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Temple tour to Chennai and surrounding places

Our Spiritual trip to Chennai and surrounding area

We made a short spiritual trip to Chennai. Started early in the morning at 5AM on the 27th from Bangalore. The climate was quite suitable with cool weather. We reached for breakfast at a hotel around 7.30. Restarted our travel and reached Arunachala temple at 11 clock. Rushed to the temple for darshan as they were closing at 12. A good darshan and wanted to go to Bhagwan Ramana Maharshasramam. Gin Gee Fort

By that time it was closed. We went to Mahabaleshwar. On the way we passed Gingee Venkataramana Temple which is considered very ancient and built by Cholas. Under the ASI the temple is being revived. Without any maintenance and withstood 3 wars, by the old kings and other rulers. They have developed a good lawn and surrounding areas. Huge trees and some old structures are still existing. Some people are sitting and spending time under the trees and inside the old structures. We went inside the temple where one priest and another lady were only present there. They were temple employees I felt. He explained about the history of this war torn temple. It is also called the 1000 pillar temple of Gingee Fort. The revival is undergoing slowly. The important idols are kept under custody at Pondicherry. We could get an idea of its magnanimity even after destruction of many parts. The place looked very calm and quiet. We then proceeded to Mahabalipuram, where we booked for three nights. Being close to Chennai, we preferred this small, clean and middle class hotel. As all of us after the long travel and heat, we rested for a couple of hours. After our early dinner, we took a walk to the beautiful beach. Being a working day, there were not many people around. The cool breeze with the high tide in the moonlight, it was really a pleasure time. Once we cooled down, we came back and took a rest.

Next day our plan was to go to the famous VadaPalani temple, which also is one of the ancient and huge ones. There are very many small ones also around and quite a lot of time spent visiting and enjoying the sceneries around had it been in winter time this could have been wonderful. But walking naked under the burning path was found a bit difficult for us Bangaloreans. Running through the ways and trying shades,Vadapalani Murugan Temple Chennai

we all managed the heat. It was time to close the temple and we went out for lunch at a nearby hotel. We then went for a bit of shopping in their air conditioned stores to get away from the heat. Our next destination was Valluvar Kottam memorial Park- This historical monument of the great philosopher Poet Thiruvalluvar, who penned the well known Thirukkural 2000 years ago. We were lucky that one of the government servants took us all the way to the top to show the statue very close. I found the maintenance and cleanliness were not up to a good standard for such an important place, where many tourists are visiting from abroad.

In front of Valluvar Kottam

Next day was allotted to the important visit of one of Prakash’s friends. We started off visiting the only remaining shore temple at Mahabalipuram beach and believed to have been constructed around 750 AD. The place maintained by ASI is found to be excellent with a good garden and security. In spite of most parts being worn out and disintegrated, we can imagine the beauty of the sculptures from it. As the sun was becoming hotter, we could not spend much time, although we intended to. It was understood that June-July are the hottest summer in Chennai and very few tourists dare to visit these places. From here we went to the friend’s house for lunch, who had volunteered for it. A very simple and sumptuous lunch with a very nice sweet dish was served. They wanted to spend more time there, so we decided to visit our friend Karthik and Dr. Jayasree for a quick visit. They were very excited to meet at their new three story building in the heart of the city. We spent time with the kids who came from school. We returned to Mahabalipuram, via Shree Kapaleshwar temple complex. Everywhere the temples open after 4PM and so rush to reach and spend more time there. Very beautiful and ancient temples were full of magnificent art and sculpture work. All are wonderful artisans, who created it with very little modern equipment and facilities. We returned to the hotel and took a rest. Next day morning everyone went to see the sunrise at Mahabalipuram and I took a rest. To me, the sun, moon and stars have no difference in any part of the world. In my life on three continents that is what I have noticed.

After our breakfast, we packed and started to visit temples in Kanchipuram and later some shopping of famous Kanchipuram Silk sarees.

Inside the beautiful Carvings of Kanchipuram Temple.We visited a few other temples such as Kapaleeswara Temple,Kanchi Kamakshi Temple, Kailash nath Temple and Ekambareswarar temple near thisThen proceeded to the final destination of Tiruttani, the famous Murugan temple.Tiruttani Murugan Temple on Tiruttani Murugan Temple

On the way we had Kanchipuram kovil idly, bought from Kanchipuram for our lunch. We are so lucky, we reached exactly as the visitors before closing and finished the darshan and all at various temples inside at a fast pace to enable the return journey early. Our friend Jigesh is not only an expert driver, a guide and knows all short routes too. Thus our long cherished ambition of visiting some important temples (Maha kshetrangal) got materialized by the grace of God and the very good care and planning of Prakash and Latha -our friend. May God bless all and give health, wealth and prosperity to all!. It was God’s grace that I could do it for the benefit of all Vayalil family members. Now I suggest all of you cheer up and not worry about silly day to day problems!

Face to face with my Maker

Yes, it was in November last year that my daughter suggested that I make a visit to Rameswaram and the surrounding areas around the quaint temple town. I had heard a lot about this temple town and the birthplace “ Thankachimadham “of my Idol Dr. Abdul Kalam. Other stories that fascinated me were the Ramayana stories of Lord Hanuman making a floating bridge over the sea to go to Sri Lanka to save Sita Devi, who was abducted by King Ravana. And then there was the interesting fact of the legendary Engineer E. Sreedharan, who made history by rebuilding the Pamban Bridge (also known as Adam’s Bridge) in a very short time, which was washed away by the 1964 December cyclone taking over 2000 lives, crippling power supply and communication, leaving it as a ghost town, dispensing everything. Lastly, my friend who was born in Dhanushkodi used to joke that he was a cursed child born in the family because his birthplace was sunk after he was born. So when my daughter mentioned the idea of the trip, both my wife and I jumped at the opportunity to travel.

