Parvathamalai Trekking

Parvathamalai.  - Hill of Hills

Almost trekked four times, but every time this hill stresses me to limit. All the time, half-way through the path, I used to think "never again I'm going to trek this hill". Such stressful trek due to its steepness. But after few months, whenever some one plans to visit Parvathamalai, I raise my hands. That's the beauty of this hill. The Hill of Hills.. It attracts.

There are lot of blogs on how to reach the hill. From Chennai, one can reach Parvathamalai through Tindivanam-Tiruvannamalai Route or through Arcot-Polur route. The latter one seems to be good, considering the road condition of Tindivanam-Senji route. This time (Dec/2016), my spiritual partner whatsapp'd he wanted to trek Parvathamalai. Soon as I saw the message, I replied him with a NO. I did have some personal work on the day he asked for trekking and also my foot has recently developed some pains. I didnt want to take risk. But inside, I know i will miss trekking for sure. But then, one other friend (Reddy) opted to join, if my partner postpones the trip for a couple of days. The trip was postponed for his convenience and my schedule was free that day. Though I wanted to stay back, but cant resist. I said "I can also join". 

Later that day, I was speaking with one other friend (Ela) on a different aspect, and I informed him about the trekking plan and asked if he was okay to join. He did agree and roped in one more colleague (Bose). Already 5 of us for a car and no more invites. Except once, most of the time we trekked Parvathamalai during night time to avoid heat. Since its December and the climate was cool, this was a day time plan. And what more blessed we could be than ending 2016 and starting 2017 with Shiva's blessings.

Bose, Me and MSK

On Dec/29, we started around 5.30am from Chennai. Had a pit stop near Kanchipuram for breakfast. Talk and fun for the remaining journey, we reached Parvathamalai by around 9.30. This time, I wore sports shoe to keep my foot comfortable and decided not to carry any backpack. With two of us carrying backpacks, we stuffed a couple of water bottles in their bags. After parking the car, we started the 2km walk from the parking area to the foot of the hills. Parvathamalai stands majestic with a 400m crown on the top of her. On the top, Shiva resides in peace and silence. 

One things that stands apart from Paravathamalai among other places is that we can perform pooja for the Shiva ourselves. Go inside garbagraha, sit for sometime in the vicinity of Shiva - that means a lot. 

Ela in his standard Veshti. 

The hill starts with a 2km walk to the base and then foot-steps starts. Almost 1300 steps that can test your patience. Initially they are long paced and then short paced giving our calves time to accustom the path. On the way, around every 200 steps of so, there were shops selling lemon soda, water bottles, tender coconut, glucose, torch, snacks from paniyaaram till koozh. Most of them are seasonal shops, so ask the villagers near the parking area before trekking empty handed. If shops are there, we can just walk without carrying much luggage.

Mallikarjunar 

After 1300 steps, starts the hilly region with unorganized rocks that you need to climb at times. This will take another 1 to 1.5hrs to complete. Finally stands the 400m monolithic rock on which the temple is built. You can climb this using steps or the old adventurous route using iron grills/rods drill fitted in the rocks. The gadapparai paarai way of climbing. I'd prefer climing this adventurous way than steps, for this will ease up some muscle pain than regular step climbing. Also its quicker and entertaining to climb. Not to miss mentioning the chill breeze you feel when climbing this way. After around 4hrs, you can reach the temple to have a darshan of Mallikarjunar and Amman. 

Renovated temple

I too had a nice darshan and we returned back to foothills by around 5pm or so. On they way, we had some paniyaaram with red chutney. Cant resist. The only thing that tests our patience will be walking that 2km from foothills to parking area. There are some autowalas shuttling between parking area to foot hills. Get their number and call them during your return to parking area. That will ease up some walking distance. After refreshing near the parking area, we started our way back to Chennai. With a break for dinner, we reached Chennai by around 10pm. I really didn't think I could make this trip, but it all went so good and fine. When he calls, who can deny.

Some tips for first timers on how to prepare for the trek. Climbing the hill (normal paced with small break every 30 mins) would take around 3.5 to 4hrs. Considering that return will take around 3hrs, the total trek duration will be 7 to 8 hrs. Under normal conditions, you only need water now and then. Though shops are available throughout the path and near the temple, its best to carry one liter of water. If you plan to trek in night, torch lights are must. Along with water, plan to carry some fruits that can keep you refreshed now and then. Again, just one or two fruits, not dozens. Recently, lot of changes have happened in the hills. They have opened Annadanam hall in the top, so you can get food there. We didnt try yet, but I hope its functional. So dont pack much of food items for your journey. Even if food is not there, you can buy and eat some biscuits on the way till you reach down. Less weight on your back and belly is good for trek. Dont wear heavy cloth even during winter. Your body will heat up automatically while trekking. Lighter cloth is good. Slipper/Light weight shoes will be good, though bare foot is best. Never wear Woodlands type of hard trekking shoes.

MSK - gadapparai
climb

Earlier the gadappara paarai used to be a bit risky. But now with good hand support and concrete path laid at high risk areas, its no more risky to trek Parvathamalai. Also temple has developed a lot alongside came a donation counter. We have seen lot of kids and ladies trekking this hill. During our way down, few ladies were also trekking down. We all sat down for a break near a shady area. Happened to overhear (well, they were speaking loudly) their discussion. One of the lady said that her husband discouraged her from trekking the hill. He said she cant climb to the top and asked her to return after worshiping the temple at foot hills only. She way saying "Soon as my husband said I cannot trek the hill, I took it as a challenge to climb, and Im done now. If I cannot do it now, when can I..". She was visibly very happy for she succeeded in her challenge. She then called her husband and happily said "Im returning now. I did climb to the top and had my darshan". She was really proud of what she accomplished. In fact, she climbed bare foot wearing a saree. That was really more challenging. Somehow, I too felt very proud of her. When he calls, who can deny.

Shirdi-Nasik-Ellora Trip

After a long time, here is one other blog. On my recent trip to Shirdi. It was during June/July time frame, my better-half asked for trip to Shirdi. Soon I checked with some local travel organizers, but they said darshan is available only during August and September and asked a package of 9k per head, including airfare. I really dont plans small trips that far, so left it as it is. One good thing happened during the interaction was that I got a 3 day trip itinerary from them that had places to visit in and around Shirdi. During October, I got a call from the same travel organizer with ticket availability and asked me if I'm interested for Shirdi trip. If you are bit scared to explore new places all alone, it’s best to go as a group. Travels will suit fine. But if you seek some freedom, private space and flexibility, it’s best to have your own plans. This time, the organizers asked for around 12.5k per head. Having heard that, I decided to explore what the real rates are to plan my own itinerary.

Rooms we booked

Quickly checking for flight fares (2 weeks down the line), it was not that costly. It was costing 7k per head round trip. Even after one month the flight cost is almost the same. Confirming the plan with my better-half, I blocked the tickets. Booking the tickets is almost crossing half the well. Second half was to find a good accommodation. Makemytrip listed some 100 hotels near that place, starting from 400-6000 per night and most of them had availability. After snooping through a lot, I shortlisted on "Hotel Golden View", that was exactly opposite the Sai Temple on the main road. Makemytrip listed the cost as 2500+ taxes per night. I called up the hotel and enquired the availability/tariff. They also said the same rates. But since the trip is almost a week away, and Shirdi had lot of hotels with easy accommodation, I asked for deal. After few rounds of negotiation we settled down to an AC double room for 1800/- per day without breakfast. That sounded a fair deal for me. [PS: Don’t expect the same rates if you are going to book. Tariff varies purely based on demand. You can get the same room even cheaper during off-seasons]

Soon I enquired with them for Cab availability with the draft itinerary I already had from other travels. It goes like the below.

