Thiruporur Visit by Mr.Jayakumar

Dear All,

Yesterday morning I suddenly planned to go to Tiruporur Temple without any preplanning very ancient one along with Sushila, her sister saraswathi,her daughter Hemamalini and her brother Kamalakkannan .

 

We carried curd rice, Tamarind rice, potato chips hurriedly prepared in an hour but very tasty.

We left at 8-00 a.m. at very peak traffic towards O.M.R.route where most of software cos situated in office hours with bumper to bumper traffic in my dear favourite car Premier Padmini steering myself.

 

We reached after two hrs travelling speed not more than 40 km as we cannot drive more than 40 to 50 km..Sushilas car Tata Indica petrol had breathing difficulty though Dineshs Skoda Laura and Volks Polo available,

 

I still preferred Premier Padmini a sturdy car dependable roomy, with comfortable front bench seat with steering gear without the the interuption of usual Ball gear in the centre and two persons can sit in the front with comfortable elevated cushioned seats compared to present day cars sunken seats low visibility .with only person in the front seat however the car is big.

 

On our way we had breakfast at Semmenchery near Tiruporur at Hotel Kohinoor Asiana Five star category and took Idly,Vadai and Coffee and the whopping bill came to rs 2800/ including tips. -

 

The hotel staff and watchman,security men at the hotel were dumbstruck to see our vintage car parked along with modern posh cars and gave us special reception, .car had attracted them to give us special welcome.

 

Added to that recently a film by name Panniarum Padminium was released fiat being green colour and mine too is green. and enroute all persons gazed and cheered us saying Panniyar car Padmini ( means Land lord in villages ) )

 

I did not see any Premier Padmini car enroute or in workshop. during my journey lasting more than 8 hrs covering 150 km visiting all temples nearby .I do know many cars were scrapped more than 5000 according to scrap dealers due to demand in Bombay for the past few years for spare parts. Fiat being used as Taxies and now that too facing extinction the taxiwallaws switching over to latest cars.

I did not switch A.C. or Music and mostly avoided honking. completely silence was maintained including noiseless smooth engine running, without any rattling sound from the body.

 

The climate in chennai yesterday was very cool and natural breeze came in door glasses were open..

Hope all of you enjoyed and read the above short real story for a change for a while, away from your routine busy office work and life.

 

Also immates in the car never felt Tension, anxiety, worry,stress , maintained ,smooth B.P..level normalcy and so on reason being they are safe in the hands of driver jayakumar of more than 60 years safe driving experience

With best wishes from

Wellness wisher Happiness and Health

Jayakumar

Rajasthan Kaawad Bachana

The little-known art form from Rajasthan ‘Kaawad bachana’ is an amazing blend of picture painting, singing and narration of mystical tales.

What a paradox it is in the face of reality shows and daily soaps that have invaded our homes, making traditional art forms like drama, Hari Katha more or less redundant; there is yet another belt in this very land of ours, which lives by its ancient culture alone! If India has an identity to boast of, well, it is the sand dunes of Rajasthan where antique crafts, culture and colours call for attention and appreciation.

Totally oblivious to the humungous wave of globalisation that has devoured our urban, and to an extent rural, civilisation, the ‘Kaawad’ a portable sanctum, makes its way through the villages of Jodhpur district entertaining people with its story-tellers.

What is the Kaawad?

The quaint Kaawad resembles a temple structure carved out of wood with many apertures that open like the doors of a temple and get neatly folded up within the layers of one another. The vintage shrine is painted in bright colours with mythological characters that tell a story within the pictures as each door is unfastened. Atop this temple like structure — which also looks like an almirah for those of us who have no inkling of this curio — is placed a painted face of either the Sun god (Surya) or the patron (a landlord or rajah) which is really big when compared to the other pictures painted on the Kaawad. The doors are supposed to lead to chambers of the sanctum and there can be any number of them from ten to 20. The Kaawad can be anywhere around one foot to three feet and is carried around by mobile narrators called Kaawadiya.