We learnt in school about Rameswaram Taluk, which comprises the whole area of Pamban Fishing Island and is also known as Rameswaram Island on the Rama Setu archipelago. Rameswaram is the longest island in Tamil Nadu and is located between the Peninsula of India and Sri Lanka. It is the holiest pilgrim center for Hindus with an area of around 67 Kilometer squares. Rameswaram is famous for the best chili powder in Tamil Nadu. India’s first port away from the sea is also at Rameswaram. There are many important places to visit near Rameswaram such as Ramanathapuram Raja Palace, Kundhukal Vivekananda memorial, Sea World aquarium, three to four bird sanctuaries where one can see beautiful birds including spot-billed pelican, 3000 years-old Uthirakosamangai Shiv temple, priceless green emerald stone Nadarajah statue, Irumeni village sweet water wells Teertha, silver beach and so on. It is an interesting fact that Rameswaram TV tower is the tallest TV tower in India having a height of 323M and can withstand a velocity of 160 Km/h.

We started on our journey the very next morning after the delightful nudge from our daughter. The car and the road were both very good as the infrastructure in India has been developing very well and had made excellent progress,. Surprisingly, it took us only 7.5 hours to reach our destination against the expected time of over 9 hours. And since we arrived early, we decided to go to the southernmost tip of the mainland crossing Pamban Bridge to Dhanushkodi. The beautiful blue water on both sides of the bridge through the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal was an amazing scene for me. There were plenty of people around who were there to enjoy the magnificent sight. We could manage to take a few snaps standing on the historic Pamban lighthouse tower. After returning back from the sun, we relaxed in the cool breeze for some time. Pamban has a few hillocks. The tallest among them is Mount Gondamadane, from where Lord Rama observed Sri Lanka and conceived the idea of constructing a bridge between India and Sri Lanka. Then we returned to the temple complex after visiting a couple of small but important temples on the way.

One of the small temples on the way from Dhanushkodi

In front of Dr. Abdul Kalam sir’s museum

Soon, it was time for-us to go to the main Ramanathapuram temple. This has the longest corridor of a 1000 pillars, in Asia. I found this magnificent structure as another architectural marvel of our ancient artisans. A long queue with a few welcome showers stopped us for an hour. After the gates were opened, we entered at just the right time for the guide to take us to all the temples to explain every detail and its importance. To me, the most interesting was Shivalinga, which was made in sand and worshipped by Sita Devi and the beauty of it. There are many temples in this complex and we visited each and every one barefooted. Even though it was drizzling at night, it was a bit tough for me. Due to the heavy crowd, it just was not possible otherwise to complete the circumambulation of all temples. But we were keen to do this and we returned back to the hotel fully satisfied, basking in the glory of having met our deepest desires of visiting everything we had planned.

As soon as we reached the hotel, we went for dinner. Since we walked a lot barefoot, I went to the washroom to clean. Although the dining hall was fully air-conditioned, I felt a bit uneasy and started sweating. This made everyone upset and I cancelled my dinner and went to bed. The doctor was called and after a check-up, some tablets were given and I went to sleep. The next day, as usual, I got up, had breakfast and started the return journey. Since everything was looking fine, I decided to fulfil my last wish of visiting our most respected Great Missile Man of India Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam, who passed away at the age of 83 after a massive cardiac arrest, while delivering a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong. As the museum was not open, we waited outside for a bit. As soon as the doors were thrown open, we had a quick look around the place. The museum was wonderfully made and maintained exceedingly well. I did not have much time to read and dwell in the teachings. We had a considerable drive back home and reached home late night. All of us got tired from the long and hectic journey and went to bed early after a successful trip. At about 2 AM early morning, I started getting uneasy, was sweating severely and felt very uncomfortable. I was waiting for others to get up and the moment I heard a movement from my daughter’s room, I told her about the problem. Immediately I was taken to a nearby hospital and they discovered an ECG variation. They got in a specialist immediately at the cardiac center and confirmed a big block in the main artery and underlined the need for immediate attention and action. Fortunately, I was taken at the right time and the doctors could save my life. If delayed by ten minutes, I doubt I would not have been able to write this blog in this life! I salute The Almighty for His Grace this time yet again. I am waiting to serve the world again in the most appropriate manner. I wish to conclude my experiences in life and hope that if the stories of my life hold some value to others, I would indeed trade them for a small smile in return!!!

Ten divine days in Dev Bhoomi with the BVT Group

It was one of the most beautiful experiences in my life to be with people of similar wave lengths in the tour of my recent Chardham Yatra.It was said that a successful tour to this blessed place fully depends on the grace of Nature (God) and not on one’s efficiency or capability. It is definitely rang true as far as our trip was concerned.

Before we left Bangalore on 20^th October, there was great apprehension as heavy rains lashed the valley area, creating landslides and massive power breakdowns at Uttarakhand.I had been getting calls after calls from all parts of the world from my close relatives and friends, urging me to avoid the trip and to look after my health. When I enquired with the trip leader Swami Udit Chaitanyaji, he on the other hand instilled great hope and trust and gave me such positive encouragement and strength to go ahead with my decision. I subsequently started my full medical checkup and appropriate Covid tests for the travel. Results of all tests undertaken further strengthened my decision and seemed like an encouraging signal from the supreme power. Everything worked out well then. Special credit should go to the food arrangements by the teams, which was way beyond my imagination. Homely hot and steaming food was served by our own cook nourished us throughout our travel.

