TN Travel- Top Spin
This was another game i grew up with. It was played with such fervour in the 1970s - on weekends, school vacations. It looks like this has almost disappeared now , except in a few tier 2 towns.
This photograph(1) taken on board the Madurai-Podanur passenger shows the kid in the red shirt tying the thread around top and the photograph 2 shows the 'Top Spin"
( not to be confused with cricket leg spinners' top spin)
One of my favourites is spinning the top right into the palm of the hand
without allowing it to hit the ground...
A lesser challenge is to spin the Top on the ground and then try and take it
on to your palmLabels: Travel in TN
Travel in TN-Meter Gauge trains
With gauge conversion(meter gauge to broad gauge) taking place at a rapid pace, there are only a few sections in TN which have still not come under the microscope....One such is the Madurai-Coimbatore(now Podanur) section
attached is a photograph of a meter gauge train moving towards Madurai from Dindigul- those who have not travelled meter gauge could find this completely uncomfortable-smaller compartments, smaller sized seats/berths, slower speed ( the one on the right is the broad gauge line)
Labels: Travel in TN
Travel in TN-Rickshaw stays
A pix that brings old memories - CycleRickshaws/EntyceThe Rickshaw man fighting it out for survivalCycle Rickshaws used to be a oft used mode of transport in the 1970s in Madras
One that stays distinct in my memory is a late night cycle rickshaw trip after watching
Nizhal Nijamaagiradhu from a city theatre to the Egmore Station
And the school uniform in most of my early school years were from entyce,
which forms the background to this pix
In the last two decades customers have not taken a liking to either of these
with few exceptions like this one on West Chitrai Street Madurai
Labels: Travel in TN
Travel in Tamil Nadu-Part 2
Dhanushkodi - The most beautiful get away in TN
Having spent the first half of the day in Srirangam and Trichy, the bus drive brought me to Kumbakonam by 4pm. I spent the evening visiting temples in Kumbakonam- Sarangapani, Chakrapani, Ramaswamy and Uppiliappan- the first time I was visiting these temples in over 2 decades.
By 930pm, I caught on to a Thanjavur bound bus and two hours later, I was on board a fully packed TN state corporation bus(that played some good old Tamil movie songs) to Pudukottai from Thanjavur’s just built new bus stand*(far away from the city). From the Pudukottai bus stand, I spent Rs. 20 for an auto drop to the railway station.
With little time left, I quickly took yet another unreserved ticket and was just in the nick of time to catch the Sethu Express around 1am.
For the next hour, I sat there in the unreserved compartment watching a group of guys playing cards. Traveling by ‘unreserved’ shows what life is outside the unreal PR world that I had lived in- a few of the guys were students, a few just completed college and looking for their first job and quite a few doing not so high paying jobs. And these guys had an expert comment or two on everything in life- Sachin Tendulkar to Rajnikanth, TN politics to Sri Lankan issue.
By 4amish, I was standing by the door side watching the breathtaking sight of the train moving across the fabulous Pamban bridge- a rail bridge that once used to open regularly to allow ferries to move along the water way…. And to see the longest road bridge alongside, it was a sight to behold!!! While I had heard of the Pamban bridge in the past, one really has to experience the train journey across the Pamban, especially the early morning(pre dawn) trip to feel what an asset it is to TN tourism.
Past the Pamban bridge, the train moved along slowly with the thick white sandy shores of Rameswaram along side the track.
That night train journey between Pudukottai and Rameswaram ranks as one of my best to date. Any travel within TN would be incomplete without the train journey across the Pamban bridge. Guess we will have to wait a bit for the next train journey across the Pamban bridge, with the broad gauge conversion taking place now.
A bath at the Rameswaram Railway Station, a quick visit to the RamanathaSwamy temple on the seashore and I was all set for my ‘Dhanushkodi’ exploration.
By 8am, I was all excited about the journey to Dhanushkodi. I took the local bus from Rameswaram to Dhanushkodi. It is a lovely 15km drive, not all of which bring pleasant memories - the ruins of a ravaged railway track- 1964 cyclone completely devastated Dhanushkodi including the railway station and the track. The Rama temple still stands amidst the ruins- a small road to the left leads to the temple.
