Save the Samjhauta? Oh Really!

Save what?

I’m disturbed!!!

What’s bothering me?
Young children being sexually abused!? The Samjhauta express being bombed!? A bus getting burned down with more than a dozen girls trapped inside and the accused doesn’t get anywhere near a trial for years!?

Not really!

What disturbs me even more? They get into a trial; there’s a media hype, the politicians won’t give out a word about them terrorists (IF they got them into custody in the first place), special security personnel will be arranged to transfer them between the court and their fully furnished cell, non-vegetarian food will be provided for them once a week, precious time of our courts will be wasted, … the list is endless! Now where does the money for all this come from? I didn’t see our FM say anything about funds for terrorists in Feb last! :-/ Or maybe it falls under the funds allocated for Defense?!

But nah, I really don’t care about any of that shit! What bothers me most is that WE get burned down, WE get bombed, OUR children get gang-raped, AND, the government decides to run what they call a FAIR trial on these criminals with the money WE pay as taxes.

So basically, we pay the killers to get killed!

Even as our country still has a zillion things that needs improvement (which can well be managed within the tax money that is being collected), it really make me feel disgusted the way the government is approaching these issues!

Know what? If you ask me, they shouldn’t be spending TIME (whatever little our policemen have) and money on these inhuman people trying to run investigations or interrogations with them. What’s the point anyways? Whom are they trying to find? The brains behind it all?

I beg to differ. In my opinion, if they burn down a bus – we tie them together and burn them down, bomb them back, dunk them into the ocean, feed them to the wild, chop off their arms and legs and leave them on the road; I can think of a dozen other unmentionable ways. For one, it’s an easier verdict, find them, kill them… two; and most importantly, when they get the idea that this is what they will be suffering from if they get caught, there might be lesser and lesser crimes…

** Sigh **!! But Ma disagrees. In fact, she simply made a face and said “You’ve gone crazy!”

Maybe I have, but not by MY standards. I still think I'm right! :-D

This is what I prefer to call craziness!

Update!

My car is back ... AND it looks as good as new.

With a little more than 19 grand sitting on it, it mighty well be!!!

And I'm gonna heed Dharma's advice here and get that license soon before my Learner’s License expires. :-D

Meet the Traffic - Be a Monopoly

One of the ‘N’ things we gripe about every single day
But somehow manage to get through it anyway
A peek at the lighter side of it


If you have a license to drive (or even if don’t have one, like moi), then I’m sure you don’t need me (or anyone for that matter) to tell you how to drive.

Nevertheless, it is one thing to drive normally and a totally different thing to be driving on Indian roads. There are certain ground rules at it and if you don’t follow them, you’re not breaking any law, but you’ll simply look COMPLETELY out of league — a social outcast! Do you want to be one? No? Then read on; with a little help, you’ll be one of us too…

1. Your goal is not to arrive at the destination, but to cover the next half a kilometer successfully.



2. Be loud! Get the people to actually notice you. At traffic lights, leave no more than two inches between your vehicle and the one in front of you and honk away like it’s nobody’s business.



3. When taking off from a stop sign, floor the gas and pretend to take off with a jolt but quickly apply your brakes as fast as you took off. Confusing that little moron driving right behind you will make you feel like you’re on Mount Alps! :-D



4. Lane driving: D-o-n-’t try it and end up getting your car battered. Drive on any lane you feel like and swiftly move from one to the other leaving your fellow commuter totally bewildered! He’ll try to do the same to you and try to make you look like a fool, but if you’re experienced enough (read if you have the courage and skill), you wouldn’t let him do that, would you? Sooner or later, he’ll give up and accept defeat.



5. Much to the annoyance of the other people on the road, do, oh please do ramble into your mobile phones. Here’s an interesting theory to it that a fellow colleague related to me sometime back:


“You wake up very late in the morning and rush to work trying to avoid the morning traffic in vain. Then, when you get to work, your boss gets all the attention; besides, you can’t have a personal conversation when the work place is insanely quiet. During coffee breaks, you don’t get to speak to anyone on the phone, ‘cause that’s when all your fellow colleagues are sharing the newest gossip at work. Lunch break is pretty much ruled out too, ‘cause you’ve gotto respect the person sitting right in front of you; nopes, can’t yap away those glorious 20 minutes. When you get home, your wife nags you about a malfunctioning microwave, or a leaking tap in the bath! So that leaves you with the time you spend driving to and from work. Considering traveling takes away most part of the day, this is the only leisure time you’ve got, to talk to your friends.”

I should agree it’s a pretty sensible theory. So go on guys, please speak into those phone while on the road. You’re doing your boss, your colleagues, AND your wife a little favor.


