eagerly waiting for my Chemmozhi Express to roll in. My train got delayed by an hour at Erode due to a signal failure at Virapandi Road station. I reached Coimbatore at 5.30 AM, late by 45 minutes.

A quick connect with the Madras gang revealed that they had a wonderful sevai of Perumal, got some time to play with the temple elephant Sengamalam and also found a group that was playing cricket in the sixth prakaram of the temple – they managed to bully them and got some ‘OC gaaji’. They finally boarded Mannai Express at 10 PM after having a good dinner in the town and reached Madras around 5 AM the next day.

A first time two-day affair got concluded in style, with the anugraham of all deities in the thousands and thousands of temples in the delta. As the saying goes, “avan aruLaaley avan thaaL vanangi”. Nothing could happen without divine grace.

I hope it only gets better in the next edition of 2020. Thanks for your patient reading. Feel free to drop your comments in the comments section.

The trip to Central

PT Rajan Road in KK Nagar is an awkward place to be, if one has to take the Metro. Vadapalani Metro is not so near, probably a walk of 15 minutes, with no direct buses available – the ones that go to Vadapalani terminus (5E and 70M) take a left at Sivan Koil Street and prove to be useless. Buses to Ashok Nagar Metro either stop at ESI or after the right turn near Pillar, resulting in a walk after travelling for a longer distance. One should consider lucky to get a 17D or 37D that stops in front of the metro station, especially if it is on a late Sunday night. Uber and Ola charge around 70, which is too much for such a short distance. I have an option of taking a 11G or a 17D directly to Central – however, the bus frequency on a Sunday night is as erratic as the availability of an auto. Add the masala of travelling through an unpredictable traffic in Mount Road and Valluvar Kottam area, a perfect recipe for plan-spoiler is ready.

So, it was really a pleasant surprise when I discovered and attempted booking a Rapido bike taxi to Vadapalani metro. It was nifty! The ‘captain’ turned up in less than 2 minutes and it took only 5 minutes to reach the metro station. After the first-ride discount, the fare was only Rs. 14.

For a 22.10 departure train, I conservatively started at 20.20 h, got dropped at metro station at 20.25, got metro at 20.30, reached Central Metro station at 20.55 and was in front of my coach at 21.10h. 50 minutes door-to-door. Wonderful and comparatively inexpensive way of reaching Central.

For the return, I am planning to attempt taking a bus from Perambur, get down at KMC or CMBT and book a Rapido. Will update later!

Magaamuni

Movie, after a long time indeed. First time for a first day show.

I have rarely watched movies in theatres in places other than Chennai. I can count them easily!

1. Pudhu Vasantham (Urvashi/ Bengaluru)
2. Yejaman (Thangam/ Madurai)
3. Uzhaippaali (? / Hosur)
4. Thirumathi Pazhanichamy (? / Hosur)
5. Minnale (Maris Fort/ Tiruchirappalli)
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (IMAX/ Dearborn, MI)
7. Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix (IMAX/ Hyderabad)
8. Some mokka English movie, so much mokka that I could not recollect the name even if I think hard (Forum Mall, Koramangala/ Bengaluru)
9. Arundhathi (Anusham/ Udumalai)

So, it was again the same different feeling of 'watching a movie out of Chennai' when Ram asked me to join for a night show movie in Coimbatore. Sri Murugan theathre in Thudiyalur. I haven't read any reviews about the movie - all I knew was Arya was acting. So there were no expectations. Just a short collection of snippets:

The movie seems to have a lot of punches and taking a dig at one leading party of Tamil Nadu. Yellow shawl, nadu vagidu, incorrect pazhamozhis, pudhiya dravidam - there are a lot of them sprayed in the first half. The director has attempted to cover too many topics in too short a time interval. The story is a heavy one - it will definitely require a lot of elaboration. To be fair, he has attempted to do justice. But, I cannot avoid the feel of disjointed screenplay cropping up. The location setting of Mekkarai near Erode is awesome. It is a welcome departure from the usual beaten-to-death locations of Western Ghats. Happy to see such awesome places in Tamil Nadu ghats itself!

Arya has attempted a lot. The role of a cab driver by day/ adiyaal by night is so much natural that we do not get a feel of an actor 'acting' as that person. He has transformed himself as such a person in that role. Kudos! On the other hand, his second role as a nerd in a village, is not at par with the former. Somehow, it didn't stay in my mind as the former.

From a comedy perspective, two scenes (the only two lighter vein scenes in the movie, on second thoughts) stand out - 1. where the local MLA-aspirant's wife beats the competitor and 2. the U. Paa. scene of the trio near the climax. I can even bet that the dialogue of the policeman, "inimey ellaam nambikkai dhaan, samadhaanam dhaan, love dhaan" is a regulation meme material. Meme creators to note!

