Life at Kanyakumari.. Day 1

January 13, 2010

Kanyakumari is a great place. I'm in love with it.. It is a Love at first sight. I always love the sea, so, after a train journey of around 45 hours & 2135 km it was a great relief to see the sea.

Like any other small towns in India, Kanyakumari is a quiet place. But one can find ALL of India here. It's a sacred place for pilgrims & a beautiful destination for the tourists. People from different parts of India, from world come here. And that has created a unique mix.

We were too tired when we got down from d station, but cool sea-breezes and the excitement of finally being in here.. made all d difference. Our hotel is just by the sea-shore, and we can constantly listen to the Bay of Bengal.:) we had to rush a little though to visit the Vivekananda Rock & Thiruvallur Statue.

We took a Ferry from The Jetty, and went to the Vivekananda rock which is just minutes away from the shore.

Swami Vivekananda visited Kanyakumari in December 1892. He did Dhyanam- meditation- at the rock for 3 days & 3 nights. It's during that Dhyanam, he got the enlightenment and rest is history.
Today, a memorial stands at the rock, devoted to Vivekananda. Today, a memorial stands at the rock, devoted to Vivekananda.

It is the same rock where Kanya Devi, an incarnation of Goddess, Parvathi stood on one leg and did 'tapasya'. Her footprint is still visible here. They've built a mandapam- temple- over it.






As an admirer of Vivekananda, I was so desperate to visit the rock! The small island looks great in picture and it's much more amazing in reality.. The whole structure on the rock is the beauty of perfection. I would have spent years here..
We also visited the Thiruvallur statue. It's around 40 m high and was completed in 2000. Thiruvallur was a great saint and poet of Tamil Nadu. His ethics inspired generations of Tamilians.

We then visited other places like Gandhi Mandapam, and then went to Kanya Kumari Temple. Devi Kanya wanted to get married to Lord Shiv, who lived in Himalaya. He agreed to marry but he'd have to reach the sea before dawn. And there is the twist in the tale. By a prophesy, Kanya devi was supposed to kill a Monster who was troubling mankind. But she could kill him only if she was a virgin. So Narada Muni- a rishi- conspire to stop Shiv from marrying Kanya. Shiv couldn't reach the wedding ceremony & so Kanya remained 'Kumari' forever. That's how the place got it's name.

one remarkable thing about the town is it wakes up early with the Sun and everything is closed by 10pm in the night. That's why I couldn't write anything last night..