Part of legacy

“We acquire the skill to present the story tuned to folk raga as a parampara (legacy). We are poor people who earn a living by this and since this doesn’t suffice, we work on our land to make both ends meet,” says Pappu Ram who has just returned from a ‘Kaawad bachana’ (Vachan or story-telling through Kaawad).

How does he tell the story and are there listeners around in these days of television and laptops?

“We are nomadic and the entire family moves into a village where we stay for two to three weeks, sometimes a month, giving performances at nearby villages. We are a troupe of four Kaawadiyas. We narrate the story of Pandavas, Ramayana, the story of mother goddess, story of Thakurji (Krishna), our local deity Bhomiyaji Maharaj and so on. It is mandatory that our opening statement reveal our genealogy and then we launch into the narration which takes hours. Each door of the Kaawad is opened to the audience and the story told as per the scenes on that door. The narration is continued by my teammate just in case I get exhausted. We go from door to door and since we are expected, donation in kind or cash flows as a matter of fact. We don’t beg; we showcase our ancestral art form. The earnings from Kaawad bachana is meager though at times, the chief patron of the area is generous with a lumpsum,” explains an enthusiastic Pappu Ram, of Bhopalgarh hamlet in Jodhpur.

Parents’ curse

Speaking for his clan which is referred to as ‘Kaawadiya Bhat’, Pappu Ram traces the Kaawadiya ancestry to the mythological character ‘Shravan’ a young boy with blind parents who is accidentally killed by King Dasaratha’s (Ramayana) arrow while he was carrying his parents in a ‘kaawadi’ strung to his shoulder. A curse by the parents who have lost their only support of a son, results in Dasaratha’s separation from his own son Rama. “We are the descendants of Shravan,” he concludes.

Narsi Ram, another Kaawad Bhat says, “We are touring troupes who go out of our native village taking the Kaawad along with us to whoever invites us. Generally we camp at a village and begin story-telling tuned to different raag (folk), collect our earnings and get back. Since we travel by foot, each visit takes a month. And in a year, we are bound to travel two to three times. We begin with an elaboration of the raag, then read our ancestry and dedicate the programme to our hereditary patron, the ‘jajmaan’ and then read the Kaawad. Originally this tradition of story-telling through interpretation of the pictures was on a cloth. Since the cloth paintings get worn and torn with inclement weather conditions, our forefathers shifted to wooden shrines. Carrying these can be irksome but then we get used to the inconvenience. At times we buy the shrines on order from the Suthar but generally they are gifted to us by people,” he details humbly.

Since the Kaavadiyas (storytellers) and their jajmans (hereditary patrons) consider the Kaavad as a sacred shrine, certain rituals are mandatory including donations for the livelihood of the narrator. Essentially a rustic tradition, there is a belief that listening to the stories, while watching the painted pictures purifies the soul and cleanses one of impure thoughts. A synergy exists between the Kaawad maker, the Kaawadiya and the patron which has kept the tradition alive.

The Kaavadiya is nearly a 400 year-old- rustic art form which, like several other oral traditions traces its origin to mythology, Despite the invasion of television into rural homes and computer literacy at the doorstep even at village level, the Kaawad culture is popular still both with the audience as well as the performer. “Though our children are getting educated, we will not give up on this ancient divine art form,” says Pappu Ram with conviction. Here is a confluence of aesthetics of picture painting, singing and narration making for a wholesome treat.

