Kshetradam - III

Continuing from the previous post. Phew...I guess seeing the temples was faster - writing a blog takes so much time!!!

Where was I??? Kumbakonam. Ok, at Kumbakonam we went to a relatives' place. Who said it is not good to have relatives. I thoroughly enjoyed the Idlis and Thakkali(Tomato) Chutney at their house. It was so much more better than going to a hotel. What more, my Manni (Uncle's wife) had also packed some Chappatis for us for our journey. I also met their neighbours who were very much eager to meet us. What a contrast - I don't know my neighbours here in the city! We only stayed for half an hour at their place. Why, pray tell me, do we have the recent trends like - relatives are bad (we just follow a mass feeling like that). Friends alone are best. I'm not downplaying friendship - but why this unnecessary animosity without any thought. Why, in Indian society (and its numerous soap operas), DILs, MILs & SILs should only plot against each other??? Why, again, in the city, do people NOT want anybody visiting them. Feeding an athithi is a nithyakarma - something to be performed everyday, says not me - Paramacharyar of Kanchi. Better still if the person is unknown to you. 'Athithi Devo bhava' (Guest is God!).

Hmmm....
Anyways - we left Kumbakonam and took a bus to Tanjore. This time the roads were good. Just that the bus was playing some sizzling Tamil Numbers such as Shivarathiri (of Michael Madana Kama Rajan fame) at 4:00 in the evening!!! I was amused to watch the completely Manjal bathed woman (a lady who had smeared turmeric and hence her face hands etc were yellow - indicates someone very religious) tap her feet to the song!!! :-) This was thankfully followed by some other melodies of Ilayaraja which were not as sizzling! I happened to be very privileged for I got a seat just next to the driver. The only thing in front of me was the front glass. Occasionally, I was given an option to break through it and land at the bus in front of me. But, I couldn't muster enough strength although the bus ahead was pretty close! I really must admit that the driver was very very helpful in telling us many stories and keeping us entertained. Was amazed at their endurance. They have 24 hr shift and 24 hr rest. In a day they do minimum of 5 trips between Kumbakonam & Tanjore.

From Tanjore bus stop, we immediately boarded a bus to Trichy. This time the bus played numbers which are technically called 'Dappankuththu'. In dappankuththu, it is the rhythm that matters. Mostly it is an 8-beat cycle - mostly choukam (where each beat is counted 4 times). I was amazed at some tishra nadai (where each beat is counted thrice) - like
123-123-123-123
jhinku-chakka-jijikku-chakka
takita-takita-takita-takita
tadhina-takadhina-tadhina-takadhina

The lyrics were of no consequence - something like
machan unna pakka yile
manasu kulla verka yile...

Contrast that with choukam
1234-1234-1234-1234
jinchaka-jijichaka-jinchaka-jijichaka
tarikita-takadhimi-tarikita-takadhimi

ottagaththa-kattikko-gettiyaaga-ottikko...

Well, it is the lyrics that I dislike most....it is so vulgar, and unfortunately I end up concentrating on lyrics. So, instead, this time, I ended up usefully learning about rhythm and the various ways in which 8-beats were being interpreted. I was amazed at some of the eduppus in dappankuthtu - very very interesting. Eduppus are the places in an 8 beat cycle, where the playing would start on a beat other than the 1st beat of the 8 beat cycle. It might be 2, 3 etc. Something like

;taka,takita
;taka,tarikitataka

This is of course very simple....anybody would know, but, some of the eduppus and the way they finished at the 8th beat were fantastic. Finally, with all the bang we reached Trichy at about 7:00 PM.

Phew....I'm tired already....more later.

Kshetradam -II

We left Chidambaram at around 7:00 and boarded a bus to Vaideeshwaran koil

Vaideeshwaran Koil
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Another Shiva temple. This temple is very famous for its healing powers. The Lord is Vaidyanatha Swami (The Master of Medicine) and his consort is Thaiyal Nayaki (Thaiyal means stitch in Tamil - I guess it means Goddess who heals). Looked like both of them have taken up the responsibility of curing people of all ills. There is a very famous kulam (tank) where in people take a bit of jaggery and let it dissolve. So, the tank should actually have sweet water! :-) I never sipped it though. The temple prakaram is not as big as Chidambaram and the works are not that exquisite, but it is a big temple nevertheless. There is a beautiful dark elephant welcoming you. It being the Aadi Maasam (month of worship of Goddess Parvati), I saw many madisaaru maami's keeping maavilakku maavu (a lamp made out of rice flour, jaggery and ghee)....I would've loved to eat that. But, it was meant to be a lamp and for the deity! :-( After a lot of being pushed (something like mumbai trains), we got our archana done. We ate a sumptuous puliyodharai (tamarind rice) and thayir saadham (curd rice) at 9:00 AM in the morning in the temple itself.

