Trip to Tiruvananthapuram and KanyaKumari
Between April 5th and 8th,2018, my parents and I went on a short trip to Trivandrum and Kanyakumari - both are at the Southern part of India. Kanya Kumari is the Southern most point in Indian mainland!!
The reason behind this trip was dual, I wanted to spend time with my parents and visit some temples too.
5 April 2018, Thursday.
My parents started from Thrissur at 6 am and were at my home in Ernakulam for breakfast by 7.30 am. We were on our way to Thiruvananthapuram (erstwhile Trivandrum) by 8.15 am and we hoped to visit either Kottarakara Ganapathy temple or Ambalapuzha Krishna temple. But our car decided to deflate it's tyre and we thought better be safe than sorry and we ended up at the car showroom to get it rectified. Thus, both the temples were not to be visited....this time.
We reached our hotel - Hycinth by Sparsa by 2-ish after a lunch stop at Kollam. The room was excellent.
My friend, Chitra Laxman, had told us to reach Lord Padmanabhaswamy temple by 4.45 pm as she said there would be crowd on Thursdays. She explained to us to take ₹150 special ticket which admits 2.
Our first stop was Pazhavangady Ganapathy Temple. The temple is on the road side and it is always crowded. But we were very lucky. We arrived at a time, when there was no one present!
We reached Padmanabhaswamy temple by 5.15 pm and got in through the Southern gate. There were guards everywhere and no electronic device is allowed inside the temple - not even ear phones. And dress code is strict - no churidhars or pants; only sari and mundu.
I have been to Padmanabhaswamy temple many times, but this was the first time I was going after the treasure rooms were opened. The Lord looks majestic and the 18 foot visible through the 3 doors were awe inspiring. If only the priest had given more importance to his 'japam' instead of interrupting each sentence with loud 'move, move'......
My father hates spending unnecessary time once a work gets done. Temple visits for him mean - see the deity, pray and leave. My mother and I love to walk around taking in the architecture and the atmosphere. When we saw the 'sapta swara mandapa'; my mom and I rushed in much to my father's angst!! And we spent a good 30 minutes touching and praying to each beautifully carved exquisite piece. Each pillar can play the 7 musical swaraas; if you hit it hard enough. Amazing. Totally worth the ₹10/person. Even though, many others did enter the hall, no one spend as much time inside as we did. I would love to return again with a pencil and paper to copy down some of the sculptures carved there.
This was taken in Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple.
On my way out I had to ask where the treasures are and the police woman answered curtly,"Not for public."
Next stop was my cousin's home. Mr & Mrs. Raji Ramalingam were my 'guardian angels' when I first landed in Dubai at age 20 with a 1 year old baby and no house hold skills! They have shifted base to Trivandrum after uncle's retirement from Emirates airlines. It was nice to meet his mother (91)and his brother and wife. This brother's daughter had gotten married recently and we saw the album taken during the functions. It was amazing to see Anand Ramalingam, who I had last seen as a teenager, now as a young man.
Dinner was at the restaurant and we had to pay the whole buffet charge; even though we are vegetarians.
6 April 2018, Friday.
We left Trivandrum after breakfast and took a deviation on the Kanyakmari route at Marthandam. Our first stop was 'Tiruvattar' where one temple of the 108 Divya Desams dedicated to Sri Adi Kesava Perumal Temple is located. If Lord Padmanabha is 18 feet long, here the deity is 23 ft long and is a mirror image of Him. Lord lies from west to east here. The temple is dilapidated and restoration work is going on. Amazing architecture.
Inside the Sanctum, the chief deity is NOT being offered pooja as restoration work and mural work is happening here. The 'utsava murthy' is outside the sanctum and pooja is being done to this idol.
There was a 'Tiruvambady' Krishna sanctum inside the temple and the Priest was not a Namboodiri, but an Udupa brahmin. It was a story which was repeated at other temples too.
Mural work is being done by artist Unni, who took training from the very first batch of Guruvayur Mural Institute and all the colours being used are natural. I forgot his second name. He is from Palakkad and if anyone knows his family / full name, please let me know.
The Carpentry work is being done by 2 young men who are hereditary temple craftsmen. They were looking at an ancient sculpture and trying to recreate the same.
When we reached outside, our driver Joe, asked us to visit a Narasimha temple nearby. This temple was at a lower level and seemed incredibly crowded! Was it because it was much smaller than the Tiruvettar temple?
And interestingly this temple was being run by a temple in Thrissur near my home!!
