Day Z kickoff
I got the call about his wedding almost 6 months earlier, but it was just a week before when I decided I will go. Tatkal tickets were booked. I finished saying my chagrined bye-byes to my music teacher (who could not believe that I was actually missing Thyagarajar aradhana and asked me 4-5 times in disbelief) and my yoga teacher (who blessed me and made special arrangements to give dhurya deeksha separately). I hurried home to find mom ensconced watching her serials. After preparing dinner, I reluctantly started ironing and packing which I managed to finish only by 2 am. I slept off and on Tuesday morning, I managed to leave home after further packing (forgetting toothbrush and towel in spite of my checklist) only around 10:45 am. I reached Salem around 3:35 pm. And Ernakulam Salem Blore passenger was at 3:35, luckily, it came late and I boarded the train which started just as I settled in my seat. I was wondering, if it was the soolam effect.
Salem to Bangy
Mallu and kanada uncles sitting all around me were pretty decent and they helped with my luggage, they let me sit by their window seat in the evening to watch the sunset and scenery. As we passed Dharmapuri, the lush green paddy fields and few white storks scattered here and there, the flowers and villagers reminded me of காக்கை சிறகினிலே. I tried to translate the lyrics in English with the pen borrowed from my neighbouring Mallu uncle and here is what I ended up with:
தீக்குள் விரலை வைத்தால் நந்தலாலா - நின்னை
தீண்டும் இன்பம் தோன்றுதடா நந்தலாலா
With my fingers fine in flames searing, Nandalala
Arises, sensuous pleasure of your caress endearing, Nandalala
(Hope you and mahakavi forgive me)
Kittur on Rani Chennamma
It was little after 8:30 pm when I alighted and figured out which was Rani Chennamma’s platform. The train was apparently standing on tracks after Nizam left and I was wondering, why they were only making departure announcements, and nothing about arrival. I found my senior and his wife in S9 trying to sort out their berths and I happily collapsed on my berth in S2 after ticket checking got over. I could not eat the soya dosas and cauliflower sabji that mom had packed for me, thanks to the bus-train journey.
Belgaum Foundry Cluster – B’s home
Early morning, after watching the morning scenes around, I got 2 potato cutlets since i had been starving the whole tuesday and joined my senior and his wife in the platform. A vehicle had been arranged for arranging our stay in the Foundry Cluster.
It was a spacious double bedded room, which I could have all for myself. I cut short my surya namaskars and pranayams, so that we would not be late for breakfast in B’s home. After drowning the upma which they call kara bath, boondi, besan laddoo and motichoor laddoos with a cup of hot coffee, we went down to watch the engagement and wedding videos. Bouncing bubbly kids were playing all around and elderly Aggies were examining the displayed bride’s gifts, weighing the Ag in their hands by the adjacent room. B’s family was very courteous and his friend in college first year, drew an arabic mehndi pattern on my left palm, while we watched the videos.
B’s father reminded me that I had apparently interacted with him on campus. After informal chats, it was more than 2 pm. Because I had stopped eating rice for a while, I had rotis, badanekayi masala, thayir vada, thaak (butter milk in marati it seems, I told them, it means to attack in tamizh and they were amused) and semiya payasam along with more than 30 other friends and relatives, on shamiyanaed terrace on the second floor.
The main event - Reception
We went back to take rest in our Cluster rooms and I slept off blissfully. Woke up, finished my left over pranayams and surya namaskars, Vethathri's 14 point acupressure and got summons for getting ready for reception. After bathing it was 7:25 pm as I finished draping the lotus pink maroon bordered valkalam gifted by my mom’s Mallu friend. My neighbour, gemini Manju akka had patiently taught me to tie it on Sunday evening with 5 pins and a sari clip, instead of my usual 2 pin draping and I too ended up liking the neat mermaid finish better than the 2 pin draping taught by a piscean.
The open air reception area, decorated with lovely flowers and soft green grass and buffet tables set up for soups and starters, paneer butter, naans and rumalis, rice items and deserts and paan. My seniors wondered, if I knew when the groom and bride would be entering, as the pair brimming in happiness, also entered the venue at 7:30 pm. I had to make up stories every time on why I was not eating rice.
