चोळ राजांच्या प्रदेशात - भाग पहिला
चोळ राजांच्या प्रदेशात भाग पहिला
चिदंबरम . गंगैकोंडाचोलापुरम. कुंभकोणम
तमिळनाडूचा काही भाग दोन वर्षांपूर्वी पाहिला होता. कांचीपुरम, महाबलीपूरम, वेल्लोर वगैरे.
(तमिळनाडू - वारसा आणि ऐतिहासिक स्थळे पर्यटन.
https://misalpav.com/node/50801 )
मंदिरे पाहाणे, देवदर्शन हे निमित्तमात्र. मुख्य उद्देश भटकंती वेगळ्या भागातली. आता गणपतीच्या दिवसांत सहा दिवस दक्षिणेकडे गेलो. चिदंबरम - कुंभकोणम - तंजावूर आणि तिरुचिरापल्ली (त्रिची). तमिळनाडूमध्ये ९५ टक्के धार्मिक पर्यटन आहे. परंतू इथली देवळे ऐतिहासिक वारसा म्हणून आहेत. चोळ राजांच्या प्रदेशात म्हटलं तरी इथे चालूक्य, पांड्य, सुलतान, नायक, मराठा आणि ब्रिटिश राजवटी राज्य करून गेल्या. हिंदू राजे एकमेकात लढून जय मिळाल्यावर विजयोत्सव किंवा शक्ती प्रदर्शन म्हणू देवळे बांधत. हरलेल्या राजाचे बांधलेले वाडे पाडले गेले तरी देवळे तशीच राहात. त्या देवळांचा विस्तार केला जाई. गोपुरे वाढवली जात. आताच्या सहलीची सुरुवात चिदंबरम येथून केली. शेवट तिरुचिरापल्ली येथे केला.
(माहिती काढण्यासाठी काही विडिओ यूट्यूबवर पाहिले. हिंदीत आहेत आणि जानेवारी २०२४मधले आहेत.
१ चिदंबरम
https://youtu.be/xpocc47COIs
२ गंगैकोंडाचोलापुरम
https://youtu.be/oJd7F450bH8
३ दारासुरम
https://youtu.be/L7QvLWskUs0
४ कुंभकोणम येथील मंदिरे
https://youtu.be/ZqL0bcoyWVQ)
वाहतूक आणि प्रवास साधने -
चिदंबरम - कुंभकोणम - तंजावूर आणि तिरुचिरापल्ली या शहरांमधील अंतरे साधारणपणे चाळीस ते पन्नास किलोमीटर आहेत.एकेक दिवस राहून बघून पुढे जायचे. त्रिचीला तीन दिवस मिळाले त्याचा उपयोग झाला. बटरफ्लाय पार्क आणि कल्लनाई या दोन जागा देवळं नसलेल्या आहेत. स्थानिक पर्यटनासाठी ओटो रिक्षा, टॅक्सी आणि बसेस भरपूर आहेत. शिवाय सर्व ठिकाणं शहराच्या मध्यवर्ती भागात दोन ते पाच किमी अंतरात आहेत. श्रीरंगम, बटरफ्लाय पार्क आणि कल्लनाई हे श्रीरंग बेटावर आहेत.
राहाणे -
ही सर्व शहरं जुनी आणि धार्मिक ठिकाणांच्या पर्यटनामुळे भरपूर वाढलेली आहेत. दहा बारा किमी विस्तार झाला आहे. ठिकाणं शहरांच्या जुन्या भागांत आहेत. सर्व प्रकारची आणि थरांतील हॉटेल्स आहेत. गैरसोय होत नाही.
खाणे -
प्रत्येक शहरात दोन प्रकारची रेस्टारंटस असलेले भाग सापडतात. इडली,वडे वगैरे शाकाहारी जेवणाची तसेच परोट्टा,रोट्टी,सामिष आहाराची वेगळी. शिवाय फळांचे स्टॉल्स ही खूप आहेत.
वातावरण -
तमिळनाडू राज्य मान्सून पट्ट्यात येत नाही. इकडचा पावसाळा संपला की तिकडे ऑक्टोबर ते डिसेंबरपर्यंत पाऊस पडतो. पाऊस संपला,भात तयार झाले की पोंगल (संक्रांत )मोठा सण येतो. या वेळी मोठी सुट्टी असते. वीस जानेवारीला संपते. त्यानंतर गर्दी नसते आणि हवा आल्हाददायक असते.
त्यांचा सप्टेंबर म्हणजे इकडचा मे महिना. तरी फार कडक उन्हाळा वाटला नाही. कावळ्यांची घरटी बांधायची लगबग दिसली. भोकराच्या झाडावरची भोकरं पिकली होती. काही आंब्यावर आंबे तयार झाले होते. आम्ही काही आंबे घेतले त्याची चव फारच छान होती.
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चिदंबरम -
आम्ही पाचला संध्याकाळी पोहोचलो. झटपट एक रुम घेऊन चिदंबरम मंदिराकडे गेलो. वेळ भरपूर होता कारण दहापर्यंत देऊळ उघडे असते. फोटोला बंदी. सर्व देवळे सकाळी सहा ते बारा आणि दुपारी चार ते आठ उघडी असतात. दुपारचा बारा ते चारमधला वेळ वाया जातो. चिदंबरम हे शिवाच्या नटराजा अवतारासाठी प्रसिद्ध आहे. परंतू नटराजाची मोठी अपेक्षित मूर्ती आत नाही. दोन फुटी काळ्या दगडातली आहे. शिवाय वस्त्र नेसवलेलं. दुरूनच दिव्याच्या उजेडात काही दिसलं नाही. देऊळ बऱ्यापैकी मोठं आहे, एक पुष्करणी आहे. पण रात्र असल्याने आवरतं घेतलं. चिदंबरम पासून पंधरा किलोमिटरसवर कांदळवन आणि समुद्र आहे. खारफुटी झाडे. याचे इकडे संशोधन केंद्र आहे. तिकडे गेलो नाही.
गंगैकोंडाचोलापूरम -
चिदंबरम ते गंगैकोंडाचोलापूरम(३५किमी) थेट जाण्यासाठी अधुनमधून बसेस असतात. किंवा वाटेत काट्टुमानारकोईल येथे बस बदलावी लागते. किंवा कुंभकोणमला जाऊन तिथून परत(३०किमी) यावे लागते. कुंभकोणमला जाणाऱ्या आणि तिकडून दर दहा पंधरा मिनिटाला बसेस असतात. पण आम्हाला सातची तिरुपुर बस मिळाली त्याने देवळापाशी पोहोचलो. गाव बाजुलाच आहे. चोळ राजा राजेंद्र याने बंगालपर्यंत सैन्य मोहीम नेऊन तिथल्या पालवंशीय राजांना जिंकून बंदी करून आणले. यांची अगोदरची तंजावूरमधली राजधानी इकडे आणली. तिथल्या बांधलेल्या बृहदिश्वर मंदिराची थोडी लहान प्रतिकृती म्हणजेच इथले मंदिर. गंगै (गंगा) कोंडा (आणली) चोला (चोळ राजा) पुरम (गाव शहर) असा याचा अर्थ आहे. वर्ष १०३५ मध्ये पूर्ण. चोळ राज्य पांड्य राजांनी बळकावले आणि नंतर इतर राजवटीत राजधानीचे काही शिल्लक राहिले नाही. तरी पुरातत्व विभागाने उत्खनन करून शोधाशोध केली आहे.
फोटो १
गंगैकोंडाचोलापुरम परिसर उत्खनन
मंदिराच्या प्रवेशद्वारासमोर एकच हॉटेल आहे वसंता भुवन. स्वच्छ आणि चविष्ट नाश्ता मिळाला. मंदिराचा परिसर सुशोभित राखला आहे आणि प्राकाराची वीस फुटी भिंत बहुतेक नवी असावी. आतमध्ये टॉयलेट, पिण्याचे पाणी, माहिती प्रकाशन केंद्र आहे. तुरळक पाच दहा पर्यटक आले होते. बाहेर पार्किंग आहे.
आतील मंदिराचे आणि शिल्पांच्या फोटोंच्या स्लाईड शो पाहा -
https://youtu.be/2VoeZdiqPMc
जिंकलेले पाल राजे कुंभांमध्ये गंगा घेऊन आले होते. इकडे जो सिंह दिसतो आहे त्याच्या पोटात एक जिना आहे तो आता जाळीच्या दरवाजाने बंद केला आहे. त्या जिन्याने बाजूच्या विहिरीत जाण्यासाठी दार आहे. त्या विहिरीत गंगा ओतली गेली होती.
विडिओ
https://youtu.be/_22dz79VmoQ
हे पाहून कुंभकोणमकडे गेलो.
कुंभकोणम (उच्चार कुम्पाकोणम )
इथे एक दिवस राहिलो. रुम घेऊन जेवण करून प्रथम महामघम तीर्थाकडे गेलो. शहराच्या मध्यभागी तंजावूर रस्त्यावर बस स्टँडपासून महामघम तीर्थ आणि काशिविश्वेश्वरार (१किमी) + आदिकुंभेश्वर आणि सारंग पाणी (२किमी)+ दारासुरम ऐरावतेश्वर (२किमी) अशा अंतरावर आहे.
फोटो २
महामहीम तीर्थ
फोटो ३
रुद्र, आदि कुंभेश्वरार कोईल
फोटो ४
.हत्ती , आदि कुभेश्वरार कोईल
आणखी बरीच मंदिरे आहेत. सर्व दुपारी बारा ते चार बंद असतात. महामहीम तलावाच्या चारी बाजूने चार चार याप्रमाणे सोळा शिवालये आहेत. या तलावात अमृताचे थेंब पडले अशी पौराणिक कथा आहे. अर्थात इथेही कुंभमेळा होतो गुरु सिंह राशीत आल्यावर. पुढचा मेळा २०२८मध्ये. आणि मसी उर्फ अर्ध कुंभ २०२२,२०३४...या प्रमाणे. तलावाला कुंपण आहे . जवळच काशिविश्वेश्वरार हे मंदिर आहे. बंद होते. येथून दारासुरमला पोहोचलो साडे तीन वाजता. ते लवकर उघडून दिले ते फिरून पाहिले. पश्चिमाभिमुख आहे. मूर्ती सुंदर.
विडिओ
https://youtu.be/4VcrFzkZOgs
फोटो ५
दारासुरम पाटी
मंदिरात एक छोटासा जिना आहे दहा पायऱ्यांचा. त्यावर आघात केल्यास स्वर वाजतात. तो आता बंदिस्त केला आहे.
फोटो ६
संगीत पायऱ्या, दारासूरम ऐरावतेश्वर
या मंदिराच्या बाजूला पार्वतीअम्मन मंदिर आहे. सिंहाची शिल्पे खूप आहेत. परिसरात विणकरांची घरे आहेत. सुती साड्या हातमागावर विणतात. येथून मागे आदिकुंभेश्वरारला आलो. देवळात हत्ती आहे आणि रुद्राचे मोठे शिल्प आहे. परतताना कॉफी दळून विकणाऱ्या गिरण्या दिसल्या . थोडी कॉफी घेतली. पण चिक्कमगळुरुला घेतलेली अधिक चांगली होती.
कुंभकोणममध्ये ओटो रिक्षावाले, हॉटेलवाले नवग्रह मंदिर टूअर करायची का विचारतात. पण ते नवग्रह एकाच मंदिरात नसून वेगवेगळी नऊ मंदिरे आहेत. बरेच अंतर आहे. फसू नका.
फोटो ७
नवग्रह मंदिर यादी
पुढील भागात तंजावूर आणि त्रिची.
मिपाकर देर्देकर यांनी सुचवलेल्या विडिओ एडिटर ऍपमुळे वाटरमार्क नसलेले फोटो स्लाईडशो टाकता आले. वीस फोटोंचा (1080p)स्लाईडशो करता येतो फ्री वर्शनमध्ये. ( Play store link .. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=videoeditor.videomaker.vid... ) . स्लाईडशो केल्याने लेखामध्ये खूप फोटो टाकता येतात फार खटपट न करता. शिवाय जीमेल स्टोरेजमध्ये ते मोजले जात नाही.
माहिती देण्याचा प्रयत्न केला आहे, कुणाला ट्रिप प्लान करायला उपयोगी पडेल. आम्ही रेल्वे आणि स्थानिक बसने प्रवास केला. आगावू आरक्षण फक्त रेल्वे तिकिटाचे केले. हॉटेल्सचे राहाण्याचे आरक्षण नाही. भरपूर आहेत व पाहून ठरवता येतात. अडचण आली नाही. स्थानिक भटकंतीसाठी कुणी ओटोरिक्षाने जाताना दिसले नाहीत. त्यांचा दर पन्नास रु किलोमीटर आहे. बसेस स्वच्छ आणि भरपूर असतात. एक रुपया किलोमीटर तिकिट. सरकारी एसटीत महिलांना फुकट, आधारकार्ड मागत नाहीत.
विमानाने जायचे झाल्यास त्रिची एअरपोर्ट आणि चैन्नई एअरपोर्ट. त्रिचीला राहून त्रिची आणि तंजावूर जाऊन पाहता येईल. कुंभकोणमला एक दोन दिवस राहावे लागेल. कारण देवळे दुपारी बंद असतात. या सहलीला मदुरै जोडता आले असते पण रामेश्वरमसाठी ते ठेवले आहे. सध्या रामेश्वरचा मंडपम ते पंबन रेल्वे पूल बंद आहे. रस्त्याने जाता येते. बघू पुढे कधीतरी.
ऐतिहासिक नोंदी, नावे, तारखा इतर स्रोतातून खात्री करावी. प्रत्येक देवळाची विशेष दंतकथा, पौराणिक कथा आहे पण ती इथे दिली नाही. Travel book चानेलच्या विडिओंत दिलेली आहे. माझे विडिओ साध्या मोबाईल कॅम्राचे HD आहेत. थोडे धूसर दिसतील. एक कल्पना यावी म्हणून दिले आहेत.
लेखातील चुका आणि सूचनांचे स्वागत. धन्यवाद.
चोळ राजांच्या प्रदेशात भाग दुसरा.
( ज्येष्ठ नागरिक, भाविक आणि इतिहासप्रेमी यांच्यासाठी पर्यटन)
मागचा भाग
चोळ राजांच्या प्रदेशात भाग पहिला
https://misalpav.com/node/52470
चिदंबरम . गंगैकोंडाचोलापुरम. कुंभकोणम हे पाहिले.
या भागात तंजावूर आणि त्रिची.
या चार शहरांमधल्या प्रवास तास दीड तासांचा आहे.तंजोर -त्रिची आणि इतर हमरस्ते सुरेख, कडुनिंबाची झाडे कडेने. रस्ते चांगले आहेत आणि टोल नाक्यांचा बुजबुजाट नाही.
तंजावूर
इथे दहाला पोहोचल्यावर रुम घेऊन तयार होऊन बाहेर पडलो.
फोटो १
तंजावूर नकाशा
रेल्वे स्टेशन, बस स्टँड (जुना), बृहदीश्वर आणि पॅलेस आवार सर्व दोन किलोमीटर परिसरात आहे. प्रथम बृहदीश्वरला पोहोचलो. सुरवातीला भोसले राजांनी बांधलेले प्रवेशद्वार लागते. इथला भोसल्यांच्या शिलालेख हुकला. नंतर मंदिराचे छोटे गोपूर नंतर मुख्य मंदिर.
बृहदिश्वर मंदिर परिसर, तंजावूर. २०२४_०९_११
https://youtu.be/JfvKZwfuDTY
यामध्ये दिसेल - प्रवेशद्वार - जुना छोटा नंदी-देऊळ-नवा मोठा नंदी-मुख्य देऊळ.
दुपारी साडे अकराला बृहदिश्वर बाहेरून फिरून पाहाणे शक्य नाही. दगडी फरशी तापलेली आणि चप्पल काढायला लावतात. त्यापेक्षा अगोदरची देवळे भारी. अखंड आहेत पण मूर्ती फार काही विशेष नाहीत. खाली असंख्य शिलालेख जुन्या तमिळमध्ये अगदी स्पष्ट आहेत. १८०सेंमी पावसाच्या मानाने उत्तम.गुलाबी सँडस्टोन आहे.
गाभाऱ्यात जाऊन वरती शिखरापर्यंत पाहाणे मिळत नाही. अगदी जवळून दर्शन रु१००/- उगाचच घेत होते. तरी मी एका कुटुंबाबरोबर घुसलो. शिखराची फार प्रसिद्धी झाल्याने लोक येतात एवढेच.बाकी हजार वर्षांपूर्वीच्या चोला राजधानीचे अंश कुठेही उरले नाहीत. सुलतानी राजवटीत अकरावे ते तेरावे शतक सगळे गेले.
[[गाइड रु२००० घेतात आणि चार वाक्ये फेकतात. गंमत वाटली.
https://youtu.be/MtaMt3xRiuk?feature=shared .
त्यापेक्षा विकी लेख आणि इतर माहिती वाचून जा. ]]
तंजावूर फोटो स्लाईडशो २०२४_०९_१०
https://youtube.com/shorts/-W92LOtGCRU
आतमध्ये खास तंजावूरच्या बाहुल्या (बोम्मई, खेळणी)विक्रीस ठेवलेल्या दिसल्या. दोन हजार, पंधराशे रुपये जोडी असा भाव सांगितल्याने घेतल्या नाहीत. क्लोकरूमही आहे.
हे पाहून ओटोने पॅलेस कॉम्प्लेक्सला गेलो. आर्ट गॅलेरी, दरबार हॉल (१६००), सरस्वती महाल, बेल टावर, आणि ब्राँझ पुतळे (जुलै २०२४ मध्ये उघडले) हे सर्व पाहण्यासाठी एकत्रित तिकिट रुपये पन्नास आहे.
दरबार हॉल (१६००)आणि सरस्वती महालात मिळून हस्तलिखिते वीस पंचवीस मांडलेली होती. शिळाप्रेसची पुस्तके इंग्रजांची पंचवीसेक. जुनी दासबोध पोथी होती.
बाकी ३०हजार हस्तलिखिते दुसरीकडे कुठेतरी असावीत.अपेक्षित आकडा अधिक होता. पण आपल्याला संपर्क नाही. फोटोग्राफी बंदी आहे. तासाभरात सर्व पाहून झाले. ब्राँझ मूर्ती दालन चांगले आहे. नटराजाच्या मोठ्या मोठ्या पितळी/ ब्राँझ मूर्ती इथे पाहायला मिळाल्या. चंद्रशेखर,शिवगामी,नटराजा,पार्वती यांच्या दीड दोन फुटी शंभरेक मूर्ती आहेत त्या जुलै २०२४ च्या नव्या दालनात. तंजावूर मध्ये भोसल्यांची बरीच मालमत्ता आहे. राहतात इथेच.
भोसले राजांनी १९४८च्या पाकिस्तानी युद्धासाठी भारत सरकारला पन्नास कोटींचे सोने दिले होते. हे कुठेतरी वाचले होते.
तंजावूर दर्शन लवकरच संपले. वीणा बनवण्याचा कारखाना किंवा बोम्मईचा कारखाना पाह्यला गेलो नाही. त्यांचे चांगले विडिओ यूट्यूबवर आहेत. दुपारी जेवून आराम केला. पाच वाजता बाजारात फिरलो. साड्यांचे प्रकार आणि दर मुंबई पुण्यासारखेच आहेत. नंतर कालव्याकडे गेलो. फार रम्य जागा आहे. तिकडे तासभर बसलो.
अनैकट (कालवा) शहरातून वाहतो. दोन्ही बाजूने फुटपाथ सुंदर आहे.
फोटो २
कालवा१
फोटो ३
कालवा २
कुंभकोणम आणि तंजावूर स्थळदर्शन एकेक दिवसांत संपल्याने त्रिचीसाठी तीन दिवस मिळाले हे चांगलेच झाले.
तंजावर सोडून त्रिचीला अकराला पोहोचल्यावर रुम दोन दिवसांची घेतली. आराम केला आणि दोन वाजता बाहेर पडलो.
फोटो ४
त्रिची नकाशा
त्रिची जंक्शन स्टेशन आणि जुना सेंट्रल बस स्टँड यांच्या उत्तरेस पाच किलोमिटर वर रॉक फोर्ट/फोर्ट आहे . त्यावरचे मंदिर म्हणजे उच्चीपिलियार गणेश. मागे रॉक फोर्ट रेल्वे स्टेशन. फोर्टच्या पुढे एक किमी अंतरावर छतरम बस स्टँड. पुढे नदी (कावेरी) ओलांडली की श्रीरंगम आणि जंबुकेश्वर (तिरुवानैकवल). पुढे परत कोळीदम उर्फ कावेरीचा उत्तर प्रवाह.
श्रीरंगम बेटांची रचना-
हे श्रीरंगम बेटाच्या मध्यभागी आहे. श्रीरंगम बेट कावेरी नदीत पश्चिम ते पूर्व निमुळते आहे. लांबी साधारण वीस किलोमीटर. सर्वात डाविकडे(पश्चिमेला )मेलूर गाव आठ किलोमीटरवर आहे. तिथे कावेरीचे दोन भाग होतात. इथे मुक्कोबु गाव आहे. करूर रोडने इथे जावे लागते. अलिकडच्या (दक्षिणेचा) नदीला कावेरी आणि पुढचा (उत्तरेचा) प्रवाह कोळिदम नदी म्हणतात. दोन्ही प्रवाह पुन्हा पूर्वेला कल्लनाई गावापाशी(बारा किमी) एकत्र येऊन परत तीन भाग होतात. रेल्वे हे बेट ओलांडून जाते. देवळाजवळ श्रीरंगम स्टेशन आहे. सर्व एक्सप्रेस गाड्या इथे थांबत नाहीत.
बेटावर वस्ती खूप आहे आणि दर दहा मिनिटाला छतरम/सेंट्रल स्टँड ते श्रीरंगम बस सतत धावतात. रॉक फोर्टच्या स्टॉप जवळ तेप्पाकुलम तलाव आणि सेंट लॉर्ड्स चर्च आहे. याचे मनोरे (spire) दुरूनही दिसतात.फ्रान्समधल्या एका चर्चची ही प्रतिकृति आहे.
फोटो ५
रॉक फोर्ट/फोर्टच्या पायऱ्या
पायऱ्या पाहून घाबरायला नको. फोर्ट ची उंची फक्त १७० मिटरस आहे. वरती गणेश मंदिर आहे. उच्चीपिलियार कोईल. कायम उघडे असते. इथून त्रिची शहर छान दिसते. दुपारी हे पाहून श्रीरंगमला गेलो. चार वाजता देऊळ उघडले. हत्ती आहे. देवळाचा पसारा मोठा आहे आणि अंधार आहे. मुख्य गोपूर राजगोपूरम खूप उंच असले तरी त्यावर कलाकृती फारशा नाहीत.
फोटो ६
फोर्टवरून दृष्य
फोटो ७
राजगोपूरम श्रीरंगम
हे पाहून दोन किलोमीटरवरच्या तिरुवानैकवल उर्फ जंबुकेश्वरला गेलो . शिल्पांच्या बाबतीत हे श्रीरंगमपेक्षा शंभर पट चांगले आहे. पण फोटोग्राफी बंदी आहे.
[[माहितीसाठी Travel Book चे विडिओ पाहा.
Tanjavur
बृहदीश्वर
https://youtu.be/W92SD-ypFrY
Tiruchirapalli Trichhi )
१ श्रीरंगम
https://youtu.be/1ehtKleoGDA
२.जंबुकेश्वर
https://youtu.be/DXON_AA1KSM
जंबुकेश्वर/ तिरुवानैकवल
याचे गोपूर लहान असले तरी मोठी चित्रे आहेत. शिवालय असूनही कृष्ण गोपी वस्त्रहरणाचे मोठे शिल्प आहे. कृष्ण झाडावर आहे आणि गोपींनी आपले अंग हातांनी झाकायचा प्रयत्न चालवला आहे.
इकडे हत्ती आहे. असायलाच हवा .त्याची कथा आहे. हत्ती आणि कोळीचे पिंडाची पुजा करतानाचे मोठे शिल्प आहे. एक स्त्री ( गौरी?) बेलाचे पान वाहत आहे. जांबु ऋषी झाडाखाली (जंबुकवनातल्या) बसले आहेत. बाजूला दुसऱ्या शिल्पात शिव पार्वती नंदीवर बसले आहेत.
शिवाचे जलतत्वाचे देऊळ असल्याने पिंड पाण्यात आहे. एका वेळेस आठ आठ भाविकांना आत सोडतात पिंडीजवळ. अंधार आहे. आतमध्ये मागे पार्वतीचे वेगळे दालन आहे. डावीकडे कुमाराचे दालन. मोर समोर बसला आहे. नंदी असतो शिवासमोर तसा मोर. या दालनातल्या खांबांवर काही विशेष शिल्पे पाहिली. शिल्पे दोन फुटी ठसठशीत आहेत.
कुमार दालनात बरेच खांब आहेत. ते तीन फुट उंचवट्यावर आहेत. मधला मार्ग कुमार कार्तिकेयाच्या(?) मूर्तीकडे जातो. समोर मोर आहे.
खांबांवरची काही विशेष शिल्पे नोंद केली( फोटोला अनुमती नाही. )
१.शिकारी व्याधाच्या रूपात शिव, झाडाला बांधलेल्या झोक्यावर बसलेली ललना.