Next, we travelled a little over 10 km to reach the erstwhile capital of Travancore empire to see the palace - Padmanabhapuram Palace at Thuckalay. We paid around ₹35/person and ₹50/mobile or camera for entry. Foreign nations pay a lot more.
This Palace is also a place I have visited while I was much younger. But it is only now after visiting other parts of the world am I able to appreciate the simplicity and beauty of my own region's palace.
The entry hall is simple. The roof is carved with 99 flowers and each flower has a different pattern.
The famous horse lamp hangs here.
The floor was smooth and looked marble-ish.
There was a cot to one side, where the King used to lie down during summer days.
And a chair presented to him by the Chinese traders on the other.
The 'ona-villu' were presented by the local chiefs to the king.
All these were explained to us by a person from the department of archaeology.
Next was a hall filled with some archaeological finds...There was a particular idol which was not allowed to be photographed as it has 'spiritual power'. The rest could be photographed.
The next room was the 'pooja room' of the 'thai kottaram'.
This is the Foundation pillar of the palace and is made from the wood of Jackfruit tree. The rest of the wood used in this palace is teak and rosewood.
Here too the ceiling had 98 different designed flowers with 2 layers of petals and 1 flower with 3 layers of petals under which the 'vilakku' / lamp used to be lit. The person from the archaeological department was differently-abled. He lost both his arms in an electrical shock accident.
Some more rooms later we had to climb a steep flight of stairs and the sudden influx of students from a school on excursion with their teachers, made it a time consuming task.
We reached the upper halls where the living quarters of the king, his mother and sisters were. Note that there was no queen, as the society was Matriarchal.
There were either single bridges or many bridges connecting sections of the palace.
And some staircases with doors!
We reached the King's bedroom where the regal cot made by the Dutch with 64 medicinal planks was. Note the design of the present day Pharmacy symbol etched on it - the 'T' design with a snake on it and the eagle perched on top of it. The ceiling was also full of carvings.
The Chinese influence can be seen here. Note the Dragon headed Swan and the Dragon headed Lion.
The chair seen here is a replica made of the one presented by the Chinese we saw earlier at the entrance to the palace.
From here we entered the dining area where there were no chairs or table. Everyone sat on the ground and ate from banana leaves!
Next was the King's mother's chamber.
This is her bed inlaid with ivory and there were no planks, but woven bamboo threads.
Her dressing area which was cordoned off....There was an 'aattu kattil' /swinging bed to be seen.
This is her Dining table. She sat on the floor and ate from this table.
There were urinals provided for the ladies.
A little further, we saw a place which was made famous by one movie song. This view has special significance for every malayalam movie lover as a very famous song was shot here - Oru Murai Vandu Parthaya from Manichitrathazhu (1993)...And the view which I have shown below was also shot thus!!
Look at 45 seconds time mark of the song.
This was the place from where the women used to peep into the entertainment hall.
Next we passed by the Armoury which was very long but not wide without many windows and ventilation facilities.
That's Shaijoe aka Joe, our driver.
Look at how steep the staircases are! 60 Degrees?
How ingenious! The sitting bench can be used to cover the windows too!
We walked into the King's special window or podium from where he used to watch the temple processions and also address his subjects. This is the "Ambari Mukhappu".
Next was a long hall filled with paintings of the kings and queens of the royal court and of some important instances. The paintings are all framed in glass, thus my photographs are not good.
Crowning of a king.
Tipu losing the battle...
Tipu injured....
Foreign merchants saluting the king.
You can see the "Ambari Mukhappu" from here...
From here we climbed a steep flight of THICK stairs to enter "Indira Vilasom", the Foreign Dignitaries quarter..
The architecture is not the typical Kerala style and the height of the roof, size of the doors and the lay of the gardens have European influence.
From here through the garden we went through the 'kula kadavu' or pond area to the HUGE kitchen.
Traditional grinding stones.
Water vats.
The next few areas were cordoned off and we just took some photographs and walked on.....
My dad was getting upset, but smiled through his hunger!!
And we entered the famous.....Navarathry Mandapam where all the dance, music and drama used to be conducted for the royal family. Remember I talked about the Malayalam movie song, it was picturised here.
The Royal Ladies used to view from behind these wooden structures.
Saraswathy Temple....
It was almost time to exit the Palace and we saw this beautiful piece which would have decorated the roof of the palace.
and then we exited...
A small museum which houses many ancient unearthed antiques has been built recently on the Palace grounds and we visited the same.
Torture Device - Chitra Vadakoodu.