Back to Bangy
After gorging, we quickly changed, packed and boarded VRL from Triveni. After losing my Au bracelet and petite titan raga watch (which I had bought for my first red carpet party) hardly a month before during previous trip to blore, I was worried about my necklace and double deck jhimki in my luggage dumped in the bus luggage section. Suddenly, I started loathing Au and other possessions which stole my mental peace. Why should I ever possess things that don’t give me peace of mind? Am not going to adorn anymore Au, diamonds or kanaka pushparagams other than daily wear, i will give this also up in a few years and just meditate in some ashram. Anything is worth pursuing, possessing only as long as you don't have it, the moment it is yours, it immediately loses its initial charm. The soft-spoken helpful girl next to me on the upper berth in VRL was slender with long hair. Reached friends place and hostel subsequently safely. Wish, the wedding had been planned when there were waters in Gokak and Vajrapoha falls.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Kodumudi – Thirumurthy Sthalam
Situated near swiftly flowing Cauvery waters, Kodumudi is a punya sthalam for doing all sorts of pariharas especially for marriages. It one of the few temples where all three Shiva (Magudeshwara), Brahma, and Vishnu (VeeraNarayana Perumal) preside. Kind of similar to Bangalore, Gavi Gangadhar temple, the sun rays fall on the Swayambu linga during first week of Aavani (around mid August) and first week of Panguni (mid March). There is a divine Vanni tree that is reported to be 3000 years old and still surviving. Agasthyar was supposed to have prayed here. Bathing in the river Cauvery is very pleasant here, the currents are not too swift, and the water is refreshing. There is also this legend of fight between Vayu and Aadhisesha and am still exploring the inner significance of this tale.
Our trip
I was still staying in office guest house and dad summoned me to come to kodumudi for a pooja. So I booked tickets, packed clothes for discarding. It was Anjan OC4, who escorted me that day from guest house till I boarded my cab. I reached station, boarded Mayiladuthurai. The next day our train to Kodumudi was at 6:45. Mom, bro and I boarded the 4 am bus and reached station in time, boarded the Tiruchirappalli-Erode passenger. We had slept off on the upper berths, little paying attention to the fact that the train stopped in kodumudi for hardly 2 mins. I came down from my upper berth only after the train stopped. Mom was still on the train when the train started moving. My brother physically lifted my mom and the train sped off, while I was still by the coach door. I was terribly upset and a silly smile spread on my face, the one that pops up when the situation is totally hopeless. My brother and mom were on the platform, our escort had come and I was still there on the fleeing train. Luckily, within next 10 minutes, there was again a 2 minutes stop in Unjalur. I alighted there, bought a ticket and thanks to Trichy return train arriving almost 1 hr late, I could peacefully reach my destination after waiting for around 10 minutes.
This time, I alighted well before the train started moving. We did our pooja first (thanks to my KSY/KSD), before having the darshan of the presiding deities. Thanks to my legs, my brother lifted the 21 kudams of water from the slippery steps leading to Cauvery and I just did the pradakshina around Vinayagar and Arasa maram. Mom literally slept off and the purohit was scratching his back and yawning between mantras. I participated with nonchalance, as the purohit bid me to tie a thaali myself with the south-west kalasam symbolizing Rahu. It was funny. However, the best part was in Cauvery, which was divinely soothing, in spite of the prevailing typical high temperatures of Karur.
After discarding the dress I wore and changing into dry clothes, and other puja rituals, we went and had a pleasant darshan. It was relatively big temple. It felt really good especially near the Shiva sannithi. We did our pradakshinas outside and took rest in silence for a while, gazing at the temple gopurams.
We returned by bus to Trichy, without hassles and dad was amused to hear our saga.
Trivia
Only yesterday evening, my yoga teacher Mrs. Kalavathi was telling about Ajna chakra concentration, kind of shambhavi mudhra but with eyes closed. She has done her MA in astrology from Madurai Kamarajar University and is a uterus cancer survivor. She was explaining about Varanasi, and how it meant gazing between eyebrows (vara-forehead and nasi-nose). She said people go physically to Varanasi instead of following the intended activity sitting at home.
I wish, instead of blindly following rituals and making all the holy places crowded, and polluted physically and spiritually, people practiced the intended inner meanings with a pure heart devoted to whatever god/holy soul they chose, treating their own body as a temple and a holy ksethra.
Our trip
I was still staying in office guest house and dad summoned me to come to kodumudi for a pooja. So I booked tickets, packed clothes for discarding. It was Anjan OC4, who escorted me that day from guest house till I boarded my cab. I reached station, boarded Mayiladuthurai. The next day our train to Kodumudi was at 6:45. Mom, bro and I boarded the 4 am bus and reached station in time, boarded the Tiruchirappalli-Erode passenger. We had slept off on the upper berths, little paying attention to the fact that the train stopped in kodumudi for hardly 2 mins. I came down from my upper berth only after the train stopped. Mom was still on the train when the train started moving. My brother physically lifted my mom and the train sped off, while I was still by the coach door. I was terribly upset and a silly smile spread on my face, the one that pops up when the situation is totally hopeless. My brother and mom were on the platform, our escort had come and I was still there on the fleeing train. Luckily, within next 10 minutes, there was again a 2 minutes stop in Unjalur. I alighted there, bought a ticket and thanks to Trichy return train arriving almost 1 hr late, I could peacefully reach my destination after waiting for around 10 minutes.
