Sunday, December 26, 2021

Venkatachalapathy Temple-Krishnapuram

 

We both belong to Tirunelveli Dist. Tirunelveli is a place that is worth a visit at least once in the lifetime. There are many places in Tirunelveli that attract many tourists towards the place. Some of them include dams, temples, sanctuaries, sculpture houses, waterfalls, and hills and so on. Apart from the places there food and tradition of this place are very rich and unique.

Tirunelveli's history dates back to 2000 year ago, and thus, the city is inarguably one of the best places to trace the stories of various dynasties and its legends.Whenver we came to our home  town we visit all temples and waterfalls etc. In our last visit we visited Venkatachalapathy temple.

 

Krishnapuram is a small temple village near Tirunelveli, The village is home to the Venkatachalapathy Temple, another grand architectural marvel Located about 7 kms from Tirunelveli city on the way to Tiruchendur Murugan temple. One of the best architecture temple in southern India. This temple devoted to Venkatachalapathy is having a sprawling complex containing a big prakaram for cirambulation

 

Here lies Sri Venkatachalapathy temple built by Sadasiva Devaraya in 9th century and extended by Naicker rulers two centuries later. During the Madurai Nayaka period. Inscriptions say the temple was built by Krishnappa Nayak, after whom the place is named. The temple is spread over an area of 1.8 acres. Originally, the temple had three praharams, built from solid granite.

 

 But the outermost praharam was demolished by an Izlamic general Chanda Sahib at the orders of Nawab of Arcot.

The principal shrine, fronted by a five-tier Rajagopuram is flanked by two simpler sub-shrines, to goddesses Alamelumanga and Padmavathi. They are both in seated posture. The main deity, Venkatachalapathy, is four-armed, standing and with the ubhaya nachiyars. Lord in Bogasthanam is with his consorts Sri Devi and Bhoodevi. The stoopas, shilpas though centuries old depict the carvers mind and the realities of the times with writings of 9th century visible.

 

There is a corridor before entering the main temple which has gigantic 15-20 feet bronze statues which is the highlight of the temple. The statues are so intricate inside staring on one side of the pillar and literally curving to the other side. there are 42 such statutes in one hall alone. Unfortunately it was very dark inside and we could hardly make out the beautiful statues without a good torch/flashlight.

In the outer corridor we can see statues (protected by steel mesh) as follows on entering to our right starting with

 

 

1) A Nomad in dancing pose,

 

2) A gypsy woman kidnapping a Prince on her shoulder (as per the tamil writing above the statue), On the same pillar we see a horseman with the legs of the horse on a person kneeling down.

3) Karna in a majestic standing posture. On the same pillar we have a smaller statue behind Karna

 

 

4) There is a beautiful Murti of KuravanA gypsy man kidnapping a Princess on his shoulder(as per the tamil writing above the statue).The grace in his stance has to be seen to be believed. The shilpi has caught him mid-motion. The Murti does not look status. It looks like he is going to complete the movement any moment. We can notice his ribs, the curve of his calves, the place where his hair bun bears the indent of the princess’s fingers, as she steadies herself. On either sides of the man we see a man on a horse and 2 smaller figures of men holding on to the gypsy as to preventing him from kidnapping. 

5) A statue of Arjuna with his bow in standing pose,

 

6) Another Statue of Nomad where astounding scuptures that are life size over five and a half feet, Nerves are seen in the human forms, All these sculptures were made from a single Granite stone,In one statue, a leg, extended into air is two and a half feet , it projects from the torso and this sculpture is also made of single stone.

In the statue of Manmatha (God of Love) , a Bow of Sugar Cane, which is his weapon is found. The bow, with its curved structure stands about five feet tall.

 

 In the Statute of Rathi, consort of Manmatha, one can find her cheeks puffed up swallowing Thamboola!  Her hairstyle and jewellery are exquisite. The Shilpi has carved her fingers with gap between them as she artistically holds a mirror. All this is done in one single block of granite!

