The Guru

On the stretch of Chennai-Tiruvallur High Road, nearby Padi flyover, just opposite to the ‘Padavattamman Temple’, there was a narrow land which led us to the ‘Thiruvaleeswarar Temple’ on that sunny Sunday.   Within a few steps, we found a small piece of vacant land to our right side, in front of the temple. 

It is one of the Shiva Temples in India.  The temple though not so famous, has rich history and has been sung by famous Tamil Poet ‘Thirunana Sambanthar’.   The temple is believed to be about thousand years old one.  Before the entrance there were devotees all around the temple, wearing yellow colour dhotis.  Some of them were digging the land in front of the temple to prepare it for ‘Theemidhi Thiruvizha’ which is one of the famous functions, usually as a custom of dedication to the Hindu Gods.  This function is mostly famous in the southern part of India, especially in Tamilnadu.  The main concept of this function is that the devotees to walk on the fire and complete the ritual.  This literally means to control the mind and forget the pain.  The pain only for the body and mind which is not permanent and the soul is immortal.

There is a courtyard in front of the temple with corridor.  Once you pass the courtyard you can have dharsan of main shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva who is called ‘Thiruvaleeswarar’ here.  You can see the idols of ‘Suryan’, ‘Vinayagar’ and ‘Murugan’ on the corridor around the main shrine.

There is one separate shrine for ‘Guru’, one of the nine planets (Navakragam) which rules one’s life.  The planet ‘Guru’ is known as Jupiter in English is believed to have a greater impact in one’s life especially wealth according to the Indian Astrology.  The temple is visited by many people mainly because of ‘Guru’.  The temple is one of the ‘parigara isthalam’ where one can remove the bad things in their life caused by ‘Guru’.

Location: Padi, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India – About 12 kilometers from Chennai Central Railway Station

The God Doctor

The journey wasn’t expected to last such a long one.  On that murky Sunday, we decided to have darshan at Marundheeswarar Temple located at the East Coast of Bay of Bengal, Thiruvanmiyur.  We planned to start as early as possible to avoid traffic and more importantly I love to start early as it was so calm and cool with less traffic on the road and have chance to look around on the way.  

Even though the distance is more than 20 kilometers to the temple, we were diverted several times to end up to cover almost all the roads in the Chennai city.  The Metro Rail construction work was going on almost all over the city.  There wasn’t much traffic though we had a long journey.

At 10 o’clock we finally reached the famous Marundheeswarar Temple.  The temple is located just on beginning of the East Coast Road (ECR).  There were two entrances one just at the front of ECR and the other is at the back side where it is easier to park your vehicles.  There was big a Mandabam (hall) at the back entrance (West Tank Street) before you enter at the main shrine.  The temple is more than thousand years old, further expanded by Chola in their period.  The temple is spread over one acre.  It is dedicated to the Lord Shiva.  The temple is said to be visited and worshipped by the famous poet Valmiki who wrote the historical epic The Ramayana.  The name of the temple itself indicates that the temple is famous for curing diseases of people.  The history says that the Lord Marundheeswarar has taught Sage Agasthiyar the Medical Treatements who was one of the famous sage and who is said to teach many methods of medicine to treat various diseases.   He is also famous to have made ‘Naadi Jyothidam’.  The ‘Naadi Jyothidam’ is about the predictions of each and every human was born and to be born.  It contains all the details of previous birth, the past, the present and the future happenings in everyone’s life.  

Along with the main shrine of Lord Marudheeswarar, Goddess Parvathi, wife of Lord Shiva also can be seen in the temple.  There are 108 lingams and the dance form of Lord Shiva, Nataraj are also can be worshipped here.  It is one of the oldest temple and must visit once at least.

Temple Timings : Morning 6.00 am to 12.30 pm & Evening 4.00 pm to 8.30 pm daily

Buses: All the buses to Thiruvanmiyur and ECR

Image Courtesy: Owner of the Photo, Google Image Search Engine

Eight in One - The Ashtalakshmi Temple

In the confusion of choosing one among the three buses standing at the bus stand, I ended up sitting in one of them.  I was longing to visit Ashtalakshmi Temple for some time. The bus took me to places of the Chennai City that I had never visited.  There were right turns, left turns and some ‘U’ turns; Now I really don’t remember the ways I’d gone through those lanes.

