Ahobilam, Gandi & Kadiri Trip

This is the second time I visited Ahobilam. It is recommended that you read blog post about my earlier visit to Ahobilam and later read this post.

She paved way after getting Rs. 10

This time I went with my wife, friend Vinodh (please note that Vinodh was "relatively well known" during my earlier visit to Ahobilam with him but now he is very close to me and also my neighbor) and his mother.

Day 1: Feb 17, 2012 (Friday)
We started at 5AM.  As recommended in the last blog post  we took Bangalore-Anantpur-Gooty-Banaganapalli-Allagadda-Ahobilam route. Of course the road (Bangalore-Hyderabad highway) till Gooty was too good. We carried some idlies for breakfast as there were no decent hotels in that highway except for kamat near Chickballapur. But we crossed Chickballapur at 6AM itself; too early for breakfast.

From Gooty to Allagadda, it was not a pleasant ride. Roads weren't great and as additional hindrance some people were blocking roads in between and asking money. They block the road with big tree blocks and remove them only after we give money. That time itself we decided not to get back in that route.

Bavanashini River - On the way to Pavana

We reached Ahobilam around 1:30 PM, had lunch at Brahmana Sathiram and started jeep ride to 9. Pavana, 7. Yogananda, 8. Chatravada and 6. Bhargava at 3 PM and returned back to room by 6:30PM.  We refreshed and went to Prahlada Narasimha temple. We had dinner at Raghavendra hotel. Since some construction was going on in Ahobila Mutt and the Iyengar hotel which was there opposite to Mutt got closed, there were only 2 options for authentic Brahmin food. One is the Brahmana Sathiram and the other one is Raghavendra hotel run by a Madwa brahmin.

Day 2: Feb 18, 2012 (Saturday).

Ugra Sthamba

Since we had already completed seeing 4 temples out of 9 and we had lot of time at our disposal, we decided to see even Prahlada Gruha, Ugra Sthamba (which we left last time). With that plan we had some idlies around 7AM and also carried some as we won't get anything at upper Ahobilam.

First we parked our car in Upper Ahobila and started walking up to 1. Jwala. From there we started to Ugra Sthamba around 9AM. It was a very very tough trek. It is a very steep path. Going up was manageable but getting down was very difficult. Adding to the disadvantage, we didn't go prepared (should have carried glucose, chocolates, biscuits etc especially lot of water) and we went bare footed. When we came back to Jwala at 2PM we were completely exhausted. By any chance if you are going to attempt for Ugra Sthamba take enough eatables and water in a backpack and wear shoes with good grip.

Gandi Anjaneya Temple

Since UgraSthamba had taken away all energy, rest of the walk was very slow. From Jwala, we went to 3. Malola. Enough water resources are available near Malola. It is the ideal place to plan for lunch. Prahlada Gruha is around 15 mins walk from Malola. There is a small cave temple in Prahlada Gruha and from Prahlada Gruha, we get a nice top view of Upper Ahobila. From Malola, we started walking down to 4. Kroda/Varaha. From Kroda, we went to the starting point of Upper Ahobilam 2. Ahobila.

From Upper Ahobila, we started returning back to Lower Ahobila. 5. Karanja Narasimhar temple is on that way. Since it was already 6:30PM and temples there usually close around 5PM (expect for Ahobila and Prahlada Narasimha) we decided that we are going to miss seeing Karanja in this trip. But what a surprise, the temple was open and we were the last one to see before it was closed. It was a completely tiring but at the same time satisfactory day.

Day 3: Feb 19, 2012 (Sunday)

Kadiri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple

We started back to Bangalore from Ahobilam around 8AM after having breakfast. On the fly we decided to see Gandi Anjaneya temple and Kadiri Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy temples. We had lunch at Kadiri. We were hoping that we were going to have a tough ride till we touch Bangalore-Hyderabad highway but be it Allagadda-Gandi or Gandi-Kadiri or Kadiri-Kodur (where we touch the highway) all the roads were very good and with zero traffic. We reached Bangalore at 7PM.

Music Review: Yuvan Yuvathi, Maruthavelu, Thambi Vettothi Sundaram, Mambattiyan, Vandhaan Vendran & Rowthiram

Not writing about all the songs in the albums..

