A CHILDHOOD DREAM - Pilgrimage to Amaranath: During my school days, I learned about the formation of SIVA LINGAM by ice and located in Amaranath about 15,000 feet above the sea level. I also saw a black and white photo then (year 1963) My grandfather also narrated about this, told me stories about God Siva and his abodes on earth. To keep in tune, I learned few shlokas on God Siva – Lingashtakam etc; As years passed, my thoughts to visit some places on pilgrimage kept on consolidating year after year. So, in 1981, I had the blessing of going to Kasi / Varanasi along with my family and father in law and company, visiting also Allahabad, Gaya and Calcutta. Then, it took several years before I could undertake trekking to Kedarnath and Badrinath along with my wife in September 2011. (A separate note is kept in my saved files.) PROGRAMME: For some unknown reason, the urge to go to Amarnath became very strong this year and, I decided to make it somehow or the other. Initially I spoke to Hari (SIL of my co-brother Mr.Krishnan of Tanjore) With his help, gathered very important supporting documents – Health related, Medical clearance and general precautions needed for this visit. In the meantime, I gathered enough information related to the terrain, mode of transport / travel needs, dress code and many more facts. I also discussed the same with my spouse, daughter, son son-in-law and daughter-in-law who have initially objected to my going to Amaranath at the tender age 67! After several rounds of discussion, agreed to go to Amarnath. The end result was surprise to all as it turned out to be. PREPARATION: I started reviewing stock of woollen jackets, sweaters, and shawls, mufflers, hand gloves etc; Though there were plenty of these dresses a modern attire named THERMAL WEAR was missing. We procured the same from Bangalore, a new cap was being knitted by Anushruthi –my daughter-in-law and so on. Sheeba promised to spare a pair of woollen gloves and muffler. I decided to wear a simple cotton corduroy pair of pants and a denim full sleeve shirt to compliment the pants. I chose them as they were loose fit and could take in the thermal wear if needed! As we all spoke about pilgrimage to Amarnath, the subject quietened as the days passed. To be on the safe side, I had my routine medical check-up done as it was due since February 2016. My daughter Sheeba wanted us to be in Bangalore for few days in the first two weeks ( June 2016) of schooling for both Ayush and particularly for Sanvi – going to school for the first time! - For it was day care Sanvi was regular with. For Sanvi it was more of amusement than me of Amaranath! I packed my winter clothing for taking an opportunity to venture on pilgrimage. I kept enquiring with various tour operators for their cost, and received all options- trekking, by helicopter and so on; As we went to Bangalore, my son SUDHIN, was also planning something regarding my wish for going to Amaranath. I received return flight tickets to Delhi to meet him there, and flew on Thursday the 30th of June 2016.to Delhi. We met at the air-port –Terminal 3 – where my flight too had the arrival arrangement. We drove straight to Hotel Radisson Blue at Dwaraka. Sudhin had some official work and he was on completing it while I stayed at the hotel. I contacted all by kith and kin, using Wi-Fi system and informed them of my stay in Delhi. Spoke to my brother Ramakrishnan, who later came to hotel- very close to his residence-and we had brief talk, before going to his place for dinner. Sudhin joined me for dinner and we spent the next few hours chatting in an atmosphere warmer than his hospitality. We retired to our room by 10 PMand went to bed to sleep by 10.30 DAY-2 – Friday the 1st of July 2016. The morning hours were busy as Sudhin had his share of work related activities and we both went to Ambiance Mall in Gurgaon –a very large shopping mall- and Sudhin asked me to choose a replacement pair of shoes for my wearing out ones (SKECHERS of USA procured in 2007 when I was in Dubai and nearly worn out in 9 years of extensive use) I chose this time COLUMBIA brand from USA which is the best among all brands, and had better gripping power on any surface! In the evening we went to my brother’s house again, met his eldest daughter Subah and son-in-law Abhai, my sister Padma and brother-in-law Viswanathan besides Smitha. Again we all had exchange of familiar matters and while having dinner. We returned to Radisson Blue by 10.30 Pm Sudhin told me that we are going to Amaranath the next day! This was a surprise for me, as he had come to Delhi only to escort me for the pilgrimage. He planned the trip as his leave coincided with upcoming Eid holidays and hence synchronized it for my pilgrimage. He did not want to disclose the plan to anyone but me and family back in Bangalore. DAY-3- Saturday the 2nd of July 2016. Got up very early to check out and catch the flight to Srinagar leaving Dlehi at 08.45AM. We checked out at 05.30 AM and were in the air-port well on time. We had our breakfast at VANGO RESTAURANT operating on first floor of Terminal-1.We had only very small volume of luggage -19.90Kg for check-in and below 6kg for cabin. Sudhin wore only shorts for the whole trip of pilgrimage and a jacket for last leg of 5KMto the cave of Amaranath!. The flight was of INDIGO and no frill type (Also no thrill as well). We landed at Srinagar air-port at 10.45AM. We realized that there were 9 more passengers in our touring group. After lapse of 30 minutes, the representative came and we all 11 went to the hotel-HOTEL CENTRE POINT- booked for our stay – in Lal Chowk. We requested for room in the ground level only for, ease of moving and avoid climbing up-down frequently. After checking in, we relaxed for a while, had mineral water and then lunch. In the afternoon, at 14.30 hours, we left for seeing all gardens in Srinagar. We visited Chasmashahi, Shalimar bagh, and two more Mughal gardens. Dal Lake was at the centre as we drove to all gardens all along its perimeter. The stat of Dal Lake was very bad with foul smell coming from all directions. Wherever we looked, it was full of algae and growth of greenery below the surface of water. The lake was clean and crystal clear as I saw in 1972. Maintenance of the lake was very poor. We saw jettison of water at different locations of the lake which were also pumping a sort of dirty water all over. The temperature in Srinagar was 34.70 C highest in ten years and we were sweating to the core of our body. Night temperature was also fairly warm – being on set of summer in Srinagar. We wondered if we really need any additional warm clothing at all! Srinagar has its own scar of ongoing disturbance since decades, which has left a sort of ruins at different places. The city and outskirts were manned by army personnel with assault refile, literally two of them at a span of 3 meters with a truck full of soldiers at every 20 yards. We were told to keep our IDs and travel papers ready to be shown to any inspecting authorities during our movements. The police / security personnel were very descent, never asked any unwanted questions nor gave us any kind of nuisance. We returned to hotel by 19.30 hours, and had our dinner at 8PM. We were briefed about the next day’s trip – to helipad in the morning at 4 AM, and return after 8PM. It was expected that we board the helicopter at 7.30AM, reach the starting point to take mules for 6KM ride, to Sangam, then by Palkin /Doli ( one person is carried by FOUR persons till reaching the last point to climb the cave!, and this arrangement is called so. We also received our tickets for helicopter ride (by Pawan Hans operated by Government of India) We packed what is absolutely needed for the trip – flying, trekking, and for mule ride. Weight was always a concern for travel by helicopter and by mule, and of course by the individual as well. In travel like this towards climbing to reach a height of 14-15 thousands of feet, weight plays a very important role as it could aggravate breathing problems. We kept all other items separately, in our respective suitcases and locked them away in the room. I kept praying to Lord SIVA to arrest all kind of arrests (including cardiac!) till we return safely to the hotel and beyond! Very selfish indeed! DAY-4-SUNDAY THE 3rd OF JULY 2016. I got up at 2.50AM,and completed all my routines, followed by Sudhin. I consumed my usual / daily quota of TWO glasses of warm water.( I did not, eat or consume water or had the urge for any other body activities till back in the helipad at 4.15 PM.) No idea why? We all got ready, received packets for breakfast which I opened only after returning at 4.15PM) and left for the helipad – place named NEELGRATH - 85KM away from Srinagar. Being very early morning, we had checks at few points where brief inspections were carried out by concerned authorities. We reached the helipad entry point by 6.15 AM. I just realized that I have forgotten our tickets for boarding the helicopter. But then, it was possible to get replacement as the operator had our names in their master list!. With great difficulty managed to get replacement tickets, which was much easier than what followed next in the next few hours. Yes, the place was in utter chaos, with back log of passengers trying to board PAWAN HANS helicopter. Pawan Hans had 3 helicopters, one of which was grounded permanently. The other 2 had problems and were inspected between rides. A return sortie is completed in 20 minutes (up-down) and Pawan Hans with problems, could not compete with other private operators, who 300% bettered. The net result was a delay of 4 hours, for our flight to the location called PANJTARANI. (From here we had to take ponies for 6 kilometres). Finally after several attempts we were allowed to board at 11.20AM reaching PANJTARANI at 11.30.