I ve been to the Arctic circle..Can you believe it?!!! I cant!

Well im not exagerating ! Its true!

69.5 degree north..Cold breeze swooshiing the whole town of kiruna..the northern most city in Sweden...northern most municipality in the world.. biggest municipality in sweden..hits norway border if you head 130 kms northwest and hits finnish borders 180kms northeasterly...primarily was the native land of sami tribes(lapps..)..

anyways back to the story of how it all happened..(( kiruna took a back seat cos it was too long a way up..but its like a dream now))

initially i wanted to get to the fjords in norway.. http://lightsandshades.blogspot.com/2009/04/its-my-dreammmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.html) ..which is still a dream until now...hope to make it someday..

meanwhile one of my good freind from stockholm happen to give me 4 free tickets on a cruise from stockholm to helsinki.. :D ow what a stroke of luck i felt!..so me and my other 3 freinds planned for a trip to stockholm..helsinki..and me..with my one another crazy friend(NMA) planned for a trip to kiruna from stockholm.

we did a perfect planning .. maps..numbers..contacts..routes...timings...tickets all set!

it was late april..

hopped into a bus to stokholm..a 9 hr bus journey from Lund to stokholm..

reached stockholm(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm) the next day morning 7..cold...but pleasant.. many signs of a light shower but the mere excitement of seeing one of the most butiful capital cities of europe enthused us..we were insanely mad!! :D clicking pictures at every possible place and every possible thing..lol!

the first wise thing we did was to buy a 2-day smart travel card..which enables a free entry in buses, trams and metros..and also many attractions and sites ... (http://beta.stockholmtown.com/en/Information/Buy--Order/The-Stockholm-card/)

so we hopped into this bus to our hostel (chapmanhttp://svenskaturistforeningen.se/en/Discover-Sweden/Facilities-and-activities/Stockholm/Vandrarhem/STF-Hostel-af-Chapman--Skeppsholmen/)..which is a fery converted to a hostel permanenetly stationed near the island of skeppsholmen.... quite exciting huh?

it was a calm , nice locality..very near the royal palace, the old town of gamlastan..and many attractions..

that day's itenerary read..vasa museum, skansen..and coffee at gamlastan in the evening..

(three cheers to gamla stan huh? succccccchhhhaaa butiful taaawn)) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamla_stan...and not to forget the nobel museum..i was in tears almost :D to be in such a place of high dignity..i remember sending post cards of the nobel museum to 2 my most admired resercher freinds..

the next day..it was the cosmonova..inside the stokholm university campus..we went for a 3d movie show on extraterrestrial life..quite exciting..that evening something more interesting awaited us.. we had to catch the cruise to helsinki! it was my frist journey in sea.. so i was pretty excited..infact all of us.. we had reservation B coach..managed our way to the docks.. our bookings were done in a mariner called mariella by the vikingline... http://www.vikingline.fi/index.asp?lang=en

16:45 hrs..

the goegoues mariella..moves her way thru the waters of the baltic.. heading towards the finnish capital city of helsinki...wow what a moment of sheer joy ! :D we were shouting at our top voices in the top most deck along with other fellow passengers.. it was smiles all around!

Next morning.. Helsinki awaits us.

..... To be Continued

Enschede.....F-I-N-A-L-L-Y!!

Reached Holland today morning @ 0535 hrs after a 15 hr long ride from Warsaw-Hannover-Enschede..

Enschede appears more like a semi metropolitan small town "sans" all those old gothic buildings of warsaw.

ITC INTERNATIONAL HOTEL, ENSCEDE (I live in the 7th floor, room 707...the james bond number..lol )

I miss them hmmm! the street in Warsaw old town where we stayed "Krakowskie Przedmieście" was one of those most cherished and butiful str

eets of warsaw. o what do i say! the view from our balconies always filled with bustling life, tourists, renovated old houses (that were damaged during WW II), gothic churches...what not !!! i would strictly recommend readers to go thru this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krakowskie_Przedmieście) .. im really glad to have stayed in that prestigious street.. !

the street of "Krakowskie Przedmieście"

holy cross church, since 15th century!

Also to boast of the presidents palace just 2 blocks away from our hostel..gave us the

opportunity to witness the army,navy,airforce parade practice sessions before his palace..as days passed itbecame a casual sight for us to see the handsome guys practicing their march!

The presidents palace

the university was 5 mins walk from our student hostel...on the same street of "krakowskie...."

Picturesque entrance of univ of Warsaw!

Life in warsaw was lively and took us to a different world with all those old but most elegant, royal buildings!

also the square of the old town is so so close by! besides one also finds the royal theatre.such a butiful square!! many of these places one can easily spot in the movie "the pianist" ( which i happened to watch only in warsaw)

The Old Town was utterly destroyed, like the rest of Warsaw, in the closing phases of the Second World War. Some of the hardest-fought battles of the uprising took place here. Afterwards it was reconstructed with the utmost care. The Royal Castle, which stands over Plac Zamkowy, was the last great landmark to be restored, its rebuilding commencing as late as 1971.

Its so difficult to belive how it has all been reconstructed in such a butiful way! what a wonderuful ambience in the square decorated by many ethnic traditional polish restaurants, cafe. the music of a distant cello or an accordian makes it more pleasing and wish you never leave that place. experience of its own!