२.मोठा दंड घेतलेला रखवालदार आहे.
३.सहा हत्ती आणि एक सिंह डोंगरावर आहेत.
४.एका हंसाने चोचीत मोठा वेल धरला आहे. हंसाचे शरीर पंख असणाऱ्या घोड्याचे आहे.
५. शिवपिंडीवर दुधाची धार सोडणारी गाय आहे.
६.नागाच्या फण्यातला एक सर्प शरीराचा देव आहे.
७.मोठा त्रिशूळ घेतलेला रुद्र.
८.त्रिशूळ घेतलेला पशुपत.
९. चार हातांचा एक देव,शेपटी आहे.अरण्यात शिवपिंडीची पूजा करत आहे.
१०.सहा हातांची कुणी देवी आहे. तिच्या मस्तकामागे ज्वालांची प्रभावळ दिसत आहे. (सूर्याची पत्नी शची?)
११.विश्वामित्रासारखे एक हात वर करून नको म्हणणारा ऋषि. याला हार घातला होता.
१२. लक्ष्मी, दोन हातात शंख.
१३.वीणा वाजवणारी सरस्वती
१४.शंख आणि चक्रधारी विष्णू
१५. एक त्रिदेव. तीन मुखे
१६.दोन हात जोडलेला,मुकुटधारी राजा वाटतो आहे.
१७.मारुती
१८. पोपटावर स्वार आणि धनुष्याला बाण लावलेला मदन?
१९.साडी नेसलेली एक स्त्री,दोन हात,हातात बालक.
२०.एक वाकलेला,दाढीवाला ऋषी वाटतोय.,छातीच्या फासळ्या दिसत आहेत,हातात काठी आणि पात्र,शेपूट आहे आणि तीन पाय आहेत. भ्रींग महारिशी असं काही तमिळमध्ये लिहिलं आहे मूर्ती खाली.
२१. चार हातांचा शिव,पायाखाली राक्षस.
२२.चार हातांची देवी, वर हार, माला आहे,डोक्यावर मुकुट.
दुसरे दिवशी कल्लनाई इथे गेलो. छतरम स्टँड वरून बस जातात. वेगवेगळी धरणे बांधली गेली आहेत. अगदी पहिले दुसऱ्या शतकात कारैकल चोला राजाने एक बांध घातला. नदीचे दोन भाग झाल्याने एकीकडे पाणी दुसरीकडे गाळ साठू नये म्हणून बंधारा घातला तो तिनशे मिटरस लांबीचा आहे. तो कसा घातला ते चित्र रूपाने मणिमंदिरम स्मारकात पाहता येते. पाट्या तमिळमध्ये आहेत, त्यांचे फोटो घेतलेत. गूगल लेन्सने मराठीत भाषांतर करून पाहिले.इमारतीच्या मध्यभागी राजाचा हत्तीवरचा ब्राँझ पुतळा आहे. सुंदर वास्तू. जवळच्या बागेत (पुंगा) राजाचा सिमेंटचा पुतळा आहे. गावात नगरपालिका कचेरी आवारात मोठी लोखंडी घमेली ठेवलेली दिसली. ही नदीत टाकून दोरीने ओढतात आणि दुरुस्ती करतात. पूर्वी हत्ती ओढत असत. नंतर एका ब्रिटीश एंजिनिअरने बंधाऱ्याच्या अभ्यास करून सुधारणा केल्या.१८३६. जुना तसाच ठेवला आहे. त्याचा पुतळा आहे. भिंतींवर स्त्रीचे डोके असलेली गाय शिल्पे आहेत त्यांची कथा मिळाली नाही.
अगस्ती - कावेरी कथा
अगस्ती ऋषींचे दोन पुतळे आहेत. अगस्ती ऋषींना लग्न करावेसे वाटल्यावर त्यांनी एक कन्या निर्माण केली. तिचे नाव लोपामुद्रा. ती त्याने विदर्भ राजाकडे सांभाळायला दिली. मी नंतर येऊन नेईन म्हणाले. उपवर झाल्यावर अगस्ती गेले ती मागायला राजा विदर्भाकडे. पण राजा तयार होईना . इतक्या म्हाताऱ्याला लग्नासाठी ही मुलगी कशी द्यायची. पण लोपामुद्रा स्वतःच तयार झाली. अगस्तीने आपल्याच मुलीशी लोपामुद्रेशी लग्न केले मात्र ते पडले तपस्वी. त्यांनी तिला कमंडलूतील पाण्यात ठेवले आणि तपाचरणात विसरून गेले लग्न झाल्याचे. काही काळ गेला. मग एका कावळ्याने(गणपतीने) तो कमंडलू लवंडून टाकला आणि लोपामुद्रा नदी स्वरूपात वाहू लागली. तिला लोक कावेरी म्हणू लागले. कर्नाटकातील तलेकावेरी येथे उगम होऊन गुप्त झाली. आठ किलोमीटरवर भागमंडला येथे पुन्हा प्रकट झाली. वाहात तमिळनाडूत पुमपुहार येथे सागराला मिळते. जून ते सप्टेंबरपर्यंत सह्याद्रीचा पाऊस आणि ऑक्टोबर ते डिसेंबर तमिळनाडूतला पाऊस असा सात महिने प्रवाह जोरात असतो.सुंदर जागा. संध्याकाळी इथे गर्दी करतात, सकाळी तुरळक लोक असतात.
कल्लनाई धरण आणि बाग, त्रिची. २०२४_०९_१२
https://youtu.be/g48TnSNPGRM
मणिमंदिरम १, कल्लनाई, त्रिची. २०२४_०९_१२
https://youtu.be/Ce2CE_m6rR0
मणिमंदिरम २, कल्लनाई, त्रिची. २०२४_०९_१२
https://youtu.be/9fqvw-dp26A
तिसरे दिवशी हॉटेल सकाळीच सोडले आणि बटरफ्लाई पार्कला सामान घेऊन वेळ काढला.
यासाठी श्रीरंगमला जाऊन बाजूच्या गल्लीत शाळेजवळ मिनी बस मेलूर येथे जाण्यासाठी मिळते. सकाळी 08:15, 09:45, 12:20 .बस कमी आहेत. शेवटच्या स्टॉपजवळच बटरफ्लाय उद्यान गेट आहे. आम्हाला 09:45 ची बस मिळाली. लवकर जा. नऊला बाग उघडते आणि अकरापर्यंत फुलपाखरे असंख्य उडत असतात. नंतर गायब झाली उन्हाचा तडाखा वाढल्यावर. झाडी भरपूर आहे. रेस्ट हाऊसेस छान आहेत. गारवा आहे. दोन तीन मोर जवळच फिरतात. आतल्या कँटीनमध्ये फारसे पदार्थ नाहीत. सोबत न्यावे.
फोटो ८
श्रीरंगम ते मेलूर बटरफ्लाय पार्कसाठी बस वेळापत्रक
बटरफ्लाई पार्क, मेलूर, त्रिची.२०२४_०९_१३
https://youtu.be/UdUzbesxXUE
मोर, बटरफ्लाई पार्क, मेलूर, त्रिची.२०२४_०९_१३
https://youtu.be/8KoggzJkFwU
फुलपाखरे, बटरफ्लाई पार्क, मेलूर, त्रिची.२०२४_०९_१३
https://youtu.be/S-J-BBMJtqM
परतीची रेल्वे संध्याकाळी सहाची होती त्यामुळे बटरफ्लाय पार्क पाहून झाले.
तमिळनाडूत हा भाग आतला आहे आणि तमिळ भाषा बोलली जाते. इंदी (हिंदी) समजत नाही. काही कॉलेज विद्यार्थी किंवा रिटायर्ड लोक दिसले तर इंग्रजीत विचारता येते. परंतु थोडे तमिळ यावे. यूट्यूबवर learn tamil चे खूप विडिओ आहेत पण विस्कळीत आहेत. पाच वर्षांपूर्वी जर्मनीच्या Goethe Verlag संस्थेने हा प्रश्न सोडवला जगातील आणि भारतातील मुख्य अशा पन्नास भाषांचा शंभर धड्यांचा अभ्यासक्रम तयार केला आहे. 50languages.com
येथे कोणत्याही भाषेतून कोणतीही भाषा शिकता येते. विडिओ, ओडिओ आणि लेखी धडे थेट डाऊनलोड करता येतात. महानाभर बघितल्यास रोजच्या व्यवहारातील वाक्ये समजतात. माझा अनुभव चांगला आहे.
या चार शहरांत जमेल तेवढ्या गोष्टी पाहिल्या परंतू अजून खूप आहेत. आपल्या आवडीनुसार आणि वेळेच्या उपलब्धतेनुसार पाहता येतील. खाणे, राहाणे आणि प्रवास यात काहीच अडचण येत नाही. तिकडे फिरलेल्या वाचकांनी यात भर घालावी किंवा चुका सूचना कराव्यात. धन्यवाद.
Uncategorized 1 Minute
(२८ ऑक्टोबर २०१९ ते ०४ नोव्हेंबर २०१९)
पुन्हा साधारण एक वर्षानी प्रवास वर्णन लिहायला घेत आहे आणि पुन्हा एकदा अतुल्य भारतावर.
कधीतरी वाचण्यात आलेले, “डेस्टिनेशन इस नॉट इम्पॉर्टंट – जर्नी इस इम्पॉर्टन्ट”. मला त्यात काही शब्द ऍड करावेसे वाटतील “विथ हुम यू आर ट्रॅव्हललीन्ग इस अल्सो इम्पॉर्टन्ट” आणि या तिन्हीचा योग जुळून आला तर…
मागच्या सहलीपेक्षा पूर्ण विभिन्न तरीही तितकाच सुंदर भारत बघण्याचा योग पुन्हा आला, दक्षिण भारत – तामिळनाडू.
मधल्या काळात नव्यानेच सुरु झालेल्या आंग्रीया क्रूझवर मुंबई-गोआ हि सहल केली. साधारण त्याच वेळेला यूट्यूबवर तामिळाडूमधील धनुषकोडी हि जागा बघितली आणि बघताच आपण इथे जायला हवे असं वाटायला लागले. एक दोनदा आमच्या व्हाट्स-अँप ग्रुपवर चर्चाही झाली परंतु निशिचत कधी ते ठरले नाही. साधारण सप्टेंबर महिन्यामध्ये पुन्हा चर्चा सुरु झाली, धनुषकोडी हि जागा मनात निश्चित होती. परंतु फक्त एका ठिकाणाकरता एवढा खर्च करणं व्यावहारिक दृष्ट्या शक्य नव्हते. मग विचार केला मदुराई – रामेश्वरम – धनुष्कोडी हि छोटेखानी सहल ठरवू. दरम्यान काही मित्रांनी वैयक्तिक कारणास्तव येण्यास असमर्थता दाखवली. शेवटी आम्ही आणि अजून एक फॅमिली असं नक्की केले. मित्राच्या बायकोने प्रवासाची पूर्ण रूपरेषा ठरवली आणि काही अधिक माहिती घेऊन आमचा टेम्पल रन फायनल झाला. चेन्नई-कांचीपुरम-महाबलीपूरम-पॉंडिचेरी-चिदंबरम-थंजावर-त्रिची-मदुराई-रामेश्वरम-धनुषकोडी असा साधारण १२०० किलोमीटर्सचा प्रवास. एका निवांत दिवशी बुकिंग्स.कॉम /ट्रीवागो.कॉम/मेकमायट्रिप.कॉम या संकेतस्थळांवरून हॉटेल्स बुक केली. झूमकार वरून एक ठराविक पॅकेज बुक केले- महिंद्रा स्कॉर्पिओ.
## डीसक्लेमर एखादा सिनेमा सुरु होण्यापूर्वी जसे डीसक्लेमर देतात तसे मला सांगणे गरजेचे आहे, प्रवासातील मंदिरांची माहिती किंवा एखाद्या जागेची माहिती आम्ही तेथील प्रत्यक्ष ऐकीव गोष्टीवरून, माहिती फलकावरून किंवा काही ठिकाणी घेतलेल्या गाईडकडून घेतली. परंतु त्याला अचूकतेची जोड असण्याकरता इंटरनेट, मुख्यतः विकिपीडियावरून आणखी संदर्भ घेऊन ते जोडले आहेत. एखादी माहिती चुकीची असेल तर ती कृपया सांगावी म्हणजे ती अद्ययावत केली जाईल.
दिवस एक – प्रवास (पुणे – चेन्नई) – पाडव्याच्या दिवशी रात्री पुणे-चेन्नई असा प्रवास विमानाने पूर्ण केला. रात्र चेन्नईत एका खासगी होमस्टेमध्ये काढली.
दिवस २ – कांचीपुरम – सकाळी साधारण 7.३० वाजता चेन्नईतील एग्मोर स्टेशन पार्किंगमधून गाडी घेतली आणि नाश्ता करून पुढच्या प्रवासाला निघालो. कांचीपुरमचे महत्व असे आहे कि मध्ययुगीन काळात कांचीपुरम हि पल्लव साम्राज्याची राजधानी होती. साधारण ११ वाजता आम्ही पहिल्या मंदिरापाशी पोचलो. कैलासनथर टेम्पल – स्थापत्यकलेतील आश्चर्य असे कैलासनथर मंदिर राजा नर्सिंहवर्मन दुसर्याने ०७ व्या शतकात बांधले.
एकंबरेश्वर मंदिर – तिथून पुढे आम्ही कांचीपुरम मधील सर्वात मोठ्या अश्या एकंबरेश्वर मंदिराचे दर्शन घेतले. थोडक्यात सांगायचे तर शंकराचे हे मंदिर नवव्या शतकात पल्लव साम्राज्याध्ये बांधले गेले. या मंदिराचे आणखी एक वैशिष्ट्य म्हणजे या मंदिराची गणना पंचमहाभूत स्थळांमध्ये होते आणि हे मंदिर पृथ्वीचे प्रतिनिधित्व करते. इतर ४ स्थळं जल, अग्नी, वायू आणि अवकाश. चिदंबरम नटराज मंदिर अवकाशाचे प्रतिनिधित्व करते जिथे आम्ही पुढच्या प्रवासात जाणार आहोत. अजून एक आख्यायिका इथे ऐकायला मिळाली इथल्या अंगणातील ३५०० वर्षांपूर्वीच्या आंब्याच्या वृक्षाला ४ चवीचे आंबे ४ फांद्यांना लागतात. हे मंदिर आपल्याला भगवान शंकर आणि पार्वतीच्या (कामाक्षी देवीच्या ) अस्तित्वापर्यंत घेऊन जाते. इथे आम्ही टॅमरीन राईस (चिंचेचा भात) आणि राईस इडली द्रोणामध्ये खाल्ली. सर्वांना भरपूर आवडलं, पुढच्या सर्व प्रवासामध्ये सगळ्या मंदिरांमध्ये आमचा हा नियमित आहार झाला. (किंमत १० रुपये एका द्रोणाचे)
एकंबरेश्वर मंदिर 
टॅमरीन राईस (चिंचेचा भात) आणि राईस इडली
एकंबरेश्वर मंदिराचे दर्शन होईपर्यन्त साधारण १.३० वाजले. जवळच ४ किलोमीटरवर श्री सर्वान्ना भवन या प्रसिद्ध तामिळ पारंपरिक हॉटेलमध्ये मिल्स (तामिळ थाळी ) आणि मिनी मिल्स (५ भात ) घेतली. कांचीपुरम हे गाव अजून एका गोष्टीकरता प्रसिद्ध आहे, “सिल्क साड्या”. तळपत्या उन्हात २ वाजता आम्ही ए.एस बाबुशाह या प्रसिद्ध साड्यांच्या वातानुकूलित दुकानात गेलो आणि २ तासामध्ये दोन साड्या खरेदी झाल्या. मी आणि मित्राने मात्र छान वातानुकूलित वातावरणात सोफयावर वामकोक्षी घेतली. तामिळनाडूमध्ये सगळ्या मंदिरांचे दर्शन सकाळी 9 ते २ आणि आणि ४ ते ७ या वेळात होते.
कामाक्षी अम्मन टेम्पल – हे मंदिर कामाक्षी देवी जे पार्वतीचेच एक रूप आहे त्याला समर्पित आहे. हे मंदिरहि पल्लव साम्राज्यामध्ये बांधले गेले. पार्वतीची अजून रूपे मीनाक्षी आणि अकिलनंदेश्वरी यांची मंदिरे अनुक्रमे मदुराई आणि तिरुचिरापल्ली इथे आहेत. असे म्हणले जाते कि, कामाक्षी देवीची पद्मासनामध्ये बसलेली भव्य मूर्ती शांती आणि उत्कर्षाचा आशीर्वाद देते.
वरदराज पेरुमल टेम्पल – आजच्या दिवसातील शेवटचे मंदिर आता करायचे राहिले होते. कामाक्षी मंदिरापासून जवळच ३ किलोमीटरवर असलेल्या महाविष्णूच्या या मंदिराला पोहचेपर्यन्त संध्याकाळ झाली होती. प्रसिद्ध गणिततज्ञ रामानुजांनी काही काळ या मंदिरात घालवला होता असे म्हणले जाते. भगवान पेरुमलांची भव्य मूर्ती आपल्याला या मंदिरात बघायला मिळते. या मंदिराचे अजून एक वैशिष्ठ्य बघायला मिळाले, तलावात असलेल्या इथल्या एका वास्तूची दारे ४० वर्षातून एकदा उघडली जातात आणि दुसरी म्हणजे मुख्य मंदिरात असलेल्या लक्ष्मीच्या रूपातील सुवर्ण आणि रौप्य पाली. त्यांना स्पर्श केल्यावर आपली पापे निघून जातात अशी आख्ययिका आहे. कुठल्याही श्रद्धा आणि आस्था या विषयवार टिपणी करणार नाही कारण ती प्रत्येकाची वैयक्तिक बाब आहे. दर्शन झाल्यावर बाहेर येऊन कॉफी घेऊन, आम्ही महाबलीपुरम्च्या दिशेने निघालो. पोहचे पर्यन्त खूप अंधार झाला होता. ओयो रूम्समधील छान अश्या एका रिसॉर्ट कम बंगल्यामध्ये बुकिंग होते आमचे, परंतु दिसायला छान असलेल्या या रिसॉर्टमध्ये काहीच सोयी नव्हत्या. पूर्ण रिसॉर्ट मध्ये १0-१२ बंगले होते आणि आम्ही दोनच फॅमिली. आम्ही विनंती करूनही एका बंगल्यामध्ये सोय झाली नाही आणि दोन वेगळ्या बंगल्यामध्ये आम्हाला ठेवले. जवळपास कुठलेही रेस्टोरंटहि नव्हते, प्रचंड पाऊस पडत होता. जवळपासच समुद्रही आहे हे जाणवत होतं. कसे बसे एक हॉटेल मिळाले, तिथे पोटभर जेवण करून आम्ही परत आलो.
दिवस ३ – महाबलीपूरम आदल्या दिवशी ठरल्याप्रमाणे सकाळी ८.३० वाजेपर्यंत अल्प न्याहारी करून (ओयो कृपा) आम्ही पुढच्या प्रवासाला म्हणजेच महाबलीपूरमच्या दिशेने निघालो. आम्ही महाबलीपूरमपासून साधारण १० किलोमीटर अलीकडे राहिलो होतो. आमचा पुढचा पूर्ण प्रवास साधारण निसर्गरम्य अशा ईस्ट-कोस्ट रोड वर होणार होता. सकाळपासूनच काळे ढग दाटून आले होते आणि थोड्याच वेळात पाऊस सुरूही झाला. डाव्या बाजूला विराट समुद्राचे दर्शन होत होते. या पूर्ण १० किलोमीटरच्या प्रवासात भरपूर रिसॉर्ट आहेत. साधारण १० वाजता आम्ही महाबलीपूरमला पोचलो. महाबलीपूरमचे दुसरे नाव ममल्लापुराम असेही आहे, ज्याचा संदर्भ पल्लव राजा नर्सिंहवर्मन १ जो महामल्ल म्हणून ओळखला जायचा यावरून ठेवले गेले. महाबलीपूरम सातव्या शकतील पल्लव साम्राज्याच्या दोन प्रमुख बंदरांपैकी एक होते. आर्थिक उत्कर्षाबरोबरच महाबलीपूरमची ओळख त्या काळात खडकातून कोरलेल्या युद्धस्मारक अशीही होती. संपूर्ण शहरामध्ये तुम्हाला एका खडकातून कोरलेले अनेक रथ, मंडपे, आणि मंदिरे बघायला मिळतील. आणि यावर प्रमुखतः द्राविडी आणि चिनी स्थापत्यकलेचा प्रभाव दिसतो. आम्ही पोचलो तेव्हा रिमझिम पाऊस पडत होता. जवळच्याच एका दुकानातून छत्र्या घेतल्या कारण तामिळनाडूमध्ये मान्सूनचे २ हंगाम असतात आणि नोव्हेंबर महिना हा नॉर्थ-ईस्ट मॉन्सूनचा असतो. आम्ही ७०० रुपये ठरवून २ तास आणि महाबलीपूरमची तिन्ही महत्वाची स्मारके दाखवायला एक गाईड केला.
शोर टेम्पल (समुद्र तटावरचे मंदिर) – ७व्या शतकात उंचावर बांधलेल्या या मंदिरातून संपूर्ण समुद्रतट दिसतो, यावरूनच या मंदिराला शोर टेम्पल असे संबोधण्यात येते. अतिशय रचनात्मक असे हे मंदिर , ग्रॅनाईट ब्लॉकच्या साह्याने बांधण्यात आले आहे. १९८४ साली शोर टेम्पलची गणना युनेस्को वर्ल्ड हेरिटेज साईटमध्ये झाली. इथल्या मंदिरात आता कुठलीही पूजा केली जात नाही पण इथली पाचही मोहक मंदिरे तुमचे मन वेधून घेतात. इथे गाईडकडून अजून एक आख्ययिका ऐकायला मिळाली, उत्तरेकडे गणपतीला लहानभाऊ मानतात, रिद्धी-सिद्धी या त्याच्या पत्नी आणि कार्तिक स्वामी ब्रह्मचारी. तेच दक्षिणेकडे गणपती हा मोठा भाऊ आणि ब्रह्मचारी. असो उत्तर आणि दक्षिण असा वाद जुन्या काळापासून आहे. अजून एक माहिती मिळाली, २००४ मध्ये आलेल्या सुनामीमध्ये बाकी सगळीकडे खूप नुकसान झाले परंतु शोर टेम्पलचे फारसे नुकसान झाले नाही आणि त्सुनामीची लाट जेव्हा आत गेली त्यावेळेस समुद्रातील उर्वरित मंदिरांचे दर्शन झाले. अजून बऱयाच आख्यायिका गाईडकडून ऐकायला मिळाल्या ज्या वेग-वेगळ्या स्वरूपात इंटरनेटवर उपलब्ध आहेत.
शोर टेम्पल
शोर टेम्पल 
शोर टेम्पल
पांचरथ – शोर टेम्पल बघून आम्ही महाबलीपूरममधील आमच्या पुढच्या जागेकडे मोर्चा वळवला. पंचरथाची हि रचना पहिल्या नर्सिंहवर्मन राजाच्या नाविन्यपूर्ण कल्पनेतून उतरली होती. एका अखंड खडकातून ५ रथांचे कोरीव काम सहाव्या शतकात सुरु करण्यात आले. या स्थळालाही युनेस्को वर्ल्ड हेरिटेज साईट म्हणून ओळखले जाते. एका आख्यायिकेनुसार याला पाच पांडव रथही म्हणले जाते. धर्मराज रथ, भीम रथ, अर्जुन रथ , नकुल-सहदेव रथ आणि द्रौपदी रथ. सर्व रथांचे कळस हे द्राविडी वास्तुकलेचे दर्शन घडवतात. परंतु या रचनांची पवित्र स्थळ म्हणून कधीच गणना झाली नाही कारण राजा नर्सिंहवर्मनच्या मृत्यूनंतर या रचना पूर्ण होऊ शकल्या नाहीत. महाबलीपूरम मध्ये अजूनही आपल्या खडकातून कोरीवकाम करून मुर्त्या बनवण्याचे काम दिसत राहते. एका स्थानिक व्यक्तीकडून आम्ही छोट्या कोरीव काम केलेल्या दशावताराच्या मुर्त्या आठवण म्हणून घेतल्या.
पांचरथ
केव्ह टेम्पल आणि डिसेंट ऑफ गंगास – इथून पुढे आम्ही महाबलीपूरममधील आमच्या पुढच्या स्थळी पोचलो. ९६ X ४३ फीट आकाराच्या अखंड खडकावर गंगेच्या उगमाची कथा शिल्पातून कोरण्यात आली आहे. अशा इतर अनेक प्राचीन कथा इथल्या केव्ह टेम्पल्स मध्ये कोरल्या आहेत.या शिल्पाची निर्मिती हि पहिल्या नरसिम्हन राजाच्या पुलकेसीन राजावरच्या विजयाप्रीत्यर्थ झाली होती. इथली अजून काही अद्भुत शिल्पं आणि आकृती बघून आम्ही महाबलीपूरमचा प्रवास संपवला. जवळच एका हॉटेलमध्ये जेवलो.
