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Ram's Perspective
Just another blog portraying a 23 year old software engineer's view on anything, everything and nothing

Kumbakonam times....

Sunday, January 22, 2006
I was on a short tour to Kumbakonam last week from Thursday to Saturday. I shud rather mention it as a pilgrimage because i didnt visit any place except for temples, Wah what a place. Definitely nobody shud miss the place and its surroundings for its cultural richness, beauty and heritage. It is in India and obviously the roads are bad. It takes atleast 2 hours to travel 60kms there. I visited the surrounding temples like Thiruvidaimarudhur, Swamimalai, thiruvaiyar, tanjavur, govindapuram etc. The primary reason that i visited these temples is for their architectural features and next is bhakti. That entire area surrouding Kumbakonam has a divine touch. Each and every temple in that area has a unique heritage or legend. The places made me realise the richness of Hindu religion and how it flourished in the past. The Brihadeeswara temple deserves a special mention. A monument of such magnitude cannot be built nowadays(without computer schematics and simulation plans). The Lingam in the Moolasthaanam of the temple is so big that its base dia is the size of around 12 feet. I observed that many foreigners stood there stunned on seeing the temple and its beauty. While travelling i observed some things and enjoyed some, i will try to recollect and put it here. I passed thru' many villages which stand as the first name of Carnatic biggies like Kunnakudi Vadiyanathan, Umaiyalpuram sivaraman, Semmangudi, Chembai etc. I dont know why they are so great but they have come from ordinary remote villages which dont even have a population of 500. The area is lush green which has made it far more cooler than Chennai. The misty air in the morning with a tea in roadside tea shop is worth a mention. The Nandhi in Tanjavur Periya koil was superb. But some issues there disturbed me, i was able to see a kwaater bottle inside the temple compound. A foreigner started smoking inside the temple prakaaram, they removed their chappals wore Indian traditional dresses etc, but this particular guy didnt show any respect for our culture and the temple. But his guide approached him immediately and asked him to stop it, else we wud have blasted him. There was some Bharat Naaatiyam arranged inside the temple for these foreigners, even though i dont know anything about BharathaNaatiyam the girls who danced were cute and i photographed them with their permission :) . The inner portion of the entire compund wall of Periya Koil was painted with Tanjore art. But our citizens ( i shud call them ass!@#$s) engraved theyre own love stories there, they have scratched the surface of the painting by writing Roja loves Mani etc. Why do these ppl do such insane things instead of preserving these priceless possesions of our country. Thanks to the archaeological dept. they have fenced it now. The area is well watered with Kaveri and has ponds everywhere. In my opinion these areas shud remain as it is and need not develop into some hitech cities like Chennai.I was accompanied with 3 uninvited guests,(cold, fever and throat pain) but that didnt prevent me from enjoying the trip, thanks to Crocin and Amrutanjan :) . I wish i were born in some village near Kumbakonam,join some veda paatashala and settle there in my next birth(if i have one).I have taken photos of temples i have visited. Will upload them later and will write more about this trip...
9:53 PM :: ::
16 Comments:

  • Hi Ram,
    Had a feel as if I visited Kumbakonam. Very descriptive writing. Though its near my native, I have never seen these places. But Photos would have added more beauty to this post.

    Have a nice day,
    Ponnarasi Kothandaraman.

    By Blogger Ponnarasi Kothandaraman, at 8:39 AM  

  • @ponnarasi
    I have to develop them so i cudnt post it here immediately. I regretted very much for not having a digicam, i searched around 15 shops in Kumbakonam for a ASA 400 film roll and atlast didnt find it. So got a 100. I hope the photos have come out clear.

    By Blogger Ram, at 8:53 AM  

  • hi ram,its been a week since u posted.was wondering whether u were caught up in ur work.so temple touring huh.very good dude.my parents have been asking me to allocated some days for such a tour but so far i had been putting them off.but after reading ur post even i want to visit these temples.will be doing so soon.

    btw please post the pics as soon as possible.

    why dont u get urself a digicam.unga mari software professionals vangale na apron vera yara vangvanga

    By Blogger paurna, at 9:04 AM  

  • I agree, those temples are examples of splendid architecture. I agree to go to those places with my mom only due to the architectural reasons.

    By Blogger Drops of Ocean, at 1:13 AM  

  • @paurna
    Dont hesitate to go to temples da. And abt the digicam, enna panradhu veetla sonna odhaikkaraanga pa, vaanga vidamatengaraanga....
    @veda
    did u go to the temple and skipped the moolasthanam? if so then it is too bad.
    @sindhu
    r u a Naathigavaathi, u sound so

    By Blogger Ram, at 7:10 AM  

  • No, I am not. But am not that religious either. I feel the place of worship doesn't matter much, be it at home or temple. That's all. I firmly believe in a superior power named God.

    By Blogger Drops of Ocean, at 7:48 AM  

  • i second what sindhu says.even i believe that the place of worship doesnt matter.that's one reason why i prefer visiting temples regularly

    By Blogger paurna, at 8:58 AM  

  • @sindhu&paurna
    Same here too, thats y i visit temples rarely. :)

    By Blogger Ram, at 6:30 PM  

  • "that's one reason why i prefer visiting temples"

    i had meant "that's one reason why i don't prefer visiting temples"

    By Blogger paurna, at 1:21 AM  

  • Good! Now I can tell my mom that I am not the only person in this world(as she claims!) who feels so :)

    By Blogger Drops of Ocean, at 7:16 AM  

  • Ram,
    Don't worry! After few days thanni thelichu vitruvanga appo poonthu velayadunga :)) Even my brother was like tht. Now he is left free :)

    Have a nice day,
    Ponnarasi Kothandaraman.

    By Blogger Ponnarasi Kothandaraman, at 4:44 AM  

  • @ponnarasi
    Kaalam badhil sollum

    By Blogger Ram, at 8:32 AM  

  • Ram Ram
    As the saying goes, great men think alike, i too want to settle down in kumbakonam, surrounded by temples. Wah What a description of the places! But you know ram, the font size could be increased yaar, bcos, bcos, i hope it is understood.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 10:39 AM  

  • Ram Ram
    As the saying goes, great men think alike, i too want to settle down in kumbakonam, surrounded by temples. Wah What a description of the places! But you know ram, the font size could be increased yaar, bcos, bcos, i hope it is understood.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 10:41 AM  

  • @lakshmi
    already recd some comments on my font size, am looking for a nice template now. need to change it. i am sure that many ppl wanted to settle in this area. :)

    By Blogger Ram, at 8:26 PM  

  • Great thoughts you got there, believe I may possibly try just some of it throughout my daily life.
    Hotels in Kumbakonam

    By Blogger oviya, at 5:19 AM  
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