Visit to Srirangapatna and Nimishamba Temple

"Dear Friends, this travelogue is a humble dedication to people of Karnataka. I consider it as an honor and privilege to write about this great state and its citizens. I am also thankful to God in giving me a new opportunity to interact with people of this state and learn many good things from them".

With best Regards,
Junior KK.




Nimishamba Temple, Srirangapatna.

16th October, 2010.
Time: 04:15hrs.

The clock strikes 4:15AM. The alarm in my mobile starts singing,” Nanna dhvanige ninna dhvaniya, seridante namma dhvaniya. Na swaramu nee swaramu sangamamayi manaswaranga avatarinchey.......”. I woke up and got ready in 30 minutes. The climate in Bangalore was cool in the morning hours. At 5:30AM, I came out of my house at Bommanahalli and walked past the mosque towards Begur Road. Local isthiri wala Sridhar was busy with his pressing work. We greeted each other and after 5 minutes chat with him I started with my journey to Bommanahalli bus stop. A couple of street dogs accompanied me till the signal. I boarded 356C bus bound towards Majestic circle.

The bus was crowded even at that unearthly hour. That surprised me a little. As my bus crossed Madiwala, I almost got a seat, but a guy pushed me aside and threw his bag thus reserving the seat. After he sat, he gave an accomplished look at me and I couldn’t resist laughing inside. The journey lasted 40 minutes and I reached Majestic comfortably even though I was standing all the way. I walked towards the Railway station and purchased a ticket to Mysore though I was visiting Shrirangapatna. To be on the safer side, I purchased an Express category ticket so that I had the advantage of travelling in both Express and Passenger just in case if I changed my plan to visit Mysore (had a different backup plan).


Sriranganathasamy Temple, Srirangapatna.

I walked to platform 6 and waited patiently. 214 Tirupati-Mysore Fast Passenger arrived 20 minutes late with a BZA WAG-5#23x91 locomotive and there was a mad rush. I occupied one of the doors and waited for the train to start. Those 15 minutes seem to be the longest in my life. At 7:45AM, I heard a typical WDM-2 type honk and my train slowly chugged out of SBC. I liked the driving style of the loco pilot. My train curved towards the right and then towards left and after crossing Nayandahalli the train picked up high-speed. The first halt was at Kengeri. There was a mad rush and my train became jam packed. With a couple of youngsters sitting in the doorstep, I stood behind them observing the scenery as the train travelled across rural Karnataka. It was diesel action all the way. Diesel locomotives have a charm of their own! It’s also nice and interesting to watch them, though I am more of an electric fan.



My passenger reached Maddur at 9:15AM. A good amount of crowd got down at Maddur. Couple of vendors holding “Maddur Vadas” boarded the train and they started making good business! I had an idea of tasting it, but later quit it as I was a bit concerned about hygiene. I knew it would be good and hygienic, but still I thought “maybe next time”. My train was running a bit late as it had started late, but I wasn’t bothered. I found some space near the door and I started rail fanning. There weren’t any crossings so there weren’t much rail action, but overall the entire atmosphere was awesome and it made me feel good.



At Mandya, some chain-pulling incident happened and as a result my train was made to wait for 5 minutes. Yeliyur, Byadrahalli, Pandavapura were scheduled stops and my train halted there. It was a pleasant sight to watch the villages from trains. I noticed that the train was fully packed only till Maddur and after Maddur the train was mildly crowded.



After getting down at Srirangapatna, I walked to the front to observe the locomotive. After a scheduled minute halt, my train started and it was a real beauty to watch KJM WDM-2 departing the station with its smoke all around. As the train disappeared, I sat under the tree to enjoy the rural beauty of Karnataka and then proceeded towards Srirangapatna Ranganathaswamy temple.



I was impressed by the temple at first sight. There was a delay in darshan as poojas were conducted for the deity. I purchased laddu prasad for my cousins and then went around taking photos of the temple, sculptures in my camera mobile. I was amazed at the beauty of the sculptures and the cleanliness of the temple. The temple was indeed well maintained. I spent a good 45 minutes at the temple premises before leaving to my next destination Nimishamba temple 5km away from here.



After visiting the temple, I proceeded towards the town and walked inside for a kilometre. By now the weather was too hot with scorching sun right above my head. There weren’t any good hotels, but I accidentally bumped into a nice chap. He was an auto-driver and he suggested that I should take a bus to Nimishamba temple instead of going in auto. I told him that I would rather go in his auto, but he wouldn’t accept and he suggested that a bus would be cheaper costing only Rs.5/- instead of Rs.40/- for his auto. I was amazed as I haven’t come across such an auto-driver so far in my life who advocates so much for bus. I told him that an auto would be more convenient and proceeded with him. He agreed to take me to Nimishamba temple and drop me back at Shrirangapatna bus stand for Rs.40/- without any waiting charges. It was a jackpot for me. I never heard such things in Chennai.



I enjoyed the journey very much. It is believed that anyone visiting Nimishamba temple should donate lemons to the deity. In return they are offered lemons by the priest which were kept in pooja earlier and those lemons should either be made into juice same day or kept in home for 21 days and then thrown out. I offered 3 lemons and got 3 lemons as prasad. The temple looked fairly small with Kaveri River nearby.



Nimishamba is a form of goddess Parvati. There is a belief that Parvati will clear off all problems and trouble of her devotees within a minute. That explains the reason for the name "Nimishamba". "Nimisha" means a minute.

I roamed around the temple for around 25-30 mins and returned back to my auto. I thought that auto-driver may demand a few rupees extra, but he didn’t ask me anything and he dropped me off at the bus stand. I walked towards the nearest hotel. I had two chapattis and one masala dosai. The hotel wasn’t very hygienic, though it looked big, spacious with a lot of tables. The bus stand was very near and in 15 minutes I managed to catch a bus to Bangalore. I boarded the bus at 13:00hrs and I reached Majestic at 16:30hrs. I had problems of finding a bus to Baiyappanahalli and it took 30 minutes to find one. After 1 hour ride, I reached BYPL Nilgiri’s stop. My cousin brother’s house was very near to the tracks. I spent the weekend at his house before returning to Bommanahalli.

-Krishna Kumar.S
a.k.a Junior KK
IRFCA-SBC

Save the girl child!

I had been waiting to publish this article for some time. Let me share with you about what I have observed in the society. I have observed two sets of people. A conservative, worried, always tensed generation belonging to the age group of above 30 (born before 1980 era) and another is a hopeless breed of so called “cool dudes” (born in 1985-86 along with me). I regard the present day younger generation of India in the age of 14-25 as hopeless souls, hooligans with wrong attitude and lack of character. Since I also belong to their age group, I am also useless. Let me make this confession and start with the article. Well, of course not entire present generation is bad, but majority of them have no intelligence or the basic manners to respect values. I blame the cinema industry for treating women as sex objects.

Now let me narrate a real life incident. I was travelling to NIIT Nungambakkam to get some of my documents verified. It was a hot day in September. I was travelling in 29C and I boarded the bus at Adyar signal. I took my seat near the window. My bus stopped at Stella Mary’s bus stop where lot of college girls got in. They were dressed in modern dresses. The present day generation is so infatuated by the money thrown by IT/BPO industries the younger generation has failed to realize the harm in following Western culture especially in a repressed culture like India where men are desperately hungry to taste the forbidden fruit. Being modern or dressing in western style is not wrong, but there should be some discretion practiced. Right from womb till grave a girl child is never safe. India is not former USSR or erstwhile Soviet Union where women are given equal rights. Girl children are killed in womb. Girl babies are killed in villages after birth by giving poison. If they manage to survive all this, they get molested or raped. That’s the way they get treated in this land where men worship Durga and Goddess Lakshmi.

Now let me narrate the bus journey. There were a bunch of useless college students in the back. These guys think that they become professionals if they join a B.E or B.Com course. No one is a professional. People become true professionals when they know how to treat another human being in a humane manner. I doubt whether these guys of present era come anyway near it. Let me describe their appearance. Piercing in ears and in the chin, handkerchief over the head, t-shirt without collar with the divine ‘F’ word written multiple times, shaded jeans. I can also type a few more, but my sisters would be reading this. I would rather stop here. It is for the better tomorrow of these people, Indian Army soldiers die in the border and the worst part is that God is watching all this. What’s even more pathetic is that a soldier dies in border fighting intruders; his wife becomes a widow and gets a pension of few hundreds while the people inside the country continue to enjoy life. The worst thing is that no one is bothered. Someone else is suffering. Someone else has become a widow. Is it my daughter? Is it my sister? That’s the way everyone thinks which is entirely wrong.