This time, I alighted well before the train started moving. We did our pooja first (thanks to my KSY/KSD), before having the darshan of the presiding deities. Thanks to my legs, my brother lifted the 21 kudams of water from the slippery steps leading to Cauvery and I just did the pradakshina around Vinayagar and Arasa maram. Mom literally slept off and the purohit was scratching his back and yawning between mantras. I participated with nonchalance, as the purohit bid me to tie a thaali myself with the south-west kalasam symbolizing Rahu. It was funny. However, the best part was in Cauvery, which was divinely soothing, in spite of the prevailing typical high temperatures of Karur.
After discarding the dress I wore and changing into dry clothes, and other puja rituals, we went and had a pleasant darshan. It was relatively big temple. It felt really good especially near the Shiva sannithi. We did our pradakshinas outside and took rest in silence for a while, gazing at the temple gopurams.
We returned by bus to Trichy, without hassles and dad was amused to hear our saga.
Trivia
Only yesterday evening, my yoga teacher Mrs. Kalavathi was telling about Ajna chakra concentration, kind of shambhavi mudhra but with eyes closed. She has done her MA in astrology from Madurai Kamarajar University and is a uterus cancer survivor. She was explaining about Varanasi, and how it meant gazing between eyebrows (vara-forehead and nasi-nose). She said people go physically to Varanasi instead of following the intended activity sitting at home.
I wish, instead of blindly following rituals and making all the holy places crowded, and polluted physically and spiritually, people practiced the intended inner meanings with a pure heart devoted to whatever god/holy soul they chose, treating their own body as a temple and a holy ksethra.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
House Sparrows and Ants
Mom, Carpenter uncle and I were walking back from the Annanagar home. Suddenly carpenter uncle mentioned about cell phone radiations killing sparrows. Only then, it dawned on me that I had not seen one for many years. I searched on net and found articles on sparrows listed as endangered species as early as 2005. 6 years and I never missed a sparrow till now.
My Sparrows Saga
In my school days, there used to be so many sparrows around the quarters, eating whatnot. While rushing out for school, dad would close all the windows. I would sneak in under some pretext and let open one window for the sparrow to build its nest on the cupboard. The clumsy sparrow built its nest up there, but there was one baby sparrow, which somehow could not thrive up there. It fell down, it was brownish pink, without any feathers and maggots had infested its body. It stank for a while and we decided, it was best to leave all the windows closed when we went out.
Dad had got me a book with birds pictures, by Salim Ali, I believe. I used to trace out sparrows and babblers from them.
Campus obviously was wi-fi. Thanks to our academic schedule, many a nights, I used to sleep with the laptop on my belly and wi-fi on. For years, I have used wi-fi round the clock. I would never bother about those articles on radiation effects of cellphones. But now, after discovering about sparrows 7 years later, am keeping my mobile off the bed, I switch off net connection, every time consciously, instead of mindless surfing.
Ants – one of our practical teachers
Yes’day was the first day of my yoga class nearby – a recap of what I had already learnt in Aliyar and Bangalore. The instructor was telling us about ants. “How ants have come to symbolize surusuruppu and hard-work. They have a life cycle of hardly 6 months. Ants always move forward, no matter, what obstacle is placed before it. It takes an alternate route or crosses over the obstacle, but keeps on moving without a second thought. Ants forever seem to be hoarding things, but it does not do it for itself, but rather for its future generations and its clan. It eats, what was already stored for it, by its previous ancestors.” Reminded me of the shraadh we do. My astro mentor tells me that every grain we eat now is because of the shraddh dhaan done by our progenies in previous births.
I know many people, who create rangoli master pieces. It is like a bewitching painting, photograph at times. But I wish, people would put a pinch of sugar, flour for ants instead of rangolis in fancy colours. Of course, a thing of beauty is a sumptuous feast for eyes. Thanks to my back, I don’t put rangolis, I just feed some sugar and flour for ants everyday and still get scolded by mom for not polluting soil with rangoli colours.
What is ours to give and take, we are mere tenants here for a fleeting few years, enjoying what had we had left unfinished in our last birth and unknowingly accumulating more. Let us leave this a better, happier place than we found it.