Warsaw Old town square

best moment: listening to the lady who plays cello round the corner of the old square!

best buy: amber ring

best spot i liked: corners of the old town..lazily sipping cappucino

best street: obviously the street of "Krakowskie Przedmieście"...where we stayed for 3 weeks! ow cant believe..time flies!

best food: indian restaurant- "buddha" sumptuous lunch aloo bhindi - nan- and biryani..slurp!!!

a funny moment : when the guy who was supposed to tattoo, forgot abt his appointment...i was waiting half an hour in eager and anxiety and returned home with a big frown! :D

Miss you warsaw!

(Experiences from prague, Aushwitz & krakow to be posted soon!)

Nero is learning spanish from Ciro!

Hola!!! im learning spanish again! after a huge break! instead of spending hrs in the bus, snoozing or listening to music...i thought it would be nice to bug my classmate(who is from equidor) to teach me some spanish!

Hopefully i make full use of it!

I have this craze for latin america! their language,their culture, the countries..their dance and music! something really attracts me! I not only wish to visit machupichu(the remains of the incas) in Peru but also try setlling in some of the carribean or s.american countries!

one of my crazy dreams!

Biebrza had everything to offer!

we reached our next destination. it was a village motel fully made of wood...(right from the fork and spoons!)..cosy rooms...as well modern...(but a sick wifi!!...no complains though)and also horses, dogs, and bicycles..!!! bicycles!!!!!!!!!! i mean the really good ones!! did i say how it feels like riding a bicycle on a delightful evening..on the countryside(that too on a fresh polish countryside...filled with lakes, grazing cows..fields..one or two houses here and there, and they call it a "village"...!

me, N and C decided to go on a nice ride for a couple of kms..but then we went more further crossing tiny villages and widely spread grasslands...and finally reached a butiful lake. spent a few hrs enjoying the lake and rode back again to the motel. it was slightly drizzling as if tiny blessings from above. it was like a piece of blackforest cake i must say!!!

(picture courtesy: Nawaraj Shrestha)

Relaxing in Rospuda valley on a summer day!

so, another day of exciting canoeing expedition!

But this time more longer and challenging than wigry river.

"There is the occasional twitter of birdsong, the gentle splash of paddles, the brushing past of the reeds. All the rest is silence." - Thats Rospuda for you. Rospuda valley comprising of the largest wetlands in poland, has unique habitat hosting many rare species of eagles, kingfishers and orchids. the atmosphere is scenic and serene. just the perfect place to unwind and forget the whole world while you go canoeing thru the waters of rospuda. it was a quite a challenge!

we had to trek a km or two to the starting point of canoeing..a calm and relaxing walk in the woods..picking wild strawberries on our way..oh they were so yummy! finally we get to see the butifull rospuda and our guides setting up the canoes..

unlike the previous canoe experince in wigry, rospuda was more deep, speedy waters and at some place there were barks of trees stopping our way, and few places were very narrow and often had sharp turns!

the journey was pretty long. my partner was a forester from the biebrza national park. she was an amateur too. we had to cover few kms of caoeing and it took us around 5 hrs of canoeing (almost!) we had to break for lunch inbetween and enjoy our sandwiches sitting in mid of the wetland forests listening to birds and breezy shades of the huge oak and willows. we canoed till our destination points.. and sat beside a fire place to get a bit warmer(we had wet asses :P) and then again a relaxing trek of abt 3 kms to the bus.

( i have a piece of video of our canoeing..but may be i will upload it later! pls chk this space sooner or later) ..

Day 3 and 4 WIgry national park (NE Poland)

I was thankful for yet another day of excitement and delight! As usual i was not disappointed. we were starting from taity to the wigry national park. it was a unique landscapeof protected area hosting many rare flora and fauna expanding to almost 150 km sq. we

packed our lunch and set off northward. wigry is quite close to the borders of russia and lithuania. we passed thru the famou town of augusto (where the express highway "via balatica" connecting warsaw and helsinki was planing to be built). after a travel of more than 90 mins, we reached the wigry museum, where we got to see many many butiful preserves of rare animals and birds. the vice director of the natioanl park recd us and gave us a brief introduction abt the habitat value of the park. we then set off to the nearby hotel which was situated near a picturesque lake. that evenig, me and my freind spent a few hrs in the dusk by the side of the lake, enjoying the sunset and the happy chirpings of the birds! it was a heavenly experience.

next day we set off to see more inside the natioanl park, kind of a trek inside the forest. we were accompanied by 3 scientists who work for the national park. we saw some rare species of plants and animals. it was great walking in the dense forest. the day became more exciting as we took a toytrain inside the forest and then a horse coach to explore more deep into the forest. o what shall i say! Im lack of adjectives to describe the beauty of the landscape, the ambience in the forest and how i felt! it was indeed a great unwinding for all of us after 9 months of toiling before the computer in cities!!! its such a nice feeling to live in the mountains, forests, to listen to the birds, watch the animals, enjoy the smell of the fresh flowers, the atmosphere when one walks in a forest, sitting beside a lake during sunset!!! as i said, i go inarticulate when describing nature!

next day, there was a great excitement waiting for all of us! we went kayakaying in one of the rivers of the wigrierski national park. They said it would be a practice for our long day canoeing expedition (scheduled on coming monday). we chose our respective partners and settled in canoes. I wanted to be with an expert, hence i went with our guide ;) how smart! ahem ahem!! it was a learning to maneover the canoe...but very basic techniques to move, change directions, brake and bring it to a stop. once one learns them its more than a delight to go canoeing in the calm waters of the river wading through the water lillies and acquatic plants. it was 4 km long canoeing. the climate was pleasant and there was little drizzling.