Day 1 - Land in Pune (10am) - Reach Shirdi and do evening darshan. Stay overnight in Shirdi

Day 2 - Travel from Shirdi to Nasik. Visit Triambakeshwar temple, Panchavati, Triveni Sangam, Kapaleshwar temple. Return to Shirdi.

Day 3 - Checkout by noon. Reach Shani Shingnapur, Renuka Devi, Mana Ganapthi temple and drop at Pune Airport by 8pm. Flight by 10.30pm

They asked 10.5k for my above package and came down to 9.5k finally [including toll/parking]. Meanwhile I got quote from another Cab operator in Shiridi, and the quote was almost same. Hence I decided to go with the Hotel cab itself.

Temple view from the Hotel

With all set, we left from Chennai to Pune. Driver was there on time [well, 15 mins late], but he came. A Red-Hyundai-Accent. After interacting with him in my broken hindi, he informed the car was the Hotel Owners personal car and he was his driver for around 15yrs. I think the hotel didn’t have registered travels as of now, but since I asked for Cab, and it’s a new hotel, the owner gave his own car and driver. The driver [Mr.Shaukath] was such a nice guy, he spoke less and interacted whenever required. He even brought his own lunch box and didn’t bother us for lunch, though I asked him every time for join us for lunch. Soon as we boarded, he switched on the radio in his car. It was all hindi songs and I said him to reduce/switch off the radio. Next three days, he never switched on the Radio.  A peaceful ride and lot of time to chat with my better-half. A small break in on the way to Shirdi in a local dhaba, we munched on some Vada-Pav and Misal-Pav and reached Shirdi in around 4hrs time. Deep inside I was really scared to see how to rooms would be like. Generally, rooms will look fantastic in Hotel's website, but in reality few will disappoint. But this hotel room, I need to say, it was exactly as in the gallery, tidy, had a restaurant, nice service and just exceeded my expectations. That gave a big relief and a great head-start for next two days travel. As I said earlier, the hotel is just opposite the Sai Mandir, and once you come out of the hotel, you can see the Golden vimana of the Sai Mandir.

I planned no-sight-seeing for the day. Only the Sai darshan was booked for 9pm that day. So, we had lot of time to relax and roam around. We went for a lunch in their restaurant. No so economic, but the quality was very nice. Tried all good North Indian Roti/Dal Fry/Jeera rice stuff and came back to room for a power nap. Thought we'll have a nap, but the local TV showing Kungfu Panda movie. Couldn’t resist switching off the movie. Watched it in full. By around 7pm, had a good hot shower, followed by a chai and started out to explore the temple. Internet ticket showed entry at Shani gate. So have to figure out where the gate is. Security personnel near the gates were too assistive and asked us to go for darshan even now if we want. Actually slot was for 8.45pm, and they let us in by 7.30 itself.

Internet ticket (200/- her head) bypassed the free-darshan queue to some extent and merged near the main temple entrance. Within 30 mins, we had a wonderful darshan (except the police guy near the Sai baba silently demanding money from everyone) and came out. The main agenda completed cool. No rush and sweat. It was a clean and satisfactory darshan. Then slowly, we roamed around the temple got pradasam (sweet boondhi), purchased laddu (20/- per packet), holy-ash (Udi), Milk Pedha and exited the temple. After a light dinner we set off for the journey ahead.

Triambakeshwar Temple

Driver informed us to be ready by 8am, so we can cover Triambakeshwar and other places in Nasik the next day. By 8am, we were ready and so was Shaukath. After munching on some Idlies with Sweet Sambar :), we set ahead to Nasik. It was around 3hours ride from Shirdi to Nasik. Credit’s to some 40kms of worst roads ahead. Finally we reached Nasik. First he took us to Muktidham temple. It was like that Jainese/Birla Mandir type all-marble temple hosting various hindu gods. After a darshan there, we set ahead to Triambakeshwar temple. By around 11.30, we reached the temple. Not to take much chances waiting in the queue, we went ahead with special queue (200/- head), that lead us to the main entrance directly. The nadai (sanctum door) was closed for pooja by that time, we had to wait some 30 mins. Waiting in the vicinity of Jyothirlinga for 30 mins was very good. After 30 mins the doors opened for darshan. It was like a 3-lingam in it’s aavudai, representing brahma-vishu and shiva. The lingam was not protruding out of it’s base, but inside, and they kept some face kind of top covering the base. The temple had a lush green mountain backdrop and it should be heaven to visit the place during rains. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFXtzD-4lYY]

Triveni Sangam - Nasik

Our main agenda during this trip was to visit Shirdi and Triambakeshwar and it’s done. Whatever we cover further is extras. After having nice cucumbers, lassi and Kachori’s near the temple, we posed for some 2-minute print photographs (40/- Rs) as memoirs. Our next stop was at Panchavati. After some 2 hours of journey, we reached Nasik Triveni Sangam, where two Mythical rivers Aruna & Varuna meet Godavari. I thought of having a dip, but then dropped the idea. We stepped inside to wash our feet, spent some time and came back. Near the Sangam was Kapaleshwar temple. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scJYUf_lOTk]. After a good Shiva darshan there, we felt a bit tired, and asked the driver to get back to Shirdi. After few hours, we were back to Shirdi. After relaxing for few hours, we set out for local shopping. My wife wanted to buy a small Saibaba idol. Rather purchasing road-side, we went to a big shop that had more varieties of statues. The shopkeeper kept us two Saibaba idols of the same size, weight and color - one priced around 150/- and other at 400/-. I couldn’t see or feel any difference between the two, but the shopkeeper said one was marble cut and the other is some chemical-powder-cut. The 400/- had "Krish" or some brand name embedded in the side of idol and that means authentic company product. I assume the road-side vendors might sell the other one claiming it as marble. After purchasing some accessories for the idol, we closed the shopping part.

Kapaleshwar Temple

During out way back from Nasik to Shirdi, our driver Mr.Shaukath was sketching the plans for our next day’s return journey to Pune Airport. He said us to relax in the morning and start by 1pm, visit Shani Shingnapur on the way and reach airport by 7 to 8pm. He also added that if we can start early, we can plan a visit to Aurangabad and Ellora caves. That was a nice proposal. I skipped Ellora from my original travel list because it was not on the way Pune. We need to travel 150kms away. But Shaukath said if we can check out early, say, by 8am, we can cover Ellora and reach Shani Shingnapur as planned.  Soon I checked out Internet for Ellora and amazed to find that the world's biggest monolithic, out of humanly, kailash temple was there. I thought it Ellora was should be some Jainese caves. This change of plan costed 2.5k extra on my regular package, but I was happy to pay for that. By evening, I met the hotel owner and he didn’t object much when I asked to accommodate this Ellora visit for 2k rather 2.5. He even charted down detailed plans on when should I start and what time we will reach the temple. He said me to visit Ghrishneshwar temple near Ellora. Since I didn’t know much about the temple, and I already cut down 500/- from the package cost, I said I would skip the temple. But he said it’s just on the way, and it’s a must-visit Jyothirlinga temple. So good guy he is, he charted down the following plan for me and also instructed his driver accordingly. On the way, in Aurangabad there was a mini Taj-Mahal built by Aurangazeeb, but we skipped it due to lack of time and we already had seen the original Taj Mahal.

Check-out - 8am

Ghrishneshwar Temple - 11am

Ellora Caves - 12 to 1pm [2 hrs]

Lunch, Shani Shingapur - 4pm

Pune Airport - 8pm [Flight - 10.20pm]

The next day, I checked out the hotel by 8 and started to Aurangabad. By 11am sharp, we reached Ghrishneshwar Temple. The temple was much like Triambakeshwar temple, except that it’s white and the deity was a black small lingam. Men have to remove their Shirt to enter the sanctum. There was no rush and we both could touch the lingam and get his blessing. There are priests who can help you perform abhishegam to Shiva yourselves as couple. I wish to do it, but we were running short of time, and we very nicely touched the lingam. So we thought of skipping the pooja. Considering the fact that we need to shell lot of bucks, to even get a glimpse of Kasi Vishwanath, this was a very very satisfactory darshan.

