RANDOM THOUGHTS

As has been the practice for the last 4 years to visit 9 Siva Temples in and around Ambas/Kallidai belt on the SIVA RAATRI DAY, self and Mami visited the following Temples . 1 )The first Temple of our visit was Brahmadesam Kailasanathar - Brahannayaki Amman Temple . I have detailed about this temple in my earlier blogs . 2 ) Thiruvaaliswaram : Thiruvaalinathaswamy and Soundaravalliamman Temple . Not many , this place included , would have seen or heard of this absolutely beautiful  temple Maintained by the Archeological Survey of India . We were fortunate to witness the Pradosham  Abhishekam also at this place . This Temple is situated some 4 Kms from Brahmadesam Temple .  3 ) Ambasamudram Sannadhi Street Chokkanathar / Meenakshiamman Temple .  4 ) Ambasamudram Ammaiappar / Mattuvaarkuzhali Amman Temple near Seethalakshmi Hospital . 5 ) Kallidaikurichi - Kulasekaraudayaar (Vamsa Vridhi) / Aramkaathanayagi Amman Temple  . The famous Nataraja Statue retrie

All of us have Booked Reservation Tickets either by using the IRCTC Online App or by visiting the nearest Railway Station . Self and wife being Senior Citizens usually opt for the Lower Berth Option . There have been times when we have been lucky and also times when we have not been so lucky .  Both have  their attendant comical consequences . 1) BOTH GETTING CONFIRMED LOWER BERTHS : Though this is  most welcome , it is only on rare occasions that both of us can make use of the lower berths . There is always an older person in the bay , or a younger person who has physical complications and not in a position to make use of the middle or upper berth ,   all the other passengers are ladies who can't make use of the steps , lady at a late stage of pregnancy , lactating mother , mother with an infant . Though the lower berth of my better half remains intact, yours truely is more often than not in the middle or  the upper berth . 2 ) BOTH OF US FAILING TO GET A LOWER BERTH : In th

The original plan for day 2 , 3  of Mohan and Malathy s current  visit  to Manjolai and Khodayar Estates had to be shelved as by a strange coincidence the Public Works Department chose these very days for the long pending  relaying of the ghat road and all private vehicle movements were stopped by the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Forest Agency . We chose a few interesting places in the newly formed Tenkasi District on day 2 and Tuticorin , Virudhunagar  District on Day 3 . Almost all were visits to the Temples in these areas . DAY - 2 Ravanasamudram my Native Village ( in Tirunelveli District ) , Kadayam , the place where my better half worked as a teacher for almost 35 years , Courtallam Falls(almost dry ) , Ilanji Murugan Temple , Ellathur  Saniswaran Temple   , Puliyarai Dakshinamoorty Temple , Courtallam Chitra Sabhai and The Palliarai Poojai at Kutraleeshwarar Temple . DAY - 3 Kovilpatti Shenbagavalli Temple Kazhugumalai Murugan Temple Sattur Irrukankudi Mariamman Temple. We a

 After our lunch at Geeta Mami s place at TIRUKKURUNGUDI  Agraharam and on a casual check of the distance between TIRUKKURUNGUDI and KANYAKUMARI we found that it was just 40 kms away and with the NH , hardly 45 minutes away . Mohan and Malathy , my Sambandhis , hailing from Coimbatore did not want to miss this Godsent opportunity to visit the Newly opened Balaji Temple under the auspices of the Thirupathy Devasthanam and their long pending revisit  to The Kanyakumari Ambal Temple . Self and Revathy besides the above had  one additional reason for wanting to revisit this place . In those days  people had not even heard of the exotic  places in Thailand , Malaysia or Mauritius as Honeymoon Destinations . With the limited MEANS and the LEAVE  at our disposal in those days for our HONEYMOON , Kanyakumari was all that we could afford . Revisiting the place after almost 42 years was a charm in itself . After a 45 minute drive , we were at Kayakumari . The Balaji Temple facing the Sea a

These cluster of 5 Temples go by the term       ' NAMBI ' which in Tamil means FAITH TRUST OR EVEN BELIEF. Legend has it that the wishes of all who visit these 5 Temples in Good Faith get their wishes fulfilled . I have already detailed the beauty of the first 4 Temples . The Fifth and final place of visit is the Nambi Malai Temple . This is some 10 kms from the TIRUKKURUNGUDI main temple complex . We were asked to take  part of this journey by a 4 Wheel Drive Jeep and the charges were Rs 1000 - for 4 persons , Private vehicles were not allowed . Since we had our own vehicle and not allowed to use it  I thought we were being fleeced unnecessarily by unscrupulous and money minded agents . The first 5 kms were almost like the NH absolutely smooth .  This is where we entered The Kalakad Mundanthurai Wild Life Sanctuary . A sum of Rs 150 was collected as entry fee and we entered the Range  . Lo and behold , the road had vanished and what  was in front was rocks and pebbles in

Mohan and Malathy share many things in common the foremost of which is that we share our offsprings with them , we are each other's Sambandhis . My son Haarish being married to their daughter Vandanaa . Both our families are avid visitors to Temples in and around our areas . During their current visit which started yesterday , the DAY ONE  was scheduled for visiting the TIRUKKURUNGUDI NAMBI TEMPLE . This place is some 45 kms from Agasthiarpatty and consists of a set of  4 Nambis at the ground level and 1 up the Mahendaragiri Hills . TIRUKKURUNGUDI ground level Temple in three Postures NINRA, AMARNTHA AND SAYANA ( standing , sitting and the lying position ) is in the Main Temple Complex . This temple is reportedly 2300 years old  and has  found mention by Four Alwars in their  Divya Prabandhams . This is a very big Temple Complex and all the sculptures are a masterpiece.  The attention paid to highlight the features like the Eyes , Nose  , Legs  and veins of  RATHI ARJUN MANMATHA