My Travelogue

Megalithic Burial Sites (Pudukottai - Tamil Nadu)

2012-01-31T10:05:00.000+05:30

First things first, sorry for not posting anything last week. I was off to Pudukottai with some 30 people, to enjoy not just temples and heritage but also nature, and best of all Megalithic Burial Sites!!! Yes, something that goes as back as 2000 yrs old, inspires me more than anything else!!! Remember my old post on 2nd C CE Jain Beds of Arnattan Malai? Its one of the places that I always mention when I talk about my travels!!! So, this one is much more earlier and I went a bit more crazier!!!

So, what is Megalithic Burial? Its the 3rd C BC to 1st C AD (Sangam Period), burials done by the stone age men either in urns (in terracotta pots) or graves (direct burial).

So, here in Pudukottai, such burial sites are er.... should I say several several thousands!!! Yeah, it was. Could be lakhs, too!!! I was awestruck!!! Absolutely speech less!!! They were everywhere - Ambur-patti, Ammachatram, Annavasal, Kizhaiyur, Melur, Mootamapatti, Narangianpatti, Perungalur, Peyal, Poyyamani, Puttambur, Sathyamangalam, Sengalur, Sittannavasal , Tayinippatti, Tekkattur, Tiruppur, Vadaguppatti, Vattanakuruchi and Vilappatti. The place we saw was near Sittannavasal & Ezhadipattam. Locally these are called Mudhu Makkal Thazhi.

Its pretty easy to identify these!!! They look like icing on a black forest cake, see!!!!! Seriously, it did look like black forest icing for me when I saw it first in a very small thumb nail pic in greyscale.

But then, yes, this is how it actually looks like - A huge circle of laterite blocks, with granite slabs in the centre.

Thanks to the nature's fury over the years, the granite here are corroded and smoothened like pebbles!

These granite slabs, a kept in a form of a square of about 3 feet per side, with a partition at the centre, forming 2 rectangles. The body of the dead is kept in a urn in one of these sides and on the other are some of their possessions and food grains. Someone asked a valid question in the group, 'any valuables also kept along with it?'. No, nothing. Mostly it was foodgrains & implements & tools!!!

That's Prof. Muthazhagan showing a crude stone age tool.

There were pieces of terracotta scattered everywhere... At some places I also saw just the brim of the submerged urn over the soil. Those people of that era should have been most probably Jains with the Jain Beds and inscriptions of that era like Arnattan Malai, but extremely high in number here! Yeah, that's where we ventured next. From the stone age to the next few centuries targeting the ancient Jain sites. Wait n watch!!!

To Reach Pudukkottai:

From Chennai: 400 km via Villupuram, Trichy

Trains to Rameshwaram go via Pudukottai.

Trains / Buses can be taken to Trichy and regular buses are available from Trichy.

From Trichy: 50 km. Regular buses are available.

From Madurai: 115 km via Tirupatthur

From Coimbatore: 300 km via Dharapuram, Dindigul

In Pudukottai the burial sites are located in several places. This one is between Narthamalai and Sittannavasal.

Dedicated to Prof. Swaminathan, Prof. Muthazhagan, Prof. Jambunathan, and the whole group...

Thalakkadu / Talakad (Mysore - Karnataka)

2012-01-19T12:00:00.000+05:30

What are the sand places in India? - Thar Desert, Beaches, then??? Thalakkadu. Located near Mysore, on the banks of Cauvery, this huge landscape is just drowned in sand.

Why? The legend goes that this place was cursed by a widow Alamelu Mangamma of the last king of Vijayanagara Empire, Sriranga Rayar, who was killed during the war with the Mysore Empire of Wodayars. She cursed that this place would be filled with sand always and that the Wodayars will have no sons to carry forward their empire.

There are about 30 temples here which are being excavated little by little. Thanks to the curse, the overwhelming sand always delays the efforts taken by the Archaeological Survey of India. 6 of them are now well excavated and are regained regular worship.

There are 5 temples here dedicated to Lord Shiva collectively called the Pancha Linga Kshetram. They are Akkeshwarar (worshipped by Sun God), Padhaleshwarar (worshipped by Vasuki - The Snake), Sykatheshwarar (worshipped by Lord Brahma), Mallikarjuneshwarar (worshipped by Arjuna) and Vaidhyanatha Swamy with his consort Manonmani Ambal. Vaidhyanatha Swamy temple is the only Shiva temple which has Swarga Vasal, a common phenomenon seen only in Lord Vishnu Temples. In Vishnu temples the Swarga Vasal is opened on the occassion of Vaikunda Ekadesi. Here it opens during Pongal. On either sides of the entrance of this temples are the relief sculptures of Thala & Kadu.

Apart from these 5, there is 1 more temple here dedicated to Lord Vishnu, called the Keerthinarayana Temple, where Lord Vishnu is in Ananthasayanam or Sleeping Pose with his consort Lakshmi near his legs. This temple also had shrines of Lord Ganapathy and Goddess Lakshmi.

After a trip to all the temples, it is then the time to to move to the water from the sand - Coracle ride in the Cauvery river!!!

I could definitely give you a couple of tips. Wear sturdy footwear which either closes your foot completely or almost totally open. Its better to venture in cooler months of the year, so the sand doesn't kill your feet!!! Apply loads of sunscreen, and carry loads of water.
P.S.1: Those who are aware of the Tamil Film Industry would definitely remember the legendary movie 'Mudhal Mariyadhai'. The scenes of the coracle ride with the heroine were very much shot here!!!

P.S.2: Yes, its the age old me, when I was 12 yrs old!!! :)

TO REACH THERE:
From Mysore: 50km via Duddagere and T.Narsipura
From Bangalore: 140km via Kanakapura and Malavalli

TO STAY:
Several hotels and dorms at all price points are available at Mysore.

Dedicated to Mom & Dad

CSI Church (Karur - Tamil Nadu)

2012-01-12T10:12:00.000+05:30

Last post I wrote about one of the 2 main churches in Karur, St. Theresa's Church. The other one is the CSI church.

The history of this church is related to Rev. Henry Little. He had come to India in 1861, during the English rule, to the then Madras Presidency, as a part of his Methodist missionary. After working in several towns, in 1874 he reached Karur and began preaching there.

In the year 1877, this place was struck with a famine. He came up with the idea of giving a simple porridge to everyone. He then came up with a small home for children.

Then started the betterment. From 1880 onwards he came up with an institute to teach several job-based skills like type writing, carpentry, lace making etc. He managed to market and sell the goods made by the locals as well.

The church standing today was built in 1892. The foundation stone for it was laid by Lady Little. The church is now more than a century old. It is true that the antiquity of the church that attracted me the most. Its a huge church built in a very English style made of bricks.

When I went inside, I was all the more fascinated by its construction. It had arches and high ceiling like cathedrals. It was neither white washed, it had beautiful exposed red bricks!!! Loved the architechture totally!!!

When we went, the decorations were being made. And being a CSI Church, it did not have the concept of having a Nativity crib or Christmas tree!!!

To Reach There:

Refer to the prev. post on St.Theresa's Church.

CSI Church is located just next to St.Theresa's Church

Dedicated to Ashwini & Pratima

St. Theresa's Church (Karur - Tamil Nadu)

2012-01-05T10:10:00.000+05:30

Come Christmas and I love visiting my friends' places to see the Christmas Tree decor and the Nativity Scene crib. This time, since I was in Karur, I missed my friends' places, but then I went over to the churches in Karur. There are 2 main Churches in Karur, one being St. Theresa's Church & the other being CSI Church. And this post is gonna be 'bout St. Theresa's Church.

In 1642, Fr. Baltasar De Costa came across Karur and he took up the job of giving spiritual guidance to the Christians of that locality. And then he proceeded his missionary at Erode, Dindigul etc. During that time, the church was only a hut with thatched roof. About the time of Indian independence, the church was under Fr. E.A Chinnappan. Under him, the Presentation Sisters Convent was brought under this church. He later on also built an elementary school which now stands as a high school. It was only about then that the present structure of the church was built.

Being to this church on 2 different celebrations (a wedding & a Christmas), I could see the beautiful skill of the Sisters in floral and ribbon decorations. Their Christmas decorations were also so beautiful. Having been schooled at a Convent, my mind was going back to my school days to see the Sisters walking about...