Coming back..

As the bus stopped at Stella Marys the college girls got in. One of them couldn’t control his excitement and desperation and exclaimed "Machi, Super figure da". (Machi in Tamil is a short form for brother-in-law) His friend was too elated and couldn’t help whistling. The girl noticed and you should have watched her reaction. Man! She was happy! I turned my face and looked out of the window and I was laughing inside. I was thinking of former President Abdul Kalam and his statement requesting youngsters to dream. The youngsters were indeed dreaming a lot!

After I got some of my documents verified I started my journey back. I was to board 29C again. I came to the bus stop and was waiting there. 29 C came and I boarded it. As the bus crossed Stella Mary’s a girl boarded the bus. Immediately, the entire gang (this is a different gang, but still no difference) started shouting raising double meaning slogans. The poor girl got a bit afraid and sat in the front itself and didn’t even come to purchase the tickets. Then these guys were planning to approach her. The girl got a bit fed up and she got down fearing embarrassment.

Maybe after a few years, if China invades India, all these boys should be conscripted and should be posted in the border to defend every inch of Indian soil. If they retreat from the border, they should be shot by Generals for retreating. It requires more courage to retreat than advance. At that time, they would realize how tough life could be if one is in the suffering end. The entire woman population is taken for granted and is being preyed by hungry men. I know I can’t do anything. I won't react to this, but I have the right to portray them here. I could only wish the Soviets were around and they wouldn’t have allowed this to happen.

The reason for all this nonsense is the aggressive expressions of love that one sees in the movies. However, according to some psychologists the root cause of eve teasing is the patriarchal mindset of the Indian male. They like to believe that they have power over the women society. They thrive on the fact that even today a large number of women still prefer to ignore rather than to confront. I blame all this on the cinema industry. All these bloody films have projected women as a sexual object and not as human beings with emotions and hence the cine industry has created a "Frankenstein" in the younger generation.

During my school life I have observed that girls who are dark in colour are bullied a lot and girls having fair skin are portrayed as Goddess. I seriously don’t see anything so great between dark complexion and fair complexion. Human society fails if crimes can't be prevented. Majority of the films portray heroes passing sarcastic comments on dark skinned women and even passing remarks on women who are fat. There is also a sarcastic portrayal of eunuchs. I wonder how the Government gives permission to publish such scenes. The government has failed in its purpose to protect its citizens.

I seriously wonder what the sensor board is doing. And immediately, critics might argue saying that there is a right to practice freedom of speech. Is that a freedom of speech or freedom to insult a human being? If such things are to be practiced let the Preamble of the Indian Constitution is changed. Why should India be declared as a socialist, secular, democratic republic? Let it be an ordinary democratic republic. There is no bloody socialism over here. I only see that there are ethnic jokes like Sardarji jokes, Anti-Brahmin jokes and ethnic violence. There is no secularism. I see more of communal violence and inter-caste violence. And I would like to reserve my comments about democracy in India.

-Krishna Kumar.S
a.k.a Junior KK
IRFCA-MAS

Reason for multiple religions

It was some time ago during one of my visits to temples I discovered something which could be an answer to queries regarding multiple Gods and multiple Religions. An answer that could even bring peace to the world. The answer is quite simple and basic. During the days of 2008 when I started working, I got my first salary. I bought some sweets for my parents. I wanted to gift some dress to beloved ones. Since I had no brothers or sisters, I had no ways to celebrate. I did have “foster” brothers and sisters but they were either far or busy with career preparations. I thought I should buy a saree as a gift and present it to a girl. But do you think that if I present a saree to any girl at college or at workplace, will she accept it? She would either think that I had wrong intentions or she would be afraid to accept fearing what the society would think of her? I need to celebrate at any cost!

Generally, I like doing things rather than keeping them pending. I browsed my mobile's directory to find out if any of my friend’s sisters would be able to help me. I tried calling them the line was either engaged or they were out of station or they were on the other line. I lack patience in life generally! I felt that I would dedicate to Goddess Parvati- female form of Goddess in Hinduism. Parvati is the consort Lord Shiva and theoretically she represents the power of shakthi meaning power, which is possessed by men proving Men and Women are inseparables. In short, it means that a woman represents a man’s power.

I went to Nalli, a big shop in Adyar near to my house. Purchased a Chinnalum pattu. Went straight to the temple and handed over the saree to the Gurukkal (priest). Now what am I trying to say here? Though, I have a socialist secular view, I do believe in God. God is one and the same. But He has come in different forms to convey joy to humanity. On that day at the temple, I was able to give the saree to the Goddess. She accepted it like a sister. I can’t offer a saree to Lord Shiva idol nor to Jesus. There arises a need for multiple figures to satisfy human thoughts. And also whenever a human being is happy he needs to share it with others as that’s the general tendency. I was happy at that time and I was able to share it with someone. This incident did teach a lesson in my life. I am also happy that on that particular day none of my friends picked up their phones or were out of reach from their towers. It’s a miracle! Otherwise, this article wouldn’t have been written now. I just can’t believe that even my friends Rajesh and John didn’t pick up the phone that day-these guys take up in the first ring usually!

Variety is the spice of life. Enjoy it! Jesus came to the world took all the pains and died on the cross for the sins committed by humans. Here it proves that God would never quit on humans and He is willing to take any amount of pains for the mankind. He would never give a challenge which cannot be faced and handled by His creations. Allah hasn’t got a physical figure-here God proves that he is omnipresent and everywhere! There might be some questions in your brain now.

What are the communists here in this world for? My view is that they are also good people trying to do goodness to society by bringing everything under Government control to offer food, security, education to every citizen. And how come there are many Religions? The answer is simple. Ages go there lived people who were fascinated by many things and they wanted to propagate their views, theories, and culture. Each one wrote their own version which was indeed just and true. The subsequent generations got fascinated by each theory and adopted the one which interests them. Like if I like reading about history and heritage definitely, I would suggest reading and writing as a hobby and not partying! The basic outline of every religion is not to hurt another human being but to walk in the righteous way.



You might ask why in every religious complex like temple or dargah it is written that people of other faith shouldn’t enter. Answers are simple. This is a typical human behaviour. Even in my life, I had a lot of views. My friends agreed and appreciate it. Not one or two. Everyone! The whole bunch. If people agree with you, you generally have the tendency to treat them well. I had some other views too which may be right or wrong. My friends disagreed. I would get angry and I would try to show my discontent in some way. It projects I am hurt or upset by the disagreement. Likewise, the same applies to Religions and that’s what is happening in the human society. Human psychology!

It’s high time and people stop hitting each other. Before that, I should change myself as I am also a short tempered imperfect person. Each and every event in life is interconnected and leads to another event and it’s an endless process ultimately ending in truth. Every story, every proverb has got a meaning and a moral! For example, there’s a story in which Lord Vinayakar quarrels with Muruga for a fruit and Lord Muruga (Subramanian or Karthik as known in North India) separates from God’s family due to dispute. Lord Vinayakar circled around parents and claimed that going around His parents was equivalent to that of circling the earth. This could be mean that respecting parents is bound to bring goodness to man. It also indicates that a quarrel or a dispute has always got a disastrous consequence. Seriously, even I need to think about this! At school, I was educated by Anglo Indian teachers, brought up by Hindu parents and some of my friends are Muslims. If either of these people hasn’t entered into my life, my life would have gone for a toss or a big six! I wouldn’t have even graduated.

Critics might argue inquiring from which Engineering college did Lord Ram graduate to build a bridge between Srilanka and Rameshwaram? Or else inquire about how a Virgin gave birth to Jesus? My only answer to them is that there are few things in life which cannot be unraveled and would still remain a mystery and it lies above human sense perception clearly indicating the presence of Supreme Power, the omnipotent reality. One needs to be humble and attain self realization or Enlightment; maybe he could unravel more mysteries of life..... More than what I have written over here.