महाबलीपूरमहुन आम्ही पॉंडिचेरीच्या दिशेने निघालो, जवळच मुलांना आवडेल अश्या शेल म्युसिअममध्ये गेलो. तिथे थोडी फार खरेदी केली आणि वर्चुअल गेम्स खेळलो. मुलांनी धमाल केली. महाबलीपूरम ते पॉंडिचेरी असा साधारण १०० किलोमीटरचा प्रवास २ तासामध्ये पूर्ण केला. हा ईस्ट कोस्ट कॉरिडॉरचाच भाग असल्याने निसर्गरम्य असा प्रवास होता. संध्याकाळी साधारण ६ च्या दरम्यान आम्ही पॉंडिचेरीला पोचलो. पॉंडिचेरीतील आमचे हॉटेल लॅव्हिश होते. स्विमिन्ग पूल असल्याने मुलांनीही संध्याकाळी तास-दीड तास मजा केली. २-३ दिवसाचा थकवा घालवायला पॉंडिचेरी हा परफेक्ट हॉल्ट होता. मग काय “खूब जमेगा रंग, जब मिल बैठेंगे २ यार!” जेवण करून झोपायला गेलो, पुढच्या दिवशी आरामात उठायचे ठरले.
दिवस ४ – पॉंडिचेरी – पॉंडिचेरीमध्ये गोव्यासारखे रिलॅक्स होणे आणि मिळवलेल्या काही माहितीनुसार औरोबिंदो आश्रम, प्रोमेनाडे बीच आणि फ्रेंच कॉलनी असा प्लॅन होता. पॉंडिचेरी हि युनिअन टेरिटरी असल्यामुळे, तामिळनाडूमधून प्रवेश केल्यावर एन्ट्री परमिट कम्पलसरी असते. आदल्यादिवशी काढायचे राहिल्याने, प्रथम ते काढले (१२०० रुपये). झूम कारची डॉक्युमेंटेशन ठीक नसल्यामुळे थोडासा वेळ गेला. साधारण ११ वाजता आम्ही प्रथम औरोबिंदो आश्रम, पॉंडिचेरीमध्ये गेलो. स्पिरिच्युअल गोष्टींमध्ये फारसा रस नाहीये, परंतु औरोबिन्दोनचे बरेच समर्पित भक्त इथे दिसले. त्या वास्तूमध्ये शांतता गरजेची होती, परंतु मुलांच्या गोंधळात अवघड होते. तिथे पुस्तक विकणाऱ्या एक अनुयायी मराठी होत्या, त्यांनी एका पुस्तकाची शिफारस केली ते घेऊन आम्ही निघालो. तिथे कळाले, पॉंडिचेरीपासून साधारण १० किलोमीटर अंतरावर २० स्क्वेअर-किलोमीटर परिसरात वसलेले ऑरोविल्ले नावाचे स्पिरिच्युअल गाव आपण बघू शकतो. मूळ ठिकाणापासून साधारण २ किलोमीटर चालल्यावर, आश्रमाने प्रचंड मोठे वर्तुळाकार आणि स्वर्ण रंगाचे मातृमंदिर बांधले आहे. असे ऐकले कि त्यावर सूर्यप्रकाश पडल्यावर एका प्रकारचे तेज निर्माण होते. नीट बुकिंग करून आलो तर तिथे ध्यान धरता येते. आम्ही दुरून दर्शन घेऊन, काही फोटो काढून निघालो. आश्रम परिसरातच एका हॉटेलमध्ये जेवण केले. पॉंडिचेरीला परत आल्यावर प्रोमेनाडे बीचला गेलो. बाजूला फ्रेंच धाटणीची घरे आणि वॉल्कवे तुम्हाला आकर्षित करतात. मुलं समुद्रात छान खेळली आणि आम्ही दगडावर निवांत बसलो. हॉटेलवर जाऊन छोटीशी पार्टी केली आणि लहानपणीच्या रम्य आठवणीमध्ये २-३ तास कसे गेले कळलेच नाही.
फ्रेंच कॉलनी
फ्रेंच कॉलनी 
दिवस ५ – चिदंबरम आणि थंजावर – सकाळी नाश्ता करून आम्ही साधारण ६५ किलोमीटर हा सव्वा तासाचा प्रवास प्रवास करून चिदंबरमला पोचलो. आता आम्ही समुद्रापासून थोडे आत आलो होतो. निघताना मी चुकून शॉर्ट्स घातलेली, त्यामुळे मला मंदिरात प्रथम प्रवेश मिळाला नाही. जवळच असलेल्या एका दुकानातून लुंगी विकत घेतली आणि मग प्रवेश मिळाला. चिदंबरम देवस्थान हे मुख्यतः भगवान शंकराचे नटराज अवतारातील मंदिर आहे. हि जागाही आपल्याला शंकराच्या अस्तित्वापर्यंत घेऊन जाते. या मंदिराची वास्तुकला हि कला आणि अध्यात्माची सांगड घालून जाते. मंदिराच्या भिंतीवर आपल्याला नाट्यशास्त्राच्या १०८ छटांचे दर्शन घडते. या मंदिरात फोटो काढायला सक्त मनाई आहे. आत गेल्यावर मंदिराच्या मध्यभागीच १०-१५ गुरुजी हवन करत होते आणि श्लोकांचे वरच्या स्वरांमध्ये पठण चालले होते. शांतपणे ते बघत, ऐकत बसावेसे वाटले. अतिशय अध्यात्मिक असा अनुभव होता तो. दर्शन घेऊन आम्ही पुढच्या प्रवासाला निघालो.
चिदंबरम मंदिर 
थंजावर – आता पुढचा प्रवास आणखी मोठा होता साधारण ११० किलोमीटरचा, समुद्रापासून आजून आत. आत्तापर्यंतचा पूर्ण प्रवास हा अतिशय नयनरम्य असा होता, परंतु या प्रवासात थोडा कंटाळा आला. हा रस्ता सतत गावातल्या छोट्या गल्ल्यांमधून जातो आणि त्याबरोबरच ट्रॅफिक. पोचायला साधारण २.४५ ते ३ तास लागले. इतके दिवस वातावरणानेही छान साथ दिली होती, आता मात्र कडक ऊन होते. थंजावरला साधारण १ वाजता सूर्य अगदी डोक्यावर असताना पोचलो. आधी घेतलेल्या माहितीनुसार आर्यभवन या पारंपरिक हॉटेल मध्ये जेवलो. तिथली दिव्यभोजनं थाळी सगळ्यांना आवडली. थंजावरला यायचे महत्वाचे कारण होते तामिळनाडूमध्ये पसरलेले मराठा साम्राज्य. थंजावरवर शिवाजी महाराजांचे धाकटे सावत्र बंधू एकोजी महाराजांचे १६७४ पासून राज्य होते. त्याआधी थंजावर नाईकांच्या अधिपत्याखाली होते. ऐकीव माहितीनुसार अजूनही इथे साधारण १००० मराठा परिवार राहतात आणि मराठी / तामिळ अशा दोन्ही भाषा बोलल्या जातात. आम्ही प्रथम मराठा पॅलेसमध्ये गेलो. वास्तूमध्ये दारातच असलेला शिवाजी महाराजांचा पुतळा बघून खूप अभिमान वाटला. मनोर्याचे दुरुस्तीचे काम चालू असल्यामुळे, पर्यटकांकरिता प्रवेश बंद आहे. तिथे असलेला दरबार हॉल आणि संग्रहालय मात्र बघण्यासारखे आहे. दरबार हॉल नाईकांनी बांधला होता. संग्रहालयात अनेक प्राचीन वस्तू आणि मराठा साम्राज्यातले दस्तावेज बघायला मिळतात. थंजावरच्या भोसले साम्राज्याची वंशवळहि बघायला मिळते. त्याच वास्तूमध्ये साधारण २० मिनिटांचा थंजावरबद्दल माहितीपटही बघायला मिळतो. आवर्जून पाहावा असा आहे. अजूनही त्याचे एक महत्व वाटले भर उन्हात वातानुकूलित वास्तूमध्ये बसायचा अनुभवही सुखद असतो. याशिवाय थंजावर हे कलेसाठेही प्रसिद्ध आहे. इथल्या भोसले घरण्याचे कलेवर नितांत प्रेम होते. इथून पुढे आम्ही थंजावरमधील प्रसिद्ध अश्या ब्रिहदीश्वर मंदिरात गेलो. मंदिराच्या प्रवेश दारात असलेली अजस्त्र अशी नंदीची मूर्ती तुमचे लक्ष वेधते. या मंदिराची बांधणी पहिल्या चोला राजाने दहाव्या शतकात केली. हे मंदिर पूर्णतः द्राविडी संस्कृतीचे दर्शन घडवते. या मंदिराची गणनाहि युनेस्को वर्ल्ड हेरिटेज साईटमध्ये केली जाते. या मंदिराची बाहेरची भिंत हि मराठा साम्राज्यात बांधली गेली. मंदिराचे दर्शन घेऊन आम्ही थंजावरमधील हॉटेलमध्ये चेकइन केले. खालीच असलेल्या अद्यार आनंदा भवनमध्ये डोसा वगैरे खाऊन झोपी गेलो.
ब्रिहदीश्वर मंदिर 
ब्रिहदीश्वर मंदिर
ब्रिहदीश्वर मंदिर 
आर्यभवन
दिवस ६ – त्रिची आणि मदुराई – आज साधारण २००-२२५ किलोमीटरचा प्रवास करायचा असल्यामुळे आणि २ मोठ्या मंदिरांमध्ये जायचे असल्यामुळे सकाळी ७ वाजताच प्रवास सुरु केला. आमचा पहिला टप्पा होता कल्लनाई धरण – त्रिचीपासून साधारण १५ किलोमीटर अंतरावर कावेरी नदीवर हे धरण बांधले आहे. या धरणाची निर्मिती चोला साम्राज्यात राजा कारिकलनने १०० बीसीला केली. कल्लनाई हा जलसिंचनाचा भारतातील सर्वात प्राचीन आणि जगातील चौथा प्राचीन प्रकल्प आहे. या धरणाची पुनःनिर्मिती ब्रिटिश अभियांत्रिक सर आर्थर कॉटन याने १८३९ साली केली. कावेरी नदीचे इथून मोहक दर्शन घडते. इथून पुढे आम्ही त्रिचीकडे निघालो. या धरणापासून त्रिची शहरापर्यंतचा रस्ता हा अतिशय निसर्गरम्य असा आहे. दोन्ही बाजूला केळी आणि भातशेतीचा हिरवा गालिचा, अतिशय सुंदर असा रोड आणि निळे भोर आकाश.
श्री रंगनाथस्वामी टेम्पल, त्रिची – भगवान महाविष्णूचे अवतार असलेल्या रंगनाथस्वामींचे हे मंदिर आहे . एकूण १५६ एकराचा मंदिर परिसर, ८१ छोटी मोठी देवळे, २१ गोपुरे, ३९ मंडप आणि पाण्याच्या अनेक छोटे मोठ्या टाक्या या मंदिर परिसराला भव्य बनवतात आणि तुमचे डोळे दिपून जातात. द्राविडी वास्तुशास्त्रानुसार बांधलेल्या या मंदिराची गणना जगातल्या सगळ्यात मोठ्या मंदिरात होते. इथे चाललेली कीर्तने आणि हवन तुमचे लक्ष वेधून घेतात. मंदिरात असलेले माहूर आणि हत्ती तुम्हाला आशीर्वाद देतात. जवळच असलेल्या हॉटेलमध्ये जेवण करून आम्ही मदुराईच्या दिशेने निघालो.
श्री रंगनाथस्वामी टेम्पल 
श्री रंगनाथस्वामी टेम्पल
मदुराई – त्रिची ते मदुराई हा १३८ किलोमीटर्सचा रस्ता पूर्णपणे चौपदरी आणि निसर्गरम्य आहे, त्यामुळे ड्रायविंग करायला मजा येते. साधारण दोन तासात आम्ही मदुराईला पोहोचलो. मदुराईला टेम्पल सिटी असेही संबोधले जाते. प्रथम हॉटेलमध्ये चेकइन केले आणि तासाभरात फ्रेश होऊन ५ वाजता मदुराईच्या प्रसिद्ध अश्या मीनाक्षी अम्मम मंदिरात जायला निघालो. मंदिराजवळ पार्किंग मिळणे अवघड असल्याने, आम्ही रिक्षाने जायचे ठरवले. साधारण 3 किलोमीटरच्या या अंतराला १०० रुपये घेतले. तामिळनाडूतील सगळ्यात प्रसिद्ध असे हे मंदिर असल्याने इथे अभूतपूर्व सुरक्षा आणि गर्दी होती. मंदिराच्या आवारात मोबाईल फोन आणि कॅमेरा न्यायला परवानगी नसल्यामुळे गेटवरच लॉकरमध्ये मोबाईल ठेवले. थोडे पुढे आल्यावर मंदिराचे उंचच्या उंच आणि विविध देवतांच्या रेखीव मूर्तींने सजलेले गोपुर नजरेत मावत नव्हते. मंदिरात प्रवेश केला आणि थेट दर्शनाच्या रांगेत उभे राहिलो. मीनाक्षी अम्मम हि पार्वती देवीचेच रूप आहे. साधारण तासाभरात आमचे देवीचे दर्शन झाले, तिथून पुढे शंकराचे दर्शन घेतले. अतिशय प्राचीन असे हे मंदिर, चारही दिशांना असलेली उंचच्या उंच गोपुरे आणि आतील प्राचीन शिल्पं अचंबित करतात. या भव्यतेने डोळे दिपून जातात आणि भारताचा प्राचीन इतिहास किती समृद्ध आहे याची जाणीव करून देतात. मंदिरातील प्रत्येक खांब, भिंतीवर असलेल्या चित्राकृतीं इतका लांबचा प्रवास सार्थकी लागल्याची जाणीव करून देतात. कुठलाही कॅमेरा नसला तरीही, तुमच्या स्मृतीमध्ये या आठवणी कायमच्या राहतात.
दर्शन घेऊन परत निघालो. रिक्षा मिळायला थोडा वेळ गेला, रिक्षा ड्राइवर आमची भाषा अजिबातच समजू शकत नव्हता, खाणाखुणाहि नाही. कसेबसे हॉटेल मध्ये पोचलो. हॉटेलचे रेस्टॉरंट विशेष नव्हते आणि हॉटेलहि विशेष नव्हते. थोडंफार जेऊन झोपलो.
मीनाक्षी अम्मम मंदिर
दिवस ७ – रामेश्वरम आणि धनुषकोडी – आज आमच्या या प्रवासाचे शेवटचे ठिकाण आणि ज्याकरता सर्व अट्टाहास केला त्या धनुषकोडी आणि रामेश्वरमला जायचे होते. रविवारचा दिवस होता. चेकआउट करून सकाळी ७ वाजता निघालो. मदुराई-रामेश्वरम-धनुषकोडी असा साधारण २०० किलोमीटरचा हा प्रवास आहे. थोडा चौपदरी आणि थोडा २ पदरी अश्या रस्त्यावर अफलातून निसर्ग पूर्ण प्रवासभर आपल्याला साथ देतो. अगदी रस्त्यावर संपूर्ण पिसारा फुलवलेला एक मोर अचानक आमच्या गाडीसमोर उडत आला. धनुषकोडीला ११-११.३० पर्यंत पोहचायचे, थोडा वेळ काढून रामेश्वरमला संध्याकाळी दर्शन घायचे असा प्लॅन होता. वाटेत ढाबा वजा टपरी मध्ये थांबून चहा प्यायला आणि दिवाळीचा चिवडा संपवला. साधारण ११ वाजता पाम्बन बेटाअलीकडच्या पाम्बन ब्रिजवर पोहोचलो. रस्त्याच्या दोन्ही बाहुला निळ्या क्षार रंगाचा समुद्र, डाव्या बाजूला जवळजवळ पाण्यात गेलेला रेल्वेब्रिज आणि उजव्या बाजूला समुद्रातील नौका. डोळ्यात मावेनासे पोट्रेट होते. ब्रिजवर थांबायला पवानगी नाहीये, तरीही नियम मोडून सर्वजण फोटो काढत होते. आम्हालाही मोह आवरला नाही. पाम्बन ब्रिज हा भारतातील समुद्रावरचा पहिला आणि वरळी सी लिंक होईपर्यंत सगळ्यात लांब ब्रिज होता. १९१४ साली इंग्रजांच्या राज्यात बांधलेला हा ब्रिज मोठी जहाजे आली तर अपलीफ्ट होतो. या ब्रिजला एक दुःखाचीही किनार आहे, २३ डिसेंबर १९६४ साली आलेले अजस्त्र वादळ पाम्बन बेटाला धडकले तेव्हा ब्रिजवर असलेली पाम्बन-धनुषकोडी पॅसेंजर ट्रेन समुद्रात उलटली आणि ट्रेनमधील सर्व १५० प्रवासी मृत पावले. पुढे ३० किलोमीटर प्रवास करून रामेश्वरममार्गे धनुषकोडीला फोहोचतो. वाटेत डाव्या बाजूला डॉक्टर अब्दुल कलामांचे घर आणि नव्याने सुरु केलेले मेमोरियल लागले .
पाम्बन ब्रिज
धनुषकोडी – रामेश्वरमपासून जसजसे तुम्ही पुढे सरकता गूगल मॅपवर तुम्हाला रस्ता निमुळता होताना दिसतो आणि रस्त्याच्या दोन्ही बाजूला समुद्र प्रत्यक्षही दिसायला लागतो. अखेर आम्ही धनुषकोडीला पोचलो. पण दुर्दैवाने भारताचे शेवटचे टोक जे पुढे ५ किलोमीटर आहे तेथे जायचा रस्ता सुरक्षेच्या कारणास्तव बंद केला. असे सांगण्यात आले लाटा रस्त्यावर आल्याने दुरुस्तीचे काम चालले आहे आणि पुढे जाणे धोकादायक आहे. सर्व प्रवासी नाराज झाले. आमचाहि हिरमोड झाला. मग तिथल्या सुरक्षा अधिकाऱयांशी आणि स्थानिक लोकांशी विचारपूस करून असे ठरले कि ५ किलोमीटर चालत जायचे. ऐन दुपारी उन्हात चालायला मुले तयार नव्हती . मग ठरवले थोडं पुढे जाऊन बघू, वाटले तर परत फिरू. ठरलं तर मग, मुलांची समजूत काढून पुढे निघालो. उलट्या दिशेने लोक परत येत होते, सकाळी बस ने गेलेले आणि नंतर अचानक बसेस बंद झाल्याने परतीचा प्रवास चालत करत होते. विचारपूस केल्यावर काहीजण खूप लांब, काहीजण ५ किलोमीटर – १० किलोमीटर असं मनात येईल ते सांगत होते. कदाचित थकल्यामुळे त्यांनाही कळत नव्हते. शेवई कळाले टोटल ५ किलोमीटर आहे रस्ता, मग मात्र मनाशी निश्चय केला काही झाले तरी आता शेवटपर्यंत जायचे. मुलंही न चिडता चालत होती. हळू हळू निसर्ग बदलायला लागला. ढग दाटून आले. आम्ही मात्र स्वर्गवत अश्या एका रस्त्यावरून चालत होतो. रस्त्याच्या एका बाजूला बंगालचा उपसागर आणि एका बाजूला हिंद महासागर. निळ्या आणि हिरव्या अश्या दोन रंगाचे समुद्र आणि मध्ये एक निमुळता रस्ता. साधारण १ तास चालल्यावर शेवटच्या पॉइंटला म्हणजेच आरिचनमुनाईला पोहोचलो. दोन्ही समुद्र येथे एकत्र मिळत होते. कोणीतरी सांगितले दूरवर दिसत असलेला रामसेतू आहे. पावसाळा नसला तर बोटीने तिथपर्यंत जाता येते आणि उतरता येते. थोडावेळ थांबून परत निघालो. दाटून आलेले ढग आता काळे झालेले आणि पाऊस आमच्या दिशेने सरकत होता. थोडी भीती वाटली, एकीकडे समुद्राच्या लाटा दोन्ही बाजूने धडकण्याचा आवाज येत होता. पावसाची जोरात सर अली आणि आम्हाला भिजवून आमच्या समोर एका समुद्रातून दुसऱ्या समुद्रात निघून गेली. टोटल १० किलोमीटर चालून आम्ही परत मूळ जागी पोहोचलो. खूप दमलो होतो, अनन्नस आणि कैऱ्या एका अक्काकडून विकत घेतल्या. थोडीशी भीती, थोडी दमणूक पण “वॉल्क ऑफ द लाईफटाइम” होता तो. धनुषकोडीला हॉंटेड गाव संबोधले जाते आणि अजूनही १९६४ साली आलेल्या चक्रीवादळाच्या खुणा येथे दिसतात. वादळात उध्वस्त झालेले गाव आणि त्यावेळची पडक्या अवस्थेतील घरे भूतकाळातील जखमा ताज्या करतात.
धनुषकोडी
धनुषकोडी
रामेश्वरम – धनुषकोडीहून साधारण अर्ध्या तासात रामेश्वरमला आलो, जेवण करून हॉटेलमध्ये चेकइन केले. रामेश्वरमची हॉटेल प्रॉपर्टीही लॅव्हिश होती. थोडा आराम करून आम्ही रामेश्वरम मंदिरात पोहचलो. रामेश्वरमलाही मंदिरात मोबाइल आणि कॅमेराची परवानगी नाहीये. या मंदिराची गणना बारा ज्योतिर्लिंगामध्ये होते, त्यामुळे इथे अनेक भाविक तीर्थयात्रेला आले होते. या मंदिरामध्ये स्वामी विवेकानंदही येऊन गेले आहेत. पहाटेच्या प्रहरी समुद्रात स्नान करून इथल्या २२ कुंडात स्नान केले तर पुण्य लागते किंवा पापे धुतली असे म्हणले जाते. मला परत म्हणावेसे वाटेल श्रद्धा आणि धर्म हि प्रत्येकाची वैयक्तिक बाब आहे. त्यामुळे त्याला चूक आणि बरोबर अश्या विभागणी करू शकत नाही. परंतु मुख्य मंदिराच्या म्हणजेच शंकराच्या मंदिराच्या प्रवेशद्वारात स्वामी विवेकानंदांनी लिहिलेल्या उपदेशाचा सारांश आम्ही आमच्या दृष्टीने घेतला “मनात अप्रामाणिकता ठेऊन आणि कायम चुकीचे आचरण करून कुठलीही पापे धूतली जात नाहीत, उलट अश्याने ती पापे अधिक वाढतात. देव त्या व्यक्तीवर जास्त प्रसन्न होतो जो इतरांच्या मदतीला धावून जातो नाकी जो माणूस अपवित्र मनाने दररोज पूजा करतो”. मुख्य मंदिराचे दर्शन घेऊन आम्ही हॉटेलमध्ये परतलो. जवळच अप्पोलो क्लिनिक मधून काही हवी असलेली औषधे घेतली. रात्री लवकर जेऊन झोपलो.
दिवस ८ – परतीचा प्रवास रामेश्वरम – मदुराई – पुणे –
सकाळी नेहमीप्रमाणे उठलो. मुलांनी हॉटेलमध्ये थोडावेळ स्विमिन्ग केले.
साधारण ९ – ९.३० पर्यंत नाश्ता करून आम्ही परतीचा प्रवास सुरु केला. १
पर्यंत मदुराईला पोहोचलो. प्रसीद्ध अश्या मुरुगन इडली शॉप मध्ये डोसा – मिल
वगैरे जेवलो आणि हां गेले काही दिवस दररोज जेवणात असलेला आपलमहि
(तांदुळाचा पापड) खाल्ला. परिवाराला एरपोर्टवर सोडून आम्ही झूमकार परत
केली. काही फॉर्मॅलिटी करायला लागतात हॅन्डओव्हरला. परंतु खूप सोपी
प्रक्रिया आहे. मदुराई-चेन्नई-पुणे असा विमान प्रवास करून रात्री साधारण २
वाजता घरी परत आलो.
कुठलाही सहल, प्रवास आणि मित्रांबरोबर घालवलेला वेळ
मला न संपाव्याश्या वाटणाऱ्या स्वप्नाप्रमाणे वाटतात.असो पुढचे काही दिवस
आम्हाला तामिळनाडूतीळ समृद्धअश्या इतिहासात रममाण ठेवतील आणि पुढच्या
सहलीची योजना आखायचे लक्ष्य देतील. धन्यवाद.
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Meenakshi Temple, Madurai, Tamilnadu
Present structure is said to have been re-built by King Viswanatha Nayak (1559 - 1600) under supervision of Ariyantha Mudaliar as per Shilp Shastra. Significant contribution was made by king Thirumalai Nayak during 1623 - 1655. Nayak Palace of the king Thirumali Nayak is at a short distance from the temple (you can have a look on photo-blog on the Palace in 'Long drive to Delhi - 6).
The complex is spread in 45 acres. It has 14 Gopurams or gates of which South Tower is the tallest. Eastern Gopuram is the oldest built by Maravarman Sundara Pandyan (1216-1238). There are nearly 33000 statues in the Temple. Average number of visitors is over 15000 per day. On Fridays it is nearly double the number. So Darshan takes time. Keep 1 to 4 hours for Darshan.
Temple has a large sacred tank 165 ft by 130 ft, with a real gold lotus in it. There is a legend attached to the pond - if a writer places his new work here & if it is not scholarly it sinks!