So, here comes the Christmas Decor....

The almost life sized Nativity Scene crib

Jacob's Well

Nativity Scene

Mount Orab - Creatively depicted with potato sacks,
dipped in clay & let to dry over standing poles!!!

Jordan River

P.S: Yes, it's the very Church where one of my best friends got married. Click here to know what I wore for her wedding!!!

To Reach There:

Located 1/2km from Karur Bus Stand & 1km from Karur Railway Station.

Dedicated to Ashwini & Pratima

Halasuru (Ulsoor) Someshwara Temple (Bangalore - Karnataka)

2011-12-29T10:08:00.000+05:30

I can't believe, I haven't done a single post yet on Bangaluru (Bangalore)!!! Yes, I have done a few places easily reachable from Bangalore, but then, this is gonna be my first post on the heart of Bangalore.

During my last trip to Bangalore, I had some work near the MG Road and pretty near to it was this place called Ulsoor or Halasuru. One mistake I did was to try to walk upto Ulsoor from MG Road. It was just 3 kms and I would have easily walked it up. But why mistake? I walked it up wearing my stiletto heel, right from work!!!!! 3 km in stilettos, I know, stupid, right? Yeah!!!

At Ulsoor was my destination, Someshwara Temple. This was a huge temple, but then still, hidden in the chaos of the market all around it.

light thru coconut leaves

Unique was the first word that hit my mind when I saw the sculptural marvel of this temple. It was not regular. The pillars, the reliefs on them, the reliefs on the temple walls, everything was different from the regular temples.

This temple was where Mandavya Maharishi prayed to Lord Shiva. The Shrines here were of Nanjundeeswaran, Arunachaleshwarar, Kala Bhairavar, Dakdhinamurthy esp. apart from Chandikesa, Lord Muruga and Lord Vinayaka. This temple is believed to have been built by the Hoysalas/Cholas with the Dravidian Architechture. Later on during the 1570 AD this was rebuilt by Kempe Gowda, the founder of modern Bangalore.

The legend so goes that Kempe Gowda, tired after hunting, slept beneath a tree here and in his dream Lord Siva as Someshwara asked him to erect a temple at the very spot. Just as I would say always, in a country where we have the Ajanta from 2nd C BC, I wouldn't consider this temple very old!!!

The uniqueness of the temple was esp. the pillars. No two pillars looked alike. Many pillars had sculptures more than reliefs. Minor portions of the sculptures, were attached to the actual pillar, thus creating, an intricate, open work on the pillars!!!

Another unique factor was all over the walls. Just above the lowest crevice in the wall, across all 4 sides, there were series of relieves throughout the walls, at places depicting a story scene by scene!!!

My cam is in a wee-bit bad shape, so all these pics are from my cell. Thank you Samsung Mobile!!! Lolz!!!

TO REACH:

In Bangalore:

Nearest Busstop: Ulsoor

Nearest Metro Station: Halasuru

From M.G Road: 2.6km

Further detail on transport in Bangalore given in Pt.4 of Transport Section in Travel Tips Page.

TO STAY:

Hotels, Dorms, Paying Guest facilities available at all price points all over Bangalore.

Anandeeswarar Temple (Cuddalore - Tamil Nadu)

2011-12-22T10:11:00.000+05:30

From Chidambaram Thillam Natarajar Temple, my next target was Anantheeswarar Temple.

I had info with me that told that this temple was about a km and a half from the Thillai Temple. I was planning to walk up the distance, but I had no idea as of which direction I had to walk. I enquired a local with whom I am now very disappointed. He said, it isn't walkable distance and asked me to take up an auto. I did and as the auto went about, I knew he was circling, he practically took the 3 sides of a square to reach from one end of a road to another. I was literally in a fit of anger when I reached this temple!!!

A root from the gopuram through to the entrace

Well, but then, I really couldn't see much of this temple, thanks to the sunset and almost no lighting. This temple is a bit dilapidated when compared to the Thillai Natarajar. The specialty of the temple is the shrine of Raja Chandikesar, which is present only here and no where else. The shrine id located separately at the left as soon as you enter the temple. The Uchi Kaala Poojai (Noon Puja) is considered auspicious.

The wall on all 4 sides was kinda unique with a kind of limestone and brick structure like in Muruganatheswarar Temple, than the regular granite structure.

click to enlarge

I did spot a couple of epitaphs. But I have no clue of who built it and when, but its ancient for sure, and I suspect the Cholas!!!
P.S.1: A big thanks to all you lovely readers. This blog, My Travelogue has just crossed 1,00,000 Pageviews!!!

Click for my bride's maid outfit post Click for my Pichavaram outfit post

P.S.2: I've been telling you that, this trip to Chidambaram was for a friend's wedding. So, here is my outfit for the wedding and when I ventured to Pichavaram. Click onto the images to go to my Fashion blog's posts on each...

TO REACH & STAY:

Refer to my Previous Post.

From Thillai Natarajar Temple to Anantheeswarar Temple:

Get out of the Thillai Natarajar Temple through the West Gopuram. You'll be standing at the West Car Street (Mela Radha Veedhi). Cross the road and get into the lane just opposite. That's the Bazaar St. or the Kaasu Kadai Steet. Walk up about 3/4 a km to almost to where the street kinda becomes a jn. of 4. Take left to Anandeeswarar Street. You should spot it!!!

Ph. no. of the temple priest: +91 98653 44297
Temple timings: 6AM - 11:30AM & 5PM - 8:30PM

Google Co-ordinates: 11.399472,79.682955

Chidambaram Natarajar Temple (Cuddalore - Tamil Nadu)

2011-12-15T10:12:00.000+05:30

As I said in my last post, I recently went to Chidambaram for a friend's wedding. The evening of the wedding, I went to the place where everyone else would go and also went to another place where no one else would go.

Ok, first the place where everyone would go - Thillai Natarajar Temple.

Named Thillai after the plant Thillai which grows excessively at Pichavaram. This place is also called Perumbatra Puliyur. Remember Karur Thevar Samadhi from one of my previous posts? He had referred to this place as 'Enbellam urugum anbartham kootatthu ennaiyum punarppavan koil', which means 'This is the temple where the Lord embraces all his devotees who pray his with ultimate devotion, including me'.

The main deity here is Lord Shiva at his dancing best as Lord Nataraja. The Goddess here is Sivakami Amman. This place as a sacred place ever since time immemorial, however the actual temple construction took over a long period from Pallava, Pandya, Chola, Vijayanagara and Nayaks. It is said to have been begun to built by Simhaverma aka Iranyaverma. Later on during the Chola dynasty, this temple was further developed by 2nd Kulothunga Chola, Vikrama Chola, 3rd Kulothunga Chola, during 11th to 13th C AD.

The temple is in an area of 51 acres. Yeah, its a sprawling space, which is well lit and in that space during evenings I spotted several school and college kids with their books, studying!!!

Like most other temples, this too has 4 entrances with a towering Raja Gopurams upon all 4. Each of those are 135 ft tall with 7 stories. Each entrance itself is 40 feet high. I entered this temple always from the Eastern Entrance, thanks to the location of my hotel!

As I walked to the in, I couldn't help but notice the gorgeous 108 karanas (poses) of Bharathanayam sculpted on either sides as reliefs. It was marvellous! That was not all, just above each karana was an inscription of 2 lines, explaining that karana!!!

The karana above is called Adhikrantham and the one below is called Viruchikakuthitham!!!

This one is Vishnukrantham, the 100th pose. Yeah, I know - But its neither Greek nor Latin, its Sanskrit!!!

Another specialty here is the amazing murals at the ceiling of the Maha Mandapam of Sivakami Amman Shrine. The central part of the ceiling has new paintings. The old must have been mindlessly lost!!! But then, on either sides (the ceiling is divided in 3 equal parts), the Nayak period paintings of 16th & 17th Century, still survive with all glory. I couldn't help but observe the apparel of the women depicted. Sorry, the designer in me pops up often. Women wore transparent outfits with beautiful prints & amazing borders on them!!! Pics weren't allowed inside, so I couldn't click. But then, it was a visual delight. I must have spent about 2 hours within the temple, of that almost more than 20mins were spent staring at those murals!!! It depicts the way the temple was built and the legend behind it. It astonished me to see the temple plan depicted there! The best part, the last panel of the left (as when you're facing the entrance), is a huge panel depicting the Kanaka Sabhai and Aagaya Lingam!!!