Soon enough it was D day. We all assembled at New Delhi Airport as planned on October 20th. Waiting buses took us all the way to Haridwar by late evening. Although it was a long and tiring journey across different terrains, we did not experience any major problems as we were enjoying the beautiful valleys and unexplainable beauty of Nature. As I had not much knowledge of Indian trekking conditions, I kept comparing with those I had seen in my travels through Germany and Africa. But I must confess that I found the beauty in our country was superior although some infrastructures were not as good. Though I did notice all through the journey major development projects such as widening of roads and straightening of sharp bends. These appeared to be managed by very professional engineering groups and seemed to be of international standards. Once all of these are completed, I am sure these valleys will be a major tourist spiritual destination in India. And once, the cleaning and removal of all debris and stones are given priority for a smooth driving expereince, this will truly be commendable effort.

After the overnight stay at Haridwar, we started our journey to the first phase to Yamunotri about 10,800 feet above. The travel on the narrow and zigzag single road, where horses, dolleys and walking pilgrims are crowded just cannot be explained in words. Although, many including my wife went by Dolleys, where people were carried on wooden beds, I just could not appreciate this system. I preferred to travel on horseback by which frankly was more painful and risky. All along I was praying and meditating, which helped me to climb up without any hurdles. While my horse stopped for water, some young people from Gujarat, came and commenting that I resembled PM Modi and wanted to take photographs with me. I agreed with a condition that it should not be put in social media, which they accepted. Although, this was the first phase of our journey and gave a lot of pain in my legs and joints, the excitement of the journey, did not allow me to focus on anything but the travel experience. After a good darshan of the temple, we started descending and arrived back at our hotel for a hot, homely lunch. It was pretty cold and after the usual satsang in the evening, we took some much needed rest to get ready for the next day trip.

While waiting for bus at Badrinath the beautiful healthy pahadi dog gave company

As early as 5 in the morning we started our second phase to Gangotri, at an altitude of 11,270 feet in our buses. Even though the journey was equally difficult, we could reach the temple comfortably by evening. With the help of the Government staff, we visited a rest house and temple complex on our way; where we had a sumptuous breakfast and proceeded to Gangotri temple by evening. Here, the goddess Ganga starts to flow and is known as River Bhagirathi. It was a good darshan of the temple and we returned to the hotel for preparing for the next stage of our trip.It was a comfortable stay in the hotel. In this Himalayan valley, the glaciers looked very beautiful and all other scenes looked amazing to me, beyond expectation. I fell in love with the valley.

Kamala getting her favourite Peru(Guava)which is bigger and tastier than available here, from roadside vendors fresh from garden. We could see apple all over, which was fantastic

Kamala could not sustain the extreme cold

The mix of walkers, horses and dolly’s at Kedarnath

Our next day’s journey was considered as a tougher one as Kedarnath was the tallest among all the chardhams at an altitude of 3,584 M. Some people ventured to go by walk and some others preferred horses and many senior citizens preferred helicopter services. The previous day was very bad and the area was covered under thick snow and no tourists were allowed. So we could fly only late after the place was cleared off and the helicopter services started. There was unusual rush noticed at the helipad, in spite of three regular helicopter companies’ services allowed to fly every half hour. Fortunately, most of us could travel although rather late. Snowfall started as soon as we reached the temple area. In a short span of half an hour, the entire area became covered with snow. The blowing wind from the helicopter running every minute in that open space made it difficult to stay. The temperature was going down and became impossible for us to stay longer. Many people were stranded and suffered for oxygen in that height. We all were separated from couples because helicopter ran on weights. Because of continuous snow falls, the helicopter could not fly its usual beats. But miraculously, in a short time, the sky cleared for a while and the helicopter agains started picking up pilgrims. Our group just reached the temple and had a darshan from outside (as the temple was closed and would open after an hour). Just then, we got a call asking us to reach the helipad as they were closing the day. With great difficulty, we started running to catch the first flight. My wife had managed to make it as the last passenger of the previous flight. I was held up with another 25 people of our group. After 5.30 PM, the pilots are not allowed to take the helicopter due to restrictions and safety factors. There was no other means to reach back the hotel. For a moment, the clouds disappeared and the last helicopter, called out for sick and people with emergency needs. One seat was vacant and I requested for it as my wife had gone ahead and the room key unfortunately was with me .There again I was fortunate to be accommodated and reached the helipad base. But to my dismay, the taxis and people who had accompanied us had left. I was alone in this unknown desolate place. My Bombay experience in similar situations helped me to chase strangers for a lift and look for bus to the base camp wherefrom all transport buses ply. Still I was about 2 km away from our residence. I went to the police station and requested for help to reach our hotel. They were kind and helpful; but none were ready to drive the short distance. There again another jeep guy came and I jumped in, meanwhile another three people too came. I was praising that guy saying he was looking handsome and looked like Hindi film actor Akshay Kumar, which he liked and agreed to take me. Thus my hectic day ended well. He dropped me at the hotel comfortably. It was indeed a memorable experience. Many of the people with us had big challenges in communication and we had to help them by translation, getting tea and snacks, etc. I felt happy that my Bombay days came in handy; where I grew up in such difficult situations! Tired and exhausted, I slept in the cold weather. A short time after I slept, came a call from our volunteer for some medicine as a lady from the group was suffering, struggling severely for breadth and a tablet from my first aid box was required urgently. In that sleepy mood, without electricity after a long search for an hour I could get one, which helped the lady to emerge from the crises. It was one of the happiest moments of the trip. I really appreciated the volunteers who provided dedicated services without any rest or sleep. I found they travelled by train, perhaps for a good rest and sleep! God bless them all in abundance!

