Magnificent Munnar Part III – Goodbye to the hills

The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...

Magnificent Munnar Part III – Goodbye to the hills

The next morning, the sun rose bright and early, leaving no signs of the fog of the day before. The view from the room was unbelievable, visibility extending to the road on the other side of the valley. Take a look at the two panoramic photos I took of the view from our room during the fog and the one the next morning in sunlight.

From Munnar Aug 2008

The View from our room --in the fog, and early in the morning......

We had to start back early so that we could reach home and give Sankar a break from driving, as well take some rest before getting back to work. Besides, Samhith wanted to go back to the crocodile park at Amaravathi Nagar.

Samhith feeds the rabbits (he saved the carrots we bought....and fed them himself) and chases the sole rooster at the resort. It must have been relieved when we finally left!!!

We had a heavy breakfast at Whispering Meadows, where Samhith played with pet rabbits and roosters, finally bidding them goodbye when we had to leave. We planned to drive home, without stopping for lunch, but again, our plans were changed by hands unknown to us.

An hour beyond Munnar town, we stopped for tea at a roadside stall near a waterfall. We thought it was one of the many waterfalls along the route, and appreciated it while having our tea. It was only when we looked for a washroom that we learnt that a little way up the hill, where we could have a better view of the waterfall; washrooms were available for those whishing to change after a bath in the pool formed by the waterfall. This was good news for us, especially for Samhith who wanted to bathe in a waterfall. So, then and there we delayed our departure and climbed up the few steps to the waterfall.

While the Attukal falls were breathtaking for the sheer force of the water, these falls were simply beautiful. The water was ice-cold, and absolutely wonderful, and we all stepped into it, enjoying the numbness in our limbs induced by the chill. We were content with our feet in the water, but Samhith really looked forward to having a bath, and we let him in after taking off his clothes. The chill was a surprise to him, to be sure, but he really enjoyed it. I am sure he will grow up to be unafraid of water, and always ready to take a dip in any body of water, whatever the conditions might be.

The Lakkom Falls

The experience we had in the Lakkom falls cannot be expressed, but you can get a feel of our experience by taking a look of the videos I recorded there. Samhith was shivering in the water, but he didn’t want to get out of it either. Shankar and Sandhya made the most of it, egging him on, making him take a dip in the cold water, while Sankar and I recorded the fun, hoping to show it to him when he grows older, and remembers little of the wonderful trip he had……………

It was difficult for us to leave Lakkom falls and carry on with our plan of getting back home, and it was something we did with a heavy heart. We stopped at Amaravathi Dam and had a look at the crocs again, as we had promised Samhith. This time, they seemed to be waiting for us, as a couple of them were actually awake, and opened their huge beady eyes to peer at us suspiciously. This was immensely satisfying to Samhith, and also helped us prove to Shankar that the creatures were actually alive!!!! Some of the sluices of the dam had been opened, probably due to the rain, and it was a wonderful sight to see the canal overflowing.

All good things must come to an end, and our journey too ended with our arrival at Tiruppur. Of course, Sankar made the journey interesting by driving at a speed we scarcely could imagine! Our qualms at such speeds notwithstanding, we were all relieved to reach home early and get some much needed rest.And it is at this point that I must put a full stop and call an end to my recital of a wonderful trip- one which is not just etched on my mind, but now, also on the net.......

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw...

Review of Executive Lounges at New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS)

During my recent trip to Uttarakhand , I was faced with a problem I had never encountered before. We were passing through Delhi, but we had hardly any time in the city. On earlier visits when I have had to change trains/flights at Delhi, I have always arrived in the morning and left again at night, visiting relatives in between. This time, I was arriving in the city at night, and leaving again early in the morning. There was hardly any time to visit people. I would only have a couple of hours with them before I’d have to leave again. For the first time, we considered booking a hotel, but there again, we were hesitant about the actual hotels, the costs involved, and the logistics of getting from the airport to the railway station and then back again from the station to the airport. That’s when we remembered reading something about a corporate-managed lounge at Delhi station. We soon figured out that we could book online and pay by the hour. Besides, we also learnt that there wasn’...

Rama Temple, Gokarna

To my right , the waves rush to the shore, eager to merge with the sand. To my left, the same waves crash against the rocks, their spray diverting my reverie as I ponder over the beauty of nature, and wonder what first brought people here. Was it this beauty that encouraged them to build a temple here, or was it the fresh, sweet spring water flowing from the hill here that made this place special? No matter what the reason, I am glad my auto driver brought me here. We are at the Rama temple in Gokarna, just a few minutes away from the Mahabaleshwara Temple, yet offering so different a perspective.

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