The other shrines here at the outer circum-ambulation passages are of Mukkuruni Vinayakar, Karpaka Vinayakar, Subrahmaniyar, Somasundarar Navalingam (The 9 Lingams prayed by the Navagraha (9 planets)) etc. There is a centrally placed Temple Tank.

If you get into the inner circum-ambulation passage through the eastern side, the first thing to be noticed on either sides is the Purushaa Mirugam (human faced, animal bodied) sculptures. The inner passage has this most important place elevated platform called Narthana Sabhai or The Dance Court. Its hard to miss, thanks to its amazingly intricate sculptures. Every pillar was unique and it was all filled with several several little figures and each figure was hardly the size of a finger!!! And the best part, figures in that size were dancing!!!!! Beside was the Sarabeshwarar shrine. Remember, the Sarabeshwarar who was the specialty of the Madambakkam temple? Later on there were shrines of Nalvar, Mallikarjunar, Dakshinamurthy, 63 Nayanmars etc.
This is a unique temple that houses both the shrines of Siva and Vishnu together. The Lord Vishnu here is called Govindaraja Perumal. Quite unusually the Lord Nataraja here is seen facing south.

There are 2 main specialities of this temple. One is that this is one of the 'Pancha Sabhai's or the 5 Courts, and this one is called the Kanaka Sabhai. It has 18 pillars to denote the 18 Puranas. The other specialty is that this is one of the 'Pancha Bootha Kshetra' or the 'Temples of 5 Elements', and this one is a 'Aagaya Sthalam' or the 'Temple of Sky'. To see that special place we had to take a ticket of Rs.50. Then once inside, there were a few layers of golden Vilva Flowers hung onto the ceiling. This is to depict that Lord's not here in any form but totally formless in the sky. If you get lucky with the timing, you may spot a priest, just outside the Shrine, praying a Maragadha (Emerald) Lingam!
The priests here in this temple are unique when compared to the priests else where. Here they are called Deekshithars. Both men and women have a side bun while regular priests have a back pony. They were 3000 in number or rather 2999 with the 3000th as Lord Nataraja himself. They're called the Thillam Moovayiram Deekshithargal. But now only 300 survive!!!
Coming back soon with the road less travelled or should I say temple less visited???

TO REACH THERE:
To Chidambaram:
From Chennai: 220 km via ECR, Pondicherry, Cuddalore
From Trichy: 157 km on NH227 via Jayamkondan, Palayamkottai
From Pondicherry: 70 km via Cuddalore

TO STAY:
Hotels, dorms, lodges at all price points are available at Chidambaram town.

Pichavaram Mangrove (Cuddalore - Tamil Nadu)

2011-12-08T10:09:00.000+05:30

Let's check your IQ. Which is the WORLD's largest mangrove forest - Sundarbans in West Bengal, India. Second largest? - Pichavaram in Tamil Nadu.

Recently to attend a friend's wedding, I went to Chidambaram and just 16km from there is this is gorgeous mangrove.

I left the hotel at about 7:30 and reached took a bus to Pichavaram. The hotel receptionist had told me that it would take an hour by bus to reach Pichavaram and for an hour long travel by bus, that would be a long distance and would cost a lot too!!! I handed over a Rs.100 note to the conductor and he was like 'No change?'. Well, the ticket cost turned out to be just Rs.18 and the trip was just half an hour. The bus went right into the TTDC (Tamilnadu Tourism Dev. Corp.) complex.

The boating section had 2 branches - Row boat and Motor boat. The buzzing of the motor gives me a headache, so we opted for a row boat. Here's the breakup of the rowing costs, based of people & time.

Unlike Muthupet, here Pichavaram is much shallow than there and didn't have much occurance of island like formations. There were huge chunks of land, mostly that bordered the waterbody. This waterbody is 2800 acres vast expanse. The boatsman who came for us was a mind-blowing person. Let me tell you how - there are 5 varieties of trees here in this mangrove. And guess what, he gave me the botanical scientific name of all those varieties!!!

So here they are. The main 2 varieties are Rhizphora and Avicennia.

The Rhizophora varities are locally called Surappunnai and they filter the salt content in the water before intaking the water. This Rhizophora varieties reproduce by Viviparous reproduction. That is, the new roots grow from below the branches and they detach themselves from the parent only after they get pretty strong. The types of Rhizophora here are Rhizophora Apiculata (Kuttai Surappunnai), Rhizophora Mucronata (Nettai Surappunnai) and Rhizophora Lamarckii (Kalappina Surappunnai).

The Avicennia varities are locally called Kandal and they take in the salt water and gives out the salt through their leaves. Here reproduction happens by Aerial roots or Pneumatophores. The roots emerge from the soil and grow outwards to the air to absorb oxygen. The types of Avicennia here are Avicennia Marina (Venn kandal) and Avicennia Officinalis (Karungandal).

These plants together have made the place so exquisite with their viviparous roots and aerial roots. These roots are so very strong and they are infact used to steer the boat at times instead of using the paddles.

The best places were the little sublets of water that went into the lands. These sublets were hidden from sun with all the branches and roots forming a cage like topography. Within these cage like structures, nestled inside are several several birds. I heard so so many creeches and a variety of other sounds. But thanks to the caged housing these birds couldn't be spotted.

Picking molluscs from the river bed is a thriving business there apart from fishing & farming. The depth of this place varied from just 2 feet deep to 7 feet deep. From the shallow areas, these are picked by hand.

And what more, this is the very location where the legendary MGR Tamil movie Idhayakani was shot and also this is the very location where Kamalhassan is dropped into the water in the first part of the movie Dasavathaaram.
So, here take a tip or two. Opt for the row boat, its better to go into the smaller sublets of water. Take cash, Pichavaram has no ATM. And leave back only footprints and take back only pics & memories. And yeah, plastic is banned here. And most important, maintain silence inside the mangrove. Just like, how you wouldn't want anyone to play noise with blaring speakers in front of your house and how painful would it be for you, your slightest sound would be the same pain for the birds nested in here!!! Shhhh.......

TO REACH THERE:
To Chidambaram:
From Chennai: 220 km via ECR, Pondicherry, Cuddalore
From Trichy: 157 km on NH227 via Jayamkondan, Palayamkottai
From Pondicherry: 70 km via Cuddalore

From Chidambaram to Pichavaram: 15 km towards Killai village
Yes, the mangrove is actually located in Killai village and Pichavaram village is a bit far from this mangrove.
Buses are available every half an hour from Chidambaram. Its called the 'Sutrula Maiyyam' bus.

TO STAY:
Eco Hotel Saradharam Pichavaram is available at Pichavaram.
Ph: +91 4144 249399/249400
But this is a slightly higher end hotel.
However hotels, dorms, lodges at all price points are available at Chidambaram town.

Insect Watch - Hammerhead Worm

2011-12-01T10:04:00.000+05:30

I spotted a slimy black worm in this rivulet.

Errr... Emmmm.... Well, this is the long shot of the same rivulet. Its called 'My Backyard'!!! I loved the way my backyard looked just after rain.

And as I was roaming about there, I spotted this black slimy worm with a flat, thin, wide head which I had never spotted before. Not exactly in the mud or water, but on the cement flooring beside this.

After taking a couple of shots, I picked this up on a leaf & left it in the soil. Its called a Hammerhead worm.

Scientifically it belongs to the Bipaluim genus. Its a flat worms which esp. feeds on earthworms!!! And like many other flatworms this too on being broken into pieces, grows as individual worms. There are 170 speicies of this worm and there are seen esp. at Indo- Malaysian and South East Asiatic regions and also in North America where its considered nuisance in Earthworm rearing regions!!!

G D Naidu Museum - Part III (Coimbatore - Tamil Nadu)

2011-11-24T10:17:00.000+05:30

Last 2 posts were about the computer part and the physicspart of the GD Naidu Museum. Well, why wouldn’t it be? These are 2 fields of science that I am fascinated about. Infact, a bunch of my friends and me were the founders of ‘The Science Club’ in our school. No, we all were cool science buddies and not geeks or nerds!!!

Well, back to the GD Naidu Museum, this post is about the whole of the Museum in general. GD Naidu as a person, was the founder of the GCT (Govt. College of Technology) and UMS Group in Coimbatore.