That moment of relief, when we know that a cliche scene will not crop up as we get to know that the heroine is aware of Cab driver Arya's adiyaal matters, cannot be expressed in words :) The nearest match was the scene when Hansika character was not killed when she ate poison in Velayudham (refer my earlier post available elsewhere in this blog).

The director would have thought otherwise! Having avoided all popular cliches for such a long time, in fact until the last scene, he ended up having one. My appa used to jokingly refer 'Needhikku-p-pin paasam' movie where the NPP word will be uttered by every character in the movie in the climax scene. Anandha Vikatan, in its review, would have mentioned that the director has ensured that nobody forgets the movie name when they exit the hall. Exact thing happens in this movie. The director reminds us the name as the get up to exit :)

One question before we wrap up! How come Cab driver Arya can travel all the way from Erode to Chennai with such a long gun in hand and so many gun shot wounds in his body, without anyone noticing him - that too when entire TN police is chasing him? Sometimes, it is better to ignore and move on :)

Movie is worth a one-time watch.

Mounam Pesiyadhey

Okay – here we go! A post in this blog after quite some time, triggered by a request from my friend Ganeshraam.

Warning: In this newer world of social media, where everyone gets offended for every stupid matter… if you value ‘humane’ aspects more than the rule book, please feel free to skip this post – it is likely that you may get offended.

I am a person who takes pains to book a preferred berth on a preferred train on a preferred date, right on the ARP of 120 days. Yes, I plan it well in advance and will be excited to book that elite rail ticket on that ARP day at 8 AM. And yes, your mind is reading right – a Lower Berth or a Window Seat, almost every time. It is a treasure for me to latch on to the window like a child or to enjoy the comforts offered by a Lower Berth, like getting up and going to the door during the night to get down at a remote (but exotic for railfans like me) station or to watch a crossing train pass in the opposite direction in a single line section throwing a gush of air while my train waits in the loop.

So, will one not feel pained when a person comes just-like-that and usurps the treasure of an LB or WS? I have never ceded to even one request till date. My Lower Berth, My Window Seat, My invaluable possession!

What Ganeshraam requested to post was how I do it – here are the steps:

1. Request politely rejected. It usually starts with undue higher affection towards the potential victim (i.e. holder of LB/WS), like helping keep our bags below the berth, or affectionately asking us, “what is your berth number?” (My mind voice: “You have already done your homework in scanning the chart or talking to TTE, why this drama?”)

Response: Politely rejected – “Sorry, no exchange”.

2. Request goes to “so-and-so cannot climb the berth"

Response: So do I (My mind voice: “Probably you cannot, but I will not”). If the requester (encroacher anyway!) looks paavam, I add a reason stating that I have back-pain and will not be interested to climb up.

3. “There is no harm in adjusting"

Response: I cannot (with a firm face). If you want an LB, you can always check with the TTE for one. Not mine – it is ruled out. At this stage, I would have settled my bags and asked the encroacher to pack up. If it is an AC coach, there is more straight way of sending the signal – I will pull the bedding package of mine from the Upper Berth and ask them to move so that I can spread my bedsheets.

4. By this time, 95% of the encroachers move out. Adamant characters at this stage will require stern action. The next step is to pull the TTE and ask for help. I do not talk anything further to the encroacher at this stage – it is useless. I will simply point out to the TTE that there is an encroachment in my berth and it has to be addressed. TTEs know the rule book better, so they push the encroacher out to another yemaandha-sonagiri LB/SLB and ask them to sit there while they look out.

5. There have been only one or two instances which reached stage 5. The TTE attempting to defend them – I will clearly say, “please do your duty and give me my rightful berth or face action – I am going to call the DRM now”. This reminder settles the case.

I don’t go for any fight unless pulled in – it is just the sheer frustration. The quality and intensity of my response will depend on two factors: 1. How they ask (anyway I am not going to cede my berth) and 2. Whether they have already occupied my berth as if it is theirs.

I have only one scene in Tamil cinema that explains booking a Lower Berth and the anger that the person gets when asked for an exchange by people, who in my assessment, always belong to the category of "let us book, anyway there will be one Mango Madaiyan with an LB, for us to put aattai"... Watch from 28:10 to 28:25 in this YouTube clip! Sums it up perfectly!

Four Chapathis of Gowrikund

There is a popular saying in Tirupati-going-crowd from Madras... "He will take away all your money and will leave you with only what is required for your return journey".