One can imagine! it was a long day! but so much fun that I was overwhelmed of happiness. No wonder my ocarina sounded so great when i blew it in the middle of the forest!! :D it was happy too!!

learn some polish :D

hi - cheshch (im wirting the way how it is pronounced, not its exact spelling)
goodmorning - dzien dombry
thank you - djenkooyeh
do u know to speak english - chi moovee poonpaa angleeskoo ?
excellent! - spaaniaale
yes - tak (funny! tak in swedish is thankyou)
nio - nie

thts all i know for now..catch ye later with more polish words!

Day 2: BOATING on the Lake of Tajty, mamry and to the cormorants island!

It was a rainy chill morning! disapointed ofcourse! cause we were expecting nice sun!
(hotel tajty beside the lake tajty...the sunset is a delight to see here! )
still, we had some bread and bacon and set of for a thrilling boat ride across the lake of tajty and mamry..which are connected through small manmade channels. it was a butiful boat enough to accomodate 25 poeple. we were served with ipacs, gps and bluetooth equipments to track the path of the boat. the beauty around was so scenic and fresh! lake tajty, smaller than lake mamry(which is the second largest in poland,104.5 sq km). 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.
it was an enjoybale lake ride(reminded me of the thrilling one we had in the river godavari last yr), while we peacefully learnt to use the ipac! it was fun! meanwhile we did not miss to catch our eyes upon some indegenous species of birds and a giant eagle trying to catch its prey! we saw many sailing boats on our way and many people happily fishing! we staright headed to the cormorants island which is a protected island, hosts many hundreds of cormorants. 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.
it was still drizzling intermittently! we were served some hot tea and coffee!(aahh! wat a blessing). soon, we reached a place where there was an ancient castle and a butiful park with oak, beech, elm and sycamores.
we came back after a nice walk in the park and had a very delicious lunch in the boat. it was more like a siesta enjoying nature and the ambience. we drove thru some small towns, 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.

excited to see the biggest national park of poland! Biebrza, here we come!

Yeh Poland hai meri jaan! Day 1: Sweden to Poland

Finally it was time for all of us to leave the country and get ready for our next semester @ Poland. We left lund in the 14th of june for Kohlstrom, from where we were to board the cruise to gydnia port in Poland. The cruise was a nice experience with consistent up down movements. We were all navigating as if we were drunk :D. For sometime I enjoyed roaming in the top deck, later grabbed a breezer and settled in a livemusic pub watching oldies dance for some rock-n-roll musik. It was fun! Until my eyes refused to be open anymore!

The next day morning , it was Gydnia port! A butiful port I must say with a picturesque seaside and hills adjacent to the sea with thick vegetation.

We dint wait for long until we met Kasha, our coordinator for the Poland fieldtrip. Very energetic and kind person. After a few handshakes, we made our way to the bus with our respective luggages and headed towards the nearby big town – Gdansk! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gda%C5%84sk)

After a ride for 70 mins…we reached the butiful city of Gdansk. Gdansk, boasting of a peaceful and a humble setting just outside the city centre, howwver has a very butiful, ethnic, historical, buzzing, city centre with lots of ancient gates, carved buildings, houses bearing picturesque paintings and a buzzing market place.

The street of Dlugi targ, Picture courtesy:Olena Dubnovyk
The market square, just outside the golden gate and the end of street Dlugi(the L with a slash) targ, which starts from Ulucia Dluga and terminates at the green gate… was filled with tourists, amber jewellery shops, entertainers, students, locals and many other shops. Also has a butilful statue of Neptune called the fountain of Neptune. It was a delight! Since Gdansk also boasted of a seashore, one can see the backwaters of the sea lazily meandering through the city. There are nice city tours arranged in ancient ships…(something that resembles in the movie “pirates of the caribean”) the FAMOUS CRANE of gdasnk seen in the picture(the building with the funny roof)...
Picture courtesy:Olena Dubnovyk

Gdansk had everything to offer for us!! (would like to share some excerpts about the history and culture of Gdansk which I read in the eyewitness guide of Poland…but may be later). We grabbed some food and coffee and started on a still longer journey to Gizycko via the town of ostroda. After a long bus journey of 6 hrs we reach hotel tajty in Gizycko just beside the lake mamry.
Had a sumptuous typical polish dinner (rather official!!), an initial starter, a vegetable soup, followed by cheese stuffings, salad and finally a tart! After dinner Kasha gave us some introduction abt the whole trip and the places we would be visiting ! after a long journey it was indeed time to call it a day!

The next day few more surprises awaits us!

Travel experiences on Northern Sweden and Finland to be posted soon!

ITS MY DREAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! SOGNE FJORDEN!!!!

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Read and relished...!

Every moment is a miracle. Though we often take this world and this life for granted, the fact is that we exist, experience and even thrive against unimaginable odds. You're already a winner because you are here today, living and breathing, capable of making decisions, thinking thoughts, taking action and accomplishing great things. A whole miraculous universe is available to you here in this moment. Those people who are able to tap into just a fraction of their potential enjoy stunning levels of success and achievement. Imagine what would happen if you were to do the same, right now. Though you've made mistakes, though others may have hurt you, though you may be weary and filled with regret, still this life is full of positive possibilities for you. Step back for a moment and look at the whole picture. Consider the boundless magnitude of your good fortune. Live every moment as if it were the most miraculous thing you could ever imagine, because it is.

-- ANONYMOUS (internet)

Sweden...nearly heaven

Travel plans - Scandinavia

Tour 1: Lund-Kalmar-Oland-Jonkoping(if poss)-Gotenborg-Lund

Tour 2: Stockholm-Helsinki-tallin

Tour 3: Oslo-Sognefjords-Bergen-Oslo

God give me more money :D jus for this!!!

