Ennamo Vagaiyay Varuguthu Maane

"Three minutes." our tour agent was pretty straightforward, looking at me in between counting the people hurrying into the bus. "You'll have to ask a hotel or something, or do it on the side of the road."  Public toilets are not a thing in this part of the world, and at -2 degrees centigrade in the middle of a mini blizzard, I wasn't about to complain.  Manali is perhaps the most lively town in the Beas river valley. The buses that brought us from Bhuntar were too wide for the city streets leading to our hotel on Mall Road. We had to get down outside the city and transfer to these small 10-seater vans. Hurrying through the snow, I made my way into the parking lot of a hotel. Hotel Neelam . The area was slippery from all the water and hailstones. I carefully tied my new hiking shoes, which I had gotten for cheap from Kasol, and gently walked inside. 'Sa'ab, may I use your restroom? '  He motioned to the door. Without saying thank you, I rushed to ...

We overslept a bit. We were supposed to be up at 4:30am and to watch the day's first sunlight from inside the temple. By the time I came to, it was 5:30 already and my friends were all fast asleep. We woke up one by one and got ready by around 6:45. The huge Rajagopuram is visible in this picture I took. Hurrying to the temple, we saw the magnificent icon of Garuda first, flanked by murtis of Angada and Sugreeva. This huge Garuda is in a sitting position with his palms anjalibandham . The idol is always wrapped in a white dhoti from the waist down. We then proceeded inwards to receive Namperumal's darshanam. Passing through the many prakarams of the temple, we finally saw Namperumal in the company of his consorts, Lakshmi Devi and Bhumi Devi. They are a sight to behold. The legend of Srirangam Stepping outside the Gayatri Mandapam, we worshipped the vimanam , itself called the 'Ikshvaku Kula Dhanam'. The Rangavimanam  was the vehicle in which Narayana appeared to Brahm...

The train that we were on, the Tiruchendur-Chennai Superfast, pulled into Chidambaram station at the break of dawn. Our second-class compartment was mostly empty by then. Walking around the town of Chidambaram, we asked a shop about a place where we could freshen up. The man directed us to a lodge. The place he recommended declined us, but empathetically directed us to another. We booked a room there for around two hours to shower and get ready. Sannidhis in the Nataraja Temple  From there we headed straight to the south gopuram of the grand temple. Adorning the inner walls of this gate were reliefs depicting Indian dance. Thillai Chidambaram is Natarajar, the lord of the dance. We left our bags and footwear outside and walked in. Seeing the vimanas of the grand sabhas as soon as we walked in was a profoundly spiritual experience. We first worshipped Dakshinamurti , whose sannidhi is immediately in front of the south gopuram. Dakshinamurti is a bhāvam of Shiva representing wisdom a...

My friends Neeraj Menon, Siddharth S Jayan, Ashwin Pavithran and Basil Joshua Reji began a tour of various temples in Tamil Nadu today. Our journey began at Thiruvananthapuram North station, where we boarded the Kollam-Kanyakumari MEMU to Kanyakumari Terminus. The railway line south of Thiruvananthapuram is incredibly scenic.  The fields where Kalliyankattu Neeli once roamed. Taken around Nagercoil town station. The beach in Kanyakumari is a mere fifteen minute walk from the railway station. We successfully evaded auto drivers and walked to the beach. There, we changed into our bathing suits and went swimming in the meeting of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The water in Kanyakumari is always a bright blue colour. The high tide today made for great swimming. No pictures, sadly, as all of us were in the sea together. Kanyakumari This bath was a purification ritual for us before our worship at the temple of Kanyakumari Amman on the seashore. This is an ancient temple in the Ta...