Unpatriotic men / murderers used to be caged inside this and hung in market places or junctions 12 - 15 feet above the ground. The punished would die a slow death facing thirst , hunger and bites from crows and vultures...
Another of the special type of Lamp....
After a drink of Tender coconut to satiate our hunger and thirst, we left to Kanyakumari. We did not take the usual route via Nagercoil, but chose the scenic Ganapathipuram - Eathamozhi route. We arrived at 3 pm very hungry!
The restaurant was closing up but they served us some very nice butter naan, paneer makhani, fried rice and cauliflower manchurian.
We were staying at Sparsa on Beach road and the hotel was very dated. But the staff and food made up for the lack of amenities.
We decided to see the sunset and reached the sunset point by 5.20 pm only to see it crowded!
We could not see the sun set fully because of the clouds.
What is he cooking??
Looks yummy...
We decided to visit KanyaKumari temple next...
There were so many sea shells in various shapes and sizes on sale outside. My dad said these are not original but Chinese factory made.
When we went into the temple, a lady - Sheela, approached us and offered us her services. We had a lovely darshan and while we were leaving she invited us to go again the next day for lunch. My mom was convinced that she was the messenger of the Goddess and I did not want to miss the wonderful opportunity of having another darshan of Kanyakumari. So we agreed to come back the next day at 11.30 am.
7 April 2018, Saturday.
We got up very early to catch the sun rise at the Tri-sea sangam.
Again the whole area was crowded!
There were so many people taking a dip in the sea. It was nice to see some middle aged women enjoying themselves.
I saw this fellow trying to make a living by taking photos of the visitors. It is indeed sad to see that he was not winning this battle as every single visitor was having a smart phone with advance camera features. A dying profession.
This fellow was trying really hard to strike a great pose. At one point he stood on one leg too and the waves came lashing...
Next we went to see Vivekananda rock. This is the place where Swami Vivekananda had meditated for 3 days and a place where he came to know the truth of India i.e what was the glory of India, why it's glory started receding and how it could be resurrected.
It is a short boat ride from the main land and the boat is filled; thankfully, everyone gets a life jacket!
Tiruvalluvar rock, closed to public.
Vivekananda Memorial.
On one rock is the 'Sree Pada' Mandiram where one feet of the Goddess is embedded on the rock. Facing it is the Vivekananda memorial. Everyone could meditate here until recently; but not anymore.
Due north!
We met a set of young boys, students on excursion, who wanted their photo taken, but they did not know any number for me to whatsapp it to....
After dropping my dad back in the hotel, my mom and I went to see a small village 4 kms away from Kanyakumari - Mahadanapuram. This village was given as a tribute to Brahmins by the king and many Brahmins still reside here. My friend, Mrs.Chitra Laxman's parent's have bought a property here.
A small quaint village, set in the midst of fields...
row houses with common walls.
Look at the drumsticks!
Temple pond and a river flows slightly away.
It was time for us to go to Kanyakumari temple.
We had not been able to see the 'deeparadhana' the day before. When we arrived, we were blessed to sit in front of the Goddess with beautiful Diamond nose-rings for a full 45 minutes and attend her post lunch pooja.
Anna dhanam maha danam. Feeding is the greatest form of worship.
We shared our table with people from all stratas of society. All were equal at the dining hall.
Food served by the volunteers was simple - Rice, pickle, Potato kootu, Sambar, Rasam and neer moru. My father could hardly eat as it was very spicy for him.
This is Sheela akka, who was instrumental in us having the excellent Darshan. She also packed some rice and pickle for us!!
I had always thought Suchindram temple was dedicated to Lord Hanuman. How wrong I was!
This temple is the site where Lord Dattatreya was born to Anasuya and her husbands the great sage Atri. Seeing her purity and getting envious, all the devathas (Goddesses) wanted to sully it and sent their husband to fulfill their wishes. When sage Atri went out, the three Gods - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva approached Anasuya as saints and begged for alms. When she bought alms, they said that they need to fed naked! Anasuya, being a pure soul agreed and taking a handful of water, prayed and sprinkled it on the 3 faux men and they immediately became babies!! She lifted them up in one go and the three babies fused into a single human baby with three heads. She breast fed the baby and started looking after him. Seeing that their husbands had not returned after fulfilling their requested task - Goddess Saraswathy, Lakshmi and Parvathy got worried. On reaching the ashram, they saw their husbands have become a part of a baby with 3 heads. They prayed to Anasuya to return their husbands to them. The Goddesses apologised for their pettiness and accepted Anasuya as a the greatest pati-vrata or epitome of wifehood. The 3 headed baby is Dattatreya. Dattatreya is an avataar of the three Gods in one form. Suchindram is his birth place.
