TVM – Thiruvannamalai!
A2B – Adyar Ananda Bhavan!
This weekend was a sudden trip to Thiruvannamalai. Hubby dearest having read a lot about this place, had to visit this place and was looking for the right time to do that. So after getting some quick details from cousins and friends about the routes, hotels, et al, on Friday night, we decided to leave the next morning, stay one night and return by Sunday evening. The stay part was just so that it wasn’t too much of a strain. But finally it did prove to be a good decision, as we covered more places than we would have in one day.
Saturday – 8:15 am – We left Bangalore and reached Hosur, from where we proceeded towards Krishnagiri. Taking the Tirupattur – Thiruvannamalai route, as, though this route is about 10 km more than the Krishnagiri – TVM route, the road however, is better than the heavily potholed Krishnagiri-TVM route. So, after a stop at the way side A2B restaurant and filling petrol, and another refreshing stop at a tender coconut stall, where we ended up picking some mangoes and guavas as well, we reached the Ashram of Ramana Maharshi at around 1:15 pm. On checking if we could stay there, we got a negative response, since pre-booking was necessary to stay.
We then proceeded to Hotel Trishul (Found this on the internet and it was rated highest). Pretty decent I must say. Having dumped our bags here, and after some lunch and a much needed siesta, we left to visit the famous ashrams. The first stop was “Sheshadri ashram” (Ramana maharishi was his disciple). It was a pretty little place in a perfect rustic setting. It had a small meditation room and lots of peace and quiet! Then the next stop was Ramana maharishi ashram. Compared to the previous one, this was bigger, with more people, a temple, and lots of peacocks flying and screeching their throats out! There were also tons of our ancestors monkeying around J. The specialty here was that there was a pathway leading to the Virupaksha caves in the middle of the TVM, and also to the Skandashram nearby. While proceeding towards the caves, we can see quaint little rocks covered by clothes hung on wooden lines, which provide as a shelter for the aspiring sanyasis.
A2B – Adyar Ananda Bhavan!
This weekend was a sudden trip to Thiruvannamalai. Hubby dearest having read a lot about this place, had to visit this place and was looking for the right time to do that. So after getting some quick details from cousins and friends about the routes, hotels, et al, on Friday night, we decided to leave the next morning, stay one night and return by Sunday evening. The stay part was just so that it wasn’t too much of a strain. But finally it did prove to be a good decision, as we covered more places than we would have in one day.
Saturday – 8:15 am – We left Bangalore and reached Hosur, from where we proceeded towards Krishnagiri. Taking the Tirupattur – Thiruvannamalai route, as, though this route is about 10 km more than the Krishnagiri – TVM route, the road however, is better than the heavily potholed Krishnagiri-TVM route. So, after a stop at the way side A2B restaurant and filling petrol, and another refreshing stop at a tender coconut stall, where we ended up picking some mangoes and guavas as well, we reached the Ashram of Ramana Maharshi at around 1:15 pm. On checking if we could stay there, we got a negative response, since pre-booking was necessary to stay.
We then proceeded to Hotel Trishul (Found this on the internet and it was rated highest). Pretty decent I must say. Having dumped our bags here, and after some lunch and a much needed siesta, we left to visit the famous ashrams. The first stop was “Sheshadri ashram” (Ramana maharishi was his disciple). It was a pretty little place in a perfect rustic setting. It had a small meditation room and lots of peace and quiet! Then the next stop was Ramana maharishi ashram. Compared to the previous one, this was bigger, with more people, a temple, and lots of peacocks flying and screeching their throats out! There were also tons of our ancestors monkeying around J. The specialty here was that there was a pathway leading to the Virupaksha caves in the middle of the TVM, and also to the Skandashram nearby. While proceeding towards the caves, we can see quaint little rocks covered by clothes hung on wooden lines, which provide as a shelter for the aspiring sanyasis.
It was 6:30 pm by the time we left the ashram and proceeded towards the Arunachaleswarar temple. This temple is at the base of the TVM. It is a huge temple with at least 9 gopurams. The main deity here is Lord Shiva and his consort Amman (Abithakuchamba). There was a place from where all the 9 gopurams could be sighted, and there was also a model of the temple made which showed us the locations of every point within the temple. After visiting the two deities, we had our dinner at Hotel Ramakrishna, and then scooted back to the Trishul and slept early (the India Pakistan finals was on, and India was on the way to a defeat, so there was no point staying awake for that match!).