There is a larger than life Murti of Arjun, the warrior. You can see the bamboo grooves of his bow, the proud half-smile on his face, his armour and his warrior like stance

An elephant and a Cow

 

The other fascinating sculpture here is that of two animals made out of one stone. As one looks from the left, one sees an elephant lifting its tusk. From the other side, though, this same image shows us a cow- truly a terrific piece of art.


 

When we visited this temple there is no visitors. Only we saw priest in sanctorum  and we workers cleaning the temple. Feel sad that such a heritage temple has to well maintained and lot of tourist must visit the place to see Lord and ancient culture and sculpture.  Sadly, the temple has ugly iron railings that are supposed ‘protect’ the Murtis, but serve as an eyesore! I really wish Hindu temples were managed better. Our ancestors went to great trouble to carve such exquisite Murtis, the least we can do is to look after them. Please visit Krishnapuram if you can.

I clicked few pictures with temple permission.

 


Sunday, December 5, 2021

Me Coffee and books!

 

Me Coffee and books!

Books are our best friends in the quest for knowledge and our loyal companions in the journey of life. The happiest feeling in life is to drink a hot cup of coffee while reading your favorite book and immersing yourself completely in another world. When thinking of a title, I tried to think of what words would explain who I am. I couldn't include everything but what kept coming back to me was...coffee and books. But those who know me well know my love of my morning coffee, everything that has to do with tea time reading books.


I am a great lover of books since my childhood.  I love brand new hardback books and the way they smell when you open them for the first time. I love ratty old paperbacks that are leather soft from years of rereading .I love to read anything available be it chandamama, twinkle, Mulla's stories, panchatantra or any other novels. I am a great fan of legends like Sivsankari, Vasanthi, Indumathi, sujatha,chetan bhagat, Vairamuthu, Kalki, Ramanichandran, Lakshmi... The list is endless. I was an avid reader before I had kids for myself!! As a vigorous reader, not specially one or the one author. Whenever I feel sad or demotivated, I used to read Robert Sc huller, Napoleon hill, Shiv khera etc. Even now I avail almost every opportunity I get to read whatever kind of books I can lay my hand on. From magazines to newspapers, novels to short stories, kids school stuff to eBooks. But no matter it was a thick book or a thin one, colored or in B& W, for kids or for adults. I think I ...... loved to re-read it at any point of time It never ever made me  tired of reading because it was new every time you look through it

 

Reading is a beautiful experience, irrespective of seasons or time. Reading in a A charming Winter Or a rainy season or a warm summer evening reading book is a heart-warming little book that comforts and entertains delightfully is a blissful experience. However, the best feeling is when you sit inside a blanket fort, sip a cup of hot coffee, and read a good book when it is raining outside. A good read has the power to transport you from reality to the imaginative world of the characters where you feel that you are also a part of their story. Moreover, it’s better to read a book than sleep or do something useless.

 

 One should often indulge in a good book here and there to enhance their knowledge and broaden their perspective on life. Reading is important because it develops our thoughts, gives us endless knowledge and lessons while keeping our minds active. Books can hold and keep all kinds of information, stories, thoughts and feelings unlike anything else in this world. The importance of a book to help us learn and understand things cannot be underestimated.

I love books while reading "You forget everything. The hours slip by. You travel in your chair through centuries you seem to see before you, your thoughts are caught up in the story, dallying with the details or following the course of the plot, you enter into characters. The book jumps about from place to place as our characters live and grow. My heart beats a little faster when, in my reading, every book, every take you see, has a soul.” The soul of the one who wrote it, and the soul of those who read it and lived and dreamed of it.

Books are to our rescue always, be it a long journey or a long day, You can have your book with you and forget the time. There are many books that have impressed me. It may be Historical, fictional, romantic, spiritual Or scientifical ;The book motivates me, it makes me cry , makes me laugh, makes me fall in love with life again, makes me to think ,makes me look for the small blessings that GOD has bestowed me with.