Ellora - Kailash Temple

Some more travel, we reached Ellora caves. It was a WoW sight for me, and I really couldn’t control myself after seeing the Kailash temple. I've read that constructing such a monolithic temple by carving out excess stones is humanly impossible, and I agree to it. Just Jaw Dropping architecture. I can proudly stand on the top of earth, point to this architecture and say to the rest of world "see what my ancestors have created.. I’m from their lineage". One should have this as must-visit place in India. After visiting the main temple and other Jainese and Buddhist caves, we headed to Shani Temple.

Shani Bhagwan - Shingnapur 

In Shani temple, the main offering to Shani Bhagwan is jaggery oil, and it’s sold in all shops nearby. I read in internet that shopkeepers outside will sell it for high rate and it’s better to buy it INSIDE temple premises. Soon as we parked our car in the lot, shopkeepers persuaded us to by oil from their shop and they said they are selling it for the rate specified by temple only. They even had rate boards with temple logo. Trusting that I bought 250ml oil for 150/- Rs. After entering the temple, I saw lot of oil counters and the rate was 70/- for the same 250ml. If you plan to visit Shani temple and offer him jaggery oil, counters are available inside the temple only. Don’t purchase anywhere outside. The temple was very free and had a good darshan of Shani Bhagwan as Digambara.

After Shani temple, we proceeded back to Airport with a pit-stop in a mall nearby airport for dinner. We were well ahead of time reaching the airport (7.45pm) and leisurely spent remaining time till departure. It was overall a very good trip with good darshan everywhere. Now some learning out of the trip

1. If I had gone with travels, my budget for two would have been ~30K. This trip costed 6-7k more, but gave the comfort of flexible planning.

2. If you are travelling from Bombay, first visit Nasik, then to Shirdi and then proceed to Aurangabad.

3. If you are planning to visit Ellora during return, it’s best to book return flight from Aurangabad to Chennai rather Pune. This will save lot of cost and journey time. Also you can spend more time exploring Ellora.

4. Negotiate good with road-side vendors. Near the temple, my wife wanted to buy a colorful chain. The shopkeeper said it’s 150/- per piece. Without much thinking, we asked it for 40/- per piece. He said a firm NO and we started walking away. Farther we went from his shop, he started reducing the price.. 120.. 100.. 70… 80.. and finally he said 55/-. If I had walked one more step, I could have got it for 40/- only. But okay, the craft is worth 50/-.  Similarly, photographers start with 150/- for an A4 size photograph. I negotiated one for 50/-. Snap in a point-n-click camera and print in a photo printer won’t cost him more than 15/-. But okay, let him have a chai..!! Big Blog. Now, let me have a Chai..!!

Tour-de-Temple

Here comes one other diary entry in my journey towards spirituality. Though spirituality is a journey-inside rather outside, temples, in my view, aid the seeker stay on his path. Keeping aside the spiritual aspects of any temple, their architectural beauty never failed to amaze me. I haven't come across any temples recently built that has such architectural beauty of the temples built several hundred years ago. This amazement along with a pint of spirituality always pushes me to visit temples. One such opportunity was presented when MSK (alias Karthik Shankara :)) called me a few weeks back and asked if I could join with him for a Tour-de-Tamilnadu, covering major temples for two weeks. Though two weeks absconding was pretty big, I was still lucky enough to secure the leaves officially.  But when the travel dates were nearing, the plans went in for a major change. Two weeks changed to one week and a structured travel itinerary changed to an open-adhoc-trip. 

Since the tour call was from MSK, I was open till the last minute for a concrete plan proposal from MSK. Just a day before the travel, MSK confirmed the tentative plan was "Only we both travelling. Where to go, we will decide at CMBT bus stand". Well, atleast he had a plan till CMBT bus stand. 

So, on 4th of November, with a travel budget and dress packed to sustain for four days, we met at 10am near Ambattur OT bus stand. An hour of travel, we reached CMBT. Till that time we seriously don't know where to go. Just because the leaves have been sanctioned and dress is packed, we are travelling. One thing common for both of us is that we haven't visited Rameshwaram till then. So that became our target. But unfortunately there were no morning buses for Rameshwaram from CMBT. So we decided to go to Madurai and take a bus from there. Just then a Madurai bus was moving from the bay, and we stepped-in to start our journey.

Since the destination was finalized, we took a nap, and the bus stopped for lunch in a motel. I was damn hungry and MSK just woke up from his sleep. I wanted to avoid non-veg during spiritual trip, but still my mind was saying "Egg Briyani". I asked MSK if he will take egg and he nodded his head. After finishing the lunch with two eggs, MSK lately realized that he ate E-G-G. For the next part of travel, he was blaming me for waking him up in middle of his sleep, and made him eat Egg before he came into his senses and realize that he was eating egg :(

Well, after an argument on egg is veg or non-veg, MSK is now pure or impure, we did note that we reached Trichy. It was around 4.00pm or so. All of sudden, we realized that we (atleast I) havent visited Srirangam yet. During many trips to Sathuragiri, I happened to pass through Srirangam, but never had chance to visit the temple once. So, now is the chance, and change of plan. We stepped down at Trichy to see Ranganathar.

In the bus stand an auto-wala asked 120/- to go till temple, but we thought that's too much. People around said that the temple is just 2kms away, and MSK opted for a walk, though I was against walking at that time.  I was okay for any other conveyance other than walk, but, after arguments, MSK won. We started walking over the 1km long bridge built over the Kollidam River. Initially we thought it was Cauvery, but then heard that it was branch of Cauvery named as Kollidam (Remember Ponniyin Selvan). On the way across the bridge, we saw few kids and adults bathing in the river joyfully. Since we had time, we too decided to take a bath in the river. Atleast the EGG eating sin of MSK will be cleared before entering the temple. It was very joyful to bath in river. The river was not that big and fierce as that of main Cauvery, but still it gave the feel of bathing in a river. After a successful dip, we thought of walking towards the temple and shocked to see a sign-board saying the temple is still 3.5kms away. Luckily, an auto passed that way and he agreed to drop us in temple for 40/- Rs. 

We secured our bags in the cloak room and entered the temple around 6.00pm, but the darshan was closed then. It will be open only by 7.15 and there was already a long queue waiting. We spent some 30mins visiting other shrines around the temple and joined the queue at 7. Doors opened at 7.15, but it took almost 1.5hrs for the queue to move and see the darshan. Finally we entered in the sanctum. Oh.. Ranganathar was beautiful and peacefully sleeping inside the shrine. In just few seconds, it was tough to get a good view of such a big deity in a dull lamp-light. However, the glittering gold clad on his feet and the crown on his head marked the start and end keyframes for my eyes to take a snap. After darshan, its dinner time. A good bath in the river made us even more hungry. The smell of Puliyodharai, Curd rice and Sakkarai pongal was adding fuel to stomach fire. Instead of having it as Prasadam, we had all of them as dinner. Curd-rice and Tamarind-rice, heavenly and tasty.

That night we decided to check-in at some lodge in Trichy and visit Thiruvaanaikkaval temple the next day morning, since its just one kilometer from Srirangam and I dont want to miss it. After checking-in, MSK opted for a walk and purchase some bananas. It was 9.45 then, and while we were walking down the street, we saw posters of Ajith all-around. We were just saying "what if there is a theater right opposite, and tickets are available for night show".. Believe it or not, there was a theater right opposite us. We really didnt expect it. In matter of few minutes, we got two tickets for Aarambam movie, night show. That was completely unexpected, so we went again to hotel (few buildings away) to inform him that we will return late after watching the movie. Though it was night show, the theater was jam packed with family audience and equal number of Thala fans, who removed their shirts and started swirling and dancing soon as the movie started. It was a fantastic experience for such moderate movie. Nevertheless, Ajith has rocking screen presence. 