My Sparrows Saga
In my school days, there used to be so many sparrows around the quarters, eating whatnot. While rushing out for school, dad would close all the windows. I would sneak in under some pretext and let open one window for the sparrow to build its nest on the cupboard. The clumsy sparrow built its nest up there, but there was one baby sparrow, which somehow could not thrive up there. It fell down, it was brownish pink, without any feathers and maggots had infested its body. It stank for a while and we decided, it was best to leave all the windows closed when we went out.
Dad had got me a book with birds pictures, by Salim Ali, I believe. I used to trace out sparrows and babblers from them.
Campus obviously was wi-fi. Thanks to our academic schedule, many a nights, I used to sleep with the laptop on my belly and wi-fi on. For years, I have used wi-fi round the clock. I would never bother about those articles on radiation effects of cellphones. But now, after discovering about sparrows 7 years later, am keeping my mobile off the bed, I switch off net connection, every time consciously, instead of mindless surfing.
Ants – one of our practical teachers
Yes’day was the first day of my yoga class nearby – a recap of what I had already learnt in Aliyar and Bangalore. The instructor was telling us about ants. “How ants have come to symbolize surusuruppu and hard-work. They have a life cycle of hardly 6 months. Ants always move forward, no matter, what obstacle is placed before it. It takes an alternate route or crosses over the obstacle, but keeps on moving without a second thought. Ants forever seem to be hoarding things, but it does not do it for itself, but rather for its future generations and its clan. It eats, what was already stored for it, by its previous ancestors.” Reminded me of the shraadh we do. My astro mentor tells me that every grain we eat now is because of the shraddh dhaan done by our progenies in previous births.
I know many people, who create rangoli master pieces. It is like a bewitching painting, photograph at times. But I wish, people would put a pinch of sugar, flour for ants instead of rangolis in fancy colours. Of course, a thing of beauty is a sumptuous feast for eyes. Thanks to my back, I don’t put rangolis, I just feed some sugar and flour for ants everyday and still get scolded by mom for not polluting soil with rangoli colours.
What is ours to give and take, we are mere tenants here for a fleeting few years, enjoying what had we had left unfinished in our last birth and unknowingly accumulating more. Let us leave this a better, happier place than we found it.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Gunaseelam
This was one place where my March 15 sadhayam akka had gone many times and promised to take me at least there once, but I could never get the chance. It was just 2+ hours from my place by bus. Almost a decade went by without ever going to this temple once.
Recently, mom had kept an article on Srirangam being Shukra sthala in a Vaikunta Ekadashi special edition for my perusal. I found Gunaseelam listed as one of the nearby places and I at once asked mom to accompany me. So the trip was planned for a Thursday. I wrapped a chrome yellow–sepia pashmina stole for the evening over my mambala manjal-maroon border mysore silk.
We boarded a bus around 3 pm and reached the temple just after 5 pm. It was a small temple and the mentally challenged inmates had a separate building to the right of the temple entrance. Devotees can't light lamps inside apparently, so we just offered kind of jasmine flowers. It was time for the evening pooja for those people. After few minutes of waiting, when I started reading VSN etched on granite by the left side, the poojari allowed us in.
We had a divine darshan of Prasanna Ventakachalapathy and it was blissful experience. It felt too good in the shrine with so much of good vibrations in such proximity. After a pradakshina, I sat outside, waiting for the evening pooja to commence, so that we could savour lord’s darshan once more. The mentally challenged inmates arrived and a guy directed the others to line up separately. After the daily evening pooja behind screens, the inmates were let inside and blessed. After maha arathi darshan, I left the place with a heavy heart. It was too good there next to the lord in his refreshing tulasi garlands.
We caught the same bus while returning. My jihva started playing games and I urged mom to take me to Dominos pizza, where we ended up ruining our health and wealth. Need to curb my once in a bluemoon pizza treats which is getting increasingly regular.
Recently, mom had kept an article on Srirangam being Shukra sthala in a Vaikunta Ekadashi special edition for my perusal. I found Gunaseelam listed as one of the nearby places and I at once asked mom to accompany me. So the trip was planned for a Thursday. I wrapped a chrome yellow–sepia pashmina stole for the evening over my mambala manjal-maroon border mysore silk.
We boarded a bus around 3 pm and reached the temple just after 5 pm. It was a small temple and the mentally challenged inmates had a separate building to the right of the temple entrance. Devotees can't light lamps inside apparently, so we just offered kind of jasmine flowers. It was time for the evening pooja for those people. After few minutes of waiting, when I started reading VSN etched on granite by the left side, the poojari allowed us in.