Yuvan Yuvathi - Vijay Antony
This is my favorite among the recent releases. A vibrant album by Vijay Antony.  'Oh My Angel' is a good melody with some interesting usage of instrument in 2nd interlude.  'Mayakka Oosi' is another typical Vijay Prakash song.. A decent melody.. '24 mani neram' sung by Haricharan has a brilliant flow in Charanam! 'Kola Kuthu' is the next Nakka Mukka.. Enna kuthu!! Snehga's voice has added lot of peppiness to the song..Waiting for this song to be played in next DJ night :).. Vijay Antony has proved yet again that he is the real kuthu master. He sees to that there is some 'music' in kuthu song too.. Great work! ' 'Ullangai'  has a wonderful musical piece in interlude..

Maruthavelu - James Vasanthan
What is interesting about this album by James Vasanthan is his voice selection. All of them are unique and un-conventional. 'Kala Kalakkura' is a good rhythm number. I loved the progression in pallavi. I would rate 'Thookanam Kuruvi' as his 3rd best melody after Kangal Iranda and Oru Vetkam Varudhe.. 'Varom Kanavodu' is new genre for James Vasanthan. He might have got inspired from some north Indian songs.. A philosophical song and very nice to hear.. In 'yetho yetho' he has tried to give a melody like the contemporary young music directors.. A decent attempt..

Thambi Vettothi Sundaram - Vidyasagar
'Kolakaara' and 'Netru illai ' are good melodies. Interludes of Netru illai are too good. I somehow feel that the rhythm section of that song could have been better..

Mambattiyan - Thaman
'Karuppanasamy' and 'Malayooru'   are energetic rhythm numbers. 'Yedho Aagudhe'  has lot of feel.. A good melody! I prefer not writing about the re-used/re-mix songs in this album.

Vandhaan Vendraan - Thaman
A refreshing album by Thaman. 'Anjana' is the song that has been mostly heard by me in recent past. He has intelligently handled scale change in this song. Other songs have lot of 'Harris' effect and so obviously they are nice to hear when we are in good mood. So no specific mentions about them.

Rowthiram - Prakash Nikki
As a debutant (film music) , I would call it as a decent work by Prakash Nikki. Some people who are desperately looking for melody might like 'Maalai Mangum Neram'..

Engeyum Eppodhum - Satyan
I liked 'Uyir Arunthadhe', an eery song and 'Govindha' for using that old sound... Somehow I felt that lyrics and music didn't go together properly..

Mangatha - Yuvan
Comments reserved as I have to hear the album some more times..

Thandavakone - Ilayaraaja
Yet to hear

Bangalore - Coimbatore

Perur Temple

I had been to Coimbatore last weekend (May 18-19) with my friend Vinodh in car. We went in Maruti Swift. The aim of the trip was to attend the marriage of our friend Chandrashekar. It is worth mentioning that me, Vinodh and Chandrashekar got introduced to each other through an Orkut community for Ilayaraaja.

We started from Bangalore at 6AM. We had breakfast at Vasavi Cafe Krishnagiri. Most of the times, the hotels between Hosur and Krishnagiri (Kamath, Krishnaand Adayar Anandha Bhavan) are crowded. So I recommend this hotel for people going in that highway, just that you have go into Krishnagiri town.

Isha Yoga Center

It was an ultra-smooth drive till 40 Kms before Coimbatore. From there, since road construction was going on it took more time than expected. We reached Coimbatore at 1PM. We stayed at Hotel Vijai Paradise, NSR Road. The hotel was pretty decent and the good thing is that Annapoorna hotel is near Vijai Paradise.  'keerai' they served for Saturday lunch was awesome!

Mahalakshmi Temple

Luckily, I had my UG friend Arun working in Coimbatore for more then 3 years.  He joined us in the afternoon. We went to Kovai Kutralam (though we returned back without seeing since entrance is open only from 10AM to 3:30PM but we went there only at 4PM). From Kovai Kutralam, Isha Yoga Center (Velliangiri hill base) is just 15 Kms away. One has to take left at Iruttupallam while returning back from Kovai Kutralam. Velliangiri trek is considered to be one of the toughest and interesting trek in south India. It seems it will take 8 hrs to go up and ladies are not allowed to climb that.

From Isha Yoga center we went to Perur Patteswarar temple (It was built by Karikala Chozhan) and finally we went to Marudamalai Murugar temple. We started from Coimbatore city at 3PM and returned back to city after seeing all those places by 8PM.

