Vekkaliamman Temple, Trichy

Vekkaliamman Temple, Trichy

Vekkaliamman , Goddess Shakthi here is seated in Woraiyur without any roof on her top. Be it hot sun, or rain, she has the Sky as her roof. Trichy being a very hot city in Tamilnadu, she mostly is seated enjoying the heat of the sun.  She is believed to be more powerful goddess. The temple is a small one. Though there is no roof top for the Goddess, a Mandapam kind of temple is raised around the goddess.

There is a rectangular Arch at the very entrance and to you left you will find small sanactums (or Sannidhis)  for various Gods like Vinayagar, Murugan, Karuppannasami (who is the security God of the villagers/the area), Hanumar. after the darshan of all these deities, you can join the queue to have the darshan of the Goddess. There are also free as well as paid darshan.

People bring garlands, sarees, lemon garlands and the same is being offered to the goddess. We really enjoyed watching the goddess wearing different colors of saree within our darshan. We also enjoyed the Aarthi as we went during the evening arthi time I guess 6 PM.

People write letters to the goddess on an yellow paper which is placed in the sactum & is being tied before her. It is believed that the needs of the people are being addressed by the Goddess. I believe it as quite a stress buster for people and also a communication to the God.

One another thing I noticed as the highest offering is people pay for the Chariot & the Goddess comes around the sanctum in the evenings.

Note: You will have to take the bus from Chatram Bus stand that goes via Woraiyur. From the bus stand of Vekkalaiamman temple, You can take an Auto or walk to the teample which must be less than 1KM. we enjoyed the walk to the temple. There are lots of shops on the way and in front of the temple

From the Bus stop before you go to the temple, you will have to cross the Famous Nachiyar temple where Lord Renganathar comes ones in a year, gives his ring to Nachiyar & get caught by Renganayaki Thayar. Its a wonderful festival to be enjoyed.

Further reference:

http://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=795
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vekkali_Amman_Temple

Coorg or The Kudagu

Coorg

Coorg or the Kudagu is a district in the state of Karnataka,India where the famous south Indian river Kauvery originates. You can plan a short trip over a weekend or a long weekend of 3 or 4 days to Coorg.

The beautiful flower blossomed with rain drops on it

If you planning to start from Chennai, you have Kauvery express during night, which will pick you after your dinner @ 9 PM and drop you at Mysore for your breakfast. From Mysore, you will have a 2-3 hour Journey to Coorg

Always pre-book vehicles for journey & also your accommodation while you travel to any such hill stations. Always include Jerkins, Umbrellas, socks, shoes, Sweaters, Mufflers in your packing in addition to your usual dresses.

The climate:
The season is during the months of June to August, when it rains in Coorg.
We visited during the month of July and during the month of July, the climate is very cool and quite unpredictable. Within few moments, there is rain and the next moment there is mist everywhere. It drizzles on and off and the movement of the wind along with the drizzle make it a lively thing to watch. It is like a wave  in the air. There were only few minutes of sun shine seen.

Tala Kauvery:
Thala cauvery is the origin point from where the holy river Kauvery starts her journey.
The walk from the place where the Cab dropped us to the thala cauvery temple was awesome. Actually all we could see were white mist. We couldn't even see the person standing at 3 foot distance. In few moments it started raining. In the cool climate we sheltered in the nearby shops where the owner made us Garama garam Pakodas (Hot Pakodas). Had them accompanied with ginder Tea.. Wow! a nice experience..!!

Once the rain receded a little we walked to the temple. It was a beautiful temple with a shrine over the origin point. few people took a holy dip besides the rain. It must have been shivering. The monument of the bell at the entrance attracted my attention. We went around the temple enjoying the drizzle and returned back to our Cab.

Thriveni sangamam

Very few Kilometers down below Thala Kauvery is Thriveni Sangamam where there are 2 other streams joining hands with the holy Kauveri. I took a holy dip here and had darshan of the Lord at
Bhagamandala temple. The temple was clean and we had the prasad. Walking back to the cab, took some pics and started back to our hotel.

Raja's Seat
This place is quite a garden with a seat where the late King of Coorg had sat to enjoy his leisure and see the sunset & sunrise. The view from this place is awesome as down below you can see the hills, the green valleys, plateau, agriculture fields, the zigzag roads and the vehicles moving in them. Often the mist covers the beautiful sight for all you see is white mist blocking the sight. You will have to wait for them to clear and enjoy the nature.

Kids can enjoy a small ride in a toy train here.

Abbey's Falls

Abbey's falls is overflowing in the month of July- August. Though you cannot take bath here, the sight of the fall overflowing gives overflowing joy to the eyesight & the mind. The walk to the fall from the main road, listening to the buzzing sound quieten the mind out of all the thoughts and the snowy white water rejuvenates every cells. I had goose bumps having the sight of the falls. It rained 4 times in the 20 minutes time I spent there. This On & Off rain with its drizzles made me long for something hot to drink & I enjoyed the Coffee of Coorg in the coffee shop on the main road.