TRAVEL PLANS..LETS SEE HOW LIFE TAKES ME WHERE AND WHEN!

NOV 1ST - BOURNEMOUTH
NOV 8TH - TRIP TO BATH
NOV 11TH - SOTON DOCK TO WATCH THE OCEAN LINER QE2
NOV 14 - 16TH - CHELTENHAM, wales
NOV 22 - BRIGHTON
NOV 28 - BIRMINGHAM
DEC 6 - ISLE OF WIGHT
DEC 12- SCOTLAND
DEC20 - PORSTMOUTH
DEC 21 - WINCHESTER

Without Music...!

Will I be able to exist in this world without you? O my love !
You ve never betrayed me to give the fullest of bliss that you can ever offer..
I can only heartlessly keep leaning on you for more and more..
you are my life-sap, my source of life nah! my life itself.

These are spontanoeous words. I know its bad to describe you even within these words.
Cos you are something beyond these words can reach! You are like love!
You kiss my ears and i forget the whole world..
You take me to this new world of undescribable emotions..

No one would ever notice if I ever existed on this earth ..
but you? you were there..you are there..you will be there..
touching millions and millions of hearts..with your embrace..
This very moment elevate me..take me unto you..make me one in you..!

I need you to live..I need you to love..When i die i need you to be with me..
I wish to close my eyes and think of the sweetness you gave me all through my life..
You can be just sound of music to someone..but you are bounds of bliss to me..
I thankgod everyday atleast for giving me the power to feel this for you!!!

CHARISMATIC CHATURAGIRI

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 வானவன்
பொற்றுணை திருந்தடி பொருந்தக் கைதொழக்
கற்றுணை பூட்டியோர் கடலிற் பாய்ச்சினும்
நற்றுணை 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

I can think of many reasons why I was in Gandhigram for a year. One other reason was, otherwise i would have never enjoyed the beauty, the innocence, the art and the freshness that dwells in the southern districts of tamilnadu. Especially temples. I have always wondered at the art and architecture of almost all south-indian temples..for their extraordinary brilliance in sculptures, their fabulous architecture, vastness and something more special which im not able to describe.

When I first visited the thenkasi temple i was simply awestruck!(i might have to write a seperate article on the thenkasi temple) but for now let me write about another such marvelous temple i recently visited - Sri vadabathrasayanar temple in srivilliputur(srivi in short).

It was a long time plan for me to go to the Andal temple..not because of its glorious emblem that it makes..not because it has the tallest tower..not even because some close friend of mine kept telling me to visit the temple :P ..!! But almost every time i cross the srivi station while travelling in the chengotai madurai passenger, the temple have tried to offer me a spectacular view with its tall tower standing sky high and give me a feeling as though asking "tell me.. am i tall? or the podigai hills behind me?! " :) Im sure if any artist would have been in my place would have definitely taken a pen and paper within reach and would have tried to retain that scene.. with sillver clouds rubbing against the majestic podigai as the backdrop and the temple tower attracting every passerby.

well!! that day the same thing happened. Actually srivi temple was not in our itinerary. we were on a plan to go on a trek to the chaturagiri hills, near vatraayirupu ( a small town 20 kms west of srivi) .

we took the chengotai - madurai passenger at 1600 hrs from chengottai and it was almost 1745 hrs when we reached srivi station. srivi station is a bit away from the actual town. (That we knew only later !!) Bewitched by the beauty of the sunset, the hills, the countryside and a silent breeze carassed us ..so we decided to enjoy the evening by walking till the srivi busstand. the walk made us fresh. i could take a few longshots of the srivi temple (though not the one what i used to see in my train trips). We some what guessed that the busstand should be some where near the temple so the temple was our compass. As we were nearing the temple, we were almost 100% sure that we could see the temple and then catch the bus to vatraayirupu. Lo! we were before the tower that spoke to me :).. I could feel the same gust of wind that one can feel while entering the tenkasi temple..i wonder what kind of a mystery it is ! How wonderful artisans we have had!!

I was really amazed to see the neatness of the temple..after all temples are places of worship..but not all temples are maintained properly and kept neat which is a very sad thing. The first sanctorum was that of Shri Lakshmi Nrasimhar. A very calm and a good vibration i could feel, though i might not have felt the same feeling a staunch follower of vasihnavism would have felt. I have somehow never had a strong religious / spiritual /devotional feeling in temple santorums..funnily i do become very much moved in places of natural beauty or when im deeply involved in music..ok back to vadabathrasaynar..

we next went to the chaktrathaazhvar sannidhi..with nice paintings decorating the walls..




The next was the vadabathrasayanar sannidhi.. the perumal known as Vatapathrasayee is in Bhujanga Sayanam..his shrine was in the mezanine floor..im not joking..! :) On the both sides of the steps to the shrine beautifully sculpted yaali and an elephant receieved us. The pillars had picturesque designs..imagine carving them on a stone !! wow! Mom quipped "probably this is were they take the designs for silk sarees from ! "






I asked the kurukkal about the noble king who built the temple and in what century he lived..Actually the story goes like this...

