Madurai Meenakshi -Ashta Sakthi Mandapam

Here are photos of the Astha Sakthi Mandapam. Each of the eight saktis ( representing female consorts of different Gods) is elegantly and skilfully sculpted.
1.Kaumari2.Rowthri3.Vaishnavi4.Mahalakshmi5.Manonmani6.Maheswari7.Shyamala & Yagyaroopini9.Other Sculptures:

Avani Festival @ Madurai Meenakshi Temple

2/9/2011: We visited the temple once again on the afternoon of the second. We were extremely fortunate that we accidentally chanced on the occasion of the Avani Festival - the Utsava Murthy's (Festival Idols) of the various deities ready to embark on a procession around the temple as part of the Avani Festival celebrations. See photos below:

1. A colorfully decorated cow with dholak 2.Silver elephant on palanquin 3.The Temple Elephant-colorfully attired 4.Goddess Meenakshi & Lord Sunderaswarar in Golden Palanquin 5.Goddess Meenakshi - magnificently attired 6.Lord Muruga atop his favorite vehicle - peacock 7.Lord Ganesha atop his vehicle - a rat 8.The procession begins: Led by the temple elephant followed by other vehicles.

Madurai Meenakshi Revisited

1/9/11 : We were in Madurai on Ganesh Chathurthi Day.We reached in the evening & checked into TTDC Hotels near Arasaradi - we were given a nice double deluxe A/c suite with an annexe @ Rs.1250/-(which included a Sr,Citizens discount of Rs.350/-). After getting refreshed we went straightaway to the Madurai Meenakshi Temple:( Please log onto www.sankriti.blogspot.com/2008/10/madurai-meenakshi-temple.html for the earlier post of 2008).
In the outer prakaram of the Meenakshi sanctum we captured photographs of the King Thirumalai Naicker and his consorts who were associated significantly with the construction of the temple during the 17th Century.We noticed that the Lotus Pond was completely dry - but nevertheless looked so majestic in the fading light of the evening. The Vibhuti Pillayar continued to draw generous crowds - as per tradition, devotees picked up Vibhuti from the trough and showered the Pillayar with it.Since the day was Ganesh Chathurthi, a day of celebration for Lord Ganesha we noticed that the Mukkuruni Pillayar was adorned with Silver Kavacham (covering) apart from other adornments including plenty of flowers and garlands - it was truly magnificent to behold.(He got his name because a gigantic modhakam is given as an offering to him on the Vinaayakar Chathurthi Festival.This modakam is made with 3 kurunis of rice.A kuruni is a type of measure. It is equivalent to 4 padis. Mukkuruni is 3 X 4 = 12 padis of rice.12 measures of rice are taken and cleaned well with water. Then it is soaked. It is then pounded in a 'ural' - mortar. The flour is mixed with gram, coconut, cane sugar, salt, cardamom, etc. It is then moulded and wrapped in a cloth and made into a bundle. It is then steamed in a giant 'kopparai' - steamer which was made especially for this purpose. When appropriately cooked, it becomes a gigantic 'Modakam'.)
We paused for a few minutes at the Rajatha Sabhai - to admire the lareg dancing figure of Nataraja in Silver Kavacham. At the sanctum sanctorum of Sundareswarar we revisited the Astha Dik Gaja mandapam - a remarkable sight of eight elephants carved in stone around the sanctum - 2 elephants in each direction. Outside the sanctum is the Kambathadi Mandapam - which has the Nandi, the Dwaja sthambam and an array of magnificent stone sculptures.
At the Kili Mandapam we found devotees rubbing sandalwood on a large cylindrical stone to produce sandal paste - an old tradition that has been revived at this temple.We also noticed magnificent sculptures of the Mahabharatha heroes - the Pancha Pandavas ie.Dharma, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula & Sahadeva.
We found nice beautiful and bright frescoes depicting temple legends on the walls adjacent to the Lotus pond.We also visited another Mandapam near Adi Veethi which had some amazing sculptures - see pics below:

Windmills of Udumalpet

Yesterday I was driving from Coimbatore to Udumalpet via Pollachi(in the state of Tamilnadu which is one of the prominent Southern States in India). It was amazing to see the large number of Windmill Turbines on the Pollachi Udumalpet belt - imposing structures with huge fan blades harnessing the massive windpower into electricity.At present, around 2,200 wind turbines with a capacity of 850 MW are operational in the region and installation of about 200 turbines is progressing.
The capacity of turbines ranges from 225 KV(electricity generated in an hour) to 1,650 KV and they need six acres of land depending on their size. According to a rough estimate, if the wind is good, a 1,650 KV turbine generates 54 lakh units of power a year.The State Electricity Board buys a unit of electricity at Rs. 2.70. Here are some pics for you: They are indeed the Windmills of the Gods !

Parambikulam Wild life Sanctuary - Part 2

Here are the balance pictures taken at Parambikulam Wild Life Sanctuary:
1. Thunakadavu Dam View taken from an elevation enroute to Parambikulam Dam
2.A blissful shot of yours faithfully & Shobha my better half
3,4,5,6: Pics taken at Parambikulam Dam
7,8 :Refreshment Zone: Tea Stalls carry exotic names like Maruthu, Chandanam, Thekku, Veetti, Veppu etc ( all local names of trees)
9,10 : Parambikulam Area
11. Another group of deer grazing
12. Checkpost at Sanctuary exit
13. Bamboo Grove at Top Slip
14. Archway enroute from Top Slip to Pollachi on return trip.