Colours of sunrise - Angkor Wat

I am not the sunrise variety and neither is the husband..but we were told that the sunrises at Angkor Wat should not be missed. So we woke up at 4 am and drove through the forests in the dark on our tuk tuk ..The winds were nippy and the setting surreal. But then, came the mosquitoes followed by hordes and hordes of people ..I didnt know which was annoying ; but then the sun kept its date with us and we forgot the rest. We were there twice - the first time around, it was so difficult to get close to the moat and hence we could just take only the towers against the dawn.

The second one was a spectacular sunrise, but I wasnt able to handle the crowds. The husband however, took the camera and took this picture just for me..He hates crowds and is barely interested in photography, but then the pictures were rather good, I think..what do you guys say ?

Pic : Sharath Krishnamurthy

Pic : Sharath Krishnamurthy

Skywatch Friday - Manimuthar Dam

One of my childhood haunts, (although I must confess that I must have barely been here not more than a couple of times ) is the Manimuthar Dam on the river Manimuthar, a tributary of the Tambiraparani. Its located a stone's throw from my village, Kalladaikurichi  where the river ultimately joins the Tambiraparani . A journey uphill takes you into the Western  Ghats alond the KMTR- Kallakadu Mudanthurai Tiger Reserve.

To see lovely skies around the world, visit Skywatch .

The man who says he has Seen God

This post is my entry for Indiblogger's  Expedia - Around the World Contest

It almost sounded like a war cry. Velu threw his hands high up in the air, his head looking upwards at the sky, eyes firmly shut and his taut muscles getting tighter as he called out passionately to the heavens . And then he said in flawless English � This is where I saw God, �and he went on to tell me the exact date and time , 37 years ago.

Nallamudi Poonjolai in Valparai was just another view point in the hills until Velu�s tryst with the divine . The destination now has a different name. A board at the entrance read � Seen God � with a footnote below it - �Om Adi Muruga.� Velu �s shrine was just around the corner .

He claimed that God had arrived in a bolt of light and sound and he could see a human form. �Romba azhaga irunderma , � he added in Tamil, describing that God looked indeed handsome. He had been coming here everyday at 11 am to see if he would be lucky a second  time. �Innum kelunga � I will tell you more , � he said, sensing my curiosity. Little did he know that I was more interested in his life than in his sighting of God.

He said he was over 70 years old, but had been coming here ever since he was a young boy with his father, who was  a mason. � I studied, I worked, I married like everyone, but then this is my calling, this is where I belong,� he said nonchalantly when I asked him about his family .For a matriculation  pass who was employed in a factory and tea plantation, Velu was not cut off from the outside world. He was aware that one of the photographers in our group had posted his photograph on the internet. And his memory was sharp. He even remembered the girl who had photographed him a year ago. But then he lived like a nomad � wandering around the hills, wearing just a dhoti around his waist, living on fruits and herbs. Once in a while, he mentioned that his wife visited him. And then he claimed that the wild animals do not harm him at all.

It had been raining in Valparai for the last couple of days and the view of the Annaimalai hills was shrouded with fog. The sun was teasing us. Only a while ago, we were treated to a glimpse of the verdant mountains, gushing with waterfalls. But then the mist curled up again, hiding even the tiniest branch in view.

For most of us, God that day was somewhere in the pristine valley, veiled by the fog in the canopy of forests spread over the Annaimalai range . We waited with bated breath ,hoping to see a great hornbill in flight. The mist unfurled and furling rising up from the depths of the valley and merging with the clouds.. It was a mystical moment. Velu went to the edge of the cliff and called out to his Muruga. We watched him for a while as he stood silently by himself,  looking out into the hills.

The tea plantations parted ways to lead us through a carpet of green , dripping with rain droplets . As I walked down the slippery slopes, I could hear Velu calling out to his God again. I knew he would be here tomorrow  and every other day at 11 am to look for Him.

Photo of the day - Bayon, Angkor Thom, Cambodia

Of all the many temples I visited in Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom and around in Siem Reap, Bayon took my breath away. 

Travel and travel

Loads and loads of journeys this year . Just returned from Cambodia towards the end of January and now am off to Chhattisgarh, a very young state in India, which was earlier a part of Madhya Pradesh. The invitation has come from the state tourism board and am looking forward to the tour.