-the ride is just to cross 9KM only! We walked to the pony boarding point, hired one each pony for us and started climbing towards the cave precisely at 11.45 AM. I realised that these four legged animals are the most patient animals among their breed elsewhere!. The climb was very narrow and steep. When the pony climbs the rider must bend towards the front and vice-versa. My pony’s guide kept telling me to look around the nature and not the animal. Though I had the experience of riding a pony during my trip to Kedarnath, this ride was a real one with every chance of falling. It is impossible to walk thru the sharply stoned path, with the pony’s leg literally getting into it by good 8 inches. Human legs are flat and will get stuck. But there was a route all along nearby, for those who walk, where the terrain was slightly better, but longer to ride. The guide carried rain coats made of plastic besides a blanket made of Kashmiri sheep’s wool. When it drizzled slightly, we were covered with them and fortunately no rain was experienced. We never carried rain coats, contrary to the suggestion by my daughter-in-law Anushruthi. All other dress gear we did carry but of little use! (Like the, thermal wear). We reached the place called sangam. From here the cave was about 40 minutes by carriage and we hired one dole for each of us. We reached the footsteps separately and had good view of the ICE LINGAM.The arrangement is not like what is published by any tour operator or by promoters of Amaranath including the government of India. The ICE LINGAM is a good 15 feet away separated by a gate (like a wall) with peep holes above neck level to a height of another two feet. One has to peep through the wholes matching the height of the individual. No Pooja of any kind, only donation is invited. Photography is NOT allowed and devotees cannot carry anything. So, we entrusted our items with the dole persons. Fortunately we only lost a packet of mixed nuts, and a tooth brush/paste kit. One of them tried and used SUDHIN’s selfie stick to video graph movements around without realizing what was it meant for!. Therefore, what we lost was compensated. Cost of a tent to stay overnight is about Rs.1000.00 (Rupees one thousand only) and so is the cost of other essentials. A cup of tea is Rs.40.00, a glass (the size of a railway tea cup!) of hot water Rs.10.00.Cost of food is well above Rs.100.00. and so on. The bed is laid on a basic layer of heavy plastic, followed by several layers of woollen clothing and blankets. Many do stay due to climate going crazy and helicopters fail to operate for the same reason. We were fortunate, not to invite the wrath of Lord SIVA and were let off easily! Our return journey took lesser time than of climbing and we were at the PANJTARANI helipad precisely at 4.15PM. Suddenly hunger was all over the body! And we opened the breakfast packet and consumed the contents – banana, packet of juice, mixer, and large coconut cookie. It was surprising that we did not get the urge for eating food or drinking water till then nor we had the sense to use toilets at all. We paid to the pony rides and the dole carrier Rs.1000 each- totalling to Rs.4000.00. This was Rs.200 more, for we felt the hardship experienced by them. They were very happy too! Our return flight was not sure to fly back to NEEL GRATH, as there were backlog of passengers waiting for PAWAN HANS service. We nearly decided to hire a tent here too as at Sangam, for the day light was coming to close. Suddenly, there was bright sun light – which allowed the helicopter service to be extended beyond 18.30hours. We got our sortie at 6.25PM and we were at our base in NEELGRATH in the next ten minutes. Our transport was waiting at the place, where we were left in the morning. We waited for fellow passengers who were arriving by the next few sorties, while some had arrived earlier than us. Finally we left for our hotel at 8pm reaching there by 10PM. We had sumptuous dinner to our satisfaction. Here I have to write few lines about the food. The management and service staff are Kashmiri Muslims, and the chef from Nepal. The management told us, that they make food meant for vegetarian adults who come only for Pilgrimage and have hired an expert chef from Nepal. Self and Sudhin, consumed dry chapattis and vegetable curry besides liquid form of fried dal. There was pap pad, pickles, salads, fruits, cornflakes and milk .One day we had uppumav and another day poha (like uppumav made of flat rice), kheer in the night. We retired to bed, to be ready by 9.00AM next day for a trip to Gulmarg. DAY-5- MONDAY THE 4TH OF JULY 2006. I got up at around 2.30 AM, with pain around my legs, nearly stiffening the mussel, after applying tiger balm, walking few times, became alright. I just thought of the mules and the men who helped us in the morning and the very thought got rid of my leg pain. We got up as usual and completed all routines well before breakfast time-8AM. Most fellow tourists were up little late and so we could leave for GULMARG only at 9.30 am sharp. We reached Gulmarg, at 11.45 AM. The moment we reached the base, we were surrounded by local pony owners / guides and other persons. They offered a [price of Rs.1700perperson for a full circle of tour leading to the mountain top ( Aparvath)- passing the Ski institute, springs, temple, golf clubs and a water fall. Literally it is not possible to cover them all by visiting separately due to lack of time – we had to return by 5pm for our trip back to hotel. We negotiated a price of Rs.1200.00 per person, to cover all six places, and finally reaching the snow-capped top of the mountain. So, we set our ride by ponies and their guides 12.00 noon. There was fear of rain as it happened in the early hours of the day. Fortunately, no rain did come to upset us, till we boarded our vehicle at 4.45PM We walked thru’ the terrain which was as worst as the climbing route to Amaranath. I was in Gulmarg in 1972, but the terrain was not as bad as this time .The route was very narrow, but cannot be seen till approaching the edge, and was tough to manoeuvre. We reached the top at 2pm sharp and stayed there till 3PM.The scenic beauty has no comparison, despite the present conditions prevailed. The snow was dirty and very slippery. The vegetation around was beautiful and feast for eyes. The route here too was monitored by military personnel for obvious reasons. We returned to our starting point around 4.30PM, had tea and left for hotel at 5PM reaching there at 7.30PM sharp. The days climbing were more tiring and rest was needed and so, we had early dinner and retired to bed, as we have to leave for Delhi the next day. DAY-5- TUESDAY THE 6TH OF JULY. We completed all our routines and relaxing. The some of us wanted to visit the SIVA temple known as SANKARACHARYA TEMPLE - located half an hour from our hotel. The departure to air-port was set for 11.30 AM and we had plenty of time to visit the shrine. We hired auto rickshaws, (one for every two persons) and left hotel at 9.AM. We reached the temple in 15minutes. We were scanned and our belongings were retained with the auto drivers and we were then allowed to proceed to the temple, situated at 1100 feet ( 300 meters) above sea level. The steps were wide and spacious with resting platforms along the climb. This temple was built in 200 BC and was taken care by Sankaracharya DURING HISLIFE TIME HENCE THIS NAME. The temple is a very beautiful structure and simple in construction. One can feel peace of mind and sense of relief over many thoughts. The temple is surrounded by trees and the environment is very green. We returned to Hotel by 9.55AM. We once again verified all documents and tickets, ID cards etc, as the authorities were very strict due to sensitive state of affairs in Srinagar. WE WERE ADVISED TO PACK EVERYTHING TO BE CHECKED IN BAGGAGE ONLY- EXCEPT LAP-TOPS - this was also mentioned in the tickets. Therefore, we packed everything accordingly. We left for air-port at 11.35 AM, reaching there after the first security check by the military staff followed by the air-port security. The airline staff sealed all bags which did not have locks (as, many were NOT aware of placing all lug gages as checked-ins.) It took one hour and forty five minutes for completing these formalities which otherwise takes few minutes. We then were asked to identify our luggage prior to boarding. I wondered why a passenger exiting from the state need to be screened as above. Incoming passengers are checked / screened for obvious reasons but not clear of the necessity for the same on exit passengers. The flight was delayed by 30 minutes and landed at Terminal-1 in Delhi air-port, precisely at 17.00 hours. We were in for welcome by Maj.General Satish Kumar Gupta – Retired, who was waiting near gate-7.After brief chat we left for the military guest house situated at the cantonment. So came to a conclusion, our pilgrimage to Amaranath and return to normal fold of family. POSTSCRIPT: There were incidents / observations of various natures during the trip. 1. I forgot the Helicopter tickets – though could get duplicates at the counter of Pawan Hans. 2. Had long chat with the owner of the Hotel who gave more bull than facts about Srinagar. 3. The pony owners took away my toothpaste – brush kit, but left the paper wrap, discovered only after returning to Coimbatore!. 4. The dole fellows, took away the mixed nuts pack, affectionately sent by Anushruthi. 5. Two times, I nearly slipped to my right side (never slipped to the wrong side!) while riding the mules. 6. At Gulmarg, nearly slipped from soiled heap of mud / mini rocks, but Sudhin placed his foot down to stop the sliding. Sudhin took a photo later me sitting on a near-by rock – nicknamed – THE SLIPPING POINT OF DADDY! 7. Did not eat food or drank water from 02.50AM till 16.15 hours on the day we visited Amaranath cave. 8. LPG was used for boiling water, using a device exactly equal to instant water heater using electricity. Gas is pumped through a fine and controlled nozzle which burns at its tips heating a pot of water that has a dispensing pipe. The cost Rs.10 per small cup. 9. The temple has no arrangement for usual activities like those in other places. Simple worship of Lord SIVA in the form of ICE LINGAM. 10. The stream of water from Sangam to climbing area near the temple were just flow of ice only. 11. The walking distance has full of flaked ice like sand and one has to be careful while walking, though there is a railing by rope for support. I slipped twice, but was taken care by my dole carrier. 12. All the mule operators and dole (also known as palkins) carriers were just wearing normal clothing and wrapped themselves with a sheep wool blanket covering top- to toe. .