The fourth and the last visit the next day was to the Krishna temple at Badrinath. As usual, all of us got ready to start the trip as early as 4.30 in the morning. Due to non-availability of Diesel in the petrol stations, our trip got delayed for a few hours. With some help from the government, we could manage to get the fuel filled in for all nine buses. However, the journey re-started with good sunshine. Because of this, the trip to the temple was kept for the afternoon. We proceeded to go to the last Indian ManaTibetan village at the China border. It is said that Lord Krishna left his physical body after the Kurukshetra war here and that and the verbal dialogue between Uddhav and Lord Krishna took place at this place. The epic Mahabharathas written by Vyasa Bhagavan in that cave nearby was therefore called as Vyasa Guha. There are many temples such as the famous Saraswathi and Hanuman temples visited by many from the group. As I was not able to walk that distance, I avoided and rested in the bus along with some inmates. However, my wife went half way and came back after a small fall in that hill. After we all came back, we went to the beautiful Badrinath temple. By then the climate started changing to darkness and the temperature dropped down to 2 degrees. We were very fortunate that the hot spring Tapta Kund, which was closed because of Covid, re-opened from that day. We took bath in that hot spring, where the water temperature was nearly 80 degrees, very hot, whereas the outside temperature was about 1 to 2 degrees cold. I held onto all my wife’s clothes till she finished her bath and after that I went for my dip in this hot spring. It is said that this water has various minerals and salts, which cure many physical illness. I can’t fully explain the medicinal values and reasons; but it reduced my tiredness and back and knee pains considerably. So my wife too experienced similar relief. I don’t want to court any controversy on this. Suffice to say, we all had the good Darshan of Lord Krishna in Badri and we all felt marvellous.There is a saying that Lord Krishna stayed at Badri. After this hectic journey, we are very much satisfied that our life’s dream of the impossible task of completing the ChardhamYatra was realised. The words of Swami Chinmayandji haunted my ears as always: There is nothing Impossible in life. Go with the attitude of I’mpossible” Yes this is the mantra; I continue in my life and made possible of my dreams in most situations.

Way to Mana village-the last Indian village. Then start the China border

A lot of experiences and lessons were gathered in this unusual trip. The simplicity, hard work of the Pahadi people amazed me. Only six months are available for them to earn for all the years’ bread for nearly six to eight members of the family. The moment we enter the Haridwar, I felt I was in a mesmerized world. The calm and Divinity have to be experienced to be believed and words just can’t do justice to this divine experience. I never felt like this this anywhere else in my life. Yes to some extent, I did perceive this when I visited an Old Russian Church in Switzerland.
Although I visited Boston at minus 20 degree, we never experience this severe cold; but in Kedar and Badri everything was out in the open place. How I survived this freezing temperature is a miracle known only to me.The Ganga gives water throughout the area and supplying to everyone free without any differences between them. That is the reason she is considered as Mother Ganga. One would wonder how Bhagavan Sankaracharya walked all the way from Kerala to Kedarnath and established the Math there! The beautiful places such as Dehra Dun, Mussourie, Gupta Kashi, Rudra Prayag, Deva Prayag and rivers like Alakananda, Mandakini, Saraswathi and much more are Nature’s gift to us. Let us preserve it.

Even though we do not respect nature as human beings, they know how to gift us generously without discrimination. My only prayer is that we should not destroy Mother Nature, which otherwise could be catastrophic to the world and for our future generations!!!!!

Our greatest Rishis such as Vyasa Muni, Vasishta Muni and others made their valuable contributions to this world by doing tapasya and meditations in this Himalayan valley and gave us the vedas, Puranas and Itihasas. These are the foundational basics of our great Indian culture. When we preserve them and respect them, we learn how to cherish our history and pay homage to the divine gifts of Nature and God.

THIS IS ONLY A NUT SHELL OF THE TEN DAYS TRAVELOGUE AND DOES NOT REFELECT ON INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCE

Experience, Encounter and Evolvement with Chinmaya Mission Worldwide.

When it comes to memories and experiences with Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda, I feel blessed as I have plenty to my credit. There are a few moments …
Experience, Encounter and Evolvement with Chinmaya Mission Worldwide.

Gurudev’s first visit to my residence at Vienna Court in Nairobi during June 1986

My visit to the land of Nizam

It was a visit long overdue. My visit to Hyderabad was almost after 50 years.

My first one was an official one – it was to a Birla company. My friend had been requesting me to visit his place since he set up a company in Telangana. Finally, it was possible only two months back. As I am not familiar with the place I took the help of my nephew, who was born and raised there and knew the city rather well, helping me to make a short itinerary. He gave a good one and I followed the same.

The Hotel was about a hundred years old and one of the good vegetarian restaurants, situated in the heart of the city. My friend was waiting to receive us in the hotel. We did not waste any time and went straight to the hotel. After our lunch, as planned, we went to the Salar Jung Art Museum, located on the southern bank of the Musi River in Hyderabad, which fortunately was not very far from the hotel. The museum was not having the old ceremonial elegance and splendor, many of the rooms were closed for repair/renovation/ maintenance/empty though I must confess it was well maintained. We spent a lot of time going through some of the very old and exquisite pieces of crockery, furniture, clocks, beautiful lighting, wall hangings, paintings and so on. It was interesting to note how some staff was following us right through. I was worried whether I did anything against their protocol. So when we were finishing the visit, one of them walked over and asked if I was related to the PM. That was the reason they followed us., waiting to assist us in case we needed help. When I replied negatively they wanted to stand with us for a photograph. When my wife too wanted to join the session, they wanted a solo one with me and then a group one. As I had another experience like this at the Kedarnath yatra, a year ago, it was not a complete surprise to me. Anyway, it was indeed a pleasant time.

