Nobody knows when, where, how, why something happens but if you have been thinking of doing something for quite a long time, it happens! jus like that!
Chaturagiri(C.G) trip was one such! I always envied my aunt who at 60 have trekked to almost all holy places(including kailash manasarovar and amarnath). when she shared her experiences when she first went to chaturagiri its been in my hotlist since then! but time paved way only now! its a huge flashback behind c.g but let me come to the real story.We were supposed to go with a good friend of mine, but unfortunately we could not make it up. We never expected we would go the following week itself!(now read my first line again:)
The following week happenend to be a poornima fortunately. We coordinated with Mr.Sivasangu who is doing "anna daanam" every poornima and amavasya day in chaturagiri!! He has been doing this past 35 yrs!! i was awed at his service right away.
We were asked to be in vatraayirupu the previous night. We got down in srivi station, visited the vadabathrasayanar temple,caught a bus to vatrayirupu, a town 20kms west fo srivilliputhur (any bus to kaansapuram will stop in vatraayirupu..there are buses frequently available from srivilliputhur busstand). it was almost 1900 hrs when we took the bus to vatraayirupu. we were eagerly waiting to get down vatraayirupu..may be for that reason or something..the stop
never came..ppl say."water never boils when one keeps looking at it"..:)
F-I-N-A-L-L-Y..the stop came. It was dark by then.Mr.Sivasangu was very kind enough to pick us up from the busstop and take us to his ashram. (i must not miss to mention here about his hosptitable nature and his simplicity (in both appearance and attitude) all along our bus journey i was wondering..how will such a great person appear..probably he ll be wearing a white dhothi,jibba..some rudraksha adoring his neck..nice vibhuthi pattai..and may be a mel thundu..! but to my awe he looked nowhere close to it!
Sivasangu uncle..
we were of the notion that we were the only blessed souls going to c.g the next day with him but i almost saw some 25 pairs of slippers in his verandah!! wow! it was like a house where some big function is going to happen! :) we received a warm reception and were served yummy food. I was already very tired and was even thinking that i would better sleep the whole of next day without going! (one can imagine what a sleep-buff i am!) i was too tired for introductions! (imagine 25 ppl!!!) so i found a nice cosy corner..voila..here i go ...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!The clock struck 2200.
All i know after that was some disturbing noise all around and all lights on..that too 4.30 in the morning! The place literally looked like the fammily in the movie "home alone" running hither n thither! i got up, still half-asleep..eyes half opened..brushed teeth half closed..drank half a glass of coffee..!! and posed like a good kid!:)
everyone was ready!! Thats when i knew there 2 big families who had cpme all the way from sathyamanagalam and salem for the poornima celebrations. I had nothing to tell them abt me..my mom had done all the introduction part herself! :) The salem family started for the trek earlier to us. sivasangu uncle promised to join us later since he had to get some cooking material for annadanam. so we joined the sathyamangalam family and we were totally 11! they 9 we 2!
we all accomodated in an auto(fare 75) and an amby. vroooooom! it was five past six when we started to the foothill of c.g (taanipaarai arch). soon the game of overtaking started!:) but an amby is an amby so no wonder our auto was left behind. All along, the way reminded me of the
same podigai i rejoice everyday in our backyard! cold morning breeze blew hard on my face..frankly i woke up fully only then. mango groves on one side and the mystic podigai on the other. i wonder why one gets so much attracted towards nature. have u felt sad by seeing a flower? never..cos all it offers us is only joy for the soul and honey for our tastebuds..and birds..we see them and get inspired..and mountains..teaches us how to face challenges..comprising of such varied creations..nature is a harmony by itself! a wisdom of itself! a kingdom of itself! ok back to our auto..i must say the auto guy was playing some melodious ilayaraja songs..imagine!!! i felt the foothill(adivaaram) never came! :) but every journey has to end..and our destination aslo came!
we all got down, grabbed our bags from the dicky..we made sure we packed less..its always better to carry less in such treks! i took my camera out and hung it around my neck. i wanted to look like some natgeo adventure photographer..efforts failed or succeeded..god knows!
so here we go..! it was 0630 hrs! 11 of us..2 old uncles (both of them nearly 70 yrs)..3 middle-aged uncles..3 aunties (including my mom :) 2 teenagers(meenakshi and sathish)
and one kiddo..err tahts me(:D)
I was very happy since im trekking almost after 2 yrs after parvada malai(also read parvadha malai travellogue down beneath!)..went snapping pics like a mad just out of asylum..cos wherever i turned it tempted me to trap inside my petty camera!! (took some 167 pics totally!!)
