Dwarka, Somnath & Gujarat

Dwarka = Sri Krishna

So, two stories on Sri Krishna as narrated by our Pundit and guide, Shri Bhavesh Bhai.

At the Dwarkadhish temple, we can see the shrines of all of Krishna’s relatives, his gurus, his kula mata, Ambika and his son & and grandson.

But no shrine for his first wife Rukmini. Here is why.

Once Sri Krishna and Rukmini went to Sage Duruvasa’s ashram some 30 miles from Dwarka and invited him to their palace to have food and bless them.

By the way Sage Duruvasa was well known for his intense Krodh (anger). And he also had a very short fuse!

The Sage agreed, but on 2 conditions.

One that he would ride in the same chariot that they came in.

And two that he did not believe in causing pain to animals. So, Sri Krishna must take off the two horses and he and Rukmini must pull the chariot themselves.

Sri Krishna accepted, unhitched the horses and he took up the left harness while Rukmini took up the right harness and they started pulling.

As they were nearing Dwarka, Rukmini felt exhausted and very thirsty. So, Sri Krishna tapped his right toe on the ground and a small spring emerged. Rukmini drank the sweet refreshing water and Sri Krishna also had a few sips.

But Sri Krishna had made one grave mistake! He did not consult the Sage.

And Duruvasa’s fuse blew and he got enraged, “How dare both of you refresh yourselves with water without offering me even a single drop?? “

And he cursed them, “You both will not live together for long! And Dwarka will not have sweet ground water anymore!!”

So, Rukmini’s temple is situated 2 kms away from the main shrine and the ground water in Dwarka is brackish and not potable!!

Second story.  

Satyabhama was one of Sri Krishna’s wives.

(Sri Krishna had 8 principal wives and 16,100 junior wives, those that he had liberated after killing Demon King Narakasura.)

Satyabhama’s father was King Satrajit who was very wealthy. So, Satyabhama came with a lot of Gold, jewellery and precious stones.

And she came with an attitude (and ahankaar) as well.

And she proceeded to throw her weight around, and a lot of gold as well.

And she thought she could become Sri Krishna’s favourite with all her gold and riches.

Sri Krishna soon came to know about this and wanted to teach her a subtle lesson. One day he causally asked Satyabhama, “Can you please present me my weight in gold?”. Satyabhama readily agreed and happily set up a small event and put up a big weighing scale. And people in the palace all gathered to watch this weighing ceremony (tulabharam).

Sri Krishna sat on the left pan. And Satyabhama asked her aides to place bags and bags of gold coins on the other pan.

And the needle did not even budge!

She then collected all her jewellery and all her precious stones and added to the pile. Still nothing moved. In frustration she removed all the jewellery from her person and put them too. Still no luck.

And she became embarrassed and was about to breakdown.

At that moment Rukmini stepped in. She pulled out a small gold ring from her little finger and placed it on the pan. And the pan immediately came down lifting Sri Krishna high up in the air!!

A good lesson!

But I am not sure if Satyabhama really changed her behaviour after that.

Because, whenever a young girl gets difficult and throws a tantrum, my patti would scold in Tamil “Satyabhama Pannadhey!”, “Don’t act like Satyabhama!!”.

And if two of my sisters start fighting, my patti would say, ‘Look at them fighting like Rukmini and Satyabhama!!”

And now our Gujarat trip, in a chronological order…

On Board Indigo flight Bangalore – Chennai – Ahmedabad:

The 7-year-old boy with a fancy mushroom haircut sat 2 rows ahead of us with his mom and dad.

And he had a loud resounding voice and spoke spasht Tamil in a typical brahmin accent

Our flight took off and, attained its cruising altitude and a peaceful calm settled inside the cabin.

And his voice rang out, ‘Amma, Pashikarudhu. Edhanu kudu”. Feeling hungry Mom. Give something!

And after a few minutes his voice rang out once again, in a higher pitch and with frustration, “thayir sadam vendaam! Verai ehtanu kudu”. No curd rice!! Give me something else!! Not sure if the mom had a biriyani backup or something equivalent.

And at Chennai, when the aircraft smoothly touched down and taxied to its parking area, we heard his voice again, “Amma, Enakku Kaadu valikkavey ill-laye!” Mom, my ears did not hurt at all!!

Gujarat = Rann of Kutch, Indian Wild (& White) ass.

Gypsies in colorful dresses. Gujarat tourism brochure shows sandy desert and ladies in bright colorful dresses leading a train of camels, sandy beaches in Diu, dry Gir forest & wild animals on golden brown dry parched grass.

And my other mental picture of Gujarat was one of huge Reliance petrochemical factory, Gujarat Alkali plant, Gujarat Ambuja Cement, GFCL and such likes.

Never did I ever think of the Gujarat country side being covered with acres and acres of lush green fields, wet black fertile soil, endless rows of cotton fields interspersed with equally large fields of freshly harvested groundnut , huge mounds of groundnut bushes waiting to be shredded,  millions of shrubs dotted with white fluffy cotton balls as if tons of white confetti has been sprinkled all over these fields.

And huge plantations of sugarcane and banana and coconut groves!! And endless rows of yellow tops of toor and chana daal shrubs. And cauliflower fields and green spinach to feed cattle.

And mango orchards. The Kesar Mango grows here and is exported as well.

And we saw just that all throughout our 6-day road trip.

And we were also not prepared to see so many cows and bulls everywhere! Goshalas (cow-barns) everywhere, herds of cows (all A2 brown variety) grazing peacefully. And being herded by the patient turbaned lean & tall Yadavs.

And bulls. They were everywhere. Especially on every street corner and street junctions, around the temple complex, and on the highways and trading centres.

And they were healthy, majestic with their huge curved horns, symmetric on their heads, and a prominent hump!!

Sri Krishna’s place. So, cattle must be found. And no brainer that we have Amul here as well.

 And the chai tasted consistently great everywhere. Pure fresh milk, strong chai-patti, grated ginger and local expertise! An unchallenged combination!!