Although we were tired of climbing up and down various floors and walking the large area, and we had to follow the itinerary, we did not want to waste any time. We next went to see the famous Birla Mandir before it started getting dark. This is a Vishnu Hindu Temple built on a 280 feet high hillock called Naubath Pahad on a 13 acres plot. It was a bit far and took us an hour to reach. To view the city from that place with the cool evening breeze was an amazing experience. It was built of white marble and adorned with not only images of Gods, but also philosophers and scientists and truly stands out in that area. We sat there for a while and even meditated for some time. As the evening was giving way to night, we left for the hotel to retire after the rather long day we had. The view of the city from the hill was very beautiful to me.

As planned the next day, our program included a trip to the world-famous Ramoji Film city complex, which was quite far from the city. We had arranged a car and it took us an hour to reach the main gate of the 1666 KM area, where we were greeted with their traditional welcome dance. This is the world’s biggest Film City. We were informed that it has been accepted in the Guinness Book of Records for its magnificent facility. This is a fully equipped complex for producing movies. If scripts are ready, one could go straight up and complete the movie in the shortest possible time. It has all the facilities required for film shooting and processing such as editing and mixing readily available. They have all the best infrastructure for Film production with various buildings, historical structures, and places in the world for any needs. Artists, engineers and technicians are available on-site. There are also residential places available for visitors and guests, Beautiful lakes, waterfalls, forests, gardens and walkways are maintained very well. We couldn’t fault anything any as there were proper food outlets and clean washrooms. Artificial waterfalls and rest places added extra comfort and beauty to the area. A special mention has to be made of the magnificent bird museum, where we see rare birds from Africa, Australia, Indonesia and other parts of the world. After a long stroll to all the studios and other sites, where LIVE shootings were happening, we went for lunch. There are plenty of outlets, where all types of cuisines such as Indian, Chinese or continental foods were served. After a vegetarian lunch, we were taken to the actual production and processing areas where, we were explained at length how a film was to be made, mixed with music, edited and finally how the movie is shown in the cinema houses. Truly this is a wonderful tourist place in Hyderabad’s magic world, where we can spend the day with family. Children have plenty of playing areas, and games and there is no time for boredom. The day ended on a great note. There were plenty of in-house vehicles to transport us from one place to another.

The next day, we were to return by night flight back to Bangalore and we had the full day to complete our planned itinerary. As per that, our visit was to the famous Charminar of Hyderabad. As that was a festival day and in anticipation of a huge crowd, we planned to visit early and look at the Charminar. Any later and the roads would then be closed and we would have had to walk a lot. We were lucky that we could park and had a view of the magnificent Charminar with its architectural splendor. It was cordoned off by police and we were not allowed to go to all the towers. Quickly we went around and took some snaps and left There were many vendors following us for buying small gift items from their shops. However, our driver managed to take us to the next destination i.e. The famous Jawaharlal Nehru National Park of Hyderabad. It covers a large area and once upon a time was considered one of the most beautiful parks with a train safari and many other games. But now most areas are restricted for maintenance and other activities. We were told that in the olden days, people visited and spent their daytime; which unfortunately we could not see. I felt the maintenance was also not to our satisfaction. But there were a good number of animals to be seen. As we have visited many national and international parks, this was not such an impressive view for us
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We then tried to find a good restaurant, but nothing was available nearby. So our driver suggested going towards the airport side. We agreed to that and saw the huge structure with a giant statue. That was the Statue of Equality, inaugurated by PM Modi a couple of months ago. In a complex of 75 acres, this 216 Feet statue of the 11th Century philosopher Saint Ramanujacharya was situated at Ranga Reddy District on the outskirts of Hyderabad. We were informed that this is the second-tallest sitting statue in the world Saint Ramanujam was a social Guru who promoted the idea of equality in all aspects of living including faith caste and creed. He worked tirelessly for the upliftment of people. The golden monument with a meditation hall was around the huge area and was surrounded by 108 Vishnu temples from all over India. In this complex, there are hospitals, schools and colleges, where the world’s only college campus for blind students is situated. Students who graduated from here acquire well-placed positions in IT companies. They even get admission to educational institutions gain jobs eventually as judges, and so on.
To me, the most favorite visits were Birla mandir, Ramoji film city and the 108 Vishnu temple where the Unity Statue stands tall. All of these are worth the money we spent and as wonders of Incredible India.

My visit to the land of Nizam

It was a visit long overdue. My visit to Hyderabad was almost after 50 years.

