Weekend getaway to the K land...

After a long hiatus, am off on a weekend trip... Ever since Dec showed its face, I have been itching to get on the road and explore a new destination. I had a place in mind, but alas was unable to plan and now the flight rates have hit the skies and beyond.

Consoling myself, I had decided to hit this town that has been on my "Must visit" list for quite a while now. I have had conversations with friends who visited here, some recommended it highly while others said "Cha, nothing there but empty houses, no point". But the heart wants what it wants right? And so, I am off to this town, not so far away from Chennai to explore and see what it holds for me...

Started as a solo trip, but then plans changed and a friend is coming along.. The 1st time we are travelling together.. Excited and anxious!!

All I am dreaming off are long endless corridors, beautiful pillars, colourful walls, the palace, the temple, the church all tucked into a quaint little town. I have seen enough photographs and videos of the place, so now am ready to go say hello...

Any guesses where am headed to?

Exploring Galle, Sri Lanka

There we were in our last leg of the trip, heading towards Galle before driving back down to Colombo for a day's rest before catching our flight back home. While down from Unawatuna, our cab driver told us the Galle fort area is a must see. We trusted his judgement and allowed him to show us around. 

We drove through an archway, the walls resembling that of an old fort. It was indeed a Fort, the Galle Fort. There was a mini city of sorts within these walls, there were buildings, there were court houses, stores [including a Gems& jewellery store- our cabbie told us the prices here will be crazy as they target international tourists], narrow lanes with cute looking houses lined up on either sides and then of course on the other side was the long running Fort wall beyond which lay the beautiful blue ocean. We got off near a staircase, walking up the fort wall and along it taking it all in. From the height, we spotted a temple, a church and a few tall buildings as well.

Suddenly, we noticed a small cafe near one of the pretty lanes. We went over to explore the place, discovered it was a quaint bed & breakfast places besides which was a cart selling stuffed paratha of sorts. Decided to indulge and bought one stuffed paratha and it was divine.. Wish we had known about this homestead, we would have planned better and maybe stayed in Galle one night. 

We hopped into the cab and drove around till we came to a Court house where we spotted a newly married couple walking down in all their wedding finery. The groom was decked up in a gold suit with a maroon velvet vest and a beautiful headgear, the bride was in a saree and wore so much jewellery I was amazed she dint need help standing upright. There was an entourage following them, all dressed in identical outfits, and a photographer with his gear as well. As we drove along, we spotted quit a few similar groups around. My friend in fact took a picture with one of the married couples who happily posed :) 

On our way towards Colombo, I decided to read up on Galle from the pamphlet I had picked up. I came to know,

The fort was built first in 1588 by Portuguese, subsequently fortified by the Dutch sometime in the 17th Century. What is amazing is that the place which is nearly 423years old stands tall and majestic even today, courtesy the Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka. It is also referred to as the Dutch Fort or the "Ramparts of Galle".

To know more, click here 

[Skywatch Friday] Buddhism within the Theosophical Society

 It was one of those things in my list of things to do in Chennai. So when a Photowalk was being planned, I added my name to the list even thought the last date had gone by. Luckily, I got in and it was one memorable walk. 

Whilst inside, we discovered this Buddha temple with a beautiful lotus pond near a large tree. When I questioned the presence of a Buddha temple here, I discovered this was the 2nd one in Chennai [ I have visited the 1st one in Kenneth Lane, Egmore earlier].

Apparently, plans for the Buddhist Temple happened in 1883, the construction began under the guidance of Shri. Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa (1875–1953), the 4th President of the Theosophical Society and was consecrated in December 1925. This was during the Golden Jubilee convention of the Theosophical Society. 

The design of this shrine was, in the words of C. Jinarajadasa, the fourth President of the Theosophical Society, "a combination of two styles, both contemporaneous, though one is at Buddha Gaya and the other in Nepal. The base of the shrine, with its rounded arches and pillars, is taken from Buddha Gaya, while the cornices and the dome are from a Buddhist temple in Nepal."  

The shrine is a small and quaint,white in colour. The wooden doors had lotus and swastika motifs on them, the seven steps were flanked by elephant-head balustrades that lead you to the main sanctum. While the doors were shut, I have read that the grey stone image of the Buddha inside the shrine was a gift from Dr. Annie Besant, the second President of the Theosophical Society.

Just beyond the lotus pond stood a tall Tree that had been planted by Shri. C. Jinarajadasa to commemorate the the 75th anniversary of the Theosophical Society. One can walk around the tree, down the steps leading to the pond and the main Buddhist temple as well. The entire space is open and lush greenery welcomes you everywhere you turn. 

If you were to turn left from the tree and walk, there was a small shrine of sorts with a black stone slate that stood as a tribute to the teachers.

Quite apt for today, Teacher's day!! 

 

 

For more beautiful skies, visit Skywatch Friday ...

The Chidambara Ragasiyam and my birthday!

My birthday comes with a lot of fond memories, one of them quite special. Few years ago was on a road trip with a friend down the Coromandal Coast. And on Sep 4^th morning we got on the road towards Chidambaram. My friend had spoken to her mom and got the number of the priest at the Chidambaram Natarajar temple so we get Darshan without much hassle. I have been to Chidambaram couple of times before, but only once to the temple and that was an incomplete visit. The place had been packed and we were unable to see anything, leave alone the main deity. 

So, this time I was curious to see the famous Chidamabara Ragasiyam [rather figure out what it was]. We waited near the temple chariot [ther/ratham] for the priest who came by in a few minutes. He then took us inside, showed us around the outer column of deities and shrines. He then asked us to wait so most of the crowd will leave and we can get a good Darshan. He even gave us permission to click pictures of the temple [just the outside ofcourse], photography is prohibited but he went on to say that many who came clicked on their mobile phones on the sly.  

And thus began our time at the temple. We visited the shrines around the main temple and then he took us inside. He told us we will also get to see the Chidambara Ragasiyam. My friend knew of it but I was quite blank and ergo curious. 

Legend has it that Chidambaram is where Shiva and his consort Parvati are present, but invisible to most people. In this temple, the Chidambara Ragasiyam is actually hidden behind a curtain right next to the main shrine. Our priest beckoned us towards the front and parted the curtains to show us what was hidden behind. It is actually a curtain of golden leaves from the Aegle Marmelos tree [[vilvam elai], signifying the presence of Shiva and Parvati. It is believed that saints can see the gods in their physical form.

It was quite a moment! We did a small archanai for my B’day and made our way out of the temple, thanking the Priest for his time. From there, we headed towards Porto Novo….