By midnight we returned back with an action item to wake up by 6.00 and visit the next temple. As usual, it was around 8am we woke up. :) Got a local bus to transit till temple. Thiruvaanaikkaval was one of the Pancha-Boodha sthalams, representing Water. Except this, I have been to all other four, and by this trip got the chance to complete the fifth. Temple was not that crowded, and we could see Jambukeswarar in all his glory behind a stone window. But that wasnt enough for me, so we purchased special darshan ticket (10/-) with which we can go behind the window, and stand just two to three free away from the deity. The Lingam was not big and structured, but the garbagraham was dripping wet throughout. Legend says that there is a fresh water spring beneath the Shiva Lingam. Also the entrance to the temple is built small such that an elephant cannot enter in the shrine. Why should a entrance be designed in a way to restrict an elephant? There is a story behind it. Long back an elephant and a spider worshipped this Shiva Lingam. The spider used to weave its web on top of lingam and the elephant always removed the web to keep the shrine clean. In subsequent birth, the spider was born as a king and he constructed this temple, but designed the entrance to the Garba-graha so small that elephants can never enter the sanctum. Revenge. :)

The temple was really big with five Prakarams. Sree Akilandeswari was the sakthi there, and she was beautiful as ever. Sree Adi Shankara is said to have visited this shrine and has done the Thadanga (Ear Rings) Pratishta for the goddess to ensure that she remains in a Sowmya Roopa.

With Trichy done, we decided to move towards our destination, but then MSK proposed a plan to visit Thenkasi, Kutrallam, Thirunelveli and then proceed to Rameshwaram. After breakfast, we took a Madurai bus and then travelled towards Tenkasi. By the time we were nearing Tenkasi, it was almost 7.30pm and we were praying that temple should not be closed. 8pm is the temple closing time. By 7.30 we got down the bus stand and inquired the way to temple. One autowala accepted to take us to the temple and charged 50/- for few kilometers of travel. It was 7.45 we reached and the temple was good and open. Shutdown formalities haven't started by then. Till the last minute we had no hope that we will get a darshan, but it was great. Since there were only a very few people, we could get a good darshan of Kashi Viswanathar and Ulagamman. The temple Gopuram was beautiful and damn big. I think its the second highest gopuram in Tamilnadu next to Srivilliputhur.

After darshan, we immediately started our way back to Tirunelveli for an overnight stay. Its one hour travel from Tenkasi to Tirunelveli. Apart from Nellaiappar, Tirunelveli is world famous for its one thing, the Alwa. Since wikipedia said that the alwa shop will close by 10pm, we were again praying to reach there before the shop closed. By 9.30 we reached new bus stand, and to our surprise, there were atleast a dozen on Shanthi Sweets selling Alwa. Then we queried a localite on which is real Shanthi sweets and he said that it was at the old bus terminus. We then proceeded to old bus terminus, and to our surprise there are dozen other Shanthi Sweets there. A localite then said "Note the shop which has more customers purchasing halwa. That is the original".. And then we spotted a small shop with few customers. Confirmed with localites again, and then purchased the original Thirunelveli Alwa. Shameless other shopkeepers.. They just use the same board color, font and logo of the genuine store and having stalls in the same street itself. Right now, while typing this blog, a spoonful of halwa just melted in my mouth.. Wah.. that smell and taste of ghee, sugar, and Thamiraparani water.. feels heavenly..

After halwa shopping, its dinner time. We checked-in a room nearby and went to a kaiyendhi bhavan (roadside shop). MSK wanted to eat very less, while I had no restrictions. Idly's were sooo tasty and hot, that I ended up with 10 Idlies, 1 One-side and 1-Half-boil, whereas Mr.Eat-Less ended with 6 Idlies, 1 One-side and 2 Half-boils. I was almost done when he was ordering "One more half-boil". Just for eating two egg during the start of journey he was blaming on me like anything, and now he consciously ended with 3 eggs. But seriously, the taste was excellent and supported by 4 chutneys, ellu podi (sesame powder) and hot saambar, we couldn't control.

Then MSK said that he wanted to be in Chennai by Thursday morning itself, so we had a change in plan. We cut down the Kutralam plans and headed to Nellaippar temple the next morning by 7.00am. What a big temple it was. A localite said the temple is around 16 acres, and much bigger than Madurai temple (14 acres). Near the main shrine we had this Musical pillars. When hit, each pillar will produce different sound, though its just rock. Lookwise, all pillars will look same, but really wonder how they produce different sound. My guess is that the inside of the pillar could have been drilled for varying sizes. Whatever, its really amazing. Inside the shrine was Nellaiappar, and is a Suyambu lingam (self-formed), and hence the lingam is not structured and elliptical like other lingams. Its just a raw consecrated rock resembling a lingam. Even in Sathuragiri, the Santhana Mahalingam will be like this one. Here, I was a little disappointed to see that there wasnt even a garland on the lingam by that time (it was almost 8am). Only a small Vilva maalai or something was there. So we went out and purchased a couple of garlands as offering. Only after seeing the priest putting our garland to the Shiva Lingam, I felt a little satisfied. Such a spiritually rich temple, and the poojari have no sense of what they are dealing with. They should visit Isha Ashram, specially Linga bhairavi shrine once to see what devotion means. After Nellaiappar, we visited Gandhimadhi Amman shrine. She was standing in all her beauty and glory. She was kind enough to accept our other garland for her.

Tirunelveli Nelliappar temple is big, and I really mean it. There are atleast 10-15 kasi viswanathar shrines inside the main temple itself. Many numbers of Murugan and Ganesh shrines. Also it has the famous Thaamira Sabhai/Ambalam (Copper hall) where Natarajar performed his cosmic dance. The other shrines where Natarajar performed his dance.. a) Rathina Ambalam, Thiruvaalangadu b) Chitra (Painting) Ambalam, Courtallam c) Velli (Silver) Ambalam, Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple and d) Pon (Gold) Ambalam at Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram. 

By the time, we went through the temple, our legs pained like anything. Such big and spacious temple, but excellently built, with proper water drains, sufficient ventilation for air and light etc. In case of any disaster, the entire Tirunelveli town and safely come and stay inside the temple. Such big it is.!

Its already Wednesday, and MSK wanted to be in Chennai for next dawn. So we proceeded to Rameshwaram immediately. Most of them in Tirunelveli bus stand suggested the best option is to go Madurai and then travel to Rameshwaram, but google maps said its a long route. Just then we noted lot of buses plying between Tirunelveli-Tuticorin which is one hour travel and on the way to Rameshwaram. So we took a bus to Tuticorin and was there right on time when a Rameshwaram bus was leaving the bay. Successful transit, we are on our way to destination. Bus stopped at a motel, and I opted to skip my lunch. But Mr.MSK, had a full meals with fish-fry for side-dish.. Sinful soul.. :)

About 4.00pm, the bus crossed Paamban bridge and entered in Rameshwaram. We only had few hours left, so we decided to move to Dhanushkodi first and then return back to temple. We hired an auto who charged 300/- for 40+kms round-trip ride till Dhanushkodi. He first lead us to Kothandaraman temple. That was the place where Shri Ram performed Paattabishegam for Vibheeshanan, swearing him as the king of Lanka. Then we proceeded to Dhanushkodi beach.. Since the beach was fierce, bathing was restricted, but I had a quick dip near the shore. 