A few starters:

This post intends to capture an interesting chain of events that happened on Thursday - May 25, 2017. But before we roll to that date, there are a few discrete events that will set the tone of the passage. We started from Madras on Saturday - May 20, 2017. Plan was simple and the expectations were less - just three divyadesams and three paadal petra sthalams in Uttarakhand - popularly known as dho dham of the chardhams (Badrinath and Kedarnath). Just as I was wrapping up my day at office on the preceding Friday, there were direct messages flowing in whatsapp - 'massive landslide in Vishnu Prayag, all pilgrims stranded at Badrinath'. I took a determined call to stay put whatever happens and the plan is 'On'. He will take care of everything, whatever happens will be for a reason. Ultimately, the road was repaired in two days before we crossed it.

One of the risks that a pilgrim bound for Kedarnath takes is a ride in the helicopter. While the ride as such is safe, it is the weather that plays a spoil sport. It so happens that you have pleasant weather while you ascend and an inclement one while you are boarding for the return from the temple. This means we have to stay in Kedarnath temple area until when services resume - but imagine the crowd that would have got accumulated by then!

May 23, 2017:

We were exhausted by the time we started from Badrinath that morning. I had some breathing issues the earlier evening and had to use an oxygen spray as a just-in-case. Vidhya identified the issue quickly - my jeans that was drenched in rain. Cold cloth on the body has aggravated the issue! 200 km of whirlwind journey traversing through the majestic himalayan mountains that offer breath-taking views especially in the stretch from View point to Vishnu Prayag, the awesome crossing of Alakananda at Chamoli, the drive through the reserve forest at Chopta ghat did not make me enjoy the trip fully as I was in a corner of my mind worrying about what would be in store at Kedarnath.

Luckily for me our driver took the direct route from Chamoli to Gupt Kashi instead of going all the way to Rudra Prayag (although it is not as strenuous as the former). The direct route goes via Ukhimutt, where the idols of Kedarnath temple are worshipped during the winter break. I was trying to convince myself that in a worst case scenario if we abandon our Kedarnath plan, we should be contended with the darshan at Ukhimutt as it will technically count as 'visited-Kedarnath'. True to my prayers, we had an excellent darshan at Ukhimutt. A detailed sankalpam and archanai by the priest really was the best one could ask for. We then rode downhill from Ukhimutt to reach the banks of River Mandakini, crossed the river over a girder bridge and went uphill to reach Gupt Kashi.

We had not booked any helicopters for Kedarnath visit as it was a bit expensive compared to my budget. But then, after the tiresome journey from Haridwar to Badrinath and to Gupt Kashi, everybody was exhausted. We were literally not prepared for the journey to Kedarnath on a pony or a horse (as was the original plan). We decided to call the trip off and stay put at Gupt Kashi. The real issue was that we have booked room for that night only at Gupt Kashi and the next night stay was planned at Kedarnath town. We will be literally 'on the road' if we do not get any room for the next night... May is the peak season after all. I made the call to my tour agent and retired for the day with a trust that He will take care of us. The night went off peacefully with mercury not crossing more than 10 deg C.

May 24, 2017:

Sun rises very early in this part of India during summer. We were woken up at 5 AM by the loud noise of helicopters flying above our head, literally, as there was a helipad on the opposite side of the road next to our resort. It was a clear day with no drizzles to dampen our spirits. After a sound sleep overnight and the routine morning coffee, we decided to visit Kedarnath by putting the 'baaram' on Him. We did not realise then that it was actually too late for us to take that call...

After informing the tour agent that we are sticking to our original plan, we left for Son Prayag in our car. We finished our breakfast at the resort and reached Son Prayag around 10 AM, crossing Phata enroute, where a good majority of the helipads are. We were cursing ourselves for not having booked a helicopter. A few random inquiries at their offices revealed that the booking are more than capacity due to season overload. Son Prayag is the final stop where private vehicles are stopped. The 4 km stretch to Gaurikund should be covered either by foot or by the government owned jeeps. The adventure for us started at 10.30 AM at Son Prayag when we stood in the serpentine queue for the jeeps. It took an hour and 45 minutes to get the jeep. We reached Gaurikund at 1 PM with one bag with 5 oxygen bottles (more like large size deo spray bottles), spare clothes, snacks, cash, water bottles and additional winter wear as the weather forecast for the night was 0 - 3 deg C.