The Temple is believed to have been founded by Indra while on pilgrimage. As he approached Madurai he found himself at peace. He attributed this to Swayambhu Lingam which he saw there & created the temple.
There are several halls or Mandapams in the complex - hall of temple tree, hall of eight goddess, new hall, dark hall & hall of beating drums. Meenakshi Nayakkar Mandapam or hall of a thousand pillars has 985 pillars in two rows which makes the temple world famous.
Alas cameras & mobiles are not allowed & therefore no photos. I feel they should review this so that magnificent statues & architectural concepts reach to public at large.
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| South Tower is the tallest (170 ft) Gopuram of The Temple. It has more than 1500 mythical statues each of which is unique & tells its own story |
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| Side view of South Tower in the evening |
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| Inside the Temple |
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| You can whisper your wish in the ear of the Nandi - good luck! |
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| Pillars in the side hall which is a museum |
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| Subtle graceful smile on the face of Uttara |
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| Arjun posing as a eunuch during hiding & teaching dance to Uttara. One can spend days in studying these masterpieces |
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| All told there are nearly 1600 carved pillars in the complex |
Kanyakumari, Tamilnadu
Kanyakumari is located at southern most tip of Indian peninsula & has an average elevation of 0 meters. Temperature fluctuates from 22 to 33 C during the year.
Kanyakumari finds mention in ancient Roman & Greek books as Cape of Comorin. Islam is said to have arrived through traders & missionaries in 8th century & European missionaries arrived in 16th century.
One legend mentions Kanya Devi an avtar of Parvati, who did penance here to marry Shiva but the marriage was never solemnised. Devi Kanniya Kumari blesses all the pilgrims here in Kumari Amman Temple.
Another legend is about Hanuman dropping a piece of earth while carrying a mountain with Sanjivani herb on it from Himalayas to Sri Lanka. Saints such as Vyasa, Agastya, Avvaiyar & Thiruvalluvar are associated with this place.
Budget / luxury accommodations & variety of foods are available in the town. Wear light cotton clothes, cap & use sun lotion to ward off tanning. Light footwear which are easily removable may be used as they are not allowed in temples & memorials. Afternoon outing may be avoided as sun is too harsh. Drink lots of water to keep hydrated.
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| Getting nearer to land's end |
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| As we get closer to land's end the speed of wind increases & which is being harnessed for clean energy |
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| It is a small sleepy town but for tourism, having a population of about 20k & the district has a population of 20 lacs |
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| As land ends, sea & wind greet the travellers |
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| Vivekanand Rock Memorial - built in 1970 by Eknath Ranade. Swami Vivekanand is said to have meditated here for three days |
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| 133 ft tall statue of Tamil saint-poet Thiruvalluvar by sculptor V.Ganpathi Sthapati completed in the year 2000 |
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| View of twin rocky islets & unique memorials. From one memorial to another one has to use ferry |
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| View from Vivekanand Rock Memorial. To & fro ferry service goes on throughout the day & return tickets are available. Look at the sea shore with haphazard buildings coming up |
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| Municipal market near Devi Kanniya Kumari Temple |
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| Get your future foretold in just Rs 25, deluxe edition Rs 100! |
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| Panoramic view can be had by going up the View Tower on a ticket of Rs 5. Tourists flock to see sunrise & sunsets from this vintage point |
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| Sunset from the top of the tower |
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| Twin memorials at sunrise |
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| Afternoon sky |
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| Sunrise & sun worshippers on the Tower |
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| Sun, sea, clouds & varying patterns of light at sunset |
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| Light House |
Rameshwaram, Tamilnadu
Road to Rameshwaram is two lane with lots of tourist traffic. There is not much option of eateries along the way.
Main attraction here is of Ramanathaswmy Temple devoted to Lord Shiva. This is one of the Char Dhams of India. Ram, Sita & Laxman are said to have performed pooja of Shivling to atone for killing of Ravan. It is also believed that they had built a floating bridge Ram Setu, near Dhanushkodi up to Talaimannar, Srilanka. Some samples of floating stones are kept in an Hanuman Temple for view against payment of course.
There are 22 fresh water 'Kund' in the Temple complex & one can have pilgrim's bath on payment. Attendants are there to throw a bucket full of water from each of the 'Kund' on you. Enjoy.
Clean India campaign is yet to reach there. Pandaas, beggars & the like are ready to fleece you and sea shore is dirty. Temple is beautiful piece of architecture but unfortunately they don't allow cameras or mobiles. This seems to me an outdated & illogical idea.
Some photos:
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| About 30 km off from Madurai we saw this on road side. On closer look it turned out to be garland of lemons for Kaali temple |
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| Some devotees inside the temple |
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| Pamban rail bridge as seen from road bridge |
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| Another view of Pamban rail & road bridges |
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| Transmission tower soars over the Kikar jungle |
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| Dhanushkodi. It was a flourishing town with rail connection & ferry service to Srilanka. In cyclone of 1964 whole town vanished along with a passenger train carrying 100 people |
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| House of former President A P J Abdul Kalam. His elder brother runs a shop of sea shells etc for the tourists on second floor. First floor has a small museum having lots of medallions & memorabilia of Mr Kalam |
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| A church on main road with fish designed on front - fish is inseparable part of life here |
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| Masque near the Pamban bridge |
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| Gurudwara, temple, church & masque on same road - road to God is one! |
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| Bargaining for Jamun near Vibhishan Temple |
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| Bazar near Vibhishan Temple |
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| Last village near the sea - tough life for villagers |
Places visited
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8. Kochi / Fort Kochi / Wellingdon Island / Vallarpadam
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Distance covered 130 km (total 1820 km). Day 11
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13. Udupi, Karnataka
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Distance covered 120 km ( total 2510 km ). Day 16
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Distance covered 160 km ( total 2670 km ). Day 17
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Distance covered 140 km ( total 2940 km ). Day 19
21. Shirdi / Trimbkeshwar, Maharashtra
22. Hattgad Fort, Nashik, Maharashtra
Distance covered 150 km ( total 3630 km ). Day 23
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24. Vadodra, Gujrat
Distance covered 430 km ( total 4390 km ). Day 26
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27. Delhi
Distance covered 200 km ( total 4960 km ). Day 28
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28. Meerut, UP
Distance covered 100 km ( total 5060 km ). Day 30
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| And now is the time for writing about The Long Drive |
Nayak Palace, Madurai
After 400 years 25% of the palace has survived which is known as Swarg Vilasam. It is famous for it's pillars 82 ft high & having 19 ft width. Construction is in bricks, shell lime or chunnam mixed with egg white to give a glossy finish.
No Guide was available there & the guard posted there gave sketchy information. Palace is less than 2 km from Meenakshi Temple. Some photos:
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| Entrance of the Palace |
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| Grand &
impressive courtyard of the Palace. Pillars give a magnificent look
& are unusual in southern India. Courtyard measures approx 42000 sq
ft. Chairs are for sound & light show held in the evenings |
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| Stairs leading to Durbar Hall |
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| Metallic horse with rider near the stair case. Four hundred years have taken their toll on these beautiful sculpture. Never mind the floor maintained by ASI. |
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| Pillars & more pillars. Short pillars in Hall & taller ones in corridors |
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| Replica of King's throne. Original golden chair of course must be lying somewhere in British museum & should be claimed back |
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| This pic is of Nataksala or the theatre. Beautifully decorated right up to the ceiling |
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| Statues of kings & gods adorn the walls |
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| Imported glass panes add colour to the building |
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| This is the plan of the entire palace of which 25% in pink shade survived |
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| Magnificent corridor |
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| Decorated ceiling |
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| Decorated ceiling |
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| A view of the courtyard |
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| Such earthen pots were used to keep ashes of the people who died at the age of 100 or more |
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| As it happens with other monuments people do disfigure. Who is to be blamed? |
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| Royal Palace serves as parking lot for may be, staff of ASI |
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| 1. Charging higher fees from foreigners is not understood. They in fact can circulate / publicize the monuments to wider audience. And not all of them are rich, there are backpackers & students also. 2. Another outdated idea is charges for 'still camera & video camera'. Any good mobile can do the trick. Also if more pictures are taken & circulated more visitors can be expected. ASI please review. |
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| Lot many ancient stone sculptures are kept adjacent to the Palace under shed. They are worth a look |
Madurai
We stayed with my nephew Rajesh Dhanda in Madurai. He is a bachelor & had three more bachelor friends Nitin Rawat, Ajay Sharma & Sandeep Khatri putting up with him. On arrival none of them was home & Rajesh informed on phone that key to the house was kept in a white shoe amongst lots of other footwear lying just outside of drawing room!
Landlady was aware of our visit & suggested economical use of water which we complied. We were allotted the drawing room & had lively discussions with youngsters & had good time with them.
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| Enjoying rent free accommodation -----------------------**------------------------ |
Madurai is said to be 2500 year old city & finds mention in works of Roman / Greek historians. City is also mentioned by Kautilya in Arthashastra.
Ancient Madurai town was built in a systematic manner round Meenakshi Temple. The Temple is dedicated to Parvati or Meenkshi & Shiva as Sundereshwara.
(Separate photo blog of Temple & Nayaka Palace shall be posted shortly).
Of course the kings did not know about motorbikes & Marutis jamming the roads of the planned town.
City weather is generally hot & dry for 8-9 months & temperature ranges from 22 to 40. Nights are cool though.
Madurai has medical, law & agricultural colleges & has a bench of Chennai High Court as well. It is well connected by road, rail & air.
Some photos:
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| On NH 7 - Dark monsoon clouds hovered above our heads |
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| On NH 7 - Raining on the hills. We had intermittent showers on the way |
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| Madurai has several attractions |
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| Madurai has shortage of water. All through the day one can see such scenes |
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| Essential activity here |
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| Madurai is situated on river Vaigai. Due to scanty rains for last couple of years it has been reduced to a sorry trickle. |
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| Entrance to Thirumalai Naick Palace |
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| A glimpse of inside of Palace constructed in 1636 by Thirumalai Naykar. Now a national monument |
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| Famous landmark of Madurai - 170 ft high South Tower of Meenakshi Amman Temple |
Yercaud, Tamilnadu
This hill station gets its name from large Yarcaud Lake which is surrounded by hills. Enjoy the boating, trekking or long walks around the lake. Place is famous for coffee gardens. Besides coffee, banana, pepper and lots of fruits are grown here. Starred & budget accomodations are available here. Some photos:
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| Yercaud Lake |
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| From Salem it is one hour drive. Last 15 km to the top have sharp curves |
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| Lake, hills & dense woods |
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| Morning sun coming up |
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| School in Yercaud |
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| Morning mist |
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| Yercaud Lake on top of the hills & surrounded by dense greenery |
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| Road has 20 hair-pin bends but is well maintained. Drive carefully. |
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| Cross & little temples on the road side |
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| Cool & lush green |
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| Coffee, banana & cardamom plantations add to the greenery & beauty |
Road Trip to Destiny
I am sure many of you who have watched the movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara have had the thought of going on a long road trip once in your lifetime. Fortunately for me, I have had that experience a long time back, to be precise 15 years back (2003) much before the movie popularized the concept of a road trip. Back then this was just another long drive and it is only now that I realize that it was actually a landmark in my traveling life.
It all started right after I finished my last examination in college where I was completing my Batchelor’s degree. There was a gap between the last examination which I still remember were Economics and the result date. I still hadn’t figured out what to do after graduation thus was completely relaxed.
On a very short noticed I was informed that SCM (Student Christian Movement of India) was having its Annual General Meeting in Kodaikanal and I was requested to develop a website for them before the start of the conference. It was planned that the website will be launched during the conference. Back in 2003 Web Designing was a very new concept and very few people knew it thus with my previous experiences in other web development work I was requested if I could help them out. SCM had its headquarters in Bangalore (Bengaluru) and I would have to work from Bangalore for nearly two weeks before proceeding to Kodaikanal for the launch.
Since I was informed at the last moment thus getting a confirmed train ticket from Howrah to Bangalore was impossible. That was the very first time I tried the option of break journey by traveling from Kolkata to Vizag (Visakhapatnam) and then from there directly to Bangalore. I had booked two separate tickets one from Kolkata (Howrah) to Vizag and then on the next day Vizag to Bangalore City. In Vizag, I had planned to stay at the house of another SCM colleague Mrinal Srikanth.
I took the morning train from Howrah and reached Vizag late evening. After spending a night at Mrinal’s house where I had some lovely Biriyani for dinner I took the next morning train to Bangalore. I reached Bangalore City the next morning.
It was intensive work at SCM Bangalore headquarters as we just had around two weeks to finish up a website. I had to click photos, scan them, prepare the content, code the website and finally make those fancy design layouts. Those were the days of PC’s and after a couple of sleepless nights, the website was finally ready.
The next leg of the tour was where things got really interesting. There was this old Mahindra Jeep which belonged to SCM House and it was decided that we will drive all the way from Bangalore to Kodaikanal in that rickety Jeep. Since we were coming from the head office thus the back of the jeep was full of various documents and books. This was no ordinary Jeep but those vintage 1960’s jeep with a Roplas hard top. It was extremely noisy and bumpy with a max speed of 60 kilometers per hour it was sure going to be a long ride.
I don’t prefer long journeys in a vehicle thus wanted to avoid at all cost. In the end, I did not have any option since the General Secretary of SCM was also traveling along with my friend Paul who was taking care of accounts for SCM. All the driving would be done by James who was the resident driver for the organization.
We left on 7th of June at around 11 AM from Bangalore and by that time the city’s morning traffic was slowly settling. After crossing Hosur things settled in. We were slowly zooming across the newly built four-lane highway. Hunger came in fast and it was way past 3 PM and we were still figuring out where to have lunch. Finally, around 4 PM we stopped at a small roadside dhaba.
It was a typical roadside dhaba down south, not the ones you would find around Delhi or Punjab so no tarka, no tandoori rotis. Apparently, we need to order and they will prepare it accordingly. With hunger hitting the roof we just ordered for some roti (flatbreads) and some chicken curry. Next what we see was beyond our conceivable imagination, the owner of the dhaba trying to get hold of a live chicken which he would use for the meal. We asked him to drop the idea of a chicken curry and to just prepare a vegetable curry with egg omelets. We waited and waited and the cooking went on and on. Finally, an hour later we were served our ordered food. The taste did not really matter as we just gulped them down.
The journey continued on the newly built four-lane highway with some sections still having some minor work ongoing. The weather was pleasant and to make things even better rain clouds could be seen at the distance. It was raining on the distance but was bright and sunny on the road. Missed clicking those shots since back in those days I only had a film camera that too points and shoot thus impossible to capture those sceneries from a moving vehicle.
At around 9 pm we stopped for dinner at a very crowded hotel where we were served chicken prepared in coconut gravy and barota (parathas). I was really tired so just managed to gulp down one paratha and headed straight back to the jeep for a quick nap.
The jeep kept on moving and at around midnight we reached Dindigul. We had no hotel arrangements as such, there was some far away relative of the General Secretary who lived somewhere in the town. It took another half an hour to find that house. It was a really funny moment when we realized that the relative in question was being met for the very first time. The smiles were absolutely artificial and being so late at night we just requested them to let us sleep for the night somewhere. The house was small and the only space available was the rooftop. We all slept like a baby but the sleep was short-lived as we again got up around 5 in the morning ready for the final push towards Kodaikanal.
The rickety jeep started and the journey began along with the rising sun. Plain roads gave way to mountainous roads and slowly we were climbing hills. In between somewhere, I don’t remember exactly where we picked up P. C. Jena who was then the chairperson of SCM. So we had a new member in our team and the journey continued. The monotonous winding roads were slowly turning into breath-taking views. We stopped in-between for some fresh jackfruits which I guess the locals were selling. This was another opportunity for me and Paul to click some photographs.
By the time we reached Kodaikanal, it was way past noon and our lodging was arranged at Kodaikanal Christian College which was also the venue for the annual meeting. The college was having vacation thus the student’s room was given to us. With breathtaking views of the blue hills, the rooms were more like that of a star hotel than a college hostel room.
The annual conference lasted for around three days which was a mixed bag of fun as well as serious discussions. Many new friends made and many unforgettable memories.
The return trip was to be done on a bus which was hired for all the participants to take them to Madurai. Two such buses were booked followed by the Jeep at the back. Myself and Paul took the bus since we had to be with our friends. On the way back we got stuck somewhere in between, there seems to have been some altercations between some locals and some bus drivers which took around an hour to get resolved.
We stayed in Madurai at Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary for around two days. In the evening we went for a tour of Meenakshi Temple and then to watch a Tamil movie, I don’t recall the name but the songs were really good.
Finally, it turned for me to return home but this time on a train. I said goodbye to Paul with whom it was a three-week fun ride. We took a train from Madurai to Chennai Egmore and then again from Chennai Central back to Howrah.
When I look back at this particular journey it feels surreal since I just had Rs. 3000 in my pocket at the start of the journey and when I returned back to Kolkata I had Rs. 2500 in my pocket. So it was like a trip of a lifetime from long Jeep rides to bus journey and finally train journeys. Some trips shape destinies and for me, this one was one of them which made me believe that the journey is the real fun and the destination is just a part of the bigger plan.
Dhanushkodi Travel Guide
Once upon a time visiting Dhanushkodi was like an adventure of the seas but now that has all gone thanks to the paved road from Rameswaram Town right till the tip of the lands’ end. When I had originally planned to visit Dhanushkodi only 4X4 vintage jeeps or minivans were being used to ferry tourists from Rameswaram and you basically had two options, either to book the entire vehicle all to yourself or wait for the vehicle to fill up with other passengers. These vehicles will then take you to Dhanushkodi Beach and wait for you to enjoy the natural beauty before returning.
The journey was scary as often the vehicles will actually be travelling for miles in knee-deep sea water and often the tyres would get stuck. All these vehicles will be having an assistant whose main job would have been to lay wooden planks under the tyres to create traction. Since no regular vehicles were allowed these jeep and minivan owners had a virtual monopoly.
In the year 2017 finally, the much promised paved road was opened and
the boom in tourist suddenly spiked. You no longer needed to travel in
specialized vehicles instead can take your own private or hired cars.
For bikers riding all the way till Dhanushkodi is now a regular affair.
If you really want to go the cheap way then just book an Auto and you
are done.
How To Reach Dhanushkodi?
Many hotels will offer Dhanushkodi trips but to my experience, these
would for sure be much expensive since the hotel will always keep a good
percentage for themselves. Also, the hotels will try to sell you a
single day package in which they will provide you with a car for a day
for visiting Dhanushkodi in the morning and then Rameswaram sightseeing
rest of the day. Avoid this at all cost since it will be a complete
touch and go for the Rameswaram town sightseeing thus best to avoid.
Also, plan for a morning visit to Dhanushkodi instead of the evening
since the beach is off limit by 5 PM and I have seen many tourists
forced to return back without being able to spend any time at the beach.
Reaching Dhanushkodi in an Auto
An Auto will charge around something between 700 – 800 Rs. (INR year 2017) which would include waiting time at the beach. Ensure you confirm the waiting time at Dhanushkodi beach so that there will not be any misunderstanding while returning. Carry bottled water and some light snacks since these would be very expensive at Dhanushkodi.
Note: If you are travelling in an Auto then
make sure you have caps or scarves to cover your head. The drive
towards Dhanushkodi can sometimes be extremely windy and this makes the
almost powder like soft sand to blast on your face. At a speed, these
small sand particles feel like a constant sting on the face. Cover your
cameras since these small sand particles can easily enter the camera and
damage them.
What To See On The Wat To Dhanushkodi?
Kothandarama Temple – Dhanushkodi
Usually, a trip to Dhanushkodi will include a trip to the Kothandarama Temple also which will fall somewhere in between with detour. Even if you are not a temple fan do take this detour since on the way you will get some fantastic landscapes and seascapes.
Historically this is a very significant temple since this is the only surviving structure from the 1964 cyclone which had completely erased Dhanushkodi from the map of the country and isolated Rameswaram from the rest of India. According to mythology, it is at this very place that the brother of Vibhishana the younger brother of Ravana had surrendered to Rama and sought refuge.
There was an ice cream seller selling Kulfi right outside the temple and we made the mistake of buying a couple of them. The Kulfis was good but what we did not take into account were the strong winds with heavy moisture content which in turn melted the kulfis in a matter of seconds and we were just left with the stick in our hand.
Next, we proceeded straight towards Dhanushkodi, this stretch of the road has guard walls created out of stone boulders to protect the road from the sand and the sea. In spite of this, the strong winds carry the soft sand over the wall and line up at the edge of the road creating a dune-like illusion.
There are several shacks that line around the road selling freshly fried fishes. I would recommend you to try these during your return journey.
Reaching Dhanushkodi
Before reaching the Ram Setu view point which is the last accessible land you will find the old Dhanushkodi Station on your left. This was damaged beyond repair during the 1964 super storm and was never rebuilt. Some structures that you can clearly make out are the Water Tank at the station along with few other smaller building around the station. At some places, you will also be able to see the old railway tracks.
Old Church at Dhanushkodi
A little ahead to the right you will find the Old Church. The church has no roofs but the outer walls and the main altar still stands where they were before the storm hit. On weekends and holidays, this place can become extremely crowded and a small market crops up around the church selling sea shells and other memorabilia.
On the church front wall, three letter are clearly visible “JHS” which most probably would mean Jesus Hominis Salvatus (Greek). When translated it would mean Jesus Saviour of Men.
Ram Setu View Point – Dhanushkodi Beach
Further down the road is the Ram Setu View Point or rather should say land’s end. Vehicles can go till a point post which you need to walk. This place also doubles up as a parking space so normally all the tourist vehicles will be parked here.
All around from here you will be able to see just blue-green transparent clear water. Walk along the sandy path till the end and at a point, you will feel as if completely surrounded by water on all the sides. It is very dangerous to take bath or swim in these waters as this place is not a proper beach and the water though looks calm can be deceiving since there is a sudden steep 6 – 10 feet drop.
Sri Lanka is just around 20 nautical miles from this spot and at a distance, you will be able to see few more sand dunes rising up from the bottom of the sea. As per temple records in the town of Rameswaram devotees from Lanka (Sri Lanka) used to come regularly on foot across the Ram Setu (Adam’s Bridge) till around 1300 AD. Post wish there were some major storms which raised the sea level and also shifted the soft seabed thus submerging this portion below the sea level.
If you are a fish lover then the numerous shacks that line up around the main road would indeed be a treat to your taste buds. Just select the fish you want to have and bargain on a price. We paid around 100 Rs. (INR year 2017) for three fishes which were cleaned and fried fresh on a wood-fired giant saucer. Served with fresh cut lemon and onions this should never be missed. Just beyond these shacks, you will find some fishermen huts.
It took around 45 minutes to reach Dhanushkodi from Rameswaram with just a ten-minute break at the temple and spent around an hour or so at the Dhanushkodi Beach. We took a further thirty minutes break at the food shack thus a trip to Dhanushkodi from Rameswaram could easily be done in half a day.
We tipped the Auto driver at the end of the journey after he dropped us at our hotel. This not only made him happy but also gave us an opportunity to thank him for his service. Hope you have enjoyed my trip to Madurai, Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi. Southern adventure for this season ends here hope to catch you soon till then Bon Voyage.
Rameswaram Sightseeing in a Day
I had been planning a Rameswaram trip for nearly three years and every time it got finalized something or the other creeping up. Either it was a train timing mismatch or the whole vacation itself got diverted to another direction. After all visiting one of the southernmost part of mainland India has its own challenges due to its extreme south location along with limited train connectivity from the rest of India.
Rameswaram has been an important tourist spot due to its religious significance and as the name suggests it’s all to do with Lord Ram after all this is the place from which Ram Setu was built by the Vanar Sena to mainland Lanka (Sri Lanka). Thus Rameswaram is a very important pilgrimage town and this town has quite a few temples which are strategically built according to the journey of Ram marching along with the army towards the kingdom ruled by Ravana.
If you are visiting Rameswaram then divide your touring options into
two groups. Dedicate a day for sightseeing and temple visits around
Rameswaram and dedicate a day for Dhanushkodi. You can do both of these in a single day but that would be like touch and go.
Rameswaram Seightseeing in an Auto
Rameswaram being a temple town have numerous temples and tanks/wells (Teertham) and unless you are doing a research on this town you can skip some and visit only the significant and important ones. In this blog, I am listing out the places that I managed to cover in an Auto within a day at a leisurely pace.
An Auto will charge around Rs. 600 – Rs. 800 (INR)
(Year 2017 – 2018) for this tour depending on the total amount of time
you would like to take to complete the tour. Ideally, settle for Rs. 800
so that he does not make you hurry up or sometimes they might tend to
skip some places just to save time. Auto drivers mostly speak Tamil with
no or negligible mix of Hindi and English thus try sign language or
something to communicate. Most Auto drivers will have a printed list of
tourist places along with rates (ignore the printed rates) so note down
the list and then ensure the list is covered.