...Hundreds of years ago, the area from Shrivilliputtur to the Western Ghats was covered by denseforest and there was a forest of Shenbaga trees here. A Rakshasa 'Shenbagasura.'performed severe penance for many years and got many boons. Since his penance wasone here, this place is called 'Shenbagavanam' even today. Emboldened by the powerof the boons, he harmed all the sadhus and rishis.They took refuge in ShrimanNarayana and he sent hisSudarshanazhvar tokill Shenbagasuran. Chakrathazhvar did as he was bid, but since Shenbagasuran haddone a lot of penance, Chakrathazhvar was afflicted by brhamahathi. So, he was rendered powerless - he protested to his Lord and Shri MahaVishnu called upon Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi to come to this area and help remove Sudarshanazhvar's brahmahathi. The Three holy rivers descended to the Earth and removed Chakrathazhvar's brahmahathi and filled the tank in Shrivilliputtur. This tank is still known as 'Mukkulam' since the three holy rivers filled it.

Mahavishnu resided to the east of this tank, thereby fulfilling the wish of the holy rivers as Vatapatrashayee and took the same form as in Shreevaikuntam. But, no one new of His presence, since the whole area was covered with dense forest.Then one day, two hunters Villi and Kantan came hunting.And .....Kantan was killed by a tiger and Villi was looking for him. He was very tired and slept under a tree and the Lord appeared in his dreamsand showed him where he was and bade him to build a temple for him. He also showed Villi the treasure that was buried under the tree under which he was sleeping.Villi woke up and found the Lord. He built the temple and the little town around it.

This town was known as Villiputtur after Villi and Shrivilliputtur since the Lord resided here. Hundreds of years later, Periyazhvar incarnated here and Kodai appeared as his daughter.And the rest is, of course, is well known by all devotees.

The temple seems to have been built in 9 century AD.

We had a delightful darshan of shri vadabathrasayi perumal with bhoomadevi and sridevi.


image courtesy : internet


Unfortunately we could see only the utsavar. however the moolavar is supposed to be as in srirangam i guess. The other side of the santorum had a huge hall with beautiful wooden carvings decorating the hall.

The next a colourful nandavanam(garden) which had a shrine for Andal, considered to be the her birthplace. Finally we came to the main shrine of Andal.. im still not so sure if my order of the shrines are correct! ;) i tend to forget such details easily!! anyways ...

The life size statues of great men and warriors stood receiving us to the main shrine..the sculpture there had many similarities like ... style of sculpture, the expertise, the jewels worn by the statues, the weapons they had, the beauty of women and a marvellous spirit of bravery in those of warriors with many south bound temples like tenkasi viswanathar temple, nellai temple..to my little brain it does ring a bell..probably all these were built by the same artisan/same reign/same king!! god knows!!

We were already tired by then! we were even wondering if there would be any energy left within us for the hard trek early tomorrow! Cause the temple was that huge and vast..but our souls were already overflowing with an unexplicable delight like a monsoon freshness. i still have a doubt if we explored the temple fully.. the 90 mins we spent in the temple is not at all enough.. one needs atleast a day to relish its beauty and to sink our souls in the divine ocean. we just had a preview. the main ocean im yet to explore! :)




" அன்பே தகளியாக ஆர்வமே நெய்யாக இன்புருகு சிந்தை இடுதிரியாக நன்புருகி ஞான சுடர் விளக்கேற்றினேன் நாரணர்க்கு ஞான தமிழ் புரிந்த நான் ! "

- ஸ்ரீ பூதத்தாழ்வார்

शहर की दौड

शहर की इस दौड में दौड के करना क्या है?
अगर यही जीना हैं दोस्तों... तो फिर मरना क्या हैं?
पहली बारिश में ट्रेन लेट होने की फ़िकर हैं......
भूल गये भींगते हुए टहलना क्या हैं.......
सीरियल के सारे किरदारो के हाल हैं मालुम......
पर माँ का हाल पूछ्ने की फ़ुरसत कहाँ हैं!!!!!!
अब रेत पर नंगे पैर टहलते क्यों नहीं........
१०८ चैनल हैं पर दिल बहलते क्यों नहीं!!!!!!!
इंटरनेट पे सारी दुनिया से तो टच में हैं.......
लेकिन पडोस में कौन रहता हैं जानते तक नहीं!!!!
मोबाईल, लैंडलाईन सब की भरमार हैं.........
लेकिन ज़िगरी दोस्त तक पहुंचे ऐसे तार कहाँ हैं!!!!
कब डूबते हुए सूरज को देखा था याद हैं??????
कब जाना था वो शाम का गुजरना क्या हैं!!!!!!!
तो दोस्तो इस शहर की दौड में दौड के करना क्या हैं??????
अगर यही जीना हैं तो फिर मरना क्या हैं!!!!!!!!

courtesy - internet

Statistics...

By thirty hills I hurry down, Or slip between the ridges,
By twenty thorps, a little town, And half a hundred bridges.

And here and there a foamy flake, Upon me, as I travel..
With many a silvery waterbreak, Above the golden gravel,

A walk in the park...

It was raining when i took these pics..so almost al pics might have this smoky effect..cdnt help it!

AH! no words to put this beauty into words!! A "must see" place for nature lovers!

A brook from the dam..

Felt like i was in some heaven!!

kundaaru again..

Kundaaru Dam..

This picturesque dam is located abt 5 kms from shengottah!

CHITHIRA SABHAI

This marvellous place near kutralam shares a beautiful history, art and architecture. Reach the last pic of the segment and scroll above. The story behind the place would be posted soon!

Note the copper tiled roof..to protect the sabhai from heat..ancient technology!!

Chithira Sabhai - entrance..

Maadasaami "sir" - defence head of the village :D

manmadan..lord of love

This fello everyone knows :D

im not sure who this person is !!

Lord kumaraswamy

Gangaalanaadhar

The painting of lord shiva .. "GANGAALANAADHAR" painted on the wall with complete natural colors..more than 1000yrs old

kudos to their precision n symmetry!!