My all-time favourites are Aesop's fables, Jataka tales and the Panchatantra, Vikram and Vetal ,  Tenali Rama, Ramayana & Mahabharatha.still I love to read Ambuli mama Vikram vedal.

Some books I read it again & again

I completed Valmiki Ramayana seven Kandas in Tamil from which you can learn the way to reach God. Though I have heard and read Ramayana book before, this is entirely different. There are so many things written in this book which I never knew before. It gives peace of mind by reading this book. Everyone knows Ramayana. It’s such a divine story that I feel like reading again and again.

In my teenage I read Rajaji’s Mahabharatha. C. Rajagopalachari has retold the age old tale of Pandavas and Kauravas , of dharma and adharma in the most simple way possible. Along with his fantastic style of storytelling It is a whole literature in itself, containing a code of life, a philosophy of social and ethical relations, and speculative thought on human problems that is hard to rival.. still I love to read again & again.

Bharathiyar Kavidhaigal: I grow up falling in love with his poems, since my eighth standard. I have read almost all of his complete poems. Each page contains a pearl which can be worn throughout the life. Some of his poems are related to freedom struggle but it could still be related to current scenario. He has given poems to suit everyone's mood varying from nature, devotion, love and struggle, patriotism and society.

For Romance I love to read Ramani chandran. Ramani’s plot lines have followed one of three themes “concepts ”Triangle love, Problem in Marriage ... there’s a misunderstanding and Then finally they finally come together, And they lived happily ever after. I love her writing style almost I read all her novels.

Ponniyin Selvan a Tamil novel that takes us way back to the good olden days. It has everything in it. The romance, the vengeance, the war, the friendship, and what not. It’s a Master piece of Kalki's works. The story is about the great king Raja Raja Chola. The book consists of 5 volumes. When I started reading I got so much involved that I completed the book in a matter of 3 days’ time. I was able to visualise the story and that is the success of the author. The book tempts me to see Tanjore, Kodikarai and other places in the story.

Another Book by Kalki Sivakamiyin Sabatham.The Sivagamiyin Sapatham is a historical novel sets in 7th century South India. This ancient novel considered one of the most significant historical novels ever written in Tamil Literature.I could visualize the scenes, characters ofcourse every instants delivered in the book and hailed by the surprise almost in every page I really fall in Love with Mahendra vermapallavan. - I simply love the way it is narrated. You get to know many things, in fact when I read this book for the first time, I could not wait to finish it and to ensure the truth of the details I even googled the events and pictures.

Another one of my favorite author is Sandilyan. He was an Indian writer known for his historical fiction novels in Tamil. He is known for his historical romance and adventure novels, often set in the times of the Chola and Pandya empires.I had read Jaladeepam, Pallava thilagam , yavanarani .But one of my favourite novel is kadal Pura contain 3 volumes. Research about ship building technology in 1067 A.D were explained in this historical novel and war shipping techniques over that period.In “Kadal Pura”, you are going to know everything about Kulothungan… who destroyed the entire territory of Kalinga. If you know a little more about this novel, this is supposed to be a prequel to Kalingattuparani, a masterpiece of Tamizh Literature.

Why I liked the book? Because this book makes you laugh, cry, smile to yourself, and bite your lips with a heavy heart. But at the end it gives you a sense of realization of what's life's real happiness

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But now I am living with late  Mr. Balakumaran' s UDAYAR Yes he is just living legend. The book contains the life of Raja Raja Chola, his dynasty, how he ruled, how Chola maintained his courtyard and many more details.he just take us to 15th ,16th century and the enormous work the author did and write the book,it narrates how the Big Temple of Tanjore built, what the method used,with full stone and how they took the top tomb which is built upon one single stone, how they transport it.It just astonishing no one can read just like that book. We have to understand and swallow the contents, slowly we start living in that period! Wow what a divine experience!

So many books are in my list to read but,

 

What a blessing it is to love books." The book in hand that usually speaks through printed words, seemed to question him verbally, “Coffee? Tea? or Me?”. Without any second thought I say I love books!

*Image Taken- google images