Madurai-Rameshwaram

January 16, 2010

Madurai.. The city of temples.. Athens of the East... Far different than the small town of Kanyakumari.

Late last night, we reached Madurai after a 5 hours journey by train. Our driver was ready at the station and this is another remarkable thing I observed here- time punctuality.

Madurai is the oldest inhibited city of the world. It is famous for the Meenakshi Temple, a marvel of engineering. But our day started with a visit to Rameshwaram.
Rameshwaram means the God of Rama. According to Ramayana, lord Rama worshiped Shiv before marching forward to lanka to kill the demonous king Ravana. The legend says that Vanarsena (army of monkeys) who helped Rama, constructed a bridge-Setu Bandha or Ramasetu over sea and reached the island of Lanka.

Rameshwaram is a small island connected to India by the Pumban Bridge- the original sea-link.

There are many places of mythological and historical significance in Rameshwaram. But it was so crowded! All Ayyappa's devotees had gathered there. To be true, we are travelling at the wrong time, but this tour was planned as per the eclipse. Anyways, We first went to The Rameshwaram or Ramanathswami temple, a sacred place for the devotees. There were huge queues.. So we didn't go to the garbhabriha. My aunt was a little disappointed by this, but we were running out of time.

On our way we also passed the place where Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalaam grew up... I was thrilled!

Ramarpadam is where one can see the footprint of Lord Rama. It's in a small shrine on a hill, which also serves as a watch-tower. This place was a lot quieter than the Rameshwara temple.

Sita-Kundam, Hanuman kundam,etc are all bathing ghats, I avoided going there because of huge crowds. and I avoid to comment on this superstition that a bath in the holy water will cleans your sins.

Instead, we spent some time in the Panchamukhi (five-faced) Hanuman shrine. And the main attraction here are the floating stones which were used to build the Ramsetu.! It is a mystery to me why these stones float? may be they are made of some lighter components? I don't know if anyone has done any research on these stones.

I learnt an amazing story here. In the shrine, there are beautiful Golden idols of Ram, Sita, Laxman and Hanuman. Originally these idols were in a temple in Dhanushkodi, around 20 kms away. In 1964-65, a tsunami caused by cyclonic storm hit the island and a train on Pamban bridge was immediately submerged, killing all the passengers. The tidal wave also washed away the village of Dhanushkodi. It was a great disaster and signs of it are evident on the island. after the storm, the idols were recovered from sea and the stones were discovered during that expedition.

Incidentally, our next stop was Dhanushkodi. It's the far end of the island and a place near the Sri Lanka border. But all vehicles can't go there as the road ends at around 7 kms from Rameshwaram. Our driver drove us to the end of the road, it's a two-lane rout surrounded by the sea on both sides. what to do next? We had no idea. There is a naval office here, which was closed because of lunchtime. There was nobody who could guide us. I so wanted to go to Dhanushkodi, which is a ghost town now... But we had to reach back in time. May be, next time I'll get to see it...

Our last stop was the Meenakshi Mandir. Here, again there was a flood of people who came to worship. We were more intertested in the Thousand Pillars wall. The entrance of the hall is decorated with several idols- deities playing different instrument. There are musical pillars which when knocked in a specific way, you can produce music. The archaeology department has put barricade in front of them, so you can't knock on them.. The hall today houses the temple art museum. There is a huge idol of Nataraja in the middle of the hall. Here, lord Shiv the deity associated with music, performed a special dance, as per the legend. Meenakshi Mandir has four entrances & on each one of them, there is a gopuram, decorated with thousands of carvings in stone.

As I walked through the corridors, I realised, my stay in South is almost over. But south will always remain in my heart...

This is it...

January 15, 2010

I was waiting for ten years to see this moment... The biggest Annular Solar eclipse of the millennium... I am glad I could see it from Kanyakumari.

Today, I got up in the morning, the Sun was just rising . The bay looked calm and wore a shining blue-grey. I stood there for some time & took pictures...

There was a thick cloud cover near east horizon. (Seems like clouds and rain follow me whenever I go..) Clouds do add some excitement to the eclipse, but still I was worried a bit. Then as the Sun came up sky got cleaner.

We went to the Idli Shop for breakfast. South India is famous for the food, and I'm enjoying it for three days. As we went to the market area, I noticed that the crowd has increased by hundreds & thousands. There were devotees of Ayyappa all over the place & too much of crowd makes me feel strange. I then went to Vivekananda Puram. They work to carry forward the mission of Swami Vivekananda, & spread the message of ancient India to the mankind. A building there exhibits the photographs of the 'Wondering Monk'. I was so thrilled by reading through it! Also, many people have specially come there to experience the eclipse. many of them were from Mumbai, same place as me.. We all discussed about the eclipse.
I came back to hotel as, that was the perfect place to watch the eclipse- high terrace and open sea..

So we all went upstairs, many others have already gathered there. We waited, we waited and we saw it! The perfect ring.. the Ring of Fire.. words fall short to describe what I felt! It was just amazing.. I even got a call from office and I reported on the eclipse through phono.
When the eclipse ended, all devotees started for the sea to take a bath. There are so many superstitions & rituals surrounding eclipse. Most of them are baseless. This has always created a debate among rationalists & conservative people.