The pony problem:

The first of the bomb shells we encountered was that the bookings for ponies and horses from the authorized counter is closed. One has to stand overnight in the queue and get the booking done as early as 3 or 4 AM to get a confirmed one. Else, trek uphill by foot. It is a 16 km uphill trek as we understood then - with some bravery fetched out of nowhere, we decided to climb uphill. Luckily for us, two men in their 20s approached us offering help - they mentioned that they have two kandis like this which we can use to carry our bags (the main backpack along with the ladies' bags) and Vaibhav. We negotiated for a price for return journey as well; with this the ascent began from Gaurikund. We worshipped Kedarnath swami to bless us with a peaceful journey at the welcome arch (i.e. step/ padi number 1) and started.

The pathway through the (small) town is covered with shops on the left side and a deep valley (paadhaalam) of River Mandakini on the right. Entire pathway from Gaurikund to Kedarnath temple had water dispensers every 250m, toilet facilities every 500m, medical camps every 1 km and rest houses every 2 km. The way the State administration is taking care of pilgrims is above par. The efforts they have put in in terms of ensuring hygenic basic facilities are made available is to be appreciated atleast a hundred times!

Just out of Gaurikund town after 1 km, we get to pass through the pony station - it was literally empty by the time we went there. It was time for the army of ponies and horses that had started from Kedarnath in the morning to reach Gaurikund by late afternoon. The pathway has one characteristic that cannot miss being noticed - the ubiquitous odour of horse dung all through. The ascent was a bit less pronounced for the first few km. When we have crossed the 2 km mark, suddenly people started screaming and running for shelter - we later learned from our companions that stones and boulders are falling from top on the path ahead. Even a small stone, when falling from top of a high rise mountain will have enough momentum to break a person's head. This phenomenon halted us for 10 minutes and then we resumed our walk. But it brought in back the fear that was hiding till then - will we be able to make it up there? Did we take a wrong decision to walk?

After 3 km mark, it was very clear that we are struggling to walk and at this rate, it will take past midnight to reach the temple (as per our guide). Vaibhav was increasingly worried sitting facing back on the kandi... he started to demand that he will better walk than sit there. A course correction was blooming as inevitable. We tried (through guide) to check with empty ponies coming downhill - but none of them accepted our offers. Finally, at a point near 4 km mark there were 4 ponies available. For a hefty sum in black, over and above the government rates, I sent Appa, Amma, Vidhya and Vaibhav in them to the hotel booked in Kedarnath (Hotel Punjab and Sind Awas). I had sent bags with them after retaining a few vital items for my use enroute. We also had to settle and retire one of our guides there and retained only one of them to travel along with me (as he had to carry baggage or Vaibhav while returning downhill the next day).

Rambada zig zags:

Rambada is quaint little village at 7 km mark on the right bank. The old route that went further along the right bank uphill was washed away during the flash floods. The new route diverges at Rambada, crosses the Mandakini and goes along the left bank. My nappaasai to get another pony didn't materialize at all. I was exhausted too by the time I reached Rambada. The climb became more and more steeper and the very sight of the zig zag route to climb vertically drained all my energy - and on top of it, I got a lower back ache that made my walk even more challenging. I was on one side relieved that the other four atleast should make it to the top without much trouble. My only thought was even if takes the entire night for me for my slow walk, I will be able to manage to reach hill top say by 4 AM and can join the darshan directly.

I had started crawling inch by inch by the time we reached 8 km mark. I didn't have sufficient cash to get any pony on black market rates - even if I had it hypothetically, none of them were available. Finally, He answered my prayers after giving me enough of His testing... one man in his 30s offered to carry me in the kandi for a hefty sum, which I agreed to pay only after reaching the hotel as I had very little money with me. The guide came walking along for some time. I pushed him off to proceed not waiting for me after he dropped the second bomb shell. The pony station at the temple end is 1 km away from the temple and in any case the other four should have to walk in the snow mountain at the top to reach the hotel. They knew 'thoda thoda' Hindi with which it would be very difficult to manage - all they know was the hotel name and nothing else! I asked my guide to climb as fast as he could, reach the pony station, inform them that I am safe here and take them to the hotel.

Lincholi agreement:

I was able to clearly visualise why Vaibhav was frightened initially to sit on the kandi - I was walking along with him holding his hand as he sat on the kandi. The scare on his face was unmistakable. This flashback perfectly matched the very scene of myself being carried backwards, with the mammoth gorge of Mandakini on one side with no protection against fall, and the never-ending army of ponies and horses occupying the entire pathway on the other side and was enough to send chills through every nerve in the body.