One last thing anyone might like to ask. Can God be seen? I haven’t seen him either, but I can explain why God doesn’t show his physical form or responds to human queries regarding this presence? The answer is simple. Take me for an example. I love chat items, watching trains, sometimes writing articles, taking photographs. I have dreams of how my future wife would be and what I should do for her. I have got lots of expectations. Just imagine if God shows himself to me? Do you think that I would have any desire/wish in life after that? Do you think that I would marry any girl? If all men start thinking like that way, the world would come to a standstill and would cease to exist in 100 years. Skeptics might ask then why God created the world. Didn’t I say earlier that there are certain things which lie above human perception? The best way one can serve any deity is to rise as high as possible.

-Krishna Kumar.S
Chennai, Tamilnadu.

Divinity of Madurantakam

Madurantakam is a small town located 84km south of Chennai. It is famous for a Ram Temple located at the center of the town and the temple is 1500years old. I personally like Madurantakam very much for many reasons. Primary reason is that a British Collector himself had a darshan of Lord Ram in the year 1796. This is also the only Ram temple in the world in which there is no separate sannidhi for Anjaneyar or Hanumaan. This is because when Lord Ram returned from Lanka with Seetha, Hanumaan was assigned a different task by Lord Ram and as a result he was not present. That's why there is not separate shrine for Anjaneyar at Madurantakam. Instead there is a small temple for Anjaneyar in front of Ram temple which was built later.

I visit the Ram temple at Madurantakam almost every two months if I am in Tamilnadu. Being a devotee of Lord Vishnu, I am always interested in Vishnu Temples. I am personally impressed with the overall majestic appearance of Lord Vishnu as Lord Ram in the Yeri Katha Ramar Temple. His brother Lakshman’s majestic appearance adds more beauty. As far as I know this is the only temple in which Lord Ram is portrayed as holding Sita’s hand. I got this information through the temple priest with whom I converse often.




Madurantakam has an interesting legend associated with it. It is believed that Lord Ram gave darshan to Lt.Colonel Plaze, a British collector when he prayed to Lord Ram to assist him when he was in trouble. It is to be noted that Plaze was a sceptical person.
In the year 1796, the temple authorities decided to build a shrine for Janakavalli Thayar (Goddess Sita). It was a rainy season and Madurantakam Tank was getting full. There was a fear that the bunds would give away and water would come into the town. At that time, Lt.Plaze noticed a huge pile of stones piled up near the Temple. He inquired the purohits why there were so many bricks and stones inside the temple complex.



The purohits replied that those bricks were to be used for constructing a separate shrine for Goddess Sita. The collector was amused. He said that building a shrine wasn’t a priority. He believed that the bricks should be used for repairing the bunds of the tank or should be used to strengthen the bunds. The purohits replied that Lord Vishnu never betrayed any devotee and He always answers the prayers of his devotees. Purohits asked the Collector to pray to Lord Ram sincerely from his heart and they assured him that his prayers would be answered and he would be saved from trouble. Plaze wasn't in a mood to listen to all these stories.



The rains never stopped and the villagers were worried. The entire town of Madurantakam was filled with water everywhere and daily life was affected. Many feared that the tank would overflow and water will come into the town. As a District Collector, Lt.Col Plaze had a lot of work pressure and he was extremely worried. He went to the spot along with his team and inspected the bunds. He prayed at heart that the bunds shouldn’t break. He had no chance now. He has to rely on God now.

There was a flash of lightning. He saw two figures standing at a distance. One of them had a bow in the hand. Lt.Col. Plaze was amazed and spell bound. It was none other than Lord Ram (Vishnu) and his divine brother Lakshman. His prayers were answered! Lord Ram and Lakshman themselves have taken the task of protecting the tank. None of the other members in the team who were with him in the site saw Ram or Lakshman. It was believed that the Collector fainted after having darshan of Lord Ram.



When the rains stopped, the Collector approached the purohits and apologised to them for being sarcastic. He personally took charge of the construction expenses and a shrine for Janakavalli Thayar was built. As a sign of respect, the temple authorities engraved a small idol of Col.Plaze in the walls of the shrine of Janakavalli Thayar as a sign of respect. Even in the temple entrance Col.Plaze’s name is mentioned in return of grattitude.

I love Madurantakam and it's my favourite place in this world! Wherever, I travel to, I would always come and visit this place. This is where I find peace, love and tranquility.

-Krishna Kumar.S

Journey to Chakradharpur (Jharkhand, West Singhbum district)

December 25th, 2009.

I got up at 3:30AM. It was too cold. With the help of geyser, I prepared some hot water and put my legs into it. After 15 minutes, I was feeling better. I was ready in 30 minutes. My adopted pups were awake and were happy to see me awake early in the morning. They started licking my legs and were jumping crazily. I was a bit afraid. Even though, I like dogs I always make it a point not to touch them much or even allow them to lick. I managed to push them back to my apartment and hurriedly moved out with my backpack.

I came out of my house and walked to my neighbour Anoop Bhuyan’s house. He and his nephew Saurabh were getting the car ready for the journey. There were lots of luggages. I am not a person who has great knowledge of car, but I could identify the model as Santro. The time was 4:15AM. The plan was to start by 5AM, but looks like we were ahead of time in our schedule. The plan was to visit Chakradharpur in the neighbouring state of Jharkhand. My neighbours and I became thick close friends within months of our first meet. I was very much interested in roaming around the countryside. They knew it and they asked me to simply join along in their personal trip. I thought it wouldn’t be nice, but they didn’t allow me to decline the offer. Even I was interested in seeing Chakradharpur. Even the very name thrilled me! The name sounded very majestic and imperialistic. I thought ‘Chakradhar’ was a King’s name. That was my guess.

Chakradharpur was situated roughly 340km from Howrah. The plan was to reach the place by 11AM. I would be staying in a separate room at a friend’s place and later join them in the car for the return journey the next day. My friend Anoop is a 40 year old conservative Bengali while Saurabh was a college goer younger to me by a few years. He always had the habit of calling me”Dada”, later I requested him to call me by my name Krishna, but he would just not listen to me.

We started at 4:30AM. Anoop was a good driver! He was driving very well. I almost felt like I was in a train. Excellent speed! Kolkata looked deceptively calm during the early morning hours. Some parts were deserted, but I still found some parts crowded and people were busy. I wondered what they were doing in wee hours of morning. Salt Lake City (Kolkata) looked beautiful even during the morning hours.

The journey was long. It could have been tedious for Anoop and Saurabh, but I was simply enjoying as I like travelling. I took my mobile and started taking notes regarding details needed for my travelogue. Since there were lot of luggages we couldn’t opt to travel by train and moreover, there were other plans for Anoop. My plan was to simply roam around, so it wasn’t a big deal for me. Whether it’s train or car or even a horse cart.

After roughly 1.5 hours we stopped for tea. It was great to have tea in the morning. It was really warm. After 15 minutes, we resumed our journey again. This time Anoop was driving the car a bit slow. I wondered why. Was something mixed in tea??? I had my own worries.

West Bengal looked beautiful, but it lacked in infrastructure. The roads were a bit poor here and there with a lot of dumps and bumps. I observed the countryside and it was beautiful. I was thankful to God for giving me an opportunity to travel to these places. I remember marking these places in map, but never knew that I would be travelling there in any part of my life time. It’s a special feeling. It gives a lot of peace and happiness. I wasn’t going to miss this moment. I connected my mobile and I was listening to some of my favourite songs. No prize for the guesses. I was listening to my favourite Backstreet Boys, Michael Jackson collections.

Around 11:15AM, we reached our destination. Chakradharpur had a lot of railway quarters and colonies for staff. The town (city?) was a bit quiet on that day with not much of activity around even though it was Christmas. I was feeling a bit tired. Saurabh helped me with my new room for the next one day and I refreshed myself by taking a shower. I told him that I would be roaming around the town only in the afternoon and I would like to take some rest. He left me alone and I went for a nap. I didn’t feel like eating anything. I didn’t know why. After one hour nap, I got up and went along with Anoop for lunch at the hotel nearby. I had rotis with rice, while Anoop went for a heavy Non-Veg stuff. He couldn’t understand why I was still a vegetarian. I told him that I was a Brahmin.

After lunch, I went around the town by walk. It was a wonderful experience. I stopped by the countryside and had “gol-guppa” or Pani Puri with onions. The taste was good. Brought back fond memories having Pani-poori in the streets of Kolkata. The local bus stand was not in proper condition but there were other things to boast about. The place still represented British era and it was beautiful. The place was a railway establishment and I could see a lot of quarters and other Government buildings. There were statues dedicated to freedom fighters and people looked amazingly simple with great character.