3 interesting anecdotes framed on my mind/Memories:

The year was 1968 and the month was November. I was working in a town called Kalol in North Gujarat. Being homesick, every weekend I used to visit my friend’s place in Ahmedabad. Normally, after lunch, I used to take a 2’O clock train to go to Ahmedabad. Those days there were three classes of compartments, such as: first, second and third. There was no a/c class as we see today and in the hot summer, we used to keep the wooden shutters closed. After getting a second-class ticket, as usual, I went and sat in the compartment on the train at platform number 4. There was nobody other than me in the second class. I had an Illustrated Weekly and kept reading. The train started off and since the windows were closed, I counted the number of stations the train stopped at. After the third stop, the fourth was Sabarmati, prior to my destination – Ahmedabad, which was nar each other, quite like the Marine lines and Churchgate stations of Bombay. I came to the door and found that it was not Sabarmati, but an unknown small station. I suddenly got down and found the train was going to Viramgam. As it was a new place and I knew only broken Gujarati, I was worried, confused aand totally perplexed bout what to do! I enquired with the station master, who told me “why did you come on this train? Don’t you know from 1st October Viramgam trains would go from platform number four? It was also put up on the Notice Board, he said . Fortunately, he was a good person and told me to sit in his office and atold me that he would attend to me after the train left. Being a very small station, the staff strength was very lean and the Station Master doubled up in various roles. He then told me that the next train was at 7 in the evening. I could try for a bus at 5 PM. As I had no option and not knowing the local language, he communicated with me in broken English and Hindi. He also told me he would go to his house close by after locking the office. As there were no hotels available in that area, he told the shop owner, who was a panchayat leader, to rest in his house until the bus time. Since it was a very hot summer, I decided to go with him. With my colorful shirt and pants among the dhoti-worn villagers, I was literally on show for the village boys and children. They all started collecting in good numbers and trying to look and touch me, like I was a showman or a celebrity. The Station Master kept pushing them away. On hearing that a new ‘avatar’ had arrived, many more people and children started coming. to check out this alien. Seeing me blushing, the people arranged a cordon around me. I certainly felt like I was a film star.

The station master’s house was a clean village house. His wife had passed away and he was living alone with his teenage girl. After hearing this news, his daughter who was away to bring the cows back home from the farm, came running …quite excited to see me. The father was busy keeping away all the boys crowding around me and instructing them not to disturb me. He gave me water to wash my feet and pulled up a chair for me to sit down. He instructed his daughter to clean his room and create a bedrest for me, spreading out a clean sari of his late wife’s alongwith with a pillow. He then invited me to go and take a rest. But I was not able to rest and was worried about the situation I was caught in. He also instructed someone to go and tell the shopkeeper to inform the bus driver to wait till “Saab comes”. He told me no bus will leave without his permission. I wonderstruck by the hospitality, sincerity, and love the innocent villagers showered on a stranger like me. I really appreciated it, as we rarely see this generosity from urban citizens. Maybe they have less time and energy for looking at the affairs of others!

It reminded me of a beautiful Hindi movie released at that time called “Bhuvan Shome” of Utpal Dutt as a railway officer who came to a Gujarat Village like this for an inquiry and the story seemed to have simply continued:).

Exactly at five, he woke me up, brought water for washing and a big jar of pure lassie (buttermilk), and informed me that the bus would come anytime. He also told me not to hurry up as the bus wouldn’t go without his permission. He owned the one and only shop in that area and was also the leader of that village. He was respected by one and all. Thus I reached Ahmedabad at around 7.30 in the evening after the chaos and disturbances of my plan. My friends were upset and worried about me, as I was known to be a very punctual man and very particular about getting to places sharp on time. The communication facility was very poor in those days. Our entire plan to go for a movie got spoilt.. I was not upset about the failure of our weekend program; on the contrary, I was ecstatic to gain a lot from those villagers. Until that time, I did not have an opportunity to interact with the village fraternity. This gave me a direct experience of what was true and sincere and how love one should be offered without any expectation. In my heart, I thanked the railways for creating the confusion around the platform as otherwise it would not have been possible to get this fascinating direct experience of true village life!

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Another interesting memory was in Bombay.

I was coming out of Kurla station and two young blind girls also got down and requested me to help them cross to the other side of the road and I promptly agreed. They held my hand firmly and we were about to cross over when another young girl came and held my hand. I was surprised to see as she caught it rather firmly. She was a beautiful college-going girl. Immediately I shook her away and told her why are you holding my hand. She was surprised. I told her I am not blind. Only I was helping these girls to cross. I then realized that I was also wearing dark goggles quite like those blind girls. On learning this, she blushed furiously in embarssment and ran away from us and the Bombay crowd enjoyed this comedy of error.

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One more instance coming to my memory was an interesting story.

It was sometime in 1993/94 after the Bombay bombings. I was coming from Ahmedabad to Bombay in my car. I was near the Andheri railway crossing and while waiting for the train to cross, two police officers came and asked me to come out of the car and I did. They asked a few mechanical questions about where I was coming from and my name address and all. After a few minutes, they allowed me to continue my travel. Then I was told that they suspected me to be Tiger Memon, a wanted person by CBI and Interpol for investigation. Tiger Memon was a former member of D-Company, a gang led by Dawood Ebrahim. They saw me wearing a red shirt and goggles, similar to their photo, and only one letter difference in my surname. The same Bombay crowd came in large numbers and gazed at me and my red and white Standard Herald car. Seeing the crowd was increasing I took a diversion and drew away. I am still scared of the scene as the crowd could so easily have assaulted me even if it was a bare suspicion.