I had to walk about a kilometer to reach the temple from the place the bus left me.  I couldn’t feel that I was walking just near to the beach.  There were buildings that hide the beach completely.  I couldn’t feel that I was heading to a hindu temple.  It was totally unusual.  I had to walk through a small lane after crossing a big Church.  It was Sunday and the church was crowded.   The surrounding of the temple asks for sorry.  The Besant Nagar beach attracts less people here.  Along with small houses there were some big apartments facing the sea.

The Ashtalkshmi Temple was recently built with modern bricks and cements.  It was situated at the shore of Bay of Begal.   There are eight idols of the Goddess Mahalakshmi, wife of Lord Krishna, located in two floors.  One has to pass the steps in the narrow lanes to visit each of the idols of the Goddess. The eight idols include Sri Aadhi Lakshmi for health, Sri Dhanya Lakshmi for food, Sri Dhairya Lakshmi for braveness,  Sri Gaja lakshmi for luck, Sri Santhana Lakshmi for Children, Sri Dhana Lakshmi for wealth, Sri Vijaya Lakshmi for victory and Sri Vidya Lakshmi for Education.  Apart from these, Sri Guruvayurappa and Sri Hanuman are the other main attractions here.  The temple was under maintenance at the time I visited.  There are separate entrants according to your purse’s weight.  You can worship the Goddess Lakshmi so close unlike other temples.  You feel so good with the breeze of the sea.

The temple is situated at Besant Nagar about two kilometers far from the Bus Stand.  The temple is open from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm and 4.00 pm to 8.30 pm. 

Courtesy: Owner of the photo.  If you don't want your photo published in this blog, please let me know.  I'll remove it. Thanks.

The Great Engineers – A Thousand Years of Glory

Since I couldn’t reserve train ticket to go to Thanjavur, I decided to visit my uncle.  Since there is only one train that goes to Thanjavur (up to Kumbakonam) all the seats are booked so early and with some politics in reservation, it is very hard to book a ticket in Indian Railways.  You have to go after the agents and pay extra.  But that didn’t disappoint me.  I had another plan.

My uncle is residing in Trichy.  You may ask why I’m going to Trichy instead of Thanjavur?  Thanjavur is no far away from Trichy.  All it will take an hour or so from Trichy to Thanjavur.  Apart from buses there are trains available frequently.  And it is easy to get tickets reserved for Trichy.

I got to get up so early in the morning to catch the train from Trichy Junction to Thanjavur.  I was accompanied by my cousin and we bought the tickets to Thanjavur at Srirangam Railway Station itself.  Trichy Junction is just about ten minutes journey from Srirangam by train.  At 6.10 am, the passenger train arrived at Srirangam and we reached Trichy Junction at 6.30 am.

The Thanjavur passenger train was waiting for us at the 4^th platform and we could make sure our seats.  The train departed at 7.15 am instead of 7.10 am usually.  There was not much crowd though many of the passengers were office goers.  It took about 1 ½ hour to reach Thanjavur Railway Station at 8.45 am.

Brahadeeswar Temple

We took a town bus to reach the Big Temple which is just about 2 kilometers from Railway Station.  Some people even walk to the temple.  But we could afford bus tickets at least. Though it was Saturday there were only a few people visited the temple but it could have been different if we’d come on Friday, because it was Prodosham and I saw the crowd in the photo published in a newspaper only in the next day.  I knew it that’s why I planned to visit on Saturday.

As we got down the bus, we were welcomed by the Thanjavur Thalaiyati Bomai (A doll), waving its head.  It is so famous and one of the identity of Thanjavur.  Here it is. The Great Big Temple is glowing in gold colour, flawless, standing firm for more than 1000 years.  The Temple is listed in World Heritage Sites.  Thanjavur was the ancient capital of Chola Kings.  Rajaraja Chola is the king in whose period the temple was built. He wanted to build it as a great temple and not to be competitive by other temples.

The campus is very spacious and it is easily visited by anyone without any restrictions unlike other temples.  There are 250 lingams in different formats placed in the campus.  There are two attractions, one is the Main Gopuram and other is the statue of bull called Nandhi.

