Southern Sojourn 1 - Meenakshi Amman Temple

Anyone who is visiting the temple town of Madurai, keep this temple in his/her bucket list to visit, because when the name Madurai comes to mind, the next word related to it would be the Meenakshi temple, and we were no different. So, accordingly as we had planned earlier to visit this temple, and hence we even woke up early so that we can start things as early as possible. Since, Madurai gets very hot (40-45℃), so it's advisable to start early.

A view of one of the entry gates to the temple

                                

By 7 in the morning we started our day trip, and to begin with we chose to visit Meenakshi temple. Today was Vijaya Dashami/Dusherra, the day when Rama killed Ravana. However, in TN Dusherra is celebrated by giving offerings at temples.

Now before getting into stuffs about the temple visit, lemme brief u all about the temple. Meenakshi Amman Temple is a historic Hindu temple which located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River in the temple city of Madurai. It is dedicated to Parvati, known as Meenakshi, and her consort, Lord Shiva, here named Sundareswarar. The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2,500-year-old city of Madurai and is a significant symbol for the Tamil people. So, as it says that it's a very old temple, hence it attracts a good number of devotees. The temple complex is divided into a number of concentric quadrangular enclosures contained by high masonry walls. It is one of the few temples in Tamil Nadu to have four entrances facing four directions. The city was laid out in the shape of square with a series of concentric streets culminating from the temple. These squares continue to retain their traditional names, Aadi, Chittirai, Avani-moola and Masi streets, corresponding to Tamil month names. 

The temple complex is in around 45 acres (180,000 m²). The temple is surrounded by gateway towers also known as Gopurams. Each gopuram is a multi-storeyed structure, covered with thousands of stone figures of animals, gods and demons painted in bright hues. Inside the temple there is a huge pond or a central tank also known as 'The pond with the Golden Lotus'. The Meenakshi Nayakka Mandapam or the Hall of 1000 pillars has two rows of pillars carved with images of yali (mythological beast with body of lion and head of an elephant), commonly used as the symbol of Nayak power. Although the Thousand Pillar Hall contains 985 pillars instead of 1000 carved pillars. No I didn't count them. All these above information can be gathered from the booklets that are available at the temple shops. Costs are nominal between ₹10 & ₹50 (prices may vary).

Now the day we went it was Dusherra, so some special offerings were taking place and because of this there was a huge rush of worshipers. Once in, we saw a huge tank (pond) known as 'The pond with the Golden Lotus'. And no there was no Lotus in it, but there was a pillar of golden color. Now on seeing the huge serpentine queue we were pretty sure it would be late afternoon till we could have a darshan. Now comes a twist in the tale. A man approached us in complete white attire and escorted us to a counter where it was written ₹30 & ₹100 (rest was in Tamil, so could make it out). Not knowing what it was for, so we paid ₹30 and got a coupon, which lead us to another queue inside the main sanctum also known as Thousand Pillar Hall. Once in we realized that we paid for special darshan queue. The ₹100 one was for VIP darshan with a guided tour pf the sanctum, which was empty. Anyways, while waiting in the queue, I tried counting the pillars but couldn't make it over 30.

Moving over touring the entire temple and the main sanctum took us about 2 hours time, which included waiting in queue as well. Unlike temples in Northern India, temples down south doesn't have a separate queue for ladies & gents.

Now, there are some things to be mentioned for those people who are looking forward to visit the temple. There is a stall, where one can safely deposit shoes. It is not chargeable, but one can pay donation of small denominations. Photography is strictly prohibited in the temple, however one can carry their cell phones in, but don't try to take pics. I am sharing some more pics of the temple. There is a large parking lot on the Northern side of the temple.

This is one of the chariots, which can be seen on Masi St.

 

This is the way in to the sanctum (Thousand Pillar Hall).

This is the East Tower of the temple.

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Banjara_the nomadic

Southern Sojourn 1 - Destination Madurai

The sun was shining bright in the sky, and so was the heat rising. but, there was this thing going in my mind, that it was that moment of the journey, when we can officially say that we are half way through the trip. The distance between my Pondicherry hotel hotel to Madurai hotel was around 350 kms (around 5hrs journey).  While traveling this journey, I kept thinking about the journey so far. Thinking bout this also took a look at the beautiful landscapes of India which kept changing from time to time. You can also take a look on this. Though picture cant capture the beauty, it needs to be experienced to do so!

A toll plaza en route

The beautiful afternoon sky

The never ending roads

The ever changing demographics on Indian Highway. A bliss to ones eyes.

Every journey leaves a trail behind.