We took a rickshaw to few kukgraamams (remote villages) called Koothanur and Eravanjeri. The roads are narrow and there are a dozen lorries and buses on them. They roads are bad as well, and the rickshaw fellow blamed a few political parties for the same - typical in Tamilnadu

Koothanur Saraswathi Temple
---------------------------
It seems there is just one temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswathi in India and that is at Koothanur. The Goddess is seated on a white Lotus. The temple is really small, however there was quite a bit of a crowd. I was thoroughly sleepy by this time. Surprising that there is just one temple for Brahma and Saraswathi. The other two of the trinity, Shiva and Vishnu, enjoy a large following, however, the creator Brahma somehow does not have many worshippers!!!

Eravanjeri Angaala Parameshwari Temple
----------------------------------------
Nearly drained, we reached Angaala Parameshwari Temple - a very very tiny temple, but the deity has a faithful large following. The gurukkal was waiting for us and proceeded to do the Abhishekham. Since there weren't any helpers around it took a whole of 2 hrs at that temple. However, we enjoyed a nice darshan - unlike the pushing at Vaideeshwaran Temple. Hungry as I was, I thoroughly enjoyed the sakkara pongal (sweet pongal) prasadam that was given in the end.

The place is really a kukgraamam - lacks basic amenities! There is electricity, however. I was amazed to see the vast difference between the city culture and that of the villages.

From Eravanjeri, we came to a bigger town Kumbakonam. Thankfully, the roads improved. On the way were Paddy fields all depending on the water from the river Cauveri. It seems the dams had been opened a few days ago and hence we saw the canals (arasalaaru) full of water. The locals were delighted at this. That was a short-term harvest season too - I think it is called kuruvai nel. However, my mother told me that Chennai gets most of its rice needs met by Nellore and other towns from Andhra since it is close to Andhra border.

From Kumbakonam, we had to travel another 60 odd kilometers to reach Trichy....in my next blog.

Kshetradam - I

This weekend I went touring many temples down south in Tamil Nadu. I must say that one day and many temples is really a bad strategy, if you are like me - wishing to explore each temple for its architectural beauty, for the legends that it stands for, just hanging around and experiencing each and every moment in that place. Nevertheless, I had my dose of hanging around and shouting at people hanging around (now that's like a true hypocrite). And, although I woke up at around 3:20 on two continuous nights, I am really not tired! What a surprise.

Journey started on 12th - I left from Bangalore to Chennai by Brindavan Exp - what a boring journey. Usually there would be lots of kids with whom you can pass your time, but this journey was exceptionally boring - I ended up smsing pappan shers!!!

13th night - We left by Mayiladuthurai fast passenger that night. I thought the train looked dwarfed. It really was - we were, I think going by meter guage. We had plans of getting down at a station called Vaideeshwaran Koil. Suddenly, it all got changed and we were to get off at Chidambaram itself. That was 3:20 AM in the morning!!! :-)

Chidambaram
------------

Thiruchchitrambalam!!! Thiruchchitrambalam!!! I am reminded of a Tamil movie in which Sivaji Ganesan and a young boy kept greeting each other that way. Chidambaram (Thillai sthalam) is extremely famous for the Nataraja temple.

Since we had landed at 3:20 AM, we decided to go to the temple at 5:00 AM. Much to our dismay we found that the temple doors were open only at 6:00 AM. So, for about an hour, many like us waited outside. One of the young girls who was waiting decided to draw kolams (artistic designs on the ground) in front of the temple gate. At this, my mother and aunt went and advised her on how the kolam in front of a temple needs to be BIG. They proceeded to display their artistic talents and God - it was indeed massive, very impressive. Seeing two women put kolam, the rest of the womenfolk hurried to show their talents (or was it more like, it is a privilege to draw kolam in front of the temple). Nevertheless, I clearly could see how men and women reacted totally differently to something as simple as waiting!!!