Dubare & White water rafting

We also enjoyed white water rafting near the Dubare forest. The dubare forest is famous for the elephants, but it was closed that day. We enjoyed watching river Kauvery flowing amidst the trees near the forest. what a lovely sight. I would have stayed there for even longer. My thoughts went several centuries back as described by Amarar Kalki in his novel, "Ponniyin selvan". How rich and prosperous the river had been in the past. It was a feast to my eyes & I will say as one among the best moments of my life

Few of us planned and enjoyed the White water rafting. The rafting was a good experience. Post my earlier experience in river Ganga, I was quite comfortable to jump  and plunge in to the water. There was water roaring at some hurdles and the entire journey of 5 kms was totally enjoyable with greenery set as boundaries running parallel to us. The river was wide and we also saw the Nisargadhama Bamboo forest as one of the banks of the river.


The walk
 Aah!!.. I always like to go on a walk in hilly places to just feel the climate, environment and enjoy nature. The walk was quite pleasant in the evening and we stopped at some places having fun touching the "Touch me Not" plant which was abundant all through the region we walked.

Tips for Packing:

In addition to the dresses you carry for the stay, carry the below items
1. Always carry an umbrella as the climate at coorg is unpredictable.
2. Jerkins/ sweaters, Mufflers
3. Socks, Gloves
4. Appropriate Footwear as it also rains and your shoes may get soaked, have  a pair of sandals too
5. 2 pairs of extra dresses  if you have plans of getting holy dip @ Thala Kauvery and Triveni sangamam

THE TEST

The Test

Hi pals. writing this blog after quite some time. Had been busy for sometime

(Below is a quick consolidation of my readings & subsequent thought processes)

There lived a girl who was so pure at heart, very kind, generous, more helping, more available for others, spent time for others, took the priorities of the ones she loved as her own. Laughed with them, safe guarded them from any hurdles, any pain, cared for them & loved them as thyself. Life is always beautiful to her.

God smiled! He planned a test!

 HE gave her more hurdles in life. She still wanted to help and be good. She did. But God also gave a test which made her realize and understand the true colors of people. Whom she had loved so far turned to be the ones who were using her for their own personal gains. When she realized this, she backed off. Started giving a little space. A gap. This annoyed them that they started reacting harshly. They started blaming her for being SELFISH.

      She was astonished, terrified. After all the things she did for the ones she loved, she was given the name, "SELFISH"?. She then realized that "SELF RESPECT" is more important than anything else. This test made her realize that she can have her own priorities. They wanted her to be their slave. The test impacted her.

When she asked for her RIGHTS, she was denied. She was insulted. She was thrown out. No one wanted her anymore. She had a CHOICE. The change she wanted to make was within her. She understood that the cannot change anyone but herself. She changed in a good way. Not at the cost of forsaking her integrity. For her INTEGRITY is everything. She actually pitied the poor souls who threw her away, who used her, who insulted & hurted her. She smiled. She simply thanked GOD. Lesson well learnt. She did not stop loving people. Instead she started being more careful this time & started loving the people who really needed her love & care. She understood that revenge is not the solution. Life is too short to waste your time on revenge. She started spending productive time with ones she loved.. This is a wonderful thought process which makes people to CHOSE between the good & bad. At the end of every test only the GOOD wins. Even failure is a SUCCESS if you CHOSE it for a GOOD CAUSE.

Be yourself, for your integrity is everything. Let go of the ones who mistreated you, insulted you, used you and those still keep doing the same. The world has many more who still need your love, who is ready to love you for the real one you are. This is not so easy. So, LET GO, SMILE & MOVE ON. This needs  lot of COURAGE. To stand up for oneself, to raise the voice when somethings seems BAD/ UNTRUE in a situation. Believe, the one who keeps the test(GOD) is always supervising you. HE is watching. No one can escape from his eyes. SPIRITUALITY calls it KARMA. So, keep doing your good work.

 Few points highlighted as the pattern of God:

1. Until and unless you PASS a test, God keeps on giving the same question paper. May be the situations be different, but the lesson out the test is going to be the same.
TRUTH & the LIE:
The LIE keeps soothing you to sleep while the TRUTH slaps you to wake up. Those who wakes up & responds positively SUCCEED. Some keep sleeping again even after so many slaps.The same test continues.

2. Change is the changeless law of nature. Everything and everybody changes. We grow, evolve & die. The great empires which have risen & fallen stands evidence for this. We need to leave something POSITIVE behind us for the rest of the people.

3. One thing that we have control of in our life is our "CHOICES". We are what we want to be. How we RESPOND to all the tests of God. This one make HIM judge our character.

You agree/ disagree, your thoughts, comments, experiences all are welcome! Please pen down the same below.