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3 interesting anecdotes framed on my memories

The year was 1968 and the month was November. I was working in a town called Kalol in North Gujarat. Being homesick, every weekend I used to visit my friend’s place in Ahmedabad. Normally, after lunch, I used to take a 2’O clock train to go to Ahmedabad. Those days there were three classes of compartments, such as: first, second and third. There was no a/c class as we see today and in the hot summer, we used to keep the wooden shutters closed. After getting a second-class ticket, as usual, I went and sat in the compartment on the train at platform number 4. There was nobody other than me in the second class. I had an Illustrated Weekly and kept reading. The train started off and since the windows were closed, I counted the number of stations the train stopped at. After the third stop, the fourth was Sabarmati, prior to my destination – Ahmedabad, which was near each other, quite like the Marine lines and Church gate stations of Bombay. I came to the door and found that it was not Sabarmati, but an unknown small station. I suddenly got down and found the train was going to Viramgam. As it was a new place and I knew only broken Gujarati, I was worried, confused aand totally perplexed about what to do! I enquired with the station master, who told me “why did you come on this train? Don’t you know from 1st October Viramgam trains would go from platform number four? It was also put up on the Notice Board, he said . Fortunately, he was a good person and told me to sit in his office and told me that he would attend to me after the train left. Being a very small station, the staff strength was very lean and the Station Master doubled up in various roles. He then told me that the next train was at 7 in the evening. I could try for a bus at 5 PM. As I had no option and not knowing the local language, he communicated with me in broken English and Hindi. He also told me he would go to his house close by after locking the office. As there were no hotels available in that area, he told the shop owner, who was a panchayat leader, to rest in his house until the bus time. Since it was a very hot summer, I decided to go with him. With my colorful shirt and pants among the dhoti-worn villagers, I was literally on show for the village boys and children. They all started collecting in good numbers and trying to look and touch me, like I was a showman or a celebrity. The Station Master kept pushing them away. On hearing that a new ‘avatar’ had arrived, many more people and children started coming. to check out this alien. Seeing me blushing, the people arranged a cordon around me. I certainly felt like I was a film star.

The station master’s house was a clean village house. His wife had passed away and he was living alone with his teenage girl. After hearing this news, his daughter who was away to bring the cows back home from the farm, came running …quite excited to see me. The father was busy keeping away all the boys crowding around me and instructing them not to disturb me. He gave me water to wash my feet and pulled up a chair for me to sit down. He instructed his daughter to clean his room and create a bedrest for me, spreading out a clean sari of his late wife’s alongwith with a pillow. He then invited me to go and take a rest. But I was not able to rest and was worried about the situation I was caught in. He also instructed someone to go and tell the shopkeeper to inform the bus driver to wait till “Saab comes”. He told me no bus will leave without his permission. I wonderstruck by the hospitality, sincerity, and love the innocent villagers showered on a stranger like me. I really appreciated it, as we rarely see this generosity from urban citizens. Maybe they have less time and energy for looking at the affairs of others!

It reminded me of a beautiful Hindi movie released at that time called “Bhuvan Shome” of Utpal Dutt as a railway officer who came to a Gujarat Village like this for an inquiry and the story seemed to have simply continued:

Exactly at five, he woke me up, brought water for washing and a big jar of pure lassie (buttermilk), and informed me that the bus would come anytime. He also told me not to hurry up as the bus wouldn’t go without his permission. He owned the one and only shop in that area and was also the leader of that village. He was respected by one and all. Thus I reached Ahmedabad at around 7.30 in the evening after the chaos and disturbances of my plan. My friends were upset and worried about me, as I was known to be a very punctual man and very particular about getting to places sharp on time. The communication facility was very poor in those days. Our entire plan to go for a movie got spoilt.. I was not upset about the failure of our weekend program; on the contrary, I was ecstatic to gain a lot from those villagers. Until that time, I did not have an opportunity to interact with the village fraternity. This gave me a direct experience of what was true and sincere and how love one should be offered without any expectation. In my heart, I thanked the railways for creating the confusion around the platform as otherwise it would not have been possible to get this fascinating direct experience of true village life!

***********************************************************

Another interesting memory was in Bombay.

I was coming out of Kurla station and two young blind girls also got down and requested me to help them cross to the other side of the road and I promptly agreed. They held my hand firmly and we were about to cross over when another young girl came and held my hand. I was surprised to see as she caught it raher firmly. She was a beautiful college-going girl. Immediately I shook her away and told her why are you holding my hand. She was surprised. I told her I am not blind. Only I was helping these girls to cross. I then realized that I was also wearing dark goggles quite like those blind girls. On learning this, she blushed furiously in embarssment and ran away from us and the Bombay crowd enjoyed this comedy of error.

************************************************************

One more instance coming to my memory was an interesting story.

It was sometime in 1993/94 after the Bombay bombings. I was coming from Ahmedabad to Bombay in my car. I was near the Andheri railway crossing and while waiting for the train to cross, two police officers came and asked me to come out of the car and I did. They asked a few mechanical questions about where I was coming from and my name address and all. After a few minutes, they allowed me to continue my travel. Then I was told that they suspected me to be Tiger Memon, a wanted person by CBI and Interpol for investigation. Tiger Memon was a former member of D-Company, a gang led by Dawood Ebrahim. They saw me wearing a red shirt and goggles, similar to their photo, and only one letter difference in my surname. The same Bombay crowd came in large numbers and gazed at me and my red and white Standard Herald car. Seeing the crowd was increasing I took a diversion and drew away. I am still scared of the scene as the crowd could so easily have assaulted me even if it was a bare suspicion.

**************************************************************

My beautiful and inspiring visit to Birur, Hassan District of Karnataka

It was my first visit to this area of Malanad, which resembles the western ghats of Kerala. Filled with Very beautiful valleys of greenery and myriad tiny streams it is indeed a heavenly sight for sore eyes. After completing my official duties and fulfilling the purpose of the visit, my friend, who is an architect and running an architectural firm in the UK, advised me to visit a few old temples, nearby. As I had enough time, I pursued his idea. Recently a team of experts had visited from UNESCO, world Heritage center, a visit led by none other than Mrs. Sudha Murthy, the Ex-chairperson of Infosys Foundation. I remember reading the reports in many newspapers, which gave me additional impetus and sparked greater interest in me.