Another importance of this temple is that Lord Indra, the King of Gods, had been cursed for his womanising to have 'woman organ' all over his body. It is said that only when he had a bath here at the temple pond, he became normal again. Thus the name - Suchi Indram (Clean Indra). It is said that he returns to this temple every night to offer his prayers and thus the Nandi in front of the Pond is said to be sculpted as looking away.
When I had visited this temple years ago, all I remember was seeing the Hanuman standing tall.When I googled the temple now, I saw that the name of the temple (even though famously called Sucheendram) is actually Thanumalayan swamy temple. Thanumalayan is Lord Siva!! There are so many other 'sannidhis' inside the temple, other than Hanuman's.
When we walked in, we were greeted by 'touts' who wanted us to buy a garland made with betel leaves - either 8 ft or 16 ft or 32 ft in length. And one person (Mr.Thanumalayan) stuck with us and made the priests do 'pani-neer abhishekam' for Hanumanji. After this we were allowed to touch His feet!! It is said that Hanuman landed here after he found Sita and He burnt down Lanka with His tail. So pouring the Pani-neer on His feet is a way of assuaging His burnt tail.
Since it was a Saturday and Moolam nakshatram, a very auspicious day, we wanted to attend the Deeparadhana or sun-set prayers. Mr.Thanumalayan asked us to have darshan at Nagercoil and return in time for the same.
The road leading to the Nagercoil or Temple of Snake was undergoing repair and what should have been a mere 15-20 minute car ride became a 45 minute tedious circuitous drive. But the temple was quaint and small and there was a powerful vibe there.
As usual the chief priest was not a Namboodiri or Kerala Brahmin, but a Tulu Brahmin. And there is no roof on top of the actual temple as the snake gods live in the open. Notice the many snake idols placed on top of the boundary walls.
We saw many miniature cradles hung around the temple on trees....these are prayers for a baby by childless couples.
From here we went back to Suchindram temple and this time Mr.Thanumalayan took us around the temple and explained to us about the history, story and showed us some amazing sights.
There was a particular sculpture into whose ears if a twig is inserted, the twig comes out through the other ear! But as usual, this idol has been damaged by invaders and the twig would not pass through it's mouth.
There is a special Ganapathy here - Neelakanda Ganapathy. Neelakanda is another name of Lord Siva. This idol has the face of Ganapthy, neck down it is Lord Siva as He hold the Trident in His right hand. He is holding his mother, Goddess Parvathy in his left arm.
When we went, Lord Siva was placed outside with Goddess Parvathy and Kanyakumari in the Vasantha Mandapam. The roof is carved with the 'navagrahas' /nine celestial planets. Mr. Thanumalayan explained that it is to show that even the Gods can have bad times and are affected by planetary movements. They too can suffer. Here, they are trying to escape the heat and are forced to stay out of their abode.
There are many more interesting stories here, but I recommend you visit this temple and meet Mr.Thanumalayan yourself. Please message me for his number.
8 April 2018, Sunday.
We were going back home and the journey was long. We took a scenic route from Kanyakumari to Trivandrum through the sea shore and not through Nagercoil.
There seemed to be loads of nikahs (Muslim Marriages) happening and all roads near the venues were blocked by huge buses and many many cars.
On our way, we saw a set of 'friends' - 2 girls on a scooter and 4 boys on 2 other scooters who were trying to have a racing competition. In between, the set of girls and one set of boys decided they must ride chatting with each other and probably take a selfie. Dangerous game. The girl riding pillion seemed to be in love with the boy riding pillion on the other bike and was prodding her driver friend to catch up with the speeding boys. Precarious. Nothing untoward happened, probably the prayers of the elders at home.
When we stopped for filling petrol at Varkala, we were 'hosted' by the petrol pump owner, Mr. Shamsudeen, who graciously allowed us to use his own toilet!! A sweet old man, who showed that there is lots of good will in the hearts of ordinary people.
We had lunch at Kollam - Sree Suprabhatam and by Kollam standards, it was amazing.
I had so wanted to take one picture - an old sign board of a bus stop - an iron round with the KSRTC emblem.
There were not many such iron sign boards seen at the present times mostly because they have rusted away or have been sold for scrap. We found this one near Allepey.
We reached home by 4.30 and my parents left to their home after coffee.
Thus came to an end a hectic pilgrimage cum sight seeing trip to the southern part of India.
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