Next day, we started at 7AM and went to Eechanari Vinayagar temple and Mahalakshmi temple. Both the temples are present close-by in Coimbatore-Pollachi route.

Hydro Meteorological Project

After attending marriage, we started back to Bangalore at 1PM. For a change, we took Sathyamangalam-Bannari-Chamrajnagar-Kollegal-Malavalli-Kollegal route. Though distance wise it is short by 40Kms, it took more time and also the drive wasn't very comfortable. But all those inconveniences can be accepted for that spectacular route. It was completely green on both the sides. 27 hair pin binds have to be crossed and all of them were steep.

Vinodh, Arun and me in front of Marudamalai temple

A hydro meteorological project on that route after Karnataka border was a surprise package (We were not aware of that place). That place can be made as another tourist place like Thekkady. It was 9PM when we reached Bangalore.

Family tour to Kerala

Disclaimer: Don't expect information like name of God, sthala puranam etc about divya desams in this blog post. My intention with regards to Diyadesam is to just give precise information about the route which is kind of not explained satisfactorily in other blog posts. To know the spirituality part of those temples, better refer to other web pages.

Our complete family ( My parents, 3 sisters, 3 brother-in-laws, 1 nephew and 3 nieces) went for a trip to Kerala from April 16 to April 19, 2011. Our plan was to see some divyadesams and a hill station. So we decided on Thirunaavai, Thiruvithuvakkodu, Thirumoozhikalam, Thirukaatkarai for divyadesams and Munnar for hill station.

We chose Thrissur as the starting place. A 12 seater A/C tempo traveller was already booked at the Rate of Rs. 2500 rent per day with max 100 Kms and Rs. 14/- for every extra Km. It is bit costlier than usual but the condition of vehicle and the behavior of driver were worth that money. It was an advantage that Guruvayoor can also be covered in our trip.

4 peoples started from Bangalore and rest all started from Chennai on Apr 15th night to Thrissur through train. Room was already booked in Hotel Elite international, Thrissur at the rent of Rs. 1350/- for AC room. The rooms were pretty decent and the best part about that hotel was that there was a restaurant named "Hotel Bharath" near Elite hotel which serves good vegetarian food.

Day 1 (Apr 16, 2011)

We started to Guruvayoor at 10AM and reached Guruvayoor at 11AM. Guruvayoor is just 30 kms away from Thrissur. Guruvayoor temple timings: 3AM to 1PM; 4:30PM to 8PM. Since being a weekend (saturday) I was expecting a heavy crowd. But the crowd wasn't too much on that day. We stood in the queue and some how managed to have dharshan by 1PM; well it seems 2 hrs is not a big time these days in Guruvayoor.

We had planned to see Thirunaavai and Thiruvithuvakkodu on the same day. But all the Kerala divyadesams will usually close by 11AM and will be opened only at 5PM. So we took rest for few hours in a accomodation maintained by Brahmin association near Guruvayoor temple. 

We started from those rooms at 3PM and reached Thiruvithuvakkodu at 4:15PM. Thiruvithuvakkodu is near Pattambi and Shoranoor. Do a search for "Tirumittacode Siva Temple" in google maps and you will know the exact location of temple. I was surprised how a Vaishnava divya desam was named as Siva temple.Actually there are 4 Vishnu idols in  that temple believed to have been established and worshiped by Panja Paandavaas (one by Dharmar, one by Beema, one by Arjuna and one by Nakula and Sahadeva together) after Mahabaratha war out of which Arjuna's pradhishtamoorthy is considered to be an important moorthy and it is present behind Kaasi Viswanathar (Siva) idol and hence the temple might have been named as Siva temple in maps. This also explains the silliness of Veera Vaishnavites and Veera Shaivites who fight :)

Then we started to Thirunaavai at 5:45 PM and reached the temple at 7PM. Compared to other Malai naattu divya desams which we saw, Thirunavaai (Thirunavaya) is relatively famous and the temple won't be closed early. Search for "Thirunnavaya Navamukunda Temple" in Google maps. Thiruvithuvakkodu and Thirunaavai are 40 Kms apart. After seeing Tirunavaya temple, we returned back to Thrissur Hotel.