It was around 7.00pm, we came back again to Rameswaram temple. We went to a nearby lodge to secure our luggage. The lodge owner said it was already late to have bath in all the 22 holy wells (theertham) inside the temple. He then instructed us to move fast to go to nearby beach (Agni Theertham), have a dip and then go inside the temple. The lane opposite the temple lead us to Agni Theertham. Well, it was not theertham, it was the beach without shore. It was already dark, no visibility after 2 feet of water and the vastness of the sea and the sound really scared me. Good that they had some rail support for us to catch when having a dip. Seriously saying, if at all we go a bit deep and slip in the water, no one will even notice where we are. Its was already dark and hence couldnt estimate how deep the water will be the next step. We went for a formality dip within the one feet of water and returned back immediately. A local guide asked us not to wear T-shirts when entering in the temple, and also asked 200/- for its already late and he can help us secure a bath in all 22 sacred wells inside the temple. 

But we didnt opt for his service. Bath tickets were open till then, and we went in for the normal way. Its 25/- per head ticket. We had no idea about the theertham or the wells, but just a North Indian family was going ahead of us for a bath in theertham and we had no issues following them. Well, the hidden fact is that there was a superb Rasagulla in that family and we were following it.. :) On the holy bath part, there are around 22 wells inside the temple itself, each has some significance like Ganga, Yamuna, Cauvery etc. Its believed that having a bath in respective well is equal to bathing in respective rivers. All the 22 wells, are placed around the first prakaram of the temple. So if one enters the temple, he can get a bath in all the 22 wells, which will itself be like going around the temple once and then proceed to the inner shrine for darshan. It was actually a very excellent idea devised in the past. In Isha Ashram, Coimbatore, one has to have a dip (not mandatory though) in the Suryakund (damn cold water) before entering the main Dhyanalinga Shrine. Sadhguru mentioned that a wet body is more receptive to cosmic powers in sanctum. That's the same idea here. All the holy wells are just inside the temple itself. So, just after a good bath, if you enter wet to the main shrine, your receptivity will be high. Unfortunately here, they have restricted entering the sanctum with wet cloth. We have to change ourselves dry and then enter. 

Temple was not-crowded and almost free, so we had repeated and good Darshan of Ramanaatha Swamy. One other aspect of Rameshwaram is that it hosts one of the 12 Jyotir lingams. However, the main deity doesnt appear to be Jyotir lingam. Main deity is the one made by Sita and consecrated by Shri Ram for his worship after returning back from Sri Lanka after winning the war. (looks like Valmiki and Kambar Ramayana doesnt mention anything about this Shiva worship by Ram. Only in later versions of Ramayana by Thulasidasar, this was mentioned. Controversies:) ). Anyhow, a separate Jyothi lingam is also placed near the entrance itself. In Benares, the main deity is itself the Jyotir lingam and here, I felt its not given its due importance. 

After a successful darshan, it was almost 9.00pm and time to leave. We had our dinner at duplicate Vasantha Bhavan and started our journey back to Madurai. Around 12 midnight, we reached Madurai and took a bus back to Chennai. 

Travelling is always joyful for me, and that too travelling with a good friend and no-plans, even more interesting. We started with Rameshwaram in mind, but had been lucky to cover Srirangam, Thiruvaanaikkaval, Thenkasi and Nellaiappar on the way. Most importantly, all these temples are first-time visits for me. That made it even more special. Well, one thing I certainly need to mention about is the climate. All the three days, it was cool and pleasant, not raining, but drizzling at times. If it was hot, the travel would have been uncomfortable, but that was taken care by the nature. Two get-away from this trip for me is 1) Always travel in winter and 2) Visit temple either early morning or late evening for a peaceful Darshan.

So, here is the end of the blog. Many things cannot be stated in writing, they can only be experienced. It was in total, a wonderful experience for me during the three days of trip. Though most of the time was spent in bus, I still felt it worth the travel at end of the day. I once had a wish list of places to cover in Tamilnadu. I thought if I visit all places in the list, its done. But whatz really happening is the reverse - the more I travel, the more the list grows. Right now, the list is showing few big items and one very big item that I missed this year. Waiting to Witness what happens next.. 

Coverage Snaps - Taken with Mobile/Point-Shoot camera, so expect no clarity

https://picasaweb.google.com/114643271152565647128/TempleTour?authkey=Gv1sRgCPq28uLd3oTd7gE#

Velliangiri Trekking - II

...in continuation to my earlier blog - Velliangiri Trekking, posted Tuesday, August 23, 2011...

...But this is not going to drain away our desire to trek the mountain again - if time permits and Shiva wishes we will trek once again to kiss the peak...

Last time Velliangiri throwed us a different experience, but didn't allow us to reach the seventh hill for a Shiv-Darshan. We had to return back. Few months back (Dec/2012), there was a mail from our great Elavazhagan proposing a Velliangiri trek on 23/Feb/2013. Generally we plan few days in advance, but to our surprise this was planned a couple of months earlier.

Though I had my Kumbamela trip planned in the first week of February, I still opted for this trek for two reasons.

1. My First trek to Velliangiri went incomplete

2. There is a two week gap from the finish of my Kumbamela trip to start of Velliangiri trip - If at all my body runs down due to side-effect of Allahabad trip, i have sufficient window to get it corrected.

Generally, we don't call in for too many people when going on a spiritual trek. As a thumb rule  in a spiritual journey, being alone is best, two is good, more than it - its picnic. Being alone gives you the space and time to think over any problems/questions running in your mind without much diversions and helps find answers. That's the very intention of being alone, like a meditation. Being two, is supportive and helps with some suggestions, but more than it - the very core intention is lost. But that's pretty okay, as long as the trek serves a good exercise for the body. Other big issue with more people is about logistics - conveyance, lodging and boarding will become difficult to manage.

Keeping aside all the negatives of a group trekking (as Linga Travels took care of logistics), we called in for few more enthusiastic's who were also interested to join the trek. After last minute additions/deletions, it got shortlisted to a 14 member team prepared to trek the hills.

After my Allahabad trip, for the next one week, my health condition was going good, and I thought I could very well manage this trek. During the week we planned to trek, jitters started. It started with a mild leg pain and spread throughout the  body. I generally avoid allopathy for fever/cold and leave it to the body to cure it by itself, but this time, I didn't have enough time. Its only 4 days left to get ready for the trip. So, went to  doctor, and he as usual suspected a viral. Standard Prescription - One Injection (oh!. for that nurse, I could go for one more injection :)) and colorful antibiotic tablets for next 3 days and come back for a blood test, if symptoms exist. After three days of honestly swallowing tablets on time, nothing big happened.

Whenever Velliangiri trek gets planned, I will run into some trouble. For the first time, I couldn't join the trek due to viral. Second time, we couldn't go past six hills due to rain (btw, its a deadly rain), and this time its viral again. With my body condition, I decided to skip the trip. Friday we need to leave, and till Thursday evening my condition was poor. I couldn't even climb 50 steps to reach my second floor apartment bypassing the lift. Imagine walking 4000 steps just for starter alone in Velliangiri. Mission Impossible. 

Since there were at least six other folks joining from my office circle, I don't want to discourage them by saying "I'm not joining". So, I chose to keep my decision tight till they board the train. Once they board, I know MSK/Ela will take care of them. 

Friday morning I woke up curiously to see how my health is. Mild improvement. Pain showed some kindness to me. It shortened itself from a whole-body pain and started targeting only the knee joints to its fullest. Better than before, but trekking without knees is not that good. I dont have the stamina, guts and devotion like Kaaraikaal ammaiyaar to walk upside-down with hands.

Walking such a path with Fever.. No way..!

