Bangalore - Tiruttani - Bangalore

I planned to write this post a week before but got postponed.

One who is interested to know only about the travel to temple can skip the following paragraphs and straight away read "Tiruttani Temple" paragraph.

I had been to Tiruttani to attend marriage of my friend Ragu's sister.

FYI, Tiruttani hill temple is one of the six abodes of Lord Muruga (Arupadai Veedu). It is a famous tourist spot.

Marriage on june 23rd and reception on june 24th. I didn't have any class on June 23rd. But i had class on june 24th afternoon. So my plan was to attend the reception on 23rd, stay that night there in Tiruttani and start back to Bangalore on 25th early morning.

If i had the guts to bunk the classes on 25th, 26th and 27th, i would have gone to my hometown Chengalpattu from Tiruttani straight away. Chengalpattu is just 2 1/2 hours journey from Tiruttani. But what to do? I am a sincere student :P


There are 2 routes, one through Vellore and other through Chittor as shown in the map. I preferred the Vellore route(green) for the simple reason that it stretches completely through Tamilnadu. And i also heard that there are not many buses between Chittor and Tiruttani. I have another favor in Vellore route. I need not go to majestic. I shall just board bus in electronic city. That will save even more time.

E-City To Vellore

So having decided the route, i started at 10:30 AM on 24th june. What a surprise! A bus which goes directly to Tiruttani came. I never thought there was a bus between Bangalore and Tiruttani. Even if there is one, this should be the only bus to Tiruttani from Bangalore. Anyway, i took ticket only till Vellore since i planned to take lunch in Vellore.

The bus reached Vellore by 2:00 PM. The driver was too good. He utilised the smooth highway to the maximum unlike other bus drivers. May be, the the bus condition was good. 140+ kms in 3:30 hours with a 10 min break in between at Krishnagiri is perfect. Thanks Driver!

I had lunch in the hotel present at Vellore bus stand.

Vellore To Tiruttani

How can a travel be completely smooth? This time, it is a private bus which spoiled the show. There were govt. buses for Tiruttani but none was ready to go. Only a private bus (Lakshmi Devi Transport) was ready and the board said that it goes to Tiruttani. I asked the guy who was shouting " Sholingar Arakkonam Sholingar Arakkonam" (these are the places in the Vellore-Tiruttani route. look at the map) whether the bus goes to Tiruttani. The guy asked me to get in. The bus was horrible. It vibrated like anything. Probably, this is the worst maintained bus i had ever gone. The bus was going in highway but it appeared like it was going in a poorly maintained SH road.

I asked for a ticket to Tiruttani. The conductor said that the bus does not go till Tiruttani and it stops at Arakkonam. He advised (yes, he advised) me to take a ticket to Arakkonam and get a bus to Tiruttani from there. Something striked me. I took ticket only till Sholingar. Sholingar is a place before Arakkonam. Look at the map.

That 2 hour of travel from Vellore to Sholingar was horrible. Bus stopped in all places. The driver seldom went to top gear. Every tree was a bus stop. I got down at Sholingar and waited for Tiruttani bus for some time. Atlast i boarded a govt. bus to Tiruttani which was coming from Vellore. I would have better waited in Vellore itself and boarded that bus.

The bus didn't go through Arakkonam. Then only i realised that the route through Arakkonam is longer. Without even knowing this, i didn't take a ticket to Arakkonam. Something good in bad!

I reached Tiruttani at 5PM.

Tiruttani Temple

Devastanam operates bus between hill foot and temple. Bus starts from Devastanam cottage which is near Tiruttani bus stand. O one bus is shuttling up and down. The bus starts only when it gets almost filled. So if you are reluctant to climb on your own, you should be prepared to wait till the bus get filled. It seems, it will take 30 mins to climb up by walk. Bus ticket is Rs.10/- for up and down together.



The climate was cool on the hill. The crowd was relatively lesser. The general queue was stopped since some Abhishekam was going on for the deity. I was informed that those who have special entrance ticket will be allowed inside. The ticket cost was Rs.25/-. I bought it and went in.

After the dharshan was over, i relaxed for some time enjoying the sceneries and pleasant breeze. I came out and a bus was ready to go down.



Reception

I reached SS Mahal at 7PM. My friends were slowly streaming in. We had dinner and a room was booked in Devasthanam lodge. Some friends started from Chennai only at 10PM and they reached Tiruttani by 1AM (25th June). One or the other were constantly banging the cottage door. So i didn't sleep well. But we friends had a great time. All of them are ones who did BE with me.

Tiruttani - Bangalore

I woke up at 4AM and got ready. Boarded a Vellore bus at 5AM in Tiruttani bus stand. It was a pleasant experience to travel during early morning. All the villages on the way were active even in that early morning. Completely contrary when compared to Bangalore which wakes up only at 9AM. :)

Had Msal Dosa at Vellore (Ver Bad) and boarded a Bangalore bus to Vellore.

I slept during the entire Vellore-Bangalore travel.

Though it was a short 1 1/2 day trip, it gave a lot of experience.

I wish to tell you an incident.

In Valajapet bus stand, 2 children were doing some jimmics with a stick and were begging. One girl was dancing. I am not going to tell any dialogue or suggest a solution to avoid beggary or child exploitation.

I usually don't encourage beggary. But i can't stop myself from feeling some pain after seeing those kids. I threw away 1 rupee out of the bus window!