As the evening approaches, the sun bids us a golden farewell with a promise of showing up the next day.

The brilliant Indian Highways, and the ever changing terrains...can be only experience in India.

Looking outside all I could see was miles and miles of empty roads...and after few miles the changing terrains. Now, I would like to share this phenomena with you all, that during any religious festival in the Southern States, people tend to stay indoors, so be it roads or any place of interests. I would suggest you all to visit it during festival days. However, keep it during the day time, because as the skies turn dark, so does the crowd in these places.

As we nearing Madurai, the Sun was also packing it's bag to call it off for the day.

Continuing with the journey, we drove for 5 hrs at a stretch and by 6 ish we reached Madurai. Now, the place where we were supposedly be staying for the next couple of days, was at the other end of the city. By the time we checked into the hotel it was dark outside.

The empty roads in front of the hotel...and it was just 7 in the evening!

As I had mentioned earlier, that since we were visiting TN during the Navratri festival, this particular hotel was celebrating Navratri festival in their lobby. This was the ninth and the last day of the festival. And, incidentally it was the time for evening prayers, when we arrived there. We also joined the owner with the festivities. After an hour or so after the prayers got over, we decided to take a stroll outside, but surprisingly not a single shop was open, nor much transport was available either.

So I decided to laze around in the lobby and use the free wifi for sometime, for the next day's planning.

Navratri celebrations at the hotel lobby.

Since we were tired as we started the day early, so planned to call it off early as well. So asked the reception to look for some dinner, which they did some arrangements for. And here after a long time I tasted the famous Kerala Parotta. Meanwhile, I called back couple of my near and dear ones back at my place, only to know, that their Durga Puja celebrations has been washed out due to the continuous cyclonic downpour.

Another day of the trip comes to an end, which helped me unlock a new city in the journeys of my life. and as the word goes, "The more you explore, the more you know".

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Banjara_the nomadic

Southern Sojourn 1 - Les tour de Pondicherry

Soon it was morning. I woke up around 8-8.30, did all the morning chores, and went out, looking for a place to have breakfast. By the time I went out it was well past 9 in the morning, but still none of the shops were open. Moments later I came to know that it was a festival day, where the people worship all items of iron. Yes it was the Viswakarma Puja of South India. however, found an idli shop, and officially had idli, from where it actually belongs to. It was great, which was served with  many types of chutneys. After gorging on to the idli, we moved ahead straight to the french colonies, for visiting Shri Aurobindo Ashram. Some info on this Ashram.

The Sri Aurobindo Ashram is a well known and wealthy ashram in India, with devotees from India and all over the world flocking to it for spiritual salvation. Its spiritual tenets represent a synthesis of yoga and modern science. The Ashram was founded in 1926 by Sri Aurobindo Ghose, an Indian freedom fighter, poet, philosopher, and yogi.

Mirra Alfassa (also known as ‘The Mother’) was one of Aurobindo's followers, who was born in Paris and was so inspired by his philosophy that she stayed on in Pondicherry. After 24 November 1926, when Sri Aurobindo retired into seclusion, she founded his ashram. With Sri Aurobindo's full approval she became the leader of the community, a position she held until her death. The Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust,which she had registered after Sri Aurobindo's death in 1950 continues to look after the institution.

It is open to the public daily between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Children below 3 years of age are not allowed into the ashram and photography is allowed only with permission of the ashram authorities. Some of the ashram’s facilities like the Library and the Main Building (during collective meditation) can be accessed, only after obtaining a gate pass from the Bureau Central or some of the Ashram Guest Houses.It is located on Rue De La Marine. (Rue means Street in French). Now in the heritage part of the town, all the streets are named in French.

The Sri Aurobindo Ashram during the day time. Once you go inside the premises, there is feel of peace and serenity. You would be pulled to be in that place for a longer time because of the peaceful atmosphere inside the Ashram.

By the time darshan and visiting The Sri Aurobindo Ashram was over, it was around 11am. And the heat of the sun was making walking along the heritage area uncomfortable. It is advisable, to carry an umbrella or hat, and glares are must. Also carry enough of fluids.

Thanks to the shaded paths in the French colony, there was some comfort in walking that stretch. Here is how the colony looked during the day time.

Snaps of the French Colonies on Rue de la Marine...

 Continuing with the walk came across this yellow mansion, which was tightly guarded.

Consulat General de France

I was wondering what is it all about so much security for this house. Only moments later came to know the reason.

Soon enough came to know, that this was the French Consulate, situated at Rue de la Compagnie. 

This is the entire mansion of the French Consulate from the beach promenade. Isn't it huge!!

