A mini temple trail around Karaikudi

view from the road

view from temple side

                   
                                  above  the    entrance at the path leading to the main sanctum...could'nt catch the full view because of the asbestos sheet over head



12 kms from our hotel on dusty roads through villages led us to Pillayarpatti....a  Ganesh temple which had been on my wishlist for more than 10 years...and I have been just 90 kms away from this temple during my past many visits to our grand parents place at Trichy  but never got an opportunity to visit this temple. This time it was not even on  our itinerary when we started off from our place...well...like they say "You will get there only when you are meant too and not one moment sooner..."

When our car  cruised from the main road into a bylane with temple arch, we were flanked by small shops selling pooja items, tiny souvenirs...what opened at the end of the road was a beautiful view of two temple towers and in the forefront was a clean temple tank fringed with coconut trees with the typical horizontal white and clay red painting....it made a divine  sight and was an indicator that this temple was well maintained and  I could already feel the energy of the place.  As we parked and walked to the main temple sanctum....we saw  a few people selling arugam pul ( grass) and paneer roja malai ( scented rose garlands)  but the best part was nobody forced it on us like in many temples.

Once inside the temple  when i queued up behind the devotees for my turn in the high ceilinged granite hall, I  was totally awe struck when I  looked up. Absolutely wonderful and colorful( technicolor...not earthy colors at all) mandalas and paintings from mythology adorned the ceiling. I was gaping for a long time at the  artistic ceiling as the sanctum was crowded. Here is where I saw the crowd in this region that too numbering may be around 50. And when my turn to see the mammoth idol of the Lord came....this was again the only temple so far where I heard the priest say "Niruthhi, nidanama  parungo"( Stop, stay a while and see)....Absolutely divine sight  under the golden glow   from the oil  lit tamps ( no electric lights in sanctum) which my eyes still behold, what I  felt as I stood there for more than 2 minutes is indescribable. The fragrance of the roja malai, the glow diffusing  from oil lamps, the aroma of the vibhuti(sacred ash), the arugum pul malai ( garland made from grass) with all these, I could feel the absorption of the enshrined energies. No wonder, they call ancient temples as energy centers and this temple built according to agama shastra (temple architecture) authenticated that theory.

Again all around the temple,there are mini sanctums like in many shiva temples and huge framed photos from Mythology adorn the main walls. The temple like I said so well maintained by the nagarathar trust  is one of the  9 temples managed in this region and this is a very ancient rock cut  temple dating back to 1091 and 1238. More about the temple history here.

We drove out of the temple after buying the famous pillyarpatti pillayar from one of the many shops . 

Our next stop was the Lakshmi kuberar koil just 2kms away.



                                               Lakshmi Kuberar temple

 

Throught out the route, we saw many famous temple indicators  like vairavan kovil, thamizhthai kovil, Ariyakudi etc...but it was'nt possible to go to every temple due to time constraint. 

Kuberar kovil fell on our way to Kunrakudi on the main road...and this was my first visit to Kuberar kovil...never been or heard of a kovil for Kubera( God of wealth). So, when the husband's co-driver my daughter negotiated on the muddy track ( no road)  to reach a white building called Lakshmi Kuberar Kovil, i was surprised for it's gopuram in no way looked like the regular temple gopuram and this temple is just 2 year old.

A white building  like  exterior and the entrance was flanked by two shops selling all knick knacks related to wealth like the happy man kubera and other feng shui type items. The temple was very unique in that it had two levels. Onthe ground level was a lotus structure  in the  sanctum which the priest said was the peetam and one had to climb stairs to reach the level above the lotus structure. Where Lord Kubera's idol was consecrated and above the idol of Kubera on the wall was the idol of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Another unique feature was the kubera vibhuti(sacred ash) which was green in color.

The temple also had a mini pond like a well in the ground level where coins were thrown. Again a well maintained temple where a few antique bharnis were sold (clay pickle jars).

After seeking Kubera's blessings, we now drove towards Kunrakudi which was just 2 kms away. While negotiating the muddy track to reach the main road, we saw a snake slithering across the road in front of our car. The daughter who was driving  immediately wanted to know from her paati (grand mom) sitting in the rear seat,  if it had any significance like a black cat crossing the road and the mil who does'nt believe such superstitions  jokingly said " No, drive ahead, it is an invitation from Lord Murugan to visit his abode"(Lord Murugan's vehicle is a peacock which clutches a snake in its claw)

Kunrakudi - The abode of Murugan with his consorts valli and Devasena is another 1000 year old temple situated on a 30 metre hillock with more or less 100 steps to reach the abode.The name Kunrakudi itself in tamil means a hill colony. Built by Maruda pandi, a king who ruled this area. When he was suffering from an ailment,the vibhuti prasadam from this temple is said to have cured him.

When we reached the foot hills, we had a tough time escaping from the mendicants who were dressed in orange. After passing through the soda and pooja offerings shop which doubled as shoe depository, we were greeted by the temple elephant which was trained to bless with its trunk on our head when we offer a coin. We then climbed the 100 odd steps which were carved out of the hill and reached the top where a divine sight of the 6 headed Lord( Arumugam) with his consorts beckoned to bless us. Yet another moment which sent us into a trance and yes the vision of the lord under the glowing diyas is embedded in my mind. The granite pillars and the ceiling had such a cooling effect even in that hot weather and the breeze from the windows drew me to them. The view from there was  rustic and had a oldworld charm . I could see red tiled roofs and old little houses from there and dried vegetation reminding of hay. It instantly reminded me of an aerial picture my husband clicked in the Italian town of Pisa. There is so much of unsung beauty in our countryside which can make beautiful picture postcards.