Thiruannamalai Visit

THIRUANNAMALAI VISIT Few months ago, I received a call from Mr.Hariharan, SIL of my co-brother Shri.Krishnan (retired and living in Tanjavur) – about a possible trip to Thiruannamalai during the month June 2014. Hariharan works and lives in Delhi. Swetha Hari, Kala Hari ,Hari, Me and My wife.(Mrs.K.S.Sarojam) We exchanged mails and left the subject matter to be reviewed prior to June 2014. In the mean time, I checked about the place as of this year, for, I had been there (My first visit) in the early 1960s with my parents, brothers and sisters. I saw photos and descriptions of the city and shrines, primarily about Ramanashram . Bhagavan Shri. Ramana Maharshi was a simple saint and spent most of his time in prayers. At the time of my first visit I could see the Samadhi of Shri.Ramana, his cow, his crow and his dog. They were in a line and just protected from weather by way of a shelter over them. I also read about the expansion of the ashram, besides development of other ones set by various other swamis and saints. I was in Delhi (from the year 1969) and had the privilege of attending a discourse in the early 1970s, at Ramana Kendra near Birla Mandir. I did not absorb the entire discourse, but realized that a lot of good matters were conveyed that suited every one. The plan to visit was confirmed in the first week of May 2014-a month ahead of the set date of travel, as tickets had to be booked for Hari and family.(Hari, Mrs.Kala Hari and Swetha the daughter). They were to reach Tanjur and come from there to Thiruannamalai by train or bus and we (self and my wife Sarojam) reach the place either before, after or simultaneously – depending on the mode of travel. I spent some time trying to find the best route for reaching Tiruannamalai with minimum hours of travel. To start with, I studied railway maps, railway time table and local websites, besides asking my daughter Sheeba for better guidance.( Sheeba visit places of interest once or twice a year and hence had lot of experience in locating best options for mode of transport, accommodation and a list of places of interest around the main area of visit. I visited local bus station after making a call. I was told about a day time service to Thiruannamalai – leaving Coimbatore at 9AM and reaching there by 5.00PM and reservation was not required, just to reach the bus stop by 8.45 AM and board the bus. Hari booked accommodation at the Ashram from Delhi using the services at Ramana Kendra. So, that side of the necessity was taken care. Then came the dilemma of dresses, - to suit the climate prevailing at Thruannamalai in June 2014.We packed a mixer of winter and summer clothing, dothis / sarees plus the toiletries. I took only one pair of pants besides two T shirts for wearing at night. Travel to Thruannamalai We set out at 8 AM on the 5th of June 2014, by a call taxi and reached the bus stop, where the bus to Thiruannamalai was parked and was set to leave by 9AM. The conductor was passenger friendly and gave us brief about the number of stops en-route to Thiruannamalai – particularly breaks for tea / coffee/ lunch or for any natural needs. Being a day time travel, we could experience nature’s display around with gentle breeze flowing through the windows of the bus and cooling the space. We noticed, many coconut trees were became dry and many had their head missing, about to be felled for use as fire wood or for lighter constructions. There were plenty of mango trees with mangoes nearly covering the leaves and were ready to be harvested. The fragrance from the leaves and plants were like specific scented air passing through us. We received call from Hari, and exchanged SMS frequently to find who will arrive at Thiruannamalai earlier. As a matter of habit, we do not consume anything from outside, but always carried a small quantity of simple stuff for consumption during long distance travel. This time also, we carried small quantities of chapattis, vegetable curry, and curd rice, besides two bottles of drinking water. We reached the main bus stop which we learned closer to the railway station. We learned that Hari and family were arriving later than us- due to slight delay of the train they were travelling, and decided to welcome them. We got down at the bus stop, and auto drivers guided us to the railway station which was just 7 minutes away. The time table revealed that the train was arriving at 18.00 hours and was there on the dot. (Though was late by 40 minutes or so.) Hari, hurriedly procured cups of tea for me and Saro and brought them to us, as we did not go to the platform. There was hardly any distance from the station hall to the platform and hence our decision to stay back. We then took a three wheeler (Auto rickshaw) to Sri Ramanasgram. ENTRANCE TO SRI RAMANASHRAM Hari managed to complete the formalities and obtained keys of rooms reserved for us. We went to our rooms, (Walk able distance of 10 minutes) washed over selves, changed our dresses and were in the ashram for our first meal (dinner at 7.30PM). The atmosphere was cool, and it rained as well, and breezy. We could hear chirping of birds, see the greenery around and gentle breeze taking over us and compelling to go for sleep. We spent some time in the veranda of the ashram building as it was drizzling. Our rooms were presentable and clean by all standards, well maintained by the ashram authorities. Entrance our accommodation Our Room Interior The rooms had meshed windows to stop mosquitoes from attacking and taking over us. We then charted a plan for the next day as to where to visit first and lead towards what in an order to save time and to avoid duplication of plans. We all were very strict about our meals which are timed to suit all visitors staying within the complex. So, first decision was not to miss any meals – breakfast, lunch or dinner, and did not worry too much about not having tea at 4PM. It was decided to leave room by 6.30 on the next day- 06th of June 2014, complete breakfast by 7.00,and go for taking a round of the mountain that houses the temple of Lord Arunachala ( Lord Siva). Day ONE – 6th June 2014 Friday. We woke up to the tune of peacocks and other birds from the surrounded trees, completed all the morning routines, carried enough water for quenching our thirst as and when needed, and small portion of snacks for en-route consumption. After consuming breakfast we started for the venture of our life time!!. Here is the secret for going round (GIRIVALAM) the mountain.(Giri- means mountain and valam means going around) by walk.)- must walk barefooted. (Wearing foot wear, wear out our punyas and ads up to sins further!!) The Holy Mountain of Arunachala rises up with an elevation of 2669 feet (800 m). The Road encircling the mountain where devotees circumbulate is 8 1/2 miles which is 14 kms long. On Full Moon days and festival days (like Karthigai, first day of the Tamil month, Tamil New Year day) hundreds of thousands of devotees circumbulate (GIRIVALAM) the mountain and get the blessings of the Lord Arunachala. Though devoid of vegetation the hill stands in prominence amidst picturesque surroundings and is visible for miles around. This hill is of Igneous rock (connected with fire) which is one of the four kinds of mountains classified by geology. So one sees the truth behind the tradition regarding the origin and formation of this hill. Our religious philosophy is based on science and there is always the combination of Vignana and Meygnana. These two are inextricably intertwined. An American Geologist has stated about this mountain thus:- "Arunachala should have been thrown up by the earth under the stress of some violent volcanic eruption in the dim ages before even the coal-bearing strata were formed. This rocky mass of granite may be dated back to the earliest epoch of the history of our planet's crust, that epoch which long preceded the vast sedimentary formation in which fossil records of plants and animals have been preserved. It existed long before the gigantic saurians of the pre-historic world moved their ungainly forms through the primeval forests that covred our early earth. It was contemporaneous with the formation of the very crust of earth itself. Arunachala was almost as hoary and as ancient as our planetary home itself"." It was indeed a remnant of the vanished continent (Kumarikandam) of Eunken Lemuria, of which the indigenous legends still keep a few memories. The Tamil traditions not only speak of the vast antiquity of this and other hills, but assert that Himalayas were not thrown up till later. Untold centuries, therefore, pressed their weight upon this time defying pile which arose so abruptly from the plains. The whole peck offers no pretty panorama of regular outline, straight sides and balanced proportions, but rather the reverse. Even its base wanders aimlessly about an eight mile circuit, with several spurs and foot hills, as though unable to make up its mind as to when it shall come to an end. Its substance is nothing but igneous and laterise rock". What a miracle! Such a barren rock has captivated the souls of sages and saints for ages together. Legends say that Tiruvannamalai was a fire (Agni) mountain in Krathayuga, Gold (Swarna) mountain in Thrathayugha, Copper (Thambra) mountain in Duvaparayuga and rock mountain in this Kaliyuga. Arunachala hill has a high status in our sacred tradition and Tamil legends hold that it is far more ancient than the Himalayas which are comparatively known to be of later origin. Arunachala is a combination of two Sanskrit words Aruna and Achala. Aruna means 'red' and Achala means ' immovable' mount, there by known as "Red Mount". It is also called the "Hill of the Holy Beacon" and "Hill of the Holy Fire". The philosophers would give another interpretation for the word Arunachala. Aruna is force(Sakthi) and Achala is Shiva i.e. that which cannot be moved. The Hill therefore represents Shiva and Parvathi. There is still another interpretation Aruna means "Free from Bondage" and Achala means "motionless, steady". The true inner meaning of the word is that one can attain salvation only by concentration on God free from wordly bondage. The popular Tamil name is "Annamalai" which is also a combination of two words 'Anna' and 'malai'. Anna or "attained" and malai means hill. This denotes the story of dispute between Brahma and Vishnu and the philosophic truth behind it. From an inscription in the temple and from the Sanskrit work "Sahitya Retnakara" it is seen that the hill is called as Sonachala(Red Mount). The hill is regarded as Tejo linga(the fire symbol of God) or Jothi linga. It stands at the rear end of the town and the temple is at the foot of the hill. So, we – all being less sinners, and not willing to further add to our sins, decided to leave our footwear behind and set out for the round trip barefooted. It was very interesting to commence the venture, a marathon like walk in the name of ultimate sacrifice – in proving our faith in ourselves and in Lord Siva which slowly gathered momentum. As we walked, could feel the pinch by grains of sand, stone particles and various debris under our feet, gradually intensifying the stress causing more strain and our pretention to bear it, as we walked talking about various holy matters and shrines visited etc;(to ease the pain.) and to boost our diminishing confidence!. We also spoke to passers-by inquiring about the remaining distance to cover by walk and the temples we are supposed to visit on the way reaching the main temple of Lord Arunachala. There were way side eateries, shops and temples, ashrams for necessary support of walkers like us. We nearly visited every important temple and finally reached the main temple. The important one being, Sri Arunachaleswar temple. Arunachaleswar temple.(Thirukoil) We, finally reached the main temple at the end of our marathon walk, and entered the open space laid with granite slabs. They were nearly boiling and the walk ways across them were covered with coir mats, (Frequently sprinkled with water, to keep them cool.) The temple was magnanimous and gigantic in all respects. We talk about modern buildings, which are built with mechanized facilities, but these temples with heavier structures, were constructed purely using human power and lasted to this day without any damage due to natural calamities. We saw devotees from all over the world, coming here to praise the architecture, worship the Lord, and enjoy the nature and admire the historical value of this town. We had to pass thru, gates of scanners and physical checks before entering the temple premises. With current state of affairs of the so called terror culture, this kind of checks, were initiated to protect the temple and the visitors from being damaged. My visits to new places of worship, was always for learning about the architecture, art and the associated skills in building them and thank all involved in making this possible and those who maintain them. Government spends a lot of money in maintaining them and preserving them for the posterity. The other reasons for my visit to a new temples, is to buy memento and eatables freshly made for the devotees. We did not forget our meal time was fast approaching and retired to the ashram for lunch. Sathanur Dam: Sathanur Dam is one of the Major Dam Constructed across Pennaiyar River among Chennakesava Hills. This Dam was constructed during the year 1958. It has beautiful parks and a mini zoo. The garden is dotted with colorful statues. There is a swimming pool and a crocodile farm. We inquired for visiting Sathanur Dam nearby, but we were advised not to go there as there was nothing at that time. I recalled my visit to the dam park, where plants were lit with colored pigmy lights in those days – on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. A good number of movie shootings were held in the 1960s.( Same like Mysore Brindavan in Karnataka) As such decided to visit Amman temple close to main temple of Shri.Arunachaleswar ( Lord Siva ) We spent time studying the structure and its hand carved beauty admiring the architecture of this marvelous structure. The climate was pleasant, breezy with cloudy sky. It rained again, but without causing inconvenience to us. We were home by evening and had our dinner on time and spent post dinner time in the ashram complex and in our rooms planning for the next day. Day TWO- 7th June 2014 Saturday We got up very early, and charted the program for the day. There was a cave over the mountain behind the ashram called VIRUPAKSHA cave, where Shri.Ramana Maharshi spent some days in his early days on yoga and prayer. After breakfast, we climbed over the peak and passed thru the vegetation en-route to the cave. Here also there were many small huts and temples in the name Lord Siva. The mountain was full of vegetation and trees with blooming flowers. We visited the cave and few other places where Maharshi had lived in his early life. The view of temples from top of the hill was enchanting and feast to the eyes with breathtaking beauty. Our ancestors around View of Real temples from the hill top. We walked down from the rear side of the mountain, which took us to the main temple where we spent more time than the previous day. On the way down we saw a sculpture carving / chiseling models of various Gods, temples etc; We purchased one small stone model of a cow carved using soft stone. In the temple we saw an exact replica of the temples (As we saw from top of the hill) boxed and kept for viewing. Model of Temples boxed and kept in the temple hall. We returned to Ashramam for lunch and brief rest. In the afternoon, we decided to visit the neighboring ashrams, temples and places of interest. Therefore, we walked through and visited following places: Yogi Ram Surathkumar Ashram: Yogi Ram Surathkumar Ashram, also known as Visiri Samiyar Ashram, is one of the beautiful places in the Town. It is situated near the Ramana Ashram. Devotees from all over the world visit Yogi Ram Surathkumar Ashram. He attained mukthi in the year of 2000. We received prasadam and prayed for everyone. There were photos of his parents, display of his teachings on the walls along with his vision. We also visited Sri Seshadri Swamigal Ashram: Mahan Sri Seshadri Swamigal lived in the late 20th Century. Sri Seshadri Swamigal Ashram is one of the holy places in this Town. People from all over the world visit his Ashram, which is situated near the Sri Ramana Ashram. The Garden in this Ashram attracts the people who visit here. We spent balance of time wandering around the close by shops and vendors, selling fruits, mementos etc; We then decided to take the night bus back to Coimbatore to save on day travel and arrive home at the earliest. We bade farewell to Hari and family and took night bus leaving at 8PM. We reached home at 4.25 AM (Yes precisely – in Coimbatore at 4 AM and by auto reached home around 4.25) Total cost of our tour was Rs.3600.00 (Rupees three thousand six hundred only) Narrated and completed by V.Sivasubramanaim 16th August 2014

Visiting Kollur and Udupi Self and my wife have been trying to visit these two holy places since the time our two children were very young. There has always been a set back while planning the trips to either Kollur or Udupi. The more interesting / concerning part is, that my children are now grown up, and have their own wishes and my daughter has already visited these places with her baby son. So, I decided to visit the shrines in Kollur and Udupi this year with the help of my classmate and a well versed person who has been to these places several times in the past. When I expressed my wish and narrated the past failure of planning, he –Mr.Rao assured me and my wife that we will pay a visit to the shrines and complete a holy trip which was overdue. So, we four – Mr and Mrs Rao, me and my spouse,- made necessary arrangements to start the trip from Coimbatore on the night of 13-9-12 and, return home by morning of 16-9-12. Rao’s had to come to my place from Chennai from where he has initiated the arrangements for the entire trip, and we joined after their brief stay with us. Mr.K.Venkatramana Rao is my classmate and we nearly travelled together in Chennai during my visits (as a student) to the then Madras. After retiring as a Faculty member from Indian Bank, since 2000, he has been associated with places of pilgrimage especially participating, organizing and supporting such activities. He and his wife have been to almost all holy places from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and Siridi to Nepal. Rao’s arrived in my house at 15hrs on 13-9-2012. We reviewed the tour program and there was no lapse or any missing points. We wanted to visit Kollur and Udupi for sure and other places of pilgrimage depending upon our timings of darshans (worship) in these places and set a target of 600 KM to be covered. Rao advised us to keep some woolen clothing to be used at Kollur where the night temperature could be around 22 deg.C and so, we took necessary clothing though I was against it, the reason being that we always managed temperatures up to 20 deg C without additional warm clothing in all our previous tours of high altitude.(We never used the clothing as the temperature was around 27 C at Kollur) 13-9-2012 – Thursday. We left house by 18.45 hrs to board WEST COAST express to Mangalore from Coimbatore junction at 19.55 hrs. As usual the train was late (by 10 min) and arrived at 20.05 hrs. We had no difficulty in boarding our reserved coach (S-11) and were in place as the train started moving towards Mangalore. We carried Idlys for dinner and except me others had them leaving some for the morning. We did not hit the bed for sleeping but engaged in healthy conversation about the trip and arrangements from the time we reach Mangalore station at 4.30 AM next day. Rao contacted the person in Mangalore, over the mobile and confirmed our reaching the station by 4.30 AM next day. For a moment, I thought of all sorts of abusive and criminal activities for which a mobile phone is subjected and felt that no one should misuse the mobile phone. Rao’s told us of many other places around and along the route to Kollur. Though we laid ourselves in the respective berths, (We men had upper ones while spouses had the middle ones.) There were two policemen on duty in the coach frequently walking and covering the distance within the coach monitoring people’s movements for any suspected activity. At one time we saw a person with heavy bag tied with electric wire was escorted out even though he had a genuine ticket but no reservation in our compartment.