initially it was plain..with trees on both sides. the stretch would have lasted for almost 1 km or more..
then we came to "thanga kaali temple and aaseervadam vinayagar temple" (hehe..what a name!
so we received his aaseervadams and kept moving..there was a sharp right and there was pechiamman and karupasami temple to the right..
we sought their aaseervaadams also..as we would have move few more yards it became rocky..(well it has to!) mummy found a nice water pool and we wished to spend some time in the waters..one uncle is climbing for the 3rd time so he promised us there are more exciting things like this more uphill...so we moved on..click click..im still clicking pics..it became more steeper..sometime later we crossed a brook..looks like duting floods its difficult to cros.. for there were chains for support. it was exciting. i dint cross the brook..instead climbed over the rocks and showed all of them.."See i didnt wet my slippers! " (kids do like that..) from this region does the real trek start.
we walked,climbed,stumbled, jumped, almost did all sorts of tricks to save us from falling off. i had a feeling "climb a hill is almost like meditation..infact the best mediation eyes open! " you allow your mind to wander for a second..lo ! you ll get free transportation service to some distant land!!
we would have walked a few more steps..watching the tall mountains, dense trees, naughty monkeys..chitchatting! we would not have crossed 2 kms i felt damn hungry. unfortunately we didnt carry any eatables with us. Jus then we found a seperate pathway leading to the "gorakkar" cave.
Gorakkar cave
the brook near gorakkar cave
Gorakkar was a great saint. A few notes about him
"
Sree Gorakkar actually resided mostly in Kollimalai. (Kollimalai placed in Namakkal district of
Tamilnadu) He holds an outstanding place among the Sidhas. He prepared live medicines having longevity of several thousands of years to His credit. He possessed eight mystic powers in full shape. With opium (GAanja) as the basic herb, He was able to prepare medicines capable of curing diseases. Thus, the herb opium specially called as Gorakkar herb (mooli). He used His medicines for four kinds of human need namely Vaithyam (curing diseases), Vaatham
(alchemistry), yogam (Divine physical practice) and gnaanam (spiritual knowledge) and imparted its full secrets to the world. "
There in the gorakkar cave i saw a saintly lady in safron robe. She was having a vessel full of kooozhu(porridge). i peeped into the vessel and asked if she would give me some porridge..she immediately answered.."well this is to eat only..wait! be patient ! "..she immediately took some glasses...washed them in the nearby brook..and porridge was served!! heaven on earth!! :)I had around 2 glasses! but later realised that i should not have drank so much. it makes the climb more harder. It was infact tedious from then. we were also surprised to see sivasangu uncle join us at that time..
Fortunately Mr sun was missing..it was a very pleasant weather..!
we walked a few yards..I again felt hungry!!!! :) i went begging for eatables from the sathyamangalam family. i got few loafs of bread..with "jam" fruits..biscuits..idlis..what not!! munch munch..i go! 
then we came across rettai(twin) lingam
A very saintly looking person crossed us. he introduced himself as an ortho specialist from mannarkudi..as the discussion went we also came to know he sings very well..we were very fortunate to listen to his divine rendition and get more energised :)
ill try to post the video i recorded !
There were many brooks..streams..small ponds! we filled our bottles..
i was a bit hesitant to drink it first :)
we were told that we have almost crossed half way..(the total trek was 11 kms!! they said)..something kept us moving..i was fully loaded ..! with bread and biscuits filled till my throat..:) the weather was nice..stomach is full..what more does one need to feel sleepy..!! what kept me going was the picturesque beauty around and my sweet camera..which helped me to keep me awake!!
click...
click..
click..
"hey watch out.." some one shouted.."steep rocks ahead"
It was already 1000 hrs..we finally came to such a point that we had to take few mins rest and then proceed..then we again continued to walk..
we spotted vanadurgai temple in a few yards..sat there for a while again while others worshipped..again left right left right.........
vanadurga
one of them kept asking (defly not me!) "இன்னும் எவ்ளோ தூரம்? இன்னும் எவ்ளோ தூரம்?"
we heard one of them cry " hey thats it! we have reached pilavadi karuppu!"