6. Save those batteries. Use those headlights and turn-indicators sparingly!



7. If you’re confused on how to race against that nincompoop who overtook you a few seconds ago, don’t panic, just trust your instincts and race back at him. It never fails you know.



8. Wave your hand frantically out of the car every now and then. It doesn’t have to mean a thing, but it’ll confuse the shit out of the others.



9. Careful where you’re going. There will be a pothole, a puddle of water, a speed-bumper, every 10 yards separated at a 5 feet distance diagonally, vertically, AND horizontally. This is where following rule #4 really helps. Get the picture?



10. As a rule of thumb, never look in the eye of the Traffic cop. I’m NOT going to explain why. Some rules are better left unexplained!

Now for a quick reality check. Out of the points listed above, I follow 1, 4, 9, and 10 diligently.

So you tell me, am I an improvement or am I still a social outcast?

As funny as the above account may sound, I’m sure you’d agree that traveling on Indian roads is pretty painful. Thank God, Chennai isn’t so bad; we think twice about the infrastructure before we decide to let the IT companies exploit us. But, can you even begin to imagine driving on Mumbai or Bangalore roads? :-/

So I think we should stop fretting over it and start following these simple rules ;)

The Yukon Song

Each time I read this peom, I get transported to a totally different world!

My tiger friend has got the sled,
And I have packed a snack.
We're all set for the trip ahead.
We're never coming back!

We're abandoning this life we've led!
So long, Mom and Pop!
We're sick of doing what you’ve said,
And now it's going to stop!

We're going where it snows all year,
Where life can have real meaning.
A place where we won’t have to hear,
"Your room could stand some cleaning."

The Yukon is the place for us!
That's where we want to live.
Up there we'll go to yell and cuss
And act real primitive.

We'll never have to go to school,
Forced into submission,
By monster, crabby teachers who'll
Make us learn addition.

We'll never have to clean a plate,
Of veggie glops and goos.
Messily we'll masticate,
Using any fork we choose!

The timber wolves will be our friends.
Well stay up late and howl,
At the moon, till nightmare ends,
Before going on the prowl.

Oh, what a life! we cannot wait,
To be in that arctic land,
Where we'll be masters of our fate,
And lead a life that's grand!

No more of parental rules!
We're heading for some snow!
Good riddance to those grown-up-ghouls!
We're leaving! Yukon Ho!

The Yukon Song
From: Yukon Ho!
Bill Watterson

What an evil eye can do…

OK, my car is unwell. How, you ask? Well, here’s what happened last evening...

Yesterday my dad wanted to use the car and he asked me to get to work by bus. I could have very well asked him to take a rick to wherever he was headed. But not after he said that he needed to go somewhere close to Kancheepuram on work. So, the goody daughter that I am, I let him take the car.

Besides, I think one should take our very own MTC bus off and on. My fellow passengers double-up as my body guards, giving me that snug feeling throughout the ride, never letting me move an inch here or there, until I eventually decide to jump out.

But I really can’t complain, can I? Nopes! Not after the share-auto ride I had to take to reach work. On second thoughts, you could call it a “2 kilometer death-ride”. I had to practically grab at the railings of the rick, holding on to dear life not knowing for sure when I might get thrown out!

Somebody p-h-u-u-l-l-ease tell these share-auto guys that they need to check their rpm. During the little while that these guys wait for the traffic lights to change to green, which they do under extremely rare situations, you can feel your entire body shaking; cheeks jumping up and down, teeth rattling, butt getting displaced, and my spectacles gradually being moved from the bridge of my nose to the edge. And with both my hands holding onto either sides of the rick, you can assume how important (or unimportant) it becomes to adjust my glasses then! Phew! That was ONE helluva ride!

Anyway, back to the subject of how unwell my car is... As drained as I was when I reached home last night, I didn’t forget to take a look at my parking lot at home. Of course, it was parked there, as usual. But only when I went to take a closer look, did I notice the big gaping dent on its butt! Instantly I felt myself gasping for air “Ohmigod! How could this have possibly happened? Was there a car crash?” :-/

I quickly entered our home, waiting for an explanation. There was my dad, perched at his desk with papers strewn all over the table (he looked fine, so obviously he wasn’t hurt); and from the calm way he greeted me, you’d think that I could crash my car and bring it back every single night!

But well, I didn’t have to ask him a single question ‘cause he merely pointed out those dotted lines on the insurance papers where he needed my signature!

Aaargh! I feel awful! :(

Immortal

Not that Val's day has any significant impact on me, but love? Oh love sure does [grin].

Found a few love quotes that I thought were flawlessly accurate...

"Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart."

~ Washington Irwing ~


"Marriage resembles a pair of shears, So joined that they cannot be separated; Often moving in opposite directions, Yet always punishing anyone who comes between them!"