Day 2 (Apr 17, 2011)

We checked out from Hotel Elite, Thrissur and started to Ernakulam at 8AM. Since we started early, we were able to see Thirumoozhikalam and Thirukatkarai before 11AM, the closing time of those temples.

Thirumoozhikalam is near Angamaly (Thrissur-Ernakulam route). While coming from Thrissur, one has to take a right near Karukutty (40Kms from Thrissur). To know the exact location of the temple, search for " Prakkadavu Panchayath Office, Kurumaseri, Kerala" in google maps. Actually the temple and Panchayath office are adjacent.

While coming from Thrissur to Ernakulam, one has to take left after Little flower Engineering institute, Ernakulam and travel for 3 Kms to reach Thirukatkarai temple. Search for "Thrikakkara temple" in Google maps to know the exact location of temple.  

After lunch, we went to Cochin beach with the intention to go for boating. But unfortunately, there was some strike on that day and boats were not operating. But it is also good in one sense that we could reach Munnar on time (7:30 PM) since Cochin boating got skipped. We started to Munnar at 3PM.

Cochin to Munnar is a 130 Km journey.  The roads are kind of narrow and we can feel that the vehicle is gradually climbing up. Kothamangalam-Adimaly-Munnar (70 Km stretch) is a treat to watch with falls, tea estate etc on the way. I have already been thrice to Munnar but I had taken either Devikulam route or Chinnar route but I had never traveled through Kothamangalam route.

As far as I know, there are only 2 pure vegetarian restaurants Hotel Annapoorna and Hotel Saravana Bhavan (it is not a branch hotel of Chennai Saravana Bhavan) in Munnar.  We had dinner on Apr 17 at Annapoorna and rest all of the time had food only at Saravana Bhavan. Saravana Bhavan is definitely the best Vegetarian restaurant in Munnar. Saravana Bhavan is present in proper Munnar town (M.G Road).

We stayed in Hotel Munnar inn. Rooms were pretty decent and the advantage was that it was in town; so we need not walk long to get something or have food. But it may not be advisable for people who would like to have a silent environment since you will be hearing some vehicle sound even during night times. We paid was Rs. 1900/- per day as rent.
 



Day 3 (Apr 18, 2011)

It was full day sight seeing at Munnar. We took Mattupetty route. We straight away went to Top station (the last point in that route which is around 30 kms from Munnar town), started our sight seeing from there and then saw spots like Echo point, Kundla lake, Mattupetty Dam, Speed boating, Elephant ride etc in return. While top station was an ultimate spot as usual, speed boating was another interesting thing on that day. Right from kids to my parents enjoyed it a lot.

We finished all the spots in Mattupetty route by 4PM. Then we thought of going to Aattukad falls. We have to take Cochin route and take left after Tea factory (few kms from Munnar town). Falls can be seen from distance but the road to falls was very narrow for our tempo traveller. So we returned back half way.

Day 4 (Apr 19, 2011)

We had our return tickets booked from Coimbatore. So the plan was to take Chinnar route, see Anaimudi/Rajamala/Eravikulam National Park, get down from hills, see Azhiyar dam and then catch train at Coimbatore. Things went as per plans. As I told earlier, I had already been to Munnar thrice and all the times, I had been to Anaimudi but I have never got an opportunity to see the rare animal Tahr close by. But this time we were lucky to have a Tahr walking along with us for some time. After enjoying a great climate at Munnar, it was a sweaty evening at Azhiyar dam. Still kids enjoyed playing in the park.

Next year, by the same time, I am hoping to write a blog post about our travel to rest 9 malai naattu divyadesams and any of the coastal Kerala place.

Post dedicated to the person who named me

It was a cool Margazhi month (Dec 15-Jan 15, Winter). My mother was carrying her 4th baby (first 3 were girls). On Jan 4th, 1986 when she was sleeping, she was very sure that she will give birth the next day. So she woke up early on Jan 5th and prepared food for everyone by 7AM itself.

As expected my mother got pain. No relatives were staying in our home. My father rushed to Door No. 115 (We lived and are still living in Door No 41) to get help from the lady in that house to assist my mother. Don't know why my father went all the way crossing few streets to get her help instead of calling neighbors. May be she told earlier to call her during delivery time.