The Gopuram itself describes why it is called as the big temple.  The top part of Gopura Kalasam which weighs in tones is the main attraction.  It is still a mystery how come they carried up the Kalasam to the top with no help of any cranes in their periods.  The Lingam inside the temple is about 4 meter height and when you see it you’ll feel the real experience of devotion.

Bell tower

The Bell Tower is one of the different experience, situated about 2 kilometers from the big temple along with Thanjavur Palace.  Try your best to climb the narrow steps to reach the top of the bell tower and have a good view.  But be watchful, you may be lost sight of the steps in that dark place.

Thanjavur Palace has many ancient stones and sculptures which is regularly visited by many tourists including foreigners.  

Note: For more photos click the flickr your left side.

Fenced to Amuse

After discussing many plans regarding where to go for the holiday, I’m left with no plan to choose from except one to go on my own plan without any companion.  Even I have been in Chennai for years, I haven’t visited ‘Guindy Children’s Park’ once.  I’ve asked many people to accompany me but they refused saying that the place weren’t so exciting.  But I wanted to experience it at least once.  So, I decided to go alone.  I wanted to become a child once again.

When I entered the park, I was welcomed by a Dinosaur with a smiling face.  Don’t panic.  It didn’t make any move while I passed it by. The corridor got me to the entrance ticket counter.  I had to buy a ticket which meant for adult to enter into the Children’s Park! There were only a few people with their children wandering around the park.  The first animal I saw was Deer.  And the way got me to one by one, there are Foxes, Hyena, Peacocks in white also, different kinds of Deer, Parrots, Tortoises, Cranes, and other kind of birds which I don’t know the names.  Apart from a few species, all were seem to be so tired.  There were either sleeping or looking at us with a neglected look. 

 After watching all the species the way took me to the entrance again, to exit.  Then there was Snake Park just nearby.  Here, the ticket counter was crowded with lots of people especially school and college children.  Any way I tried my best to buy the ticket and entered. There were snakes in different kinds kept inside the glass-walled cabins.  Also the snakes were portrayed as sculpture which is traditional way of worshipping the snake god in Hinduism.  The most exciting thing which surprised me was Crocodiles.  They occupied the most of the park in the waterless artificial lakes!  They all seemed except one or two, to be so lazy, sleeping one on another. They were all fenced in and I felt so bad for them.  They were losing their identity and nature.  Are they Prisoners of Nature?!

Then, I went to nearby (just a walk away) ‘Rajaji Mandabam’, ‘Gandhi Mandabam’ and ‘Kamarajar Mandabam’. They could give only a desert look.  There were only a very few people sitting with their children.  They seemed to be taking rest in the shadow of the trees.  But this is place so quiet and you feel very peaceful.  Though the place has nothing more than what you can expect.  I returned to the bus stop to go my way home after enjoying the whole thing.

  

Travel Information

Guindy Children’s Park is situated in Guindy, Chennai.  There are many local buses which head towards this route. And the Snake Park is situated in the same compound.

Entrance fee: Children – Free, Adult – Rs. 5, Camera – Rs. 10

Once in a Full Moon

We made sure to reach the bus terminus before the Sun sets. It is a Full Moon Day and the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus, one of the largest bus terminus in Asia, was busy as usual. The buses were queuing for their turn to take the people to their respective destinations. Since more people were heading to Tiruvanamaali, we had to follow a queue to ensure our seats on the bus. Before boarding the bus we had to buy tokens each before buying the bus ticket, Rs. 62/-.

I was accompanied by my uncle and we had to sit apart because of the seating arrangements as it was in the token. I got the window seat with the seating capacity for two more persons. Then, a family of four came, a mother, her two children and her sister. Four persons had to sit in two seats! They seemed to be village people. They adjusted themselves in their seats ensuring my own space without any uncomfortable. They were friendly as they did not disturb me or give any uneasiness at all.

The bus started to move at 2.30 pm. It is about 180 kilometers of journey to Tiruvanamaali, which seemed a long journey in a bus. I had to adjust myself many times that I hardly travel by bus for long distances. The bus went through Tambaram, Melmaruvathur, Tindivanam and Gingee. The five hours of journey got us to Tiruvanamaali at 7.30 pm. The buses were lined up one by one at the bus stand and thousands of people were getting down. The bus stand was again 2 kilometers away from the temple from where we have to start our Girivalam.

