krish_41
male - 26 years, Bangalore City, India
Blog 3
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a SmAll cYcle in Chennai (8th June 2009 to Aug 2009)
I know I write my blogs lyk an essay without any para breaks etc...which is not too interesting..well as I always mention I write in layman's language which a person of my wave length would understand easily n like it too....
After the hardships & the budget life in the mansion in the streets of Triplicane (Tiruvallikeni) in Chennai I moved in with ma sibling (Big
to a spacious apartment in a residential area right next to Aiyappa temple..Helped him set up his new house as all I had to do was the purchasing as it was all sponsored by him.Helped him buy 2nd hand a/c's for all the rooms (excluding the bathrooms), picked up a washing machine, colorful curtains, a king sized double bed etc etc...and started living a royal life thereon...Just sponsored a month's provision for me to stay there n freak out as a fee
..Also had an American who was ma sibling's business partner staying with us and not to forget a young bud called Raaghul whose Honda Civic we used to freak out in as ma bro dsnt know how to drive motor cars...I walk up a kilometre everyday in the morning to the busstop (Periyar Road) to board a crowded 25G. Love the footboard travel decked up in a formal attire with a real moustache..The bus is as usual way over crowded with office goin staffs decked up , ladies chirping and arguing or fighting with the conductor , observing all of em quietly used to be my only source of entertainment during my 20 mins bus journey up to Royapettah hospital..At times also got lucky to witness the songs of the NEW college guys who used to be hanging in the front footboard singing and having a gala time..Half the time I never could have breakfast due to my luxurious 8 hours of sleep and then the suryanamaskaaram n yoga for 5 mins..(Don;t get shocked I havent become so active n good so early too)...I again used to walk up 1/2 a k.m after a 20 mins joyous ride with people shouting their lungs out for the ticket , then to tender exact change n women shouting for men falling on them etc...and there starts a real day at work wherein I have a good set of people around to work with of various kinds n ages...Client meets, client briefs..my creative inputs for the Ads, briefing the same to the creative art team n visualizers etc...The perk here was I got an autorickshaw with a chauffer to go for the client meets..Had real fun loafing the city around in a 3 wheeler with literally hot air blowin in my face..I always used to buy chilled water packets on my way back to office and always ensured offered a packet to the auto driver who had the control of my life during the auto ride...There comes the EOD at 7pm and again I start my bus journey back to heaven (Mahalingapuram) which is less ineteresting as the college crowd already would have reached home n headed to their respective tea shops, bike garages, snooker parlours & the rest of the hang outs Thats when I had to use my earphones n transformed myself from my regular Eddie Vedder, Bruce Springsteen, Syd Barrett, Floyd songs to the Chennai FM just for a change..thou i hardly liked the songs but the wannabe rj's used to be fun to listen to n take a walk back hme n have a regular glass of tang to chill maself from the sweat
yuck yeah i know...) but once I am back in the a/c bedroom in tht nice 10 inch spring bed..i feel lyk heaven until my big b shouts n makes me make chapatis for the sabji which he already would have cooked (So nice he is at times)...Day cums to an end for me @ 12 or may be later cuz I land up squeezing some tym to catch a good movie in ma bro's laptop again as I dnt wna own one so soon...In between all of this I always miss my AttemTeD sUiCide ((my royal enfield) the most..Used to gape at each and every bullet passingby during my footboard travel in the buses. Didi do a lil bidda nite outs with ma bro's buddies , drove down to THE PARK & RESIDENCY , a coupla good places n also met the Tamil Actresses Trisha & Ramya Krishnan in there fortunately or Unfortunately..Life is movin on good with hardly any complaints so far....
Shall continue my story soon as its tym to grab a byte now or else my rotis go cold n numb.... -
Heritage - Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Trichy
This blog is not for the freaky dudes looking forward for a crazy blog with fundoo stuff..I am writing this blog for the people who are realtime heritage monument lovers..This blog talks about the architecture , history, importance of temples in Kumbakonam , Thanjavur and Tiruchirapalli. There is so much more info that one needs to know about these cities and its surroundingz..I had personally visited all the places mentioned in this blog 9th June 2009 to 15th June 2009.
There are lots of Tamil slangs which would be a little difficult for a Non - Tamilian to understand but have tried my best to use that as less as possible.
KUMBAKONAM
Adikumbeswarar (Kumbakonam)_Lord Shiva
• If u pray Adikumbeswarar it’s a belief that one would become rich like Kuberan.
• Lord Shiva had used an arrow and striked it against a pot and the holy water from it fell on this temple.