14-09-2012 - Friday I kept alarm in my mobile to wake me up at 4AM, and as always, woke up well before it struck. We reached Mangalore 20 minutes before time-at 4AM. Rao contacted the tour in-charge for sending the car as we arrived there before time. A chauffer –Mr.Chandrasekar aged 71 years young- was dispatched with TATA indica with ac facility for our tour – start to finish - and dropping us back at the Mr.Chandrasekar and Mr.Rao Mangalore Railway station on 15-9-2012, at 8PM The area in front of the Railway station was like most railway stations I had been to and less crowded for a 4AM scene. There were few bill boards around, about gold and jewelry shops, Hotels nearby etc; Our car arrived by 4.30 and we drove to a Hotel to carry out our morning routines. Being very early in the morning, we had to wake the hotel manager to provide us one room for a maximum of two hours use. The name of this outfit is Hotel Srinivas. The room was like a typical village house of olden days with a large lobby in front of the bathroom and toilets – to be used as changing room. Basic neatness was maintained and we found the place serving our need of the hour. We then went to the opposite building named Sri Krishna Bhawan for morning coffee, as breakfast was not available till 7.30 AM. We had good quality coffee in small tumblers and it served as our wake up juice for the rest of the day. Coffee in 3 inch coffee set. We then started towards, Sringeri eventually planning to arrive at Kollur. Our first stop was for a good breakfast and managed to arrive at a hotel named Bhuvaneswari at 8 AM sharp. The breakfast served there was sumptuous and tasty covering all south Indian dishes in the menu. Here one information about our chauffer Mr.Chnadrasekar. He is a veteran who knows all the shrines in Karnataka and all the best and economical food outlets serving only vegetarian food. So, Chandrasekar took us to our visiting places and food outlets on his own in time – for necessary intake of snacks, coffee or tea etc; We drove to Annapooreswari temple in Horanadu, and reached there by 10.30 AM. We completed all formalities and had the view of the deity in full grace and were very happy for being there without any problems at all. Annapoorneswari Temple. The great deity of Adishakthyathmaka Sri Annapoorneshwari's prathistapana was done by His Holiness Agasthya Maharishi several centuries back. The hereditary Dharmakartharu of our family started 400 years back. Till the 5th Dharmakartharu, the temple was having a very small structure surrounded by full of natural vegetation and forest. Even then at least one or more people used to visit the temple, have pooja and were provided with free food (annaprasadam) and shelter and it is continued till date.[1] The name Annapoorneshwari means "Feeding one and all". All who visit this temple are provided with breakfast, lunch and dinner and also tea and coffee who need. And provide place to sleep on the temple premises.[2] We donated rice which went for feeding everyone who came to the temple and to those needy ones around the shrine. Our next place of visit was Sringeri and we were there by 13.30 hrs. We visited the temple of Sri Saradambal and the vicinity around the shrine. We had the privilege of having our lunch there along with devotees. We left Sringeri by 14.30 hrs and drove towards Kollur. On the way, we fed the monkeys with idlys and bananas. Soon our driver opened the window glass, one monkey nearly came in and tried to snatch the banana, but we threw the banana and the monkey also followed. The road, (Agumbe ghat) right from the start was good and the dense forests on the western ghat were beautiful and thickly placed. The scenic beauty added to the fact that nature is God and we should keep the vegetation alive. Here we passed a place named sun-set point. The altitude is maximum so is the rain fall during monsoon. Scenic beauty in Horanadu There were about 13 hairpin bends we came across before reaching Kollur. There were signs advising travelers NOT to throw plastic or any rubbish anywhere but to help in maintaining the environment clean. We had to sign an undertaking not to upset the area, entering Kudermukh forests and return the same at the exit. Kudremukh (Kannada: ಕುದುರೆಮುಖ) also spelled Kuduremukha is a mountain range in Chikkamagaluru district, in Karnataka, India. It is also the name of a small hill station town situated near the mountain, about 48 kilometers from Karkala and about 20 kilometers from Kalasa. The name Kuduremukha (as it is known by the natives) literally means 'horse-face' (in the local language Kannada) and refers to a particular picturesque view of a side of the mountain that resembles the same. It was also referred to as 'Samseparvata', historically since it was approached from Samse village. The town of Kudremukh is primarily an iron ore mining town where the government run Public Sector Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd. (KIOCL) operated till the last decade. It is noted for its scenic beauty. Owing to the dense forests, sighting wildlife can be challenging, though the area is rich in wildlife. Nonetheless the drive through the forest ranges can be enchanting and exhilarating. Three important rivers, the Tunga, the Bhadra and the Nethravathi are said to have their origin here. A shrine of goddess Bhagavathi and a Varaha image, 1.8 m within a cave are the main attractions. The Tunga river and Bhadra river flow freely through the parklands. Kadambi waterfalls area definite point of interest for anyone who travels to the spot. The animals found there include the malabar civet, wild dogs, sloth bear and spotted deer. We reached Kollur at 6PM. We experienced drizzles on the way becoming fairly heavy rain at times with fog and less visibility. It was raining at Kollur as we reached an area near the temple. We had options of three different accommodations to choose from, and we took the nearest one directly at the side of the Kollur Mookambika temple. (A brief walk of few minutes, over a foot bridge on a local canal and reaching temple entrance.) Legends According to the legends, Kola Maharshi who was doing penance here was disturbed by a demon who was also engaged in doing penance to please Lord Shiva, to get a boon from Him. To prevent the demon from fulfilling his evil desire, Adi Shakti made him dumb (mooka) and when the Lord appeared before him, he could not ask for anything. Thereupon he got enraged and soon began troubling Kola Maharshi who prayed to Adi Shakti for deliverance. Adi Shakti who vanquished demon Mookasura, was extolled by the gods as Mookambika. At Kola Maharshi's prayer, the Divine Mother accompanied by all the Gods; stayed there to be perpetually worshipped by the devotees.[2]. Shri Adi Shankara and Shri Mookambika Devi It is believed that Sri Adi Shankaracharya had a vision of Sri Mookambika Devi and he installed the deity here. The story goes like this - Adi Shankara meditated at Kudajaadri hills and Devi incarnated before him asking for his wish. He revealed his wish to incorporate Devi to a place in Kerala to worship when he and the people of his homeland wanted. Devi agreed and put forward a challenge that she will follow Shankara and he should not look back until he reaches his destination. But to test Shankara, Devi deliberately paused and when he couldn't hear Devi's anklets, Shankara suddenly turned around. Devi then stopped following him and asked Shankara to install her vigraha where she stopped. Shri Kollur Mookambika Devi The people of Kerala are still the largest group of pilgrims arriving at Mookambika Temple. They come here and pray to the Goddess, and also paying homage to Shree Shankara, who had installed the vigraha there. The Vidyaarambha (Starting of education) custom is the much opted for by the arriving devotees, as Devi is thought to exist mainly in the form of a Goddess, delivering Jnyaana (Knowledge). Swayambhu Lingam The Swayambhulingam at Sri Mookambika temple is said to have come into existence when Parameshwara drew the chakra with his toe. This chakra is believed to be the Udhbava linga which has drawn its strength due its proximity to all divine beings. It is also very sacred since Kollur Devi is supposed to be merged with this Suyambulinga and that has made her acquire great power. Here she is said to have formed part of Lingam along with Lakshmi and Saraswathi on one side and Lord Brahma, Vishnu and Parameshwara on the other side. Apart from this there is also an carved image of Shiva said to be injured by during the clash with Arjuna known as Kiratharjuna and this is on the right side of this Suyambulinga.[3] The Sanctum The deity is in the form of Jyotir-Linga incorporating both Shiva and Shakthi. The Panchaloha image (five element mixed metal) of the Goddess on Shree Chakra is stated to have been consecrated by Adi Shankaracharya during his visit to this place. It is believed that the original place of the goddess is on top of Kodachadri Peak (3880') and as it was very difficult for ordinary people to trek all the way to Kodachadri, Shankaracharya reestablished the temple at Kollur. The history of idol installation at Kollur Mookambika temple is nearly 1200 years old. King Halugallu Veera Sangayya is said to have laid the valuable stone to cover the inside premises and this was done by him under the instructions of Rani Chennamaji. The temple comprises of the sanctorum, a hall and the Lakshmi Mantapa at the rear. This Lakshmi Mandapam has four pillars and it is about 135 feet long. These four pillars are adorned with splendidly carved images of Indian deities. There is an exquisite sculpture of Panchamukha Ganesha here. The beautiful sculptures are figurines of various Gods and Goddesses such as Subrahmanya, Naga, Mahishasura Mardini and the mother goddess or Devi in various forms. The Garbagriha at this Kollur temple is contemporary and artistic in value. A huge deepasthambam stands tall with its base like a tortoise’s head. This Deepasthambam has 21 beautiful concentric circles which appear very divine and similar to that of Makara jothi when all the lamps are lit and viewed from distance. The Navrathri festival begins with an invocation to Lord Ganesha who is on this pillar. As we move inside the corridor beyond the Garbhagriha there are four types of idols of Ganapathi. Among them are Dasa bhuja Ganapathi and Balamuri Ganapathi which is beautifully sculpted using white marble. Kollur Temple Entrance Gopura Then there is an image of a serpent that is worshipped by all Devi’s devotees in order to wade off the evil effects of Sarpodosha and other doshas. And it is believed that when touched while offering prayers, the devotees are said to be blessed with good fortune. The outer side of the pradikshana we see the idol of Lord Muruga followed by the idol of Saraswathi, Pranalingeswara, Prartheshwar and Mukya Prana. This Mukya Prana is placed just opposite to Veerabadrasamy shrine to strike a balance for its dangerous appearance. This Veerabadrasamy is said to be the presiding deity here.[4] Thus, the other deities in the Kollur Mookambika temple include Shri Subramanya, Shri Partheeshwara, Shri Panchamukha Ganapathi, Shri Chandramouleeshwara, Shri Pranalingeshwara, Shri Nanjundeshwara, Shri Anjaneya, Shri Venkataramana, Shri Thulasi Gopalakrishna. Accommodation-Nagashree Lodge- at the side of Mookambika temple. Though the trip was tiring and sweating, we decided to complete the evening routines and go to the temple to worship Mookambikai. There were not too many devotees around due to raining and the area was wet all over the premises. We managed to offer our prayers and performed few required rituals as per our vows made earlier. Then we were directed to the temple hall where meals were arranged at 20.00 hrs. We had our simple food and returned to our rooms by 9.00PM Our plan was to leave Kollur by 6AM and cover the rest of the places before finally returning to the railway station. Mookambika gave us a different schedule as follows: 15-09-2012 - Saturday I got up by 4 AM and stayed awake to get some hot water in the tap for taking bath. I normally took cold water for bathing if it was running water or stored and fresh. On all other times, I opted for warm water to prevent catching cold, cough or fever. My friend Rao was also up and was waiting for hot water from the tap at 5 AM as per the system in the lodge. There was a rude shock waiting for us. Our chauffer- Chandrasekar, came quietly and informed Rao that he has locked the car keys inside the car dickey by mistake and worried if we would go as per schedule. In any case he has to wait till automobile shops to open by 9 AM latest or try some tricks to force open the dickey. This gave us enough time to worship Mookambika one more time before leaving Kollur, besides, wanted to offer a pleading prayer for resolving the car key problem for a solution. We returned from the temple and to our surprise the car dickey was found opened. A thin rod was used by the driver to push the locked lever which pushed the door edge so that a hand can move in and unlock the latch. There was no damage to the door either. We left Kollur by 7 AM, had light refreshments from a nearby restaurant and reached Murdeshwar by 9 