The ceiling of chithira sabhai..all carved in wood n natural dyes..shd be more than 1000 yrs old

Chithira Sabhai(Hall of paintings) - belongs to kutraalanaathar temple, kutralam. This place hosts loads of art pieces ..all paintings of the gods painted in the wall with natural dyes which still seem to hold the colors after centuries! This is the temple tank outside the "chithira sabhai".

This would have come well ifi had a better zoom facility..hope viewers can identify this piece located in the tower!

Pasu madam(Cow shed) in the temple ..

pl note :this pic is deliberately given some shadow effect thru picasa..

west tower

Madurai meenakshi amman temple

 

Saankhri - River tones

Really ferocoius river.. Considered as an evil river by the localites since it runs in the direction opposite to the "Holy" Ganges... Watch for the slender bridge over the river..we had to walk over that to cross..oh boy !it was so scary!!

awaiting showers... 

The grace from above... 

 
The picturesque kalanag 

 
The road less travelled ... 

ghardwaali flowers..the essence of this flower is very good for cardiac health. Syrup bottles available in the ghardwal guest house.

Saankri (gardhwal) continued...

a garhwali house

 

local cricket stadium :P 

 

The native shepherds ..an old couple in saankhri 

the peak of KAALAANAG(black peak)! the peak is so called because it resembles a hood of a snake..A canarian girl has been successful in reaching the peak..kudos! it takes on n avg 8 days to trek to the peak (from saankhri) to reach the peak which stands as high as 20000ft and odd. 

the saankrites live out there ! 

lush green fields - view from our guset house in saankhri..excellent valley to unwind! 

wading thru the chill waters in saankhri..crystal clear water. might be some tributary of river tones.. 

saankhri - the wheat fields

we took the pic while we were proceeding towards our way to mussourie from the car..the time was around 4.30 pm..it was so nice to watch these fields from the top.. 

marvellous chengottai..pics below

 

 

all the fishes were shot at the aquarium near thenmala. this is one is my fav. 

 

 

 

ms.redlittledoo 

shot at the aquarium situated near thenmala dam. 

 

i go inarticulate to describe HER beauty!! 

 

thenmala dam! 

 

bridge we came across while coming back from paalaruvi..the train passing thru this bridge operates between shengottai-kollam. 

paalaruvi.. 

picturesque paalaruvi..people visiting kutraalum pl dont miss paalaruvi. buses from chengottai shuttle to punalur via paalaruvi. famous pilgrim centre near paalaruvi : aariankaavu aiyappa temple. 

 

 

 

lush velvetty green fields..at the foothills of podhighai 

puliyarai datchinaamoorthy temple tank...the pic has undergone some color correction using picasa.. 

 

 

 

The tranquilising parvadha hills - kindly read the blog posted below the pictures and see the pictures from bottom to top! hope u enjoy it!

 

 

The fragrance from the flower is simply hypnotising!!

 

This is shrinivas 

 

taken from inside the quialis..pl note the holy thiruvanaamalai

 

the lady on the mountain

Can u figure out a lady made out on the side of the mountain? 

  

in a way side shop while refreshment

 

 

behind the raja's fort - with nithya aunty

 

watch thy footsteps!

 

rail tracks installed at some places

kudos to ppl who fixed all these! otherwise it near impossible to reach the top for laymen like us. 

the valley beneath..

pl note the gadappaarais fixed in the rocks 

trekking on steep rock by the help of gadapparais

 

next mornning - while descending

 

 

Meet Mrs.Braharaambika :)

 

view from above

 

the path to bliss

 

silhoutte!!

 

the ashram(left) and the the temple(right)

 

captivating the scenic beauty of the parvadha hills

 

chale chalo chale chalo!! :)

 

my experiments with the well

 

at the vanadurga temple

 

:D

 

the family of ayyanaars

 

before the trek - at hotel ramakrishna after lunch! surprsingly the driver(extreme right) also joined us for the trek at the last moment

 

the vertical rock at a closer look - (zoom in to to see the ashram and the temple at the top )

parvadha hills from pachaiamman temple

see the vertical gadapaarai rock i mentioned! 

An enjoyable trek to parvadha hills

Its not a mere mountain! its an abode of peace and tranquility. It has magical powers - poeple say.

I was all set to head towards 'the all time waited' trek to parvadha hills! I was asked to wait in the gandhi mandapam stop at 7.30am on july 1st (sat)..waited till 8..alas the qualis came. we were 7 of them..nithya aunty..the oragniser of the trip..shrinivas - her friend, an elderly couple - aunty's friends, my maternal aunt and my friend preethi and ofcourse me.
Our itinerary read as follows : chennai to thiruvannamalai via melmaruvathur...halt at thiruvanamalai for lunch...pack off to paravadha malai's base...start to trek.reach the summit..pooja..dinner at the top...then doze off in the temple premises..start descending in the morning...head to thiruvanamalai for lunch...and get back home.

As per plan we reached thiruvanaamalai by mid-noon. we refreshed ourselves and sat for lunch in hotel ramakrishna. we finished a sumptuous meal and started for the temple called' pachai amman' at the foothills of the parvadha malai which was around 30 kms from thiruvanamalai. we paid a swift salute to the holy peak of thiruvanamalai and started for pachai amman temple.