The first ever motor produced in India was by the UMS Group under G D Naidu in 1937. He's done some great great inventions including thin blades, kerosene fans, 5 station radio, low cost 2 seater petrol run car, etc.

This is an ancient on-demand radio which has slots to put in coins, so can be used on demand - amazing for that era, isn't it!!! He was a genius and a true engineer from his heart's core!!!

Some great stuff here in display include a range of radio from age old times to as it is now... Same gradual advancement is shown with pieces from each upgradation was also in tv, gramaphone, telephones, razors, typewriters, projectors, tape recorders, iron boxes, food processing equipments etc.

Most of these samples were innovations of the UMS Group of Companies itself. Its a museum of the company's heritage ever since its inception and the masterpieces and brain-children of G D Naidu, himself!!!

An ancient 'disaster warning system' of 1987 make was in display. Also here was the first ever 'Electronic Telephone dialer' made in 1982 in display, before that was the 'finger in ring and rotate' dialer!!! Also there was the first ever 'Electronic Telephine STD Locker' of 1983.

There were a bunch of pens, no, I should rather say, a few hundreds of ballpoint and fountain pens made in the UMS factory. This one is the hand-writing assessment of G D Naidu done with a letter hand written by him.

This one is the personal invitation given to G D Naidu to attend the funeral procession of King George V on 28th Jan 1936 in London!

I dunno if you know this already. But I came to know this only after being there. The first ever 'digital' clock was almost like a manual date calender with a spring action that flips the cards every second!!!

Some kewl wooden cycles innovated by him.

This one is the first ever motor cycle by G D Naidu. He saw a motor cycle when he was little kid in his village Kalangal, a remote, small, quaint village, when an English Official Lanka Shyel rode his bike to Kalangal. Ever since he saw that he wanted to innovate his own bike and then, he did!!!

Ok, so now guess what's this....

Try....

Its a mechanical cash register made in USA in 1950's... Now, how many guessed it right???

One roaming about this whole museum, there was one question persistent in my mind. Was there any thing at all that G D Naidu did not try putting his hands on???!!!!

TO REACH THERE:

Refer to Part 1 of this series

G D Naidu Museum - Part II (Coimbatore - Tamil Nadu)

2011-11-17T10:04:00.000+05:30

Last post, what I shared with you was some ancient (ok, only computer terms, something that's few decades old become ancient...)!!! Well, this post its gonna be interesting to school kids esp. and also physics enthusiasts.

But before that, a few more old photographs and an old bullock cart from his collections...

Here are some great optical illusions put up there. No, this is a part of the museum only to keep up the interest of the kids. This actually has nothing to do with G D Naidu himself.

The last 2 pics are rotatable. Save these images and rotate them and you might spot something new!!!

This one was an optical illusion where in if I walk parellel to it, 10km away, the building seemed to move along with me.

This hollow face of Einstein, I had seen in my school days when a mobile science exhibition came over to my school. Any face when sculpted in convex, the eyes of the face seem to give a movement and seems to keep looking at you as you walk from left to right or viceversa. Just like how the moon keeps moving with you even if you go to the next town!!! Lolz!!!!!

This one here is called a pinpoint impression. Essentially its a metal plank with tiny holes at the bottom. Each of these holes has a long ball pins through them. When you place you palm beneath it and apply pressure onto the pins they get pushed up creating an impression of the palm. Yes, I was a teeny weeny bit worried putting pressure onto the pins with my palm but no worries, I can assure it now!!!

There were several more illusion stuff and some games too. One was to trace a star not seeing your drawing sheet but its mirror image!!! One challenge was to take a small ball to top and bring it again to bottom of a slanted plane. Doesn't sound complicated?

It is. The slanted plank had several holes in it through which the ball could fall and the ball was on a small plank which was had to be operated by 2 strings attached to the 2 sides of it. Now, its complicated, right? That's the museum curator herself achieving the feat!!! Sorry, the video is a bit, eh... dark!!!

Would you be surprised and would you believe if I say, I saw this thing years ago in my dreams, but not as a electric light but as a flame???!!!!! Yeah, I did. Trust me!!! The moment I saw this one, my ex-dream did freak me out. This one is a 1960's make and its a gel based light. The gel in this when near the light, gets heated up and gets weightless and moves up. As it moves up, it gets condensed and gains more weight and comes down. And this keeps on repeating!!!

Coming back soon with lots lots more stuff from the same museum!!!

TO REACH THERE:

Refer my prev. post.

G D Naidu Museum - Part I (Coimbatore - Tamil Nadu)

2011-11-10T10:15:00.000+05:30

On my recent visit to Coimbatore, I visited the G D Naidu Musuem. I walked up and down the street a couple of times before I could find out where on earth was this Museum and finally found it.

So who is this Mr.G.D.Naidu? He is Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu. He was born on March 23, 1893 in Kalangal. Yes, its the same Kalangal where I ventured to find about the Blankets. And yeah, there is a house where he lived in Kalangal. Not a house, a Zamin Palace!!!

So then who is he, what is he? In simple words, he's referred to as the Edison of India. He's done great contributions to the fields of Mechanical, Agricultural and Automobile Engineering. He's a inventor, engineer, educationalist, industrialist etc.

His certificates...

His awards...

His photographs alongside eminent people of his era...

This Museum here houses some of his inventions and several collection of automobile, electrical and electronic stuff right from his ages to what are those at present. In this post lets just concentrate on the computer stuff.

This one is a vintage IBM computer of 1977 make from Italy. Its hard disk is 32MB!!! Nowadays the very basic and cheapest version of micro SD, mini SD or pendrive itself is of atleast 1GB. Here the 'hard drive' was jsut 32 MB. And the RAM was 256KB. When was the last time, we dealt with any drive that's in KB's!!! And the size of this one is 160cmx70cmx121cm!!! Now, we are talking of palm computers. And then comes the best part, its weight - 1000kg!!!!!

This is an Apple Computer Monitor made in California in 1984. Model: G091S.

This one is again an Apple Computer made in California in 1984. Model: SPS - 4042.

This one is made in our own India in 1984 by Hindustan Computer Ltd. Model: Busy Bee

This one is a Laptop. No, I'm not joking. Yeah, seriously... Would you be using lappies if they were like this till date??? This one was made by Compaq Computer Corporation, USA in 1991. Model: 2680 KB.

This one is a mechanical calulator. Now, our calculators are very much inbuilt into our phones!!!

Well, this is just the computer part of the G D Naidu Museum. Coming back with lot more - daily use stuff like iron boxes, razors, and mind boggling physics tricks & illusions... Wait n watch!!!

TO REACH THERE:

G.D Naishu Museum

734, Avinashi Road, President Hall, Coimbatore - 641018

Ph: +91 422 2222548

Mail: gdcharities@vsnl.net

Nearest Busstop: Stanes School.

Located a bit ahead of Stanes school (if the school is to your left), in the opposite side.

Its the same buillding that houses Indo-German Goethe Institute and UMS Training Centre.

Its adjacent to Dr.Mohan's Diabates Speciality Centre.

Its a unique building in its construction and you cant miss it!!!

Some Updates, A Gift & A Giveaway

2011-11-03T10:10:00.006+05:30

Of late some regular leaders might have noticed some changes in the layout of my blog. So this post is just to keep you updated of the changes and improvisations I've done in My Travelogue.

The first one is the 'IMP. Note' box on the top right, the first section of my side bar. There have been a couple of concerns in some comments stating that I've put the locality of the place visited wrong. So, this is to clarify that I do not put up the locality of the place I visit. What I put up in the labels and also in the bracket beside the place name in the title denote the district where the place falls. Sometimes the centre of the district might be pretty far from the place ventured whereas the nearby district might be nearer. For eg., Mahabalipuram is nearer to Chennai City than Kanchipuram town of Kanchipuram Dt., though its listed under Kanchipuram.

The second one is the 'Archives'. Of late some might have noticed that the Archives tab has vanished from my side bar. It has been transported to a separate page 'Archives'. The link to this page is permanently placed as the topmost position in the main area.

Also in this area, are the links to some more 'Pages'. Just next to 'Archives' is 'Traveller Tips'. This would be updated as I get to think of new tips that would help travelers. This is to share and help travelers with the customs and local beliefs and rights/wrongs of various places. Do share with me local unique customs and should/shouldn'ts of various places that you've been to (Please avoid things that you've read somewhere and not actually been to, as what this blog is about, is first hand experience) below in the comment.