Thought hard and hard on whether to join the trip or to inform my no-go decision to MSK and leave it, ended up with a headache. Something inside me was yelling "NO" and throwing all negative reasons (14 hrs walk, 4000 steps etc) and other thing feebly-saying "GO FOR IT". If I start from my house at 12.00am, I could be in Central Station by 1.00, well before to catch the 2.00pm train, but to avoid further thinking and confusion, I started from my house at 11.00am from home and came to central by 11.45 itself. That way, I could relieve myself from thinking too hard. I didn't even care what I packed in my back-pack (just one additional spare dress, tablets, and torch). I purchased two Red Bulls (non-alcoholic energy drink) this time :). It really works when you are deprived of energy, but don't take it too often. Redbull taste really sucks, but it gives you that booster energy for few hours.

After reaching Central, I ended up with two choices - 

1. Once everyone gathers introduce them to MSK/Ela and return back to home. 

2. If possible, join the team till Coimbatore, but skip the trek. Have a Plan-B to visit Isha-Dhyanalingam Temple alone.

After meeting MSK, my decision changed to travel till Coimbatore. I know that would happen, that's why I had that extra set of dress packed as mitigation. I'm better-off with friends, than fighting with fever all alone in bed. After dinner, it was around 11.00pm, we checked-in to the hotel. For next day, conveyance arrangements were made to travel from Hotel till Foot-hills, and instructions was to get ready by 3.00am sharp. (that's more tough than climbing 4000 steps :)), so that we could start trek by 4.00am and return back the same day.

At 12.00pm before going to bed, I informed MSK that I may not join the trek and "requested" him with due-respect not to disturb me at 2.30am. My legs were paining like hell that time. By then, through Balaji (our co-trekker), I got a couple of pain killer tablets as backup.

Next day, alarm was ON at 2.30am, and my body condition seem to be improved a bit. It was like, if I start thinking on the leg pain, it would come back again in full force, otherwise it seems to be waiting like a dog ready to bite. I just got myself ready by 3.00am sharp. Literally throwed all responsibility on Shiva and started :).. It may sound foolish, but sometimes, such faith helps us avoid too much thinking.

Velliangiri - Sunrise through Trees

With one Redbull stacked-up and having swallowed one pain killer tablet (not a good practice though), we reached the foot hills by 4.45am. The mountain was standing dark before us like a night-mare. Just like in any other treks, the Rajdhani express with Ela as engine disappeared suddenly. Few members who are physically fit traveled along with Rajdhani. Due to my physical condition and reduced stamina, I specifically requested MSK to be with my side and trek as slow as possible. Don't care about the time - Shiva wont run away if we are one hour late, so lets go as slow as possible - one step at a time. I personally say, I share a very good rapport with MSK, especially during trek, for we have very similar wave-length and understanding. (purely my opinion, not sure what MSK has to say :)) Also I love trekking as slow as possible - for I believe the benefit of trekking lies in the path, not in the peak. We shouldn't afford to miss any sceneries on the way; the dense jungle with serene views of clouds passing through us, chirping birds, wild-puppy barking along our side for a piece of meat, the breathtaking landscape etc.. Just sit back, breathe, relax and absorb as much as you can. Even if it takes few additional hours, I would go for it. 

With clear expectation set, our passenger train started to creep. There were other Rajdhani's passing-by and we took side-track to let them go. After 1.5 hours, I was really feeling better, for I had sweated a lot, and hope some bad virus has sweated along Around 6.30 am we reached our first milestone; the Ganesh temple at the end of killer steps. Further its going to be a mix of stones and steps for next two mountains. Not too hard, but still painstaking. 

Water Source - Drips from the bamboo stick

In the entire stretch of 7 hills, there will only be three spots where you can find water. Again, water spot doesn't mean a pond or a pool or tap. Its a small water source that runs "inside" of the mountains, tapped through a bamboo stick in the  spot, and the excess water immediately sinks down through a nearby hole back into the mountains (See Picture) . Literally, it is like someone has inserted a big bamboo stick to a hole inside the mountain to get some under-water dripping out. Natural mountain water, its pretty sweet and refreshing. (If you have tasted Qua Mineral Water (Himalayan waters), it will pretty much taste the same as this water. Few days back, been to ITC Chola for an office OC Treat, and water means Qua there. They charged 195/- per 1L bottle :(, and I found this Velliangiri water more tasty, crispy and refreshing than Qua which had a good taste but  felt blunt.)

One step to heaven. Below is the Siruvani water plant

Wind was chill and we couldn't feel that much pain walking for three hours. After reaching the fourth hill, scenes changed. We were literally in midst of passing clouds. Sun has risen up then and started its heat. On one end it was hot and other side the clouds were cool. A perfect combo. Wherever possible, we stood-back to enjoy the nature to its fullest. At one spot, we sat down on a huge rock leaving our legs floating in air. Just one step further could throw us some 2000 feet down into the clouds. In fact, we were sitting above the clouds. Every bit of it, enjoyable. We halted to have our bread-n-jam breakfast on the way in a monkey-free-zone. After a tiresome walk, even a marie biscuit will taste like amrudham. No need to say how bread-jam tasted like.

Ready for a dip..

After reaching the end of 6th hills (the place from where we returned back last time), we took a bath in a small water source there. With clouds floating all over, the water in the pool was literally freezing, and we couldn't even stand in the water for 5-10 seconds. [Remembered Bear Grylls saying "Hyperthermia" in Man Vs Wild]. Such cold was this water. After few mins of acquainting the body to the freezing cold, we had a full dip, that was completely rejuvenating. Body pain accumulated during 5hrs of walking so far literally vanished, and it gave the stamina to climb up the last hill.

Velliangiri Eesan - Self-formed lingam

One good news we had was that Feb/23 was Pradhosham, especially Sani-Pradhosham, which is even special for Shiva temples. After one more hour of climbing through steep rocks (not that steep though), we reached the top. Rajdhani team appeared to have reached there an hour in advance. Mid-day pooja just then started and we caught up right on time. After a good darshan and nice prasadam (they served some lemon rice :)), we took rest under boulders for few minutes and decided to walk back. Seven more hours of trek to reach the base. Even if you are not willing to walk, there is no other way now. 

Rest

As usual, the Rajdhani express departed, and the passenger train (Me and MSK) stayed back leaving all others go ahead. That will give us some space to talk, walk slowly and freely and also take care if someone moving ahead of us falls-back due to sprain or something. As organizers (sari.. sari..), we had that little responsibility to take care of those new trekkers. We don't want to leave anyone behind us bringing bad name to our reputed VTC (Vetty Trekking Club) :)

paavam thambi..

As expected, one of my colleague who moved ahead of us lagged, and we accompanied him all the way down. Last three hours, MSK teased him like anything, that he should have felt his sprain better than our mokkai. During the regular chat he touch-based on the "GOD" topic without realizing that he put himself into a hot-cake discussion trap. (namma onnum illadha vishayathukke kaatu kaatunu kaatuvom, idhula lead eduthu kudhutha... paavam payyan.. moonavadhu malaila "kadavul irukku"nnu sonnavan, keezha erangum bodhu "irundha nalla irukkum"nnu solla vaendiadha pochu.. appadi oru ottu..).. [BTW, remembering SBK here - SBK, our 5+hrs debate on Raamayana during the Thiruvanamalai trip still holds the record]

After a successful trek down, we reached the foot-hills by around 7pm. Though wanted to avoid stating an incident, just narrating for the sake of others who are interested in trekking. 

In the clouds..