The bus leaves me at the farthest part where road can take one. From there, I am led to a truly stunning experience-totally unexpected. A small open truck took 25 of us, all standing, on a 6 km drive on the hard thick white sand. The driver had to use hard card /metal board below the wheel, at several points along the route, to push the vehicle into the next yard. We were charged Rs. 25 a person then for this trip(to and fro).
Finally, we reached the southern most tip on the island at the confluence of the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. The sand is white here and the seas clear blue. While most played around the beach, I sat there with thoughts exploring ways to reach other side of the shore- North Sri Lanka so to say. The Northern most tip of Sri Lanka is just about 7 nautical miles from here. I even tried asking the folks there if I could be boated into Lanka but this was summarily dismissed.
Other than the 25 of us, there were none else, except of course a few security men who put us through a complete body scan (this was said to be the place where Lankan refugees came back to Indian shores). Actually, it is scary-the tip of Dhanushkodi- its far away from the nearest road- 6 kms away from another soul. Absolute silence- Yet beautiful.
After about half hour of solitude at the BOB-IO confluence, we were back in the truck and on our way back. Chatting up with a few got me insights into what happened that dreadful day in 1964, which washed away almost everything at Dhanushkodi. There have been talks now and then of redoing the railway track to Dhanushkodi. Hopefully after the broad gauge conversion up to Rameswaram, the concerned authorities would look once again into reconstructing the Dhanushkodi line.
Dhanushkodi may not be a place for the weak hearted but for the brave tourist who like quiet getaways without the hustle and bustle of city life, this place is definitely worth a visit. Beware though of the dangers of cross border wars!!!!
To me, the 6km truck drive to the southern tip of Rameswaram will ever be etched in memory.
The bus brought me back to Rameswaram and I took the train back to Chennai later that day.
* Thanjavur was one of the first in TN to set up a bus stand away from the city. Several others have followed suit since- Tirunelveli, Chennai, Madurai…
Labels: Travel in TN
Travel in Tamil Nadu-Part 1
Maddening Travel
Part 1-Madras to Srirangam*-2001
After a tiring week at work, I decided all of a sudden one Friday evening that I would get away from Madras for a few days.
I took the unreserved coach of the Rockfort Express. As was the case then and many times in my subsequent trips, I sat next to the door in a crowded Friday night train, sleepless through the night.
(Unreserved compartments are not for hygiene freaks, neither are they for those who want a good night’s sleep on the train. However, travel in Southern Railways’ unreserved compartments+ will give in good measure, an account of how another side of India lives)
1. As the train moved through Ariyalur (this station is about 70 kms from Trichy) that night, my thoughts itched back to ‘recollections’ I had had of that fateful night in the 1950s when the then Tuticorin Express (now Pearl City) crashed at the Ariyalur river bridge (heavy rains/flooding had weakened the bridge and loosened the soil) leading to death of several people. Every time, I travel through this bridge, my heart stops for a moment.
2. The halt at Kallakudi Palanganatham around 3amish provided two interesting sidelights:
The station is famous for the protests around its name:
This station was for long called Dalmiapuram as it stands right next to the Dalmia Cements factory but for years the name evoked protests and finally some years ago the name changed to what it is today- Kallakudi Palanganatham.
b. With me handling so many IT/BPO companies and with so much talk now centering on work life at night and impact on employee health, my thoughts when the train reached this station was on the factory workers who for decades have worked tirelessly through the night in not so favourable environment, and yet without any complaints. Every time I pass this station, I find thick smoke out of the funnel on top of the factory. No body ever seemed to complain. But within years of the BPO bull run, we seem to have an over skew towards ‘issues relating to health’ and the like. For all that, BPO employees (working the nights) are having a rocking time.
3. The next station I eagerly waited for was Lalgudi**- 2 reasons- a. My father had done a little bit of his schooling there. b. There was the level crossing flyover I was watching out for.
With so much talk of flyovers and delayed deadlines, I was curious on the flyover status on this one - between Lalgudi and Toll Gate. Thankfully, its now up and running bringing to end what once (I had been on this road in the 1970s) seemed a never ending traffic bottleneck at the railway level crossing that jammed the traffic between Srirangam and Lalgudi.