Next to it is 'Packing List'. I have been helping a couple of my friends to pack things up for their trips when I thought, this might be the very situation for many who don't travel often. On the other hand, some of my regularly traveling friends have things perennially packed that goes into their suitcase. So, just to help out the former ones, here's a Master Packing list, that starts with the trip details and dates and things to carry with brackets besides the ones that require numbers. Next trip, you could take a print of this one. Well, this is just a generic, common list. You might have to add several things that are particular to you and strike off some as well.

Next to it is, 'PR/Contact' that links to my Fashion blog and Business Site, and also has my e-mail id.

So, that's the updations in this blog.

Then here comes the Gift part. A few months ago I discovered this page is Facebook called 'Girls on the Go Club'. And they were organizing a contest for travel bloggers to submit their blogs. I did. And in a couple of weeks, I get a mail saying that I was one the contest winnners! Yippeee!! Then in a couple more weeks, I get this gorgeous waist pouch as a gift from them!!! Double Yippeeee!!!!

The next part is a lovely gift / giveaway from me to all the women readers of my blog. It is a Gorgeous Giveaway to all the Gorgeous women who are bitten by the wanderlust and keep traveling. One lucky winner would get a travel sized kit of Biotique skincare range and some HG facial Sponges too. After all, we do want to look good at a party or a wedding, though we might have trekked Parappalaru, the previous day!!! So, this is to pamper the women on the go!!!!! Click on the image to participate in this Giveaway.

Walajapet Venkatramana Bhagavathar Illam (Vellore - Tamil Nadu)

2011-10-27T10:13:00.005+05:30

I had to go to Vellore to attend one of dearest ex-rommie's wedding. Ofcourse, the wanderlust had bitten me long ago and going all the way to Vellore and coming back without wandering anywhere, how can that happen? The options an and around Vellore included several like SV Aranmanai (Palace), Vellore Fort, Temples in and around Vellore, Vaniyambadi temples, Walajapet etc. However, the trip was just for a day and in that day, the evening would be spent in the wedding. So what I had solid in my hand was just the morning. In one morning I could cover just 1 place and that one place had to be the least travelled road - Walajapet Venkatramana Bhagavathar Illam!!!

Enroute to Vellore, I got down at Walajapet and enquired at a couple of shops for the whereabouts of Venkatramana Bhagavathar Illam. As expected no one knew. And as usual, the best way I take to find places I this, is to enquire in the local ancient temple (note: not the new temples). But hardluck this time on that too. The 2 ancient Shiva Temples here, Kasi Vishwanathar Temple & Ekambareshwarar Temple were closed. However some enquiry around the second hotel, lead me to the Venkatramana Bhagavathar Street. As I entered the street I did notice a house which still had its ancient structure well maintained. I crossed it and enquired a guy and even he had no clue but did say that the ancient house that I spotted was a carnatic music school. I went over to that house and indeed it was my destination!!!

So, who is this Venkatramana Bhagavathar? Anyone with a slightest idea on Carnatic Music will definately know Thyagaraja Swamigal. He was one of the Carnatic Music Trinities. And Venkatramana Bhagavathar was one of his direct disciples. He was born in 1781 and lived with Thyagaraya Swami in Thiruvaiyaru and taught music in Madurai in Tamil Nadu, before he moved permenantly to Walajapet in Vellore, Tamil Nadu and passed away in 1874.

Presently this is the home of the 5th generation of Venkatramana Bhagavathar, Srinivasa Bhagavathar and his daughter (6th generation) Sandhya. It was this very house where Thyagaraja Swamigal himself, lived for 12 days during his visit to Tirupathi.

The house is evidently ancient, being in use since 1850s. The door was the beautiful carved wooden door and there were wooden pillars that formed the 'Thinnai' or the patio. The ceiling was a typical old ceiling very similar to the Kalangal village houses. The flooring was of the Karaikudi Red Clay tiles. In short, its heritage at its epitome.

As soon as I entered the house, to my right was this huge hall and at it end, behind a screen where the images and idols of the Gods and Goddesses. On either sides of the hall were ancient paintings of great Marati composers and singers, painted in the Tanjore style.

The 2 idols there were of Lord Sri Rama and Lord Sri Krishna. These idols were gifted to Venkatramana Bhagavathar by Thyagaraja Swamigal himself. The idol of Lord Rama has 4 arms. The front arms have bow & arrow and the back arms have shell & wheel (Shank & Chakra). He's with Goddess Sita and Hanuman. The other idol is of Lord Krishna with Rukmini and Sathyabama.

Some paintings here are age old, painted when Venkatramana Bhagavathar was alive. Two were of himself with Thyagaraja Swamigal. Another was of himself surrounded by his 2 sons, Krishnaswamy & Ramaswamy and 4 disciples. These were painted by Pallavi Ellayya, one of the disciples of Bhagavathar. Some ancient b/w photographs of his sons were also there.

And as usual as I always say, as I've written in my Traveling Tips (Pt. 2 in Temple Tours), its give generously to the priest when you venture to lesser known temples. That's not just to help the priest, it'll encourage them not to leave the temple to the mercy of fate. That applies here as well...

TO REACH THERE:

To Walajapet:

From Chennai: 107km on NH4 via Poonamalle, Sriperumbudhur, Thirupukkuzhi

From Chennai: 120km via Tambaram, Padappai, Oragadam, Thimmarajampet, Kanchipuram

From Vellore: 30km on NH4 towards Kanchipuram

From Arakkonam: 50km

From Kanchipuram: 40km

To Bhagavathar Illam in Walajapet:

Near Saudambikai Temple.

Its the second house in the left of Venkatramana Bhagavathar Street.

This street is perpendicular to the Anaikattu / Anaicut Street.

Venkatramana Bhagavathar street is opp. to the Ganesh Maternity & Surgical Centre in the Anaicut Street.

The house is located opp. to Karpagam Dhanapal Complex in the Venkatramana Bhagavathar Street.

Ph.no. of S R Balaji, of Hemalakshmi Finance in Karpagam Dhanapal Complex: +91 99522 22972

Google Co-ordinates: 12.92299,79.365417

Dedicated to my Mom

Kalangal Kurumba Blankets (Coimbatore - Tamil Nadu)

2011-10-20T11:00:00.003+05:30

Last post, I wrote about how I ended up finding the Kalyana Venkatramana Swamy Temple at Kalangal Village thought I did not go there in search of it. So, what I did go there in search of actually. It was for the Kalangal Kurumba Blankets.

But first, before starting about the blankets, the village itself needs a little introduction. In 3 simple words - It was awesome!!!

The houses are still maintained with the old look. The houses themselves are about 100-150 years old where the village head and the other dwellers lived.

The houses had the traditional wooden pillars in them.

The roof was the traditional red clay tiles. In between them once or twice in the roof of each room were glass tiles. This helps to bring in the sunlight in day time without using any other source of energy like oil lamps in olden days or electricity in the present days.

The traditional old switches.

The gorgeous, exquisite, carved wooden doors.

The hooks fixed onto the ceiling to hang indoor swings.

These houses also have a lovely centrally placed open-skied courtyard with or w/o a gauze or grill atop. This are called 'muttram'. When it rains these become rain water harvesting tanks. In summer it becomes sunlit areas still safe from birds that helps to dry out anything.

So now, back to the blankets - These blankets are made from the fibers shredded from the hair of the Kurumba Sheep. Though Kurumba sheep is widely grown in several places in Tamil Nadu, this technique of the handmade blanket is unique and reserved to this place. Like many other arts and traditional crafts of India, this too is getting really stomped upon by the new machine-made, mass produced stuff.

This Kurumba Blankets are so precious It takes almost a month to complete one. Few decades back this was a part of the wedding trousseau taken by the girl when she moves in to her husband's place. The trade was once flourishing, but now with the increase of the mass produced blankets (thanks to globalization!!!), this is not a profitable job anymore and many families opting out of the craft to take up modern jobs. Obviously they would, they have to carry on with their livelihood!!!