During our trek down, we met one other guy who was also from Chennai and have come alone for a Velliangiri trek. He joined one of our sub-group who moved ahead of us and trekked  down with them. When we reached foot-hills, we came to know he has fainted soon as he reached the base and others were trying to give him some water/glucose things. Regaining his conscious for a while, he requested us to take him to our hotel for the night and again he fell unconscious. His body was getting cold like ice, and one of our group member who is a nurse (male-nurse'pa. During our travel he said narrated some of his experiences as a nurse. Most of his incidents turned out to be stomach-burning things for us), was giving him some first-aid. We took hold of the fainted-guy's mobile and after a quick discussion, we decided to get him to hospital for further treatment. We don't want to take him to our room. That's risk for us and more risk for him. We straight away drove to a hospital, and Ela with his friend located a good hospital just opposite the hotel we stayed. Me, MSK and Karthik (Ela's cousin) took charge of this hospital part. We don't want everyone to be in hospital. His BP was running pretty low, and the doctor started "her" first-aid accompanied along with two sisters. (I don't know why should we call them sisters. I prefer calling them Nurse..).. 

Okay, kadhaya kelunga. In between our guest regained his conscious and informed that he didn't have any food for last 18 hours and he started trekking without any supplies. More good, he didn't inform about this trek to even his better-half. Though he had trekked Parvathamalai before, he really has under-estimated Velliangiri. Then we got hold of his room-mate number and informed him of his case. We don't want to scare his wife for the moment (he preferred not to inform), and since we were sure he is running a severe dehydration problem and possibilities of him to recover are good after injecting a couple of glucose bottles., we skipped calling his wife. Also the doctor gave us some hope that he is recovering.

A part of our group.. Others already started..!

I stayed with him in hospital till 12pm and asked MSK to take care of staying overnight, since my leg-pain started again and I'm going down by then (by 11.30pm, while I was curiously watching the colorful LCD scopes charting some live BP/heartbeat graphs, parallely wishing him to recover in next few hours to catch the return train the next-day, a nurse came in and tweeted - "anna neenga paduthukonganna.. naanga paathukarom..". My mind voice grunted "adhaan anna'nu sollitalla.. mathadha naanga paathukarom, nee po thaayi. eppadiyum MSK anna dhaan night thanga poraru.. avara venumna nallaa paathukko..."). With MSK taking charge, I left for the hotel and had a good sleep in the A/c double-bed room and MSK more comfortably slept in hospital along with a couple of cute little --  mosquitoes. By 7am, the next day, MSK informed that our guest regained his conscious and doctors gave the go-ahead to get him discharged. MSK, after bidding a personal bye-bye to specifically one nurse there (naane paathen, naeradiya paathen. ivan ta-ta sonnan, aana andha side'la perusa onnum reponse illa.. 100% ping loss), we took him to our room for some rest. Since we had an extra train ticket, we accompanied him till Chennai. Good that he called us back the next day to tell that he is fine and doing good. Stating this incident here since nature is very raw and wild in its den and never under-estimate the power of it. Again, don't ever start any trek based on what is scribbled in internet like this blog. (Ex. Nurse in all hospitals may not be as good-looking as mentioned in this blog. Oops... did i mention "good-looking" anywhere.? :)). Always have a supply of your prescribed medicines, water, spare dress and necessary food for your travel. [Alternately, you can get in touch with professional trekkers like us for any clarifications.. konjam over dhaan.. but..]

Velliangiri - Done :) :) :)

Overall, it was a very satisfactory and enjoyable trip and most of "my places to visit" is nearing completion. Few places, I still wish to visit are Palani, Rameshwaram and Kailash-Manasarovar. While the former doesn't require big planning, the latter requires better planning, medical fitness and most importantly financial support. Isha has already opened their registrations for this year Kailash programs, but the per-head cost seems to be beyond affordable for the moment. Let me wait to see what Shiva has in for me :). Till then, I'm planning a logical break from trekking (how long?), enjoy week-ends at my home (that's a lie!) and watch some good movies.. (in fact, yesterday I was thinking on where to trek next, but finally went to Vishwaroopam movie.. paravalla.. :) )..

Trip Album - https://picasaweb.google.com/114643271152565647128/Velliangiri

PS - It took 6 hours for me to write this blog - Sorry Extreme..!

Holy Trip - Benares and Kumbamela

It was around 2003 timeframe, I first read about Kumbhamela, a gathering where swamis, yogi's, muni's and all cadre of spiritual personalities gather at Triveni Sangam, to take a dip in the holy union of Ganga, Yamuna and the mystical Saraswathi rivers. More than just a gathering, it was more of a meeting for those very high cadre of Saadhu's after a elongated period's of time. As stated in Autobiography of Yogi book, Kumbamela is where Mahavatar Babaji chose to meet his disciple  Sri Yuktheswar Giri and gave him instructions on spreading Yoga to west through his disciple Paramahamsa Yogananda. A rough fact is that there would atleast be one enlightened being in midst of one crore common man attending the gathering, and his presence is what the gathering is all about. Generally those enlightened don't care to come down and meet common man, and this festival gives them a chance to bless the common man. 

After googling through Kumbamela related information, I chose Feb/10 (Mauni Amavasya) to take part in the event. There are around 7 to 8 auspicious dates in to take bath in Triveni during Kumbamela ceremony that stretches for 55 days starting Jan/2013 ending March/2013. I chose 10/Feb based on my convenience, but didnt know that this is holiest day in the full stretch and crowd will gather to their fullest on this day.

Things generally dont go as planned. Sometimes it goes more exciting than planned. Such a thing happened during this trip. That's Mahesh babu volunteering to attend the event. Till now, as I write this blog, I couldnt believe he joined me for this trip. But, if it is his (the almighty) wish, that Mahesh has to take part in this event, there is nothing to get surprised about :). More unexpected, that Mahesh proposed a change in plan to cover Benares during the trip. It was SJV's blogs that impressed me to visit Benares (Kaasi) atleast once. Though Benares was in my list to visit sometime, I initially didnt plan to cover Benares during the kumbamela trip. But through Mahesh's plan my wish to see Benares also got fulfilled.

Feb/7th morning, we started our pilgrimage to Kaasi. Our plan was to go to Kaasi first, stay there for a couple of days and take a train to Allahabad to attend the Kumbamela and then proceed to Lucknow to catch our return flight. Things moved very smooth than planned. Landed in Kaasi (or Benares or Vaaranasi) on 7th evening, we proceeded to check-in at our hotel. (Thanks MSK and his Linga Travels for booking us hotels @ Kaasi). We didnt expect a miracle waiting for us.

After checking in at the hotel (9pm), and taking a quick refreshment, we went out to have our dinner. Though the hotel had restaurant we chose to have our dinner outside. After dinner, it was around 10pm, we decided to walk around (roam through the streets) for sometime before getting to bed. The great Kaasi Viswanath temple was around 1.5kms from the hotel we checked-in. The road we walked was leading to the Kaasi Viswanath temple. Though we knew it, we didn't plan to go into the temple, but just was walking along the way, just to take a look at where the temple is, so that we can walk-in tomorrow without struggling to find the way. We just kept walking (after a full dinner, lassi and sweet pan) and finally reached the entrance of the temple. I was imagining the temple to be something like our Tanjore Temple, as Kaasi Viswanath is such famous deity, but the temple in real was even smaller than Thirumullaivoyal Eshwaran temple. Temple was about to get closed by 10.30pm, and a police guard near the entrance of the temple was asking us to rush into the temple to have a Darshan. He might not have seen someone like us who comes till the entrance of the temple and return back like us. He thought we have come there for a Darshan. The policewala and a shopkeeper nearby was close to yelling at us to get inside. Though we had a choice to return back (in fact Mahesh wanted to, since we didnt even take a bath after a tiresome journey), I personally go with that moment. Incidents around us was pushing to have a darshan and why should we miss it. In fact, thats why we have travelled so long, and why delay further when everything works in our favor. We can anyway come back tomorrow for one more Darshan if needed. 

