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A Fascinating Trip To Thanjavur

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by Agatha83, Apr 24, 2017.

  1. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Jayasala,

    I feel almost everyone in IL has made a visit to all the temples of Tamilnadu. It is heartening to hear about your MIL, who despite her conservatism, was adventurous enough to move out with the basic essentials. It is a good habit to make diary of all the places we have visited, for when I started to write this piece, i couldn't recollect about the temples I had visited.
    For the first time in my life I am hearing something different about the 80 ton granite dome, from you, and I feel it may be true to some extent. But what baffles me is there is no mention anywhere in history about the death of these great Chola kings or even a monument commemorating their memory!

    Agatha83
     
  2. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Agatha,

    Thank you for presenting us with a delightful snippet of your trip to Kumbakonam and Temples around. It never occurred to me that I should read the history before I visit all these places instead of simply adoring the places without knowing the background. I had made several visits to Navagraha Temples, Temples in Kumbakonam, Rajagopalaswamy Temple in Mannargudi, Uppiliappan and Thirunageswaran Temples, Swami Malai, etc. We used to stay in Sterling Holiday Resort near Swami Malai to have a private stay experience in a neighborhood that gives a great village experience. We have also stayed in Manthra, a Holiday Resort in Veppathur.

    Last time, we had a unique experience of visiting Govindapuram near Kumbakonam. When we visited the Gosalai there, we spent hours in scorching sun as we fell in love with the cows. Their eyes were so Satwic to look at and the Temple collects donation to maintain the cows from devotees but distributes the milk, buttermilk, butter and ghee to the nearby villagers for free. There was an Ashram nearby and we came to know that was the Ashram of the Sankaracharya who lived several centuries back.

    There is no limit to exploring the places in Tanjore district. Sometimes, I feel bad that I have not explored all of the Temples in Tanjore having born in a village in that district.

    Viswa
     
  3. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Viswa,

    If there was no internet, then we wouldn't have been flipping through the various websites offering enormous information about the places we had planned to visit. Having a tourist guide was a costly proposition and hence armed ourselves with sufficient knowledge about these heritage sites.
    Since we were just two women making the trip, safety and security were the only considerations while making hotel reservation. Hence we chose the particular hotel, a 3 stat rated one, which was not only centrally located, but offered excellent services. Above all we felt very safe both within the hotel precincts and with the car driver, we being total strangers to the place and the vast lonely stretches we had to commute on our way to the temples.

    The driver an ISKCON devotee was steeped in spirituality and his talks many times reminded me of your spiritual writings. To make even a cursory glance at this vast grandeur structures of Chola era, it may take a life time.

    Agatha83
     
  4. joylokhi

    joylokhi Platinum IL'ite

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    Dear Agatha83,
    enjoyed reading of your visit. Our Kula deivam is Vaideeswaran Koil and hence we have paid frequent visits to all the surrounding temples in and around mayavaram/thanjavur. Your write up really brought to mind all the grandeur of the times.
     
  5. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Agatha,

    I so agree with your exprience of our school days and history and geography lessons. Only difference was that the teacher did not sleep, but I was caught sleeping, asked to stand up, which I did not hear, was shaken up by my partner and then stood up feeling very stupid. The teacher looked at me, did not know quite what to say and just told me 'have some will-power'. You certainly needed a lot of that to stay awake, given that the way she talked was as if she was sleep-talking! We also seem to share the interest in watching all these fascinating documentaries about history and I find I am learning a lot now than when I was in school. Why, oh why was there no Internet in our times?

    I have never been to Thanjavur so far, though I would very much love to visit the Vaitheeshwaran koil. Enjoyed the virtual trip you took us on, but was glad I did not go because if there is one thing that terrifies me, it is the heat. May be winter would be a good time to visit and if the Gods deign fit to call me, I shall end up going. :)
     
  6. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear joylokhi,
    I am happy to learn that many of our members of IL community have visited all these temples I have mentioned here in my post. I skipped Swamimalai and Vaitheeswaran temple, because I had already seen them. It is only God's grace that I could visit all those temples which was not in our itenerary.
    Agatha83
     
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  7. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear satchi,

    I still wonder how could my SS teacher have such a sound sleep underneath a thatched roof, no fan and a sultry weather. With all the air conditioned comforts, many times sleep eludes me, which reminds me of my SS teacher. Poor soul. Don't know what domestic problems she had to deal with?

    Having spent all my years in a coastal city, the intense heat was unbearable. Winter months are the best season to go in for an outing to anyplace in India, but that should suit my DD's convenience. There lies the catch!

    Agatha83
     
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  8. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    May be it was the heat that made her lethargic. And if your classes were in the afternoon after lunch ..... :)
     
  9. Agatha83

    Agatha83 IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear satchi,

    we were in the SSLC class preparing for the public examination and just because she happened to be a teacher in a Government school, instead of being punished for not doing her duty, she could get away for the poor performance of many of my classmates in the public examination. I lost the state rank just due to less marks I scored in SS. Anyway quesera sera sera, whatever will be will be!
    Agatha83
     
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  10. satchitananda

    satchitananda IL Hall of Fame

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    Can imagine how upset you must have been at that time. You are right, whatever will be will be. And apart from a cup or a shield or certificate, there is no particular benefit that a state rank can bring to our lives. Like I was upset about not getting into medicine. Today I am grateful. I have my life full of docs in every capacity!
     

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