AM. Etymology and legend The origin of the name "Murudeshwara" dates to the time of Ramayana. The Hindu gods attained immortality and invincibility by worshipping a divine Lingam called the Atma-Linga. The Lanka King Ravana wanted to attain immortality by obtaining the Atma-Linga (Soul of Shiva). Since the Atma-Linga belonged to Lord Shiva, Ravana worshipped Shiva with devotion. Pleased by his prayers, Lord Shiva appeared before him and asked him what he wanted. By this time Narada had asked Lord Vishnu to change Ravana's mind. As a result of this plot, Ravana asks for Goddess Parvati, and Lord Shiva offers her to him. On his way back to Lanka Narada tells Ravana that Lord had not given him the real Parvathi and that the real Parvathi was in Pathala. So Ravana frees his companion,goes to Pathala and marries a king's daughter, assuming her to be the real Parvathi. He then returns to Lanka, where his mother asks him for the Linga. Ravana then comes to know of the tricks played on him by Lord Vishnu. He therefore prays to Lord Shiva again, begging for his forgiveness. Lord Shiva appears and this time, Ravana requests the AtmaLinga as his boon. Lord Shiva agrees to give him the boon with the condition that it should never be placed on the ground. If the AtmaLinga was ever placed on the ground, all the powers would return to Lord Shiva again. Having obtained his boon, Ravana started back on his journey to Lanka. Sage Narada, who came to know of this incident, realised that with the AtmaLinga, Ravana may obtain immortality and create havoc on earth. He approached the Lord Ganesh and requested him to prevent the AtmaLinga from reaching Lanka. Lord Ganesh knew that Ravana was a very devoted person who used to perform prayer ritual in the evening every day without fail. He decided to make use of this fact and came up with a plan to confiscate the AtmaLinga from Ravana. As Ravana was nearing Gokarna, Lord Vishnu blotted out the sun to give the appearance of dusk. Ravana now had to perform his evening rituals but was worried because with the AtmaLinga in his hands, he would not be able to do his rituals. At this time, Lord Ganesh in the disguise of a Brahmin boy accosted him. Ravana requested him to hold the AtmaLinga until he performed his rituals, and asked him not to place it on the ground. Ganesh struck a deal with him saying that he would call Ravana thrice, and if Ravana did not return within that time, he would place the AtmaLinga on the ground. As predicted, before Ravana could return after completing his rituals, Ganesh had already placed the AtmaLinga on the ground. Vishnu then removed his illusion and it was daylight again. Ravana, realising that he had been tricked, tried to uproot and destroy it. Due to the force exerted by Ravana, some pieces were scattered. One such piece from the head of the linga is said to have fallen in present day Surathkal. The famous Sadashiva temple is said to be built around that piece of linga. Then he decided to destroy the covering of the AtmaLinga, and threw the case covering it to a place called Sajjeshwara, 23 miles away. Then he threw the lid of the case to a placed called Guneshwara (now Gunavanthe) and Dhareshwara, 10–12 miles away. Finally, he threw the cloth covering the AtmaLinga to a placed called Mrideshwara in Kanduka-Giri (Kanduka Hill). Mrideshwara has been renamed to Murudeshwara. Geethopathesam Scene- near Murudeshwar Temple. The climate was very good, and we moved around the premises and had glimpses of the surrounding areas with great ease. Then we started again towards, Aneguddi temple en-route to Udupi and had breakfast in another hotel on the way. Then we reached Anneguddi temple by 12.20 hrs. Here too, we had the privilege of praying Lord Ganapathi and prayed for the health and wealth for all friends, relatives and others. Aneguddi Temple Etymology While the name Kumbhasi is said to be derived from Kumbhasura, who was slain here. The story behind the name goes like this…. Long ago when this area was hit by drought, sage Agasthya came here to perform yagna to please the rain god. During that time the demon Kumbhasura tried to disrupt the yagna by troubling sages performing the yagna. To rescue the sages Lord Ganesha blessed Bheema, the strongest among the Pandavas (In their exile period) with a sword, using which Bheema killed the demon and facilitated the completion of the yagna. Hence the name Kumbashi! The name Anegudde comes from Aane (elephant) and Gudde (hillock), as it is the abode of the elephant-headed god, Sri Vinayaka. One of the best known Ganesha temples in Udupi District is that of Shri Maha Ganapathi at Anegudde. Anegudde is one of the seven ‘Mukti Sthalas’ (Parashurama Kshetra) in coastal Karnataka. Here, Lord Ganapathi is also called, ‘Siddhi Vinakaya’ and ‘Sarva Siddhi Pradaayaka’, the provider of all boons. People come here with all kinds of wishes. The Lord Vinayaka here is said to fulfill all the wishes of his devotees. We reached Uduppi by 13.30 hrs, and were guided by Rao’s friend –Mr.Sridhar Upadhyaya in accessing the temple area and to worship Lord Krishna. Here the Lord can be worshipped from the rear side peep hole only. We had Darshan of Chandramouleeswara, Anantheshwara before actually worshipping Lord Krishna through the peep hole, and had Prasad in Sri Krishna Temple dining Hall. After darshan, we had our lunch in the temple hall and had guided tour of the important areas of the vast premises. In-front of Shri Udupi Krishna Temple In the main hall 700 verses of Srimad Bhavadgita was engraved on black marble slabs. Each description and inscription conveyed a definite meaning about the Vedic principles and guide for a devotional life. We visited temple of Durgaparameswari in Kateel, on the way. Kateel Durga Temple Kateel is a sacred place for Hindus in Dakshina Kannada. This temple is dedicated to Goddess Durga Parameshwari. The holy temple is situated in the middle of the sacred river. The temple surrounded by panoramic scenes and fascinating greeneries. The devotees overwhelmed with pious emotions when they glance at the flowing water in the river, which embraces all around the lower layer of the temple. Kateel is 29 K.M. distances from Mangalore city. Mythology (story from Purana): When Goddess slew Shumbha & Nishumbha, Arunasura, one of the ministers, had fled from the battlefield and saved his life. Later he became the leader of the Rakshasas (demons). He began to disturb the sages and destruct their Yajnas. As a result, the Devas stopped raining, which resulted in total draught and scarcity of water and food grains on the earth. Moved by the pathetic conditions of the people Maharshi Jabali, the great sage decided to perform a Yajna to appease the Devas. He approached Devendra and requested him to send Kamadhenu (a sacred cow) with him for the ritual. Since Kamadhenu had been to Varuna Loka, Devendra permitted the sage to take Nandini, the daughter of Kamadhenu in order to assist him as Homadhenu (symbolic cow for ritual) in his proposed Yajna. Jabali went to Nandini and put forth his request. In reply Nandini abused the earth and the people there and refused to accompany him. When the sage found that Nandini was firm in her refusal, he cursed her to flow as a river on the earth. As Nandini prayed Jabali for mercy, kindhearted sage advised her to pray Adhishakti to get freed from the curse. Accordingly she prayed Adhishakti. Pleased by her deep meditation Goddess appeared before Nandini and told her that she has to flow as a river as a result of the curse, because nobody can trespass the sentences (Rishi Vakya) of a holy sage. But she added "I shall take birth as your daughter in due course and purify you from this curse". Satisfied by this assurance Nandini emerged as a river from Kanakagiri on the day of Magha Shuddha Poornima and made the earth green once again. Meanwhile Arunasura acquired a boon from Brahma, which made him free from fear of death by Trinity, Devas, men or women or by any two legged or four legged animals & creatures. Goddess Saraswathi also blessed him with Gayathri Mantra (Holy chants). All these made him the most powerful. He defeated the Devatas and conquered Heaven. Disheartened by disastrous defeat, the Devatas, along with Trinity pleaded Adhishakti for the rescue. Goddess said that unless and until Arunasura is prevented from reciting Gayathri Mantra she too would not be able to destroy him. She suggested them to send Brihaspathi (Guru of Devatas) to distract Arunasura from his meditation of Gayathri, and make him get rid of Gayathri recitation so that she would be able to kill him. Brihaspathi approached Arunasura, flattered him, poisoned his ears and succeeded in diverting him from his meditation. Kateel Durga Temple: Rathotsava Now Arunasura vainly felt that he was more than God himself. He not only ordered his subjects to worship him but also troubled the sages and spoiled their Yajnas. As promised to the Devas, Goddess took the shape of Mohini, a charming woman and began to wander in the garden of Arunasura. Chanda & Prachanda, ministers of Arunasura saw her and informed the master about her beauty. Arunasura decided to marry her and approached her. When she turned deaf ears to his request & teased him for fleeing from the war field, in afraid of the lady who killed his masters Shumbha & Nishumbha, he became furious. When he tried to take her by storm, she disappeared inside rock. Arunasura broke the rock with his sword. Suddenly, a vast swarm of bees emerged from the rock and stung him. Devi had taken the form of a big, furious bee that is 'Bhramara' and stung him repeatedly till his last breath. Now the Devas and the sages led by Jabali performed "Abhishekham" (holy bath) to Devi with tender coconut brought from the Kalpavriksha of Devaloka, and prayed her to bless the world with 'Soumya Roopa' (tender posture). According to this request Devi emerged in the form of 'Linga' (symbolic holy rock) in the middle of the river Nandini and is known as Shree Durga Parameshwari. KATI means waist and ILA means earth. So Kateel stands for that area of the earth, which is the Kati, or the center of the river Nandini. The Nandini is purified by the birth of Adhishakti in her "Kati" and Durga Parameshwari is here for the good of the universe and blesses those who come to her. Durgaparameswari temple in Kateel. We then decided to see one more temple before saying goodbye to Mangalore. There was a temple on the Highway - at SriGnanaSakhthiSubramanyaswami Devasthanam, Paavanjenear Haleangadi(Hale=Old angadi means Shop).Seen their Goshala – meaning place where cows are maintained. Then, we could reach there by 17.45 hrs and performed abhishegam / pooja to Lord Subramania and continued our journey towards a hotel for snacks before reaching Mangalore railway station. Our chauffer took us to one restaurant – Janatha Deluxe Hotel near T.M.Pai convention centre, and then we reached Mangalore railway station, as the meter just crossed 599.99 KM and the clock at 19.55 hours. We bade farewell to Mr.Chandrasekar and proceeded to the platform 1, where our train is destined to arrive by 21.30 hrs. We were still in our attire changed over in the morning and wanted to switch to travelling dress. So we were looking for a place to do it. There was waiting room on the platform 1 and we had to pay Rs.15 per person per hour and paid Rs.60.00 for four of us for an hour. The room was fair, but the bathrooms (Male and Female) were the dirtiest for a rented and air-conditioned facility. The cash receipt for Rs.60 was not official, but was a plain dirty piece of paper with no seal of issuing authority – the railways. There were no hangers, bars or any facility to keep the dresses. I managed to hang them on the hand lever after closing the lever in the latch, but had to frequently push it back from falling on the floor which was wet and flooded with water falling from the ac drain which was not directed to any disposal line. Somehow, we managed to change over to travelling attire. The train came to the platform were we were waiting for its arrival and we boarded in our coach S-4 without much difficulty. The train left on time and we fell asleep around 10.30 PM. So, our trip came to a concluding end, and we were in the waiting hall awaiting arrival of West Coast express which came to the platform by 21.55 hrs. We boarded the train and the journey was comfortable and we were at Coimbatore station by 6.30 AM on 16-9-2012. As pre-arranged, our regular call taxi was waiting to take us to our house in Vadavalli and were home as of 7AM sharp. The total amount spent for this trip came to Rs.9000 besides personal expenses which are excluded. From the cost of living / loving we found this was far economical for four persons – i.e. Rs.2250 per person. NOTE: In this writing, some words are from the Sanskrit language and some are traditional / local phrases that came into adaptation over a period of time and continued to be referred in these concepts of religious narrations and expressions. Above narrated summary of the tour was completed as of 22-09-2012. The purpose of the content is to serve the reader and the posterity who may take up a trip as above and be guided to certain extent if not 100%. V.Sivasubramaniam