Ahmedabad to Dwarka- 450 Kms of smooth well tarred 6 lane/4 lane highway. With good watering holes (restaurants and facilities) every two hours.

We exit Ahmedabad and for the next 90 min its only factories, big and small on both sides of the highway. Pharmaceutical Industries and drug manufacturers and number of small-scale industries.

And trucks and tempos and tractor trolleys piled high with goods.

 And after that it’s just fields and fields all the way. Cotton & ground nuts occupy most of this landscape. And we see freshly tilled black soil ready for the next planting cycle. 

And we see trucks and tractor loads of groundnut bags queuing up in front of the government procurement centre.

WM-101: Windmill Basics (As taught by our Driver Sokat Ali)

We zip past a couple of those tall structures on our way from Jamnagar to Dwarka and Sokat points out to them and exclaims, “Dekho Saab, Pawan Charkha!!”

Very tall, 150 to 180 feet. Each wing (Pankh) is 50 to 60ft long and costly 1 to 1.5 Crores each, he says.

And I ask him what does it do?

Saab, there is a generator on top and when the wings rotate it generates electricity and it charges the transformer down below. When transformer gets filled the DP switch trips. Automatically the wings will stop rotating – no point in wasting electricity and heating up the transformer.

Also, the government will know this DP has tripped it and it will pull all the electricity and push it on to the Grid. 

The wings will again start rotating!!

And all the windmills are privately owned but the ground underneath them is leased from the Farmers.

@ our Hotel restaurant in Dwarka:

@ breakfast, a smart 6-year-old girl in a long ponytail and a pink jacket marched in with her granddad and grand mom.  And as soon as she settled down at her table, she announced she wanted masala dosa only.

And there was no masala dosa that day.

Granddad offered puri/upma/paratha/ bread with jam and what not. No way!  She stood firm. Masala Dosa or nothing!!

Grand mom got tough and scolded her in English.

Granddad again tried to reason it out with her, only to get a curt reply from her, “Dadaji, hum par jabardasti na karo!!” Do not force me!!

And then the mom came. Took her plate, filled it up with a bhatura and some chana and plonked it in front of her. And she ate everything without a sound!

And we were thoroughly impressed. “Poonai maadri shapadaradu, paar,” my wife commented. ‘Bheegi Billi’, like a wet kitten!!!

Dwarka Temple:

Bhavesh Bhai takes us around a tour of the Dwarkadhish temple. Very clean and well maintained. Even the huge 150 ft temple’s gopuram structure appears to be well cleaned and renovated. Difficult to believe that this structure could be more than 2000 yrs. old! Some believe the original temple was built 5000yrs back by Sri Krishna’s Grandson.

The temple looks majestic on the bank of river Gomti. And just a few hundred feet away from the temple Gomti flows into the Arabian sea. A wonderful sight especially during sunset!!

The temple aarti started at 7 PM and we joined the packed queue of devotees. Even though the crowd was less than 100, the pushing and jostling was still intense and in the first round we had to fight our way thru and had a short glimpse of the main idol.

15 min later, there was no crowd and we were rewarded with a much better and more relaxed darshan.

The temple environment is very calm and peaceful with many shrines of Devaki (Sri Krishna’s mother), Jambuwati & Satyabhama ( HIS two wives), Sri Krishna’s Kula mata Ambika, Guru Dattatreya & Rishi Duruvasa.

And of course, Sri Krishna’s ‘prermika’, Radhika!

The temple prasad is first offered to Radha and then only offered to Sri Krishna! Power of love supersedes devotion, Bhavesh Bhai says with deep reverence.

And there is a shrine of Pradyumna (Rukmini’s son) and Anirudha (HIS Grandson)

 Straddling Gomti river is the Sudama Bridge that connects Dwarka mainland to the small beach and the small estuary.  And that is the ‘chowpatty’ of Dwarka!

The colourful ship of the desert being challenged by motorised buggys.

And we rented an 8-seater for our camel ride.

Powered by a 6-year-old Moti and driven by his master Heera.

Yes, a true Heera-Moti partnership!!

Dwarka gullis !!  Shopping all along the narrow roads adjoining the temple is an amazing experience! Everything here has a Radha – Krishba motif !

A riot of colours and a fascinating variety of dresses!! And food and milk sweets everywhere.

Bet (Beyt) Dwarka: this was Sri Krishna’s residence, our guide announces. So main Dwarka temple is his office and he is the king there. Here in Beyt Dwraka, he is only a husband! So, the ladies rule this place!!

Scary boat ride.

Packed full and overflowing, no life jackets, and a choppy sea.

So even if you are not a true bhakt, by the time you reach the shore safely you will definitely become a true believer!!

Each way is a miracle ride.

A miracle that only Sri Krishna can perform consistently 100s of times each day and for 100s of years.

Some interesting sights here!!

Gitu the Chaiwala was born here and he worked in Muscat before returning back to brew some awesome chai for the pilgrims. We both had refills.

Dwarka to Somnath:  The crop pattern changes drastically, from low lying cotton and groundnut shrubs, we see huge Banana plantations & coconut groves.  And cotton and ground nut fields continue to occupy a fair share.

       

And we drive thru Jamnagar Relaince Factory, a 4 km stretch on the highway.

And we drive thru vast stretches of salt flats owned by Tata Salt in Mithapur. (mithu = salty in Gujarati)

And Sokat says, they pump all the sea water here.  And once it dries, they collect the salt and send it to the factory there.

And there they mix Sodium and other chemicals and then powder & pack it.

And all this while I thought that Tatas added just iodine to their salt (NaCl, Sodium Chloride)!

Porbunder:

Mahatma Gandhi was born in a house adjacent to Kirti Mandir located in a narrow road here. The ancestral house has 22 rooms! And he was the fourth child. Nice place well documented!

Surprisingly all the pictures and posters focus on Gandhi alone. Reflecting back, I do not remember seeing even one photo or mention of his other siblings. Did I miss a room??