As I walked towards the bus stand, I came across a board which read as Cuttack-370km, Patna-568km, Nagpur-819km, Vijayawada-1107km, Nasik-1468km. My goodness there were lots of places mentioned. What about Chennai? Well, what about Kolkata? It is the nearest major metro and it was mentioned. Cuttack is mentioned, but what about Bhubaneshwar-the capital? Most of all, why isn’t the capital city of Ranchi not mentioned here? I felt a bit amused.

My first task was to board a share auto or bus to a place called “Kera” to visit Bhagwati temple. It was 10km away as per information collected from my friends in Kolkata. The main hurdle was language. But I was confident of managing with my Hindi. I boarded a bus and purchased ticket to Kera. It was a long journey! The driver took nearly 40 minutes. The bus wasn’t crowded. The roads were dusty. The road conditions in the outskirts were very bad! I found myself travelling between midly dense forests and lonely state highways. The villages gave a sleepy appearance. I was enjoying this journey very much. I was listening to my beloved Backstreet Boys-I want it that way. After 40 minutes, I got down. The temple was nearby and it wasn’t as big as I assumed. I thought it was “Bhagwati Amman” but it was simply Bhagwati Temple. Later only I realized that Amman is a name used only in South India and in the North India it’s “Ma”. The temple was simple and peaceful. My next destination was Ponga to visit a Shiva Temple.

Villages in India manifest a deep loyalty to their hometown. They identify themselves proudly representing their hometown. Even I don’t represent Chennai that proudly. I need to learn a lot from these villagers. I have also observed that a family rooted in a particular village does not easily move to another and even people who have lived in a city for a generation or two refer to their ancestral village as "our village”. I have always felt a sense of pride and loyalty when I speak with Indians who live in villages. They carry themselves with pride not giving to underhanded ways. Maybe some of our guys in corporate offices should learn a lesson or two from these people.

These people also have the habit of sharing things. They share common village facilities-the village pond, grazing grounds, temples and shrines, cremation grounds, schools, sitting spaces under large shade trees, wells. Perhaps equally important, fellow villagers share knowledge of their common origin in a locale and of each other's secrets, often going back generations. Interdependence in rural life provides a sense of unity among residents of a village. I haven’t observed anything as such in cities. Why such contrasts exist?

Viewed from a distance, an Indian village may appear deceptively simple. It may even look silly for a few. A cluster of mud-plastered walls shaded by a few trees, set among a stretch of green or dun-colored fields, with a few people slowly coming or going, oxcarts creaking, cattles roaming around, and birds singing. In reality, any Indian village life is far from simple. The work ethic is strong, with little time out for relaxation, except for numerous divinely sanctioned festivals.

I returned back to my friend’s place at 6 PM. Citing language problems, I wasn’t much interested in roaming at nights. I didn’t want to outdo myself or try anything eccentric and get into trouble. I was very hungry too. I returned back to my friend’s place and had an early dinner at the same hotel where I had lunch but this time alone. Jharkhand’s cuisine was nice and interesting. I love rotis! Rotis, Dal, Khukri, with lots of vegetables. It cost me a good Rs.50. After dinner, I silently slipped to bed.

The next day morning I started my return journey towards Kolkata with Anoop and Saurabh, with lots of luggages. After long hours of continuous driving, we took our breakfast at a place called Galudih. Our next halt was at Ghatsila near Jharkhand-West Bengal where we took rest for about 30 minutes. As we crossed the border, a board sign read,” Welcome to West Bengal”.

-Krishna Kumar.S
a.k.a Junior KK

Stress Buster-A friend's suggestion

How to cope up with stress, problems, bugs and useless people? There are many temporary fixes for the above mentioned problem, but these happen again and again. I was wondering whether there would be any permanent solution. Sometimes, I tackle worries by simply ignoring them. The true fact is that sometimes I am clueless about how to handle things, so that’s the reason why I prefer to ignore things. Fortunately, ignoring problem become solutions. Instead of getting worked up to find a solution, sometimes it is better to ignore problems.

In one such confusing scenario I was clueless. I was suggested by my friend/colleague to dance alone in room to the tune of your favourite music to relieve anger, stress, or boredom. I was surprised at this. At first I thought my friend was joking. I asked,” I don’t know how to dance?” The reply came,”Arre, it’s easy. Simple shake your hands and legs just like that to the tune. You will feel the difference”. The idea is a bit funny and interesting too. I decided to implement the same.

I was sitting with my machine at around 1AM. The compiler spit out errors as usual. I wasn’t irritated, as this work wasn’t my priority now, but still if I am able to accomplish this it would boost my overall confidence, morale and self esteem.

In such a scenario, I remembered the “dancing technique”. At 1AM in the night, I started listening to my favourite Michael Jackson’s-Smooth criminal. Sitting in front of my machine, I had a glass of water and started shaking my legs and hands simply to the tune of Smooth Criminal. I am not a dancer and I am a shy person when it comes to dancing and singing. I was also singing the exact lyrics and within a few minutes, my stress was gone!!!! Even Michael Jackson will turn in his grave, if he hears that his music has got so much of value.

However, by my experience I knew this was a temporary solution. This is something like anaesthesia. Before the effect of anaesthesia falls away, the “operations” need to be performed. I immediately started to work on a task. No, you guessed it wrong! It wasn’t the bit of code which was throwing error. I started to work on my travelogue about my recent trip to the town of Madurantakam (beloved). And after few hours, I came back to the piece of code and it was working fine.

But when I went to bed, I had a smile on my face. Shaking legs, hands for music...... LOL! How did that help me to solve the problem? God only knows. Whatever... I found out a way out thanks to my friend.

Thanks for your patient listening,

Regards,
Krishna Kumar.S
(Travel Writer/Rail nut)
IRFCA-MAS (Indian Railways Fan Club Association)
Visit us at: www.irfca.org

Navjeevan-New Life: Trip to Kumbakonam Navagraha Temples

The road leading to Guru sthalam at Alangudi.

28th, April 2010.

I had returned from office at 8PM and I was taking rest. Feeling bored, I decided to watch TV before having my dinner. I was browsing through TV channels and I came across an interesting programme related to Hindu mythology. It was about the mythological story related to Lord Sukran, Maha Bali and Vamana avtar. As per mythology, Lord Vishnu took his 5th avtar as Vamana, a dwarf Brahmin to humble the rich king Maha Bali who threatenned to overpower the Devas. Vamana approached Maha Bali and asked for bhiksha which was three footsteps of land. Sukran being the Guru for Maha Bali knew the conspiracy behind it as he had the ability to anticipate what could happen next.

He also knew that the person in disguise was Vishnu. Mahabali was a rich prosperous king and he was surprised why the puny dwarf Brahmin asked only for three footsteps of his land. Considering Bali’s wealth, the Brahmin could have asked more land, jewels, money and food. Sukran warned Bali that he is suspicious about this Brahmin’s strange request and advised him to ignore his request. But Bali had the habit of not saying "NO" to anyone who approached him for a favour or alms. He decided to agree to the Brahmin’s demand of giving land. The background story is that Maha Bali so powerful, the Devas in heaven felt that he would soon conquer all worlds. So the devas prayed to Vishnu and Vishnu advised them not to worry and He would take care of Maha Bali. To prevent Maha Bali from becoming powerful, Vishnu took this avtar to outwit and humble Bali.


The weather was cloudy and it was drizzling.

As per rituals, water is sprinkled from kamandalam (a jar filled with water carried by sages) and that indicates the whole hearted approval for the donation. To prevent Bali from doing this act, Sukran changes himself into a bee and gets inside the kamandalam to prevent water from coming out. When Bali tries to perform the act of sprinkling waters, water doesn’t come out of the nozzle. Vamana realized this and takes a darbha (a leaf) and inserts it into the nozzle of the jar to clear out the obstacle. Sukran who was already hiding inside in the form a bee gets hurt and loses one of his eyes. Vamana then proceeds to show his universal cosmic form and keeps one leg on earth and another leg on heaven. He asks,"Where shall I keep my third leg?". Bali kneels down and shows his head. Vamana keeps his third leg on Bali's head and pushes him down to the undergroud world.

