Golu in Mylai Karpagambal Koil

In spite of being a Chennaite, my visit to Mylai Karpagambal temple has been very rare, may be once or twice in a year.

From childhood, all of us in the family tried to avoid temple visits on festival days because of the crowd. My sister Jayashree is an exception. She has been making it a point to visit temples on festival days so that she can experience the festivities and enjoy the grandeur! During this Navarathri from day four, she has been suggesting that I go with her to Karpagambal temple on Vijayadasami. To tempt me, she mailed me a few photographs of the Golu in the temple taken by her friend.
Yesterday being a holiday for Vijayadasami, we started for the temple around 630 pm. The auto driver refused to enter the maada veedhi as it was so crowded. We got down at the beginning of the road and started walking down. With great difficulty we kept looking forward and continued walking, avoiding the temptation of the many dolls on sale either side of the road. We decided to have a look at the doll shops only after visiting the temple. As we entered the temple, we were taken aback by the queue standing for general darshan. Luckily, tickets were being given for special darshan and we could enter the sanctum in two minutes. Ambal was looking beautiful! As we had special darshan tickets, we were asked to go round the sannidhi and stand in the special queue. After about 10-12 minutes we reached the sannidhi again and were allowed to sit in front of the deity. I thanked Jayashree then and there! Such was the darshan! We could see the Goddess so close and sit for about 3-4 minutes in front of her. Very satisfied and happy, we proceeded to Kapaleeswarar sannidhi. Again the ticket helped and we were able to sit in front of the Lingam and have a good darshan. I realised that the size of the Lingam in this temple had never registered during my earlier visits. The alangaram was simple but very impressive! We came out and our eyes went in the direction of the Golu there but we forced ourselves to complete the pradhakshinam before going near the Golu. We visited the Annamalayar and Unnamulaiamman sannidhi, Ganapathi sannidhi, Sthala vriksham (punnai maram) with the sannidhi of Ambal in the form of mayil doing puja to Siva lingam, Navagraha sannidhi and Singara Velar sannidhi. Again at Singara Velar sannidhi, we could sit in front of the Lord and have a relaxed darshan.
We then had the darshan of Urchavamurthy of Lord Shiva and Ambal decked with thousands of flowers of different colours. There were about six mirrors in front of the Urchavamurthy in six different pillars that people can see the reflections over and over. On the four sides of each of the pillars were dolls of different Gods and Goddesses.

Now we went in the direction of the Golu. What a sight it was! This year’s speciality is Ashtadik Golu.  The idols were kept in eight directions. There was a long queue in front of the Golu and we joined it. We did not know which side to look! Hope to briefly describe the idols in each dhikku:

1. Rajarajeswari, followed by different forms of Ambal - Meenakshi, Kamakshi, Visalakshi and what not!

2. Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswathi followed by Vadivudai amman, Kodi idai amman and Thiruvudai amman. On ground level, a beautifully decorated ratham with seer varisai

3. Saraswathi in the top step followed by Lord Shiva in meditation, Natarajar, two idols of Adhi sankarar, Mahavishnu with Lakshmi, Kolkata Kali.

4. This step had beautiful idols depicting the story of Gnanappaal given to Thirugnanasambandar with idols of Shiva, Parvathi feeding milk to Gnanasambandar with Nandhi nearby. On the lower level was Dattathreyar and Mahalakshmi followed by Thiruvannamalai set.

5. Lord Shiva with his family on top step, followed by many idols of the Lord on many Vahanas and then Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva with their consorts. Lower level was Lord Shiva in different forms. On the last step were Chettiar Chettichi with a variety of vegetables on one side and their north Indian counterpart with choppu on the other side.

6. Next was the side with my favourite God – Murugan. On top was Arumugan with pannirukaikal (with a mirror behind so that one can see all the six faces), followed by six idols of Murugan as he gives darshan in his Aru padai veedugal. Next step had Murugan with Valli, Deivanai on thogai viritha mayil. Next was Bala Murugan with crown and vel. He was looking so adorable that I felt like lifting and hugging him! On one side Soorapadman transformed into a tree, seval and mayil and a set with pilgrims climbing the hill with the gopuram on the hill and the other side Avvai and Murugan in Suttapazham/Sudathapazham story and Saravana poigai kaatchi. Below the Bala murugan, there was a ratham set with pilgrims

7. Medium sized idols of Annamalayar in full alangaram with Unnamulaiamman in nine yards sari. I kept on looking at the beauty of Amman for 2-3 minutes. This side had Ashtalakshmi, Dakshinamurthy and sets depicting Lord Shiva’s thiruvilayadal, Kanakadhara set etc.