Somnath: 

This temple of Shiva was reconstructed by Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. Very beautiful and intricate carvings! Good crowd management and a satisfying darshan of the deity here.  The original Jyotirlinga is housed in a smaller old temple next door. And this is where Abhishek is performed on a large Shivling. All members of a family sit all around and perform abhishek here.

The view of the Arabian sea and the sunset is breathtaking!

And there is a small shopping complex nearby selling everything from clothes to seashells to idols and photos of gods and handbags.

And lots of food!!

 Jugaad!!

A unique multipurpose three wheeler that we saw all along our way..

On highways, on farm tracks and a number of them parked at those small chai shops. And in Dwarka and Somnatrh too. And they ferry passengers, school children, live stocks. And they carry heavy loads of grains and every other material that you can imagine!! Many brightly painted with bells and whistles and some old ones in battered conditions.

And these are locally made in Rajkot. Powered by a water pump-set diesel engine, front wheel taken from a motorcycle and the two back wheel from a regular automobile. It can lug 2 tons of load (rating is 1 ton only), go @ 50 Kmph and deliver 30 Kms per litre!!

And they make a huge racket.

Some rich and brand conscious farmers have retrofitted their Jugaad with Royal Enfield engines too!  Chk it out!!

 Diu: There was nothing  worthwhile for me in Diu. We spent two and a half hours driving thru bad roads from Somnath.  And we saw one abandoned fort, one Church, a small Shiva temple and a bad beach.

Diu is the watering hole for all of Gujarat. Booze flows freely here ( you need to pay, of course). Gujarat is a dry (and predominantly vegetarian) state and all those thirsty Gujjus converge here to slake their thirst and appetite as well.

And the first building that welcomes you once you cross the check post is Bharat Bar and Beer Restaurant!!

The big Portuguese fort is a wonderful place for all those mobile photo clicking fingers. Every arch, every corner, every pillar/parapet/turret/steps & staircases,   and anything and everything that looked old, dark and mouldy is a fantastic photo opps!!

Lots and lots of families, scores of young couples/newlyweds, busloads of school children, huge packs of teenage boys and coeds.

Romeos in tight jeans, bright shirts, mushroom tops and fancy reflecting shades. And Juliets with extra makeup & eyeliners, high heels, designer jeans, smart goggles and floppy hats.

And each one of them with a smart phone. And I noticed a few latest iPhone and One Plus models too. Rich Gujju kids from affluent families having a great time!!!

And as we move towards the sea front, we notice …

First, the young hubby takes a pix of his wife perched on a ledge overlooking the sea, then they interchange places and the wife takes his pix and then the two of them look around anxiously. And I volunteer to take a pix of both of then perched on the ledge!

Interestingly we see a lot of palm trees with branches!

And the popular Nagoa Beach is black sand and damp and disappointing. Water scooter and sand buggy rides are the only saving grace.

Diu to Somnath: We left the highway and drove thru fields and villages and stopped for Chai frequently.  And we saw sugar cane getting crushed, their juice fed into huge boiling vats. And we saw the thin juice turn into golden yellow lava bubbling under the heat. And then get poured into large earthen trays for cooling. And then into big

tins and small 4 kilo tubs priced at Rs 150/-. And we were invited to wash our hands, dip a finger into the steaming gur lava and taste it.

Heavenly!!! Better than any sweet or chocolate that we had tasted anywhere in the world!!!

Gir Safari, Sasan Gir: 

The only interesting and exciting things we found here were at the souvenir shops and the T-Shirt shops.

The 30 min forest safari in a crowded bus yielded 3 cheetals (spotted deer), one Neel Gai (buck) three lomdis (foxes) and three very bored lion/lioness lazing under a shady tree. Not enough light to take a good picture, only a dark outline shape at best.

But the crowd inside the bus was absolutely thrilled! and they happily clicked away on their mobiles. And they hotly debated, in Gujarati, guessing the sex of each of those three canines 40 feet away.

And when I tried to zoom in my camera on the big one, he just snubbed me by turning his face the other way and then lay down fully stretched on the ground.

And that was what our driver Sokat had predicted.  “Sir, you won’t see any real   Sher– Ver here at this time. Only some lomdi and cheetal.”

But Sir the forest afsers (officials) are very smart. They gather a few old and wounded Shers that are brought here for treatment and park them under those trees.  So, tourists feel happy.

Not me. I paid Rs. 300/- for the two of us.  Very poor ROI of 100/- per sleepy lion!!

But on the positive side, it was fun to be packed amidst a group of 30 excited and animated Gujarati folks, all chattering away all thru the 30 minutes, in their sing-song Gujju accent!

Sabarmati Ashram:

A wonderful place on the banks of Sabarmati river. Such a beautiful location and no wonder Gandhi chose this place to set up his ashram.

And I read his quotes and his letters with interest.

And a few thoughts struck in my mind.

Gandhiji must have studied in a good public school (maybe a Christian missionary school?)  He had learnt his cursive writing very well.

He had a florid handwriting.

Slant words and bold strokes. And the final stroke of one word flows smoothly into the next word.  And big legible letters.

And he wrote his mind in clear precise and unambiguous manner. And I particularly liked these two statements!

 Definitely a great personality! Wish we have many such people in our country today.

And once again, the ashram covered his political and personal life.

Not a single mention of his 4 sons nor a picture of any of them.

And did you know that Mahatma Gandhi’s youngest son Devdas Gandhi was the managing editor of Hindustan Times? And he fell in love and married Lakshmi, daughter of C Rajagopalachari, the last Governor General of India?? 

And now I must read a few books written by the famous Raj Mohan Gandhi, the grandson of the Mahatma and Rajaji!!

Krish..

Temple Hopping on NH 44! Part 2

I am not a very religious person.

And I cannot claim myself to be a devout Iyengar Brahmin, because I do not observe and perform all the daily, monthly and yearly rituals that are prescribed in our Vaishnavite religious practices.

My parents were not religious either, and my grandparents were also not ardent devotees and performed religious rites assiduously.