Lalgudi and ahead, one can get a first glimpse of the Uchi Pillayar Koil, on the left, just as you cross the Pichandar Koil station. And then within a few seconds, you get a beautiful sight, on the right, of the Srirangam temple and several of the towers including a superb view of the ‘fully lit’ towering gopuram as the rockfort express rambles past the Coloroon bridge.
4am is the time to alight at Srirangam, a little behind schedule. A bath at the Srirangam station and I was wrapped in Veshti by 430am.Srirangam station is all buzzing-auto rickshaws and cycle rickshaws outside and the man at Vegetarian stall inside. It would surprise many, that the breakfast for the Chennai bound Pallavan Express (scheduled to reach Srirangam at 645am) is made and packed here between 430am and 630am.
After the early morning milk at the stall, I took a 10 minute walk through the streets of Srirangam to reach the main temple at 515am(the other option is to pay a fixed Rs. 20 for an auto drop right outside the temple)
Just for those who haven’t been this early to Srirangam….the island+ town is up and running by 5am…On the banks of the Cauvery, you have people taking their morning bath. On the streets, you have the residents with their early morning street kolams, the fitness enthusiasts(yes, there are quite a few morning walkers in Srirangam) have already covered the four streets around the temple and the main street opposite the temple is well lit with tea shops, prasadam stalls all open and playing the morning prayer songs. An indication of the changing scenario (read privatization) is that these days it is the FM radio that plays!!! By 530am, there are a 100 plus devotees waiting outside the temple for the doors to open.
By 6am, its time for Vishroopa Darshanam at the Ranganatha Sannadhi. Lord Ranganatha is woken up with a splendid Veena recital, played by a man whose sincerity doesn’t seem to have waned one bit in all these years. By this time, the temple elephant is already on its way from the Cauvery having brought the sacred waters for the Lord, which it splashes on the Lord with a huge roar.
It is a sight not to be missed.
Having finished the temple darshan by 8am, its now time for the special breakfast at the 40 year old venkatesa bhavan (started in 1960s). A plate of pongal, dosai and a coffee costs less than Rs. 15 but quality and service have remained the same as the one I tasted in the 1980s.
A trip to Trichy is not complete without a stroll around the Burma Bazaar (stated by many to be the ‘original Burma Bazaar’-there are many versions today of this in different cities in TN) and an ice cream(rather several ice creams) at Michaels(the costliest ice cream was still only Rs. 3.50 then) right next to the Clive’s hostel(Remember Battle of Plassey /Governor of Bengal-Yes Robert Clive stayed here. He even had a house in Trichy).
From Trichy, a 2 hour bus trip took me to Kumbakonam through Thanjavur. This is a landmark route** on the TN road map- that passes through the beautifully green BHEL plant, the huge REC campus, NIT, Vennar Bank and Papanasam.
+ Unreserved compartments in Indian Railways are generally 3 bogies –one just next to the engine in the front and two at the tail end of the train
* Srirangam is an island with Cauvery on the Southern side and Coloroon on the Northern side
**Lalgudi, a small town 20kms north of Trichy is well known in the Carnatic Music circle for bringing one of the best exponents of violin ‘Lalgudi’ Jayaraman
To be continued……………
Labels: Travel in TN
A Margazhi Trip
It was the winter month of December (the month of ‘Margazhi’ in the Tamil Calendar) – the time of the year when the traditional Tamil folks (especially the women) wake up early hours of the day to be at the temple for the recital of Tiruppavai.
(Tiruppavai is a song comprising of 30 verses, in praise of the Lord, rendered by Andal, one of the 13 Vaishnavite-followers of Vishnu- saints).
I chose to visit Srivilliputhur*, the birth place of Andal, renowned for the Tiruppavai recital, to get a first hand feel of a special event I had only heard from my grand parents.
I took the night train from Madras to Tirunelveli**, a town famous for Halwas(No trip to Tirunelveli is complete without a taste of the ‘Iruttu Kadai(
dark shop) halwa’). There are many pleasures of a train journey, one not so is of last minute passengers making a maddening rush to their compartment. And I found an alarming number this time around.
