Krish @ Sobha Palladian: Vellore & Yelagiri Part 1

Vellore, Here I come !

Yelagiri, You MUST Go !!

Last Sunday at 3 PM, I stood in front of CMCH, Vellore with a little bit of awe and a lot of confusion building in me .

I was born in CMC (Christian Medical College) Hospital some 64 years back.

And many times my mom used to say , “You know Krishnaa… Nurse Nandita told me that you were the most beautiful bonny baby she has ever seen!”

And every time, with that same spiel, she would con me into gulping down the last remaining portions of the Thaiyur Sadam (Curd-rice) .

For some nostalgic reason I had always wanted to go back and visit Vellore & CMCH.

Over the last 12 years we must have done the Bangalore – Chennai- Bangalore road trip more than 15 times.

And each time as we shuttle past Vellore on our way to Chennai, I would look up at the RatnagiriHill Temple that is clearly visible from the highway and say - I must visit Vellore some day!

And each time on our way back to Bangalore we pass Vellore and then would come to a signboard Pointing the way to Yelagiri Hills. And Jayanthi would ask me - When will you take me on a holiday to Yelagiri ??

We finally managed a 4 day road trip spending 2 nights in Vellore and another 2 in Yelagiri.

And I have ticked off Vellore from my bucket list and so did Jayanthi for Yelagiri from her list!

Back to front gate of CMCH Vellore! Now what do I do ??

Feeling a sense of Déjà vu, I look up at the freshly painted Bluish Grey and White main building with a prominent red cross on its top and hesitate .

Do I just walk into the maternity ward? And proclaim loudly “ I was born here!!”

Or do I go to the nurse’s station and ask for the doc and the nurse and the attendants who were on duty on the night of 1 June / early morning of 2^nd July 1955 ??

By the way, I am very scared of entering a hospital, one of the 3 places where I would never like to go voluntarily.

NEVER, EVER - unless there is a dire necessity!!

And I would most sincerely hope and pray that none of you have to. Unless your child or grandchild is a Doc or a Lawyer or a Police officer !

The three places filed with misery – Hospitals (except the maternity wards) , Court houses and the Police Stations (except for passport address verification).

Finally I gather up enough courage and resolve and walk into the main building. A small space that retains the original structure, a small room on the left is the reception to direct folks to the various departments. And right in front I walk into a small but spacious chapel. Its is open to well maintained gardens on two sides, a raised platform in front, a podium and 2 mikes. A single aisle and rows of pews on both sides. Calm, serene and a cool breeze sets up a wonderful peaceful atmosphere.

I sit down, close my eyes and pray for the quick recovery and good health of every one admitted here. Then I slowly walk around the entire hospital complex.

CMC has grown huge with a number of massive buildings on all the sides . Fortunately it was Sunday. So the crowd was less and the human plight and the misery was lesser too. However the small anxious crowd in front of the casualty ward , a couple of gurneys lined up at the entrance, the two ambulances and a police jeep made my stomach churn.

A 9 storied A-ward stands imposing on the right , a huge 6 storied OT block at the back, the maternity ward, the cancer ward and the OPD and causality section – all built and expanded on a large scale. I shudder slightly at the typical smell of strong disinfectant and the damp hospital atmosphere and quickly rush back to my car.

Mission accomplished ! Thank You CMCH.

We drove up to my Thatha’s house. Salawanpet, Msilamani Street, that area of Velore which is frozen in time. Narrow roads, sweltering heat and dust. The temple complex in front of our house looked the same albeit a little better maintained with freshly erected signage. The veraghu thotti (Firewood stockpile yard) was gone, and a new building stood in its place. The huge stretch of Thennam Thottam (Palm Grove) is transformed into an apartment complex.

Erattai Maadi Iyer veedu (double storied Iyer’s house) that is what they called our house, stood majestically even in its dilapidated condition. Thatha had sold it some 50 years back . And the owner did not see any necessity to get the house painted even once let alone remodel it. Except he spoilt the majestic frontage on the right by building two rooms which he rented out to a browsing center and a shop. And the neat staircase on that side was replaced by one on the left.

Felt very sad. But was consoled by the fact that the house still existed, instead of getting razed to the ground and some unfamiliar structure erected in its place.

A thought occurred to me. Maybe I should buy back this house and restore it to its original magnificence. And then what ?

Maybe hope that one of my grand daughters get an MBBS admission in CMC and then join CMC and settle down in this house .

A long shot, but worth looking forward to ..

We visited the famous SriPuram golden temple ! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Temple,_Sripuram

I was totally awed by this structure. This temple is gilded with 1,500 kg of pure gold, double the 750 kg gilding of the dome of the Golden Temple at Amritsar!

There is a separate shrine housing an idol of Goddess Lakshmi made out of 76 kgs. of pure Gold.And you can perform abhishekam yourself!

And this place must truly be the abode of the goddess of wealth, Goddess Lakshmi. The 100 acres of beautifully designed garden and well manicured lawns with beautifully carved statues and fountains are breathtaking!

Without any prior plan, we suddenly decided to drive into the famous Vellore fort and visit the old Jalakanteshwara Temple built during the mid 16^th century (100 years before the Taj Mahal).

Jalakandeswarar = "Lord Siva residing in the water"

It was once called ‘swami illadha kovil” and it remained un-operational for more than 400 years . Following the desecration of the temple during Muslim invasion and rule, worship in the temple was stopped and the main deity was moved away. The temple was re-consecrated in 1981 and the first kumbabishekam after re-consecration was held in 1982.

The huge Gopuran stands majestic and imposing against the blue sky!

The stone etched mandapam wonderfully restored to its original elegance, which is now used as a marriage hall !

The stone carving and the intricately carved pillars are a beauty to watch

And the ubiquitous Poo kaari right opposite the temple !!

Vellore, we went all around this small town, soaked in the atmosphere, checked out the latest tamil movies running in PVR.

Not much surprised to notice the large number of hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacy and medical shops. And ofcourse an equal number of snall boarding lodges, restaurants and hotels!