We had a divine darshan of Prasanna Ventakachalapathy and it was blissful experience. It felt too good in the shrine with so much of good vibrations in such proximity. After a pradakshina, I sat outside, waiting for the evening pooja to commence, so that we could savour lord’s darshan once more. The mentally challenged inmates arrived and a guy directed the others to line up separately. After the daily evening pooja behind screens, the inmates were let inside and blessed. After maha arathi darshan, I left the place with a heavy heart. It was too good there next to the lord in his refreshing tulasi garlands.
We caught the same bus while returning. My jihva started playing games and I urged mom to take me to Dominos pizza, where we ended up ruining our health and wealth. Need to curb my once in a bluemoon pizza treats which is getting increasingly regular.
Rameshwaram - Devipattinam
Jan 3rd Monday Night
My sister’s engagement is likely to be fixed on Feb 7th and the astrologer had made this shraadh trip sine quo non. I left the dinner preparation to my sis and went for my vocal classes to discover that I have to learn new songs for Thyagarajar aradhana on 23rd. I rushed back home, packed luggage, neatly arranged things in home and rushed to busstand. Our Sethu exp was at 10:40 pm and it departed close to 11 pm. We woke up at 2:50 am in Ramnad and alighted at station a little after 3 am. We decided to hire an omni.
Devipattinam
My friend (who has applied for divorce just weeks after his wedding last year), had performed the same rituals few days earlier in the same places where we were going and had already warned me about the rates and the prevailing conditions, however nothing prepared me for the presence of Coovam in Ramnad.
The cute iyer on his bike had a spashta way of speaking shuddha tamizh and his father-in-law iyer with crooked hands was the guy, who directed all the procedures. After taking bath in the in the iyer's bungalow, we approached the sea. It stank like coovam, just like my friend had described. (The old guy told us later that it would be worse in thai and purataasi.) Nevertheless, I prayed and took a dip in that waveless sea like others. Then the younger iyer stepped inside the water and we did nava bhasana pooja and a pradakshina in the hip to neck deep water. After some procedures and 10 circumambulations around vinayakar and arasa maram, we had to get a mini kudam of water from another equally septic water tank that stank feces. After some more procedures were over, the old iyer, bid me to sit and poured that water on me and asked me to change dress. We discarded the wet clothes that we had worn previously and immediately one old lady took those dresses and vanished. After 2k per head for two homams and extra money for pooja items, we sevichufied KadalAdaitha Aadhi Jeganatha Perumal and returned to railway station around 8 am, just in time for the 8:30 Rameshwaram passenger. Incidentally, the omni driver (ex-state bank manager) had dad’s name and his son had my bro’s name.
Rameshwaram
I climbed up the luggage rack of the passenger train and woke up just as the train reached Pamban bridge. We were picked up by the kind police guy in his police vehicle (thanks to Chithappa’s acquaintances) who arranged everything right from lodging, shraaddh poojari, temple pooja escort and local sightseeing the next day.
Amavasya Shraaddh Ceremony
It was around 10 am, and I had not carried my lavender umbrella and so I put the towel over head to protect my hair and skin from the mildly scorching sun. The iyer reprimanded this, stating, one should not cover their head. I chose to ignore this. First, we were asked to make 11 dips in the sea. Then a few procedures and then 36 dips in the pen kadal which had comparatively milder waves. This guy, unlike the Devipattinam mercenary iyer, was patient, explained the inner meaning of each procedure and ritual. This guy charged us 4.5k. After finishing Go pooja and making the offering, it was close to 2 pm. This time, I prayed with bhava throughout as my mentor had asked me to and this was satisfying. My sister was flabbergasted, when the iyer blessed my bro with seegram vivaham prapthirasthu, my sis with adhi seegram vivaham prapthirasthu and me with udyogam prapthirasthu, since i looked relatively younger amongst the three.
After taking rest and changing into dry clothes around 3:30 pm, we again wore our morning wet clothes and went for the cleansing chill bucket shower of the usual 22 teerthas. Our police escort had instructed our teertha water handler, so we had a quick and proper teertha water cleansing at a lesser rate accompanied by elaborate sthala varalaaru. Again after changing into dry clothes, a uniformed lady police and the bomb squad guy escorted us for darshan. We had a proper sitting darshan of pal abhishekam being done for moolavar and special darshan of parvathavardhini ambal without queues and to heart’s content. The bomb squad guy left us when we started our long pradhakshina. We walked in silence, took few snaps and came out and had our first proper meal of the day around 8 pm.