I think one must not forget the difference between beliefs and superstitions. I was told by an astrologer not to see this eclipse, but I would have missed this lifetime experience if I had feared after his prediction. So far nothing has happened to me. But this debate too, is useless. And not so productive.

Anyways, the eclipse have brought the two poles together- the scientific community & religious and that's a miracle on the earth.. Feeling of oneness despite all the differences....

याचसाठी केला होता अट्टाहास...

कन्याकुमारी. भारताच्या मुख्य भूमीचं सर्वात शेवटचं टोक. पुढे अथांग सागर.. तीन समुद्रांचा संगम, कन्यादेवीचं मंदिर, पुराणभूमी. स्वामी विवेकानंदांना जिथं प्रेरणा मिळाली, ती पवित्र भूमी कन्याकुमारी... आज मात्र हे छोटंसं गाव माणसांनी अगदी फुलून गेलं होतं. तसं एक तीर्थक्षेत्र म्हणून इथं नेहमीच गर्दी असते. आजही इथं जणू कुंभमेळाच भरला होता. पण एरवी सागराकडे खिळणा-या नजरा आज आकाशाकडे वळल्या होत्या. कंकणाकृती सूर्यग्रहण पाहण्यासाठी.
लहानपणी भूगोलात या अनोख्या ग्रहणाविषयी वाचलं होतं. खग्रास आणि खंडग्रास ग्रहणं तर नेहमी होतात. पण कंकणाकृती ग्रहण खूपच कमी वेळा घडणारी गोष्ट. त्यामुळंच एकदातरी कंकणाकृती ग्रहण पहायचंच हे तेव्हाचं स्वप्न आता पूर्ण झालंय. तेवढ्यासाठीच वेळ काढून कन्याकुमारी गाठलं. ग्रहण तुला अशुभ आहे असं, अनेकांनी सांगितल्यावरही. दोन दिवस इथली होऊन राहिले. विवेकानंद रॉक, थिरुवल्लुर पुतळा, शुचीन्द्रम, पद्मनाभन पॅलेस असा फेर-फटकाही झाला. पंचागानुसार ग्रहणाचे वेध दोन तास आधी लागतात. पण मला तर दोन दिवस आधीपासूनच वेध लागले होते.

त्रिवेन्द्रम ते धनुष्कोडी-रामेश्वरम या पट्ट्यात ग्रहण सर्वात जास्त वेळ दिसणार होतं. म्हणूनच अख्ख्या भारतातून, नव्हे जगभरातून हजारो लोक दक्षिण तामीळ नाडूत दाखल झाले होते. (त्यातही मराठी माणसं मोठ्या संख्येनं आलेली, हे विशेष. मराठी विज्ञान परिषद, खगोल मंडळ आणि अनेक हौशी खगोलप्रेमी, तसंच शाळांचे विद्यार्थी, अय्यप्पाच्या यात्रेसाठी आलेले हजारो भाविक... त्या गर्दीत मीही एक. मुंबईत राहणारी असल्यानं गर्दी मला नवी नाही. पण इथं एक वेगळीच उर्जा वाहताना जाणवली. मग अय्यपांच्या भक्तांबरोबर केलेलं भजन असो, वा खगोलतज्ञांचं मार्गदर्शन. त्यातच पोंगल (मकर संक्रांती) असल्यानं सगळीकडे उत्सवाचं वातावरण.. आकाशात ढग जमा झाल्यानं ग्रहण दिसणार की नाही, अशी घालमेल आणि ग्रहणाच्या दिवशी तुरळक ढग वगळता आकाश अगदी स्वच्छ पाहून टाकलेला निश्वास..
आमचा सहा जणांचा छोटासा ग्रुप- मी, माझे २ भाऊ, आत्या आणि दोन आतेबहिणी, काही प्रोफेशनल फोटोग्राफर्स आणि खगोलप्रेमी कॅमेरे, सोलर फिल्टर्स, वगैरे सगळा जामानिमा समुद्र किनारी एका हॉटेलच्या टेरेसवर जमा झालो. एकीकडे पसरलेला बंगालचा उपसागर, समोर विवेकानंद रॉक आणि वर तळपणारा सूर्य. त्या सूर्याला पाहून म्हटलं, तुला रे काय ठावूक आज काय ड्रामा घडणार आहे? तो योग आम्हा पृथ्वीवासियांच्या भाग्यातच लिहिलेला.. (त्याच भाग्यवान माणसांपैकी एक, म्हणून माझी कॉलर ताठ झाली हं!)
कले-कलेनं सूर्य चंद्राआड झाकला गेला. तसं समुद्रपक्षी कावरे-बावरे होऊन सगळीकडे पाहू लागले. आकाश अंधारून गेलं आणि अखेर तो क्षण आला. आकाशातली कंकणाकृती पाहून नजर अगदी खिळून गेली. दोन दिवसांचा ट्रेनचा प्रवास, कन्याकुमारीतलं वास्तव्य, सगळ्याचं अगदी सार्थक झालं. सूर्याचं ते ग्रासित बिंब अजूनही डोळ्यांसमोर तरळतंय. सारखं वर पाहून मान दुखू लागली तेव्हाच आसपासच्या जगाची पुन्हा जाणीव झाली.
ग्रहण संपलं, आणि भाविक समुद्रात स्नानासाठी उतरले. आणि इथं गच्चीत चर्चा सुरू झाली, ग्रहणाशी संबंधित चालीरीतींवर. ग्रहणात स्नानानं पुण्य मिळतं, अशी समजूत, साहजिकच मला न पटणारी. पण शेवटी ज्याची त्याची श्रद्धा. शास्त्रज्ञसुद्धा त्यांच्या तत्त्वांवर- विज्ञानातल्या नियमांवर पूर्णपणे विश्वास ठेवतातच ना? तुम्ही आम्ही सामान्य माणसंसुद्धा त्याला अपवाद नाही. प्रत्येकाची कशावर तरी श्रद्धा असतेच. म्हणूनच विज्ञान की तत्त्वज्ञान की आमची श्रद्धा हा वादच व्यर्थ वाटला मला.
अर्थात, श्रद्धा आणि अंधश्रद्धा यांच्यात फरक असतो, आणि तोच फरक समजण्य़ाची कुवत विज्ञान देतं. बाकी पुण्य कमावण्यासाठी असो, वा केवळ विज्ञानावरच्या प्रेमापोटी. आम्ही जगाच्या वेगवेगळ्या भागातले, वेगवेगळ्या भाषा बोलणारे, वेगवेगळ्या जाती-धर्मांचे लोक, सारख्याच उत्सुकतेनं, कन्याकुमारीत एकत्र आलो. एका दुर्मीळ क्षणाचे साक्षीदार बनलोय. पृथ्वीवर घडलेला हा एक चमत्कारच, नाही का?
आकाशातले दोन गोल. आपापल्या वाटेवरून त्यांचा प्रवास चाललाय युगेयुगे. पण याच प्रवासात काही क्षण असे येतात जे तुम्हा-आम्हा पृथ्वीवासियांसाठी रोमांचक ठरतात. माझ्याही आठवणींमध्ये ते असेच कायमचे बंदिस्त झालेयत. शुभ-अशुभ अशा चिंता कशाला? ऐसे मौके बारबार नही आते..
(also posted on www.starmajha.com)