I have to mention few lines here about my place - NGGO Nagar, Chengalpattu. It is a very attached community and all were Govt servants (NGGO stands for Non Gazetted Govt Officers). It was the first layout allotted to Govt servants in Tamilnadu. Almost all were of helping nature. What is so significant about that place is people being identified by their door numbers (97 maama, 110 maami etc)..

One such person is 115 Chitti Babu sir and his wife's name is Prema. She was the person who was assisting my mother during her delivery. Her smiling face, big size pottu (bindi) and of course helping tendency is well-known in our Nagar.

All 3 deliveries of my mother till then happened in Govt. hospital only. There were some complications during 3rd delivery. So my mother and father had decided to go to private hospital (Panneer Nursing home) for this delivery. I am not sure if there was any sentiment also behind that decision because all born in Govt hospital were girls and they might have thought that if they change the place they might get a male baby. But definitely my father and mother were eager to have a male baby.

It was Sashti day (auspicious day for Lord Muruga's devotees). So Mrs. Prema being an ardent Murugan devotee was reciting Kandha sashti kavasam sitting next to my mother in hospital with a prayer that the delivery should be fine and the baby should be male.

My mother was taken to labor ward and a male baby was born at 8:32 AM. Mrs. Prema told my father about her prayer and asked him to name the baby as Karthik and here goes the reason for me having this name. (This also answers people who ask/doubt how come an Iyengar has a name Karthik)..

She will be seen on all mornings at NGGO nagar temple. I am a person who rarely goes to temple. Whenever I see her in temple, she will definitely stop-by and speak few words with me. But not even once, she had told "Naan dhan unakku per vechen" (I am the person who named you). I know it is not something very great to suggest a name. But we normally see people who try to emphasize even the smallest thing they did (Naan dhan indha koil kattum podhu modhal sengal vechen, Naan dhan nee chinna vayasa irukkum podhu unna daily killuven). But I was expecting that she will tell that one day or other.

Thursday (Mar 24, 2011) evening I got a call from my father. He informed me that Mrs. Prema expired that day morning. He recalled about the story which I narrated in the earlier paras. Well I was not shocked, neither was I very much affected about that death news (just like no death affected me very much so far). She should be in her 70s, reasonably old, settled children with kids. But definitely there was a hard feeling for some time and I decided to write a blog post dedicated to her and that is this post.

My expectation of she telling me about the story of my name never happened!

Ahobilam Trip

Ahobilam is considered as a must visit place for any vaishnavite. Me being a vaishnavite and also a sishya of Ahobila mutt, it took so many years to visit Ahobilam. But finally it happened last weekend (Jan8 – Jan 9, 2011).

Lots of information about Ahobilam is available in the following link. http://www.ahobilamutt.org/us/information/visitingahobilam.asp

I went to Ahobilam from Bangalore with 4 friends Jithu, Vinodh, Sanjay and Guru. While I knew one person (Jithu) very well, one more (Vinodh) relatively well, I haven’t met other two before. After this trip, even they became nice friends of mine. We went in Maruti Swift.

Day 1: Jan 8, 2011

Bangalore-Ahobilam route map (via Kadappa)

Vinodh, Sanjay and Guru started from BTM at 4:50AM, I joined them in silk board at 5AM and Jithu joined us at 5:45AM in KR Puram. We took Bangalore-Kolar-Madanapalle-Rayachoti-Kadappa-Allagadda-Ahobilam route (approx 400kms). We took a break at 8:30AM in Madanapalli for breakfast (Thanks to Vinodh’s mom for preparing Idli). Regarding road condition, while Bangalore to Kolar road (67 kms) was relatively good, it was foggy and we couldn't go beyond 50KMPH. Road from Kolar to Rayachoti (170 kms) was very bad. Every 100mts we had to handle a heavily damaged portion of road. After Rayachoti, the road was good till Allagadda (135 kms). Allagadda to Ahobilam (31 kms) is a narrow road.

Ahobila Mutt

We reached Ahobilam at 1:30 PM and had a good lunch at Ahobila Mutt (Lower Ahobilam). Though we already informed Mutt about our visit and requested for accommodation, they were not able to provide accommodation immediately after we reached there. Even Mutt administrators were helpless since there was good crowd. Actually Ahobila Mutt has built some new residential places and also in the process of building more. There is a hotel run by APTDC, Hotel Haritha which also provides accomodation. We were told that we can get an accommodation at 6PM.