Places around Rameswaram you can cover these within a day
Ramanathaswamy Temple
Agni Teertham
Gandhamadhana Parvatham
Sakshi Hanuman Temple
Villoondi Teertham
Ekantha Ramaswamy Temple
Runa Vimochana Teertham
Lakshmana Theertham
Panchmukhi Hanuman Mandir & Floating Stones
Rama Teertham
Rameswaram TV Tower
Annai Indira Gandhi Road Bridge
Pamban Bridge
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam House
Kalam Memorial
Vivekananda Memorial
Kunthukal Beach
Ramanathaswamy Temple – Rameswaram
Don’t get misled by its name, it’s actually a Shiva temple and one of the twelve Jyotirlinga temples. As per mythology, Ram had prayed here to Shiva in order for forgiveness for killing a Brahmin (Ravana). According to legends Ram had sent Hanuman to bring a Linga from the Himalayas to be installed here but Hanuman was delayed so in the meantime Sita had built a small Linga from the beaches near the temple. Thus this temple has two Lingas.
According to historians, this temple was built around 12 – 13 AD but major constructions which can be seen as the present form of the temple was built around 17th Century. The temple has Two Gouprams one to the East and the other to the West. This temple is famous for its longest temple corridor with sandstone pillars.
Agni Teertham – Rameswaram
People coming to Rameswaram often take a holy dip at Agni Teertham which is at the northern end of the Ramanathaswamy Temple. This is one of the Teertham thus people take the holy dip in the bay out here. Note that this place can be bit crowded thus not a place for a casual swim. If you just want to enjoy the waters of the sea then there are other beaches which I will mention later in this blog.
Gandhamadhana Parvatham – Rameswaram
This is a small temple located atop a small hillock and the highest natural point in the island. As per mythology, Hanuman took off towards Ceylon (Lanka) from here to fight the Ravana army.
Sakshi Hanuman – Rameswaram
You will find this small temple on the way towards Gandhamadhana Parvatham.
Villoondi Teertham – Rameswaram
Legend has it that when Sita was thirsty and wanted to drink water Ram took his bow and pierced the ground with an arrow and sweet water emerged from the ground right next to the salty waters of the sea. Ram then buried his bow in the grounds here. You can still see a well at the spot which is believed to be the same spot from where sweet water had sprung up.
Villoondi Teertham also has a fantastic clean beach and the waters out here are so clean and clear that you can see the bottom of the seabed. The water out here is very calm and is perfect for that swim.
Lakshmana Teertham – Rameswaram
As the name suggests there is a tank which is believed where Laxman took a bath before offering prayed to Shiva which is in form of a Linga and a temple has been built around it.
Panchmukhi Hanuman Mandir & Floating Stones – Rameswaram
This is a Hanuman temple and has a massive black stone statue of Hanuman having five faces. According to legends Hanuman took five forms to extinguish five lamps simultaneously so as to defeat the demon Ahiravana who was the brother of Ravana.
The small temple has floating rocks which are believed to be the same with which Hanuman had constructed the Ram Setu towards Lanka.
Rama Teertham – Rameswaram
While marching towards Lanka to fight Ravana, Ram had stopped at this spot and taken bath here which is now a large tank. The temple next to it and people usually feed the fish that fill up this large water body.
Sri Ekantha Ramaswamy Temple – Rameswaram
Ram along with Laxman and the Vanar Sena had stopped here and rested while proceeding towards Lanka to fight Ravana. This place has a temple has a deity of Ram, Laxman and Sita and the Theertha is in form of a well.
Runa Vimochana Teertham – Rameswaram
This is one of the Teerthams and dedicated to Ganapati. It falls on the main road thus can be easily spotted.
Rameswaram TV Tower
Once the tallest man-made structure in India (now the second) this television tower is the tallest television broadcast tower in the country. It can be seen from all over the town and its gigantic proportion can only be felt if you stand right at the bottom of the tower.
Annai Indira Gandhi Road Bridge
If you are coming to Rameswaram by car or by bus then this is the only way to access Rameswaram. Once this was the first of its kind sea bridge in the country. You get the best view of iconic Pamban Bridge from the top of this bridge. Tourists often stop on top to take their photographs against the backdrop of Pamban Bridge. Traffic cops try their best to keep the vehicles moving but people usually keep ignoring them and keep clicking photos. You can expect some traffic on this bridge due to this.
The auto/tourist car drivers will usually drop you at the topmost point of the bridge and wait at the end of the bridge so do take down their mobile numbers to call them back once you finish up.
Pamban Bridge
This is a rail bridge with a bascule (draw) bridge which allows the two sides of the bridge to be retracted so that large ships can pass. If you are coming by train then you are going to use this bridge. This is one of the iconic structures of the town. While travelling over this bridge towards Rameswaram you will be able to see the reminiscence of the old railway line and some sections of the old bridge submerged in the water to the left side. This bridge was destroyed in a massive storm in the year 1964.
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam House – Rameswaram
This is a recent attraction and slowly growing in popularity. This is the house where Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam the Missile Man and Ex-President of India was born. To be specific not the exact same building but the original house which once stood here. The building that we now see has been expanded and modified. The multi-storied house has a museum dedicated to him and the upper floor is just a commercial shop trying to sell memorabilia and other sea shells.
Surprisingly photography is prohibited inside very contrary to the original person who loved technology and still remember the video of him with his own Handycam filming beat the retreat festivities at New Delhi. Note that this building is a private property and not managed by the government. Relatives of the former president clearly saw the opportunity to use his name to get some business.
Kalam Memorial – Rameswaram
This is the official memorial building which has been recently built around the grave of the former president. This place also serves as an official historical museum dedicated to him. Surprisingly again photography is not allowed and one needs to walk bear feet once inside.
Vivekananda Memorial – Rameswaram
There is small memorial sort of temple which is actually more of an interpretation centre and a museum dedicated to the life and works of Swami Vivekananda. There is also an aquarium next to this memorial which can be an attraction for the kids.
Kunthukal Beach – Rameswaram
Another reason for visiting Vivekananda Memorial is that the beach which is located right behind the memorial is worth visiting. This is like a sort of secret island beach which no one visits but its beauty is beyond words.
Dhanushkodi
This place is becoming more popular than Rameswaram town itself. Due to its extreme location and breath-taking natural beauty this is becoming a must destination. Previously this place was only accessible with four wheel drive vehicles since there were no paved roads but that has all changed and a two lane road connects right till the end.
Dhanushkodi requires a separate blog thus would discuss it in length in my next blog. Stay tuned to my blog for a full detailed trip report to Dhanushkodi.
Other than the above list there are several smaller temples and Teerthams which include large tanks as well as wells which can be visited if you have interest in them. My next trip in this town was to Dhanushkodi all that in my next blog till then have a safe journey and see you soon.
Echoes of Ooty
This trip was one of the most memorable trip of my life possible for three reasons one it was the last time I went along with my parents for a vacation in my adult life and secondly my sister also managed to join us along with her husband and my three year old nephew and finally our first stop was Bangalore (Bengaluru) which was once where me and my sister grew up and were returning after ten long years.
This was possibly the last classic middle-class family vacation that I could remember. We took the train from Howrah to Bangalore and were booked in three-tier non-air-conditioned coaches. Along with our luggage, we had a basket full of food enough to last two full days. The journey started with a sumptuous lunch on the train which included rice and prawns cooked in coconut curry. I had the side lower berth so could relax with a perfect eye level view from the window.
The year was 2002 and a vacation did not mean Googling a destination and getting all the tourist information. It was more word of mouth from friends and families which helped plan a perfect vacation. I would always find my father buying a copy of Trains at a Glance from the station which he would constantly refer to check if the train was on schedule. Also, I would see him often taking out the rail network route map which would be a part of this guide and find trains to unique destinations around particular tourist spots.
We reached Bangalore early in the morning and the same slight nip in the air was felt, Bangalore in these ten years had transformed itself into an IT hub and this changed could also be seen in the infrastructures. More busses, new flyovers, traffic signals etc. what did not change were the traffic cops with cowboy type hats and white gloves.
We stayed in Bangalore for around three days visiting our old house located at Charles Campbell Road and then at Whitefield. Whitefield by now had turned into an IT SEZ and the good old farming communities had suddenly been replaced by glass buildings. Charles Campbell Road at Cox Town was, however, the same except that some old single storied houses had now become apartment blocks.
If there is one mode of transport that I try to avoid then that would be a bus journey and unfortunately, from Bangalore to Ooty, this was the only public transportation available. The saving grace was that my dad had booked the Rajamhasa Bus (KSRTC) which were basically a luxurious version of the regular bus services.
The bus starts at around 10 PM and reaches Ooty early next morning around 5 AM thus it’s a comfortable journey. At night the bus passed through the jungle areas and thus was with armed escorts. Later we came to know that the route is notorious for armed robbers especially that by the Sandalwood smugglers.
It was a cold August morning, really cold something for which we had not actually planned for. With just a light windcheater I was shivering. We reached our Ooty hotel and since we were travelling during offseason thus we could get a fantastic deal. After having our breakfast the first thing that we did was to shop for warm clothes. Luckily there is a Bhutia (Tibetan) Market which sells sweaters and jackets at a very affordable rate. I got myself a beanie cap and a fleece jacket.
Ooty was the place where for the first time I had tasted Shawarma, freshly prepared right in front of you it. This along with homemade chocolates was our staple diet for next few days. We hired a car for a day and visited places like Rose Garden, Ooty Lake, Tea Estates, Botanical Gardens, Doddabetta Peak etc. Ooty has quite a few tea estates and the shops out here serve local varieties of fresh tea and some of them are wonderfully flavoured especially the cardamom tea.
There were quite a few gift shops downtown and I purchased a rucksack bag and my brother in law gifted me a Swiss Army Knife. I always fancied having this traveller’s knife with me and this was a very happy moment for me. Somehow the traveller in me always wanted to have this and till date, this knife has accompanied me in all my trips around the world. I guess my last grand trip with my parents became the ignition point for my travel-hungry soul.
For our return journey, we choose to take the Toy Train (Nilgiri Mountain Railway) which is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway. We took the Nilgiri Passenger to Mettupalayam and from there we took the Nilgiri Express to Chennai.
Mettupalayam is very near to Coimbatore which has an airport thus you can take a flight back or can also travel to Chennai for further connection. Coimbatore is now connected by multiple airlines thus you can get cheap flight tickets to directly reach Ooty from here instead of coming via Bengaluru. If you want to skip the Toy Train then you can take the bus or hire a taxi to take you from the airport to Ooty.
Madurai In A Day
We were travelling as a family to Rameswaram and did not get a direct train thus had to stop over at Madurai. I had been to Madurai in the year 2002 but a lot had changed since then. Moreover, I was not a blogger then thus my approach towards the city was very different. So I had one full day in the city so had to utilize it to the maximum.
For a luck, I managed to book a hotel (Hotel Rani Mangammal Residencies) in the city which was located bang opposite to the Madurai Railway Station gate thus no running behind auto drivers no bargaining. Just took the luggage straight to the hotel and the rates were extremely economical considering the strategic location and the room type. Later on, however, I learnt that the hotel was operated by Madurai Municipal Corporation which was another shocker considering its beautiful ambience and maintenance. The manager at the front desk was extremely helpful and guided me to the list of important places that I could visit within a day with some comfort and enough time at each location to enjoy the beauty.
Seightseeing Around Madura in in an Auto
Madurai is relatively a small town thus can be easily covered with an Auto, however, there are some spots which are located on the outskirts so if you plan to visit those as well then hiring a car would be advisable. An Auto will charge around Rs. 500 – 600 for local sightseeing but before committing anything please do ensure that that Auto driver is fully aware of the total number of places that he will take you else they tend to skip a few just to save some time.
Madurai is basically a temple town thus obviously almost all of the main attractions revolve around temple especially Meenakshi Temple.
But don’t let that fool you, this city also has a very important
museum. The best itinerary would be to cover the please farthest from
the centre of the town and keep Meenakshi Temple for the last as it does
take a lot of time to go around considering the amount of steady crowd.
Places To Visit Around Madurai In An Auto
Thirupparamkunram Murugan Temple
Thirumalai Nayakar Palace (Mahal)
Vandiyur Mariyamman Temple – Teppakulam (Lake)
Arulmigu Mariamman Temple – Teppakulam
Koodal Azhagar Temple
Meenakshi Amman Temple
Gandhi Museum & Government Museum
Thirupparamkunram Murugan Temple
This is a classic rock-cut temple and apart from the front façade with its gopuram, most of the temple actually is cut out from the rock front. To get the best view step back and walk around hundred meters back from the main entrance and then you will be able to see the full majestic view. Photography is prohibited inside the temple but you are free to access it from the front courtyard.
Dated around the 6th century this temple was built by the Pandayas and as per legend lord Murugan slayed the demon Surapadman and married Deivayanai, the divine daughter of the king of heaven, Indra.
Thirumalai Nayakar Palace (Mahal)
Once considered one of the wonders of Southern India this palace is just a fraction of what it once used to be. The palace was built by the Nayaks one of the last kingdoms to have ruled Madurai before the takeover by the East India Company.
This palace was built around 1636 by King Thirumalai Nayak and is unique in its design with a fusion of Dravidian, Rajput and Mughal style. Since most portions of the palace do not exist anymore what you see now are just some portions namely Svarga Vilasam (Celestial Pavilion) which is the central hall along with some rooms and chambers all around. This place is famous for its gigantic pillars which gives it’s a dramatic architectural perspective.
Vandiyur Mariyamman Temple – Teppakulam (Lake)
This temple was once located within an artificial waterbody more that of a large pond but due to recent droughts and building of dams the lake is now dried up and now has turned into a cricket ground. Only during the festival, the local civic body manages to fill it up with large pumps drawing water from nearby water bodies.
The temple was constructed around 1645 with the soil around being excavated for building the Thirumalai Nayakar Palace. During mid-January to mid-February special festivities take place during which the deities of Meenakshi Temple are brought to the lake in processions.
Arulmigu Mariamman Temple – Teppakulam
This is a Durga temple which is around 2000 years old. Mariamman is considered as the custodian deity of Madurai and no celebration in the city can start without first visiting this temple and seeking its blessings.
Important Information:-
You would need to buy a Rs. 20 ticket for photography. The Ticket counter is located near the entrance.
Koodal Azhagar Temple
This temple is dedicated to Vishnu is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu. As per stone inscription within the temple the date refers to that of 8th century AD with further expansion during the Nayak dynasty rule in the 16th century. Some historians even date the temple back to 3 BC.
Meenakshi Amman Temple
The most famous amongst all the temples in this town and perhaps one of the most important one in the whole of Southern India. The town basically gets related to Meenakshi Temple more often than any other famous temple that is dotted around the town.
Photography is not allowed inside the temple now but as luck would have it when I had visited the temple in the year 2004 I had clicked some with my film camera.
The temple has a fixed opening and closing time thus please coordinate your visit accordingly. This being one of the most famous temples in the town and the region you can expect quite a long queue thus be prepared accordingly.
It is a fairly large temple structure with around four Rajagopurams (majestic towers), there are five towers on top of the sanctum sanctorum of the Lord, three on top of the sanctum sanctorum of the Goddess and two golden towers or gopurams. As the name suggests this temple is dedicated to Meenakshi (Parvati) and Sundareswar (Shiva). As per some records, the temple existed from around 6th century, much of the temple was destroyed in the 14th century by the invaders and was rebuilt and massively expanded in the year 17th century by the Nayaks. When visiting this temple make sure you have enough time in your hand and make sure to follow the dress code.
Important Information:-
Temple Opening Hours – 05.00 AM to 12.30 PM and 02.30 PM to 10.00 PM
Darshan Time – 05.00 AM to 12.30 PM and 04.00 PM to 09.00 PM
Paid Darshan – Meenakshi Amman Sannathi Rs. 20 per person
Swami Amman Sannathi Rs. 20 per person
Special Darshan – Meenakshi Amman Sannathi Rs. 50 per person
Swami Amman Sannathi Rs. 50 per person
Foreigners Entry Fee – Rs. 50 per person
Mobile Camera – Rs. 50
Gandhi Museum & Government Museum
Honestly, I really had no interest in visiting this museum since I was not fully aware of this place initially. Almost reluctantly I dragged myself to this place and I must confess that this was the most eye-opening experience that I had during this short trip to Madurai.
There are around five Gandhi museums in the country and Madurai is one of them. This museum was inaugurated by the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru in the year 1959. This building which now houses the museum was once a palace of Rani Mangammal (one of the Nayak queen). This museum has the life and history of Gandhi depicted in multiple framed photographs and paintings along with many original and replica artefacts belonging to Gandhi. Amongst the most important piece of historical item that can be seen here is the bloodstained cloth belonging to Gandhi the day he was shot and killed. Overall this is a very informative museum.
Apart from the Gandhi museum, there is another small museum (Madurai Government Museum) located in the adjacent building which houses generic artefacts.
Important Information:-
(Gandhi Museum) Photography / Videography / Mobile – Rs. 50
(Madurai Government Museum) Entry Fee – Adult Rs. 5, Child Rs. 3, School Children (Nil), Foreigners Rs. 100
(Madurai Government Museum) Photography Fee – Rs. 20
(Madurai Government Museum) – Visiting Hours 09.30 AM to 05.00 PM (Friday, Second Saturday and National Holidays closed)
Special thanks to my blogger friend Rashmi Gopal Rao (http://rashminotes.com) for helping me out in finalizing the plan. Hope you have enjoyed travelling with me around Madurai in a day, my next destination was Rameswaram so watch out for my next blog.
Story of A Never Ending Bus Journey
Mistakes are like a house of cards, with one other follow. This is what exactly happened to me a month back during a short vacation down south. Honestly, I do not prefer long bus journeys, I simply hate the restricted space along with limited or sometimes no access to washrooms. With a seven-year-old in the team, it becomes an even more challenging task. But as fate would want I had to take a long I mean really long bus journey from Madurai to Rameswaram.
My original plan was to take a train from Madurai to Rameswaram but this did not work out as on the day that I had originally planned to take the train had absolutely no direct link service. However, a blog did mention about a train from Manamadurai that would directly take me to Rameswaram. So without wasting any time I booked the tickets. Later I realized that this was a mistake since the departure time was at 5 AM in the morning and Manamadurai was not a distance that could be easily be covered with an auto that too in early in the morning.
Madurai to Rameswaram by Bus
After reaching Madurai that first thing that I did was to locate alternate bus service and I was informed at the hotel desk about a scheduled bus service that would start at around 7 AM and would cost Rs. 200 per person. The gentleman at the travel desk urged me to book the seats as they were filling up fast. I bluntly ignored this thinking that he was just trying to con me into making this advance booking. So I went straight to my room and the first thing that I did was to cancel my train ticket as by then I was confident that there is regular bus service between Madurai and Rameswaram. I would obviously book the bus ticket but not so soon might be late at night once we return from our Madurai tour. This one little mistake would haunt me for the rest of the next 24 hours.
After touring Madurai city I reached the hotel travel desk for booking the next day bust tickets, I was politely told that the bus is full and since the next day was an extended weekend holiday no more busses were available. By then I had also cancelled my train tickets so basically, I had no arranged reservations in any mode of transportation.
My next one hour was spent running between various travel agents all not being able to provide a bus ticket. After searching for long I met up with a travel agent who told me that usually busses do get arranged at the last moment but the tickets are always hiked up due to the surge in demand. So instead of Rs. 200 I had to pay around Rs. 500 per person. With no other option in sight, I agreed.
As promised the next morning at the prescribed hour we were taken to our bus and being the first passenger we secured the best seats possible. And then the wait starts, apparently we were the only passengers booked at that moment and we had to wait till the bus gets filled up. The wait lasted around one and a half hours after which finally we started our journey towards Rameswaram.
The passengers included a family of four from Bangalore, family of six from Lucknow and an elderly Bengali couple. All of us wanted to reach Rameswaram as soon as possible except for the elderly Bengali couple. The first stop was made so that they could purchase bottled water and within half an hour of driving, they again wanted to stop for breakfast. Being an elderly couple none of could say anything so the bus made an unscheduled stop at a roadside eatery.
While we sat in the bus being grilled by the midday sun the couple were enjoying sumptuous servings of Idli and Sambar. After nearly forty-five minutes they boarded the bus and the driver started the bus. To be precise tried to start the bus. No matter how hard he tried turning up the key in various direction there was absolute silence. The self-start was clearly not working. We were asked to de board the bus and push it so that it can be started but this failed too. After nearly thirty minutes a spare battery was arranged and somehow the bus was started.
Now there was no waiting and our next stop would directly be at Rameswaram. Except us and the family of four from Bengaluru rest all had paid for a day trip including sightseeing at Rameswaram so they were supposed to return the same day. For them, it was important to reach Rameswaram as soon as possible so as to see as much possible. These people also paid nearly Rs. 1500 each for the return trip including sightseeing charges so now they were really worried.
Adding to the delay misery was the fact that our bus had a top maximum speed of 40 kilometres per hour. Somehow the bus driver was pushing it to 45 but not a single digit after that. The bus was so slow that even mopeds were overtaking it. By the time we crossed Pamban Bridge it was nearly 2 PM and then we got stuck. There were some political rallies taking place so all the tourist vehicles were stuck which lasted nearly an hour.
By the time we finally reached somewhere near the station we were completely exhausted. Luckily our hotel was nearby so we got off and planned to walk the rest few steps. It is then the Bengali couple realized that actually, they don’t have any spare time in hand for sightseeing as if they would want to catch their return train from Madurai they would have to leave right now. They started pressurizing the bus driver to immediately return to Madurai but on the other hand, the family of six from Lucknow had a late night train from Madurai thus they wanted to carry on with their original plan.
All hell broke loose the Bengali couple were pulling the bus driver’s hand to turn the bus back towards Madurai whereas the family from Lucknow dared the bus driver even to think about returning to Madurai before 7 PM. All this kept continuing and we quietly got down since we had reached our hotel. Just before getting down I whispered into the ear of the Bengali gentleman “wasn’t those Idlis delicious…”.
Somehow bus journeys always seem to bring some trouble to me so I best avoid them. For my return leg I did not want to take any chance so decided to hire a car instead. Of late I have been hiring a car for all my trips it’s more comfortable and can plan my route on my own. The type of travel blogging that I do often takes me to places less visited by regular tourists thus its always preferable for me to use self-drive car rental services like Zoom Car. I carry my GPS device pre-loaded with the route along with mobile phones thus making the journey much easier. I had extensively used car rental in Bangalore for my Mysore trip and it was economical as well as complete satisfaction as I could manage to cover all the major tourist spots within a short period of time.
This might sound something new in this country but in Europe, it’s a very common facility availed by most tourists. People even hire out trucks and minivans. This makes the trip fun as well as comfortable. Along with cars I have also availed motorcycle hire at different tourist places and my family has actually adapted to this type of travel and they simply love it.
The bus journey ended but the adventure continued, the hotel that we had initially booked in advance was a disaster on another level altogether. All that in my next blog till then happy travelling.
Road Trip around Mahabalipuram
Over the years of travelling across India and abroad I have often felt the urge to set off on my own instead of a booked private car or public transport. I have seen many unknown and unheard of places just by travelling alone. This desire always lets me think out of the box whenever travelling with my family also and surprisingly they have also started liking the idea of going for a long drive on a motorbike where I drive and my wife becomes the navigator with GPS in hand. I’m chronicling my road trip adventure for CEAT Tyres in association with BlogAdda.
On our last trip to Mahabalipuram after having visited many of the
common tourist places, we decided to head to the lesser known places
that surely would add value to our trip. The perks of being a blogger
are that you tend to start bonding with other bloggers and a shout to
them across social media would surely throw in a lot of ideas. My guide
for this trip was Rajkumar a fellow blogger from the state who helped me
to plan my trip across the state of Tamil Nadu.
Motorbike Trip Around Mahabalipuram
Many people have been shocked on hearing that I have gone on a long drive on a motorbike along with my family and I just want to assure them that by just carefully planning you are absolutely safe. Some of the key points that I always ensure on long rides like these are:-
- Always wear a helmet and also make sure your co-passengers wear helmets that fit perfectly.
- Plan your fuel consumption and on GPS mark out fuel stations so that you know when to refuel.
- Check the tyre pressure and adjust according to your load.
- Carry water and light snack especially if you are travelling with a child.
- Carry some basic first aid along with you.
- Inform your relatives back home about your plan and intended route. Inform your hotel also so that they know when to expect you back.
- Maintain speed limit even if the highway seems empty don’t be tempted to press on the accelerator.
- Ensure your tyre thread are of adequate depth, the breaking and stability of the vehicle is very much dependent on this factor. My vehicle had been fitted with new Ceat Tyres thus I was assured of its performance.
- Don’t expect others to always follow road rules thus keep a lookout whenever making a turn or changing lanes.
- Give light/indicator signals as well as hand signals while changing lanes
- Ask the navigator to warn in advance for any upcoming turn so that you can slow down and make a safe turning.
- For bike rides, I always wear shades/sunglasses as it not only gives me a clear vision but also helps my eye cope with the constant air and dust that keeps flowing.
Road trips can be fun and be gruelling also thus take them easily and enjoy as it comes, have a destination in your mind but also keep a check on your physical limit, at any time if you feel that it is enough to please do turn back. In this trip, we planned to cover a destination that we skipped at the end as I felt that we have driven long enough and need to return to our base also.
We took off early in the morning at around 7 AM from our hotel in the central tourist district of Mahabalipuram and before heading for the highway we settled in for some morning breakfast. Fresh idli, appam and omelette were the perfect starts for this wonderful day. After filling in petrol we took the East Coast Road and drove straight as most of the important tourist spots were all along this main highway.