Life around Kanyakumari... Day 2

January 14 , 2010

Sorry guys! I couldn't post anything last night because of network problem. So, I've put my earlier post today..

It feels really so nice here! It's the eclipse day and I'm really really so excited!! Just few hours remain and I need to take some rest tonight. So I won't write much tonight.

January 14, 2010

It's the time of Makar Sankranti, the day when the Sun enters Into Makar Rashi (or the capricon). It's known as Pongal in Tamil Nadu. So, today was a day of celebrations. Every house is decorated with Rangoli and they cook special dishes like the Pongal rice.

We left from Kanyakumari in the morning, and visited the places on the outskirts of town.

The Shuchindram temple complex is a marvel of architecture and art. So many sculptures! Each one has a meaning.. The main feature - when you knock on the specific pillars of in the temple, they produce sounds of different musical instruments..! Every pillar is carved in a single piece of stone. And no, they're not moulded or sort.

we also visited Padmanabhapuram, a village which was once a capitat of Kings of Travancore. The kings' palace is made of wood and has exquisite art. Travancore kings had good relationship with China and it's also reflected in the Art. The wooden place covers an area of 6.5 acres. We walked through all of it. (you can imagine how tiring it feels.) Although it's in Tamil Nadu, it's maintained by the Kerala government.

The Thirparappu waterfalls are another tourist attraction. But it didn't much amuse me.. So we were back home an hour before sunset.

Did you see it? I said home.. But it's not home, it's our hotel! Sometimes, I really feel that home is the place where you end your day...
Anyways, even in the home, sometimes, we live like we're moving from hotel to hotel, isn't it?...!

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..

Kanyakumari Calling...

Hello friends!

I'm travelling to Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of mainland India. It is a sacred place because of The Sagar Sangam - Union of three seas- the Indian Ocean, The Arabian Sea & the bay of Bengal. There are many historic places in & around the town of Kanyakumari, but main excitement is the Annular Solar Eclipse on 15th January! Annular Eclipses are a rare phenomena & it's after almost 4 decdes Itz happening in India. You can get more info of the eclipse at NASA website.

For me, this is going to be a real special tour. I have dreamt of this journey for ten years since I first got to know about the eclipse. Besides, Kanyakumari, we'll also visit Madurai & Rameshwaram.

All along, I'll be writing on this blog whenever I get time And will try to write in Marathi as well. I'll share pictures with you all so you can get an idea about the places.. You can get the updates of my journey at my twitter-page if you use twitter.

So, Bags are packed, and I'm leaving in the evening today. Can't write much now, need to rush.. See ya all soon!