ADHVAGATI

A thickly wooded rocky outcrop forms the  backdrop with lush tropical vegetation and gurgling brooks. A vast fort with sacred pools at the foothills. Would a  Prince Charming - an Azhagar - wish for a better address ? Azhagarkoyil or Tirumaaliruncholai  has everything going for it. Enchanting setting, wonderful architecture , great artistic flourishes .....and now, its a certified no plastic-bag  zone too ! Even in summer, it is breezy here , thanks to the hill, whose summit is 1409ft high.  Azhagarmalai has a very ancient history and the temple is considered  The Oldest Vishnu shrine in Tamil Nadu.( 3 to 4 BCE) It has been a place of worship since pre-sangam times , when  Mayon was the native  Guardian Spirit - he was later assimilated into the idea of Vishnu. Seyyon , who later became Murugan /Subramanya , also  had an abode  in these hills named Pazhamudirsolai.  Archeologists have found Jain and Buddhist vestiges in the hills...

Tamil Nadu is an awesome place for those interested in history, religious architecture, ethnic diversity .....Just hit the road from anywhere to anywhere and be assured that you'll stumble upon a Temple every two kilometers - old , new, ancient, modern.....in every hamlet worth a sign board.  There are those  New ones assaulting the eye with  psychedelic pagodas in electric  pink, fluorescent green and varnished gilt . Which , during "sacred" months, are advertised by  shrill songs, amplified to reach everyone within a 2km radius. There are the gorgeous giant Ayyanars with Horses.  There are  Ruins , massive pagodas  taken over by weeds and bats, that seem mysterious yet enticing. And there are the Living  Temples that have been thriving for a millenium, continually venerated by generations , bridging the past to the present and awaiting the future with self assured majesty and nonchalance.  Just a short dash away from Base...