We finally reached Lincholi - a bigger size rest area for pilgrims. My kandi friend took rest and had his dinner. I was not feeling hungry as I was imagining all sorts of hypothetical scary scenarios. It soon became dark and we were about to resume our journey. I offered to my friend that I will walk along as much as I could and he can carry me when I am unable to - he agreed happily. One has to really experience it to see how tough it is to carry a person on one's back uphill in that terrain, even if it is for a good reward. Still 7 - 8 km was in front of us... as agreed, I walked uphill on flat terrains and less pronounced steep slopes and he carried me on his back for steep slopes. He felt it a lot comfortable with this approach.

Rudra Point disconnect:

We reached a resting place near Rudra Point around 9 PM. My friend wanted to call it a day there and resume around 3 AM. I was worried about the rest of the gang and their whereabouts. This disconnect was resolved after we both agreed for a 1 hour break. The trek from that point till I reached the temple was beyond words, beyond worlds. The temperature dipped a lot and should have been hovering around 3 deg C then to 0 deg C by the time we reached the temple.

The sky was clear, with millions of stars visible to my eye as it was a new moon day. I was able to spot the regular naked eye planets in all their full glory. With hop on and hop off, we reached the snow filled part of the mountain by around 10 PM. We crossed the pony station - the only thing I could tell myself was, "not to worry - if they are not here, they should have reached hotel safe". Finally, the temple came into view - minimum artificial lights, with only light emitted by the night stars, and with the snow capped mountains in all the sides, the temple was glittering. This made me forget all material things in life for a few minutes...

We finally reached our hotel around 11 PM. My back ache was at an aggravated stage. I hugged my companion and said, you are the Kedarnath swamy Himself for me! We checked with a person who was hanging in the kitchen-cum-office about a madrasi family with a kid who might have checked in that night. He said yes they are in the ground floor rooms - no words could express that moment of relief.

A knock on one of the doors and out came Vidhya with an equal amount of relief in seeing me... Vaibhav and appa were sleeping. Amma and Vidhya had problems with high altitude and were unable to get a good sleep. Oxygen cylinders gave some relief as the air was very thin. I paid my kandi friend and he took leave. I was also able to spot my baggage kandi companion and he was happy to see me back. The hotel guy brought in a swamiji of the temple and offered a direct darshan for a premium. Given the ordeal we faced climbing up, we accepted the offer after some negotiation. He asked us to be ready at 5.30 AM sharp.

I then listened to the other side of the story: the four who took the horses felt that walking was manageable compared to sitting on the horse, with how we say in Tamil - 'usura kaila pidichindu'... once Amma's horse was about to skid along the path, twice it happened that Appa's horse went off the path into the mountains to eat grass without listening to the horse owner's calls. Twice Amma and Vidhya were almost about to fall from the horse because they were not holding the ropes tightly. Vaibhav actually had enjoyed the ride. They were informed about the location of the hotel and how to reach it by some kind-hearted government officials who were there in the pony station. They managed to walk as it was almost a flat terrain (although in snow) for 1 km to reach the hotel and the temple vicinity.

The darshan:

That night happened to be a maasa sivarathiri and three of us literally had a sleepless night at this Jyothirlinga sthalam. It was soon 3 AM - the sun was getting ready to come up - the first rays have hit the town. Loud noise outside the hotel and we saw pilgrims standing in the queue at that hour itself. All the shops were open and it was a busy business in the main street.

The hotel guy managed to bring us a few buckets of hot water - fuming with steam at the sight but luke warm by the time one takes a mug and pour on our body. It was the first time I witnessed vapour coming out when I spit water after brushing my teeth or even when I had to relieve myself to attend nature's call. Totally different experience for us from Madras!!!

We were taken through the 'out' gate through the temple and joined the crowd just before the gate for the grabhagraham. It was a different experience altogether for us entering the grabhagraham of a temple, touching the vigraham and offering a poojai ourselves. We had bought a full fledged poojai plate and did a satisfactory poojai with our own hands. It was crowded and the same 'jargandi' process was followed inside. Nevertheless, we had the best darshan one can have at the temple. Once we were out, the pujari took us near the Sankara brindavanam and did a detailed sankalpa poojai. Temperature was hovering around 1 or 2 deg C - but it was not biting cold.

The descent:

Accuweather had already warned us of 'mild to strong afternoon showers' for that day - so I wanted to start as early as possible. We came back to the hotel; had delicious aloo paratha with aachaar and packed our bags. Our baggage kandi friend took all our bags and we made our move.

Refreshingly enough, the first km was thrilling - walking inside snow clad mountains was a different experience altogether. As it was a downhill path for almost 80 to 90%, we were able to walk with brisk strides. A couple of photo sessions on the way, we walked along looking at the morning batch of helicopters flying in from Phata and Gupt Kashi. The echo was heard in all the directions.