After a quickish bath, I took a 45 minute bus drive to watch the sun rise at the sea shore temple of Subramanya at Tiruchendur(50kms South East of Tirunelveli). A few hours at the beach and I continued my bus journey, onto 9 other temples called ‘ Nava Tirupathi’.
(All of these temples are within 5-10kms of each other and are a must visit for any Tirunelveli visitor-Most of these are on the banks of Tirunelveli’s famous river-The Tamaraibarani).
That night my dinner at Tirunelveli was all of 1/2 kg of Halwa, after which I took a 2 hour walk around the city, going through all the famous old streets of Tirunelveli including visiting the most famous saree shop of the town-The Pothy’s.
Tirunelveli is also famous for the round the clock road side eateries…. A walk down the railway station road after 11pm and you would find hundreds, sitting on small stools, having their ‘idlies - dosas with chutney – sambar’ for their dinner.
As I usually do during my train trips, I stayed the night at the retiring room at the Tirunelveli station
(This writer has a long term agreement with retiring rooms at all railway stations in Tamil Nadu and believes that retiring rooms are the best(and safest) place for overnight stay in TN, especially for travel freaks and for women travellers).
After a 2am wake up and bath the next morning, I took the first bus out of Tirunelveli for a 2 hour drive to Srivilliputhur.
(For those not too familiar with transport facilities down South, TN has got by far the best moffusil bus transport service in the country in terms of connectivity, frequency and round the clock service-All places in TN have 24 hour bus connectivity).
By 4am that morning (that was the time I reached my destination),the small temple town of Srivilliputhur was already buzzing with activity, with one bunch of young girls and boys running around to make their morning flower sale and another bunch for other pooja articles.
For an hour, I was a witness to the loud musical recital of Tiruppavai (that was the purpose of my trip) by 15 plus temple priests, all clad in dhotis. Moved by this recital and wanting to understand more, I chatted up with the priests about the Tiruppavai and its significance, the unique way of chanting these songs and the visual song and dance enactment of the ‘Paasurams’(the 4000 divine songs/hymns of Vaishnavite Saints) that is rendered through the month of Margazhi at this temple by Araiyars(King of Songs).
As I dug deeper and deeper into the subject, questioning and probing the priests (the art of questioning and extracting information was put to full use that day), there were insights of the temple culture and traditions that dated back to 500 AD- art forms that were slowly vanishing in this fast paced world, artistes who were in dire straits with very little money to even feed their family and a temple song & dance service, once performed regularly in over 100 temples- now in just three- seeing a slow death.
My chat lasted almost 6 hours (that would not be a surprise to those who know me well!!!) and I must confess that those were the best ‘hours’ I had spent in a long long time. In those few hours, I truly transcended into another world- a world of peace and solitude.
Following a story that I wrote that fortnight, the priest wrote in to me via the almost non-existent post card, that he had received very many enquiries about the revival of the traditional temple art form called ‘Araiyar Seva’ from across South India including funding contributions for the artistes.
Three months hence, the educational requirements of the kids of this artist have been taken care of by a corporate chieftain, one who to this day prefers anonymity on this front.
A quiet early morning peace seeking temple trip had transformed into something quite unexpected- a discussion that resulted in gaining insights into less known facts about the temple culture of Tamil Nadu, culminating in contributions to the (financially) poor priests and the revival of the song and dance rendering of vedic hymns, a ritual that had been practised for over 1200 years.
By that evening, another bus trip had brought me to the temple town of Madurai***+
I spent an hour at the famous Meenakshi Amman Temple and by 9pm I was fast asleep in the night train I took back to Madras.
*Srivilliputhur is about 75kms south west of Madurai and is a very small town. Also, known for Milk Bedas
** Tirunelveli is about 700 kms from Madras and is a night’s journey from Madras (about 11 hours)- Another 100 kms down South from Tirunelveli and you would reach Kanyakumari, the southern tip of India
***Madurai was once the capital of the Pandya Kingdom and is about 500kms from Madras on the Madras- Kanyakumari route
+In the 1980s, Vaigai Express (Madras- Madurai super fast day express) was one of the fastest trains in South India, the ‘Deccan Queen’ of the South…
Labels: Travel in TN