Places to visit around mahabalipuram
– Tiger Cave
– The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust & Centre for Herpetology
– Nithyakalyana Perumal Temple
– Hazrath Thameemul Ansari Sahabiye Rasool Dargah
– Muttukadu Boat House
– India Sea Shell Museum
Mahabalipuram – Tiger Cave
Considered as a part of rock-cut temples of Mahabalipuram this is real unique since the main structures are covered with stone carvings of a tiger head. This is one of the temples that is bit far away from the main group of temples in Mahabalipuram. A recent excavation near this site found another buried temple site which is under excavation. This new found temple structure is significant as it solidifies some claim that more such structures exist around Mahabalipuram. I have written a separate detailed blog on Mahabalipuram and you can go through it to know more about the group of temples.
The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust & Centre for Herpetology
I have already done a detailed blog about this place and the highlight has to be the snake venom extraction which is demonstrated live in front of the audience. Apart from this as the name suggest this place is crawling with crocodile, alligator and other reptiles. If you have young ones in your team then this place is a must.
Mahabalipuram – Nithyakalyana Perumal Temple
This is a Vishnu temple constructed around 6th – 9th century AD by the Pallava. Even though this temple is under the ASI (Arche logical Survey of India) but still regular pujas are performed thus making this a full functioning temple. Photography inside the temple is restricted thus I could only manage to click the temple from outside.
Considered as one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu and this temple is famous for prayers being offered by people who come to wish for a quick hand in marriage especially for those it’s getting delayed for some reason or the other thus you can see many young boys and girls outside the temple who come here with their parents to pray.
Hazrath Thameemul Ansari Sahabiye Rasool Dargah
This Dargah has a significance of its own as the person buried here is Tamim ibn Zayd al-Ansari who is said to be one of the companions of Prophet Muhammad. This place is very revered amongst the local population and people from all religious background come to pray at this Dargah.
Muttukadu Boat House
The last point on your road trip would be at Muttukadu Boat House, this is basically a boating club built around the backwaters at Muttukadu. During the winter season, this place is full of migratory birds and can be seen in flocks of different species. There are different types of bots that you can hire exclusively or share with other passengers. Come early in the daytime or in the evening to enjoy the boat ride else with the afternoon sun it can become really hot.
Mahabalipuram – India Sea Shell Museum
On our way back to Mahabalipuram we saw a signboard about an India Sea Shell Museum somewhere near the Pancha Rathas thus decided to drop by before heading back to the hotel. When we arrived at the site we saw massive construction, apparently the museum is being expanded but nevertheless, it was functioning. For some reason, I did not want to get in but decided to wait outside while I transfer the photos from my memory card, in the meantime the person responsible for the day to day management of the place came out and personally requested me to take a tour of the place for free. I simply could not refuse the offer but decided to check it out.
The museum is divided into different sections, one that houses different varieties of sea shells from around the world and another section which houses life fish in aquariums. The highlight of the day was, however, fish pedicure which was being offered for just Rs. 50 out here and Smita my wife was the happiest person as for long she wanted to try this out.
Overall this route can be a full day trip as it covers many different places and also each of the places does take a time to cover thus plan accordingly. This was the last of the Mahabalipuram series hope to see you soon from somewhere else, till then happy travelling.
Mahabalipuram Route Map
Click here to download the route map
Other Mahabalipuram Blogs
Complete Guide to Mahabalipuram
If you are traveling around Tamil Nadu then most probably you will be transiting through Chennai, and I would recommend you to spare two days for Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram. It’s just a short drive from Chennai and the four-lane highway is just butter smooth. The drive from Chennai will surely be picturesque as you would be able to see the Bay of Bengal to your left coming into view from time to time. I keep visiting this place often as I always prefer to take the night flight back to Kolkata from Chennai since I get cheapest air tickets on this route and extending my return date by accommodating a short trip to this place has always been my favorite.
Mahabalipuram is much more than a temple town, it’s rather a heaven for stone architecture lovers. This coastal town has some of the finest collection of early Dravidian architectural marvels. There are lots of things to see in this place. Most of the places of interest are in groups thus it’s easy for you to navigate. While doing my research on Mahabalipuram before going I had difficulty in planning my route as no site or blog points out all the places of interest in a single document thus I had decided to write this blog which would list down all the major important landmarks in this town.
Where to Stay in Mahabalipuram
It all depends on your pocket, the more you pay the luxurious it gets. Some resorts also have their own private beach while some have a real breath-taking view. I stayed at Country Club Jade Beach Resort which is near to Crocodile Bank and the reason I chose this over the tourist district would be that this place is quite and calm from the rest of the place, giving you the best place to enjoy your stay at Mahabalipuram. Previously I had stayed in another Country Club Resort in Corbett and was quite satisfied with the level of hospitality, thus was sure to get the same here in Mahabalipuram also.
If you are a budget traveler then you can always stay around the
tourist district near Othavadai Street, it’s close to the beach as well
as close to most of the tourist sites.
How to Go Around Mahabalipuram
You can either book a car (taxi) or an auto to take you to different
spots from where you can visit different tourist spots. If you are
adventurous enough then you may hire a bicycle, motorbike or a scooty
which you can drive on your own. There is ample parking space available
next to all the spots where you can park and roam around. Note that some
parking spots may require you to buy parking tickets. Depending on
where you are staying you can always walk around also as most of the
site groups are walkable.
Places to Visit Around Mahabalipuram
This place was once a sea port catering to the world trade since 1st century AD built by the Pallavas. This place has shore temples, cave temples, and other important historic site. There are quite a few sites that one needs to see in this small town.
You can do all of them in a single day or break up depending on your choice. It all depends on how much you want to absorb what you will see. When I wanted to plan out my route I found that no single blog or site I found on the Internet gives a complete route map. What I did was to combine all the data and feed them into my GPS with which I charted my own route thus ensuring that I do not miss any of the important sites. I am sharing the route plan with you so that you can easily navigate.
Use This Map to Navigate Around Mahabalipuram – All the Locations Have Been Pointed Out
Kotikal Mandapa – Mahabalipuram
It is a small primitive rock cut temple of Mahendra style devoted to Durga. The façade shows two massive pillars and pilasters at either side end. In the center of the back wall, a cell has been cut and is guarded by female doorkeepers on either side of the entrance. There is an inscription with 7th-century letters-Sri Vamankusa.(Information from ASI)
Trimurthi Cave – Mahabalipuram
A Triple-celled temple with superstructure is believed to be dedicated to Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva, the three gods of the Hindu pantheon. The entrance of each cell is flanked by dvarapalas in narrow panels.(Information from ASI)
Krishna’s Butterball – Mahabalipuram
This is neither a temple nor a part of any architecture but is very popular with tourists due to its unusual placement. For the purely geometric reason, the large piece of almost spherical boulder seems to be standing still on an inclined plain. It is said that Pallava king Narasimhavarman used elephants to move this rock but failed, years later it was also tried by Arthur Havelock the governor of Madras but failed to move the rock. The name Krishna’s Butterball is due to the story of Krishna stealing butter and the piece of boulder resembles a giant butterball which is used in making butter from milk.
Ganesha Ratha – Mahabalipuram
This is a monolithic rock cut temple originally dedicated to Shiva with a presence of Linga but now replaced by a Ganesha idol.
Arjuna’s Penance – Mahabalipuram
Arjuna’s penance is an impressive bas-relief, datable to Narasimhavarman I’s period, suggestively depicts the story of Kiratarjuniya, wherein Arjuna, the great warrior hero of the Mahabharata, obtained the all-pervading Pasupatha weapon from Siva after a grueling fight and severe penance. Siva and an emaciated Arjuna, doing penance, are shown prominently at the center. The artist has excelled in imagination by placing the scene by the side of a river, judiciously suggesting the natural cleft as a river by depicting a naga and nagini. The peace and calm of the situation further enhanced by the presence of Chandra, Surya, Kinnaras, Ghandarvas, Apsaras etc., hunters carrying the hunt, host of animals, sages doing penance in front of a temple and Brahmins doing the mid-day rituals. The deer resting at ease by the side of a lion and the rats frolicking around the wily cat doing penance on hind legs have only enhanced the mood. Depicting the animals in the most natural form and in the right proportion is a testimony to the skillful execution by the artist.(Information from ASI)
Panchapandava Mandapam – Mahabalipuram
(On the left side of ArjunaPenance ) A large cave temple of which only six lion pillars and similar pilasters at either end are finished. The brackets above the capitals of these pillars are decorated with lions and griffins with human riders. The pillars and Pilasters with vyala base mounted on square pitha. (Information from ASI)
Govardhanadhari Panal – Mahabalipuram
(On the left side of Panchapandava Mandapam)The huge bas-relief with a hall (mandapa) of the 16th century added in front depicts the story of Krishna lifting the Govardhana hill to protect the cowherds and the cattle from the storm raised by Indra. The central figure of Krishna, with Balarama by his side, is shown lifting the hill with his little finger. Enjoying the divine protection, the rest are carrying on their business as usual. The artist suggests this by depicting a gopa (cowherd) milking a cow while the cow itself is fondly licking its calf. Another cowherd is seen playing the flute while the gopis carry a pile of pots. A woodcutter strolls with an axe. While one child enjoys the warmth of her mother, another takes a ride over the shoulder of an old man. The hill itself is a habitat for lions, griffins, and sphinxes. This is the best representation of this story in the art of India. (Information from ASI)
Varaha Cave – Mahabalipuram
(Above Arjuna Penance) The mandapa in the front has two
lion- pillars and two pilasters, and beyond this in the center, the cell
is guarded by two dwarapalas. There are four panels on the walls of
front mandapa representing Varaha raising goddess earth from the ocean.
(Bhuvaraha panel), Gajalakshmi seated on a lotus and bathed by
elephants, Durga with four arms and Trivikrama overcoming the demon king
Bali. (Information from ASI)
Rayar Gopuram – Mahabalipuram
This is an unfinished structure, even though it’s called a gopuram but there are no structures on the top, only the majestic pillar remains.
Unknown Tank Structure – Mahabalipuram
Could not find any official information about it on site as well as on the net. What it looks like is that of a water tank carved into a boulder.
Koneri Mandapa – Mahabalipuram
An unfinished five celled rock cut temple with four pillars supported by couchant lions and flanked by pilasters and with a central cell.
Ramanuja Mandapam – Mahabalipuram
This is another fine example of a rock-cut cave temple in Mahabalipuram, It has six flat faced pillar followed by another two lion-faced pillars into the rock cut cave. No deities are present inside the cave.
Mahabalipuram Lighthouse Museum
This place is obviously not a part of historical importance such as the other temples of Mahabalipuram but children would love to see miniature ships, submarines, marking buoy etc.
Mahabalipuram Light House
This in the new lighthouse and was built around 1900 as per the inscription on the foundation stone. You can buy a ticket at the base and go all the way up to get a full panoramic view of the surroundings. At night the lighthouse lights up the sky with its circulating lights.
Mahishamardini Cave – Mahabalipuram
The cave has a front mandapa with a triple cell with four pillars and two pilasters. On either side of this mandapa two large panels one representing Seshasayi Vishnu and other Mahishamardhini. The central cell is intended for a Siva Linga; on the wall behind is the representation of Somaskanda.(Information from ASI)
Olakaneeswara Temple – Mahabalipuram
This was the old lighthouse built by the Pallava’s in 640 AD making this the oldest lighthouse in India. The temple structure has some stone works on the outer walls, there was also a Shiv Langa present in the temple but missing now.
Dharmaraja Mandapa – Mahabalipuram
The triple celled cave temple with massive pillars belongs to Mahendravarman’s time. The cave temple contains inscription in Pallavagrantha which gives the name of the temple as AtyantakamaPallavesvara –graham. (Information from ASI)
Pancha Rathas – Draupathi Ratha – Mahabalipuram
This is the smallest and the northern most of five monolithic rathas. It illustrates a simple hut-like Kutagara-Vimana. It shares an upapitha with Arjunaratha. In elevation, the vimana has a simple padabandhaadhisthana. The pada portion has devakoshtas containing images of Durga. The usual kapota is not to be seen. The roof, shaped like a hut with the decorative motif in the joints. There is stupi carved out of the bedrock in a corner of the upapitha but yet to be detached from it. The sanctum bears an excellent depiction of Durga, possibly of a later period.(Information from ASI)
Pancha Rathas – Arjuna Ratha – Mahabalipuram
This monolithic Vimana is one among five that carved out of a live rock. This small dvi-tall (two tiered) vimana consists, on plan a garbhagriha with a pillared Mukhamandapa. It shares an UpaPitha with Draupathiratha. The adhisthana is of simple Padabandha type. The pada portion has slit-niches between elegantly carved pillars carrying very handsome figures of Parthiharas, Amaras, a Siddha, a Chowri bearer, apsaras, and various deities like Vishnu, Skanda on elephant and Siva-Vrishabhantika. The upper tala (Storey) carries a hara with octagonal sikhara. There is a stupi carved out of the live rock but not detached from it, possibly to crown the Sikhara of the Vimana.(Information from ASI)
Pancha Rathas – Bhima Ratha – Mahabalipuram
This monolithic ratha is oblong in plan and having an ekatalavimana possibly intended to be dedicated to the reclining form of Vishnu. Only the impressive Sala -Sikhara is fully finished and there is a hara above the ground storey and has high griva wall. The Sala roof carries bold nasikas to carry a row of Stupis and Astradeva trident-finials at the apexes of gable ends. The gable ends is brilliantly relieved with decorative motifs and at the centre is a miniature model of a square, ekatala shrine with circular and crowning stupi.(Information from ASI)
Pancha Rathas – Dharma Raja Ratha – Mahabalipuram
Among the Five rathas, Dharmarajaratha is the most impressive and sculpturally rich. The tritala (three-storeyed) vimana, square in its talas but octagonal in the grivasikhara region, faces west.The sculptures around the sanctum in the corner blocks depict simple forms of Siva, Harihara, Brahma-Sasta, Brahma, a delicately balanced representation of Ardhanarisvara besides a portrait of a king, possibly Narasimhavarman I himself above which his titles Sri Megha and Trailokiya –vardhana-vidhi are inscribed. The upper floors, a veritable gallery of images, have excellently modeled images of Siva as Gangadara, the earliest representation of Siva as Natesa in the Tamil country, Vrishbantika, Kankalamurti, Vishnu resting on Garuda, and Kaliyamardhana. An inscription gives the name of the sanctum in the uppermost tier as AtyantakamaPallavesvaram, Atyantakama being a title of Paramesvaravarman I. (Information from ASI)
Sahdeva Ratha – Mahabalipuram
This monolithic ratha has an apsidal (Gajapriishta) plan from base to sikhara, recalling the earlier chaitya models. It is carried out of an independent boulder, stands near the Arjunaratha and faces south. It has a dvitalavimana (two storeyed). The adhistana of this vimana is not defined. The pada is simple punctuated by pilasters. There is a mukha- mandapa in the front.(Information from ASI)
Sthala Sayana Perumal Temple (Thirukadalmallai) – Mahabalipuram
This temple is located bang opposite to Arjuna’sPennace but needs to be entered from the other side. It’s very easy to recognize this temple with its white stone façade. This temple has mentioned since the 6th century AD and is one of the 108 temples (Divyadesam) dedicated to Vishnu.
Sculpture Museum – Mahabalipuram
Mahabalipuram is all about stone sculptures and the best place to see all the different varieties and examples would be to a visit to the local sculpture museum. If you are an art lover then do keep this place on your list you will surely not be disappointed.
Mahabalipuram Shore Temple
Unlike the rest of the stone caves and temples which have been carved around a small hillock this particular site is next to the shores of Bay of Bengal thus, they are called shore temple. Among the structural temples, the Shore temple consisting of two graceful Siva temples – Kshatryasimhesvaram (east) and Rajasimhesvaram (west), built by Pallava King Rajasimha (AD 700-728), mark the culmination of the architectural efforts begun with the carving of monolithic rathas. The western shrine has an outer wall (prakara) and a simple entrance tower (gopura). The elevation is gracefully proportioned. Located in between is an earlier shrine for reclining Vishnu (NarapatisimhaPallavagriham). It has no superstructure.
All the names of these shrines represent Rajasimha’s various titles. The outer enclosure with nandis is of a later period. Fully aware of inherent problems of this scenic location, the architects built the temple on a rock outcrop jutting from the sea. The use of hard stones like granite and leptinite, could not stop the erosion by abrasive wind and salty surroundings. The groyne wall, the plantation and periodic extraction of salt in recent times have checked this effect. The outcrop itself was utilized for carving several masterpieces like the excavated miniature shrine, Bhuvaraha image, Vishnu shrine, and the Mahishamardhini shrine with the beautifully carved deer.
Sustained removal of the sand in the last century brought to light several buried structures around the Shore temple. Unique among them is the early Pallava stepped structure, approximately 200 m long. This structure is running north to south parallel to the sea. The exact purpose of this massive edifice is still uncertain. The steps are built of interlocking granite slabs over a laterite core. The intelligent interlocking method used here prevented the slabs from collapsing and recalls the megalithic traditions.(Information from ASI)
Tiger Cave – Mahabalipuram
This site is a bit far away from the rest of the caves and temples. You need to hire a cab or a motorbike to get to this spot. As the name suggest this cave has tiger head carvings all over the front façade. It was built around 8th century AD by the Pallavas.
Subrahmanya Temple – Mahabalipuram
This is a new site which is being excavated and lies around 200 meters north of Tiger Cave. This site was discovered after finding the stone inscriptions near the site which had mentioned about this place.
Apart from this during the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the retreating waters had moved far enough for the local fisherman had seen temples like structure and square boulders which bring into a picture of this place as being a trading and shipping hub in the past. The rushing waters had also lifted up sand around the south of shore temple to bring up new structures deep into the sand. Current restoration works are going on to develop this site.
Velankanni Church
There is very few pilgrimage site for the Christians in India and one of the most prominent amongst them is the church at Velankanni also known as Our Lady of Good Health. I still remember from my childhood days that my aunts and other relatives often making this pilgrimage all the way from Kolkata just to pray at the church. My visit to Velankanni, however, was just a coincidence more of a detour during my trip to Thanjavur. On reaching Thanjavur I was informed by the car driver that many people often make a day trip to Velankanni. This was an opportunity that I did not want to miss as I was not sure if I would ever come back to Thanjavur again or for that matter come anywhere near Velankanni.
How to reach Velankanni Church
Thanjavur to Velankanni is around 100 Kilometres and takes around three and a half hours, it’s advisable that you take an air-conditioned car as this part of the country has the majority of hot and sunny days. Alternately you can also reach Velankanni by train, there are direct trains from Chennai Egmore station on a daily basis. Hotels are plenty out here thus if you are in for an extended stay then you can choose from many different price options.
Velankanni over the years has become a pilgrimage site for people of all faith thus don’t be surprised if you see flocks of people everywhere. People from all religion come her to pray for wishes and also come when their wishes get fulfilled. Something which caught me by surprise was that some pilgrims were shaving off their head something which is not practiced in Christianity.
The day we reached Velankanni it was hot beyond my limits also with the mercury touching nearly 42 degree Celsius thus every little walk was a monumental climb for me. Water reserves were fast depleting and had to resort to fruit juices to keep cool.
The first thing that you will notice once you enter Velankanni church
locality is that there are quite a few churches out there and all of
them painted white. I found it difficult to figure out which one is the
actual Velankanni church, after asking few locals I came to know which
one is the actual church but here is the tricky part, all the churches
in the vicinity is part of the story which led to this place becoming so
famous as a pilgrimage site. Thus there is no single church which
deserves special attention but some churches are a must during your
visit.
History of Velankanni Church
Before I go to the important churches and locations it’s important to know a brief history so as to easily understand the significance of this place. The church has three specific historical incidents although all not recorded but these led to the church that we see today and it all began in the 16th century AD.
Incident 1 (1570): Once a mother and a child had appeared to a young boy selling milk near a small water tank. She asked the boy to spare some milk for the baby and even though the milk seller did not have enough he still gave some to her. Moving on the boy went to the house where he was supposed to deliver the milk and apologized for getting delayed and also for the reduced quantity of milk. The house owner checked and found that the quantity of milk had not reduced but remained the same. Surprised the house owner and the milk seller returned to the spot and was visited by the same mother and son (Our Lady).
Incident 2 (1597): A crippled boy selling buttermilk was visited by a mother and her infant son who requested for some buttermilk for her son. The boy gave some and then the mother asked the boy to get up and walk to the nest town of Nagapattinam and inform a wealthy Catholic man about her (Our Lady) appearance. The boy being cured instantly obeyed her order and informed the person. The man, on the other hand, had a vision the previous night wherein Our Lady had instructed him to build a chapel. The man obeying the order built a small thatched roof church on the spot.
Incident 3: A group of Portuguese sellers was
traveling via sea and they met with a violent storm. The sailors prayed
to Our Lady for a safe landing and in spite of ship wreckage managed to
survive and reached the shores of Velankanni. As a mark of gratitude,
they built a permanent chapel before their return.
What to see at Velankanni Church
Main Basilica at Velankanni
This is the main church however the church structure has been modified and extended over the years but this church next to the shores of Bay of Bengal is the main church.
Stations of the Cross & Stations of the Rosary at Velankanni Church
These are murals of 14 important events that Christ took on his way to the cross. This is sometimes seen in many Catholic churches and people pray at each of the station.
1st Station: Jesus is condemned to death
2nd Station: Jesus carries His cross
3rd Station: Jesus falls the first time
4th Station: Jesus meets his mother
5th Station: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross
6th Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
7th Station: Jesus falls the second time
8th Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
9th Station: Jesus falls a third time
10th Station: Jesus clothes are taken away
11th Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross
12th Station: Jesus dies on the cross
13th Station: The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross
14th Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb
Morning Star Church – Velankanni
This is the new extension to the church completed in the year 2013. This church is huge and has a seating capacity of 10,000 and even can accommodate 40,000 standing.
Our Lady’s Tank Church – Velankanni
This is a small church but is significant as Incident 1 took place here. Covered water well is present here and people collect the holy water in bottles to take it back home.
Nadu Thittu – Velankanni
This is a small church but is significant as Incident 2 took place here.
Adoration and Reconciliation Chapel – Velankanni
This is a praying chapel and also houses a counseling center next to it.
You can visit all of these in a single day thus you can easily plan your trip accordingly. Additionally, if you wish to stay there are plenty of hotels and guest rooms all around the place and all of them are of various categories thus choose according to your budget.
The peak season is from 29th August to 6th September which is the annual feast and of course during the Christmas week. During the annual feast, it can get very crowded thus plan accordingly.
Other Places of Interest Around Velankanni
If you are traveling from Thanjavur then most probably you would be traveling Vaduvur and on your way, you will find a Vaduvur Bird Sanctuary. This is a seasonal water body and is fed by the Kaveri river through canals thus you can only see post the monsoon season. We were lucky to be present right after Kaveri water was released thus this place was thriving with migratory birds.
Snake Milking At Madras Crocodile Bank
While on a train journey to down south I happen to chance upon this article which came as a feed from The Washington Post. It was about the infestation of Burmese Pythons in the state of Florida in the US. Apparently with no other option in the site the state had hired two Irula tribe men from India and their translator flew them all the way to Florida to catch these Burmese Python and to kill them. They had previously tried various methods to catch these but failed and these Irula men managed to catch 13 pythons in two weeks. They plan to stay there until end of February for this project.
Irula tribe is famous for their snake and rat catching ability and was used extensively by the farming community to get rid of these from their farming lands. But with the concern of nature conservation snake hunting was banned in India thus depriving the basic livelihood of these people. Poisonous snakes cause a huge number of human fatality in India and with very few supply of anti-snake venom, many saw the need of these Irula men as a key factor in closing this gap.
Madras Crocodile Bank
A cooperative was initiated for these Irula snake catchers to let them capture venomous snakes and extract venom and then release them back to nature. This way the ecological balance will be maintained as well as the necessary snake venom can be milked which in turn can be turned into anti-venom dosages.
It was by sheer coincidence that I managed to take a short visit to Mahabalipuram on my return journey as I had to take a flight from Chennai. Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram is just around 60 Kilometres from Chennai and just an hour and a half car ride from Chennai. On our last day at Mahabalipuram, we decided to visit Madras Crocodile Bank and Centre for Herpetology. Apart from the huge collection of crocodiles, alligators, tortoises, turtles, chameleons, snakes this place also houses a snake bank managed by Irula Snake Catchers Industrial Co-Operative Society Ltd. As a special project to interact with visitors members from the Irula community on an hourly basis conducts snake venom extraction, this entertains the visitors also acts as a very good educational programme for the visitors.
As a family, we always like a long drive when travelling and somehow I managed to hire a scooty for a day with which we plan to travel around Mahabalipuram and visit various tourist sites along with the crocodile bank. My wife being a science teacher was very keen to see this reptile heaven and surprisingly my daughter was also very keen to check them out.
It took around thirty minutes on our bike to reach the crocodile park, this place has parking space thus if you are driving down you can park right next to the entrance gate. The entry tickets are quite economically priced, 40 Rs. for adult and 20 Rs. for a child (3-10 years), additional tickets need to be purchased for a still camera for Rs. 30 and Rs. 100 for a video camera. It is highly recommended that you come in the early morning hours as the reptiles are most active with the rising sun.