8. A huge Ganapathy surrounded by different forms of the same God. Next step was Viswaroopadarshanam of Mahavishnu with Arjuna at his feet. Such a detailed sculpture! Around the Viswaroopam was Dasavatharam with a ratham and another Ganapathy in the centre.

With great reluctance we came out and started to have a look at the doll shops. Such lovely dolls! Prices were exorbitant and we could not bargain much. We just satisfied ourselves with window shopping and went back home!

Adventure

Adventure in Hong Kong

When we won Air India tickets to Hong Kong, I was ecstatic but never had an idea that it was going to be so adventurous. The first three days went off well with good local sightseeing, trip to China and a day in Disneyland. On Day Four, we went on a trip to Ocean Park. The bus had tourists not only from our hotel but from other hotels as well and on our way to Ocean Park, our guide spoke non-stop. His talking was a lullaby for us as at 800 am HK time, we were feeling quite sleepy! Finally I heard him saying that if we do not wait in the place shown by him in the evening, he will come and pick us up the next day. We also smiled at this joke of his like everyone else and got down from the bus to enter the park.

Only after entering, we understood how massive it was. We checked the map and noticed that the famous Dolphin Show was at regular intervals of two hours. We planned to watch the show at 3 pm as it was on the ground level close to the entrance we had come through.

We then proceeded to different levels via the escalators which ran up to 3-4 levels very high from the ground and had a great time going on the rides, having a look at the various aquatic animals like sharks, sea-lions, whales and many other kinds of fish in their natural surroundings. There were not only aquatic animals but a couple of Pandas and many birds too, all in their natural habitats. Some rides were very nice but some were really scary. I refused to get into the mine train, but Ranga was very keen to go and had good fun. I enjoyed the ride on the Ocean Park tower which revolved from a lower level to the higher level at a medium speed giving us a full view of the Ocean Park. I also loved the cable car ride by which we came back to the entrance to go to the Dolphin Show.

Sharp at 2.30 pm we proceeded to the show with a huge coke in hand and found good seats. The show was great and the dolphins looked so cute. They did all the antics the trainer made them do and it was a pleasure to watch them. The show was for about 30 minutes and when it ended we came straight to the entrance praising ourselves for being prompt as we were the first ones to come and wait for the bus. Little did we realise that we will be the only ones to wait there! 4.10 pm saw us checking with the may I help you counter? about the bus. The people there were very helpful as they allowed us to make a call to the agency. Only after the call we understood that we were supposed to wait at the other end of the park. Even if we were allowed to enter the park (only we had already used the ticket to enter once) it would take a minimum of 30 minutes to cross the distance and reach the other end. We considered taking a taxi and reaching the other side by road, but it was already 4.30 pm and we remembered what the guide had said and panicked.
 

As we were wondering how to reach the hotel as taxis were too expensive to travel such a long distance, the Help Counter came to our rescue once again. They suggested that we take a bus to Hong Kong city and then take the ferry from there to the hotel. This gave us some confidence as by walking on the first two days from the hotel to the ferry, we were a bit familiar with Kowloon area. We got a bus within 10 minutes and were seated comfortably. As soon as we sat, I opened the detailed map of the city which we were given at the hotel and thanked God. I also mentally acknowledged my friend Anil thanks to whom, I had got into the habit of studying maps in detail. I followed the bus route on the map. We reached the city and enquiring once or twice, reached the ferry. After that it was quite simple to find our hotel. Though I felt that it was quite adventurous to find our own way in a strange city, Ranga breathed easy only after we saw the familiar sight of Kimberley Hotel.