So whatever religion I have learnt this far is only after marriage. From my wife, who incidentally comes from a very devout, staunch and orthodox Vadagalai Iyengar family- I kow-tow you Madam Superior.

I recently learnt an interesting term from my US settled nephew’s American wife. She said she was a Non-practicing Christian!

So maybe I can call myself a semi-practicing Iyengar Brahmin??

I like going to temples.

And my prayers are limited to thanking HIM for all he has done for me and my family. And my only

prayer is that he maintains this status-qou! No more no less.

And I pray for the good health and happiness for all my relatives, friends and everyone I know. Ahstey !!

I like the temple ambience. 

And I enjoy strolling in and around those big temple complex in small temple towns. The long walks thru the narrow-crowded streets leading up to the temple complex; jostling & sharing space with pious maamis and mamas, the fat healthy cows, cycles and rickshaws, and navigating thru the scores of pavement fruit and flowers sellers.

Inside those temple complexes is another wonderful world altogether. To start off, I take off my shirt

& shoes and walk in bare-bodied & barefoot. With my poonal advertising my brahmin caste and a white veshti secured tightly to my waist by my 15-year-old ever dependable Wildcraft pouch cum belt.

And while I soak in the ambient godliness around the place, I inspect with ever fascination all the small shops that line the pathway right up to the main inner gate. Each shop flooded with a variety article. The shiny brass ware shops with glittering idols of gods, goddess, dancing Natrajas, elephant heads, agarbatti holders and etched brass plates. The photo and books shops selling framed pictures and rolled up posters of brightly painted Gods; stacks of bhajan and shlokas and kirtan CDs. And you cannot miss the loud Vishnu Sahasranamam or Kanda Shashti Kavacham blaring out of those tiny speakers here.

I have also heard a few Anup Jalota and Gulshan kumar’s Sherawali bhajans.

And the pooja samagri shop selling vibhuti and kumkum packets; red, orange and black strings (kashi kayaru) to tie around your wrist (talisman), poonals and red cloth with gold tassels. Small dollar chains with gods engraved on then that one can hang around your neck. And these shops also sell chappatti rolling pins, mortar & pestle, supari and turmeric sticks. And in many places, I was delighted to see daya-kattam boards (dice game) and shoyees and pallan kuzhi game (available in Amazon for Rs 444/-).

And the mandatory Chinese plastic toys, gaudy plastic flower, beads, orange plastic Hanuman mace, masks, flutes, damroos, drums, green parrots and bunches of orange flying hanumans carrying the Sanjeevani parbat. I have these hanging from my car rear view mirrors.

And not to mention of the killi josiyams (fortune telling parrots) and palm reading gypsies (‘vallis’) with a small baton and a small pouch containing remedies for the various doshams (sins) that you may have accumulated.  

And she detected that I had killed a lizard inadvertently and thus acquired ‘palli-dosham’.  And for 100 more rupees she got that stigma neutralised. And I felt relieved & much better!

And the never-ending stream of flower shops with huge Tulsi malas, strands of jasmine and rose. And pooja patra with a coconut, a few flowers, a pair of bananas and a slim pack of agarbatti – all for 50 rupees. Sometimes this set is topped up with a big pink lotus bud (to please the devi)

And the ubiquitous mobile corner for convenient prepaid recharges, of course!!

I smell the wonderful aroma of burning camphor, vibhuti and incense sticks. And the smell of fresh jasmine, rose and marigold and thulasi and sometimes coconut water that get splashed on the stones!

And these good things come along with the usual stuffiness, smoke, musty smell of bat dropping from those century old gopurams. And inside some of those the dark dingy labyrinth through which the Q flows - an overpowering damp and claustrophobic atmosphere.

But by and large, almost all the temples we saw were very well maintained. Clean well wiped floors

many reinforced pillars and freshly painted roofs. Some had very intricate geometric designs.  And thankfully lots of giant fans too!!

And I feel sad seeing the mass of beggars outside every temple. Old shrivelled bodies with glazed eyes, young mothers with infants tied to their chest, the crippled ones and the sadhu types in saffron robes with flowing beards and matted hair.

Most times I empty my wallet of all the change and give them off.

I can easily dole out 10 rupees to each and every beggar, even at the most crowded of places and not get any poorer – but I guess I am stingy and do not have a large heart.  At times I have converted a hundred rupee note into smaller denominations and distributed to these beggars. And those remaining, I have thoughtlessly shooed them away.  I must find a better solution next time.

Maybe a 10-rupee surcharge on every special entrance/darshan tickets for feeding the beggars might help? Or maybe set up a beggar welfare trust @ each temple with a bank account and a QR code so that devotees can donate some money thru RuPay or PayTM??

23 temples: 23 Qs. Some as long as 90+ min and others granting  you instant access and darshans.

Gods and Goddess in various forms & shapes, with and without Consorts, standing & reclining postures and all with their faithful Garudan or Nandi or Peacock or Dormouse close by. And the black crow statue in front of Shaneeshwara too!

And the elephants that bless you by placing his trunk on your head for 10 rupees and a banana! And cows to which you feed 10 rupees of aathi  keerai (spinach family) in order to bring peace to your dead ancestor’s souls. And the temple office which are so difficult to locate, where you can donate to the temple trust / offer money specifically to feed the poor – Anna Danam.

And here are the various temples we visited …

The famous 18 ft tall Anjaneya (Hanuman) at Namakkal.

A vast open-air temple with a huge hall and a huge scaffolding at the sides from where priests perform milk, honey, curd, coconut water abhishekam. And that looks like a mini waterfall!  It’s just fascinating to watch the whole elaborate process.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namakkal_Anjaneyar_Temple

And opposite to this is the not so well-known Yoga Narasimha (Narasimha Swamy) shrine that is carved out of a huge rock face. Anjaneya is facing this deity with his hands respectfully folded. The deity is also carved out of the rock face and the atmosphere inside is so divine!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narasimhaswamy_Temple,_Namakkal

Next the Meenakshi Amman Kovil in Madurai. Goddess Parvati is the main deity.