I was amazed when I heard this story. I have heard of this many times, but this time I thought differently. I was impressed with Sukran’s love for his devotee Maha Bali. Sukran was the Guru and Guru means teacher. He loved his disciple so much that he volunteered to help him even when he wasn’t listening to his warnings. This reflects the relationship between a mentor and a disciple. There is so much to be learnt from ancient traditions. It might sound a bit foolish, but I went ahead and planned for this trip to Kumbakonam because I wanted to see Kanchanur where Lord Sukran resides. I also planned to cover the remaining Navagraha temples which I didn’t see earlier during my previous trip. There are many people who visit this temple for various reasons, but I visited simply because I liked Sukran’s affection towards his devotee Maha Bali. Maybe I need to learn a lot from Hinduism.


Alangudi Guru Temple entrance.

I had already visited 5 Navagraha temples in 2008. The remaining temples were Suryanar Koil near Aduthurai, Sukran Temple at Kanchanur, Guru Temple at Alangudi and Chandran (Moon) Temple at Thingaloor. I knew that this trip was going to be fantastic. I don’t know why, but I felt so and I was very very excited. There were no tickets available for the onward journey so I decided to travel in unreserved compartment. I got a side lower berth for my return journey in 6854 Cholan Express.


April 30th, 2010.

I reached Egmore at 2200hrs. I accidentally met my colleague Prem Sagar who was going to Tiruchi that night. After having a few words with him we both departed towards our respective platforms. I went towards the platform where my train’s rake was expected to be shunted in. My plan was to board 2793 Egmore-Madurai Express. If I wasn’t able to board it due to excessive crowd, my back-up plan was to take 6175 Kamban Express which departs at 23:15hrs. Luckily, I managed to get a window-seat in the unreserved compartment of 2793 Madurai Express. I waited anxiously for 30 minutes and my train finally departed at 22:45hrs. I was excited as this Navagraha temple trip has been pending long time.

Since my childhood I had travelled through suburbs many times in express trains, but I haven’t got bored. Its lots of fun to be in an express train tearing past small stations at high speed without stopping. I enjoy every bit of what I observe. My train negotiated the curve between Saidapet and Guindy at high speed and it was a treat to observe the entire train in a curve at night time with all compartment lights switched ON. My train skipped Tambaram and its next halt was at Chengalpet. At Chengalpet, a lot of people got in and my compartment was a bit crowded with people sitting, sleeping on floors. Few of them were sleeping even under the seat. Last minute decisions to do trips would lead to situations like this. Travelling in unreserved could be tough sometimes.

I was awake till 1AM and shortly before Villupuram, I went to sleep. I had no choice than sleeping in sitting posture. My sleep was never continuous and I woke up several times before my train reached Kumbakonam. If my memory is right, my train reached Kumbakonam around 5AM and it was late by nearly 40 minutes (I guess). It was raining heavily outside and I waited for a few minutes at the station. The rain never stopped, so I decided to take an auto to a nearby lodge.

I didn’t have an umbrella with me, so I had no choice than taking an auto. Walking in rain is not really advisable. I knew autos would be expensive unlike Kolkata. The auto guy seized this opportunity as it was raining and demanded a good Rs.70/-. I reduced the rate to Rs.50/- through negotiations. I went to the famous ARK Lodge and found out that there were no rooms available. After searching in a few lodges, I found an accommodation in a lodge near Kumbeshwar temple. It was a non-AC single bed room with restroom and it cost me Rs.125/- per day. It was indeed cheap.

I refreshed myself quickly and got ready in 30 minutes. My first destination was Alangudi-Guru temple. I had heard that visiting this temple brings good news, talents and punyam. I have also heard that one who is blessed for 14 generations could only enter this temple. I hoped and I desired that I could be one of them. It might sound a bit stupid for my readers if they hear that I believe these stories, but I prefer to be and live like a villager.


Guru bhagwan, Alangudi.

I would like to recollect my past in which I studied in a highly modern school with wealthy people around. Even today some of my friends inquire why I am like this. So simple, without any modern thoughts, wearing only formals, formal shoes. Why am I not wearing reebok shoes, t-shirts with slogans like “So many girls no time, Drink water save beer, Intel inside Idiot outside”? Why am I not going to Spencers Plaza with girlfriends? Or why don't I have a GF first of all? Why am I not boozing, smoking, colouring my hair in Bollywood style? Why am I not going to Discs, DJ’s?

I have got only one anwer. “I don’t know”. Anyway, I don’t mind if this world calls me a villager.

I came to Kumbakonam bus stand and boarded a bus to Alangudi which was 17km away from Kumbakonam. The rain had stopped, but the weather was still cloudy. I loved the atmosphere. “Ammadi, aathadi, unna enakku thariyaadi”. Cinema songs were running in full volume! The bus driver was in an aggressive mood. He started driving the bus at high speed and within a few minutes we were out of the town. The scenery was fantastic. Lush green fields, small ponds, coconut trees, banyan trees were a treat to my eyes as my bus rushed towards Alangudi. After half an hour, I got down at Alangudi. The temple was 0.5km away. I was in no hurry. I took my own sweet time to walk through the village. The atmosphere impressed me very much. Kids were playing with tyres, small girls were playing with pups, women were carrying water pots in their hips, men in dhotis were going towards their farm. This is the Tamilnadu which I admire at heart.


A small Vishnu temple at Alangudi located very near to Guru temple.

After crossing a few small streets, chasing a few hens, I spotted the temple at a distance. Within a few minutes, I entered into the temple. I felt honoured. This is one of my life’s greatest moments and I cherish this even today. This is the sthalam of Guru Bhagwan and the presiding deity here is Abathsahayeswarar and His consort is Elavarkuzhali Ammai or Umayamma. The temple name is Abathsahayeswarer swami temple. The story of the Devas and Asuras churning the celestial ocean or the parkadal is related to this temple. During this churning, a deadly poison in the name of “Halakala” was created. Lord Shiva consumed that poison here to save the world. Hence the name Alangudi: Ala meaning poison. The Lord himself came to be known as Abathsahayeswarar (one who helps in crisis) as he saved the world from impending danger. ‘Gu’ in Sanskrit means darkness and ‘ru’ means the destroyer of that. Hence Guru means one who destroys darkness or one who enlightens. Thus Guru is one who leads you from the darkness of ignorance to the light of knowledge.


Inside Vishnu temple at Alangudi.

There was a small Vishnu Temple nearby and I paid a visit to it too. The temple was well maintained and clean. Lord Vishnu was seen in standing posture and looked brave and majestic. After spending a good 45 minutes in the temple, I returned back to the bus stop and boarded a bus back to Kumbakonam.

My next plan was to visit Thingaloor-Moon Temple or Chandran. Thingaloor is situated 39km away from Kumbakonam. At Kumbakonam, I again boarded a bus towards Thingaloor. This was the longest bus ride ever in my life. The bus was very slow. Infact, I thought that the bus engine would die any moment. It was damn old and poorly maintained. After 90 minutes ride, I got down at Thingaloor. It took 90 minutes to cover 39km!! You can now guess the condition of the bus! The temple was 3km away from bus stop and I walked on a small neat clean road for nearly 30 minutes to reach the temple. There were lots of trees, green bushes, fields on the sides of the road.

I was amazed at the diversity in human civilisation. One part of the country has got tall buildings, bridges and another part of the country has small huts amidst temples. I was also pained to observe that few people live in diet, while most live in poverty. This mystery could be unraveled only by an enlightened soul.

It is believed that Lord Chandra worshipped Lord Shiva here(at Thingaloor) to save him from a curse and gained his blessings. Hence it is believed that those who have any Chandra Dosha in their horoscopes can get relief from suffering by offering prayers and performing pujas to Lord Kailasanathar, Goddess Periyanayaki and Chandra Bhagwan. Devotees who worship Lord Chandra are blessed with good health, mother’s welfare, and get rid of the stress and sorrow in daily life. The temple is roughly about 1500 years old. Built in the 7th century by Pallava King Rajasimha, this ancient Shaivite shrine reflects the early Dravidian architecture. A huge Nandi is seen in the front, facing the temple.

I lit 7 ghee lamps at this temple and went around the temple thrice. Had a good darshan of Lord Chandra and other deities. Though the Navagraha temple is famous for Lord Chandran, the main deities here are Kailasanadhar (Lord Shiva) and Periyanayaki (Goddess Parvati).