Mixed Thoughts

Tomorrow is Diwali and is my 62nd since my birth. There has been lot of changes over these years in celebrating Diwali.
The very first or known Diwali to me was around the age of 8 or so. A team of musicians will visit every house in the street and sing MANGALA ISAI – Holy music around 4.30 AM. We all will be given an oil bath – GANGA SNANAM by our parents.
Sometimes, we were given new dresses and we wore them with great pride and happiness.
My mother would have made sweets and salty dishes of few kinds and we will eat the same along with hot idly with sambar and chutney.
The sweets were always shared with neighbors and they exchanged greetings along with sweets. My parents gave us money to buy crackers, sparklers, chakras, flower pots, ribbons, snakes and red color caps and a variety of light emitting matches.
In all we would have spent a good FIVE RUPEES then. This amount was very big and made DENT in the monthly family budget.
Rich family children spent more money and letting off in smoke by way of indulging in setting fire to crackers etc;
I used to go with fellow children from our street and roamed around till what we ate has been digested.
As the years passed, I gradually distanced myself from celebrating the festival as I felt many of my friends were less fortunate in observing any festival.
Then came my college and career days when I continued to observe Diwali with friends of the like nature. We gave away sweets and crackers to needy children and enjoyed their being happy and sumptuous in their celebration of the FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS.
There were few DIWALI occasions such as the first one after my FIRST JOB, marriage and one after joining job in gulf.
On all these occasions, I remembered my past and that of most of my friends who were sailing in the same boat as me.
Now it’s my children’s and my grandsons’ Diwali. Last week we were in Bangalore where my children and Ayush briefly celebrated DIWALI, as were to be in our own house on Diwali day.
I see in my grandchild- Ayush- my days when I hid myself from the noise of ever bursting crackers, and ever blinding lights from various flashing sparklers, pencils etc;
Ayush held my daughters’ sari and hid his face and was afraid of the noise from the lighting sparklers alone. Then, I decided to save the embarrassment and took him off to a far off location.
Diwali is NOT a simple festival anymore!
A simple humble festival has become a very occasion involving entertainment, heavy spending, and whiling away precious time in the name of festival activities.
I read in the news papers that the GOVERNMENT target for liquor sale in Tamil Nadu (TASMAC) alone is set for 250 Crore rupees. True and spirited festival! Almost everyone will be in full spirits.
I saw lots of advertisements in NEWSPAPERS promoting sale of everything that is needed for Diwali. I’m surprised that people have enough funds if not, facility to take loan for buying anything. You name it, it is there!
Gold, diamond, variety of ornaments, dress, dress material, utensils, Pressure cookers, DVDs, A/C units, life size wall mountable TVs etc; the list goes on extending.
The festival is time for spending more money; loan is available to be paid back in 60 monthly installments and beyond. No wonder some of the offers are publicized as ONCE IN A LIFE TIME OFFER!
All regional TV channels are showing variety of programs sponsored by business houses such as home appliance makers, gold and jewelry companies, Mobile phone makers, silk sari show rooms, and so on;
There is EQUAL opportunity for these companies to publicize their products as there is for festival spirited buyers. Millions of rupees are involved in publicity alone especially with FULL PAGE COLOR ADVERTISEMENTS IN ALMOST ALL NEWSPAPERS. Who pays for it, the buyers, as every cost of production and publicity is added to the product.

What is missing is true spirit of happiness and reciprocation of the same.
Most activities are for showing ones wealth and competing with relatives and friends in showing off, false prestige and fictitious happiness, and what is lost is a good amount of money that could be spared for a better cause.
Well, that’s what I feel as my observations lead to similar thoughts. May be one day the fervor will be back as festival of lights which represents the death of evil and resumption of goodness everywhere.
With all these wavering thoughts generated by feeling of exposure to the entire present environment, I decided to seek solace by sitting quietly in the prayer room requesting the all powerful GOD to give me peace and strength for overcoming the state of affairs around.
May GOD bless us all.

V.Sivasubramaniam

Pilgrimage

We were planning for a pilgrimage to places like Kedarnath, and Badrinath for the past few months. We had been to places like Haridwar and Rishikesh few times while living in Ghaziabad in the 1970’s.
Since we are now settled in Coimbatore, we explored the best option to visit these two places without much strain and within a span of one week to ten days as the weather conditions are increasingly getting colder in September / October approaching winter season in these places.
More over we were to call on my brother Ramakrishnan whose beloved wife Smt.Latha passed away a year ago, but couldn’t make it as I was away working in Africa.
As such chose Southern Travels P Ltd for arranging our tour and related air-travel bookings. I booked on the 5th of September 2011 for the tour commencing on 19-9 and concluding on 26-9.Our booking included a night’s stay in their hotel before and after the tour. The idea was to relax before setting out for the trip and also to allow any unforeseen situations towards the final day of the tour upsetting the return air travel on 27-9-11.
18-09-2011 – Sunday
We woke up by 4 AM and completed our morning routines. I prepared chapattis for lunch as we were flying by NO FRILL air-line who does not provide anything other than 300 ml of bottled water per passenger. Our milk vendor delivers milk only after 7 hrs every day, since we had to leave by then; I procured milk from the vendor’s house at 6.30 hrs. After having light food and beverage we were ready to leave our house by pre-arranged call taxi at 7.30 hrs.
At the air-port, we noticed tighter security – due to recent bombings in Delhi High Court area (and no clue was found yet) - but had no problem in entering the premises after furnishing I.D and address verification by the concerned authorities. We carried with us documents like PAN cards in original, copies of our ration cards, passports, receipts of house tax, water tax and telephone bills besides 6 photos of each of us.
None of these (Except original passport and visa copy) were ever demanded in my first few air-travels years ago but has become mandatory due to uncertainties and anti- social activities by terrorists or the like. It showed how insecure is our precious life.
I was looking for daily news papers at the shop situated in the waiting lounge. Though I was delivered news papers every day, I could not read them on this day due to lack of time. The bookshop keeper told me that news papers are kept in the boarding lounge and is available from four different publishers.
We checked in after waiting for 45 minutes. Checking in- was smooth as our luggage combined weighed only 21 Kg including a hand bag and air bag. We soon passed the security check and were in the boarding lounge. We could get 4 different newspapers and enjoyed reading till boarding the air-craft at 10.15 hrs. I carried the newspapers to while away flying time as it took us four hours to reach Delhi via Hyderabad.
We consumed our food for lunch as we were at Hyderabad. The flight was very comfortable and smooth. We were worried about rains at both Hyderabad and Delhi. In Delhi, there were two incidents of aircrafts over shooting the run way in the previous week due to torrential rain.
It appeared that we were flying faster than scheduled and as such I informed our family friend due to picking us from air-port - to come to Delhi air-port 30 minutes earlier. Yes, we landed at Delhi air-port half an hour earlier at 14 hrs.
Hari is the one who picked us from the air-port. Hari is married to Kala – daughter of my wife’s elder sister who lives in Tanjore.
We reached his house located close to the air-port – In sector 8 of Ramakrishna Puram.
Hari and Kala have a lovely daughter by name Swetha whom we last saw as tiny tot during our daughter’s marriage in 2004. Swetha has grown since and sings Carnatic music and has won many prizes in competetions.
I noticed that this part of Delhi has become cleaner and better looking than I last saw in the 90’s.
We spend the time till evening talking about our in-laws and out-laws; and familiar matters of the day including tense condition in the Capital after the recent bombing at the High court.
In the evening, we were dropped at my brother’s house - place which is at sector 5 in R.K.Puram itself – a drive of 10 minutes. We bade farewell to Hari till we meet again possibly on 26-9-11- after our pilgrimage trip.
We met my brother Ramakrishnan alias Kalyanam and his daughters – Subha and Smitha. We were at loss for words to express our sincere condolence as the loss of Mrs.Latha Ramakrishnan was unbearable and could not be compensated in any manner whatsoever.
My brother narrated the final moments of Mrs.Latha before leaving for eternal peace on 3-9-2009. Later, we spoke of the past years where Mrs.Latha had taken care of both responsibilities at home and in the office.
Subha arranged a taxi for us to go to our Hotel in Karol Bagh – a distance of over an hour from his residence due to night travel. We reached Southern Hotel and checked in by 21.00 hrs. There was delay in allocating us a room despite confirmation twice by e-mail both by me and their representative in Coimbatore.
I went out to buy small tube of tooth paste and shaving cream to be used for the week. I intentionally did NOT carry them for two reasons: 1.It will be confiscated if kept in the hand baggage, 2.Cannot keep inside the check-in baggage as it might come out due to pressure.
We went to bed by 22.30 hrs. We had the whole of the next day to relax and get ready for a fully exciting and vibrant tour.
19-09-2011- Monday
We got up by 6 hrs, and completed all routines. Hot water was provided separately for my wife, as I was comfortable in using cold water. We ordered and received two coffees; the waiter poured coffee in the cups and took back the jug as there was shortage of jugs in the hotel.
Later we went to their restaurant named Amaravathi for breakfast. The arrangement was just good enough with minimum attention for hygienic condition. We had south Indian dishes for our consumption besides cornflakes for my wife. I noticed the waiter collecting the spilled over flakes and putting it back in to the dispenser. I couldn’t bear the sight of this and informed his supervisor, and the cornflakes were replaced.
Then we called our daughter Sheeba and informed her about the situation around us. Sheeba called back using her landline and hotel switchboard, and we spoke to Ayush as well.
Later, I went out to see the changes around this area since my last visit in 1984. The Arya Samaj Road, and Ajmal Khan Road area were literally the same but with new buildings. Many out-fits seems to have disappeared. New buildings nearly covered the remaining old ones. I could locate the Raymond shop from where I purchased cloth for my wedding suit in 1977 and the tailor who stitched the same - Narang Tailors - located in the same area.
I located a new vegetarian hotel – Rama Hotel – and enquired about dishes for lunch (without garlic) but I was given to understand that every item except coffee, tea and sweets were laced with flavor of garlic. As such I abandoned my enquiry further regarding garlic free lunch.
I made few rounds in the market and the area was dirty and penchant in odor – nothing has changed in this regard since ages. Karol Bagh has NOT changed at all.
I came back to my room at Hotel Southern and decided to have our lunch at the Kamath Restaurant which is a vegetarian one. I found out that they prepared food / dishes without garlic on specific orders. So self and my wife (Mrs.Sarojam) enjoyed a good lunch.
After lunch, we visited the attached Super Market and explored the contents figuring out any snacks for our tour. We managed to procure some eatables, water and biscuits.
Once again back in room, we took rest for couple of hours and re-packed everything for the tour commencing at 21.00 hrs.
In the evening, I reconfirmed my room bookings for 26-9-2011 to check in at 04.00 hrs at the end of our tour. This was done to prevent waiting outside at the wee hours. The payment was already made at Coimbatore where we made our travel arrangement with Southern Travels’ branch office at Coimbatore.
We checked out at 20.30 hrs and collected our boarding passes and boarded the bus at 21.00 hrs. The bus left after ten minutes. We were 20 PAX in all, besides our tour guide – Mr.Prasanna kumar from Andhra, driver –Mr.Kailash Rawath, two cooks and a conductor.
Prasanna kumar briefed us about the places of visit in the next few minutes to the last day of our trip. He was very knowledgeable in what was he doing since conducting 532 trips over the past years. Self and Saro occupied the first two seats (1 and 2).
Our first stop was at Hanuman Temple where a small ritual was performed by the temple priest – breaking a coconut, placing lemons under the bus tires for crushing and lighting camphor – on the onset of the tour.
My wife and few of our fellow travelers visited the Hanuman temple across the road, while the above ceremony was taking place. I took a photo with the priest.
Later we continued on the tour. The next stop would be our first stop-over; RISHIKESH by 3.00 hrs next day. So, we went to sleep extending the seat to serve as a mini bed. At a distance 80 KM away from Haridwar, the bus was stopped for tea / coffee and for using toilet for intended / needy guests.