As it was noon, the temple was closed but we enjoyed the greenery around and the temple premises. since it was a temple in the outskirts of the village , it was an 'ayyanaar' temple aslo!In rural southindia 'ayyanaar' is a deity meant to protect the village and the village inhabitants from anykind of danger. he is like a guard to the village. Usually of a very furious and huge builtup - the ayanaars are belived to come to life and punish the evil in the night riding on a horse. We paid out salutations to the huge ayyanaar statues in the temple and got a permission from him to enter his boundary .We then prepared ourselves mentally and physically for the rigorous trek ahead. some took rest, some refreshed having a panneer soda, while myself and shrinivas hunted for nice pictures to shoot with the camera.

We started for the trek around 14:00. By then the sun was not too harsh. We had to walk about 2 kms to reach the exactpoint where actaully the climb starts. on the way there were 2 more temples - one was 'vanadurga temple'( the deity for the protection of the forest) and the other was 'veerabhadhran' ( also a deity for protection). The elders collected some sticks to support themselves during the trek. Then we started towards some hard core trek.
The climb stretched totally to nearly 13 kms. Up till a certain distance they have built steps for the convenience of the pilgrims. After a boring stretch of climbing the steps we came to the place where it was all rocky there after. In between we had some refreshments like tender coconut,tea,koozhu(porridge), buttermilk,lemon juice etc. We took a lot of photographs. I really enjoyed using shrinivas's cannon digi slr for the pics. it was simply an amazing experience shooting thru it. He had 3 different lenses to serve different purposes.

After few mins, one member from our gang dropped out..the uncle could not do it anymore..he was thoroughly exhausted and decided to take rest in one of the shops along the path till our return. so we continued. We had a slowpaced, steady, enjoyable trek. While it was about to dusk we had reached almost the climax - the most tough part of trek. we had to climb an almost vertical, huge rock (see pic) on top of which the ashram of a swamiji and the temple is located. On that stretch, we have to climb with the help of sharp spear like things ( GADAPAARAI in tamil). they are planted deep inside the rock and its really challenging & interesting to climb with the help of the gadapaarais. It takes atleast 50 mins to cross that stretch for newcomers. We had a bit tough time since it was dark by then. i really enjoyed the sunset over the skies of parvadha malai.!

Like cliffhangers - there were pilgrims climbing a few steps above and none below me. our group had got broken by then. Even if i fall there would be absolutely no trace of me .i knew i was bold and i would do it..! but at a certain point of time - i could not see any suitable place to keep my next step ..a silent fear creeped in..i heard the distant voices of the pilgrims shouting - "PARVADHA MALAI AMMANUKKU HAROOOHARAAA! " which means something like 'victory to the deity of parvadha malai' . i needed a support - more mental- to chase the fear away..felt if i too start shoutiung may be i will get a confidence - though psuedo! so i too started shouting "PARVADHA MALAI AMMANUKKU HAROOOHARAAA! " which was the funniest and unforgettable part of the trek. :D

Somehow by 20:30 we were in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. cool breeze shook us violently. The hill was calm and cold except for the pooja recitations going on for the deity inside the temple. We could see the distant lights from the villages below and up above - the stars decorating the blank black velevetty sky. The temple atop the mountain at an altitude of 4000ft was the temple of BRAHARAAMBIKAI AND SHIVJI who radiated unto the skies the rays of the divine ambiance! I was not much tired after the trek but had a bit pain in my legs. I forgot even the pain after having the darshan of BRAHARAAMBIKAI - her captivating eyes and the beauty in her structure..all encomapassed me.

For lovers of shaivinism the temple is a must visit. What really attracted me towards the deity was that she was not restricted to the purohit alone..anybody who is filled with the bhakthi and joy of decorating the deity can do the pooja..! no gender/caste/creed/religion/age discrimination - which one must appreciate. Shrinivas took a few pics of the deities which surprisingly was allowed. We decorated her with flowers and decided to leave her free for other pilgrims .
We ate chapathis which we had brought and planned to sleep inside the temple until 4o clock the next morning. i had a very good sleep that night.. may be since my physique was tired but mentally i felt very fresh!

All got up the next morning at around 4.30 am. It was pitch dark (uh! obviously). myself,aunty and shrinivas were a bit against the plan of starting to descend in the dark. since we wanted to enjoy the beauty around from the summit so that we could click some beautiful pics and also know where we would be keeping our next foot ..so we pushed time as much as possible and started only by 5.30 am . we really enjoyed the nature around and happenned to notice an old devastated fort of a king(must be a pallava king) who ruled the place once upon a time..aunty told me (it was her 26th visit to parvadha malai) that the kings rule was some 2002 yrs back and he was called nannan. we saw a well inside the fort which led to some deep tunnels somewhere down which is supposed to be a secret tunnel which leads to the well of 'vanadurga tempel [remeber?!] . it was really interesting! but still i cannot believe this until i go inside the well and check out for myself .

We slowly descended down. It was dawn by then! A pleasant breeze and a hot tea in hand atop a hill..whoaaa!! it was amazing. we shot some piks and started to climb down non stop. We could have reached the base of the hill a bit more faster but reached only by 1o, Since we spent a lot of time chasing butterflies, chameleons (to shoot them in our camera ofcourse!!) and clicking the hills natural beauty . it was a joy to shoot in a cool camera like that !
We boarded the qualis in the pachaiamman temple where it was parked and started to thiruvanamalai for lunch.

oops! i forgot to tell onething..about the uncle who stayed back during the ascend! Surprisingly at night..some pilgrims motivated him to climb with them and he climbed the hills with them in the night..we were very surprised to see him mid night reaching the hilltop puffing and panting!
he said - i dont know how i got so much strength - he was 60 with bp, sugar etc it seems!
BRAHARAAMBIKAIKKU HARROHARAAA!! :)

The Marina through my eyes...