Prathamai Local Sight Seeing on Jan 5th Wednesday
I had been told time and again, not to play in the sea by both bro, sis and the iyer. So after much coaxing and cajoling, I got permission for 1 hour of swimming from 6-7am. I was up from 5 am, but thanks to my sleeping bro, I could come out only around 6:30 am. Even then, a ladies group in the sea, got hold of my hands and forced me to jump with each wave. At last the ladies group let me go, when they finally listened to my protests that I could swim. But again these self appointed iyappa devotees would not let me venture further in the waters. So I was forced to swim in just 9 ft deep water. After changing and having breakfast, we waited for the sudden burst of rain to subside and the police arranged cab to arrive.
Back to Ramanathapuram – Thirupulani – Uttarkosamangai.
Since, amavasya was ending around 2 pm, we could not see these Ramanad places on 4th morning. Our first stop was Thirupulani. 2 buses load of melmaruvathur sakthi red ladies marred our darshan there. It was pretty dark even in the moolavar sannithi. We were glad to escape from there. However, the vehicle steering wheel oil tank got damaged in a road pothole and diesel was leaking profusely. We reached just in time for the uccha kaal pooja in Uttarakosamangai temple. Again, men in uniform ensured, we had proper darshan and pal abhishekam of spadika linga in the emerald nataraj sannidhi. There were fishes in the kulam, but we had kept the tiny chappathi bits in car itself.
Returning to Rameshwaram
We stopped by a lotus pond on the way and took few snaps. Our first stop was floating stones, where we spent some time feeding the red tailed black fishes with chappathi bits and pori. We then went to Ramar padham, where many white necked bald eagles were soaring high. I was seized with an urge to scale the DD2 tower nearby. We cut short dhanushkodi and kothandaramar trip, since I was exhausted. Still we paid the full amount since the driver had incurred repair expenses.
We took snaps in the same places where we three kids had posed 20 years earlier for memory’s sake. Our courteous police guy whose native was Srivaikuntam, was talkative during return trip to station. He was there around 10 pm for our Varanasi express at 10:40 pm. He told us, how a 70 year old granny had drowned while doing amavasya shraadh in dhanushkodi and told it was good that we cancelled dhanushkodi trip where water levels had suddenly risen. He also told us that he could have arranged the room for free. I have no issues paying the proper amount. In-fact in thiruvannamalai, we paid five times the normal room rent on poornima days. The police guy said, that he had been in the same station from 84 when Indira Gandhi was shot dead. He had arranged his “doing duty” in Rameshwaram, even if his salary accounting was done in Chennai.
I told him, that just few minutes before we stopped in Pamban, a guy had jumped off the bridge and our frivolous driver stated that we had missed the sight. A day earlier, folks had stopped a 30ish lady from jumping off the bridge. Our police guy, went on to add his stories - about the number of dead bodies in sea reducing from 80s and 90s, when explosives were used for fishing and local fights ensued. He described bloated bodies, where watches would be hidden inside the swollen hand. He said, they would dig pits and bury the bodies together so that 2 months of unnecessary investigation time could be saved.
I planned not to sleep right away so that I could sit by the coach steps and watch the sea water over pamban bridge. The train was right in the middle of the bridge when thoughts about the guy who had jumped off the bridge just that afternoon came to my mind. My brother was furious that I sat by the compartment steps over sea, when the sea wind was quite forceful.
Miscellaneous
Suddenly all my police encounters reeled in my mind. I was still lying in CMC in 1999, when chithappa’s police acquaintances used to visit me and play brainvita goli gundu games. The next time Subramaniapuram police (my Kumbakonam Fine Arts college, painting mentor Ezhil anna’s chithappa) came home and we had just wheat dosas to offer them. Next, it was my college mate’s police dad who was my lending library. He had all three Quran, Bible and Gita. I borrowed many books from him, including the ones on Indira Gandhi assassination which listed the minute details of the number of bullets that hit her various body parts illustrated in pictures, Sri Lankan operations by Indian Police, Bachendri Pal’s Himalayan ascent, Third World War amongst others authored by men in uniform.
Another college mate whose dad was a Edamalaipattipudhur police was exact opposite and a typical villain police indulging in everything unmentionable. It was yet another Chithappa’s police acquaintance, who gave me “An autobiography of a Yogi.” Another Thiruvannamalai police lent me 100 Rupees when I lost sight of mom during one pournami girivalam without purse or mobile in my hand. In fact, I had the misfortune of learning my life’s most excruciatingly painful lesson from a recently promoted DIG during my difficult Surya maha dasa-Shukra antar dasha period. During this period, there was also an Ujjain SI, who became who made me uncomfortable during my brothers convocation trip in IIMI. Another police S~ in the same trip was my compartmentmate escorting a prisoner back to blore who had stranded off near pak border. He helped me alight around midnight and thrust a tea stating, 'achcha timepass hua'!!!