• The name of the goddess here is Mandarpeedeshwari Mangalambikai. This devi has the power of 72,000 crores mantra as she was placed in this temple with all these chants.
• The devotees apply 8 types of medicines on the temple during Kumbabhishekham.
• Out of the 18 Siddhars, Agathiar has got his Jeeva Samadhi here in this temple.
• The idol here is also called as Swayambamurthy .
• The pot breaks into three parts namely : -
KUDAVAYU
SAAKOTAI
ADIKUMBESWARAR
• The kumbam has no shape as itz made of sand. Hence no abhishekam in the sand idol.
• There is an idol around the sand structure.
• If a person commits a sin in Kasi then in order to wash it away he/she needs to come down to this temple and take a dip in the temple pond.
Swamimalai
• It was built in 8th or 9th Century even before Raja Raja Chola came to rule.
• Harendrum Munivar
• The windows inside this temple premises are made out of various different materials.
• Swetavinayagar
Gangaikonda Cholapuram
Chandrakantha - The construction here is such that when it is hot outside, its cooler inside the praharam.
• Gopuram here is 180 feet tall.
• The nandi here is 200 feet tall.
• The navagraham here is made out of single stone and it is in the shape of LOTUS.
• There is also an idol of Goddess Durgai in this temple with 20 hands which was constructed during the time of King Chola.
• 100 sacks of rice is used for the abhishekam of Shiv Lingam here from 9am to 5pm and the prasadam is distributed to the nearby villagers. This happens in the month of Ippasi (Tamil calendar).
• Rajendra Chola brought water from river Ganges , built a temple and named it Gangaikondacholapuram.
• Raja Raja Chola’s grandson – Raja Raja Chola – II went until Kalyan in Maharashtra and conquered land.
Darasuram 11th June 2009
Rajagambhiramin Thirumandapam
Mugamandapam has 101 pillars carved out of stones. The carving in the pillars talk about Lord Shiva n Goddess Parvathy’s wedding.
• It has distinctive ceiling miniature art work.
• There are 63 devotees of Lord Shiva as well carved here.
• The paint used to paint all the ceiling art work is purely vegetable die.
• The temple also has statues of elephants facing towards north and the horses facing towards South.
• It also has a huge nature’s wheel carved very artistically.
• The temple has a statue of Yali in the front entrance.
The YALI here in theis temple has the body of a lion, face of an elephant, horns of a goat and the ears of a pig.
The original statue of Ardhanarishwarar is in Darasuram temple. (Brahma, Shiva – Parvathy, Surya – Usha Devi, Vishnu – Laxmi etc)
• All the statues and carvings and art work are of 12th Century.
• There are 2 Dwarabalakans on both the sides outside the main idol(Moolavar).
• Mahamandapam – Is totally decorated with artistic beauty on stones.
• Boothaganangals are also carved on the stones in the outside wall of the moolavar for Lord Shiva’s safety and security.
• Goddess Annapoorni is the most famous goddess in this temple and has the finest statue with a very smiling face.
• There is also a statue of Adhigaranandhi which is standing in a Pranam position.
• Kannappanayanar – Gave his eyes to Lord Shiva. He also carries a sword in his hand. He also has beard and is one out of the 63 nayanars.
• This temple has a 3 eyed Saraswati goddess. The 3 eyes depict – Education , Architecture & Music.
• Jin Muthrai = Vanity , Ego & _________
• Lord Shiva , Buddha & Goddess have Jin Muthrai in their right hand.
• The art gallery in Thanjavur has 49 statues of Darasuram temple.
• Darasuram was previously known as Rarapuram and also as Darahaaram.
• Lord Kalabhairavan – The only statue with Lord Shiva with moustache is also found here.
• Raja Raja Chola – II after succeeding in conquering places like in Kalyan in Maharashtra built a new town called Rajarajeshwaram later called Darasuram.
• The temple has Kumbabhishekam once in 12 years.
THANJAVUR
Big Temple - Brihadeeswarar temple (“Brihad in Sanskrit means Big”)
Kerananthakan Nuzhaivaiyil
• This temple was built by Raja Raja Chola – I , a 1000 years back.
• The gopuram of this temple is comparatively small.
• There are no rocks used here. Its only sandstones wich are used for constructions. The rock constructions seen here are rocks that have been brought in from different cities.
• There is a 20 feet long pillar in the entrance which is made out of a single stone(Monolythic stone).
• The Nandi (The Bull) in this temple is the second larget one in India , that too made out of a monolithic stone.
• The first largest Nandi is in Lepachi temple in Hindupur, Andhra Pradesh.
• There are 80 single stone pillars in the mandapam.