Within few minutes, we came on the beach promenade. It is very beautifully maintained. The Promenade in the main town Puducherry is one of the most popular tourist attractions of the Union Territory.

Some streetscapings on Goulbert Avenue. It's the name of the road, which runs parallel to the coastline.

Establishments on Goulbert Avenue.

The War Memorial

The War Memorial. It was built in 1971. Every year on 14 July (Bastille Day) the memorial is beautifully illuminated and homage is paid to those brave martyrs. Btw, Pondy is a litter free city.

 The Goulbert Avenue, along with the beach promenade.

The granite pillars of Gandhi statue.

The Promenade Beach, also known locally as the Rocky Beach.

After this we planned to return back to our hotel as it was now getting very hot, and roaming in that heat was becoming tough, however, the humidity was less that day. Now, while returning I remembered that the hotel guy suggested us to visit The Église de Notre Dame des Anges which means The Church of Our Lady of Angels in English. So took an auto ride for this. It was not so far though.


The Église de Notre Dame des Anges (The Church of Our Lady of Angels), in Rue Dumas, is notable for its masonry – which uses the finest of limestone mixed with white of the egg – making for a texture identical to that of white marble. It is modeled on the Basilica at Lourdes, in southern France.The imposing façade presents paired Doric columns below and ionic above. In front of the church is a statue of Our Lady with the infant Jesus in her arms. The interior design consists of eight barrel vaults and a central dome pierced with eight circular openings.

The Église de Notre Dame des Anges from outside.

After getting down in front of the Church, went inside this church. It was really beautiful inside the cathedral. Here are some pics.

The Altar.

The prayer area.

The Promenade and Rue Dumas from the portico of the Church.

As were running short of time, so didn't stay in the church for long. By the time we left the church, the hotel guy gave a call to inform the details regarding the car, and also that we just had 1hr in hand, which means we are going to miss some sites in the city, including the famous Auroville. Auroville (City of Dawn) is an experimental township which is situated 8 km north-west of Pondicherry in East Coast Road. It was founded in 1968 by Mirra Richard (also known as The Mother). It is also a part of the Aurobindo Ashram Trust.


However en route, We took a glimpse of Bharathi Park and the Raj Bhawan, here known as Raj Niwas.

Bharathi park from outside.

The compound wall of Raj Niwas.

 

 

 

 

 

After this we returned back at our hotel, got freshened up, and then checked out. By the time we checked out of the hotel, the car did arrive, so loaded all the luggage in the car. The journey to Madurai would be pretty long, so it was advised to us to have our lunch before leaving. Did so, and before boarding the car, bought a bottle of the water from a near by departmental store. all these caused us a delay of further 1hr! So Around 3 we set ahead for our next destination, Madurai.

We said au revoir to Pondicherry, and moved ahead for a long ride till Madurai. What happens next? How was the journey? To know all these look out for my next post. Till that time, keep reading!

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Banjara_the nomadic

Southern Sojourn 1 - Welcome to the French Quarters (Accueillir les Quartiers Français)

So here we are at Pondicherry, also known Puducherry. However the locals call it as Pondy. It is a Union Territory of India formed out of four enclaves of former French India and named after the largest, Pondicherry.The French acquired Puducherry in 1674 and held control, with occasional interruption from the British and Dutch, until 1954 (de jure in 1956), when it was incorporated into the Indian Union along with the rest of French India.On November 1, 1954 Pondicherry got its independence from French rule. There is a community of French people in Pondicherry and a number of French institutions such as a consulate, the French Institute, and L'Alliance Française.

Pondicherry is a popular tourist destination in South India. The city has many colonial buildings, churches, temples, and statues which, combined with the systematic town planning and planned French style avenues, still preserve much of the colonial ambiance.It is a city, an urban agglomeration and a municipality in Pondicherry district in the Indian union territory of Puducherry.  Pondy is famous across the country for its education, and it has some of the best educational institutes and universities.

Around evening we reached at Pondy and after a little searching we found our hotel. It was on Nehru St.

This was the hotel, where we staying for the night. This was a b&b hotel (as on various internet sites), but sadly, there was no breakfast offered. However, they had free WiFi. This hotel is good, and they do have a restaurant of their own, which serves veg and non veg delicacies. The owner of the hotel is an Italian man, and the hotel has its own brewery. 

 The road in front of the hotel.

After checking in to the hotel, took some rest and got freshened up and went out to explore the place. Since it was long that I had my lunch, so i was feeling a bit hungry. So looked around, and sighted a Domino's just few blocks away, so took a walk till Domino's and ordered for a personal cheese burst pizza. Soon it was served and sooner the pizza was gulped down. As the hotel was in walking distance from the heritage part of the city, so thought of exploring the town on foot. 