The climate was indeed very good – with a cloudy sky and a mild drizzle preserving the beauty and bringing it alive and to its original splendor. I could compare the scenery and weather with any of the places I have visited in Germany/Switzerland. In fact, i have seen some similar beautiful valleys, during my recent visit to Kerala too.

Accompanied by my wife, we first went to the Amutheswari Temple at Amruta Pura in Chikkamangalur Taluka. The Shiva Deity here is considered very powerful by many devotees, who visit it every day from different parts of India and abroad. There is one Sharada Mandir close by in the same complex. These were constructed 11 centuries ago by the Hindu and Jain rulers of the Chola Dynasty. The temple was built in accordance with the ancient Hoysala architectural style with a wide mandapa and has an original outer wall with unique equally spaced circular carvings. At the entrance, I took some snaps of the grand and beautiful pillars and the majestic roof. This reminded me of Mount Abu, on the Rajasthan/Gujerat border, with its wonderful carvings under the roof, where photographs are taken lying on one’s back. I used to take my friends and relatives who visited me at that time, long years ago when I was a bachelor and had a company car at my disposal. The Gopura, Garbhagrihas, Rangamandapa, Roofs- everything hasits own intricacy and truly is a magnificent beauty. We were amazed to see the beautifully polished pillars and the roof carvings. The temple is open the whole day and we had a good darshan of the Lord. Many said they pray for the blessings of God and their wishes get fulfilled by the grace of it. Whenever we visit that area, they make it a point to come and offer their gratitude. People are served hot and sumptuous prasadam in the Dining hall. We made our contributions, which by the way, is not compulsory. We then left for the next temple almost 40Kms. away just as the rain was about to begin.

The Malnad region looks very similar to Kerala, rich with coconuts, areca/betel nuts, vegetables and bananas. I am told hundreds of trucks ply daily to carry these products to the other parts of Karnataka.

We then drove down to the world-famous sites of Halebeedu-Belur. It was also about 16 Kilometres and further away on the highway. The roads are very good and the drive too was pleasant. The whole area was kept very clean due to the recent visit of the world team from UNESCO. The important structures are restored and there was no dust or dirt, floors were spick and span, separate bins everywhere for different wastes, toilets and so on. The garden around the area was very immaculate. I felt everything looked, world-class. The recent rain and the intermittent sunrays gave a very warm welcome to everyone. Being a holiday, the place was a bit crowded.

The beauty of the marvelous structures of Halebeedu, is unexplainable. The small town of Halebeedu, literally meaning “old encampment” and was the capital of Hoysala during the 11th century and reached glorious heights during the reign of Ballala ll –grandson of Vishnuvardhan. The Hoysala empire was extended from the river Kaveri in the west to the Krishna River in the east. This place was enriched by the fertile deltas of these rivers. The magnificent shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva is the largest and the best of Hoysala temples, took almost 86 long years to complete. This resembles the Chennakeshava temple of Belur, a few kilometers away, except for the more profusely carved exquisite figures adorning the shrine here.

The sculptural extravaganza of this wonderful temple has been lavishly praised by many experts in this field such as James Fergusson-a well-known personality of art and architecture. He remarked that it “may probably be considered as one of the most marvelous exhibitions of human labor to be found even in the patient east”. The Hoysaleswara shrine is compared with the famous Parthenon in Athens, which is the ultimate by western critics. In Fergusson’s words “that no two canopies in the whole building are alike and every part exhibits a joyous exuberance of fancy, scorning every mathematical restraint. All that is wild in human feeling is found portrayed on these walls”. Another authority on Indian architecture Percy Brown wrote” This “Hoysaleswara” temple is without exaggeration, one of the most remarkable monuments ever produced by the hand of man” Many leading critics state that the magnitude, exuberance of carving and artistic majesty of the shine is incomparable.

This unique complex is built with soapstone. It has four porches for entry. All temples in the Belur areas, porches are flanked by miniature shrines. As we go around the shrine, some of the finest wall panels seen are: the durbar of Lord Shiva, the childhood pranks of Balkrishna, the battle between Arjuna and Karna, Lord Krishna lifting the Govardhana Mountain, Lord Shiva in dancing pose as Nataraja, Gajendra Moksha, the shooting of Matsya Yantra; Krishna and Arjuna alighting from the chariot and taking bath in the pond after getting the news of Abhimanyu’s death and Ravana lifting the Kailasha mountain- abode of Shiva. Many of these exhibits displayed in the open-air museum and showcased in the Sculpture gallery. Both the sanctums enshrine an east facing Shivalingam, preceded by a Nandi Mandapa with huge Nandi bull. The large and spacious temple interiors are well known for carved pillars supporting the ceiling. The four sides portray the works of many wonderful sculptors. There are also a number of inscriptions of historical importance. There are many temples situated here such as Kedareshwara, Brahmeshwara, Rudreshvara, Ranganatha and Jain shrines. It takes days to properly study and go around the intricacies of our ancient history.

They say ‘a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step’. My first few steps to explore the historical treasures of India have miles to go but this one was indeed very special, memorable and inspirational. The Gods of architecture are right here within our own country.

Some of our snapshots around the area of Belur-HALEBEEDU heritage sites in Karnataka

Old fotos for media