• King Raja Raja Chola built in this temple in 985.A.D.
• He got the power in 985.A.D. and then ruled this dynasty until 1022.A.D.
• Raja Raja meand King of Kings.
• It was he who started the 1st navy in India.
• Raja Raja Chola also attacked Srilanka and won over them.
• His son Rajendra Chola attacked and conquered many other countries like Indonesia , Cambodia , Sumadra, Burma etc. and he also succedded river Ganges.
Durbar Hall
• Built by Maratha Kings in 18th Century.
• There are two Durbar halls namely * Nayak’s Durbar Hall & *Marathas Durbar Hall
• The monument is completely painted only by Vegetable Dye Oaintings. In the centre it has a glass doom on top with beautiful mirror work.
• Apt color combination has been used for every piece of art work.
• Have used Burma teak for pillars.
• They also have a secret subway near the court room and also a secret window for the queen to have a look at the proceedings happening in the court room.
Saraswathi Mahal Library (1535 – 1675)
It was built during the reigns of Nayaks of Thanjavur.
Raja Serfoji Maharaja was the last ruler of Thanjavur. He specialized in five different languages such as French, German, Latin, Deutsche , Italian & English.
Raja Serfoji Maharaja was also a eye doctor. The library has got his collection of books on the medical ground as well.
Sarja Madi - Just a tall building and has nothing else at all worth watching or visiting. It’s a stuccs structure built in 16th century by Vijayanagar kings.
Nayak’s Durbar Hall – Has lots of Bronze images inside. It was built in 1600. In 19th century they have restored the painting on the roofs.
• Rishabhavagandarvar (Was built from 1011 – 1012)
• 1995 – Indian government conducted Chola Bronze exhibition in Washington displaying these bronze images.
• 36 statues made out of bronze kept in this gallery are from Thiruvengadu
TIRUCHIRAPALLI
• Ranganatha Swamy Temple
• 280 acres
• 21 Gopurams
• 7 Praharams
• 1 White Gopuram
• The main idol in the temple has golden gopuram.
• Rajagopuram has 13 floors in it.
• Lord Perumal is lying down and is facing Lanka.
• Temple has entrance from North, South & East.
• Sudalai – Name of Lord Siva which actually means king of graves.
• As per the guide the temple space in total is 156 acres only.
• Rajagopuram was supposed to be 15 floors but stopped due to certain issues.
• Venugopal Sannidhi – There is a statue of Lady in a classical dance pose in the outside wall of Lord Venugopal Sannidhanam. She is actually looking at a mirror and doing a make up.
• There are also carvings of Lord Krishna playing the flute along with gopikas around him.
• 17th Century – Nayaks ruled the city.
• Kumbabanjara – Style of construction in one of the pillars.
• Sesharaya Mandapam –
Gnise is the stone used to construct this mandapam. This was built in the end of 16th century.
• This mandapam has 101 pillars. Each pillar is monolithic. This was built in the memory of Vijay Nagra empire’s victory over Bhamini Sultanate (Deccan Sultans).
• Vellore was a temporary capital for Vijaynagar Kingdom.
• Hampi, Hospet, Madurai , Vellore & other 3 temples have similar mandapams with horses carved in the pillars.
• Vascoda gama was a very good friend of Vijayanagara Kings.
• Portuguese used to provide horses only to Vijayanagara Kings & not to any other Muslim kings.
• That’s the reason they have the statue of Vascodagama in here in his memory.
• Europe & India was connected by proper sea route then. Arabs never supplied horses to Indian kings. It was Vascodagama who helped Vijayanagar the most.
• In exchange Vijayanagar Kings traded spices(e.g.pepper) to Europe and Portugal.
• It was Portuguese who introduced Chilly to India from Mexico.
• Vijaynagar Kings used to sell 1kg spice for 1 kg gold and that’s how they got rich in no time.
• Adapakkaran a small time ruler in Vijayanagar kingdom had 20,000 soldiers & horses for his army.
• Tourists who visit this temple from outside India are mostly from France & Belgium only.
• 1000 kaal mandapam is open for 20 days in between 15th December to 15th Jan in a year.
• The festival in this temple happens during Vaikuntha Ekadasi.
• There are totally 7 boundary walls one needs to pass through to get into the sanctum.
• Vijayanagar kings were initially Vaishnavites & after 3 generations they were converted to Shaivites.
• The reason one of the gopurams have a white colour is in condolence for the death of 3 of the men who jumped from the top of the gopuram and suicided.
• Symbol of Vijaynagar Kings – Varaha , a reverse sword & a sun.
• There are 8 lines which talks about the deity of this temple in Silappadigaram.