After a few km, Appa's chappal started giving problems and he was not able to walk in his normal way. Vaibhav was unable to walk continuously as he had disturbed sleep last night and seemed to have picked up altitude sickness to a slight extent. He was pestering me to lift and carry him over my waist and shoulders. The split was again inevitable - if I had to carry Vaibhav, I cannot afford to walk slow and should minimise my actual walking time by gaining speed, to avoid getting a backache again. So we decided to split - Vaibhav, guide and I will walk fast and be in a rest house while Vidhya will take care of Amma and Appa and will follow us.

I walked fast, took a lot of shortcuts that the guide showed us and reached Lincholi. It started to drizzle. But luckily enough, we got a place inside the rest house. I bought Vaibhav noodles as he did not have anything to eat in the morning. We then slept there after informing our guide to have a look out for the other three. We got up after an hour or two and just then we were able to spot the other gang. We all had an aloo paratha each for early lunch and decided to start before it rains again. The agreed meeting point was Rambada on the other bank. I started to walk fast carrying Vaibhav and along came the guide. 2 km before Rambada, there was a new additional path that was laid to facilitate smooth movement of ponies and pedestrians, however it was 1.5 km longer than the zig zag route - the only advantage is that you dont have to compete with horses for space in the pathway. I asked my guide to stay there and inform the other gang to take the longer route as it is not steep as the other one.

Vaibhav agreed to walk for some distance, I started narrating him some interesting stories to keep him motivated to walk! We reached Rambada around 2 PM. We waited there for sometime and started to walk to the next rest house at Bhimbali (5 km mark from Gaurikund) and sleep there for sometime - it would be easy to spot us there as there was lesser crowd at that place. After a few hours, the gang united again. It started to rain heavily on and off. I also found it difficult to lift Vaibhav when wearing my woolen jerkin on - so I handed over my jerkin to Vidhya; wore the plastic overall raincover and started with Vaibhav. The plan was to meet again at Gaurikund. I walked fast again; however, it started to rain very heavily en route. I spotted the guide along with the bags at 2 km mark waiting for rain to subside. I finally managed to enter Gaurikund town around 5.30 PM.

Hotel entry:

Vaibhav had energy but was visibly tired. It was getting colder by each minute. I saw my wallet and was shocked to see only 50 Rs. in it. Some good sense prevailed and I bought two dairy milk chocolates for 30 Rs. as a just in case to give instant energy. We reached Gaurikund welcome arch at 6 PM. We both were not able to sit outside in the benches in the pathway as there was a heavy drizzle and it was cold. To avoid inviting a 'shivering', I decided to get into a hotel just adjacent to the welcome arch. It was crowded there, I had money enough to buy two cups of tea and nothing more. I requested Vaibhav to have one chocolate bar and a tea - he was not in a mood to listen to anything and refused to eat anything. I had a tea for myself and resigned to the fact that I have to wait for the bags to arrive to do anything more. In the meanwhile, the pathway was getting more and more congested due to the crowd and the rush hour. I was worried that the guide should be able to locate me inside the hotel (although it was wide open in the entrance).

I removed Vaibhav's shoes as they were fully drenched. Did some rubbing on the toes to bring in some heat in his legs. He was tired and started to sleep with a request that I should not leave him and go anywhere.

The Tamil family:

I heard some voices in Tamil - good enough to tickle curiosity in me to raise my neck and see who they were. After an initial introduction, I got to understand that they were a group of 32 people on a trip to Kedarnath and Badrinath. It was day 2 of their journey... they all had taken helicopters that morning and were stranded at Kedarnath as all return helicopters were cancelled due to bad weather. While a 16 of them decided to stay overnight to take helicopter the next day morning, another 16 decided to descend the trek path. Apparently 8 of them have already reached and started to go to Phata where their hotel was. Out of the remaining 8, 7 have reached that Gaurikund hotel and 1 lady was missing/ yet to arrive. Her sisters have left for Phata in the first bunch of 8 that left then.

One thing that travellers to remote areas in India should remember is that in a good majority of such areas, the only mobile network that we get is BSNL. That group did not have any BSNL numbers and I incidentally was carrying my cousin's BSNL sim as a just-in-case. I offered my phone to them and asked them to call the other two sisters who had left earlier and inform them that their sister is yet to arrive. I gave my phone to them and had to return to my seat as Vaibhav woke up feeling hungry... the first thing he did was to drop a bomb shell... "appa, enakku romba pasikkardhu, chappathi vaangi kudu". One of the best lessons a person could learn in life, when your dear child asks for food and you don't have money to buy it. I told him in a low voice, "appakitta 10 rupees dhaan irukku, tea and chocolate sapdu, bag vandhadum chappathi vangi tharren".