As it is a tourist place, and a large amount of foreign tourist do visit this place. One can hire bikes in Pondy, mostly Dio and Bullet 350 is what they offer. The Downtown area is very well maintained, and the locals are always looking for trapping. Yes, there are tourist traps, and one might even unknowingly fall into it.

Anyways, lets continue with the walk, and here is a view of the areas around the downtown area.

The areas around the hotel.

The main shopping street of Pondy is MG Road, where one can find almost all the brands.

Pondy is where the designer brand Hidesign started its business from, and so here they have their largest outlet, and also very niche.

By now it was evening, and the heritage evening walk which I was taking made me explore few attractions of the town. Now this is not CCU, where you can find a pan wala, giving directions instead of Gmaps/GPS. So here my only way out was the GPS of my phone, and Gmaps at times do give wrong directions.The best part about these small towns are that, here you don't have to listen to the cacophony, which keep on annoying in big cities. "Ek alag si sukoon milti hai doston, jo likhke batayi nahi ja sakti", one needs to feel it. Moving ahead enjoying the walk, and embracing the silence and melancholy of the evening, I landed up in the French Quarters. And the first thing that caught my attention was a temple named Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple. Here's a pic of the temple, however clicking inside the temple is strictly prohibited.

The elephant seen in the pic is actually worshiped. It's name is Laxmi. The Temple was in existence before the French came. It has a golden spire and walls portraying forty different forms of Ganesha. The next was "Mahanavami" of Navratri festival. Was feeling a bit left out, as back home it means everyone is out on roads, to darshan various Durga pandals and idols. Honestly I was missing it. Though there is a sizable number of Bengali population in Pondy, but no one seemed to be celebrating their biggest festival.

Continuing with the walk, came on the french colony. Now something about the french colonies. All the quarters in the french colony are uniformly painted in grey and white shades. Also the streets out here are written as Rue (that's street in French). Since, it was well past 8pm, so the roads were deserted, rather the french colony looked like a sleepy town. Still did some photo-shoots, however, i was not satisfied, and also had to visit the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, which was closed by that time. Here are the evening trip pics.

Sri Aurobindo Ashram during night time. By the time I reached the spot it was closed. So decided to check it out the next morning.

After this, went back to the hotel, as for the onward journey to our next destination, we needed to book a car. As I had told you earlier, that there are tourist traps, in the city. So, first I approached the hotel staff, who did quote a price, but it seemed a little high for me, so went out and thought of trying. Now here comes the tourist trap. Most of the shops were closed by now, except this one, which was also planning to pull down it's shutter. Seeing a tourist, a tout from out of the blue came out to deal with. Here is how the convo took place. This guy was multi lingual though toota foota.

Tout: Yes sir...

Me: Hindi aata?

Tout: Haan aati (with lots of Tamil accent off-course)

Me: Mujhe gari chahiye, Madurai jayega, milegi?

The tout nodded in affirmation and took me to another shop, a bit far from that spot. This was the tourist trap, and yes I even got into it.

Me:Kahan le ja rahe ho?

Tout:Kahin nahin, yeh mera dukan hai!!

Me: (in mind) WTF!!!

He took me inside a shop, where there was another man. This guy pretended to be knowing only Tamil. So, whatever convos took place was between the owner and the tout in Tamil, and then the tout would translate it to me in Hindi. So here's what he had to say.

Tout: Gari milega, per km 20rs plus petrol plus toll plus return plus driver bata and one time meal.

Me: (in mind) Beta tu toh ban gaya c*****a! As I had already a quote from the hotel guy, which was 15rs per km plus toll plus return!

The tout was insisting in confirming then and there, with a token deposit. But I avoided him telling that I would be confirming the next morning. He told me to give my mobile number, name and hotel's name. I gave wrong mobile number and hotel's name. Ab naam se ghanta dhund payega!!

Went back to the hotel and told the hotel guy to confirm the car. Once done, we went for dinner at the attached restaurant. The food was good out there. While having dinner, whatsapp'd back home only to know

that cyclone Phailin has struck, and it was raining cats and dogs. So, night pandal hopping pe pani fir gaya!! Chatted on whatsapp for some more time, and then called it a night. As i was tired by the traveling and visiting various sites, I was dog tired, so quickly I went into deep slumber.

What happens next? To know about that, just have an eye on this blog for my next post. Till then keep reading!

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Banjara_the nomadic