• There is no archaeological evidence as such for this temple.
• After 7th century they started using stones to construct.
• The oldest archaeological evidence is Inscription by Pallavas in 8th & 9th century.
• 1017 – 1130 A.D (113 years) - King Ramanujam
• Ramanujam was born in a Shaiva family in Sriperumbudur. His mother’s name is Gandhimati and father’s name is Somaiyajulu which again is a saivite name. Later Ramanujam converted himself into Vaishnavite and his mother tongue is Telugu.
Cheerz,
If you are a heritage monument lover , then am sure this would have been informative to you as there is no much crap or jazzy language in it..All this talks about is the most imp points that one should know before visiting these places.... -
N.E.J. (Nevva Ending Journey)
Im no go great shakes with writing...But lme try to put ma experiences into a blog...
Right after finishing my PG from ISB&M Pune I went home to Bangalore , stayed there for a week and then out of nowhere headed with a kit bag to Chennai in a non a/c bus
..Reached the hottest city around and chalked out a way to reach Delhi as my current destination then was Rohtang Pass...Got a train ticket done in a 2nd class sleeper in a train n totally freaked out in the journey of 2 days n reached Delhi , the capital of India....Met a old school buddy after ten years and then headed for Kulumanali the same after noon with a couple of buddies from ISB&M Pune in a Tavera.. wow....the journey was real fun with loadsa turns n churns in the beautiful ghats of Himachal Pradesh....Chilled out in Kulumanali , rafted a bit and moved on to Rohtang pass, skiied a bit and played with real snow as the place had a snow fall....came back to Delhi and was struggling to get a train ticket back to any part of South India...Stayed there for more than a week and met all old buddiez , visited Chandnichowk n walked all around that place with 3 frendz who wer grlz totally decked up as if they were heading for a party or so and got weirdest of luks in CC..went to turqoise cottage in Connaught place and also pebbles in NFC and almost covered all the best malls n conquered the night life of the capital of India...After all this went for a trip to Haridwar & Hrishikesh with ma uncle (Mr.K.Vaidiyanathan - Editor in Chief of Indian Express (Thinamani) ) and washed away the sins of all my loved ones and family n friendz With my uncle's help got an emergency quota ticket to Chennai and got back in a 2nd class non a/c again..Stayed in Chennai for a day , travelled down to Coimbatore to meet ma elder brodha and stayed with him for a day and headed to Ooty with Uncle and his family..In between which got a bad news that my pet (A grown up 9 year old german shepherd) DUKE IYER passed away. Tried to be silent and mourned for the whole day during the stay in ma bro's house and left for Ooty in a share cab (Toyota Qualis with 11 people in it - stuffed lyk iron wastes in a truck)...Due to traffic jam on the way to ooty in the ghats it took me 4 hours to reach Ooty.
Reached Ooty met my uncle and his family there and stayed in Holiday Innn for the 1st day & went all around Ooty , Mudumalai wildlyf Sanctuary , Masinagudi and then went to the silent valley, which is the best valley I have ever been or seen..Itz an unexplored valley in a place called MANJOOR , 50km from Ooty and also to another valley called Upper Bhavani which is a little further ahead....Stayed there , breathed the best oxygen ever..meditated there in peace and returned back to Ooty...
During my stay I received a call from a director of an ad agency asking me to join his agency in Chennai and I accepted to join in there as an intern for 2 months as I believe time and tide waits for none and did not want to waste 2 month sitting at home and while away my time..Mr.ChandraMouli provided me with a flight ticket to reach Chennai from Bangalore..Hence joined Moulis Advertising in Chennai after meeting my grandma who was waiting to see me in Bangalore and now playing a role of a think tank who is a part of client servicing and creatives team. I am also looking forward to join hotel Leelas in Mumbai on Aug.17th 2009 as have got a placement in there from college.
Joined Moulis advertising on June 8th 2009 and left for a photo shoot on 9th evening with the Moulis team..Again ma journey started and went over to Kumbakonam, Darsauram, Gangaikondacholapuram, Kallanai Dam, Thanjavur and all the main temples in there and then moved on to Trichy and visited the heritage monuments there and got back to office after a tour of 8 days..Did eat lotsa Tamilnadu delicacies lfrom Jigardanda to podi dosai to panneer soda during the trip. And kick started with the work in Moulis Advertising and handling clients like BSNL Tamilnadu etc now efficiently...
.Dont know how many of you would even be interested in reading about my personal journey without a creative tinge to it but just in a layman's language as they are the max in the coutry.This nevva ending (ongoin) journey would be continued very soon...
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