Beauty and the Priest.
20-09-2011 – Tuesday
We reached Rishikesh around 03.50 hrs and taken to the guest house. The guest was a 3 storey building with a kitchen at the open balcony. The rooms were on second floors as first floor was used as a hall, while ground floors had shops.
We were given time to take bath and changeover to new attire for the visits of various places by 7.00 A.M.

The guest house, where we stayed in Rishikesh.
Our bathroom had no geyser and so was the case with few others, but it was pleasant to have cold water bath after a very tiresome travel with outside condition as hot as summer.
Our coffee was ready by 5.30 AM followed by breakfast at 6.45 AM. We then left, for the tour of local places of interest at 7.00A.M.
Our first visit was to Swamy Dayanand Asharam.
Rishikesh (Rishi means SAINT and KESH means dwelling place) is a religious town with many ASHRAMS and Sanskrit colleges, besides medical institutions of various natures. The famous temple of Sh.Sathyanarana is situated here. RISHIKESH is resident for many SADHUS. (those who have abandoned all pleasures of life and living with devotion to GOD till attaining eternal peace.)
Rishikesh is a mountainous city and is gateway to other places like Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangothri and Yamunothri. A temple for LORD ShriRam’s brother Bharath is in this town and the town has grown up around this temple. The beauty of nature is handy work of GOD and the presence of the ALMIGHTY can be felt everywhere.
There are two bridges that help to cross over to the other side of River Ganga. By crossing the bridges, one can reach places like Gita Bhavan, Swarg Ashram, Shivananda Ashram, Paramarth Ashram etc;
One was an ancient rope bridge which was later re-constructed with steel ropes- Lakshman Jula, and another one by name Ram Jula. Jula means swing as the bridges were swung due to its construction by means of ropes.
There is a vegetarian Restaurant by name CHOTIVALA restaurant located near Gita Bhavan.
I’m requesting the reader to explore the relevant website to find more information about places and locations mentioned in this brief note. My purpose of writing these lines are for the sake of intended visitors who are new to everything besides to serve as a guide to our posterity.
We visited places of religious interest – Geetha Ashram, Geetha Bhawan, temples on the bank of Ganga. We also floated oil lamp in the river Ganga – Aarthi for Sacred Ganga. Meditation and Yoga is practiced in Rishikesh being an ideal place with favorable climate all around the year.
We returned to our guest house by 11.30 AM and took rest before lunch at 12.30. After a sumptuous lunch, we left for SRINAGAR where we are to spend our night before leaving for KEDARNATH in the early hours of next day. Please note that this SRINAGAR is NOT the same named SRINAGAR and in JAMMU AND KASHMIR.
We covered the distance of 105 kilometers to reach Srinagar via Devaprayag – a town situated en-route and situated at an altitude of 475 meters above sea level – in four and quarter hours and reached our Guest House at 17.30 hrs.
The city DEVAPRAYAG is on the confluence of the rivers ALAKNANDA and BAGIRATHI and located 70 Km away from Rishikesh and 35 Km from Srinagar.
Here we were advised to get OXYGEN canister on hire to be taken /used if needed at Kedarnath to where we were leaving in the early hours of next day. So, I took one canister after paying a deposit of Rs.350.00 If the canister were not used an amount of Rs.50 will be deducted as rental towards the can and balance refunded.

The guest House at Srinagar.
21-09-2011 Wednesday
We got up very early, completed all our morning routines and packed separately the items required for a night’s stay at Kedarnath. The reason was that we had to depend on mule / pony for climbing 14 Km upward and another 14 Km back to the base. We took all our woolen clothing / items, water bottle, Oxygen canister, use and throw type rain coat, umbrella, and a loose bag besides cash. The rest of our luggage was kept within the bus. After usual morning coffee / tea we left for GOWRIKUND the city at the base from where we have to take pony ride or walk 14 Km to reach Kedarnath.
We had breakfast on the way. Normally, food was prepared in advance to save time and then provided at the appropriate time – breakfast or lunch – by breaking our journey close to a guest house with tea / coffee and toilet facilities.
We reached GOWRIKUND at 11.00 AM.
GOWRIKUND is located at a distance of 209 Km. The temple for Devi Gowri( Wife of Lord Shiva, also known as Parvathi devi) is located here. This place has many hot water springs around the city.
At Gowri kund, we purchased tickets for hiring mules for both of us. Many of our fellow tourists either availed pony ride or engaged porters to carry them to Kedarnath and back. The hire cost including insurance was Rs.1600 per person- up / down).

Pattuppadava? (Can I sing?) A ride, on the back of mule?
We were given a cap each for wearing – with logo of Southern Travels – for easy identification of our group of 20 and we started climbing precisely at 13.00 hrs. The ride was not smooth for the following reasons:
The mule was tied with rough belts; the saddle was also rough with worn-out buckles, which tied the seat. The seat was NOT as we see in cinemas where a rich person / a king rides – smooth and nice. A piece of luggage was also tied to each animal. The mule suffered more than us as it had to carry us! – Humans!
I found out that cost of a pair of mules is Rs.150,000!
Our set of mules – carrying me and Saro appeared to be fiancé to each other, as they were colliding very often licking each other while our legs were hit hard over their bodies between the two animals. I had the sharp buckle nearly piercing my pants and hurting both my legs. I had to call our mule owner for help and I discovered that he was DEAF by birth!
So, I had to use sign language whenever I was hurt. His assistant- by name Munna was an angry young boy who kept losing his cool / patience whenever I called for help. Soon we realized that our bottom and back besides the already hurt legs were in pain. We stopped at 7 Km to Kedarnath – at Rampara -for food.
Each rider has to (feed the mule and its keeper as necessary and as part of the requirement) spend for food of the animal and keeper. Once down from the back of the mule, we felt that our body was very stiff and motionless for few minutes. It was like waking up after an anesthesia.
It started raining as we were about to resume our climbing of another 7 Km. Fortunately, it was mild drizzles and Saro covered herself with the use and throw rain coat. (We actually did not throw it as it was still in good condition).
As we continued climbing UP, the temperature was coming DOWN for every hundred feet of climbing and we sensed cold condition around us. We were praying for NO RAIN as it would create untold misery at that level with biting cold setting in.
Fortunately, the rain stopped and we were progressing as required and reached the top of the hills and were on the plane of KEDARNATH around 17.20 hrs.
There were places for the pony to urinate and drink water where these animals went on their own and used the facility. There are 30 water taps along the 14 Km climb for the benefit of passengers / devotees / travellers.
There were hundreds of streams / water falls from where the water was gushing out and joining the river MANDAKINI below. The other source of water was the polluted / urinated / washed out liquid from shops, roads, toilets and any possible washed out water all was added into the holy water stream.
The path way was a very rough and dangerous strip of terrain that was full of pebbles with un-even depth between them. Just to explain the condition here it is: The path was about SIX feet wide. The pebbles were with a gap of a good 3 or inches between them. There was always flow of water from the mountain besides waste water from human use. In some places the width was hardly enough for the mule to walk thru’ with the deep valley on one side. No wonder people kept loudly mentioning the name of GOD – Kedarnath all the time.
We reached our place of stay – Himalaya Guest House (from the pony station where we had to leave our carriers for rest till next day-) by 17.30 hrs. We had coffee at Rs.40 per cup – was at much higher price than petrol or diesel for that quantity!
Soon we were in our respective rooms; local priest came to each one of us and took details for a ceremony (Pooja) at 5.30 to 6.30 AM next day). We booked for a full fledged ceremony in the sanctum covering all our family and paid Rs.501.00 being the minimum fees. We then changed over to heavy woolen clothing and went to the temple of Lord Kedarnath. Besides having full view of the Lord Shiva, we also visited the final resting place of Shri.Sankaracharya.
We had to book for Hot water to be provided at 5 AM next day at Rs.40 per bucket of 10 liters. The Himalaya guest house is owned by Mr.Rao proprietor of the travel company – Southern Travels.
We had our dinner consisting of Chapattis and potato curry. Here the arrangement was for us to pay for all facilities – hot water, food, tea or coffee. We went to bed early.
22-09-2011 Thursday
We got up by 4.30 AM. I went out for getting hot water for completing our morning routines. Hot water was only warm water and we managed to make use of it wisely and were ready to go to the temple at 5.30 AM. Our fellow tourists were also ready and we went to the temple at 5.45 AM. The priest accompanied us in to the temple.
Our turn for performing the ceremony was at 6.15 AM and we were helped by our priest. During the time we performed the pooja we felt very warm inside the temple and experienced a sort of sumptuousness in all respects and aspects. I mean we had no other feeling than devoting ourselves to Lord Shiva.