"Thambi, kozhandhaikku pasi varum bodhu panam illenaa pakkathula irukkaravanga kitta kekka koodaadha... ivarum enoda peyran madiri thaaney, naan vaangi kudukka maatenaa?", I heard this from the lady sitting next to us and felt a shock of my life. She was an elderly lady, should be nearing 60, and was kind enough to offer buying chapathis for Vaibhav. She ordered two chapathis for Vaibhav and fed him with her own hands. I sat there speechless witnessing a random act of kindness. In a few minutes, the boy who took my phone for placing the call came to return the phone to me - it so happened that this elderly lady was his mother! She got to hear from him that I helped him by sharing my phone to a stranger (him) and told that God has made her to help me unknowingly in return! 

They decided to go back to their hotel with the available 7 members as there were three ladies in that group and it is not advisable for them to wait in a random place for long. Atleast they can be with the rest of the group, safe in their hotel at Phata. Here comes the best part,: this lady, before she started, gave another 100 Rs. to me and said, "thambi neengalum enakku paiyan madiri dhaan, idha vechikkanga, neengalum eppo saapteengalo, rendu chapathi vangi sapdunga pasiyaarum". She looked like Goddess Annapurani in person at that moment!

The group started around 6.30 PM, I had two chapathis for dinner then. Soon, the rains stopped and my guide and I spotted each other. A relief for me as I was able to change clothes for Vaibhav and cover him with one more woolen blanket. It made him feel comfortable and he decided to retire for the day, given the fact that he would have walked atleast 7 km down hill. The guide told me that he had spotted the other three at 2 km mark some time ago just before the heavy rains and at the speed at which Appa is walking it will take atleast 9.30 PM for them to arrive. I settled the guide as all the bags were now with me. He signed off. The hotel owner was kind enough to allow me to sit there with my baggage and a sleeping-on-the-table Vaibhav inspite of the crowd.

One-by-one:

I was not having any worry till the clock ticked 9.30. But after that, each minute started to increase my levels of worry. I could not move as Vaibhav would be left alone... the hotel owner saw the panic struck face of mine and inquired... I told him a gist of the story and he asked me to go to the next building, which is a police check post that has a public announcement system. The announcement I make there will be aired all along the Gaurikund town pathway till the pony station. If the three have reached the town, they will be able to hear it and reach the hotel. I made a round of announcements in Tamil and came back.

10.15 PM and no signs of anyone yet. Finally at 10.30 PM, I was able to spot Vidhya and Amma frantically looking for me. Two of the missing three were now united. Over to their part of the story in brief...

The disconnect and the split:

After we parted ways at 4.5 km mark just after Bhimbali, they have walked together for some distance. As there were signs of a heavy downpour, apparently Amma has requested Appa to walk fast, which he could not. An argument ensued and Amma had decided to walk alone fast as she had contracted backpain and could not spend more time walking. She will reach Gaurikund and wait for others, while Vidhya will walk along with Appa and join us. While Amma had got caught in the drizzle when she was just near the welcome arch... a 100 m more and she could have spotted me. However, she was worried whether she may get shivering... so, having remembered seeing a medical post a 100 m back on the way, she decided to turn back and go to the medical centre to get tablets and if required an injection. Vidhya has spotted her running towards her, while actually she was running to the medical centre. She had to actually block her on the way and make her realize that it was herself. Vidhya had a story to share...

The Halt:

Apparently Vidhya and Appa had walked for 1 km together. At the 2.5 km mark, Appa had a minor slip and misplaced his step leading to a minor sprain. He was unable to walk further. Hence he halted, and got inside a small way-side naturally formed crevice in the mountain to take rest. He had requested Vidhya to walk to Gaurikund and send me to that place so that I can arrange for something to bring him back to Gaurikund. Vidhya did a very thoughtful thing of asking Appa to wear my jerkin as well so that the biting cold will not affect him meanwhile.

Back to the hotel at Gaurikund... I asked Amma to take care of Vaibhav and started along with Vidhya to fetch Appa back from that 2.5 km mark. At this stage, the hotel owner intervened and mentioned that I can inform this situation to Police and request them to arrange a courtesy kandi or doli to bring Appa back, and that it would be free of cost. The constable in the information counter mentioned that this facility will be available only in the Police Station which is 0.5 km uphill on the pathway.