 

The city @ 8 from marina !! 

Dawn to dusk i walk on these sands... with only one hope!!! someone buy these sweet sonpapdis

Men may come n men may go...but im here forever..lol 

 

The marina is for us too...but y dont u guys maintain it properly..um?
i wonder wat happened to the "marina clean project" taken up by the chennai corporation..!
Please ppl - dont litter !
the corporation can work only with our cooperation

Learn to be as vast as me ! Learn to be vibrant from me! Learn the quality of giving from me!
This is exactly wat i learn standing on the shore..

the mind like the sea goes hither thither on the surface but is most calm at the bottom!
This sea aka mind makes men the best sailors if one knows how to sail amidst its high tides...learn not to rule your mind but to channelise it.

The Torquoise silvery marina.. 

The sandy shores... 

The three musketeers !! :)

Mommy?!! jus wake me if tsunami comes..(he he jus kidding!)...the most comfortable place on earth - mothers lap! 

The light house.. 

The beach bajjis... 

khatta meeta bhutta!! 

yummy! tasty pani puris and bajjis ..munch munch! 

So this is how the earth goes round n round..hmmm 

Am i aiming right???? Wish i shoot like Rathore...:) 

The Santhome Cathedral

My Utopic land

Am i dreaming of something utopic? something strange/weird? i don know..but i know onething for sure..that i ve all freedom to DREAM!! dream as much as i can..! ;0)




A land where all are as fresh as the morning dew..
no one hates each other..no one is madly in love either..
where harmony is all prevalent..
no one speaks ill..thinks ill..where anger and hatred is far from reach..
A society thats all encompassing..which has equal place for every living soul..
where theres no caste..no creed..no gender discrimination..No religion..or if it exists..only the religion of Love..Where peace dawns with every morning sun..and never sets!
where no one is invidious..Where evil things never happen..
where no one is tortured..no one is given undue credit..
where no one conspires against the other..where no war is waged.. against the mother nature esp..
where theres no hunger..where theres no scarce of food,knowledge and resources..where theres no lust, greed and impatience ...where theres complete symmetry and serenity..
where money doesnt rule human minds..where theres no falsehood/hypocrisy..
where hope and faith is in abundance..where theres no sign of atrocity against the poor and needy..esp helpless children..where education is for all..
Where birth and death is alike..Where true love is the most respected..where inner beauty is most sought for.. where supremacy comes only by good attitude.. where none is a hero..no dictatorship..no boss..no subordinate..
Let the world revolve on the special feeling of universal brotherhood!

let VASUDEIVA KUTUMBAKAM not remain just in the scripts..oh Lord! let it manifest soon !

One of My fav poems By Tagore

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow
domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the
dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action--
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

-- Rabindranath Tagore

http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/1007/

A(U)n conditional Love !

Do we love unconditionally?!!!

MY TRAVELLOGUES - Soon to be published!  

The saint

Fortunate was I to perceive such graceful visions;
For blessed with a sight of a saint with enumerated missions!
Eyes closed in tranquility,mind full of endless bliss..
Eternal transcendence,is the state of mind he is!

Flavoured spirituality strode upon lavour unbound ;
Echoing the favourite mantra,gustoed euphonical sound.
Not bothered about materialism-nor any mundane dreams,
Just like a completed work of art he seems.

Never been hot!n’er been wild!
Sanguine thoughts captures his vivid mind.
As glorious as a full moon night..
As illumined as a sanctorum light.

Doing penance,going closer to Thee;
Praising the Almighty whatever the situation may be,
Seeks the eternal salvation from sin & woes,
Wherever “the saint“ may go..Ofcourse the God follows!!

this one i wrote some 5 yrs back for a poetry comp..the first lines of each stanza were provided by the judges..we were asked to fill the rest lines with our imagination...! this poem is something which is very close to my heart!

Psychological independency..

am sorry! was not able to be in tach my dear blog!

For so long i wanted to write in these things..1. psychological inependency2. ppl who walked into my life..3. some superb books that ive read.. 3. my travel xperiences..4. and other various topics..

i don know when im gonna take some time off for these! but soon u will these in my blogpage.

first on psychological independency..

We have heard ppl talk abt various kinds of independency..financial,social,physical etc etc..but this particular term really attracted me, being a lover of freedom and the one who respects the concept of being independent. Freedom matters a lot to we homo sapiens..for that matter any living being. History too proves that how man has fought in the past to maintain and defend his independency. With or without knowledge man becomes a slave to his quality of being independent. i know most of them love being independent in all walks of life but the one independence which we never bother to look upon is this psychological independency.
According to me, we are all knitted to our near and dear by a unique thread called love which consciously or unconsciously makes us dependent psychologically. its just my anguish that i must really tell u ppl that being pychologically independent is the tufest of all..(as far as i know..being a victim of this)..as far one can say that he/she is INDEPENDENT only when this psychological dependence is conquered for it makes sense only then.
In the drape of commitment and affection ppl become victims of this psycho dependency where it becomes a kinda addiction and it takes too much of oil to come back to normalcy. Possesiveness and expectations are the worst of things one can ever bring in any relationship for these ruin the relationship in due course. it takes us nowhere other than a bad blood relatioship and some bitter memories. Showing affection without any expectation is the purest form of any relatioship but how many of us are able to do that?!! heres where our psycho independency plays a vital role..try to practice it..ull have best of times..the more we give the more we recv..the more we expect the more we r dissappointed or betrayed..

so affection lest expectation is the mantra!!

Degeneracy - a learning process

is degenarcy a learning process?