This is not a government owned reptile park but an NGO and a co-operative, this place also serves as a research centre for students who come here often to study the animal behaviour and also volunteer their time here. Thus all around you will see young students with ID cards taking care of various activities. Children will surely enjoy watching all the reptiles in the open environment as the entire park has been designed in such a way that the animals themselves feel comfortable and as a visitor, you would enjoy watching them with all the natural settings around them.
Irula Snake Venom Milking
The highlight of our trip to crocodile bank was, however, the visit to the snake venom extraction section which is managed by Irula Snake Catchers Industrial Co-Operative Society Ltd. This place requires a separate ticket which is priced very nominal and every one hour the Irula’s perform the venom extraction activity for the visitors.
The highlight of our trip to crocodile bank was, however, the visit to the snake venom extraction section which is managed by Irula Snake Catchers Industrial Co-Operative Society Ltd. This place requires a separate ticket which is priced very nominal and every one hour the Irula’s perform the venom extraction activity for the visitors.
I fear reptiles a lot, even a house lizard can make me scream so the thought of having live snakes around me was really scary. Once you enter you need to stand to look at a pit where there are several earthen pots with snakes residing in them. This snake bank deals with four species of snakes namely Cobra, Krait, Russell’s Viper and Sawscalled Viper. The stock board in front was really alarming which told the visitors that 329 Cobras are present in that pit which is really alarming for a person like me.
What was surprising was that the snake handlers were casually roaming around the pit full of snakes without any fear. Even with the security of a high wall, I was fearing every move that the snakes made which were taken out for display. The snake handlers maintain a logbook with which they can keep a record as to how many times each of the snakes has been milked for its venom. The snakes are released after a particular interval to its natural environment so as not to exert excess stress on them.
Extraction of venom is done with relative ease, first, the selected snake is taken out of the earthen pot and left open. The snake handlers then use a piece of cloth attached to a stick which they keep swaying in front of them to tempt the snake into getting angry. The snakes respond differently according to their type, for a cobra it pumps up its hood and keeps hissing whereas Russell’s viper coils up and keep hissing vigorously.
The next step would be to pin down the head of the snake so that its head could be caught properly and then someone from the team cuts a scale with a scissor to make it angry, this process stimulates the glands having the venom. The snake’s fangs are then pressed against a jar covered in latex so that after penetrating the latex layer the venom can flow down to the vial. The vial full of snake venom then is kept under refrigeration and then sent to laboratories to generate anti-snake venoms.
All of these activities are effortlessly being carried on by the members of the Irula community. After banning of capturing and killing if snakes came into effect with the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 the community have been rehabilitated with the work of venom extraction which they do with much ease.
The park is quite big and if you want to enjoy all the sections of the park then have at least half a day free so that you can take time enjoying the reptiles and the amphibians in their natural habitat. Children would love to spend time out here, there is also a snack bar out here where you can enjoy some refreshment and right next to it there is a curio shop from where you can purchase memorabilia’s of this place.
Location on Map Madrac Crocodile Bank
Click here to open the location on Google maps.
Other Places You Can Visit At Mahabalipuram
Sadras Fort
Somehow the word temple often gets associated with Mahabalipuram after all this place has some of the finest shore temples but in reality, this place has another history attached to it. All along the coastline of ancient India various trading posts were present often operated by the English, Portuguese, French and Dutch. India was the hub for exports and these European powers found the perfect place to trade in muslin, gemstones, pearl, coir and other export goods. If you look at the present map of India you would find various forts and trading posts all along the coastline and one such is that of Sadras Fort.
Sadras was obviously not the real name, it was what the Dutch called it as they found it much easier to pronounce than Sadrangapatnam or Sadrafpatan. Nestled between the major ports of Nagapattinam and Madras (Chennai) this was more of a small fort which also acted as a trading post or trading office. Sadras along with Pulicat were the two most famous trading post built by the Dutch in the Coromandel Coast by VOC (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie) or better known as the Dutch East India Company. People are aware of Pulicat but Sadras is almost forgotten.
How to Reach Sadras Fort
If you are visiting Mahabalipuram then you can hire a taxi or a scooty to drive towards Sadras Fort. The drive takes you on MDR239 which is almost empty and a smooth drive is ensured. It’s around 12-14 Kilometres from main Mahabalipuram town thus depending on your mode of transport it can take from 20 to 30 minutes. This route will also cross Madras Atomic Power Station at Kalpakkam. Enjoy from a distance but do not try to go near the security gate or try to photograph it. It’s a very sensitive location and thus drive away to your final destination.
About Sadras Fort
Very little is left of the actual fort, only the outer boundary and some crumbling structures inside. This fort was built in the year 1648 and it may come as a surprise that this fort was built around a factory which was run by the Dutch traders. The fort was necessary to protect the trade that the factories were involved in. This part of India was once very famous for its cloth especially Muslin and a bulk of the trade was revolved around it.
ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) has done some major restoration to one of the structures inside which is the only visible prominent structure present.
In the year 1795 the fort was taken over by the English and remained in their hands till 1818 post which it was handed back to the Dutch and finally, when all the Dutch settlements were taken over by the English this fort again changed hands in the year 1825.
Visible Present Structures Around Sadras Fort
Sadras Fort Walls
The entire fort is built with bricks which are contemporary of this period in history. Unlike the construction bricks that we use now these are quite smaller in size. The outer walls have two layers which are filled with earth to give that extra layer of protection. The height of the walls is comparatively low something which I have never seen before.
Sadras Fort Entry Gate
The fort has the main entrance from the West which has a single watchtower on the top and another one toward the sea so that the people living inside can have direct access to the sea. The main entrance has two cannons placed on either side.
Sadras Fort Cannons
Two iron cannons at the entrance, not sure if these were originally placed or were later added.
Sadras Fort Bastions
BAs with a typical fort this one had four bastions on the four different corners, however only three present now, one might have vanished with time.
Sadras Fort Cemetery
CA total of nineteen tombs are present, the oldest one being that of 1670 and the newest that on 1790. Needless to say, these belong to the Dutch traders and interestingly most of them carry an emblem which I assume denoted to either the regiment or the ship that they belonged to.
Sadras Fort Water Wells
Saw two, one active and is present right at the entrance and the other one damaged at the back towards the East.
Sadras Fort Secret Chamber
SAt the moment this cannot be seen from the open and now restricted. This room can be accessed from the cemetery side. The rooms are positioned below the bastion which suggests that this can be a gunpowder room positioned for supply to the cannons which are usually mounted atop the bastions.
Sadras Fort Garden Area
The entire area is overrun by shrubs and one can only assume from the map the positions of the two gardens.
Sadras Fort Warehouses
WThere are two visible warehouses present, the one on the North has been completely restored by ASI and serves as an example to the visitors. The one on the south has original structures but in complete desolate condition.
Sadras Fort Old Structures
There is only one section where the terracotta tiles are still visible and this room like section with no roof is present towards the entrance. Other than this one can assume a church like structure and an elephant mount station.
Battle of Sadras
This place was witness to one of the fierce naval warfare between the English and the Dutch. The English naval fleet under the command of Admiral Sir Edward Hughes was defeated by the French Admiral Bailli de Suffren marking a key shift in their relationship.
The reason for this war was a mix of international relationships and conflict of trading interest. The American civil war was nearing its end and the Dutch were still trading with the French and the Americans in spite of the warnings from the English not to. This led to several naval battles across the globe and India was not to be left behind.
On 15th of February 1782, Admiral Bailli de Suffren wanted to have a surprise attack on the port of Madras but instead found the fleet of English ships under the command of Admiral Sir Edward Hughes anchored at the port. He changed his mind and decided to sail to Porto Novo which was assumed to be less fortified and could easily land the forces and then lead a ground attack capturing posts.
Admiral Sir Edward Hughes chased Admiral Bailli de Suffren’s French troupes and what followed was a classic naval battle on 17th of February 1782. The English fleet had suffered severe damages and had no option but to retreat back to its base.
Admiral Bailli de Suffren later managed to pack up with Haider Ali of the Mysore Kingdom and together fight the English forces.
Mahabalipuram to Sadras Fort Route Map
Click here to open the route on Google Map
Eight Places to Visit in Trichy
The British called it Trichinopoly, the original name is Tiruchirappalli and popularly it’s called Trichy or Tiruchi. Similar to that of Thanjavur this town has a recorded history since the Cholas around 3 BC. Later on, it was ruled by the Pandyas, Pallavas, Vijayanagar Empire, Nayaks, Carnatic state and finally the British.
This is basically a temple town with two very famous temples, other than temple this town also has two very important churches and a Dargah, with a distance of only sixty kilometers from Thanjavur this place can easily be visited as a day trip.
Places to visit around Tricky – Tiruchirappalli
1) Grand Anicut / Kallanai Dam
2) Rockfort / Thayumanaswami Temple
3) Christ Church
4) Our Lady of Lourdes Church
5) Hazrat Nathervali Dargah
6) Sri Ranganathar Swamy Temple
7) Arulmigu Jambukeswarar Akhilandeswari Temple
8) Erumbeeswarer Temple
Grand Anicut / Kallanai Dam
Just like the town, this ancient dam is as old as the Chola rule of this region. This dam was originally built by the Chola dynasty king Karikala in 190 AD. This makes it one of the oldest dams in the world even though what we now see is a dam with lock gates which was built during the British rule of India.
The waters of the river Cauvery which passed through this region before flowing into the Bay of Bengal but since there were no ways to divert this water the region faced severe droughts. Thus it was decided to divert the waters into canals to help in agriculture by the Chola King.
In the year 1839 British engineer Sir Arthur Cotton designed the under splices over Kollidam (Coleroon) thus now the Cauvery river gets diverted into four different sources which are Cauvery, Vennar, Kollidam and Grand Anicut Canal.
These is a small children’s park near the dam and just opposite to this is the Karikala Cholan Manimandapam which was built to honor the Chola king Karikala for his initiative to build the dam in the first place.
Rockfort – Trichy
As the name suggests is a fortified structure like a fort which was built on a large rock thus giving it a natural defence. During the Nayak dynasty rule of this region, this fort structure saw some of the fiercest of battles. However, this place is more famous for the temples.
Manikka Vinayagar Temple – Trichy
MThis temple is situated at the foothill of Rockfort and is the first amongst the three temples. This temple is dedicated to Lord Manikka Vinayakar.
Thayumanaswami Temple – Trichy
This temple is situated at the base of the rock and can be approached directly by a car or on foot and there is no need to climb any stairs. This temple was built during the Pallava dynasty rule by king Mahendravarman I in the year 6 AD. This is a Shiva temple and is represented by a linga.
Sri Malaikottai Uchipillaiyar Temple – Trichy
This temple is situated at the top of the hill and you have to climb stone stairs. The main deity of this temple is Ganesha. From the top of the temple you will get a fantastic panoramic view of Trichy town and at night when the lights of the temple are switched on it creates a fantastic illusion of a rock with a glowing crown. This temple’s history has links to mythology with Vibhishana and Lord Vinayaka as the central character.
Pallava Cave Temple – Trichy
This temple is under ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) and one of the most beautiful temple structure that I have seen in Rockfort. This temple can be accessed by walking ahead of Thayumanaswami Temple and then take a right where a signboard tells the visitor of its presence. This temple is an example of Pallava architecture, the rock has been cut from a side section of the main rock and beautifully carved into sculptures. I would personally recommend that one must visit this temple just to understand the finesse of stone works in that era.
Christ Church – Trichy
Similar to Thanjavur Christ Church we have a similar church built by the same person Rev. Christian Frederic Schwartz in the year 1766 which is much before construction of the church in Thanjavur. The land for the church was provided by the Nawab of Carnatic. Often people ignore this church due to its small size when compared with Our Lady of Lourdes Church but this church has a history of its own.
Our Lady of Lourdes Church – Trichy
This church dwarfs other churches in this town due to its sheer size and architecture brilliance. Built in the honour of Our Lady of Lourdes this church was constructed in the year 1840 by Jesuit Fathers. The architecture style is a replica of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in France.
Hazrat Nathervali Dargah – Trichy
Nathervali was the pioneer in bringing Islam to Southern India and in Sri Lanka. He had come to the Indian subcontinent in the 11th century AD as a part of a contingent under Mohammed Rasoolallah. He is deeply revered as a saint across all religion in this region and his death anniversary is celebrated as an Urs where people come to seek his blessings.
Sri Ranganathar Swamy Temple – Trichy
The sheer size and the temple complex cannot be well explained in words, it’s much more than massive with classic Dravidian architecture style this is the largest functioning Hindu temple complex in the world after Angkor Wat which is not a functional site. In order to go around the full temple site in details, it will take nearly a day. There are several gates or Gopura in the complex and each of them built uniquely highlighting the brilliance of architecture and stone works.
As per some records, this temple site was built around 10th century AD which means was started by the Cholas but with obvious additions from other dynasties like Pandya, Hoysala, Nayaks, and Vijayanagar dynasties who have each contributed to the entire temple complex.The main deity is Ranganatha which is an incarnation of Vishnu.
Note: To photograph the interiors you need to buy a ticket which is available at the counter near the main entrance. Do keep the ticket as you might need to show at the exit counter also the same ticket is valid for photography in the next temple. Photography inside the main temple not permitted.
Arulmigu Jambukeswarar Akhilandeswari Temple – Trichy
Next to Sri Ranganathar Swamy Temple this is the most important historical temple, the location of this temple often makes it difficult in accessing and the main entrance to this temple sits right between houses which completely obscure the view. However, once you cross the gate you will be able to see the sheer size that this temple occupies. This Shiva temple was built by Kochenga Chola around 2nd century AD.
Note: The security guards might ask for a photography permit (ticket), please show them the ticket purchased earlier which is also valid here. Photography inside the main temple not permitted.
Erumbeeswarer Temple – Trichy
This temple is bit out of the town and is between the highways that connects Thanjavur to Trichy thus it’s on your way back or on your way to Trichy. This Shiva temple was built by Aditya Chola around 10th century AD. This temple was part of a series of a temple built by him to commemorate the Thirupurambiyam Battle against Pallavas.
Other Places Near Trichy
Brihadeeswarar Temple – Thanjavur
Six Places to Visit in Thanjavur
Location on Map
Click here to open the shortest route map with all the locations mentioned above.
Six Places to Visit in Thanjavur
In my previous blogs I have already covered most of the important landmarks in Thanjavur or Tanjore
so this would be my last blog about this place where I would list down
all the important places that you must visit in Thanjavur which includes
the landmarks which have already been mentioned in my previous blog as
well as places which you might squeeze in-between the big ones.
Places to Visit Around Thanjavur
1) Brihadeeswarar Temple
2) Thanjavur Palace
3) Manora Fort
4) Rajarajan Manimandapam
5) Christ Church – Fort (Schwartz Church)
6) Punnainallur Mariamman Temple
Brihadeeswarar Temple – Thanjavur
If you haven’t read my earlier blog then I would request you to please read that blog as it has all the details including a detailed map of the temple complex. Click here to read that blog.
Thanjavur Palace
Another important landmark in the city but not that old as the Chola temple of Brihadeeswarar but still deep-rooted in history. For this also I have a separate detailed blog which I am sure will come very handy as I had exclusively created a map which would enable you to locate all the important landmarks within this palace complex. Click here to read that blog.
Manora Fort
This place is not within the periphery of Thanjavur town but you need to travel in a hired vehicle in order to reach this spot. This place is significant with the connection between the Marathas, British and Napoleon Bonaparte. Click here to read in details about this place for which I have a separate blog.
Rajarajan Manimandapam – Thanjavur
This is not a historical site but something which was constructed in the year 1991 during 8th World Tamil Conference. This place is basically a park where children’s will surely enjoy playing around as well as a museum which is located in the basement. If you want to know more about the history of Thanjavur and the Cholas then this is the right place. Photography is allowed with a fee for which you need to buy a ticket at the entrance. The only negative thing about this museum is that it’s very poorly lit, for a museum, it’s important that all the exhibits are properly lit in order to get the best view possible. This is not a very big museum but still, has enough materials inside to keep you engaged for hours.
Christ Church – Fort (Schwartz Church) – Thanjavur
This small church is situated in the Brihadeeswarar Temple complex near to the northern gate towards Sivagangai Park. Though this church is relatively a small church but it’s steeped in history mainly due to the name Schwartz. Christian Friedrich Schwarz, a Danish missionary had come to India to preach the gospel and in 1779 constructed this church.
Christian Friedrich Schwarz was a teacher or a guru to Serfoji II and as a teacher taught him many European languages. This was instrumental in building the character of Serfoji II thus making him one of the greatest Maratha ruler of Thanjavur.
The church is actually quite small in size and inside the main highlight is the white marble tablet at the back of the church which shows Christian Friedrich Schwarz on his death bed surrounded by Serfoji II and others.
Punnainallur Mariamman Temple – Thanjavur
The history of this temple is as old at the Maratha rule of Thanjavur. This temple was built by the first Maratha king of Thanjavur Venkoji in the year 1680. He built this temple as directed by the divine intervention of the goddess Muthu Mari Amman. He was instructed in his dreams to search for her idol in the forest, as per instruction he did that and upon finding the idol of Mariamman under a Punnai tree. He then built a temple over this ground which became this famous temple. The original deity was shaped by the great saint Sadasiva Brahamendar from earth of an ant hill.
It’s around five kilometers from the main Thanjavur town center thus either you can take an auto or arrange for some transportation.
Thanjavur Dolls
Well, this is not a place but as the name suggest is a terracotta bobblehead doll which is very famous and often associated with Thanjavur. Everywhere you travel you will find shops selling these Thanjavur Dolls which come in various designs and characters. These dolls are famously used during Golu a festival popular in southern India where as a part of Navratri celebrations Thanjavur dolls are put on display creating stories of mythology by the young girls and women of the house. So if you are traveling to Thanjavur be sure to buy one which costs around Rs. 150 – 250 depending on the size and design.
Other Thanjavur Blogs
Brihadeeswarar Temple – Thanjavur
Location on Map
Click here to open the shortest route map with all the locations mentioned above.
Manora Fort
If you are travelling to Thanjavur or Tanjore then there are few places you must visit and one of them is Manora. It’s around 65 – 75 kilometres from Thanjavur town and the best transportation option would be to hire a car. Instead of hiring the car for a full day you can book it for a point to point service which would be much cheaper.
The journey from Thanjavur town to Manora is a very smooth one as a considerable part of the journey is over newly constructed four lane highway, rest of the roads are also newly laid making it quite a smooth and comfortable journey.
Thanjavur to Manora Road Route
Manora is a small town more of a fishing village on the shore of Bay of Bengal. Even though this is coastal region there are no sandy beaches as such, water starts right at the edge where the land ends. This section of the district is predominantly Muslims thus on the way you will find quite a few mosques. This fact is important and the reason you will know a bit later.
History of Manora Fort
India has no direct connection with Napoléon Bonaparte but this place actually does have a very direct connection. The reason Manora is famous is due to its fort at the edge of the shore here in Manora. This place is however too small if you compare it with any other forts that you see around this region of India. Actually, the monument out here is the reason why people come here to see Manora. This monument has a direct connection with Napoléon Bonaparte.
This monument was built by the Maratha ruler of Thanjavur Serfoji II in 1814 – 1815 to honour the British victory over the French led by Napoléon Bonaparte at Waterloo. It is to be noted that the Maratha rulers of Thanjavur especially Serfoji II were very close to the British rulers in the Indian subcontinent and this was the perfect way to appease them.
Manora Fort Structure
This monument is a hexagonal tower with a height of 23 meters (75 feet). The tower has nine floors with a fort like surrounding structures. The entire structure is surrounded by moats from multiple directions. There are also rooms built around the tower. To reach the monument you need to fist take the ramp which takes you to a platform from where you can take stairs to reach the upper floors. From the top you get the view of Bay of Bengal, there is also a functional lighthouse to the right since this is a heavy sea traffic route. There is also a children’s park near the fort and thus is a good weekend picnic spot.
It is also said that Serfoji II used to visit this place on weekends with his family and used to use the rooms in the basement. There are several of these rooms across the fort which was used by the soldiers guarding the fort as well as to store arms and ammunitions. At a later stage, this structure was also used as a lighthouse. This fort and the monument were heavily damaged during the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and has only recently been extensively repaired.
There are lots of opinions on the origin of the name “Manora”, some say it’s because of the fact that the Maratha rulers referred to the beauty of the place as Manohara and thus the name was derived. While some say that it’s actually derived from the word “Minar” due to its minaret-like structure.
There is a fishing village nearby and a short trip to this place can also be done, there is a small port out here for the fishing trawlers and from the jetty, you get a good panoramic view of the bay. A trip to Manora is around half a day affair thus prepare and plan accordingly.
Hope you have liked travelling along with me to Manora, in my next and the last blog on Thanjavur, I would highlight about all the important tourist spots around Thanjavur.
Other Thanjavur Blogs
Brihadeeswarar Temple – Thanjavur
Six Places to Visit in Thanjavur
Location on Map
Click here to open the location of Manora Fort on Google maps
Thanjavur Palace
This is my second blog on the city of Thanjavur or Tanjore. The first one was obviously on Brihadeeswarar Temple being one of the most recognised temples in the country which I felt required a separate blog in itself. Surprise as it may sound the city or town of Thanjavur was for a long time ruled by the Marathas and only left after the British or East India Company started dominating the trade scene in the Indian subcontinent.
To make their presence felt the Marathas had built a modern palace which was the residence of the Bhonsle family from 1674 – 1855. However, this palace was initially built by the Nayaks but after their defeats against the Marathas by Venkoji Bhonsle (half-brother of Shivaji), the palace was taken over. This palace is however not like the ones you see in Maharashtra on Rajasthan but more of a complex of different structures which in totality forms the whole Thanjavur Maratha Palace Complex.
main attractions inside Thanjavur Palace
1) Saraswati Mahal Library
2) Royal Palace Museum
3) Serfoji Memorial Hall
4) Darbar Hall
5) Art Gallery (Nayak Palace courtyard / Arsenal Tower)
6) Bell Tower
7) Sangeet Mahal
8) Sarjah Madi (Sadar Madi)
After you enter through the main gate you will first reach the Main Ticket Counter. From here you will be able to purchase tickets for entry as well as camera fee which is applicable for all the places except for Royal Palace Museum and Serfoji Memorial Hall. For these two locations, the ticket counters are just outside its individual entry point. Please keep the entry as well as camera tickets handy with you as these would be checked at each individual entry point. A word of caution about the stray dogs that roam near the ticket counter, these are known to bark for no reason at all thankfully the local street vendors help the tourists to defend themselves.
Saraswati Mahal Library – Thanjavur Palace
After purchasing your tickets take the road to your left and walk for around thirty meters and you will reach Saraswati Mahal Library. This building is easily identifiable with a very colourful frontage. Originally started by the Nayaks during their rule this library got its most patronage under the Marathas, especially under Serfoji II. Being an avid art and literature lover himself he turned the collection of this library into one of the finest in the country.
The most important collection of the library are the palm leaves manuscripts written in various scripts. This place also has a historic record of the Marathas.
Royal Palace Museum – Thanjavur
Take the road left of Saraswati Mahal Library and you will reach Royal Palace Museum. To enter you need to buy a separate entry ticket as well as camera fee. The charges are very minimal (Rs. 2). This museum has a collection of coins, weapons, kitchen utensils, musical instruments etc. It’s a very small museum more of two corridors stacked with different items for display.
Serfoji Memorial Hall – Thanjavur
Right, next to Royal Palace Museum you will see another ticket counter where you would need to buy entry tickets and camera fee tickets. A long passage takes you actually inside the palace and then after climbing a very narrow stair you will reach Serfoji Memorial Hall. This place is a large hall with artefacts, photographs etc. displayed like a small museum.
Darbar Hall – Thanjavur
Up ahead from Serfoji Memorial Hall you will see an open courtyard, there are no ticket counters here but there is a ticket checking booth. You would need to show the camera fee ticket and the entry ticket which you had purchased from the main counter to enter. The tickets would be stamped and you can then proceed towards a large hall where the Maratha king used to meet his ministers and common citizens of his kingdom thus the name “Durbar”.
This large hall has the ceiling painted beautifully similar to which we had seen in Nandi Mandapam at Brihadeeswarar Temple a type of art form very common to the Maratha rule. At the centre is the portrait of the maharaja.
Art Gallery (Nayak Palace courtyard / Arsenal Tower) – Thanjavur Palace
Once you are done with the above three locations you would need to come back towards Saraswati Mahal Library, from here move ahead and take a left turn towards the Art Gallery. Out here again you would need to show the ticket checker the entry ticket and the camera fee ticket which would be stamped.
This place was basically the Nayak Palace which as the name suggests was originally built by the Nakays who ruled before the Marathas. The rooms have now been converted into a museum where you would be able to see a good collection of statues, old coins, weapons etc. There is a big courtyard at the centre from where you can get a panoramic view of the entire building.
On the south side of the courtyard, you will see a tower which is known as the Arsenal Tower. This as the name suggests is an eight storied structure which was used as a storage place for weapons and ammunitions by the Marathas built in the year 1885. There is a stairway which can take you up to the tower from Nayak Palace courtyard.
Bell Tower – Thanjavur Palace
Right next to the Art Gallery we have the Bell Tower, this seven storied structure was built by the Nayaks and is said to be used for offering prayers. Some historians also confirm that this tower also housed a clock once.