Girivalam

It is the custom for the people to walk around the hill which is called Girivalam. ‘Giri’ means mountain and ‘valam’ means walk. Every month on a full moon day (rather night), millions of people head towards Tiruvanamaali to walk around the hill, which is said to have gone through different forms in different ‘Yugam’, like Volcano, Gold and now it is Stone form.

Since the walking requires more stamina to keep going and it would be late after finishing the walk, we decided to have our supper before in hand. There were many stalls especially food stalls along the road either side doing their business briskly. We ordered ‘idli’ in one of the small huts (hotel) and ate about 6 idlis! which was more than what I really eat usually; each for Rs. 2.50 cost of Rs. 15/- each worth the taste and the quality. After idli, we had milk and tea respectively. The milk was also so tasteful with the aroma of cardamom.

There are many Footwear Centers (called themselves so) to keep your footwear safe while you go for Girivalam. Everyone should walk only with their barefoot. Some, not so devoted, wore footwear especially foreigners to walk. Some of them were riding hired bicycles. To my surprise, I could see so much devoted foreigners were walking on their barefoot so committed to the divine and the belief.

Lingams

Our way of Girivalm started at 8.00 pm with a sign board indicating the 14 kilometers of walk and ‘Indra Lingam’ is one of the first of 8 Lingams situated at different directions on the way. Other Lingums are Agni Lingam, Yema Lingam, Niruthi Lingam, Varuna Lingam, Vayu Lingam, Kubera Lingam and Esanya Lingam and many small temples, Ashrams were seen along the way. There were lots of small temporary petty shops selling everything that people may buy. At some places, people were provided ‘Annathanam’ by some Ashrams and common people. There are a lot of people sitting along the way and asking for things for their livelihood. Many of them were in their sage dress with long beard, looked like Sadhus.

The Great Mountain

We walked around the mountain which spread over all the way. The holy mountain is to be greatly admired. Viewing the hill all along the way and worshiping the greatness of the creation is a great experience. One of the attractions for me was Eduku Pillayar (pronounce ‘E’ as e, ‘du’ as do and ‘ku’ as koo), it was a small gap through which people go one by one in a long queue. People were moving on the road with no entry for vehicles; uttering ‘Namashivaya’. A sign board at every half a kilometer indicating the remaining kilometers to walk. Though my legs were paining while nearing the completion of the Girivalam, I enjoyed it and felt great.

Life-time Luck

We finished the walk just before it became New Year 2010. The crackers were burst everywhere to welcome the New Year. It is a life-time opportunity for everyone and only those can get a chance to come here, who are lucky and have done enough good things in their life. It is said that going around the hill destroys the ‘karma’ of ten million births. Girivalam not only gives us good health but also peace of mind with the medicinal plants over the mountain. It is for everyone to treat our fatigued souls.

TRAVEL INFORMATION

There are so many buses go to Tiruvanamaali from Chennai. Board at Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT). It takes about 5 hours to reach. If your aim for only Girivalam, you can return at once and get buses even after 12.00 midnight Bus fare costs Rs. 62/-. You can go for Girivalam even in the early morning. Choosing any time apart from early morning, evening and night is not advisable as it it very hot to walk on bare foot and you'll get tired in the heat.

Accommodation

If you want to stay, there are Ashrams available apart from budgeted hotels to luxury.

Name of the Book: The Smile of Murugan – A South Indian Journey

Author:  Michael Wood

About Author: Michael Wood is a journalist, broadcaster and film-maker and so popular for his popular BBC television series and the accompanying books, ‘In the footsteps of Alexander’ and ‘Conquistadors’.

Nature of the Book:  Travel

About the Book: The book was written and published in 1995 and it’s all about Michael’s journey to South India, Tamil Nadu.  The Author has written his experiences of visiting various temples in Tamil Nadu.  The book contains the journey from Madras to Chidambaram and other surrounding districts of the state such as Rameshwaram and Tiruchendur.  He describes Tamil Nadu was in its Nineties and its transformation from traditional to modern culture in the later years.  The books is more of a guide in its nature and suitable for those who wants to travel and visit the temples in Tamil Nadu.   Though the Author talks about the situations in the period of ‘90s I feel the book still has relevance as the temples don’t make big differences over period of time.  Everyone should visit these temples irrespective of their religions as any culture boasts its traditions and art talents.  Have a blessed journey!