On way to Thingaloor-Chandran temple. The scenery was awesome!

During my brief sojourn at Thingaloor, I befriended a 45 year old researcher from ISRO named Gunasekharan. He was originally from Salem but settled in Trivandrum. He was also visiting all Navagraha temples spread around Kumbakonam. We both were together for the next 3 hours and we discussed about various topics related to Navagraha temples around Kumbakonam. We reached Kumbakonam at 1400hrs. The weather was still cloudy. I felt lucky. Tamilnadu is never cloudy during the month of May! This was certainly my day!

I had meals at Vasantha Bhavan at Kumbakonam bus stand along with Gunasekhar. It was fantastic experience. While visiting South India one should always have meals especially at places like Thanjavur, Madurai and Kumbakonam. The amount of warmth, hospitality one gets is more than in high funda places like Chennai. Gunasekhar noted my number and we agreed to keep in touch. We bid goodbye and separated.

I went to Canara Bank ATM and withdrew Rs.800. I thought it would be necessary. I returned to Kumbakonam bus stand again. My next destination was Sun Temple at Aduthurai, 15km away from Kumbakonam. I boarded a bus bound towards Mayavaram and within 25 minutes, I was at Aduthurai. But the Sun temple was situated in a remote location with limited bus connectivity. I booked an auto for Rs.100/-. The driver said that he would take me to the Sun Temple and Sukran temple (Venus) and bring me back to Aduthurai bus stand. I thought it was a good deal for Rs.100/-. Morever, it was a reserved auto and he agreed to stop anywhere any time and there would be no waiting charges. I didn’t want to stretch myself further as I had walked a lot from morning.

Small road leading to Thingaloor Moon temple.

Sun Temple located at Aduthurai was crowded. I purchased flowers, coconuts for archanai. This standalone temple for Suryan has shrines for other planets as well. This is the only temple which has got separate shrines for all 9 planets. The temple is famous for Lord Surya or Sun God. However, the method of worship at this temple is different. There is a particular order of darshan which has to be followed.

Devotees are first required to have the darshan of Prananatheswarar and Mangalambigai at Thirumangalakudi before visiting Suryanar Koil. This temple is just 1 km from Suryanar Koil and is situated in the same village. I didn’t know about this! After taking bath in the temple tank or at least a prokshanam, we should first worship the “Kol theertha Vinayakar”-Lord Ganesh. Then the devotees should worship Lord Nataraja. Then we should proceed towards the main sanctum to worship Visalakshmi & Kasi Viswanathan before worshipping Sivasuryanarayan (Surya). After worshipping Suryan, one should worship Guru Bhagavan who is facing Sivasuryanarayan. Now, the circumambulation or the pradarshanam procedure changes. We can now go in an anticlockwise direction and worship Saneeswaran, Buthan, Angarakan, Chandran, Kethu, Sukran and Raghu before worshipping Chandikeswarar. Then we proceed in a clockwise direction and return to worship Kol Theertha Vinayakar. This may seem very confusing but there are arrows at the temple to guide the devotees. I followed all procedures except taking bath at temple and visiting the nearby Prananatheswarer temple.

I was a bit eager to taste “Goli Soda” which is quite famous in South Indian towns. I went to a nearby shop and I was glad to find that goli paneer soda was available. It was awesome! The lemon juice added gave that extra kick!

My auto man was waiting for me faithfully. If it was Chennai, I would have been charged separately for waiting time. I took my own sweet time roaming around taking photos. I asked him to proceed towards Kanchanur which was located 5km from Suryanar Koil. During the middle of the journey, I asked him to stop for a while near a pond and I spent a few minutes taking photographs. Natural beauty was awesome! The weather was good and I wanted to use it to the maximum.


Rural Tamilnadu.

At around 16:30hrs, I entered Sukran Temple (Venus). This was the last temple in my list and I am happy that I had the chance to visit all 9 temples. I had a good darshan and the crowd was a bit less compared to Sun temple. Lord Sukran is said to bestow health, prosperity, marriage and happiness to the devotees. My auto guy dropped me back at bus-stand and after waiting for 15 minutes, I got a bus back to Kumbakonam. Since all these 4temples were located in different directions, I need to come back to Kumbakonam every time to board a bus before proceeding in another direction. But I enjoyed travelling so I didn’t mind. It was a real stress buster and I was looking for a break like this.

I returned back to my lodge at 1830hrs. I took a bath as my body was full of dust due to travel. I refreshed myself and walked to Hotel Archana and I preferred to have my dinner in an AC room. I was surprised to find that my favourite Chilli Parotta was available here. My joy knew no bounds and I immediately ordered one set of Chilli Parotta with Onion salad. After my dinner, I returned back to my room with a soda bottle. You guessed it wrong! I was not going to drink alcohol! I like having soda! I went to sleep around 9PM and I got up only at 6:30AM. I checked out at 8AM. Since I had occupied the room for more than 24 hours, I needed to pay Rs.250/- instead of Rs.125/-.


Thingaloor-Chandran Temple entrance.

I was returning back to Chennai the same day and my train was expected to arrive at 10:35hrs. I had more than 2 hours at hand. I decided to see a couple of temples nearby to my lodge before leaving Kumbakonam. Kumbeshwar temple was near to my lodge. I paid a visit to it. After visiting Kumbeshwar temple, I visited Ramanathaswamy Temple. I was impressed with the temple’s architecture and most importantly I liked the temple’s elephant. I love animals and I like spending time with them.

In life, I had lost my temper sometimes especially when I had faced injustice or when I was a victim of injustice. But showing hatred as revenge never gave me any happiness. I changed gradually to be a silent person. Why should someone’s rude/harsh behaviour dictate my character? Why should I change? I would rather live my life like this elephant peacefully without harming anyone else. The mahout was a bit harsh to the elephant and he was simply pricking it with his spear. It requires more courage to face a tough situation. It requires more courage and maturity to forgive a person. It wouldn’t have taken much time for the elephant to hit back at him.

I spent around 30 minutes at the temple observing various sculptures, drawings and paintings. The entire story of Ramayana was depicted in the form of drawings on the walls of the temple. It took 30 minutes for me to read the entire story.


Suryanar Koil Temple entrance.

I boarded an auto to the railway station and I reached 15 minutes before time. I was taking 6854 Cholan Express back to Chennai. The train was running late by 25 minutes and it arrived at Kumbakonam only at 1100hrs. I was a bit excited and nostalgic as I was travelling in Cholan Express after nearly 15 years. The last trip in Cholan was in meter gauge and those were good old days. WDP-3A#15518 locomotive was the power for my train. Meter gauge days are gone and now broad gauge locomotives have taken duty. My seat was a Side Lower Berth in the left side of the compartment. As my train went through rural country side, I observed that these places haven’t changed much except for the fact that now the trains are running on broad gauge tracks. My train entered Chidambaram around 1220hrs.


Sun God.

Chidambaram was my mother’s native town. I use to visit Chidambaram often once upon a time, before a family quarrel destroyed everything, but later it was restored with the blessings of God. My maternal uncle use to take me to this railway station everytime to show this Cholan Express when I was a kid. I use to wave at the train, climb on the engine, play with pups in the station. I use to have poppins sitting on the station bench and watch trains. Things have changed now. I am old and no more a kid. I can’t sit and observe trains, buses like kids. The old station benches are not to be seen. Meter gauge trains are no more. Even my uncle is no more. Chidambaram station has lost its charm. I wish I could get back to old days.


Kanchanur Sukran Temple entrance.

I settled comfortably in my side lower berth looking outside the window enjoying the rural country side. It was a hot sunny day with a lot of dust. My train reached Villupuram at 1430hrs. I got down and purchased a fanta bottle to quench my thirst. My train departed Villupuram at 1440hrs.


Return journey in the legendary Cholan Express!!!!

Since it was a single-line section, my train wasn’t given preference and hence it was put in loop line to allow other prestigious trains to cross. At Perani, Vaigai Express crossed my train. At Karunguzhi, my train was made to wait for nearly 20 minutes to allow Mumbai-Nagercoil Express to cross. After scheduled halt at Chengalpet, my train didn’t halt anywhere and proceeded all the way to Egmore.


WAG-5 with a freighter. Spotted just before entering Villupuram from main line.

My friend Manikantan was at Kodambakkam station and he informed me through SMS that he would be standing near the level crossing and he told that he would wave at me. The train was a bit slow and I was able spot Mani standing near the tracks and I waved at him!