Waterbodies of India I

Being a Chennaite, I love our Marina Beach. In fact when we were young, visit to the Beach was our favourite outing. http://sundarivenkatraman.blogspot.com/2009/07/nostalgia-evening-in-marina-beach.html Amma and Paati used to take us all to the Beach from our house in Nungambakkam and Appa would join us there straight from office. The standard meeting place was at the Kannagi statue. At first I was very scared by the huge sheets of waves. I remember my eldest sister Sujatha used to lift me and every time a wave came, she used to bend down and dip my feet in the water. She is 10 years elder to me and must have been about 14-15 years when she did that. I am not sure if I would have had the courage to do such a thing at her age. Thank you Sujatha for introducing me to the beach! Slowly I came to know water was fun and fell in love with it.

My first river bath was in the Thungabhadra. I may have had the chance to have a dip in Cauvery earlier than that, but I do not remember it. About Thungabhadra, we had been to Adoni to my mother’s uncle’s (Kittappa Chittappa) place for summer holidays and went to Mantralayam from there. I actually do not remember the temple now, but I do remember bathing in the river very well. I was about six years old. My parents just made me stand in chest deep water. Appa joked that he could feel a few fishes biting him. I started jumping in the water and wanted to get out immediately as though the small fishes were going to eat me whole!

In 1985, we all went to Patna for my uncle’s (SV Prasad) wedding. Ganga flowing in Patna is called Akanda Ganga as she runs in a very wide path there. It was very nice and pleasant to have a bath here and I realised that I liked river bathing too. After the wedding, our family alone proceeded to Allahabad. Here again we bathed in the Triveni Sangamam. Here, we could very clearly see the colour difference where the Ganga and Yamuna met. River Saraswathi is supposed to come from underneath and invisible. This trip was really enjoyable and I would like to make a separate blog on this North India trip. Our next stop was at Varanasi where we bathed in the Ganga on 2-3 days. In spite of so much of junk being thrown in, the river remains pure!

After Varanasi, Appa took us all to Rameswaram. On the way to Rameswaram, we went to Thiruchendur. What a sea it was! We went in for a dip but many of us fell into the water as the sea was very rough, but it was great fun.

At Rameswaram, the sea is very calm, almost like backwaters and only during high tide, it is a little wavy. So it was almost like bathing in a river. We all enjoyed it so much! I am very happy to have visited Rameswaram four times so far. The last trip was with my husband, mother-in-law, brothers-in-law and their families and was real fun. Twice we went to the sea for bathing and both the times it was at high tide and very wavy.

Dhanushkodi – what a beautiful place! Out of the four visits to Rameswaram so far, I have been to Dhanushkodi thrice. Each time this place looked different. My second visit was after the tsunami and I could see that the sea had come way inside eating into the shore. At Dhanushkodi we could see the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean joining at a point. During the latest trip, we performed some pujas there and had the opportunity to stay for a longer period. While the men were busy with the puja, I was very happily walking on the beach collecting shells. The kids and I were very keen to go as much as possible into the sea and at one point we all just sat inside the sea and enjoyed the waves crashing on us. As it was morning, the weather was mildly sunny and the water was quite cool. I really love the sea here and would like to visit again.

On my third trip to Rameswaram which was a package trip with about 100 odd people, we all went to Devipattinam. I have heard about this place first in Kalki’s Alaiosai and then from my sister Sujatha. The Navagraham here is said to have been worshipped by Lord Rama on his way to Lanka. The uniqueness of this Navagraham is that during high tide, they are completely submerged in the water and only during low tide, can we do puja or pradakshinam. After having bath in the sea here, we did the perambulations around the Navagraham in waist-deep water.

Though Kumbakonam is my hometown, I have bathed in the Cauvery only once during my visit to Nallur with Appa.

Hope to have a bath in Cauvery once again and also visit the other Holy Rivers of India!

Miss U Chintu

Chintu

For a long time, I did not realise the love I had for animals. None of us at home had any aversion towards animals, but with a huge family, there was no question of a pet at home at all!

My eldest sister, Sujatha, has a few dogs at home. These are quite huge and though they are quite friendly, I get a bit scared by their size.

When my third sister Jayashree took in a stray dog, I realised that I liked Princy very much. In fact, I have become so close to Princy, that nowadays when she sees me, she wags her tail so much that Jayashree keeps saying that with so much of wagging, the tail may fall off! As soon as I go nearby, she jumps on me and licks my hand.