Ahobilam temples route map

6. Karanja Narasimmar

We hired a guide (Prem Kumar aged 15) and started our dharshan. The plan was to visit 5 narasimmars on Day1 and other 4 on the Day2. The temples can be seen in different groups (for example, Paavana can be grouped with Ahobila or can also been grouped with Chatravada and Yogananda). So unless you are very sure, it is better you just tell the guide about your schedule and leave the route planning part to him. I am numbering the temples the same way they are referred to by archakas, mutt and local people.  

We started at 2:30 PM in our car (actually Vinod

5. Varaha (Krodha) Narasimmar

h’s car :P). First we went to 6. Karanja Narasimmar temple. Then we went near Ahobila Narasimma temple and parked our car. From then onwards, we had to walk for seeing other narasimmars. Since we were told that Ahobila Narasimmar temple will be opened till 7PM and we have to climb down before it gets darker, we bypassed Ahobila Narasimmar and started climbing up the hill.

7. Malola Narasimmar

We reached 5. Varaha (Krodha) narasimmar temple at 3:10 PM, 7. Malola Narasimmar temple at 3:25 PM and 8. Jwala Narasimmar temple at 4:30 PM. The happiness which spreads inside us after reaching Jwala cannot be explained by words. After an hour long walk, we have to cross a small water falls and ever red Raktakundam (well it is actually a color which is close to red wavelength. It is believed that it was the place were Narasimmar washed his hand after tearing apart Hiranya Kasibu) to reach that small and great Jwala Narasimmar temple surrounded by scary and at the same time scenic green hill.

8. Jawala Narasimmar

Though we were eager to see Prahladha Gruha and Ugra sthamba (They are not part of 9 narasimmar temples), it was already getting darker and our small guide wanted us to start getting down before it becomes completely dark though we weren’t in the mood to leave that place. If Prahladha Gruha and Ugra Sthamba (it will be a tough climb) also has to be seen, then one should start in the morning and see them also along with 5 narasimmar temples as they all are almost in the same route.

Raktakundam

I would rate the difficulty of climbing between easy and moderate for a person with an average physique. If some one is scared that we have to walk through sloppy rocks, the happy news is that the complete path has steps.

4. Ahobila Narasimmar

While getting down, guide took us through a different path (calling it as short cut) which was not having steps. It took almost 45 mins to get down but the walk was nice and interesting across the flow of water from hill. We reached 4. Ahobila Narasimmar temple at 6 PM and had dharshan.

After that we went back to Ahobila Mutt, got a room (with 3 beds), refreshed, had delicious Upma served at Mutt and had a good sleep with the satisfaction that we completed seeing 5 Narasimmars as planned. FYI, Ahobila Mutt charges just Rs. 400/- for a 3 bed room (1 day).

Day 2: Jan 9, 2011

Lakshmi Narasimmar

We woke up early and started from room at 5AM itself to see Lakshmi Narasimmar temple. Though this temple is not one among 9 narasimmar temples, it is considered to be the main temple.

Path to Pavana Narasimmar

It was good that we went to temple early in the morning. We had a chance to see Dhanur Maasa Seva with Ghoshti and most importantly we got delicious Pongal as prasadam ;). After having breakfast (in a Iyengar hotel opposite to Mutt), we started our Day 2 Narasimmar temple visit at 7:45 AM in Jeep. Pavana and Bhargava Narasimmar temples can be reached through walk (which would take too much of time) or through jeep/tractor.

9. Pavana Narasimmar

After a tough 16km travel in a path (I don’t like to call it a road) full of heavy jerks, we reached 9. Pavana Narasimmar temple at 8:50 AM. Saw some structures established by tribes opposite to temple where they give bali (goat, hen etc.) to God on Saturdays. This kind of tribal practices in a traditional vaishnavite temple is unusual. But the history of God marrying Chenchulakshmi (Mahalakshmi who took avataram as a tribal girl) explains for that practice.

2. Yogananda Narasimmar

We started back from Pavana at 9:15 AM and visited 2. Yogananda Narasimmar temple (10:30 AM) and 3. Chatravata Narasimmar temple (10:45 AM) which were on the way back lower Ahobilam. From there, we took another route for 1. Bhargava Narasimmar temple. Even that path (again not a road) was tough to travel except that it wasn’t long (just 2kms from lower Ahobilam). Flowers near that temple which look the same as thiruman of ahobila mutt is a wonder!