Sunday – 7:00 am –
After some coffee and a refreshing bath, we walked back to the Arunachaleswarar temple. This time we entered through the main entrance (there are four entrances). Lord Murugan’s deity was installed immediately at the entrance. That was where Lord Murugan appeared before Arunagirinathar Swamigal – who composed Thiruppugazh in praise of Lord Murugan. After paying due respects to the lord, we again proceeded to the Shivan deity, which was at the other end of the premises. On the way, there were a lot of other smaller deities and also a huge water body, not to forget the Elephant which blessed us when we gave it some small gift. We visited the Pathalalingam – which is the lingam placed lower than the ground level. We need to climb down a few steps to see this deity.
After the visits to the 4 deities, we had some good breakfast and awesome coffee at hotel Arunachala, just behind the temple. Though the temple was beautiful and well maintained, I can also not forget to mention the sad state of affairs around the temple. The dirt, slums and beggars was really heart rending to watch, and makes one wonder if there really was more that could be done to maintain the place.
We then checked out of Trishul at around 10:30 am, and asked our way around to find the Girivalam. Girivalam is a 15km pathway around the TVM hill. It has 108 lingams en route. We can either walk around, or even drive around. Due to lack of time, we drove around the pathway. The views of the hill were breathtaking from here. Sanyasis also were aplenty along the route. On completion of the Girivalam trip, we proceeded towards Bangalore.
I almost missed mentioning the fresh vegetables and flowers (at pretty cheap rates) that we bought at the market place of thiruvannamalai before leaving. One must surely not miss out on buying these!
On the way back – we took another sudden 18 km diversion towards Saathanur Dam. With pretty little villages and excited farmers posing for pictures on the way, we reached the dam and spent an hour looking around the lush green garden and checking out the dam engineering! So it was 12 pm by the time we left the dam and proceeded towards Bangalore. Another half an hour stop at the Hosur market for some Rice, and it was 4:30 pm by the time we reached home sweet home in Bangalore! Not bad at all!
After some coffee and a refreshing bath, we walked back to the Arunachaleswarar temple. This time we entered through the main entrance (there are four entrances). Lord Murugan’s deity was installed immediately at the entrance. That was where Lord Murugan appeared before Arunagirinathar Swamigal – who composed Thiruppugazh in praise of Lord Murugan. After paying due respects to the lord, we again proceeded to the Shivan deity, which was at the other end of the premises. On the way, there were a lot of other smaller deities and also a huge water body, not to forget the Elephant which blessed us when we gave it some small gift. We visited the Pathalalingam – which is the lingam placed lower than the ground level. We need to climb down a few steps to see this deity.
After the visits to the 4 deities, we had some good breakfast and awesome coffee at hotel Arunachala, just behind the temple. Though the temple was beautiful and well maintained, I can also not forget to mention the sad state of affairs around the temple. The dirt, slums and beggars was really heart rending to watch, and makes one wonder if there really was more that could be done to maintain the place.
We then checked out of Trishul at around 10:30 am, and asked our way around to find the Girivalam. Girivalam is a 15km pathway around the TVM hill. It has 108 lingams en route. We can either walk around, or even drive around. Due to lack of time, we drove around the pathway. The views of the hill were breathtaking from here. Sanyasis also were aplenty along the route. On completion of the Girivalam trip, we proceeded towards Bangalore.
I almost missed mentioning the fresh vegetables and flowers (at pretty cheap rates) that we bought at the market place of thiruvannamalai before leaving. One must surely not miss out on buying these!
On the way back – we took another sudden 18 km diversion towards Saathanur Dam. With pretty little villages and excited farmers posing for pictures on the way, we reached the dam and spent an hour looking around the lush green garden and checking out the dam engineering! So it was 12 pm by the time we left the dam and proceeded towards Bangalore. Another half an hour stop at the Hosur market for some Rice, and it was 4:30 pm by the time we reached home sweet home in Bangalore! Not bad at all!