A huge temple complex, massive structures made from carved stones. Intricately carved stone pillars that would weigh 20 tons and more!

The temple complex has 4 nine-storey gopurams (Raja Gopuram is 170 ft tall), 1 seven-storey

gopuram (Chittirai), 5 five-storey gopurams, 2 three-storey, and 2 one-storey gold-gilded sanctum towers – total 14 Gopurams!! 
And the famous Pro Thamarai Kulam. A large water tank inside this complex. During rainfall all the water from the Gopurams are channeled into this water tank !
And you can see many groups of tourists (and foreigners) led by a guide explaining the temple’s heritage & its history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meenakshi_Temple

Ramanathaswamy Temple,  Rameshwaram

A massively huge temple of Lord Shiva! It is one of the Char Dhams . the other three being Jagannatha Puri, Dwaraka and Badrinath. Lord Rama worshipped Shiva  (lingam) here  to absolve him of the sin he had committed by killing Ravana who was the son of a Brahmin.

There are 2 lingams here. One made in sand by Rama himself while he was waiting for Hanuman to bring a lingam from Mt. Kailasa. And he ordained that the Lingam brought by Hanuman must be worshipped first!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramanathaswamy_Temple

 And in Ramesswaram we visited Ramar Padam.

A small hillock where Rama stood to see Sri Lanka before marching towards it. Apparently, Sri Rama’s feet imprint is still preserved and worshipped at this site.

http://www.myrameswaram.com/ramar-paatham-in-rameswaram

Panchamukha Anjaneya Temple, Rameshwaram.

Hanuman flanked on both sides by faces of Lord Narasimha, Lord Adivaraha, Lord Garuda and Lord Hayagriva.

And here you can also see the floating stones (a large stone in a water tank) with which Lord Rama built the Ramasethu Bridge (a floating bridge) to cross over to Lanka.

https://rameshwaramtourism.co.in/panchamukhi-hanuman-temple-rameshwaram

Plus Kothanda Ramar Temple @ Ramar Theertham.

Kodandam = Bow + Arrow.

An ancient Shivalingam @ Lakshmana Theertham

And a small beautiful Radhakrisha temple recently built by the Jain community.

Then on our way to Tirunelveli.

Adi Jagannatha temple, Tiruppullani.

Here Lord Vishnu, is worshipped as Adi Jagannatha and his consort Lakshmi as Padmasini.

Rama is believed to have done penance here to worship the God of ocean to seek way to Lanka.
Also legend has it that King Dasaratha prayed to Adi Jagannatha who blessed him with the four Vedas to be born to him as his four sons.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adi_Jagannatha_Perumal_Temple

Vanamalai Perumal Temple, Nanguneri

As per Hindu legend, Lakshmi, the wife of Vishnu is believed to have born at this place as Srivaramangai (meaning lady).

This temple is another huge masterpiece of 6^th century Dravidian architecture!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanamamalai_Perumal_temple

Nava (9) Tirupatis on either side of Tamirabarani river, in and around Tirunelvelli.

The nava tirupathis are all dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

However, each temple is identified with one of the nava grahas (nine celestial bodies that rule & impact our lives). And they are named as Sthalams. Praying at these temples will nullify the adverse effect of those associated planet)

So, we have Surya (sun) Sthalam, Chandra (moon) Sthalam, Budan/Ketu/Rahu/Shani/Shukran/Chevvai/and Vyazhan Sthalams.

The Towering structure of Vaigunda Nathar Temple @ Sri Viakundam, 30 Kms from Tirunelveli. The lord here is known as Kallapan. For Suryan, Sun

Thiruvaraguna Mangai Temple is 2 kms from Sri Vaikundam. The Lord here is worshipped as Vijayaasanar.  For Chandran, Moon

Thirupuliangudi Temple. Goddess Sridevi & Bhoodevi are seen here along with Lord Kasina Vendhar. For Budan, Mercury

Irattai Tirupathi @ Tholaivillimangalam. Twin temples of Lord Devapiran in standing posture and Lord Aravinda Lochanar. For Rahu

Thirukuzhandai temple @ Perumkulam.Lord Matakoothan is the deity. For Shani, Saturn.

Nigaril Mugil Vannan Temple @ Then Thiru Perai. The lord is called Makaran Nedunkuzhai Kallan. For Chevvai, Sukran, Venus

Vaitha Maa Nidhu Temple @ Thirukkolur. This is the birthplace of Madura Kavi Azhwar who was an ardent devote of Nammazhvar. For Vyazhan, Guru, Jupitar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nava_Tirupathi

Kallazhagar Temple near Madurai.  Dedicated to Lord Vishnu.

 A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines. The temple has a seven-tiered rajagopuram. The temple is surrounded by a large fort.

 Checkout its legend and the wonderful pictures here..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kallazhagar_temple

Pazhamudir Cholai.  A few minutes’ drive up a small hillock near Kallazhagar kovil is this famous Murugan Kovil, one of the 6 main abodes of Lord Muruga.

And do you remember the famous story “chutta pazham or shudaatha pazham??”

That incident happened here!!

And my Patti narrated like this..

Avvaiyaar, an ardent devotee of Lord Muruga and a famous poet was resting under the shade of a Jamun tree. Lord Murugan wanted to play a prank on her. So became a small boy and sat on top of this tree and asked Avvaiyar, “Patti, naaga pazham veenuma?” (granny, do you want some Jamun fruit ??).

And when she gladly accepted this offer the young boy asked, “chutta Pazham venumaa illa shoodatha pazham??” (do you want hot fried fruit or raw fruit)

To which she retorted by saying - Stupid boy! How can hot fried fruit grow on trees??

Then the boy on the tree plucked a few big & ripe jamuns and threw them on the sandy ground. Avvaiyar picked these fruits and started forcefully blowing away the sand grains that had stuck to the fruits. Immediately the young boy playfully said, Patti, the fruits must be really hot and fried!! Otherwise why would you be blowing on them so forcefully!   And with that the young boy vanished!