~ Sydney Smith ~


"Just because you know someone doesn't mean you love them, and just because you don't know people doesn't mean you can't love them. You can fall in love with a complete stranger in a heartbeat, if God planned that route for you. So open your heart to strangers more often. You never know when God will throw that pass at you."

~ Heather Grove ~


"Love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone."

~ Mitch Albom ~

Have a wonderful week and a whole year of immortal love!!!

* Hugs *

Lessons Learnt!

About three months ago, I had promised to write a review of Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner (the book was a birthday gift from my friends, last year). I read the book AGAIN last weekend, and this time after reading, I’m getting the feeling that I’m not qualified enough to write a review about a masterpiece that is The Kite Runner.

So I thought that I should maybe enumerate the lessons I learnt from this book; although I should mention that each time I read it, I get a different idea blooming from the same passage; from the same experience; from the same course of events that has been passed on to the reader.

Here goes:

1. One should take time to stop and listen to one’s dreams (or nightmares); analyze them maybe. If you sat still and listened to what they are conveying, it may tell you a great deal about yourself and about what others think of you.



2. Whilst chasing your dreams, do not forget the ones that helped you race with it, or the ones that raced at it WITH you just so YOU could reach it. Not because some day you might need their help again; but simply out of gratitude!



3. Indulge in all possible childhood pranks when you can; pick mulberries, chase butterflies, climb trees, hang from branches, make paper boats, get your knees dirty; the works! Chances are, you may not be able to do any of those later.



4. Love in a way that no one ever had or ever would again!



5. Don’t run into guilt trips too often. If you do, set a deadline for it, an upper threshold and then…let go.



6. “Perspective is a luxury when your mind is constantly buzzing with a swarm of demons” — in the words of the author himself. I don’t think it needs any explanation. Just think about it.



7. Give yourself a good cry if it makes you feel better. It’s ok to spend a few tearful minutes with a good friend. And NO, you’re not being selfish. Believe me, it will help take that pounding off your head.



8. Be loyal; it pays. The mask you’re wearing is gonna wear-off sooner or later.



9. Stop with good memories. Save them; a photograph, a hand-written letter, a tape-recorded voice; all heals.



10. When you forgive, it takes away the weight of the world from your shoulders and leaves the person that has just been forgiven, helpless, instead!!! Better yet, learn to forgive when it’s the toughest to.



11. Think twice before you say or do something; it may hurt. But of course, you wouldn’t know it unless you're on the receiving end, would you?



12. If you know you can be of assistance to someone in some way, and if you know that this is the right time, do it. It may be too late by the time you think you’ll do it another time.



13. What you learn at school is not education! It is what you learn from experience every single day that makes you a better person (although this is not the first book I read that’s telling me this).

To think the author could say all this and more through the mouths of two children barely in their teens, from Afghan... itself is fantabulous!

Excellent plot, and very well played with emotions; a novel about friendship and loyalty. I’m trying hard not to write a review here guys, so go on and read the book. Or better yet, come to me, I may surprise myself by lending it to you sometime. ;)

I’d say it’s a must read for each one of us!

Monday musings

Been living out of boxes for over two months now; it was great to have returned home last weekend (read, great to get back to mum’s food again). The weekend included a lot of playing the keyboard; I was TRYING to play My Immortal from Evanescence (much to the frustration of my sister; psstt, the keyboard belongs to her btw and she plays pretty well... er... kinda ok, not as much as I do ) and I ended up making music (or so I’d like to call it). Eventually of course, she grabbed it from me and effortlessly played most part of the song in less than an hour and she did it by ear.

Hola! Alritty; about the remainder of the weekend. We went to the India International Motor Show 2007 at Chennai Trade Centre.

Here are some pictures:

AND ...

I absolutely adore the Mitsubishi Lancer!!!

There was also a Ford Endeavour – Executive Coach; a poor imitation of the stretch Limo; I did'nt like it!

And now for the hard reality :-/

That’s my car at the Maruti Free Service Camp at YMCA Royapetta, minutes before a wash on Sunday.

Busy … in Belgium!

I’ve been busy the last couple of days, the reason why I haven’t been posting anything either. Yep, I’ve been busy making a (virtual) trip to Belgium and I'm back with a new friend!

Flummoxed? Well, here it is. Truth is, I’ve been a little busy with work and in the meanwhile, I received an email from one of my blog readers. Yep, a personalized email!!!

I should mention that I was elated when I read the first couple of lines at least ;). Anyway, her name is Mush and she’s from Belgium. Here’s the email (with her permission to reproduce it here) and my reply:

Warning: This email is pretty loooooong and consists of a discussion of some serious stuff.