3. Chatravada Narasimmar

Though we got some negative feedback from people that we may not be able to cover those 4 narasimmars before afternoon, we finally did it. Thanks to the jeep driver who took us to Pavana in just 1 hr. We heard that tractors take almost 2:30 hrs to reach Paavana from Lower ahobilam but on the other hand it is less tough travel compared to jeep. But we wanted a quick travel and not a comfortable one. We paid Rs. 1800/- for jeep and gave Rs. 300/- to guide (though Ahobila Mutt website suggests only Rs. 200/- as guide charges).

1. Bhargava Narasimmar

We packed our things, had lunch (Pongal, vada and curd rice) in the same Iyengar hotel opposite to mutt and started back to Bangalore at 12:40 PM. For a change, we took another route (Ahobilam-Allagadda-Jammalamugudu-Tadibatri-Anantpur-Somandepalle-Chikballapur-Bangalore) for our return journey. While the worst road from Allagadda to Jammalamagudu (60 kms) disappointed us for taking that route, the nice road from Jammalmudugu to Tadibatri and Tadibadri to Anantpur relieved us. Then came the 4 lane Anantpur-Bangalore highway on which we were literally flying over 120 KMPH with frequent ‘ah’, ‘uh’ and ‘iyyo’ from Vindoh since it was a rash driver named Karthik on driver seat ;)  

Thiruman shaped flower

I would definitely recommend Anantpur route compared to Kadappa route barring the worst experience you may have to bear between Jammalamadugu and Allagadda. I am not sure how much Naxal threat is there in Anantpur area. We didn’t face any problem. We reached Bangalore city outers at 8PM, had nice dinner together at Adayar Ananda Bhavan before getting down at our respective places. 

Ahobilam-Bangalore route map (via Anantpur)

As Vinodh told at the end of trip (he had been to Ahobilam earlier but was not able to cover all the 9 narasimmar temples), the trip was convincing especially because we were able to cover all the temples in effectively just 1 day and most of them had archakas (not locked).

Ilayaraaja’s songs in music player during the total 800 km travel was just awesome! Of course, travelling with friends is always a delight. I would like to tell two words at the end of this blog.

“Mission accomplished”

I visited Ahobilam again and added some more details in the following blog post. Please do read that also.
http://karthikcpt.blogspot.in/2012/02/ahobilam-gandi-kadiri-trip.html

Tiruvannamalai trip

After quite some time, I went for a trip last weekend (Dec 11 and 12, 2010) with my friends Senthil and Vinodh. We went in Vinodh's car.

Day 1: Dec 11, 2010

It was 9:30 AM when we started at electronic city. We took Bangalore-Hosur-Krishnagiri-Tiruvannamalai route (200 Kms). Road till Krishnagiri (NH7) was very good (90kms) but the 110Kms from Krishnagiri to Tiruvannamalai was horrible. Road was badly damaged due to recent rain.

We reached Tiruvannamalai at 2PM. Lunch was not very great but didn't mind much about it since we were pretty hungry. We booked a room in Ramana Towers hotel for a rent of Rs. 1400/- per day. The facilities were very nice and worth for the money given.

We started girivalam (14 kms walk around Arunachala hill) at 3:30 PM and completed it at around 7PM. There are 8 lingams in that perimeter and few more temples. After visiting the main temple (Annamalai and Unnamalai are the main deities), we ended the day.



 Day 2: Dec 12, 2010

We started from room at 8AM. It was very wet outside and when enquired, we came to know that there was heavy rain from 2AM to 6AM. We went to Ramanashram and started our Arunachala hill trek from the way behind Ramanashram.

Our initial plan was to see Skandashram, Virupaksha, return back to Ashram by 11:30, have lunch and then leave to Bangalore. But near Skandashram we met a person by name Jothi who gave us some information about Tiruvannamalai and how the whole worship was earlier (right from his great grandfather's time). It seems he is one among the persons who light the Jyothi at Arunachala hill top during Karthigai month.

When I asked him about his take on Vijay TV program which was spreading some information that the annamalai jyothi went off, he gave some explanations and called it as a rumor. We asked curiously if we can go to the place where jothi is lightened, he said that he can take us. While Vinodh was not able to proceed further up, he went down to Ramanashram. Myself and Senthil along with our guide Mr. Jyothi started climbing to the top of hill.