And Avvaiyar realised that it was indeed Lord Murugan who had come to tease her and bless her with his appearance.
And she composed and sang out a song in praise of Bsla Murugan (young Murugan)

I looked all around but did not spot that  Jamun tree.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pazhamudircholai

ThiruparamKundam Murugan Temple:  Another one of the six abodes of Lord Murugan !

This is a huge temple built in the 6 century CE. Rock cut architecture with a huge 159 feet gopuram! And this is where Lord Murugan married Indira’s daughter Deivayanai !

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiruparankundram_Murugan_temple

And with a sense of great achievement we returned back to Bangalore.

And with excitement we narrated our road trip to a few folks in Sobha Palladian.

And I published my blog as well.

And then one maami enquired, ‘In Madurai did you visit Koodal Azhagar Kovil?’

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koodal_Azhagar_temple)

No, we missed that one.

And Srini responded on mail, ‘Did you visit Tanjai Periya Koyil? A great masterpiece by Raja Raja Cholan. Huge 80 ton single piece rock on the very top of the gopuram.’

Again No. Maybe next time?

And after a few more such conversation we were humbled.

23 temples is just a fraction of the hundred plus such big temples scattered all around South India.

And each with its majestic towering gopuram, a thousand-year-old lineage, a beautiful history and a captivating story waiting to be told!!

And the Gods, their avataars, their ardent devotees have been at these sites, creating a legend and sanctifying each shrine with their presence.

WoW!!!

And I have decided that in my next rebirth, I will give a pass to IT and take up Indian history!!

And maybe create my own detailed Wikipedia of all the major temples in South India??

Krish..   

On NH 44: Temple Hopping all along the way!!!

National Highway 44 (NH 44) is the longest-running major north–south National Highway in India. It begins from Srinagar and terminates in Kanyakumari; (Wiki)

And we picked up its trail from Bangalore and went right up to Tirunelveli (One stop before Kanyakumari)

Bengaluru – Hosur – Krishnagiri – Dharmapuri - Salem - Namakkal - Karur - Dindigul -  Madurai – Virudhunagar – Kovilpatti - Tirunelveli .

At Madurai, we took a detour to Rameswaram. Touched its tip at Dhanushkoti and quickly returned back to base - barely 12 hours before a huge squall hit Dhanushkoti and destroyed a large number of fishing boats moored on the shores. And it rained heavily for the next two days.

7 days: 1700Kms : 23 temple hops : 100+ Shrines :

And we prayed for good health and happiness, for everyone in Sobha Palladian and everyone we knew (for Saha Kutumba kalyan)

And I would highly recommend this road trip to anyone who loves to travel by road.

If you have a powerful SUV and love driving, the NH 44 is a wonderful track to cruise with your speedometer needle yanked all the way to the right-hand corner.

And the 13 Kms drive from Rameswaram to Dhanushkoti is an amazing experience. You drive on a very thin strip of land with the Bay of Bengal to your left and the Indian Ocean to your left.  And some lonely stretches which are scary at times.

And I would hate to have a flat tire here and especially when the two oceans try to get pally and reach across this strip of land to have a nice handshake!

And alternately, if you have a good car with comfortable back seats and a reliable driver, then it is even better. Listen to music, enjoy the passing landscape, check out the lush green vegetation, the unending rows of banana plantations, the paddy fields as far as your eyes can see, the dense sugarcane groves on both sides of the road! And all along you continuously munch on multiple packs of Lays chips, dry fruits & peanuts, chikkis, murukkus, Haldiram’s aaloo bhujia, temple prasadams of laddoos and vadais bananas & guavavas (and sitafals too). And keep on sipping Coffee from your Thermos or Nimboos & Sprite and Amul Lassi, apple juice and of course Coconut water-on-the-go!!!

And we also stopped every now and then to sample the local tea at those small highway tea stalls where the shopkeeper cum chaiwallah has a perpetually boiling copper boiler and he measures and pours out 3 feet of thick frothy chai (with half a ton of sugar) for you.

And all along this route there are plenty of restaurants – A2B, Saravana Bhavans, Aryas, Sangeethas and local biriyani joints. Some specialise in Nattu Kozhi Kari. Nattu Kozhi = locally bred (colored) chicken (as different for the farm bred (white) ones: Similar to desi eggs - brown variety vs farm eggs -pure white ones).

And of late a number of brightly lit Punjabi dhabas have sprung up. And they look very authentic – with a huge steaming handi on the coal stove and half a dozen charpai and wide benches laid out in front. These operate only during the nights and serve out Pindi style rajma chawal and butter chicken!!

The Temples!! 

I have difficulty on how and where to start. And I am not sure if I can capture and translate my experience in simple words.

I visited 23 temples. Offered prayers and performed archanais in more than 10 of them. And went to all the small shrines built inside the main temple and all around the temple complex.

And interestingly (and somewhat annoyingly) we were closely followed by a few bus loads of devotees on their way to Sabarimalai!

Like in Meenakshi Amman kovil, we bought a 100-rupee ticket and stood in a half a mile-long queue. And that entire place was swarmed by Ayyappan devotees. 200+ in front of us and another 150 behind. And we were one of the only 4 families in the midst of a sea of black dhotis and bare bodies.

And these simple folks do not have any concept of a personal space. And they pushed, elbowed, and squeezed thru. And they kept their hands on your shoulder, on your back and their tummy grazed your behind.  Not comfortable at all!

And there were 7-year olds to 70 plus. Tall and thin, short and fat and all possible shapes and sizes all in between.

And a million shades & skin tones!!

From Caucasian creamy white to Dravidian dark chocolate.

Yes! Very fair folks to golden wheatish complexion to light brown to milk chocolate brown to chocolate brown to dark chocolate brown to bitter chocolate to 80% cocoa solids dense dark!!

And they all wore a number of beads around their necks, vibhuti generously applied on their forehead and on their arms and body and a majority of them sporting week long beard.

And they were a very excited and animated crowd, chanting bhajans, shouting slogans in praise of all the lords & Gods, loud talking, cracking jokes, making fun of the first timers and generally having a good time.