The entire process of producing the Kurumba blankets is handmade. Right from shearing the sheep, to its cleaning, to its bleaching, to its making it into a yarn / thread, and finally weaving it. The looms are basic back-strap hand looms. Oh, pardon me for the technical terminologies, the textile designer in me is taking over!!!

The best part of it is that the fibers are generally not dyed. So the blankets are usually available in black, brown or off white, the natural colors in which the sheep hair is available. Sometimes using colored acrylic yarns (synthetic wool yarns) embellishment is given like occassional lines that occur vertically or horizontally or both.

The feel of these blankets is inexplicable. Its slightly rough and yet pretty fluffy and light weighted. I can never compare it to the feel of any other blanket or texture. It was fabulous. Of late, thanks to the fading craft, its not available readily. However upon order they make the blankets esp. for you and a blanket costs about 2500 - 3000 bucks.

I'm sharing this here, so that people would buy them, so they are kept employed and the craft survives the tsunami of globalization!!!

TO REACH THERE:

From Sulur in Coimbatore: 4km on Kalangal Road at Sulur Jn.

TO STAY:
Many hotels at all price points available in Coimbatore.
Sulur is in the outskirts of Coimbatore with regular bus service from anywhere in Coimbatore / Kovai.

Dedicated to my Mom

Kalangal Kalyana Venkatramanaswamy Temple (Coimbatore - Tamil Nadu)

2011-10-13T10:29:00.063+05:30

I ventured to this little village called Kalangal near Sulur in Coimbatore, which absolutely no idea of what to expect. I got into the road that leads to Kalangal village at Sulur and waited there for some local bus or share auto to arrive. Well, some half an hour would have passed by, no trace of any public mode of transport. I got irritated and opted to take an auto. I enquired an auto driver only to know that the 5km distance would cost about 130 bucks. I did get irritated but then I again asked him the rate for an up n down trip. As I expected that worked out much economical. For up and down with 45 mins wait together it worked out for 200 bucks.

I went there with no idea of what to expect but I did go in search of something. I'll write about that in my next post. But in this post, let me share something that I did not go in search of - An 1300 yr old Temple of Lord Vishnu!!!

Yeah true, as I went through a long road with just vacant land and shrubs on either sides, I finally reached Kalangal. I enquired to the local shopkeeper to know where I had to go, but then, as I as venturing my destination, I spotted these 2 ancient 'stone mandapams' with several reliefs on them.

They were not really dilapidated but not in a good condition as well... In the central top portion of these mandapams were a relief of Namam with Sangu & Chakra, the essential primary symbol of Vaishnavism or Vishnu devotees.

Now that's a proof of the existence of an ancient Vishnu Temple in the locality.

The very temple is called Sri Devi Bhu Devi Kalyana Venkatramana Swamy Temple. Sadly, I didn't visit the temple. However, you can check out more pics and contact details of the temple, here at the temple's website: http://kalangalperumal.org. Hope I visit the village again and visit the temple as well...

TO REACH THERE:

Navarathri Kolu 2011 at my Home

2011-10-06T10:45:00.002+05:30

I had already posted about one of the earlier Kolu arrangement kept for Navarathri at my home, here, and here. So, I'm not getting into the details and the story behind each doll set. Just sharing some pics of this year's Kolu.

Here's the main 7 step arrangement...

Kanchipuram Garuda Sevai

Annamalaiyar Unnamulai Ammai

Pittukku Man Sumandha Leelai

Dakshinamurthy

Here are some more pics of the side arrangement 1...

Some lovely gifts from my Friends

Tsunamika....

Tsunamika was not kept in the last Kolu. She is an innovative little doll who was the brain child of Ms.Uma Prajapathi of Auroville, to be created by the women who were affected by the deadly Tsunami which devastated to coastal areas of the Tamil Nadu and Andhra in Dec 26, 2004.

Some more pics of the side arrangement 2...

The First scene Gugan was already in the last Kolu. Next to it is Matryoshka doll aka Babushka doll which is the Nesting Russian Doll set where each doll goes into a bigger doll that itself. Beside it is a small vegetable vendor doll with excellent detailed work including actual fabrics for its dress and small fibers for his head and chest hair.

Pushpa Vimanam of Mariamman Temple Festival (Karur - Tamil Nadu)

2011-09-29T16:10:00.000+05:30

Karur, as I have said in my previous posts also, is a small town in the centre of Tamil Nadu well connected with several places. Its also a hub of heritage and nature with a the village feel still lingering on, in the suburbs. (Yeah, the central town of Karur is more concrete than Chennai suburbs!!!).

Some important temples in Karur are Pasupathiswarar Temple, Abhayapradha Ranganathar Temple, Kalyana Venkatramanar Temple, and Mariamman Temple. Also temples in Erode, Trichy also are easily reachable from Karur.

Of these, Mariamman Temple is the only one that I haven't visited so far. The best time to visit this temple is during end of May, when the annual temple week long festival happens. Somehow, every year for the past couple of years, I plan to visit Karur during this festivity, but somehow I get scheduled with something else and miss it.

The specialty prayers start much earlier and are held a month long which are at their best during the last 5 days when the celebration is at its peak and literally Karur comes to stand still when no offices or shops work.

The month long auspiciousness start with planting the sacred log in front of the temple called Kambu Naduthal. This Kambu is immersed in River Amaravathy at the end of the month long celebration.

During this month several festivities occur. This includes, a day of procession of Temple Car or Ratham. A day of Pushpa Vahanam when various tableau of floral arrangement are made by different groups of people taken from their street to the temple. A day of Oonjal or Swing. And it was during the Pushpa Vimanam Day, that I once happened to be in Karur and witnessed it luckily by chance as well...

This one was shaped like a huge 7 headed snake, made completely of flowers.

And its generally carried to the temple with all pompom and fanfare...

This is the smallest 39 secs video of the more than a few hours long parade all the way to the temple, that I managed to click. Yeah this happened at about 8 pm and that should explain the bad lighting. But the way they were beating the drums and dancing was absolutely fabulous and they were in trance totally.

Hopefully next year atleast I wish I go there for the 5 day main celebration. Lets see!!!

Insect Watch - Lemon Pansy

2011-09-21T16:05:00.048+05:30

I've posted quite a number of Bird Watch posts so far. Recently in my back yard, I found this Lemon Pansy basking in sun, so I thought of sharing this with you.

So here are the images of Lemon Pansy. Its a moth and is scientifically called Junonia Lemonias. It belongs to the Nymphalidae family of insects which is also called Brush Footed Butterflies, because it has its forelegs smaller than hind legs and its hairy as well, resembling a brush.

So here is what Wikipedia says about it

It is brown with numerous eye-spots as well as black and lemon-yellow spots and lines on the upperside of the wings. The underside is a dull brown, with a number of wavy lines and spots in varying shades of brown and black. There is also an eyespot on the lower side of the forewing. The wet and dry season forms differ considerably in coloration and even shape. In the wet season form the markings are distinct and vivid and the wing shape is a little more rounded. In the dry season form the markings are obscure and pale especially on the underside and the wing margin is more angular and jagged. This helps it camouflage in the dried leaf-litter. The Lemon pansy is a very active butterfly and can be seen basking with its wings open facing the sun. It sits very low to the ground and can be approached easily. It feeds with its wings half open. It is a fairly strong flier and flies close to the ground with rapid wingbeats and often returns to settle back in the same spots.

So, if I go as per the details given in Wikipedia, I spotted the Lemon Pansy in a wet day, that's why its bright and rounded. Yes, true. It had rained the previous day and it was sitting on the open seed pods of Indian Laburnum or Cassia Fistula, basking in the sun.

Pallikaranai Marsh (Kanchipuram - Tamil Nadu)

2011-09-14T10:38:00.024+05:30

Every time I crossed Pallikaranai Marsh here in Chennai I had this thought in mind that I wanted to visit here just to see the migratory birds that flock here in the winter. Somehow that never happened. I always crossed these roads in broad daylight or at night. Never at dawn or dusk, when there is much more probability in watching birds. Somehow, I never ventured to Pallikaranai Marsh, just to say hi to birds. Well, if things had to happen, they will. And so it did.