For a short while, my second sister, Sundari, had a cat in their house in Bombay and it was a friendly one.

My eldest sister-in-law, Saraswathi Manni feeds a cat which comes home 4-5 times to her door and calls for attention. Manni does not allow the cat inside the house and the cat also understands her terms and conditions perfectly. Only I try to go near her and touch her, but she shies away.

A couple of months back, my second brother-in-law, Nagaraj Anna brought a 45-day-old Labrador from his friend’s house. I went to see the puppy only two days after he came. He was such a lovable baby! I was there for more than an hour and half the time he was asleep. I put him on my lap and he went to sleep there. He was so small and cuddly. Even my husband, who does not have a great love for animals, was fascinated by him. He had such lovely grey eyes. Anna and family named him Chintu.

The following weeks saw us making frequent visits to Anna’s house to see Chintu. Each time we could make out that he had grown up a little more and had become more and more adorable. He was growing rapidly and became too heavy to lift after 3-4 weeks. His eyes also changed to such a lovely shade of honey brown.

He loves people so much. He is crazy about any visitor and ready to jump, lick and also mildly bite them. He barks so sweetly. When my sister-in-law, Indra Manni, scolds him for biting people, it is great to see him objecting (by barking) to her scolding. Anna says that there is a constant fight between Manni and Chintu and he is the peacemaker between them. Though Chintu loves both Karthik and Krishna (Anna’s sons), Krishna is his favourite and he listens to whatever he says. Krishna also allows him to do all the jumping, licking, biting and playing that he wants. He is allowed to roam around the house freely except the kitchen and he has a great time playing around. He hates to be alone and loves having many people paying constant attention to him. It is a lovely sight to see him waiting to greet you when you enter the house.

Yesterday Anna gave us the sad news that he had to give away Chintu to his friend as the people living in the neighbouring flat were objecting to having a dog in the building. Others in the family were too upset to even talk to us. Can’t blame them, my husband and I also got so upset!

Good bye Chintu, hope you have a great life in your new family!

My visit to Temples - Part V

Kailasanathar Kovil, Kanchipuram

I had the chance to visit this temple only on my fourth trip to Kanchipuram.

This trip was with my mother in law, sister in law (Saraswathi Manni) and niece (Shwetha). Manni and Shwetha were planning the trip and I got a chance to join them.

First we went to Kamakshi Amman temple, Ekambareswarar temple and then to Kailasanathar temple. In my earlier visits I had been to Kamakshi temple, Ekambareswar temple and a few other temples, but this was my first visit to Kailasanathar temple.

It seemed to be away from the buzz of the town and looked more like a tourist spot minus the crowd. There were a few shops selling assorted stuff on the left and on the right side was the temple. The first impression I had of the temple was – oh, this reminds me of Mammallapuram (another favourite place) The temple had Pallava stamp all over. There was a board mentioning that it is maintained by the archaeological survey of India as a monument, and what a monument it is! The architecture is GRAND. All structures are made out of limestone and typical Pallava style of work. So many statues, pillars and intricate carving! It was built by Rajasimha Pallava (Narasimha Pallava II)

I would have liked to spend more time there but we were on a half a day trip to the town and on a tight schedule.

We went inside the sanctum and there was lone Shivalingam. It is a huge Lingam with stripes on it. Instead of the usual path for pradakshinam, there was a small entrance on either side of the Lingam. Manni told me that one has to bend and crawl inside the entrance on the left and then the path becomes large enough for one to walk around and again at the exit on the right side, a crawl. This signifies the birth and death cycle – if you go inside and come out, you are in a new janam and your earlier sins are washed away! Only a few people ventured the crawl, I definitely wanted to try but was a little scared because of my size. The kurukkal in the temple encouraged me by saying that size does not matter, even small made people may find it difficult to go in, just pray to God and get in. I managed it, went in and walked around the path. Crawling out was easier than crawling in. I really loved the experience and have been ever since describing it to sisters and friends about it.

Thank you Manni and Shwetha for taking me there!

Next trip to Kanchipuram, I hope to spend more time in the town and especially this temple to study the architecture in detail.