The shopkeeper literally seized my DSLR to his safe and gave us the pooja set with garland and other stuff. I need to say, Mahesh was completely unhappy with what was going on. I could very well sense that. But things were happening beyond our control. The police closed to "jargandi'ed" us inside temple, and we were near the deity with pooja set in our hands at 10.30pm. For the first couple of minutes, we were searching where the lingam was, and finally found him inside that small room, just few feet away from us close to ground level. The poojari inside snatched some 100Rs to perform pooja and it was a nice darshan. We were atleast near the lingam for 3 to 4 minutes. Then we went around the inside the temple comfortably (and freely) and came out. We never thought he (Shiva), planned to give us a darshan unexpectedly. Mahesh was really frustrated (atleast thats how i felt) about what has happened, and I honestly couldn't convince him. In fact, i too didnt expect that we will enter in the temple, but then things were just happening. We actually thought of having a dip in Ganga before visiting the temple, but things took its own course. Other frustration is about the shopkeepers  who charged us around 300 for Pooja set.

Next day (Feb/8), after refreshing, we decided to visit Sarnath, the place where Buddha delivered his first sermon to his five disciples. Its around 12Kms from the hotel we stayed and we took cycle rickshaw's and share auto's to reach the place. These mode of transport will give us some space to explore the city. After visiting Sarnath, we went to Kaala Bhairav temple, one of the most important aspect of Kaasi. We had a very close darshan, within just a touching distance away from the Bhairavar deity. 

So far, we haven't seen the most important aspect of Kaasi - the Maa Ganga. After visiting Kaala Bhairavar, we moved to the Dasaswamedh Ghat, where Ganga pooja was performed. The first glimpse of Ganga River was - WoW. She was not very fierce (as the Hoogly River I saw once in Dakshineswar - Calcutta). She was soft, wide and moving calmly. Who knows how many secrets this lady was carrying. Ganga pooja was something we shouldnt afford to miss visiting during a kaasi trip. A long-down tradition where we celebrate and worship the river that fertilizes our lands, in-turn helping the human survival. The conch blown during the pooja literally scared me away. The sound and rhythm of conch, and its echo the river reflected - its more than amazing to hear it. Feels like I'm standing before an infinite space.

After watching pooja, we decided to move close to the truth. To Manikarnika ghat where corpse are burnt. I heard a lot about this ghat. One of the holiest place like Harichandra Ghat. Manikarnika ghat is where one of the disciple of  Mahavatar Babaji, the Lahiri Mahasaya was cremated. In fact, it was through Lahiri Mahasaya the wisdom of Pathanjali's yoga was spread into this world during last century. Someone said that this place wont stink despite burning corpse 24/7. Though its a walkable distance from the place where Ganga pooja was performed, we hired a boat (over the Ganges) to go to this Ghat. Like what was heard, the place wasn't stinking even a bit, but bodies were burning all round the clock. We stood  there to watch the burn for some 30 minutes, and it was more than enough a visual for this lifetime. Just next to the ghat is a free-lodge, where people who are in their death bed, and wants to get cremated in this ghat can stay for free. I somewhere read Ramakrishna Paramahamsa visited this ghat and said, "I could see Lord Shiva standing aside every burning corpse and liberating the soul". Such a powerful place, and so is the complete Benares. Its around this cremation ground, the whole city appears to be built. Generally cremation grounds will be located in the corner of a city/town, less accessible to public. But here, death being realized as ultimate truth, the cremation ground is placed in the center of city. 

Next day (Feb/9), before proceeding to Allahabad, we planned to take a dip in Ganges and visit Kaasi Viswanathar and Visalakshi temple. To our surprise, there was almost a 1km length queue waiting to see Kaasi Viswanathar. It would atleast take 3 to 4 hours solid to get a darshan if we have stood in the queue, and definitely not sure we could have seen the deity for even few seconds. We then approached a guy, who asked us 500/- (or 1000?) per head to bypass the queue. I was just thinking of the adhoc, but comfortable darshan we had that mid-night. If we have missed that, we should have waited in this queue for long hours. We planned to skip waiting in this mile long queue (as we already had a darshan), and straightaway headed to Kaasi Visalakshi temple. It  was again a very small temple, not even the size of our street-corner amman temple, but considered one of the auspicious Shakthi Peedams of Hindu culture. (Kaanchi Kaamakshi, Madurai Meenakshi and Kaasi Visalakshi, the three main Shakthi peedams, though there are many more (~50+) in India). After a good darshan, we headed back to hotel to check-out to Allahabad for the mega event - Kumbamela.

Took a train from Benares to Allahabad. Our plan was to check-in our luggage's in railway cloak room and reach Triveni Sangam. Train was already running late by four hours, and we suddenly saw  people getting down the train. We thought we reached Allahabad, and rushed down half-sleep (in fact, the train moved before we got down). Later we realized that we got down at Prayag, a station before Allahabad. Though this station was closer to reach the Triveni Sangam, it was not worth checking in our luggage's. We hence had to take our luggage with us. Soon as we exited the station, we heard that transportation is completely blocked within city (even rickshaws) and one has to only walk to the Triveni Sangam that was around 15kms from the station. What to do? We kept walking with our strolleys, back packs in midst of the wild crowd for around 5 hours. By around 10.30am or so, we reached the Triveni Sangam and had the dip for our life-time. Water was damn cold, and within seconds our body gets frozen allowing us to stand inside comfortably for some more time. By then, I had all my energy sucked-out, and more frustrating - we need to walk back 15kms again to reach Allahabad station. 

After a really tiresome walk, we reached station by 2.00pm, and our train to Lucknow was scheduled to be at 6.00pm. But railways, as usual, couldnt manage the crowd, and the trains were running indefinitely late. Delay of trains was inturn stacking up more and more crowd into the platform, and we couldnt even get a place to stand. We were waiting on Platform-9, and the stampede happened at Platform-6 killing 30+ people. Heavy crowd and noise, we didnt even know such an incident happened in the opposite platform. With our train delayed already by 3hours, and no signs of arrival further, we decided to void the train option and try a bus to Lucknow. We took a rickshaw to bus-stand and adding more frustration was the news that buses was stranded outside the city and to reach there, autos charged 700/-. It was around 11.00pm and we both of us were damn tired and frustrated by the crowd and happenings. We didnt know any concrete plan on how to proceed, for we had a flight to catch at lucknow the next day at 1.00pm. Any delays further can make us slip the flight and that will cost a lot. Finally, Mahesh had a plan - lets check-in to some budget hotel (his plan by default will have a hotel check-in option :)) for the night and take a cab to Lucknow by morning. We queried a local hotel and he wanted 3000/- (in fact after seeing Mahesh he said 4500/-, but seeing me he got down to 3000/-) for few hours of stay. We then asked a rickshaw guy to take us to a nearby budget hotel and after querying a couple of hotels, we found a hotel who charged 1300/- for overnight stay (in fact the room-charge was 3000/-, but Mahesh negotiated it for 1300/-. Good Management skills.). The next big problem is booking a cab to Lucknow. We had no contacts and nothing. Finally googled from mobile and got a list of cab operators in Allahabad. We dialled the first number and to our shock, he asked 12000/- for a drop to lucknow (~450kms from Allahabad). We kept him as last option and then tried one other cab who generously charged 4500/- for a drop to Lucknow. Without next word, we booked the cab by 1.00am, and asked him to pick us at 5am. Just 4 hours of sleep, but a peaceful sleep, for we have completed a big trip, walked 30kms that day without much food, survived a stampede, roamed wild to find a hotel, and could manage to book a cab somehow... 

What else, the cab came, and we were in Lucknow airport on time to catch our return flight to Chennai. The trip started smooth, throwed us some miracles, showed us a glimpse of truth, tested our stamina, filled us with horror, but ended smooth like it started. Varied colors, but every event is worth remembering for years to come. 

Trip Album  - https://picasaweb.google.com/114643271152565647128/Kumbhmela