Most of the police I have interacted with are highly spiritual, philosophical, some religious and a few, firm believers in astrology and one even rustically ritualistic. Whatever, if police is accompanying you, one could have a peaceful proper darshan and satisfying pooja, as long as you want in large temples. Wish I could get a vip escort for early morning tulasi pooja in Thirupathi during pongal holidays.
My sister’s engagement is likely to be fixed on Feb 7th and the astrologer had made this shraadh trip sine quo non. I left the dinner preparation to my sis and went for my vocal classes to discover that I have to learn new songs for Thyagarajar aradhana on 23rd. I rushed back home, packed luggage, neatly arranged things in home and rushed to busstand. Our Sethu exp was at 10:40 pm and it departed close to 11 pm. We woke up at 2:50 am in Ramnad and alighted at station a little after 3 am. We decided to hire an omni.
Devipattinam
My friend (who has applied for divorce just weeks after his wedding last year), had performed the same rituals few days earlier in the same places where we were going and had already warned me about the rates and the prevailing conditions, however nothing prepared me for the presence of Coovam in Ramnad.
The cute iyer on his bike had a spashta way of speaking shuddha tamizh and his father-in-law iyer with crooked hands was the guy, who directed all the procedures. After taking bath in the in the iyer's bungalow, we approached the sea. It stank like coovam, just like my friend had described. (The old guy told us later that it would be worse in thai and purataasi.) Nevertheless, I prayed and took a dip in that waveless sea like others. Then the younger iyer stepped inside the water and we did nava bhasana pooja and a pradakshina in the hip to neck deep water. After some procedures and 10 circumambulations around vinayakar and arasa maram, we had to get a mini kudam of water from another equally septic water tank that stank feces. After some more procedures were over, the old iyer, bid me to sit and poured that water on me and asked me to change dress. We discarded the wet clothes that we had worn previously and immediately one old lady took those dresses and vanished. After 2k per head for two homams and extra money for pooja items, we sevichufied KadalAdaitha Aadhi Jeganatha Perumal and returned to railway station around 8 am, just in time for the 8:30 Rameshwaram passenger. Incidentally, the omni driver (ex-state bank manager) had dad’s name and his son had my bro’s name.
Rameshwaram
I climbed up the luggage rack of the passenger train and woke up just as the train reached Pamban bridge. We were picked up by the kind police guy in his police vehicle (thanks to Chithappa’s acquaintances) who arranged everything right from lodging, shraaddh poojari, temple pooja escort and local sightseeing the next day.
Amavasya Shraaddh Ceremony
It was around 10 am, and I had not carried my lavender umbrella and so I put the towel over head to protect my hair and skin from the mildly scorching sun. The iyer reprimanded this, stating, one should not cover their head. I chose to ignore this. First, we were asked to make 11 dips in the sea. Then a few procedures and then 36 dips in the pen kadal which had comparatively milder waves. This guy, unlike the Devipattinam mercenary iyer, was patient, explained the inner meaning of each procedure and ritual. This guy charged us 4.5k. After finishing Go pooja and making the offering, it was close to 2 pm. This time, I prayed with bhava throughout as my mentor had asked me to and this was satisfying. My sister was flabbergasted, when the iyer blessed my bro with seegram vivaham prapthirasthu, my sis with adhi seegram vivaham prapthirasthu and me with udyogam prapthirasthu, since i looked relatively younger amongst the three.
After taking rest and changing into dry clothes around 3:30 pm, we again wore our morning wet clothes and went for the cleansing chill bucket shower of the usual 22 teerthas. Our police escort had instructed our teertha water handler, so we had a quick and proper teertha water cleansing at a lesser rate accompanied by elaborate sthala varalaaru. Again after changing into dry clothes, a uniformed lady police and the bomb squad guy escorted us for darshan. We had a proper sitting darshan of pal abhishekam being done for moolavar and special darshan of parvathavardhini ambal without queues and to heart’s content. The bomb squad guy left us when we started our long pradhakshina. We walked in silence, took few snaps and came out and had our first proper meal of the day around 8 pm.
Prathamai Local Sight Seeing on Jan 5th Wednesday
I had been told time and again, not to play in the sea by both bro, sis and the iyer. So after much coaxing and cajoling, I got permission for 1 hour of swimming from 6-7am. I was up from 5 am, but thanks to my sleeping bro, I could come out only around 6:30 am. Even then, a ladies group in the sea, got hold of my hands and forced me to jump with each wave. At last the ladies group let me go, when they finally listened to my protests that I could swim. But again these self appointed iyappa devotees would not let me venture further in the waters. So I was forced to swim in just 9 ft deep water. After changing and having breakfast, we waited for the sudden burst of rain to subside and the police arranged cab to arrive.