It took around 3hrs from Skandashram to the top of hill and the climb was pretty tiring. But as soon as we reached the peak, all the tiredness vanished and we were so happy to be in that place. We were physically on a place which we were just seeing on the TV for 20+ years during every Karthigai Deepam.

After taking some photographs, we met some youngsters who are sishyas of Narayana Guru Swami. It seems Narayana Guru swami is a saint from Kanyakumari who did Thapas in Arunachala hill for 16 years and then went back to Kanyakumari again. They served us herbal tea.



Our guide Jothi asked us to get down by our self. We started climbing down. But only after some time (around 45 mins) we realised that we were getting down in a route which we didn't see while climbing up. But still we proceeded in the path of a water falls with the belief that we will get down somewhere. We got to see a person on the middle and came to know that we were climbing down on the other side of hill.

We were kind of happy that there was some exploration element in the trip. We got down on the other side of hill at 2 PM and went back to our starting point (Ramanshram) in auto. We had a surprise news over there. It seems music director Karthik Raja (son of Isaignani Ilayaraaja) visited Ashram at 11:30 AM and Vinodh took some pics with him. I would have felt jealous if I had missed a meeting with Ilayaraaja. Karthik Raja.. Worth missing for that nice trek ;).

Weather at Tiruvannamalai was cool and that was really the best part in this trip. 

We had lunch in Ramakrishna hotel (Taste was good) and took alternate Tiruvannamalai-Vellore-Krishnagiri-Hosur-Bangalore route while returning back. Though we had to travel extra 80Kms, the roads were pretty good.

I actually went to to this trip without any expectation. But it turned up to be one of my best trips. Thank you Vinodh and Senthil for the nice company!

My conversation with Bombay Jayshree about Ilayaraaja

Yesterday, I had been to Garden City college to see (most importantly, to listen) concert of Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia (6:30PM-8PM) and Bombay Jayshree (8PM-9:30PM) organised by SPICMACAY. Myself, my friend Jithu went with Prof. Sadagopan and his wife. We went early and Bombay Jayshree also came at 6PM itself though her program was scheduled only at 8PM.

No wonder, Bombay Jayshree was aware of Prof. Sadagopan. He introduced me to Bombay Jayshree. We had some casual discussions about how 'Bombay' got attached to her name, her view about current form of concerts etc. I was waiting to get her thoughts about Ilayaraaja.

Here goes my conversation with Bombay Jayshree about Ilayaraaja.

Me: I would like to call myself as a devotee of Ilayaraaja. You have sung so many popular numbers..
B.J : (Interrupted) Not many (with a smile)
Me: At least most of your numbers are popular. My favorite song of yours is 'Kai Veenayai Endhum Kalaivaaniye' from the movie 'Vietnam colony', Ilayaraaja's composition. I would hear that song in loop for hours together.
B.J: You know what? It is my favorite song. But it didn't become very popular.
Me: Can you tell one line about Ilayaraaja?
B.J: How can I tell just one line about such a great composer?
Me: Well, I would like to hear more about him. 
B.J: Working with him is a great learning experience. If I sing one song for him, it will be a lesson for one year. I learn a lot while working with him.
Me: It is usually told that Ilayaraaja does not give much freedom for singers. Being a classical singer, does he consider your improvisation?
B.J: The notion of 'freedom for singers' itself is wrong. Singers are just part of a song. There are many more factors like situation, actors etc. About Ilayaraaja; he would have already set some high standards for singers while composing. It will be a big task to accomplish that. We won't have anything more to make it better because he is already at the top. At times, if I add something and if it is nice, he will appreciate and accept. If it is not ok, he will say a strong No. A movie will be in some form before Ilayaraja gives his music. The moment, Ilayaraaja adds his music, the movie will take a completely different dimension. So he knows what is needed for a song.

Actually, it was looking like she would speak more and more about Ilayaraaja. But it was already 6:30PM and it was time for Pt. Hapriprasad Chaurasia's concert. Organisers were asking everyone to get settled. So I thanked her and took a leave.

It is a known factor that most of the people in music industry are fans of Ilayaraaja. But it is always a nice feel for a fan (a devotee) like me to hear about him from people who are popular musicians.

No doubt, performance of both Pandit ji and Bombay Jayshree were so soothing. It was definitely a satisfying day.