Sangeet Mahal – Thanjavur Palace
Right opposite to The Art Gallery we have Sangeet Mahal which as the name suggest is an indoor auditorium. The time when I had visited some cultural event was going on thus could not photograph the interiors. This was the royal hall was built in the year 1600 by Sevappa Nayak. The importance of this hall is well documented by various legendary artists of that era where they have mentioned this particular place. The design of this hall was scientific enough to help in acoustics by reducing reflected sound giving the audience the pure sound of the musicians and the vocal artists.
Sarjah Madi (Sadar Madi) – Thanjavur Palace
This place is situated near the main ticket counter so you have to come all the way back and take the road right from the ticket counter. Sarjah Madi has very recently been renovated and one can see the beautiful five circular small balconies of different sizes.
If you really want to enjoy the full beauty of Thanjavur Palace then it’s recommended that you spend at least a full day since there are many individual sections in the palace which would take time to cover. Hope you have enjoyed going through my Thanjavur blogs, my next blog would feature other important places that you can visit around Thanjavur.
Other Thanjavur Blogs
Brihadeeswarar Temple – Thanjavur
Six Places to Visit in Thanjavur
Location on Map
Click here to open the location of Thanjavur Palace on Google maps.
Brihadeeswarar Temple – Thanjavur
Call it hallucinations or my past life the word Tanjore or Thanjavur always brought back memories from nowhere. I had never visited that place but that one name always made me have a déjà vu. I could distinctly feel the stones under my feet and see the morning blue hour beyond the temples. It might be due to the pages of my history book from my primary school but for some reason, this feeling never left me.
Off late, I have been making regular trips down south to the state of Tamil Nadu and during one such trip, I had managed to include a short trip to Thanjavur. Easier said than done the origin of my journey was from Vellore and I could not get any direct connections to Thanjavur. Thus I had to take a car from Vellore to Chennai (Egmore) and then took an overnight special train to Thanjavur.
As per the schedule, the train was supposed to reach around 4.30 in the morning a delay which was to our advantage made the train reach Thanjavur at 5.30 AM. Dawn was slowly breaking and was the perfect time to set foot on this grand old city. A short 100 Rs. auto ride took us to the New Bus Stand where our pre booked hotel was situated. New Bust Stand is around 5 Kilometres from the railway station and it’s advisable to stay here since this area is very well positioned also very neat and clean.
Thanjavur is a very small city and the main tourist attraction out here is the Brihadeeswarar Temple.
The city got its prominence on the international tourist map only
because of this temple. This is not a single temple but a large temple
complex more like a fort having multiple temple and shrines.
History of Brihadeeshwara Temple
This temple was built by the Chola Dynasty under Raja Raja Chola I in the year 1010 AD thus making this a structure which has withstood the test of time for more than 1000 years. Apart from the main central temple, there are several other smaller shrines which were subsequently built by other dynasties also. However, the jewel in the crown is the main central temple. To understand the structures we need to first see the map layout of the entire temple complex.
fifteen structures at Brihadeeshwara Temple
1) Maratha Entrance
2) Keralantakan Tiruvasal
3) Rajarajan Tiruvasal
4) Nandi Mandapam
5) Varahi Shrine
6) South Cloister Mandapam
7) Brihadeeswarar Temple
8) Interpretation Centre
9) Ganesha Shrine
10) Karuvur Devar Shrine
11) Subrahmanya Shrine
12) Chandikesvara Shrine
13) North Cloister Mandapam
14) Amman Shrine
15) Nataraja Mandapam
Maratha Entrance – Brihadeeshwara Temple
This is the first gate that you need to cross in order to enter the temple complex. As the name suggests it was built during the Maratha rule of this region. Amongst all the structures this is possible the simplest of all with just a simple gate with a gopura on top. However, this was the critical line of defence if you see to you left and right you will clearly see this as an extension to the temple fortification surrounded by a moat. The moat now has vanished in the shrubs but the walls can still be made out.
Keralantakan Tiruvasal – Brihadeeshwara Temple
This is the second structure or gopura that you will see once you pass the Maratha Entrance. This structure is what you can say a classic example of Chola architecture. This structure is completely built with granite stone. This structure was built specifically to depict the victory of the Chola king over the Cheras. The whole structures have stone carvings depicting various gods in various poses.
Rajarajan Tiruvasalv – Brihadeeshwara temple
As you pass Keralantakan Tiruvasal you will see a big ground in front with patches of green grass. If you want to go further then you have to remove your footwear. There is a counter to the left where you can deposit for Re. 1 a pair. I would recommend you to carry a pair of socks with you since all the structures ahead are complete stone structures and with the sun these can become a hot plate. I had to burn my feet all throughout the shoot.
This is the third structure also made of granite. This gopura has beautiful stone carvings depicting various Saivite episodes like the marriage of Siva and Parvati (Kalyanasundara), Siva protecting Markandeya (Markandeya-anugraha murti), Arjuna winning the pasupata weapon (Pasupata-anugraha murti). This structure has two massive stone carvings on the two sides giving it a very magnificent look.
Nandi Mandapam – Brihadeeshwara Temple
By now you are inside the main temple complex, all around you will be able to see various structures as well as fortifications. Right in front of you will be a raised platform with a huge single stone Nandi Bull. This structure was built around 16th – 17th century by the Nayaks. Once you reach the top of the platform then you need to look straight up towards the ceiling and see the colourful painting which was done during the Maratha rule.
Nataraja Mandapam – Brihadeeshwara Temple
Just right of the Nandi Mandapam, you will find Nataraja Mandapam. This is a simple rectangular stone structure built as a covered hall. This structure was built around 1800 AD by the Marathas under Sarabhoji II.
Amman Shrine – Brihadeeshwara Temple
Just diagonally opposite to Nandi Mandapam you will see Amman Shrine, built around 13th century by the Pandayas. This structure is having two sections, the innermost consisting of the garbhagriha having the deity and an outer mandapa built probably by the Nayaks and the ceiling painted by the Marathas in the 18th Century. The structure is facing the south. Photography inside this structure is prohibited.
Brihadeeswara Temple
The next structure is probably the most important structure in the whole complex around which all other temple structures dwarf. Unfortunately, photography is also prohibited inside the main temple and one needs to see with their own eyes to marvel at the structure. The moment you enter the temple you will feel the cold stone under your feet which have been deprived of the rays of the sun for over a thousand years.
The round pillars inside the temple have been intricately cut in a pattern making the grooves visible in a circular pattern around the pillars. This is a functional temple with regular pujas thus you will surely expect a crowd in front of you in a queue, with no other option you have to wait for your turn and walk along. This delay, however, will give you enough time to look around especially at the structures inside. The main highlight of this temple is the painting of Raja Rajan with his guru Karuvurdevar and other paintings from the Chola period which was once covered up during the rule of the Nayaks but later carefully restored by ASI. The main sanctum houses a Linga.
Take enough time to look around and inside as this is the main reason why you have come all the way to Thanjavur from your hometown. I am not going into the details of the temple as its very well documented by ASI to which I cannot add thus for technical details please look at their site.
But what ASI do not mention on their site is why would the Cholas depict a European amongst the gods in the outer northern section of the temple? Was that originally something else which out of environmental decay made it look like a person with a hat? Or was it purposely done to signify that the Cholas were already trading with the European much before we actually have in records? The carving clearly shows a main wearing a hat with a medieval shirt like clothing, it’s not a king else he would be wearing a crown then what could he be? Was he a tradesman which the Cholas wanted to appease and place him amongst the gods from the Indian subcontinent? This is the most intriguing question that has made me dig deeper into the history of Indo-European trade this, however, will be discussed in a different blog.
Ganesha Shrine – Brihadeeshwara Temple
To the left back of Brihadeeswarar Temple, we have the Ganesha Shrine. Since I was not wearing a pair of socks and with the temperature touching 40 degree Celsius my bare feet were being roasted with every step. The only respite was the bottle of water with me which I was using to wash my feet in order to cool them. Alternatively, the entire left stretch has grounds covered in grass, if you are too tired do take some rest under the shades of the tree.
Ganesha Shrine is relatively a very small structure built by Sarabhoji at the end of 18th century. This structure is east facing and the idol inside is clearly visible from the raised platform.
Karuvur Devar Shrine – Brihadeeshwara Temple
To the right back of Brihadeeswarar Temple, we have the Karuvur Devar Shrine. As the name suggests it’s dedicated to Karuvur Devar who was the teacher and guide to Rajaraja I. Similar to Ganesha Shrine this is a small structure with a vaulted roof supported by stone pillars. There is a tree behind this structure considered sacred.
Chandikesvara Shrine – Brihadeeshwara Temple
To the immediate right of Brihadeeswarar Temple, we have Chandikesvara Shrine built by the Nayaks in the 16th century. Right, next to this shrine there is a small reservoir built next to Brihadeeswarar Temple to allow the milk which would have been used to wash the Linga to flow and collect.
Subrahmanya Shrine – brihadeeshwara Temple
Right, next to Chandikesvara Shrine we have the Subrahmanya Shrine built by the Nayaks in the 17th century. This structure has a distinct two sections. The first flat roof section and the second a gopuram.
North Cloister Mandapam – Brihadeeshwara Temple
A substantial part of the northern boundary of the temple complex was constructed by Krishnan Raman the military commander of Rajaraja. This is not a single shrine but a set of 36 sub shrines for other deities which do not have any separate shrines present. This place was further installed with 108 lingas by the Maratha ruler Sarabhoji.
Varahi Shrine – Brihadeeshwara Temple
This is a very small shrine next to the North Cloister Mandapam dedicated to the goddess Varahi.
It is recommended that you spend a full day out here in this temple complex since it will take a lot of time to go around from one structure to another. Make sure you have a bottle full of water as all this walking can make you really dehydrated alternately you can purchase bottled water and carbonated drinks from the counter near the footwear deposit counter.
The easiest way to reach Brihadeeswarar Temple would be in an auto which would cost you somewhere between 60 – 100 Rs. Alternately there are several buses which ply around the city which would take you to the temple for around 5 Rs.
Often referred to as the “Great Living Chola Temples” is listed under UNESCO world heritage site and a trip to this temple is a must in your lifetime.
My next blog would be on the Thanjavur Palace which
comprises of several museums and other interesting structures. Till then
goodbye and hope you have enjoyed my first blog of the series on
Thanjavur.
Other Thanjavur Blogs
A Hotel Named Disaster
With the coming of the digital and Internet age, everything seems to revolve around the internet these days. Be it booking train tickets online to buying a car battery online, and yes I did replace my car battery by ordering it online. Due to my habits and hobby of extensive travelling I have started doing everything on the net, initially it was with a computer then a laptop and now with my mobile. Things have become much smoother and any information or reference that you want can be easily looked and referred online.
I have been booking hotels and home stays since 2010 by using various aggregator portals. Usually, I would like to choose a locality which would be easily accessible from the airport or train station followed by the distance the place is from the tourist attractions in that particular city.
Apart from this I usually like to see the ratings and comments by other travellers. These are very helpful since these are a real first-hand report from actual travellers. Once I was about to book a hotel which claimed quite near to the railways station but a review from a traveller informed that the road in front of the hotel cannot be accessed by any vehicle directly and can only be accessed by a scooty or a two wheeler due to its close proximity to temple as traffic is barred. Without this key piece of information, I would have landed up in a mess middle of the night.
All these years my extensive research before booking any hotels proved critical in getting the best deals and also getting the right comfort. Only once in my life did I leave my guards down and boy I was in for a hell ride.
This incident happened recently when I had to reach Chennai for a short pit stop before catching a flight back to Kolkata. I was extremely busy during the trip and was unable to do the basic research about the hotel and its services.
So let me begin my ordeal…
The train reached Chennai Egmore station at around 5 AM in the morning, being the month of October the sun was yet to come out and dawn was just slowly breaking. The hotel was just hundred meters from the station so we just walked the way. It is to be noted here that the hotel on different travel websites is mentioned as a three-star hotel with an average but there were no reviews for this particular hotel.
As we were entering another big group with approximately thirty members in a bus who were transiting entered the hotel. With just one person in the reception, all hell broke loose. The tour operator with the bus wanted the pre-assigned room keys but the receptionist was unable since the pre-assigned rooms were already occupied. I waited for this commotion to come down and it took nearly thirty minutes for the receptionist to assign rooms to the group.
It was my turn finally and I approached the reception for a double bed air-conditioned room which was costing me Rs. 2000 for a day. This was good enough as I had planned to just use the hotel room to freshen up. At once I was assigned a room and after filling up the necessary forms was up along with my family in a rickety elevator to the second floor of the building.
The bell boy who was supposed to assist us was just standing with his hands inside the pocket, he never even offered to take the luggage from our hands. The room was opened and instantly the stench of moisture filled room hit my nose. This is forgivable as air-conditioned rooms do feel but stuffy if not used for some time. As I unloaded the bags from my shoulder and was about to sit on the bed I realised that the white bed sheets were yellow (which were supposed to be white) and the blankets had several holes of various diameter. Some were even hastily stitched with multi coloured threads.
These were nothing and what was coming next was a shocker. The toilet was equally dirty and the white tiles were mostly stained. As I tried to operate the flush I realised that the flush cistern was just a show and it did not function, in fact, there was no mechanism inside it.
At once I informed the reception of changing the room and after an apology, I was shifted to another room in the same floor, this was bigger but the stench and condition of the room were similar. Before settling, I decided to check the toilet and again the flush did not work. The attendant this time informed that the flush works and it’s just that overhead water tank was empty and the pump had just been started and the water would flow soon.
After the assurance, we unpacked limited luggage as our flight back was in the evening and decided to just have a quick shower. We have a relative and common friends in Chennai and had to pay them a visit so had decided to just take showers and head out.
Even after waiting for thirty minutes the water did not come, surprisingly the water in the wash basin was flowing but not in the shower or the cistern. Since we did not want to waste time we brushed our teeth and headed out for a quick breakfast and then would take a shower.
Even after our thirty minutes of breakfast could not solve the water issue. Water was only flowing from the wash basin. After repeatedly complaining the receptionist sent an attendant with another room key belonging to a suite. He requested us to use the shower of the other room till the water issue is sorted out. With no other option and a tight schedule we obliged.
At around nine in the morning, we left the hotel to meet our friends and relatives in Chennai and would only return at around five in the evening as we had to head towards the airport. Surprisingly the water was still missing in the taps.
Furious that I can be I headed straight to the reception and demanded that I get water in the toilet. At once, the receptionist called someone and within a minute a person with a bulb, electric tester, wire cutter and a wire plus arrive at our door. He is an electrician and I had no idea why he had come to fix the plumbing. For the next half an hour he tries a various trick and finally declared that the pipes are blocked. He then took another thirty minutes opening and closing various valves and finally the water arrives at six in the evening exactly at the time we were checking out of the room.
I thanked him for his quick service and headed to the reception for the checkout formalities. The receptionist makes the final bill and I am given a bill of Rs. 4800 inclusive of tax. Shocked I asked her about the price jump, it’s then she informs me that we were given a suite and that room was costing more. Initially, I tried to make her understand that the receptionist in the morning had given us the suite just to take a shower but she refused to believe that.
I could not take it any longer and the next ten minutes were just non-stop verbal attack. Once that stopped the receptionist agreed to settle for the original amount.
So this lesson in my life has taught me that everything at your fingertips is good but one needs to be careful and use personal judgement sometimes. I will still book hotel rooms online but would always double check with reviews and ratings from other travellers.
This is a personal rant thus I am not mentioning the name of the hotel here just to be neutral.
Vellore Fort – The First Battle of Indian Independence
Like me, if you would have known that the first battle of Indian independence was fought in the year 1857 then technically you are mistaken as the first battle against the European rule actually happened in the year 1806 near 50 years before the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
The plot was just like a Bollywood movie a wedding, a group of angry men and a dethroned prince. And all of these happened in a small place known as Vellore around 140 kilometres from Madras (Chennai). This was the time when the English were already dominating the Indian subcontinent ahead of the French.
Vellore Fort – History
The main fort was built in 1566 by the Vijayanagara Kingdom. This fort changed hands between the
Bijapur Sultans (1656–1678)
Marathas (1678–1707)
Mughals (1707–1760)
East India Company/British (1760–1947)
First Mutiny of Independence in India
Vellore Fort was the place where the son of Tipu Sultan, Shezada Hyder Ali along with his relatives were relatively put under unofficial house arrest with a monthly stipend from the company. One of Tipu’s daughter was supposed to get married on 9th of July 1806 and with this pretext, many people had gathered inside the fort. Some of the men were here not to attend a wedding but to somehow create a situation of uprising the European rule.
The anger, however, was instigated sometime back when Adjutant General Patrick Alexander Agnew wanted the native sepoys to dress up smartly with round hats having leather cockade made of cow hide. Additionally, Muslim men were asked to have their beards shaved and Hindu men refrained from putting religious marks on their forehead and also preventing them from wearing jewellery.
A portion of them men were angry of this change and had been protesting since May that same year. These men were however disciplined with harsh punishments but the resentment was still boiling under the skin of some.
Finally, on the early hours of 10th of July 1806, the native sepoys started opening fire on the white officers and soldiers. Substantial numbers of them were killed including Colonel St. John Fancourt who was the fort commander. By morning the Mysore Flag had been raised over the fort with Shezada Hyder Ali (Fateh Hyder) being declared the king.
This, however, did not last very long, just like Mir Jafar during the Battle of Plassey out here also a sepoy by the name of Mustapha Baig had been alerting the Company’s officers prior and this proved a vital pivotal moment for this uprising to be put down.
Few British officers managed to escape out of the fort and report the matter at Arcot Garrison. Sir Robert Rollo Gillespie along with his troupe arrived at the fort and managed to easily take the fort back by afternoon the same day. A substantial portion of the mutineers was killed during the charge and the once captured later was shot. The leaders were later court-martialled and were blown apart with guns.
Tipu Sultan’s family was spared the death due to their status but were all shifted to Calcutta (Kolkata). This would be the last time the sultan’s family would see the southern state under the monarchy.
Vellore Fort – Now
Vellore now is more famous for its hospitals than this fort. Even though I am a history lover I was not much informed about this fort till I had the opportunity to visit it personally. I had visited Vellore city not for tourism but for rather something else. During this visit, I had the opportunity to pass by this fort and notice his huge stone walls and a wide moat. On asking the auto driver I was informed that it’s a fort locally known as “Vellore Fort”.
On researching I came to know the much illustrious history of this fort and its significance in the India’s struggle against the European rule.
During my first visit, however, I could not photograph the fort and it’s only during my second trip to Vellore that I did manage to explore the fort from the inside.
The fort is not fully accessible since there is a police training school and their offices which occupy substantial portions of the fort and is not accessible to tourists. However, there are quite a few places that one can see here.
Fort & Park
Jalagandeeswarar Temple
St. John’s Church
Tipu Mahal & Hyder Mahal
Mosque
Archaeological Museums (ASI) & Government Museum
Vellore Fort & Park
The fort itself is quite a big structure, the fort is surrounded by high and thick granite rock walls and a deep moat. The walls are thinks and there are ramps on the side by which you can climb to the top and walk around. Right around the fort the area has now been converted into a park and in the evening it’s a place where people come to relax and enjoy a beautiful view of the fort.
Jalagandeeswarar Temple – Vellore Fort
This is a functional temple and possibly the oldest structure in the whole fort. Built in the year 1550 AD this is a Shiva temple built during the Vijayanagara Empire by Chinna Bommi Nayaka. As you enter on the left you will see a stage with beautiful stone carvings something which I had seen for the very first time.
Since this fort changed hands between the different dynasties the temple suffered majorly during the Muslim invasion and was almost destroyed.
The temple structure was heavily repaired by ASI (Archeological Survey of India) in 1921, it was only in 1981 that controversially regular puja started back in this temple.
St. John’s Church – Vellore Fort
The church was built by the British during their reign in the year 1846 since by then this fort had turned into a garrison of the East India Company and later by the British Empire. Initially, there were chapels and other prayer rooms inside the fort but due to the gradual increase in the European population a church was built inside the fort.
Tipu Mahal & Hyder Mahal – Vellore Fort
These areas are not accessible to tourists as these places house the
police training school offices and other administrative buildings.
Vellore Fort Mosque
Built in the year 1750 the mosque is actually named Nawab Chanda Sahib Mosque. Like the Jalagandeeswarar Temple, this mosque was also under ASI and was also renovated by them. After the resumption of prayers in the temple, the local Muslim population demanded that regular prayers be also started at the Mosque. ASI did not want to repeat their mistake thus this place though can be seen by the general public but all entry has been stopped. Guards are placed outside the building to prevent people from entering the place.
Vellore Fort – Archaeological Museum & Government Museum
These Museum have a vast collection of artefacts from this area from the various periods. You can see stone sculptors, cannon balls, weapons etc.
Location of Vellore Fort and All the Tourist Spots Inside
Click here to open the Google Maps link
Delhi Gate Arcot – The Beginning of Robert Clive
Major-General Robert Clive a name synonymous with East India Company and the British India had a very different job with the company at the beginning and had nothing to do with battlefield or the conquest over the Mughals. Being from Kolkata I was well aware of Robert Clive and his role in the city for defeating Siraj Ud Daulah and recapturing Fort William(old) but it did not strike me that much before his accomplishment in my city he had done something dramatic in the city of Arcot.
Robert Clive as a Clerk
Robert Clive started working for East India Company in 1744 as a clerk mostly keeping the records and other desk jobs. He was posted in Madras (Chennai) and it was also during this time that the French were also consolidating their influence in Southern India and with their base from Pondicherry attacked Madras in the year 1746. The company’s forces were heavily defeated by the French and the town was captured.
Clive along with others was captured and taken as prisoners, somehow few of the British soldiers along with Clive managed to escape and reached Cuddalore at Fort St. David which was some 80 kilometres away.
Robert Clive Joins the Army
This was the changing moment in his life, he decided to leave his desk job behind and enlist in the army. In 1747 the French army attacked Fort St. David and it is then for the first time Clive took charge of the situation and manage to defend the fort. This was the beginning of a new chapter in his life.
What followed next was some major war first at Tanjore (Thanjavur) and then at Second Carnatic war.
Slowly the Southern theatre was warming up between the British and
French forces who were constantly at log ahead for capturing more and
more territories in the Indian subcontinent.
Arcot
What happened next catapulted Robert Clive to prominence. In 1751 a Siege of Trichinopoly (Tiruchirappalli) by Chanda Sahib who was the Nawab of the Carnatic on Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah. Chanda Sahib was backed by the French and Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah was supporting the British.
Clive sought this opportunity and offered his service on the condition that he would lead the force as a Captain. Thus along with 200 European soldiers, 300 sepoys, and 8 officers. This combination was important since on papers this was no match for the standing army at Arcot. Moreover, the eight officers who were supposed to assist Clive had no previous experience of any conflict thus Clive was completely depending on his strategy than strength. With the monsoon at its peak, Clive managed to march on with his army on September 6th.
Clive showed his natural leadership quality by managing this untrained army and within 6 days managed to enter Arcot and take over the fort on 23 September 1751 which had more than 1100 soldiers who completely abandoned their position and fled.
The Siege & Final Attack Tiruchirapalli
Clive then knew that if he had to succeed then he had to defend his position from an imminent repulsive attack from the forces of Chanda Sahib. The position of the fort was important, three sides were open with just a moat separating the fields and on one side he had Palar River.
In the meantime, the French had also sent their army to assist Chanda Sahib thus making the siege more dramatic but Clive managed to hold on with the small forces against such vast numbers of opponents.
Negotiations continued between Chanda Sahib and Clive with Chanda Sahib constantly asking Clive to surrender with his small forces. When all these failed Chanda Sahib decided to attack the fort with full might on 14th of November. This major offence was successfully defended by Clive and his men, while Chanda Sahib’s army suffered heavy casualty Clive’s company had very less casualty’s amount to only six.
The siege which had lasted for 52 days was successfully defended by Clive and his men, moreover, this gallant defence was a remarkable show of efficiency by someone who was not trained in warfare but showed courage when it was most needed.
Clive became Major-General Robert Clive and the rest, as they say, was history.
Vellore – Arcot Delhi Gate
Only this portion of the fort which was originally built by Daud Khan Panni around 1698 remains visible now. Much of the original fort was destroyed by Tippu Sultan in 1783. Apart from this gate inside you can see some of the last remaining portions of the old fort, nothing much can be made out of except the foundations and some pillars.
Not many people know that the very ground that the gate now sits saw one of the longest sieges something which made Clive a key figure in the political history of British India. This very battleground transformed a clerk into one of the fiercest general of East India Company which ultimately and eventually took over the Mughals and ruled subcontinent India for nearly 200 years.
The gate that we can see now was named “Delhi Gate” to signify the next move of the company to capture the Mughal throne in Delhi and ultimately ruling over entire India. There is a room atop this gate which was Clive’s personal room.
Palar River is like a barren land now, with the water either diverted or stored in holding tanks upstream the riverbed now is being used for cultivation. Only the portion of the gate is fenced and I am sure if ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) excavated the surrounding they would sure find a major portion of the fort underground.
The significance of this gate is unknown to many and even for the locals it’s just some British monument but in reality, it’s much more it stands a witness in the history of a man who forever changed the map of India.
Google Map (Exact Location)
Click here to open the map