2635 Vaigai Express crosses my train at Perani.

I reached Egmore at 1745hrs. It was indeed a long tiresome journey as I wasn’t travelling in AC. But I love travelling in sleeper class as it allows me to have a good look at the country-side. I reached home at 1900hrs.I distributed prasadham to everyone at home. It was a classic trip!!

-Krishna Kumar.S
Chennai, Tamilnadu.

A trip to Madurantakam with Varsha

Madurantakam Yeri Katha Ramar.

February 30th, 2011.

This was the most fantastic day of my life. I took my younger sister Varsha to my favourite place Madurantakam, which is 84km south of Chennai. I love my sister very much and I had always wanted her to accompany in my travels, but it was never possible as she was very busy with her career and I didn’t want to disturb her too much. I never took her beyond TN. We started at 0600hrs from our house in Adyar. We boarded the new Tata Marcopolo type-M49 bus and got down at Guindy Railway station. The bus ticket cost Rs.3 each. We both walked to the ticket counter and purchased two tickets to Madurantakam. It cost Rs.14/- each.


Madurantakam Ram Temple-Gopuram.

The train was expected to arrive only at 06:55hrs. We had nearly 50 minutes at hand. We both sat in one of the platform benches and started talking about yesterday’s cricket match. I love “Varsh kutty” very much. The age difference isn’t much and I am elder to her only by one year! She has been my companion during my tough times and she has helped me to get through tough situations in life. I always use to tell our mother that she is more intelligent than me. But Varsha always believed that I was more talented due to experience gained through travels. I may have travelled, but I never had the ability to learn from the past nor use my so-called experience. What is the use if one couldn’t use his resources properly? What’s the point if hardwork goes in vain due to simple mistakes? But it was my sister Varsha who made me correct this mistake. I started learning from my mistakes in the past. She taught me to learn from my mistakes. Or rather made me learn using her own ways.


Taken during our return journey.

I was lost in my thoughts thinking about my sister, a shrill honk distracted me. It was a WAP-4 honk. WAP-4#22550 was hauling Pandian Express and it crossed us at high speed. I have taught Varsha to identify locomotives, numbers etc. After the train passed, she asked in an innocent childish voice, “Anna, is this WAP-4?” I replied, “Yes”.

I like this attitude in her. She tries to learn everything. She makes her own decisions after analysing things. Many think that liking trains is kiddish, but Varsha was different. Though she isn’t interested much in railways, she respects my love for these machines. She googles to finds details and tries to learn on her own about Railways. I have told her many times that she can also become a railfan, but she wasn’t interested in going to that eccentric level. She is 23, but still her voice is like a 6 year old child.


WDM-2#16881 with NCJ special at Karunguzhi.

We spent time watching a lot of trains coming from various places like Kanyakumari, Sengottai, Rameshwaram, Nagore. At 0710hrs, 103-Pondicherry Fast Passenger arrived at Guindy. It was nearly 15 minutes late. The locomotive for the day was WAP-4#22220. We boarded the second coach. There were few seats available, but I preferred to stand along with Varsha kutty atleast till our next halt. Within a few minutes, the train was doing 100kph. Varsha was standing near the door and I was a bit worried. I found two empty window seats and we both settled in it comfortably as we didn’t want to stand all the way. Our train reached Tambaram at 0730hrs. Just as we departed Tambaram, WDP-3A#15534 was seen entering Tambaram with Pothigai Express.


WDP-3A#15503 with Pearl City Express near Paranur.

Our train had halts at Guduvanchery, Potheri, Singaperumal Koil, Paranur and reached Chengalpet at 0815hrs, nearly 20 minutes late. WAP-4#22693 was seen hauling Villupuram-Tambaram passenger at Maraimalai Nagar. WDP-3A#15503 was spotted at Paranur hauling Pearl City Express. After 10 minutes halt at Chengalpet, our train started its run. Since all Chennai bound expresses from south were running late, our train being a passenger was put on loop giving preference to Expresses in the single line section. At Ottivakkam, WAP-4#22232 crossed us with Madurai-New Delhi Sampark Kranti Express. At Karunguzhi, WDM-2#16881 crossed our train with a weekly special from Nagercoil. I was enjoying the crossings and I got down each time to take photos but didn’t allow Varsha to get down! She got bit upset due to this.


WDP-3A#15534 with Pothigai Express near Tambaram.

Our train reached Madurantakam at 0915hrs. It was nearly 40 minutes late. We both walked for nearly 1 km to reach the temple which was located at the center of the town’s market. Varsha was visiting the temple for the first time and she was a bit excited. The temple wasn’t crowded much too. We had darshan of the Lord quite comfortably as there werent' many people around. As we explored the temple, I explained the legendary tale behind this temple.

In the year 1796, the temple authorities decided to build a separate shrine for Janakavalli Thayar (Goddess Sita). It was a rainy season and Madurantakam Tank was getting full. There was a fear that the bunds would give away and water would come into the town. At that time, Lt.Col. Plaze, the British collector noticed a huge pile of stones near the Temple. He inquired the purohits why there were so many bricks and stones inside the temple complex.

The purohits replied that those bricks were to be used for constructing a separate shrine for Goddess Sita. The collector was amused. Lt.Plaze said that building a shrine wasn’t a priority. He believed that the bricks should be used for repairing the bunds of the tank which had broken. The purohits replied that Lord Vishnu never betrayed any devotee and He always answers the prayers of his devotees. Purohits asked the Collector to pray to Lord Ram sincerely from his heart and they assured him that his prayers would be answered.


Madurantakam-Railway station entrance

The rains never stopped. The entire town of Madurantakam was filled with water everywhere and daily life was affected. Many feared that the tank would overflow and water will come into the town. As a District Collector, Lt.Col Plaze had a lot of work pressure due to this and he was extremely worried. He went to the spot along with his team and inspected the bunds. He prayed at heart that the bunds shouldn’t break.

There was a flash of lightning. He saw two figures standing at a distance. One of them had a bow in the hand. Lt.Col. Plaze was amazed and spell bound. It was none other than Lord Ram (Vishnu) and his divine brother Lakshman. His prayers were answered! Lord Ram and Lakshman themselves have taken the task of protecting the tank. When the rains stopped, the Collector approached the purohits and apologised to them for being sarcastic. He personally took charge of the construction expenses and a shrine for Janakavalli Thayar was built. A small idol of Col.Plaze is engraved in the walls of the shrine of Janakavalli Thayar as a sign of respect. Even in the temple entrance Col.Plaze’s name is mentioned in the pillars.

Coming back to the present....

Varsha kutty was impressed with the temple's beauty and the surroundings. I can notice that by her looks. We slowly went to other sannidhis one by one and had darshan of other deities. We spent time seeing the paintings on the walls too. Varsha even took a few snaps too. One particular image which impressed her was that of Goddess Parvati’s marriage in which Lord Vishnu was giving her to Lord Shiva. She couldn’t understand the significance of the picture entirely. I explained it to her. “Varsha, this practice is known as Kanya Dhanam. The bride’s father or elder brother gives away the girl to her husband. No Hindu marriage is complete without it”.


Madurantakam Lake.

We went around the temple thrice. Varsha was very happy. I was happy too. At last I did something useful for my sister. I love my sister very much. I like her kiddishness, innocence, anger. Sometimes I am afraid of her too. During my disappointments, she has always been with me trying to change my mind. If I refuse to change, she has even forced me to change. I had no options than obeying her as she has been along with me always giving me hope. She is more valuable to me than any other friends. In a few circumstances in the past when I was down, she has literally taken over my life and shown me the path to happiness.

This is similar to a state under President’s rule. She is my President. She would continue to rule me, till a proper Chief Minister comes to take care of me. But her part isn’t over yet. She would be present during the oath taking ceremony and tie the third knot in my marriage giving her approval and appointing a new girl as Chief Minister to monitor the state. She has every right over me and I am happy every time she uses her rights.

We had our breakfast at Nirmala Bhavan. We walked back to the railway station. It was a long walk! We purchased our tickets up to Mambalam and waited for the newly introduced Villupuram-Egmore Passenger. It came at 1205hrs with WAP-4#22390. I peeped into the locomotive and was surprised to see 55-year old Loco-Pilot Ram. I knew him very well for the past 5 years. I told him that I had come along with my sister to see the temple. He invited us for a ride. I agreed as this was perhaps the best chance to take Varsha in a real locomotive.