Forgot to click pictures here but enjoyed the beautiful views from the top and we walked down the steps only to run into an  orange robed mendicant who call themselves as siddhars or andis ( don't know what they are called) and start asking for alms after forcefully predicting a few things about us. 

That was the mini temple trail around Karaikudi which we completed by 11a.m in the morning......so many ancient temples to see  in this region... God willing, maybe another visit will help complete.

Our next stop was Athangudi, famous for handcrafted tiles.

Chettinad - a hidden jewel

If one is not from the south of Vindhyas, you have to constantly remind yourself that there are more things associated with Chettinad than the world famous delectable chettinad cuisine. 

To start with chettinad is famous for its architecturally magnificient mansions,   Ancient temples, burma teak furnitures, traditional bronze/brass vessels, the chettinad tiles, Kottanz( reed baskets),  kandangi sarees( handloom), their financial and business acumen  and above all their hospitality and simplicity.

All these are what made me add the chettinad region to my bucket list. 

Chettinad region which is a cluster of nearlly 72 villages is lesser known and not popular on tourist circuit compared to its 2 famous neighbouring  temple towns of Trichy and Madurai but i discovered there is so much to see and do and experience in this region.

Like I mentioned in the previous post, we reached   the hotel in karaikudi in a residential area @ 8 in the evening. The whole town enroute to the hotel and around resembled like a ghost town  although we were close to  the new bus stand. I thought being late in the evening and a holiday due to ayudha puja the town was calm . But, even the  next morning when we drove the countryside  to reach  Pillayarpattti i realized that this is the nature of the region.

 Yes, the relaxed life (but certainly not laid back or lazy)  of this region inspite of the closeness to all the activity of the town  is unique. Not much greenery and very dry, arid and hot even in October, There are treasures all around  in the  villages  for city souls as the place is time warped. We saw no traffic at any point not even in bus stand or the narrow dusty lanes,   we met civilized, helpful  and well dressed people in traditional attire of vellai veshti and vellai sattai ( sparkling white shirt and white dhoti) even in hotels and public places like shops,.

 The whole journey through the little villages where at every  2 km we found interesting indicators like Visalam, Chettinad mansion,( heritage homes), Kuberar kovil, Athangudi, kanadukuthan. etc... we saw interesting sights like houses of interest big and small showing signs of decay here and there. Most medium sized houses had 3d murals of Gods like gaja lakshmi, krishna, Ganesha etc above the wooden awnings  and the bamboo grilled facades covering the thinnai were held on the walls that  had the traditional temple wall painting  of  horizontal white alternating with Clay red. Although the mildew on most houses lent an aura,  the crumbling houses, broken bamboo meshes,the chipping walls  and the locks indicated that most homes were vacant for long time. The passing  scenes would have made beautiful pictures for posterity  and my new mobile had a DSLR quality but unfortunately could not jget out of the vehicle and dash to capture the passing moments.

The quaint charming sights  and the relaxed pace of life that the whole region threw all along could make one think that life here is  frozen back in time.......It was a time travel in this region.  Wonder why, this is not on tourism circuit?That said , sometimes i wish it remains unknown only then can it hold on to  its charm.


 Glad that this cluster of villages called Chettinad is nominated for world heritage list. Hope UNESCO declares soon, It  deserves the tag . 

The pictures below don't do justice but still managed to capture a few from moving vehicle and hence may not be in frame.

Pillayarpatti in my next post....

 The mural figurines adorning most homes big and small

                                                                        Ghost town??!!!

The traditional festoons made of coconut glade that adorned almost at all places for Ayudha pooja

                                          mil dewed walls and  sloping tiled roofs

                                     
                                             Most homes have such carved balustrades

Another bucket list travel:)

Another vacation overlap and this time we decided to make  it an annual visit to our family deity temple near Trichy. But like the saying goes " Man proposes, god disposes"....we could'nt make it to  our deity temple  as it is open only on Mondays and Fridays. Instead, we reversed our travel itinerary and  set out to check off some things from our "to do" list.

So on saraswati puja day, from chennai after brunch we started off to Karaikudi on NH 45. After a couple of tea breaks and a stop over at the husband's alma mater near Trichy, we reached  Karaikudi at 8.30 completing the journey in 8 hours. 

The next day morning began with an auspicious start  to Pillayarpatti, the abode of Karpaga vinayagar(  Lord Ganesh ) and then there was no hindrance or looking back on the travel....everything went as we had proposed and we went ticking off pillayarpatti, Athangudi mansion, Athangudi tile making process and  we even managed to see some places which were not on our itinerary and the tick off continued to the last day of my travel back to my city.

 Here are a few pictures,  although  I must confess I was not  comfortable handling the features of  my new phone and so could not click pictures at many places where I wanted to.

 A very smooth drive on NH 45

Pillayarpatti karpaga Vinayakar temple pond

                                               The  wooden ceiling at Athangudi mansion

                                               The hand crafted athangudi tile in the making....one of its kind in the world.

Will record the  important travel detail after putting things in order of priority.