The temple doors finally stood open and after the mad rush, we walked in. I need to fish the dictionary to find the superlatives to describe this temple built during the Chola period. The pillared corridors (I guess there are more than 1000 pillars). The kanakasabhai (Golden hall) or the chitsabhai (chit-consciousness sabhai-hall), the natanasabhai, were beyond human imagination. It is indeed an architectural marvel. There are Bharatanatyam mudras and poses carved on the temple gopurams (towers). The main deity is Shiva in a dance pose installed in a sanctum sanctorum facing southwards whose roof is full of Gold. This cosmic dance of Shiva is Ananda Natanam (Dance of Bliss). There is yet another Urdhva Tandava - that when Shiva and Parvati competed with each other. This idol is in Natana Sabhai. The interesting part of temples in South is that in each temple, Lord Shiva and his consort would have different names. In Chidambaram, the Ambal (Lord's consort) is called Shivakaami (or Shivakaamasundari). We witnessed a ritual where the utsavar is taken from Palli arai to the main chit or kanaka sabhai. I heard many people say that one is blessed to see this - I don't know why!!! Chidambaranar (the deity, Lord Shiva) has been the ishta devata of many of the 63 nayanmars, most particularly Nandanar. I remembered all the Dandapani Desikar songs that I had heard in my childhood. I sang couple of these in front of chitsabhai, right in front of thillai natarajar. Since the pillars were obstructing my view of the deity, one of the mamas there asked me to go further behind, get a full view of the Lord and sing. I sang 'Ananda Natana Prakasham' in Kedaram while my mother knew 'Chidambaram' in Kalyani. She also sang 'Ananda Natam aaduvar thillai' in Purvi Kalyani. Not just us, many other old mamis were singing in Tamil, I guess Thiruvasagam. I have been to other temples of Shiva where there is a hoary silence. But, Chidambaram was full of activity! The other unique thing about chidambaram is the kudumi (knotted hair) that all the dwijas serving in the temple were wearing. Usually the kudumi is at the back of the head, but this one was at the front like the namboodiris. The only thing that made me sad was that the Shastrigals or gurukkals were asking all outstation people to sign up for a Prasadam for a year for a fee of Rs. 1000. A glorious temple like Chidambaram in dire need of funds???!!! Or, is it some govt driven profit making promotion program! Why oh why??? The Lord alone knows.

The temple also has Lord Govindaraja Perumal. Reminded me of a saying my mother would say - 'Hariyum Shivanum onnu, ariyadavan vaayil mannu' (Hari and Shiva are One, and the one who doesn't realize this speaks not the truth). I forget the name of Thayar. I sang Muthuswamy Dikshitar's Govindarajena in Mecha Bowli raga at the Perumal's sannidhi. The satisfaction of singing a Kshetra composition at the kshetra is really beyond words.

After all my songs, we left chidambaram for the next temple. More in my next blog.

Cold - and interesting findings

Blore has become extremely chilly and as a result, I'm back again with cold which is worse than the last time. Nasal blocks that prevented passage of life breath and I was left wondering whether I should start breathing more through the skin like a frog! :-) Exasperated, I caught hold of the accupressure book and as mentioned there, gave mild pressure to points in kidney, stomach, lungs, heart, sinuses, internal nose, an overall foot massage - and I could sleep within the next 15-20 minutes (with a generous dose of sensur oil all over my face, a nice warm sweater, 3 bedsheets and a woolen scarf). The infection is still there, but, I'll continue my accupressure therapy today. I should be able to get over this without even the standard amruthanjan, chinese medicine or samahan.

Interestingly, I noticed that unless the breath is even, steady & slow, the sleep is very very disturbing. By removing some nasal blocks, accupressure made the breath even. So, even if there is still a lot of mucus left in lungs, sinuses, if the breath is even, steady & slow, we can get into deep sleep faster! I also read somewhere that it is not really the number of hours that you sleep that matters, it is how much of deep sleep you get that matters. Actually 15 minutes of deep sleep can rejuvenate us completely. We spend a lot of time travelling from current conscious state to the state of deep sleep and back. And, if we don't get that 15 minutes and end up spending all the time travelling (dreaming), we are irritated when we get up! What I read was just confirmed by what I experienced! :-)

karka kasadara....

read qt 55 in http://jikku.blogspot.com

padiththadu ulagalavu, katradhu kai man alavu, adhai payan paduththiyadhu oru chittigai alavu...

Sigh....and the translation is -

We read lots
Retained as much as in a palm
Used as little as a pinch of salt!!!