Ramblings and Musings

Monday, March 10, 2014

Music Fest at Tiruvaiyar - 20-1-2014

After Papanasam Temple we returned to Hotel Tamilnadu for lunch and a bit of rest & sleep.We left for Tiruvaiyar in the evening and reach the Saint Thiagaraja Music Fest pandal around 6.00 pm. The place was thronging with music lovers. We managed some vantage space up front from where we could comfortably watch and listen to the maestros.Some of the most reputed names in Carnatic Music marked their presence: Kadri Gopal - Saxophone, Kanya Kumari-Violin, Srinivas & Rajesh-Mandolin,Yesudas-Vocal,Sudha Raghunath-Vocal,Mahathi-Vocal, Haridwaramangalam Palanivel-Thavil and a host of others. The performances were enchanting & enthralling.It was an evening of pure magic and the crowds were totally mesmerized.An unforgettable experience:

Illuminated Neon Sign at entrance

Huge crowds thronging the pandal

Vantage Point from we watched the live performances

Kadri Gopal thrilling the audience on Saxophone

Kadri & Kanyakumari - made a good combo

Kanyakumari on Violin

Srinivas & Rajesh - were scintillating on the Mandolin

Haridwaramangalam Palanivel on Thavil gave a strong and superb performance

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Pappanasam Ramalingaswamy Temple

20-1-2014: Next we reached the town of Pappanasam around lunch time.The temple here is also known as Keezhai Rameswaram and possibly the only (ancient) place in the world where 108 big separate lingams are present in one place. One of the 275 Thevara Padal petra sthalams It is believed that worshiping Lord Shiva in this temple would remove all our sins and worshiping in this one temple is equivalent to worshiping in 108 temples. This is how this town of Pappanasam gets its name: Pappa (sins) + Vinasham (destruction).There are 106 Shivalingas arranged equally in three rows in a separate mandapam and it is a wonderful sight to see so many lingams in one place. The presiding deity in the sanctum is Sri Ramalingaswany since it was worshiped by Sri Rama. Hanumantha lingam, the huge lingam brought by Hanumar from Kasi is kept in a separate annexe to the temple on the southern side.
After praying at all sanctums we were offered "lunch" prasadam. We were delighted at this unexpected windfall blessing. The lunch was simple but sumptuously satisfying.

106 stone lingams of Siva arranged in three rows of 35 each and one large central lingam - Above & below

Blissfully enjoying lunch prasadam

Friday, March 7, 2014

Garbharakshambigai Temple - Turukarugavur

Got back to Coimbatore after a hectic action packed 15 day tour of the State of Gujarat in Western India bordering Pakistan. It was exciting, enchanting,enthralling filled with adventure and involved extensive travel. It included visits to places of religious importance, heritage,history,architecture,deserts,lakes,safari,hill climbing etc etc. Returned about 10 days back but it took all this while to rid myself of the physical and mental aches and pains - while we were away the refrigerator had failed, the bore well pump packed up, the washing machine malfunctioned and a host of other irritants had cropped up. It has taken all of 10 days to resolve the issues.
Before I commence my posts on Gujarat I still have a few posts left over from my previous trip to Thanjavur & Kumbakonam which I am now resuming . I have already posted earlier on this Garbharakshambigai temple and you can find it here: Garbharakshambigai Temple ,Tirukarugavoor
I am just posting a few more pictures clicked during this visit:

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Thanjavur Temples - Thittai Gurusthalam

Vasishteswarawamy Temple at Thittai is an ancient temple near Thanjavur. This is one of the Nava Graha ( Nine Planets) Temples. The presiding deity is a Swayambu Lingam and gets his name because he was worshipped here by Saint Vashishtar.The Goddess is Ulaganayaki or Sugantha Kundalambal.

A unique feature of this temple is a drop of water falls on the Lingam (Main Diety) exactly every twenty four minutes from the roof of the Vimanam(tower above the sanctum). Two stones “Suryagaanthakkal”(sun stone) and “Chandragaanthakkal” ( moon stone) are placed at strategic points above the Vimana. These 2 stones absorb moisture from the atmosphere, convert into one water droplet, performing a natural Abhishegam to the diety, every 24 minutes. Another special here is that the “Guru Bhagavan” has a separate sanctum inside this temple itself.

I am going to be away for a fortnight on a tour of the State of Gujarat (Western India) and hence will not be posting/commenting until my return. Bye for now.

The Chettiar who contributed financially to the construction of this temple

The Chettiars wife

The four holy saints who have visited this temple between 7th-9th centuries and sung hymns in praise of the Lord

Siva and Parvati seated on the celestial bull

Lord Ganesha seated on his mushika vahana ( mouse vehicle)

The holy Teertham or water tank

The Vimanam or entrance tower

Our group posing in front of the Vimanam

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Back to Stone Age

During our recent visit to Kumbakonam in Tamilnadu (South India) we bought a "Kal Chetty" or stone vessel from the local bazaar. Stone vessels were used extensively in South India for cooking till about 50 years ago but have now almost disappeared from the modern kitchens.Kal Chetty's have their own distinct advantages - cooking in them results in better heat retention as well adds to the flavor of the food item being prepared.
This is what we cooked in the Kal Chetty today :) It was indeed delicious & "chatpata" !

Vetta Kuzhambu - A South Indian spicy curry made from tamarind juice, sun dried Turkey berries (chundakkai) & other home made spices

Monday, February 10, 2014

Tanjore Paintings in Thanjavur

Tanjore painting or Thanjavur Oviyam is a major form of classical South Indian painting from the town of Thanjavur in Tamilnadu. The art form dates back to about 1600 AD, a period when the Nayaks of Thanjavur encouraged art—chiefly, classical dance and music—as well as literature, both in Telugu and Tamil. Tanjore paintings are known for their surface richness, vivid colors, compact composition and especially the glittering gold foils used to give the paintings their rich look . Essentially serving as devotional icons, the subjects of most paintings are Hindu gods, goddesses, and saints. Episodes from Hindu tradition are drawn upon as elaborations of the main figure or figures placed in the central section of the picture. Tanjore paintings are panel paintings done on solid wood planks, and hence referred to as palagai padam (palagai = "wooden plank"; padam = "picture") in local language. In modern times, these paintings have become souvenirs of festive occasions in South India, pieces to decorate walls, and collectors' items for art lovers.