Back to Ramanathapuram – Thirupulani – Uttarkosamangai.
Since, amavasya was ending around 2 pm, we could not see these Ramanad places on 4th morning. Our first stop was Thirupulani. 2 buses load of melmaruvathur sakthi red ladies marred our darshan there. It was pretty dark even in the moolavar sannithi. We were glad to escape from there. However, the vehicle steering wheel oil tank got damaged in a road pothole and diesel was leaking profusely. We reached just in time for the uccha kaal pooja in Uttarakosamangai temple. Again, men in uniform ensured, we had proper darshan and pal abhishekam of spadika linga in the emerald nataraj sannidhi. There were fishes in the kulam, but we had kept the tiny chappathi bits in car itself.
Returning to Rameshwaram
We stopped by a lotus pond on the way and took few snaps. Our first stop was floating stones, where we spent some time feeding the red tailed black fishes with chappathi bits and pori. We then went to Ramar padham, where many white necked bald eagles were soaring high. I was seized with an urge to scale the DD2 tower nearby. We cut short dhanushkodi and kothandaramar trip, since I was exhausted. Still we paid the full amount since the driver had incurred repair expenses.
We took snaps in the same places where we three kids had posed 20 years earlier for memory’s sake. Our courteous police guy whose native was Srivaikuntam, was talkative during return trip to station. He was there around 10 pm for our Varanasi express at 10:40 pm. He told us, how a 70 year old granny had drowned while doing amavasya shraadh in dhanushkodi and told it was good that we cancelled dhanushkodi trip where water levels had suddenly risen. He also told us that he could have arranged the room for free. I have no issues paying the proper amount. In-fact in thiruvannamalai, we paid five times the normal room rent on poornima days. The police guy said, that he had been in the same station from 84 when Indira Gandhi was shot dead. He had arranged his “doing duty” in Rameshwaram, even if his salary accounting was done in Chennai.
I told him, that just few minutes before we stopped in Pamban, a guy had jumped off the bridge and our frivolous driver stated that we had missed the sight. A day earlier, folks had stopped a 30ish lady from jumping off the bridge. Our police guy, went on to add his stories - about the number of dead bodies in sea reducing from 80s and 90s, when explosives were used for fishing and local fights ensued. He described bloated bodies, where watches would be hidden inside the swollen hand. He said, they would dig pits and bury the bodies together so that 2 months of unnecessary investigation time could be saved.
I planned not to sleep right away so that I could sit by the coach steps and watch the sea water over pamban bridge. The train was right in the middle of the bridge when thoughts about the guy who had jumped off the bridge just that afternoon came to my mind. My brother was furious that I sat by the compartment steps over sea, when the sea wind was quite forceful.
Miscellaneous
Suddenly all my police encounters reeled in my mind. I was still lying in CMC in 1999, when chithappa’s police acquaintances used to visit me and play brainvita goli gundu games. The next time Subramaniapuram police (my Kumbakonam Fine Arts college, painting mentor Ezhil anna’s chithappa) came home and we had just wheat dosas to offer them. Next, it was my college mate’s police dad who was my lending library. He had all three Quran, Bible and Gita. I borrowed many books from him, including the ones on Indira Gandhi assassination which listed the minute details of the number of bullets that hit her various body parts illustrated in pictures, Sri Lankan operations by Indian Police, Bachendri Pal’s Himalayan ascent, Third World War amongst others authored by men in uniform.
Another college mate whose dad was a Edamalaipattipudhur police was exact opposite and a typical villain police indulging in everything unmentionable. It was yet another Chithappa’s police acquaintance, who gave me “An autobiography of a Yogi.” Another Thiruvannamalai police lent me 100 Rupees when I lost sight of mom during one pournami girivalam without purse or mobile in my hand. In fact, I had the misfortune of learning my life’s most excruciatingly painful lesson from a recently promoted DIG during my difficult Surya maha dasa-Shukra antar dasha period. During this period, there was also an Ujjain SI, who became who made me uncomfortable during my brothers convocation trip in IIMI. Another police S~ in the same trip was my compartmentmate escorting a prisoner back to blore who had stranded off near pak border. He helped me alight around midnight and thrust a tea stating, 'achcha timepass hua'!!!
Most of the police I have interacted with are highly spiritual, philosophical, some religious and a few, firm believers in astrology and one even rustically ritualistic. Whatever, if police is accompanying you, one could have a peaceful proper darshan and satisfying pooja, as long as you want in large temples. Wish I could get a vip escort for early morning tulasi pooja in Thirupathi during pongal holidays.
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