We completed all poojas by 7 AM (Please see the picture above with time mentioned).
We returned to our room for a quick breakfast and coffee, and started our climbing down wards by 7.30 AM. Some of our guests opted to take helicopter ride to the base and left. We returned by the same way and had food half way thru’ at Rampara and reached Gaurikund precisely at 12.00 hrs – midday.
Saro felt dizzy almost at a Km away from the base and had to take few minutes of break before resuming the ride.
Once back in Gaurikund, we went for a dip in the Hot water spring. We hired a room for an hour to use a locker facility and took bath in the spring. Few minutes of this immersion of our body in the Hot Water massaged us very strongly and we got relieved of all our pain experienced while riding on the mules. I took a wow that I WILL NEVER ADDRESS ANY ONE BY NAME DONKEY ever; for these four legged men suffer more than two legged donkeys.
We then started to reach Srinagar (for the night’s stay before leaving for Badrinath next day) and were in our guest house at 14.00 hrs.
A short trip was arranged for us to visit temple of TRIMURTHY NARAYAN located 20 KM from our guest house at 16.30 hrs. After brief rest and having coffee we left for temple and it rained on the way to temple
We had Darshan of Narayanji and also performed some ceremony for the sake of all the family members, later we returned by 18.45 hrs. We called Sheeba and spoke briefly and conveyed the day’s events on the tour. All of us had early dinner and went to bed by 21 hrs.
23-09-2011 Friday
We woke by 4 AM and completed all our morning routines. Had breakfast on the way – prepared earlier and served on the way to save time. We reached a town named Pipalkotti at 11.45 AM and had our lunch there.
The main road for reaching Bdadrinath from Srinagar starts at a place called JOSHIMATT. The roads are opened from 13.30 hrs and used as one way and closed after 16.30 hrs. Vehicles are not allowed after this time as the roads very narrow with hair pin bends.
We reached Badrinath at 17.30 hrs-covered the distance of 195 Km in 10 hrs. The environment was natural and very green. We noticed landslides in many places on our way up the hills. Badrinath is located at 3110 meters above sea level. The weather was cold but less torturous than at Kedarnath.
Here too, a priest approached us for performing ceremony in the early hours of next day. The minimum cost for the ceremony is Rs.750.00. Most of us agreed for the same and the priest had to arrange accordingly everything as per our individual belief.
After relaxing a while, we went to the temple of Sh.Kedarnath. We went round the area which is covered by usual shops where they sold mementos, religious books, CDs, DVDs, photos coins etc; We also were briefed about the next day’s activities to be performed by each of us before actually doing the ceremony – for the elevation of departed souls of each ones ancestors.
We returned to our guest house located very close to the temple and had our dinner at 21 hrs and went to bed early.
The neighborhood was dirty and covered by breed of mosquitoes despite the cold weather. There was penchant odor everywhere with urine smell all over. We were surprised that a holy place of this caliber is surrounded by unhygienic conditions. We carried de-odorants, but it did not work in this place for the aforesaid reasons.

24-09-2011 Saturday
We woke up as usual by 5 AM, and completed all basic routines. It is a belief that we one had to perform ceremonies for departed souls; shaving should be postponed for the next day. So, I did not shave my face. Also one should NOT consume liquid or food till the ceremony is over.
We all went to the temple area, took bath in the hot water spring named THAPTHA KUND and went to worship Lord Badrinath.
There after we went the location RED PLATFORM at 7.30 AM. Our priest / Pandit Mr.Desik came in Dolly and started explaining to each of us in our languages the necessity for doing the ceremony on the banks of river ALAKNANDA.

Visiting card of our priest, & our team about to perform ceremony.
The priest spoke in all south Indian languages and the verses are in Sanskrit. He has been helping many Hindus doing this for several years. He cannot walk long distances and hence being brought to the location by dolly everyday – carried by human beings in a basket.
The ceremony is to feed the departed souls with BALLS cooked rice mixed with sesame seeds. Then, after the ceremony, the entire lot is immersed in the river in a place called BRAHMA KAPAL.
I was in my normal Dothi and chest cover and used a cap to ward of cold air entering my ears. Later, the sun rays were strong enough to sweat us as early as 9 AM.
We (All of us in the team) skipped our usual morning coffee and breakfast and left for the next place of stay – Pipalkotti at 10.30 hrs.
On the way, we had lunch and reached Pipalkotti at 17.30 hrs. The place of stay was better than all the previous guest houses and we were comfortable after the long travel in the past few days. It rained in the evening and the weather was pleasant.
We were advised to sleep well and rest well as the last leg of our tour starts at 04.00 hrs the next day (Sunday) and ends in Delhi at the same time on Monday Morning with very brief breaks in Haridwar.
25-09-2011 Sunday
We were woken up by 03.00 hrs and hot water was made available in the taps by 03.30 hrs. After completing all our morning routines, and sipping a cup of coffee, we left for Haridwar at 04.25 AM.
We had breakfast and lunch at designated times and reached Haridwar at 14.00 hrs. Our first place of visit was to the show room maintained by Uttranchal Government. This was earlier part of Uttar Pradesh and with change of name became so. There were plenty of handicraft material, saris, and many type of dress material – all from the region.
Immediately, we hired auto rickshaws for visiting by various places of worship / interest in Haridwar.
Hridwar is an ancient pilgrim city on the right banks of river Ganga. The main attraction in haridwar is temple of DAKSHINESWAR situated near the main bathing centre HARI KI POURI. (Feet of Lord Hari).
We visited the temple of MANASA DEVI located on the BILWA MOUNTAIN at a height of 178 meters. We used the rope way to reach there and back. The main attraction in the evening was AARTHI IN THE GANGA after the traditional pooja at 18.30 hrs. This ceremony is performed every day at the same time and thousands of devotees gather to see the lamps being set in motion in the river Ganga.

Ganga pooja / Aarthi at HARI KI POURI
After witnessing the fantastic scenes comprising of hundreds of floating lamps, we returned to our place of rest few Km away from the river Ganga.
Our pilgrimage has literally come to close as we were about to commence our return journey back to where we started – Delhi. All we team members spoke to each other of our individual experience and discussed the overall state of participation.
We took rest, some of us slept briefly before having dinner at 20.55 hrs. After loudly pronouncing the name of Lord Shiva we boarded the bus back to Delhi at 22.45 hrs and reached Hotel Southern in Delhi by 03.45 hrs on 26-09-2011 Monday

26-09-2011 Monday
We wanted to check-in as per our booking at Hotel Southern but were shocked to learn that there were no rooms for us at all due to some problems with their soft ware. We were told to wait till 8 AM and possibly someone will solve the problem. This was the same for few others from our group as well. They left for some other place after an argument with the desk staff. We then called Hari / Kala and went to their house by 5AM. They were kind enough to accommodate us under the prevailing conditions especially at the very early hours of the day.
We took rest and later completed all our morning routines and had breakfast. Hari took leave of absence from his work to be with us as we were only flying out the next day.
We visited the nearby Sarojini Market later and purchased a pair of T shirts for me and a sweater for Ayush (As wanted by him), besides two dolls like chicken which can be activated by the attached keys.
Self and Saro visited the temple known as MALAI MANDIR where Lord Muruga is blessing devotees.
We took rest in the evening and visited my brother Kalyanam and bade farewell to him and children.
We packed all our belongings after adding the shopped items and went to bed after dinner.
27-09-2011 Tuesday
We woke up by 5 AM and completed all our routines and had breakfast. Hari and Kala gave us chapattis for us to have during the air-travel. We travelled with Swetha who was dropped in her school, (As we could not get a cab or auto rickshaw to air-port) and Hari dropped us at the air-port and bade farewell.
Check-in was smooth, but for they discovered my pocket knife in the air-bag. Iwas advised to put it back in my checked in baggage. I could do so with the help of the air-line staff who realized that my knife set was very expensive. Later I checked in again thanking the concerned security officer. The flight took off at 10.15 hrs.
We flew after a stopover at Mumbai and reached Coimbatore at 14.45 hrs. Our regular cab driver took us to our hose and we were in the house at 15.45 hrs.
We called all concerned and informed them of our safe return after the trip.


Personal Notes / Observations
I and Saro enjoyed the trip thoroughly and are very happy for undertaking this pilgrimage despite our age and related slowness in general.
We checked with our family doctor before undertaking the trip as it is tedious and tiring to visit places on high altitudes. We were given adequate medical support and were declared fit for this venture.
Our team members were equally aged and had been to many places in their life span of 60+ years. Some had been to Kedarnath and Badrinath in the 1970s.
I would like to suggest the intended traveler to carry Oxygen canister from always. It is better to have it procured from proper dealers. These should last a good six months and not heavy but portable.
Luggage should be light and containing only very essential items, as it is very difficult to carry them while walking or riding on a mule.
The roads in the hilly areas are riskier and pose danger to all sorts of movements. Though the concerned authorities are doing their best, it is never complete as some of the places are closed during winter.
It is better to travel in a company of identical natured people no matter what the age of the group is. We saw about 50 boys travelling over the motor cycle to Kedarnath from Ambala. They were fully dressed for the trekking and were in uniform – yellow and red color dress.
Group travel is more beneficial to all involved especially when it comes to managing expenses of the trip without pinching the pocket more than necessary. It is far safer in all respects to travel in groups.
There are hundreds of waterfalls / streams – contributories, tributaries which add up to the holy rivers Ganga and Yamuna. We noticed more than a hundred landslides during our travel. At few places we briefly stopped while our driver and conductor removed large stones blocking the roads.
Despite the human trafficking in these areas, the nature is still bearing with the pollution caused by the people and their activities. We noticed that literally every area all along the rivers, where shops are located is full of plastic waste and left over food contaminating the beautiful area.
Most holy places are money spinners for the so called guides, helpers, priests, holy men and so on. There is NO accountability on these peoples’ earnings which is nothing but by force. Our faith in God forces us to shed money to ward of the so called evil around us especially when threatened by a vested interested holy man.
We felt attracted by nature as we believed GOD is nature and NATURE is GOD. Our spending money was minimum towards ceremonies and we prayed to pardon these men who fleece us / others in the name of religion and related activities.
We also procured some pots of Ganges water (to be given to those who may not get an opportunity to visit these places) coins, figures of Gods / Goddess and a DVD on these places.
We felt a trip like this is most needed for people like us for a change / diversion from routines of different form. As always done, all activities are based on some kind of faith, belief and individual custom especially carried out in the name GOD one believes / has faith in.
For some reason unknown to us, we never felt that we were travelling on our own, nor we have children, relatives or friends. Dreamless sleep and motionless feelings were part of our travel for seven days.
Once back in Coimbatore only; we realized that were like steel rod and falling into sleep and felt the tiredness at one go.
The purpose of making the above narrations is for the sake of my children or for the posterity or the intended traveler who may need some sort of real time facts on such trips.
I feel grateful to all involved in making our trip memorable and for making it a pleasant travel despite the strict schedules followed.
I’m NOT adding any material which are available in the website especially the names of many townships and rivers we came across. Modern technology is so efficient, one can obtain even the minutest of facts when it comes to places and travel.
The photos from top to bottom are:Aarthi in Haridwar,Ourselves at Badrinath,on the banks of river Ganges, and taking Mules to reach Kedarnath.

The above narration is completed as per my diary maintained during the travel and completed as of 14-10-2011.

V.Sivasubramaniam
Coimbatore
E-mail: vsiva2001in@rediffmail.com / vsiva2001in@gmail.com