During the past few years, Madras Week (Aug 21-28) has been celebrated in a big scale and its becoming bigger and bigger every year. And this year, as a part of the celebrations, Madras Naturalists Society, organized a Nature Walk of Pallikaranai Marsh and that was exactly why my plan was getting postponed indefinitely. Divine Intervention...???!!!! Lolz... May be... :)

It was scheduled on a Sunday morning 6AM. I expected there wouldn't be much crowd, thanks to the timing and the day. Unwanted, uninterested people just won't wake up at that time, that too on a Sunday. The people who turn up would be genuinely interested people. Yes, there is a reason behind this reaction of mine - A dear friend of mine, who organized temple tours, got frustrated after seeing some guys dressed up in sick tees and bermudas for temple tours, eating chips all the way and absolutely disinterested and turned up just coz their parents wanted them to!!! And as I expected it was about 15 people who are very serious about the program.

It was headed by Mr.Vijaya Kumar, secretary MNS and he was assisted by Mr.Gnanaskandan and Mr.Praveen.

Now let me tell you why getting postponed this long was a blessing. Being assisted by these people was the best way to watch birds, coz I got to identify several birds whose names I would have not known otherwise.

And as soon as the walk started I knew, there was no point taking my camera out. The birds were pretty far away and my simple 7MP, 3X cam was not for this shoot. I took a couple of shots of the landscape and kept my cam in, for good.

Gnana and Praveen had brought with them a couple of professional high end binoculars and photoscopes, to make the bird watching experience much better for us. Gnana had the book 'A Pocket Guide to Birds of Indian Subcontinent' by 'Richard Grimmet', and showed us the pics in it, so we knew what to spot, where, when they directed us.

The Dabchiks were everywhere. Infact it looks as though the whole lake was filled with them.

The water was shallow and the Black Winged Stilts were so beautifully walking with their long slender legs.

The Pelicans... Oh, my dear Pelicans. Pelicans are as I had already told in my prev. post on Pelicans, are light boned birds, that are very buoyant and light weighted inspite of their relatively big body. It had just rained the prev. night and the wet pelicans were drying themselves in the electric transmission towers and wires.It was an absolutely fabulous sight and I'd never forget the image from my mind...

The whole waterbody looked as if it was sprinkled with black spots which were assorted birds of every type.

So, here comes the list of fabulous birds that I spotted there.

Grey Heron
Purple Heron
Common Moorhen
Purple Moorhen
Dabchik
Peasant Tailed Jacquana
Spotted Pelicans
White Breasted King Fisher
Whistling Duck
Egret
Black Kite
Shikra
Blue Tailed Bee Eater
Coot
Glossy Ibis
Grey Ibis
Spotted Bill Duck
Pied Avocet
Black Winged Stilt

No, that's not an exhaustive list. That's all I remember... There were a few more as well...

I did take a few shots of the flora there.

And caught a couple of butterflies too...

If at all I had a good cam!!! Ha, forget it. However here I have a couple of shots from the MNS album. Its Avocet and Purple Heron.

This is just the trailer. Check out the MNS Facebook Page for much more pics.

TO REACH THERE:

In Chennai - Tamil Nadu

From Tambram: 15km via Camproad, Medavakkam

From Velachery: 5.5km

From Pallavaram (GST Road): 9km on Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam Road

Dedicated to Vijay, Gnanaskandan, and Praveen.

Sathyapureeswarar Temple (Kanchipuram - Tamil Nadu)

2011-09-07T10:19:00.007+05:30

On my way back from Unamancheri Ramar Temple, I called up the temple priest of Mambakkam Temple as he wanted me to, as he had offered to take me to the Sathyapuriswarar Temple, another ancient temple located in Ponmar which is again in the Medavakkam - Mambakkam Road.

He came along with the keys of the temple and I went inside. Yes, I was a bit disappointed, thanks to the granite flooring and multi color painted gopuram!!! A bit of the ancient-ness gone.

Very much unusally this one is a south facing temple. There are very very few south facing temples and this unknown temple in a very small village is one of those. But the Lord is east facing. The Lord here is Sathyapureeswarar and His Consort here is Sathyapureeswari, who faces south.

There was a pillar relief of Mahishasura Mardhini who was coated with a layer of Sandalwood paste and then there was a pillar relief of Dhenupureeswarar.

Remember Dhenupuriswarar of Madambakkam? Here, the relief depicts the legend behind that temple.

Also there was a pillar relief of the person who contributed to the temple in 16th C AD. Other reliefs were of Lord Krishna, Bhima, Agasthiyar, Narasimhar, Bikshadanar etc.

I came around the temple and on the Southwestern corner of the temple, I spotted some epitaphs and my face filled with glee. Looking at my face, the priest instantly said that I was happy only after seeing the epitaphs. This inscription belongs to the Vijaya Nagara Empire. This was inscribed during 1520 AD during the reign of Sadasivarayar, nephew of Krishna Deva Raya. This location is referred to as Thyaga Vinodha Nalloore aka Ponmaru. This inscription also refers to a small village called Poyilicheri near Ponmar.

Enroute I should have spotted a Perumal Temple in ruins which I sadly missed. I came to know of its existance only later on.

The ceiling of the temple had some fishes in bas relief.

Also present were a snake engulfing the moon in 3 progressive steps. This depicts the legend behind lunar eclipse.

The exterior of the temple has a separate shrine of Kasi Viswanathar. The outer areas are very beautifully engraved. I haven't seen this kind of a detailing much, barring Hoysala Architechture.

The pillar reliefs in the outerside, had these little pillars in them. Master of engraving, I must say.

There were some unfinished sculptures all around, which included a Lingothbavar as well.

Other shrines here are of Brahma, Valampuri Vinayakar aka Lord Ganesha with trunk turned to right, Lord Muruga, and Bhairavar.

Behind the temple was a small pond. But I had to take a lot of care to walking around the temple, thanks to the drunkards, it had a lot of broken glasses. The priest himself was very upset on that!!!

TO REACH THERE:

In Chennai - Tamil Nadu

To Ponmar:

From Medavakkam: 8km on Medavakkam-Mambakkam Road towards Mambakkam

From Mambakkam: 4km on the Medavakkam-Mambakkam Road towards Medavakkam

From Tambaram: 15km via Camproad, Bharat University, Agaram

From Ponmar to the temple

600m in the Ponmar-Navalur Road

In the Medavakkam Mambakkam Road turn Ponmar-Navalur Road at Ponmar and in half a km you'll spot it to your left. If not, enquire the locals for an Iswaran Koil.

Google Map Co-ordinates: 12.855465,80.176946

Ph. no. of the temple priest: Mr.Hariharan +91 98845 81931

Unaimancheri Ramar Temple (Kanchipuram - Tamil Nadu)

2011-08-31T10:25:00.077+05:30

After Mambakkam Murugatheeswarar Temple and Kandigai Quarry, I continued to hunt for Unaimancheri Temple. First I found Kolapakkam and then enquired locally for Unaimancheri and ventured in the road that the locals directed me. And almost at the end of the village, I spotted the temple.

A temple that was pretty new and multi color paints and cement reinforcement. That really made me wonder if it was the temple I came in search of. Some construction work was going on in the neighbouring house and I enquired again and again if this was the Ramar Temple of Unaimancheri and they replied in affirmative.

I should say I was disheartened by the new look given to the ancient temple. It was closed and on enquiry I cam to know that the temples opens only early in the morning.

However I could access the Maha Mandapam. The solid granite of which the basic structure is made of, is the standing proof that the temple is ancient. It had a few pillars and some beautiful reliefs on these sculptures.

One of the reliefs here in the temple wall is of a Varaha (Wild Pig) and a standing Sword. This is a sure shot evidence that the temple belongs to the Vijayanagara Empire. Well, this was built in the 16th C by Akshataraya, who was the brother of Krishna Deva Raya.

Yes, I did spot a couple of epitaphs.

And the steps of the temple had the mythical creature Yaali on either sides.

I came around the temple and I spotted a temple pond behind the temple. I would venture once again early morning to see how the interiors of the temple is. Well, only this I wished was they had taken the services of Archeologists or Art Historians before they renovated this, so they could have retained the ancient feel as it was...

TO REACH THERE:

From Tambaram: 13km via Perungalathur, Vandalur and then on Vandalur - Kelambakkam Road. Right turn at Unamancheri near Kolapakkam.

From Medavakkam: 21km on Medavakkam - Mambakkam Road, then turn towards Vandalur at Mambakkam. Left turn at Unamancheri near Kolapakkam.