And in their midst, we never felt the fatigue and boredom of the two-hour long wait and the slow-moving Q before we managed to see the main deity.

It was a wonderful experience and we encountered them many times in other temples too, but not in such numbers.

And in each temple, I walked slowly, in and around, closely observing the massive stone pillars, the intricate carvings of gods and goddess. The Yalis (mythical creature half lion, half elephant and half horse) and the various avatars of Vishnu overpowering their opponents.  And devas killing asuras. And elephants trampling demon heads. And the thousand other forms of gods, goddess and horseman and soldiers etc etc.

And of course, I could not miss the larger than life size statues of buxom apsaras gracefully emerging from those giant stone pillars every few steps.  

Sharp nose, almond eyes (fisheyes as in meen-akshi), standing in various poses showing off their well-rounded figures.

And all of them have generously proportionate physique, perfectly matched symmetric bosoms and ample hips that brought up their rear.

I am sure those master stone masons loved their jobs and their masterpieces equally!!

And it reminds me of a story.

During the renaissance period, there was a young French painter who became very famous for his series of nude paintings. At one party a young Duchess cornered him and insisted on knowing how he managed to paint such lifelike portraits.

And he had replied, “My dear, I just keep on and on painting until I feel like pinching her bottom”.

Most of the temples are huge & massive in construction. Almost all are constructed using stone and granite. The giant pillars of solid stones and the roof made of stone slabs placed over stone beams that straddle the giant carved pillars. And some of these temples had roof that were no less than 15 feet high and more. And giant wooden doors with thick brass stubs.  Most temples were very clean and well maintained – thanks to generous funding from Jayalalitha and efficient upkeep and management by TVS group.

The smallest temple had 2 gopurams and many had 4 to 6 gouprams many as high as 150 feet and more. And all the four sides of each gopuram is adorned with beautiful carved statues.

At Madurai Meenakshi, I could not detect even one square foot of blank space through my camera zoom lens!

Truly awe inspiring and overwhelming to see such colossal masterpieces. And many of them at such obscure small towns and villages like Nanguneri and Srivilliputtur.

And I seriously wonder if the Taj Mahal has been overrated as compared to these temples’ architectural splendor.  The Agra Red Fort can somewhat match the scale and complexity of construction, but it comes nowhere near when you take the stone sculptures into consideration!

And on some evenings, I felt kind of lost.  There are literally hundreds and hundreds of such wonderful temples littered all across South India. And most of them were built during the 500 CE to 800 CE – the halcyon days of the Pandian, Chola & Cheran dynasty!!

Many were destroyed and looted during the repeated Moghul invasions. And despite all the damages & disfiguring of the statues and idols, they all still retain their majestic splendor and stand gracefully tall against at passage of time!

And I felt empty at other times.

Shamefully, I could not quickly recollect the names of those mighty Pandian, Chola & Cheran Kings. Except Raj Raja Cholan.

Sad.  I studied in Dehra Dun and did ISC (Indian School Certificate, Senior Cambridge). And I learnt Physics, Chemistry, Maths, English Literature & English Language for our board exams. And Hindi, we had to pass compulsorily.

So, all my history learning was up to 9 standard, where I had to reluctantly cram up all the dates of battles and names of who fought who.

And I can still call out names all the Mogul rulers from Babur to Bahadurshah Zafar in correct sequence and the battle of Panipat. And some bits on Ashoka, Shivaji, Maharana Pratap & Guru Gobind Singh. But unfortunately I do not remember reading anything about even a single South Indian King and his dynasty.

Sadly, our history textbooks focused more on the last 500 years of Mogul and British Raj in India than the 1500 years earlier. The prosperous period when India contributed to 26% ++ of the world trade.   And our South Indian Kings reached out to all the neighboring countries for trade & peacefully  promoted our Hinduism and build huge temples in Cambodia, Indonesia to name a few.

And one more thing I do not understand and accept….

For centuries we, Bharatam or Bharath varsh have been a peaceful and God loving and God-fearing society. We worked hard, created enormous wealth and built huge temples everywhere in praise of our various Gods and Goddess.

And we showered each of those God idols with gold, jewels and precious stones and riches beyond measure. And our forefathers were pious & devout followers of the Vedic texts and did everything possible to please the gods.

Then why did our Gods did not come to our rescue and protect us when we needed them most?

Our Gods sat in mute silence watching Mahmud of Ghazni plunder the Somnath Temple and break the sacred jyotirlinga.

And they watched many emissaries of the Delhi Moghul court ride out all across Bharat on a destruction spree & ransacking of all our temples.

And our Gods remained inactive when Malik Kafur, a commander in Allaudin Khilji’s army, raided and ransacked and looted many of the famous temples in the south.

Can anyone explain why our God Vishnu ran out of an avatar at such crucial times??

And I am definitely going to question HIM when I meet HIM upstairs!!

And for all the pious people amongst us, I will list down all the temples in my next post – Temple Hopping on NH 44: Part 2!!

Krish..

Of Snake Plants and Story Books !!

A few weeks back, on a Wednesday, once again, I got abandoned;  Hone Alone while my wife joined her friends for lunch @ ‘Bhatinda’.
This time however, I was left with half a tumbler of milk to make my own Chai and a stack of freshly made Adais (dal dosa) !! But no Avial. Only Kissan Ketchup for touch-up (thottu-kara-thakku).

Adai-Avial  = an awesome mouth watering experience !!

And for that most authentic meal of Adai-Avial, you must drive all the 410 kms. up to Kumbakonam Bus Stand and eat at any of those small restaurants where a person (mostly a woman) would serve hot Adais right from her smoking tava.
And if you have a sweet tooth, then add a few sizzling hot sweet Paniyarams (a south Indian version of a muffin) to your meal.
Then top it off with the famous piping hot Kumbakonam degree Coffee !!

Coming back to SP and A2001, ,  I had the entire house to myself – blissfully peaceful!

So I thought up on this one..

Most Corporates have a Vision, a Mission and a Value Statement.