Sri Ranganathan Temple - Sri Rangapatna

SriRangapatna - AMBLEE Resort

Lord Shiva - The Lord of the Five Elements

Lord Shiva is considered as the lord of the five elements:
For each element there are temples in Tamilnadu.
I have visited all these temples in my life
They are
1.Ekambaranathar Temple at Kancheepuram - Element of Earth
2.Jambukeeshwar Temple at Thiruvanaikaval - Water Element
3.Lord Natrajar at Chidambaram - Space element
4.Lord Annamalaiyar /Arunachaleeshwar at Thiruvanamalai - Fire Element
5.Lord Kalaththinadar at Kalahasthi - Element of Air

Thiruporur - Kandaswamy Temple

I visited the Thiruporur Temple in OMR road today.
It is 40 Kms away from Chennai.
I went along with my Dad , Hubby , and my two sons  -  Mehul and Nirek


Details about  Thiruporur Temple :
The presiding deity is Lord Kandaswamy with his consorts. He is a Swayambu Murthi.
The image was discovered by Swamy Chidambaram Swamigal.
Later the temple was governed by his descendants and reached its present glory.


There are many mythological stories associated with the Temple:
1. Legend has it that Lord Muruga fought with Thaaraga in this place and slayed him. Hence the name Porur. 'Por' in Tamil means war.

2. According to the Sthalapurana, Lord Muruga with his consorts Valli and Devayanai granted protection to devas and explained the meaning of Pranava to Agastya Muni at this place. 

3. Lord Vishnu and his consort Lakshmi were subjected to the curse of Kanva rishi. Lord Shiva came to this place to liberate and relieve them from the effect of the curse. 
Therefore at Tirupporur temple both Lord Shiva and his son Muruga are worshiped. 
This shrine is indeed very special for Lord Shiva as He lives along with His family in this shrine. 
Lord Shiva is called as Vanmeega Nathar and the Goddess is Punniyakaarani. 


The Vanni Maram or the Holy Tree of the Temple:
The holy tree of this place is the Vanni tree. Pictures depicting the life of Chidambaram Swamigal can be seen in the temple.
When Lord Muruga's spear pierced the earth, water came gushing out and that is the 'Vallaiyaar odai', the holy tank. "


Information Zone :
The temple looked vast with a  tall Gopuram. There was a large pond before the temple. 
I bought a Archanai set for Rs. 30 and a Sampankee Garland for Rs.70 .
The Archanai ticket was Rs.5  
There was Special entrance ticket of Rs.10. 
There is a separate place for head tonsures.
My two sons had a head tonsure this morning in the temple.
For tonsuring  I paid Rs.100 as service charge to the barber.
The tonsuring charges are not quoted.
You can pay the barber how much ever you wish. 
Remember to carry a mug along with you. 
You will be needing it while taking bath in the temple pond after the hair shave.
The steps to the pond is very slippery . 
There was a warning board near it in Tamil. (see the picture below)


NOTE : And one main thing to add , since it was a Sunday , the Archanai was done only for the Urchavar diety.The Archanai will not be done to the Moolavar on Sundays and Tuesdays , or on the tamil star days like Bharani and Krithigai said the temple poojari. The archanai will be done only to the Urchavar on that day and not for the Moolavar.

Temple Timings 

Morning : 6A.M to 11.30A.M

Evening : 3.30P.M. to 8.30PM

Landline : 044 - 27446226

Puri Jaganath - Orissa

We started our journey from Chennai.We reached Khurdha road .From Khurdha road , we left to Puri .We stayed in OTDC hotel "PanthanNivas".We stayed there for a night.That night we visited Puri Jaganath temple.The next day we had a camel ride in the Puri beach.The Jaganath temple was very beautiful.The carvings and paintings were indeed lovely.Jagannath Puri Dham  is situated on the sea shore of the Bay of Bengal in the State of Orissa (India). It is one of thefour Holy Kshetras of India including temples at Rameshwaram, Dwaraka, Badrinath and Puri.
Puri is famous for its Historic antiquities ,Religious sanctuaries , Architectural Grandeur , Sea-scape beauty,and moderate climate.It boasts of a continuous history from the 3rd Century B.C. to the present day and its unique monuments like those of Sri jaganath at Puri , the Sun Temple at Konark are the famous in the world. It has the Chilika lake  , one of the largest  brackish water lakes in India, that holds a picturesque Sea-Scape  beauty.

Caution:
At the Puri Jaganath temple ,  we were cheated by a Pandit.