This is the famous "eNNai kinaru" (oil well, beneath the stone ) - supposed to have magical oil which can convert anything into gold!!) guarded by dieties headed by karupu sami
i thought we have reached but then later came to know the final summit is still 2 more kms from that place. There was a pond like thing with water flowing from one end. we decided to refresh by a nourishing bath and then continue ... we took a refreshing for almost an hour..got karupaswami's blessings..and then proceeded..
it was no more steep after that..somewhat manageable
we were eager to reach the summit. Sooner i saw a something on a board hung on a tree "சதுரகிரி" (chaduragiri)..
Alt ~ 4000ft
voila! we reached the sundaramahalingam temple !
as we entered the arc..to the left there is "sundaramoorthy " shrine, Lord Shiva installed by the great sage Agasthiyar. (due to the strict poosari i could not take pictures. :))
Later further ahead its sundaramahalingam shrine. A very divine place surrounded by the seven serene hills of chaturagiri. The lingam of sundaramahalingam is inlied to 40 degrees to the left. It is said that some king kicked the lingam and he got inclined like that. Also some cow seems to have done abhishekam to the "swayambu" lingam those days. The next was sandana mahalingam. We took a deviation and proceeded towards sandana mahalingam shrine.
On our way we came across many annadaana chathrams, of which one was of our sivasangu uncles. i raaaaaaaaaaan inside and landed in safe place! I told myself "sandana mahalingam is not going to go anywhere..let me meet him in the evening !" Others followed..we ate hearts content in the annadaana chathram and what next! we all slept beneath 2 gigantic cotton trees..
i heard a distant roar..i thought may be a bear is approaching..nah! someone was snoring !
There is this stalapuranam which i would like to share here ..
"Once at Kailash, Lord Siva and Parvathi were worshipped by several saints, ganas, siddhars and sanyasis. When everybody made pradakshinam to both one Maharishi called "Bringi" made pradakshinam to Lord Siva only, ignoring Parvathi. When Parvathi asked Lord Siva as to why Bringi Maharishi did not pay his tributes to her, Lord Siva explained that those who have left everything and think only about "Moksha House" will perform duties that way and at the end they will join me and those who wish to enjoy "Ishta Kamya Moksha" will worship her and enjoy everything in life. Since everybody wanted to enjoy "Ishta Kamya Moksha" in life they paid their tributes to both and this Bringi wanted only "Moksha", he paid tributes only to Lord Siva. On hearing this Parvathi Devi cursed Bringi Maharishi and he lost all flesh from his body since flesh is sakthi form. Bringi Maharishi was unable to stand without sakthi and fell down. On seeing this Lord Siva, to protect his devoted/realised disciple, threw a stick with which, the Maharishi walked away.
On seeing this, Parvathi decided that if only she become "Ardha Nari " on left side of Siva, she will be able to achieve her goals and thought to do a pooja/thavam/penance to appease Lord Siva to grant her the position. Parvathi Devi left Lord Siva and went to find a suitable place and on reaching the hill she sat under the shades of "Kallala Tree" and started her meditation. The tree was near to "Sattanadha Muni Siddhar" cave. There was no rain for nearly 12 years in that place and on the presence of Goddess, the entire place flowered back with greenary. On seeing the Goddess, the Muni went and received her by paying tributes and enquired about her arrival at the place. On hearing the message, the Muni arranged everything and Parvathi Devi made a Prathishtanam of Linga with Sandalwood Paste. Goddess worshipped Lord Siva with flowers, mantras and meditation. On being appeased, Lord Siva appeared on his "Rishaba Vahana" and accepted the demand of Goddess. On their return Lord Siva proclaimed that since the Siva Lingam was worshipped by Parvathi Devi, it should be worshipped only by Maharishis only and those who wish for "Kamya Loka" should not do pooja to the lingam. And if they do so, they may stand to hate "Ishta Kamya Loka" and will become "Moksha Desired" person and ultimately join him. Lord Siva blessed everybody and went away. After that, Satta Natha Muni worshipped the "Santhana Lingam" and "Chanangi Muni" followed suit.
It is also said in Siva Puranam that the four Vedas joined together and formed this mountain and that is why it is called Chathur(ved)agiri.
In the evening, we went to the sandanamahalingam shrine!
"
சொற்றுணை வேதியன் சோதி வானவன்பொற்றுணை திருந்தடி பொருந்தக் கைதொழக்கற்றுணை பூட்டியோர் கடலிற் பாய்ச்சினும்நற்றுணை ஆவது நமச்சிவாயவே "
- திருநாவுக்கரசர்
There was a sattanada muni cave .. 18 sidhars, sandanamahalingam and lord muraga, vinayagar, sandanamahadevi, navagrahas..! All devotees were awaiting for the abhishekam. I settled for a tall place(not a tree!) so that i get a good view. It was a pleasant evening. Best time for meditation !