Surprise at the Police Station:

Vidhya and I started walking uphill again. She was tired to the core and I was a bit ok to walk after the rest for 4 hours. She was unable to match my speed and when we spotted a lane that went steep uphill, she offered to  stay in the pathway while I actually climb and confirm that the Police Station actually exists there. I went up the hill and was able to locate the Police Station. I was surprised to see the father and son duo of the Tamil family group whom I met at the hotel, waiting at the Police Station. I assumed that they would have come to file a similar complaint for the missing lady. I went ahead and informed the constable on duty that he had to arrange a courtesy doli for Appa. He mentioned that he has to confirm this with the nearest police booth and then arrange. I had to wait as unfortunately, his wireless had some signal problems and the other end did not pick his mobile calls.

In the meantime, the Inspector came out and was having a discussion with the father and son. I could observe that he could not follow Tamil, they could not follow Hindi and both could not follow the other's English. I stepped in as a all-language basic translator - apparently, when the 7 went down hill to Son Prayag, they received a phone call that the missing lady had a medical emergency. The 3 gents in the group of 6 had left the 3 ladies in the group at Son Prayag bus stand and came back to Gaurikund to take the missing lady along with them. While 1 of them could not walk further, they had left him to wait at Gaurikund welcome arch and these two have walked to the Police Station. I saw that the inspector was telling the constable to give them blankets and pillow for them to stay overnight. When I told them this is what the Inspector was planning, the son insisted that he would walk to that camp and help the lady walk back to Gaurikund.

Then the inspector dropped a bomb shell. He told me, "arrey, unko bolo, wo lady mar gayaa". They were shell shocked to hear it when I translated to them. They were random neighbours who have planned for this yatra and their tour captain is still in Kedarnath town waiting for the next day's helicopter service to return. I suddenly remembered that Appa was sitting alone in the pathway - I was about to faint when I remembered that. I turned to the constable and to my relief he told me that my Appa was spotted and he was safe without any problems. They were trying to arrange for a doli for him.

Then I got another shock - I had left Vidhya all alone in the pathway at 12 midnight, while all this was happening in a rapid sequence of events. I told the constable that I will be back shortly and rushed to the pathway.

Then I got another (pleasant shock) - I saw Appa standing along with Vidhya in the pathway when I went there to fetch her - a huge sign of relief. A brief inquiry revealed that two Tamil speaking gentlemen have spotted him enroute and have volunteered to have him put his hands on their shoulders and slowly walk down hill to Gaurikund. I then asked Appa and Vidhya to go back to the hotel, while I inform Police that Appa has already arrived. I went back to the Police Station and asked them to cancel the doli, and thanked them profusely for all the help that they have extended at that crucial juncture.

The Inspector came out and inquired how we will be going back as jeeps are not available after 1 AM - I told him, "Sir, frankly I have not thought of it yet". He gave an idea. He will call Son Prayag outpost, give special permission to allow my Innova car along with driver to drive upto Gaurikund. I have to take the three gentlemen of that Tamil group to Son Prayag, have my driver fetch them a car to go to Phata and inform the news to the dead lady's sisters as they have to come the next day morning to the mortuary at Gaurikund for identification procedures. The deal was agreed. The inspector spoke to my driver (who was by the time worried as we have not turned up yet) and arranged everything.

The 2 AM wrap-up:

We all went back to the Gaurikund hotel at 1 AM, by the time which the owner was kind enough to have prepared chapathis and curd rice for Appa, Amma and Vidhya. Our car came to Gaurikund and we all started to Son Prayag. The three ladies in the group were literally about to cry when they saw these three gentlemen back. The cold weather coupled with the fact that they were alone in a 'baashai-theriyaadha-oor' had taken a toll on their mental strength. The father narrated the story to the mother... she came up, held my hands and told, "thambi, rombavey bayandhu poyirundhom, kadavul dhaan ungala anuppi ivungala engakitta marubadiyum serthu vittaaru". I replied, "illainga, neenga yaaru ennanu theriyaama senja andha anna dhaanam dhaan kaarnam, neenga senja helpukku badhila enna eppidi eppo seyya poromunu nenachirundha enaku innikey badhil udhavi seyya vechittaru andha Kedarnath swamy".

Our driver arranged a cab for them to go back to Phata, while we returned to Gupt Kashi. With just 50 or 100 in our hand, everything that we took having been spent, I checked with the driver, "Sir ji, idhar ATM kahaan hai?". He said, "Sir ji, no problem. Aapke cab ka travel advance mere paas hai. Aap use kijiye. Baadh mein haridwar jaaney ke baadh dheejiye!".

I brought down the windows and let the fresh air blow on my face.

I learned a lot during those 7 hours of that wonderful evening than in my entire life put together. Now, please read the first sentence of this post again - you will get the underlying context.