Since there was a heavy crowd to have the  Darshan.The Pandit used the opportunity and told us that he would take us with ease  ,if we pay him 100 Rupees.And we did.But he did not take us with ease.Instead we got stuck in a stampede and I had to push my way out to protect my kids , who were being crushed..

DhanushKodi

Dhanushkodi or Danushkodi (Tamil : தனுஷ்கோடி) is a town/village at the southern tip of the Rameswaram island, at the eastern coast of the Tamil Nadu state of India.
Dhanushkodi is situated in the South-East of Pamban. Danushkodi is about 18 miles (29 km) West of Talaimannar in Sri Lanka. The Dhanushkodi railway line running from Pamban Station was destroyed in the 1964 cyclone and a passenger train with over 100 passengers drowned in the sea.Dhanushkodi has the only land border between India and Sri Lanka which is one of the smallest in the world-just 50 yards in length on a shoal in Palk Strait.
Since Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) is just 19 miles (31 km) away, there were many ferry services between Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar of Ceylon, transporting travellers and goods across the sea. There were hotels, textile shops and dharmashalas catering to these pilgrims and travellers. The Railway line to Dhanushkodi–which did not touch Rameshwaram then and destroyed in the 1964 cyclone-went directly from Mandapam to Dhanushkodi. Dhanushkodi in those days had a railway station, a small railway hospital, a higher secondary school, a post office, customs and port offices etc. It was here in this island in January 1897, Swami Vivekananda after his triumphant visit to the west to attend parliament of religions held in USA in September 1893, set his foot on Indian soil from Columbo
Before the 1964 storm, there was a train service up to Dhanushkodi called Boat Mail from Madras Egmore (Now Chennai Egmore) and the train linked to a steamer for ferrying travellers to Ceylon.
On that fateful night (December 22) at 23.55 hours while entering Dhanushkodi railway station, the train No.653, Pamban-Dhanushkodi Passenger, a daily regular service which left Pamban with 110 passengers and 5 railway staff, was only few yards before Dhanushkodi Railway station when it was hit by a massive tidal wave. The whole train was washed away killing all 115 on board. All together over 1800 people died in the cyclonic storm. All dwelling houses and other structures in Dhanushkodi were marooned in the storm . The high tidal waves moved almost 10 kilometres onto this island and ruined the entire town. Pamban bridge was also washed away by the high tidal waves in this disaster. Eyewitness accounts recollected of how the surging waters stopped just short of the main temple at Rameshwaram where hundreds of people had taken refuge from the fury of the storm. Following this disaster, the Government of Madras declared the town as Ghost town and unfit for living after the storm.Only few fisherfolks now live there.Even though there was a railway line between Pamban and Dhanushkodi and a passenger train used to ply regularly, after the storm the tracks were damaged and in course of time, were covered by sand dunes and hence had to be abandoned. One has to reach Dhanushkodi either on foot along sea shore on the sand dunes or in jeeps and in tempos of fishermen.

A EXCAVATION IN RAMESWARAM STATION

Enchanting Rameshwaram

Rameswaram (Tamil: இராமேஸ்வரம், is a town in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on Pamban Island separated from mainland India by the Pamban channel and is about 50 kilometres from Mannar Island, Sri Lanka. Pamban Island, also known as Rameswaram Island, is connected to mainland India by the Pamban Bridge.Together with Kashi, it is considered to be one of the holiest places in India to Hindus, and part of the Char Dham pilgrimages. Hence, it is a bustling pilgrim centre.
It is situated in the Gulf of Mannar at the very tip of the Indian peninsula. According to legend, this is the place from where Lord Rama built a bridge Ram Setu (also known as Adam's Bridge) across the sea to Lanka to rescue his consort Sita from her abductor Ravana. Both the Vaishnavites and Shaivites visit this pilgrimage centre which is known as the Varanasi of the south.
Ex-president of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, hails from a fishing hamlet called Dhanushkodi situated on this island.