Meanwhile there are so many tour reports to publish, stories and photographs to share , but I have hardly had any time in between trips. Besides I have been in a rather lethargic, sleepy and dreamy state of mind and in body to start focussing on work, writing and blogging..However for now, here is a photograph from my village Kallidaikurichi , in down south india , located in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.  The river Tambiraparani flowing at her own pace , bathed by the evening light . More photographs are on my Facebook page and you can join me there as well.

See you all soon..

Skywatch Friday - From the tip of India

I was in the southernmost tip of India , at the confluence of three oceans  - Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean in a coastal town called Kanyakumari. And the view from one of its fishing hamlets - Chinna Muttom is here for you to soak in along with the hues of the sunset . If you are here on a full moon day, you may be lucky to see the sun set and the moon rise around the same time .

To see more exciting skies around the world , visit Skywatch.

My column on a cult worshipping a mirror aka soul was published in The Hindu. Here is the story for those who missed it

The salts of the sea lure me as I can smell it from a distance. Here, in the confluence of three oceans, lies buried several myths, legends and stories.  Kanyakumari   has always been a mystery to me. Maybe it has something to do with the sea or the tale of the virgin goddess by the sea shore, but the town has never stopped fascinating me. Looking out of the window, I am lost in the many rotating windmills, dancing to the tune of the sea breeze, when I am interrupted by the laughter in the bus. 

I join in the laughter as Sri Charanya , my travel companion shares her memories of Kanyakumari when she visited the coastal town as a twelve year old. � You know I was told that I could see red , black and blue colours here , the red was the Indian Ocean, the blue being  the Bay of Bengal and the black , the Arabian sea  and I believed  every word of it then , � she says as echoes of laughter drown her story. Memories come flooding back as I remember my first visit here as a wide eyed twelve year old . 

I am on a Naanjil Naadu tour organised by INTACH, travelling through small towns and villages around Nagercoil and Kanyakumari, visiting many temples, rock cut shrines, mosques, palaces and forts . While we alternate between facts and folk lore, we learn from a team of professors and historians accompanying us about the various dynasties that rule the region. I am of course fascinated by the many landscapes painted in front of me � natural, social , historical, political, spiritual , as I realize that what is today considered God�s own country has its origins right here in Naanjil Naadu, long before Kerala came into being.  

We visit an ancient Chola temple dedicated to Shiva or Guhanathaeswaran  temple as  Dr V Vedachalam, Retired Senior Epigraphist from Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department  explains the architecture and draws our attention to the inscriptions and various cults of Gods and Goddesses.  It is really Gods own country. The temples in this region are built by various kings across different eras and each one of them has left his stamp behind. From the Ay rules, to early Pandyas to the Venad kings, the land is steeped in cults. 

And I discover another 19^thcentury cult right on the shores of a small fishing hamlet called Chinna Muttom .

While most of my travel companions are lost in the beauty around, a few of us walk down to a small shrine located on the rocky shores. A man in a turban is officiating as a priest as we gaze inside the sanctum and look at our hazy reflection with the sea forming our backdrop. There is no deity or idol � just a mirror which reflects and represents the soul or the Vishnu inside you. A small board in Tamil explains the philosophy about worshipping your body as the temple, with your mind at peace and devotion and purity in your soul.  The belief rests in equality; hence the turban says the man where every devotee is a king. Even Vivekananda he claims was influenced by it.  The underlying thought is that you keep your mind and thoughts pure and worship the God or soul inside you. 

I later learn that the cult is referred to as Ayyavazhi founded by a revolutionary called Ayya Vaikundar , also believed by his followers as a reincarnation of Vishnu. However , speaking to Ahi Mohan, coordinator of the Nadar Family Welfare centre in Trivandrum, I learn that he was  a 19^th century social reformer , who was born in Kanyakumari district with a strong belief in equality of all people. He had built five main pathis, what we refer to as temples and the 200 year pathi at Chinna Muttom was called Muthapathi.  The followers believe that a dip in the sea will sanctify them.  

I stand and gaze at my hazy reflection in the mirror for a long time and realize that my mind is blank, bathed by the ocean and purged of all thoughts. Elsewhere in the haze of white foam and fury of the waves, I can see a distant form of Sri Charanya calling out my name, holding some wet sands in her hands. As she comes closer, we both laugh. In her hands are lumps of black and brownish soil in her hands and the colours seem to merge with the blue of the ocean.