Some devotees were singing! some were sitting eyes closed..i was moved to a different world of tranquility. The abhishekam was divine. The moon lit up the skies and posed as if it too were enjoying His grace. The Poornima moon was a delight to see. The Moon nodded "hey stop staring at me and look at the Lord!"
err..ok..so where was I? The abhishekam was over..the rejoicing crowd went to collect prasadams and blessings.Prasadam was yummy sarkarai-pongal full of ghee! I never ever tasted such a nice sweet pongal in my life!
We came back to our spacious chathram, ate and started booking our place to sleep.We were given a special cozy room(heaven!!). I grabbed a sack from nowhere and got into it ! [arivujeevi:D]
I must mention here the service done by Sivasangu uncle and his assistant Nallathambi. It was almost midnight! i was still hearing sangu uncle calling the pilgrims for having food.." ஐய்யா வாங்கையா..சாப்ட்டு போங்க" While we were peacefully sleeping they were busy cooking and serving the hungry and tired pilgrims! that too right from the morning till 0200 hrs late in the night..!
truly ..
" அன்ன தானமே அருவாய் நிற்கும் என் அப்பனை காணும் இயல்பு வழி !" - ஸ்ரீ பிரும்ம ஜோதி "
It was morning!
we heard sweet chirpings of the birds and restelss pilgrims getting ready for the Lords darshan.
The water was chill!
and yea by the way there are no toilets available there!!But they are building one soon..So........)
We got hot steaming black coffee! very refreshing for that cold morning! We almost kept chatting till 10 am while we felt that we might create nuisance for other prillgrims if we dint take bath. A localite showed us a nearby brook! Took a bath and appeared for lunch..! sambar and rasam ! wow! hold on! there is payasam too!! :) Great lunch!
Some of us wanted to go to the thavasi paarai(further top, considered to a be good place for meditators) while others were tired.
So this time we were not able to venture out thavasi paarai.
Nallathanbi entertained us with stories of chaturagiri, his 14 yrs experiences acquaintance with the holy place, many encounters and lot more. By then evening coffee was ready! sip sip..again visit both the temples..relish the pooja, meditate, sing songs..enjoy the moon! come back to the den! we didnt do anything extraordinary during the stay there other than this ! For me jus "BEING" in such an environment was extraordinary..sans TV, net, cell phone rings, buses, cars, noise, smoke, pollution !!!! How far have come from our usual habitats and environment..To my amaze whenever i sat for meditation there I could bring that silence and tranquil almost immediately!
It was night again but pilglrims kept coming, the food kept steaming, and hot hot food was being served. The huge has almost full. I again grabbed a sack and started my journey to my world of dreams! Early the next morning we were all instructed to get up early and start our journey down hill. "Neeraja did u hear that?" someone asked!!
Next day it was a bit sunny. Already other pilgrims in the hall started packing their things..we started becoming ready! we had our steaming black coffee and started off!
The trek downhill was a bit tedious as it was very steep at certain points. One really needs to be careful if you are a beginner.
I again felt hungry. Luckily some passerby gave me mangoes.. somehow managed to eat it all alone saving the mango from the monkeys..mango in one hand..camera in the other!! imagine!!
We were almost close to thaaniparai..while we spotted a nice place for bath..Others rejoiced while i went clicking these naughty monkeys..
And finally reached taanipaarai!!
Waah! I just realised i have written too much enough to test the patience of any man on earth! Readers please bear with me! It is my genuine wish that nature lovers, devotees of Lord shiva or simply whoever needs a break from routine work please visit chaturagiri..poornima/amavasya most comfortable! I stumbled upon this site some few mins back..looks interesting www.chathuragiri.com.
In case you need more information about travel/accomodation/other details pl contact me for sivasangu uncles cell no.
Thank you for patient reading!
திருச்சிற்றம்பலம்
No wonder the region of masuria is called the "land of thousand lakes"! these lakes are of glacial origin, giving them some kind of a circular shape.
cormorants are rare bird species, that feed around one kg of fish a day also threatening the fish number in the lake. it is still an environmental problem to ponder upon.
where the waters penetrates through the town in small channels, more like the backwaters in allepey! probably my kerelite friend would have felt nostalgic :P.. we planned for some canoeing too, but was later dropped because of the weather! we rech tajty around evening.
the FAMOUS CRANE of gdasnk seen in the picture(the building with the funny roof)...
