ADHVAGATI

  Kanyakumari , being the proverbial southern tip of our peninsula, is often imagined to be at the exact endpoint of an inverted triangle , with the three oceans neatly converging at that locus. The  "ground reality",  so to speak , is not all that geometrically precise .  It did come as a surprise that the real  tip of  S. India is the estuary where River Pazhaiyaru enters the ocean. Kanyakumari stands a little way off  center.  At the real endpoint , there are no tourist mobs, no souvenir shops, no  overcrowded ferry to Vivekananda Rock  -  no  Rock or  looming Statue . Just a broad  dazzling river meandering from between the  purple and gray ranges of the Western Ghats  , slicing the town of Manakkudi into "Upper Town" and "Lower Town" on either bank and creating  a gorgeous estuary  at the sea , a wetland that teems with biodiverse life forms . The Virgin Goddess hailed by the hymning waves...

  A brief  log of a  trip along the banks of the River Thamirabarani  (Taamraparni) , in Tirunelveli district , Tamil Nadu ( March 2024), sampling random temples to get an idea of the unique culture of the land where Pandya, Chola , Chera and Nayaka influences were intermingled .  THAMIRABARANI   has a lot of historical , spiritual, cultural and emotional significance to the Tamils in general and to the people of the region in particular.  A  "lifeblood " kind of thing . It even has its own mythology in  "Thamraparni Mahatmyam". Geography : It originates in the  southern part of  Sahyadris (Western Ghats) , in the Pothigai Malai hillrange ( aka Agasthyarmalai) , runs about 120kms and empties into The Gulf Of Mannar  (a bay in Indian Ocean around Lakshadweep ) .  Name : Tamira - Parni translates to Copper Leaves .  Visualising a sparkling river sprinkled generously with  shiny russet leaves , swishing along  ...

  It isn't the most salubrious time of the year or day  to go wandering along a fishing village on  East Coast Road .  10 AM on a bright September day.  We hurry past ASI's blue signboard warning visitors against damaging the Protected Monument . But there is no sign board announcing the name of the monument itself : DUTCH FORT , SADRAS It is silent as a graveyard as we linger by the portal  to admire the  handsome white washed tower  (belfry?) crowning it . Looks like it has been replastered and painted only recently. The brick walls on either side , though unplastered, are undamaged . Some periwinkle shrubs in full bloom add a touch of cheery contrast.  Two heavy iron cannons flank the entrance, one bearing the distinct V mark on its weather-beaten surface. V from the logo of  VOC -  Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie ( The Dutch East India Company), the World's first Joint Stock Company , a trail blazing trading enterprise that h...

                                           Chengam Not an unknown name , for sure . But truth is, it had remained merely a name ; a signboard on the often traversed Bangalore - Pondicherry highway , never  a pit stop .  Chengam, then, meant only Chengam Road to me, a  stretch of  highway horribly potholed and  splattered with goo from the tamarind pods crushed under speeding wheels. ( glad to say,  that abominable stretch was made decent and  motorable sometime last year .   ) It took six decades and more for me to discover the true worth of the town behind the name on the green signboard. Thanks to a very enlightening tour , organised by Ratham Heritage , with Prof. Madhusudhanan Kalaichelvan helming it , and  the untiring  Mr. Madhavan V  taking care of the essential nitty-gritties.  A truly memorable trip. This ...

Melakkovil or Thiru Mer(t)rali  The sprawling complex of the The  Kudumiyanmalai Temple ( Shikhanathaswami), situated at the foot hill of a large bald rocky outcrop , is made  up of two parts . The medieval structure in the front  and the more ancient rock cut shrine at the back , demarcated by a wall , with a locked door . An ASI guard holds the key to unlock this wing , called Melakkovil  , which seems to be menaced by honeybees . The   neatly angled garbhagriha , the large lingam and the ardhamantapa are all cut into the rock, in situ ,   at the foot of the rock hill . It is thought to be a Pandyan structure of early 7 thCentury , though a Pallava connection ,through the agency of their   feudatory Muttharayars , is also suspected by some .   The rockcut shrine is fronted  by a Chozha mahamatapa put up by Kulotthunga ( in 11 CE ) and a mukhamantapa by Raghunatharaya Tondaiman ( of Pudukottai ) in 17 CE .  The midday ligh...