And I drew up a Vision and Mission statement for myself.

My Vision :

Every house in Sobha Palladian will have one of my Snake Plants on their window sill !

And the bookshelf in every home here will contain one book gifted by me!!

And my Mission:

Make all this happen in 5 year's time!

Looks do-able and I am already way past the 10  % mark!

Gifting snake plants is easy.  

(Snake plant = Sanseveria = mother-in-law's tongue.)

Preparing snake plants requires on an average of about 10 minutes of effort.

And another 15 minutes to clean up the mess and wash my hands .

I choose mid sized healthy plants from the huge bunch in the big pots.  
Harvest them, trim the roots and clean them well.

Then prepare the potting soil.
One third parts each of coco peat, organic compost and red soil.
And if I feel generous, I add a fist full of perlite granules also.
And I mix them slowly. And take the extra time to mix them with my bare hands and feel the semi dry soil trickle down through the gaps between my fingers. The soil must feel just right.

And then I re-pot the snake plants and run them through two rinse and dry cycles over a week  before they are ready for gifting. And I have  ready stock of white plastic pots and black trays to hold the water seepage.

Gifting Books is a bit complicated and challenging.

To people I know, its easier. And my wife Jayanthi always comes up with a week’s advance notification of their birthdays and wedding anniversaries. Thanks to Facebook and Geni tree.

Then comes the most important task of browsing thru the net, checking out the various titles. Sometimes I take the easier route of choosing a book that we have recently read. The only caveat being that the targeted recipient may have read it too. Like it happened recently.

And at times I have gone down the memory lane and picked up a book that I had read 20 years back. And that has worked well too.

And there is always that difficult choice to make – fiction or non fiction. Philosophy or religion. History or Humor, Indian or non Indian authors.  

Wish my mind worked like the Amazon algorithm and comes up with instant suggested titles.

And my intent is to give that one book which they will enjoy reading and remember to come back and thank me. And nothing is more satisfying than someone calling me and saying he/she thoroughly enjoyed reading the book that I had gifted.  
Feels great, Makes my day !

And those folks I don not know well, its tougher.
A lot of guess work, and I need to use my analytical skills. And consult Jayanthi before I go on my 'browse and search' operation on the web.

So what type of folks they are – serious types, happy go lucky, intense in their discussions, spiritual, philosophical, etc. etc !!!

Do they like travel, watch the  Australia Master-chef? The latest movies they have seen.   And try to remember what we saw in their book shelf / in their showcases.

Are they the Ken Follet or the Fritjoff Kafka types ??

Percy Jackson or PG Wodehouse ?? Michael Crichton or Milan Kundera ??

John Grisham or Graham Greene ?? Richard Bach or Richard Dawkins ??

Mitch Albom or  Gabriel Marquez ?? Somerset Maugham or Sue Grafton ??

Arundhati Roy or Ayn Rand ?? Louis L'Amour or Lobsang Rampa ??

And when I cannot decide, I come down to  those ever popular  ones – the Palace of Illusions, The White Tiger , Forty  Rules of Love !! 

Or better still, two Asterix comix + a Cadbury's fruit & nut bar!!

And in spite of all this due diligence, I am sure I have gone wrong many times . And my carefully chosen book would be languishing in some dusty corner of a book shelf or happily gifted away again to another unsuspecting birthday person!

And I will not blame them. For I still have a bunch of unread books in my shelf. Some I have not even touched, and many that I have given up half way. But I am very sure that one day I will just pick up one of these and finish reading them in one sitting! 

It has happened in the past. And I have called up the person who had given me and thanked him for the wonderful book that I enjoyed reading so much. And most times I have drawn a blank for the end of the other line.

Books and gardening are two hobbies that unite people together instantly.  Much like Indian cricket and national politics. And cars and bikes. And travel & mixing cocktails.

And folks exhibit varying degrees of passion.

I remember once I was extremely critical and almost ridiculed a book and its author, a different interpretation of a mythology based Indian epic. And what ensured was a torrent of objections & war of words. And I  almost lost a friend in the process.  

Not surprising, each author, each reader and each book is written & read from  very different viewpoints. And the same book that I had abandoned midway as it was dull and boring a couple of years back would turn out to be extremely engaging later.

Plants and gardening is different. Most times the conversation in these group are centered around getting rid of pests, organic pesticides and the eternal hunt for a good maali (gardener). And once in a while there will be flutter of activity on Orchid sales or a bunch of photos on new blooms. The recent Sunflower blooms all around our walking pathway was so beautiful!!

I am a casual gardener and love potting around getting the seats of my half pants dirty and my hands and nails grimy as well.

I am not into vegetable gardens – I do not grow spinach in green pots on my kitchen window sills, nor tomatoes nor green chilies for that matter.  Curry leaf (Kadi Patta) and mint are the only exception.

And I am not a flower person either. So no roses or hibiscus or buttercups in my garden.
There is just one gundu-malli (Jasmine) shrub that wakes ups once in a few days and delivers a few white buds. And my wife picks them with great care and places them, with great reverence, in front of the small  Sai Baba figure  in our puja room.

And what I grow is what grows best in my garden.  Simple Newton’s principle !

And those that grow in my garden well are those that I propagate in multiple pots. And these are hardy plants that refuse to die and those that require low maintenance.

So snake plant is an obvious choice. You just cut one healthy section  and stick it two inches into potting soil and you are assured that in 4 months time a small pup will emerge close to it .

Money plants too. And they are also easy to steal, and those stolen ones grow best!

And a few succulent cactus that will never trouble you if you do not go over board watering them.

Added to these are a few sturdy crotons , a Christmas tree that stopped growing beyond 50 inches and two papaya saplings. Ashtey!!
And with  these I have no headaches of aphids or any other garden pests.

Occasional  watering  and a lot of touching and talking is all I do to make them grow healthy and green !!

So the next time you see me talking to myself in my garden, I am not on a con-call talking into a Bluetooth device.  

Its the plants that are listening to me!!

And at times I notice them nod in agreement too !!

Krish..