Varsha was excited as this was her first ride in a real locomotive. Within a few minutes our train was hitting 100kph! WAP-4 shakes a lot at high speed! The track sounds were awesome. Praang!!!! Praang!!! LP Ram even allowed Varsha kutty to operate the honks once. The passenger had only 10 coaches and it was a piece of cake for the WAP-4. We reached Mambalam at 1330hrs. We both got down at Mambalam and waved at Ram as he departed towards the final stop Egmore.

We walked towards T.Nagar bus stop and took a 5B bus to Gandhinagar bus stop. As we walked into our house, I asked her, “How was WAP-4 experience??????” She replied, “Superb! Awesome!”

-Krishna Kumar.S

This article is dedicated to all girls who are considered as sisters by me.

Navjeevan Series "New Life": First Class Trip to Salem

WDM-2#16296 with Garib Rath Express at Pukkiravari. The train was in loop waiting for our passenger.

April 2nd, 2010.

I started at 20:30hrs from my house and reached Egmore at 21:30hrs. I hurried to the hotel just outside Egmore to have my favourite Chilli Parotta as I haven’t had it for the past 6 months. To my disappointment, the hotel staff told me that only noodles was available. My friend Sriram Karthik joined me when I was busy with my noodles. Together we walked towards our train. As usual we went to the front to find out the locomotive number. We found that WDM-2#16802 LHF was our power.

I was actually doing an eccentric trip (as usual). The plan was to travel by First Class as first class coaches were going to be removed from service soon. Also, I haven’t seen the section between Virudhachalam and Salem. We were eagerly looking for this trip due to the above mentioned reasons. Sriram Karthik also agreed to join in the trip and another friend Chidambaram agreed to come till Virudhachalam as he was proceeding towards Tiruchi for some personal work. So I charted a plan as follows.

Plan:

1. Taking 1063 Egmore (MS)-Salem Express till Virudhachalem (VRI). Getting down at VRI at around 3AM in the morning. I am not a time-table guy, I am not sure of timings. Sorry!
2. Observe night trains passing through VRI from 3AM till 5:30AM. This was Sriram Karthik and Chimbu’s plan! My plan was to sleep in the platform bench.
3. Board VRI-SA passenger at 5:30AM to Salem. The train reaches Salem around 8:30AM.
4. The return journey is by West Coast Express from Salem to Chennai in First Class compartment.


The Ultimate Road Number King in MAS!! Sriram Karthik!

I am not a guy who notes speeds, numbers nor a guy well versed in timetables. I simply enjoy train travels and I wish to keep my hobby to that limit itself and not venturing into technical details. So I didn’t care about noting down any timing, or spotting or numbers of the locomotives which I saw in action during my trip. However, my dear friend Sriram Karthik was exactly the opposite. He sat all night and noted down all the numbers and crossings with timings! I should really appreciate Sriram on this. Few members are simply great and I am nowhere near in these aspects of rail fanning.

I believed that my train started on time and very soon we were doing very high speeds. Chidambaram boarded at Tambaram and sat with us for some time. He had got a Side-Lower berth in a different coach, but he was interested in being with us for some time. I got a Side-Lower and Sriram got a Lower berth, but none of us were interested in sleeping early.

I was impressed with the driving of the Loco pilot. 18602 WDM-2 was indeed a performer. Even though I am not a great diesel fan, I do like the WDM-2’s. But at heart I had the feeling, that good old WDM-2 days are over. But it wasn’t. The acceleration and speed was awesome. I was not keen on being awake as my focus was not to observe the crossings, but to enjoy the section between VRI and Salem and the return journey in First Class. Chidambaram and I went to sleep when our train crossed Olakur. I opted to take Sriram’s LB and Sriram comfortably settled in my Side-lower berth. Sriram Karthik was awake all night in Side Lower Berth!!

When I woke up next, I noticed that my train was in Villupuram. For the next few hours, my sleep wasn’t continuous. I woke up every time when my train stopped for a crossing. At Tiruvennainallur Road 6108 Mangalore-Chennai Egmore Express was waiting in loop. RPM WAP-4#22806 was the power. At Puvanur, WAP-4 crossed with 2632 Nellai Express and it wasn’t doing great speeds. However, what happened next was something awesome. We were put on loop at Parikkal and 2638 Pandian Express crossed us at a high speed. The honks were monstrous and when the locomotive crossed my window, cold breeze hit my face. I went to sleep again.


Chimbu and Sriram during the early morning hours. The location is Virudhachalam Railway station. Even at that time Sriram is pondering over his notes, timetables, referring to spottings etc etc.

Sriram Karthik woke me up when my train was nearing Virudhachalam. I was feeling very sleepy and I slept on the bench for a few minutes as Sriram and Chidambaram were talking about various rail related topics. It was a different pleasant experience. I mean sleeping in a railway station’s bench at night hours when the whole city is asleep, gazing at the empty sky and stars. The atmosphere was very fresh. I inhaled fresh air and after a few breaths I was feeling as if I was in heaven.

Two of our friends Naveen and Raghu Jayaraman were returning from Sengottai in 2662 Pothigai Express and they agreed to meet us at Virudhachalam. WAP-4#22222 hauled 2662 Pothigai Express entered into VRI in a monstrous style. Amazing! I was speechless. Once the train rolled to a stop, we waited at the coach entrance. Sleepy looking bearded Naveen and a fresh looking Raghu came out and greeted us. Naveen was seeing me after a long time and even at that unearthly hour; he couldn’t resist pulling my legs.

Within two minutes, starter was given and Naveen/Raghu departed towards Chennai. Chimbu and Sriram started talking about train topics and I returned to my slumber. I was enjoying in my own dream world. Sleeping in a railway station is a pleasant experience. Sriram purchased the tickets to Salem and woke me up at 5AM. Our train was already in platform and to our surprised we found that WDM-2#16802 was attached to its helm. This was the same locomotive which hauled our train to VRI earlier. As our train was about to depart, Chimbu’s train came in another platform and so we bid good bye to him as he was heading towards Tiruchi.

Our train had an on-time departure at 5:30AM. The section was scenic and I enjoyed it. It was a single non-electrified line. Our WDM-2 was doing well. Sriram Karthik felt that the Loco-Pilot wasn’t driving well and he wasn’t making full use of WDM-2’s power efficiently. The LP accelerated and decelerated repeatedly for no reason. I couldn’t figure out either, but that wasn’t my job. I sat by the window side and observed the cows, dogs, goats and rice fields as my train went through a scenic route.

We arrived at Salem around 8:30AM. We had only one hour time before 6628 West Coast arrived at Salem. Immediately, without wasting any time we had our breakfast of Idlis, Dosas etc. Sriram was returning in coach as he was not able to get a FC ticket. WAP-4#22517 arrived with West Coast Express and without wasting any time, I boarded my train.

When I boarded the FC coach, I was shocked. There was only one elderly person travelling in it and the rest of the coach was empty. I looked at the chart and found that many FC travellers have got down at Coimbatore and Palakkad. I was overjoyed. There was no one to disturb me!

My cabin was a coupe which can accommodate two people. I got a window-seat facing the locomotive! But the window was towards the left so that could mean I can’t observe any trains which were actually going to come on my right.

22517 did perform well in my opinion. I thoroughly enjoyed my ride. I was all alone for nearly 5 hours all the way up to Chennai. No one disturbed me and I was floating in my own world. I gazed out of the window and observed the fast moving trees, roads, mountains, posts, stations. For some stupid reason, my train slowed down a lot especially near Jolarpettai, Ambur, and Arokkonam. But thanks to the buffer in the timings, my train reached on time at Chennai Central. It was a hot day and certainly not a season to rail fan, but I was in Chennai after a long time and I desperately wanted to do this trip. I got down from the coach and waited for Sriram. When I saw Sriram, I was amused. He was looking a chicken which has been fried. Chennai heat was really severe.

As we walked towards MAS entrance, Sriram lamented that 22517 didn’t perform well. However, I seriously differ from this. In my opinion, the locomotive did perform well. However, the train was made to wait unnecessarily at JTJ, AB and AJJ, otherwise it could have arrived MAS very early!

-Krishna Kumar.S
IRFCA-MAS (Transferred from Howrah)