The temple is located at the extreme end of the Unanmacheri Village.
Google Map co-ordinates:12.858425,80.105929

Kandigai Quarry (Kanchipuram - Tamil Nadu)

2011-08-24T10:19:00.005+05:30

Last post I had written about my visit to Muruganatheeswarar Temple, which I visited enroute while going to Unaimancheri. Enroute I also wanted to visit a Shiva temple in Kandigai in the Kelambakkam - Vandalur Road. Trying to explore hunting for this temple, I got into a small street, where I spotted this abandoned quarry.

A quarry when alive, creates an ecological imbalance. But when its dysfunctional, it does create an unusual landscape.

TO REACH THERE:
From Tambaram: 16km via Vandalur and then on Vandalur - Kelambakkam Road
From Medavakkam: 14km on Medavakkam - Mambakkam Road and then towards Vandalur at Mambakkam

Muruganatheeswarar Temple (Kanchipuram - Tamil Nadu)

2011-08-18T10:36:00.020+05:30

Certain roads are too good to drive. In Chennai, so far it was only ECR for me, until I travelled once in Kelambakkam - Vandalur Road. Ever since this road too is in that list. Another road that I wanted to try was the Medavakkam - Mambakkam Road. So, perfectly things fell in place when I opted to visit Unaimancheri Ramar Temple.

Once I started off in Medavakkam - Mambakkam Road, that too got into my favourites list. But unlike the othe 2 favourites, this is a bit lesser in width and has more lorries in it, making the road a bit crowded. But still, its not as crowded as ECR.

Well, as I was nearing Mambakkam to get into the Kelambakkam - Vandalur road, I spotted this temple enroute which looked obviously old! So, I just stopped and went inside. As I expected, it was locked. I came out again and enquired the local people and came to know the temple's priest house is very near by. I went there and he was very much available and he readily accompanied me to the temple.

This temple has several images of fishes on the ceiling, so most probably this temple was built by the Pandya Kings. Though I am not sure of its dating, I'm sure shot this is ancient. This temple has its own bunch of epitaphs. And this comes under the Hindu Religious Endowment Board.

Its a temple of Lord Shiva and he's called Muruganatheeswarar here. His consort is Deivanayaki. Other shrines here are of Lord Vinayaka, Navagraha, Chandikesa, Valli Devasena Subrahmanian. This temple is an east facing temple.

And it has a huge pond beside.

Very similar to the Madambakkam Dhenupurishwarar Temple, this temple too has no Gopuram and has a very small Vimana.

And the most unusual part of this temple is that its made of limestone and a kind of a brick and not the typical granite that every temple of that era was made of.

I should consider myself lucky to have met this temple priest. I accumulated lots of knowledge about the other ancient temples in this locality and he himself took me to another temple here at Ponmar. And ofcourse, I went to the Unaimanchery, but this temple was closed. Well, I did take a couple of shots outside. I'll post that soon. Bye for now...

TO REACH THERE:

From Medavakkam: 10km on the Medavakkam-Mambakkam Road

From Tambaram: 20km via Perungalathur, Vandalur and then on the Vandalur-Kelambakkam Road and then left turn at Mabakkam

Ph. no. of the temple priest: Mr.Hariharan +91 98845 81931

Madambakkam Dhenupurishwarar Temple (Kanchipuram - Tamil Nadu)

2011-08-10T16:12:00.003+05:30

This temple is the place I wanted to write about as the first post when I started this blog, coz I had visited this temple, god knows how many times... Somehow, that didn’t happen. So here after more than 100 posts, comes here the post about Madambakkam Dhenupurisharar Temple.

The legend of the temple goes that, once when Kapila Maharishi was doing his regular rigorous prayers and rituals, to attain a holy status, by mistake he held the Siva Lingam by his left hand, rather than the usual right hand. So he couldn’t attain the holy status and as reborn as cow in Madambakkam, as a shepherd. One day the shepherd, noticed that a cow from his herd, was regularly pouring its own milk on a particular spot in the grazing land. It was indeed Kapila Maharishi. Looking at the milk getting wasted, the shepherd, beat the cow. Not able to bear the pain it kicked the ground and ran away. At the very spot where it kicked the ground, blood started to ooze out of the ground.

He got scared and brought the rest of the villagers and at the very place Lord Shiva appeared to them and said that, there is a Swayambu Lingam at the place and the blood oozed out was from the lingam, as it was hurt when the cow kicked. That is why, till date the Shiva Lingam here has a small cut on it. You may request the priest to have a look at it. At the very moment Kapila Maharishi attained holiness and the villagers and the king decided to build a temple here.

This temple was built in 954-971 AD, by Sundara Chozhan who was the 2^nd Pranthaka Chozhan. But only the sanctum sanctorum was built by him. The Lord Shiva here is called Dhenu Purishwarar. Its a Sanskrit terminology which means, the one who was showered by a cow. Later on the Pandya Kings built the shrine for his consort, Goddess Dhenukambal, and also the southern entrance and the Mandapam. Much later, during the Pallava Reign in this region, the Maha Mandapam was built.

An important aspect of this temple, is the architecture. The anterior side of the Vimanam (the tower over sanctum sanctorum) is curved like the back of an elephant. This is not very common and it’s called Gaja Prashtam in Sanskrit and Thoonganai Madam in Tamizh. This part of the temple i.e., just behind the sanctum sanctorum has several, several epitaphs. The temple has only one entrance in the east, unlike the 4 entrances in 4 directions seen usually. Also, this temple has no Gopuram (the tower over entrance) at all.

To the south is the temple pond called Kapila Theertham. It was horrible earlier with absolutely no maintanence. Ever since the temple has been taken under the Archaeological Survey of India, the temple and the tank have been maintained spic n span. Long, long ago, once upon a time, I slipped into this tank, when I was a baby of about 4-5 yrs old. I was playing at the tank steps and as usual the last step was slippery and I slipped!!! It was not an issue, my dad was beside. And as I was falling, my dad caught me and pulled me out. Ever since that I had this aversion towards getting into water, till recently!!!

Apart from the architecture another special feature is the sculptural detail. The pillar reliefs here are just awesome. One of the important pillar reliefs is the Sarabeshwarar. Special prayers are held every Sunday evening to Sarabeshwarar.

Other shrines here are for Navagraha, Lord Ganesha, Valampuri Ganesha etc. On a corner of the circumambulation passage was a small hidden chamber. This was found a few decades ago when the temple was replenished for maintanence. However this has been closed now.

The outer circumambulatory passage is only mud with grass on either sides. It feels so good to walk on this. The feet really feel great.

The garden is also maintained well. The sthala vruksham is Vilva Maram. One this that must be noticed in the garden are the trees in the back side of the temple. There are a couple of big neem trees there and the best part is that they are the home for several owls. One of my visits to this temple was in the evening at about 6 pm when I kept hearing this shrill shrieking sound of a bird. While trying to find which bird was it, I was lucky enough to spot about 4-5 spotted owls. They were so cute and they were waking up as the sun was setting. And I stared at them and they too stared at me. As I moved back and forth their eyes to followed my movement. I think this was the second place where I spotted quite a number of owls together in a place, next to my school.

What more, the temple has a very good parking space too!!! And just opposite to this temple is the 18 Siddhar Temple, and pretty near is the Skandashramam(near Rajakilpakkam) too, which were built less than a decade ago. My regular readers would know, I never visit a temple, just coz. its a temple. I visit it not just for its holiness, but also for its ancientness, history, archaeology, epigraphy, architectural & sculptural beauty, everything together. So somehow, I didn’t visit these yet.

P.S: You may also want to read Swami's blog post on the same temple: http://swamisblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/madambakkam-temple-walk-when-curd-meant.html

TO GET THERE:

In Madabakkam near Tambaram in Chennai

From Tambaram: 6.5km via Camproad, Rajakilpakkam, Kozhipannai, Sivan Koil (Regular Share Auto/Bus Services available)

From Tambaram: 7.2km via Camproad, Bharat Engg College, Kozhipannai, Sivan Koil

From Velachery: 16km via Pallikaranai, Medavakkam, Rajakilpakkam, Kozhipannai, Sivan Koil

Nearest Railway Station: Tambaram

Nearest Bus Stop: Madambakkam Sivan Koil

Ph. No. Of temple Priest, Manikandan Kurukkal: +91 98849 32192