------------------------------------------------

Greetings Miss Iyer

Hello, my name is Mush and i have been reading your blog on quite a regular basis (from the time i came upon it by chance). I thought that you are a very witty writer, some of your articles do make me smile after a hard days work of looking after a toddler!

I kept your blog add in my favourites because........
you are from India. My apologies, i am half indian (my dad side is from south india, tamil nadu, they all speak Tamil, i only understand it but cant seem to pronounce any of the words correctly) I grew up watching all kinds of tamil movies and have quite a 'hopeless' image of india. Whenever i discuss India with my friends, most of them will point out all the negative side of it - some say its heading towards being the next lost continent!

But like the few left around, i am hopefully despite of all the poverty, corruption.... and whatever else un-mentionable, there is yet still hope for India! Other than Bollywood, coming across your blog has made me see the hopeful side of India. I am surprised at the many Indian bloggers who right beautifully! So i am glad to made this discovery that such a handful or millions more of you out there in India. Educated, great writers and very globalise!

Are marriages still being fix for daughters in the family? Is giving dowry a compulsory thing also? Are daughters allowed to make their own choice of husbands?
What about if you are out & abouts in the evening say at 9pm, is it safe to come home on your own?

Pardon me for my naivity and ignorance, i just want to know what its like really in India, someday i hope to be able to have the guts to visit India (my father land). My husband has been there and stayed for 6 months. His experience both positive and negative leaves me scared but at the same time curious to come visit!

Thank you for reading my email.
One of your blog readers
Mush
http://voskenslaan.blogspot.com/

------------------------------------------------

And my reply!

------------------------------------------------

Hello Mush,

First of all, thank you for emailing. As much as I enjoy waking up every morning to find comments on my posts, I must admit that I was overwhelmed to see a personalized email from a reader. You have no idea how much joy this email has brought me; and I’m glad my posts could make you smile.

But, first things first, you sure did take a risk by writing to me (if you expected a reply that is); ‘cause if you had had the chance to read my most recent post, you’d have known that I hate answering emails (or calling back for that matter). But lo, looks like I’ve surprised myself yet again! :-D

On a more serious note, the minute I saw your email, I wanted to write back to you instantly (the hasty person that I am). Nevertheless, since your mail consisted of a lot of serious questions/doubts/apprehensions about India in general, its future, about the people and whatever is left of its culture, I thought it best to spend some time and give you the best possible answers (at least in my humble opinion).

It’s nice to have come across someone from Belgium with an Indian descent. And you’re right; few Indian movies really make an effort to reflect its culture or society in a just manner. If anyone from any part of the world would want to associate Tamilians with Tamil movies, then their views of us would be really weird stuff!

Girl running away from a college drop-out guy, guy chasing her through a fields and trees in the middle of nowhere. Throw in some fights, squeeze in a few songs and then they live happily ever after!

Obviously, that’s not even CLOSE to the true picture.

All those weird stuff the rest of the world thinks about us by watching those movies, clearly isn’t true. Indeed, like your friends rightly pointed out, there are negative sides too. I mean, is there a single country that isn’t suffering from political/economic instability? Ours simply include some more tragic issues such as poverty, bribery, corruption, security issues... name anything you want to, that adds oil to the already flaming fire that a developing country like ours shouldn’t have. And off late, the rapid consumption of westernization isn’t helping either. The impact obviously is HUGE in a small country like ours, also the second most densely populated in the world.

Yep, we’ve got it all! But despite that, we still have the bond that keeps us tied to our motherland and the culture that has been rooted for over millions of years. We respect our parents, have dinner with our family everyday, meet relatives and friends over birthdays and on weekends (we don’t need an occasion or a reason to party et al), festivals and family gatherings are a part of our weekly or monthly schedules, every second marriage doesn’t end in a divorce and our marriage success rate is high; which by itself shows our tolerance as well ;).

To answer your questions quite simply:

Are marriages still being fix for daughters in the family? YES, for sons too.
Is giving dowry a compulsory thing also? No.
Are daughters allowed to make their own choice of husbands? Yes and No.
What about if you are out & abouts in the evening say at 9pm, is it safe to come home on your own? Again, yes and no.

I know that most of these single-syllable answers will puzzle anyone who doesn’t know much about us or attempts to discover us through movies. So here it is,

Are marriages still being fix for daughters in the family? Are daughters allowed to make their own choice of husbands?

Yes, some marriages are still being fixed for daughters as well as sons by the family members. But in most families these days, parents are oh-so-willing to allow their sons and daughters to choose their spouse. Needless to say, if they don’t get married when they are supposed to, parents do interfere. Psstt, it’s a big deal in the Indian community if one isn’t married :).

Is giving dowry a compulsory thing also?

Dowry isn’t compulsory. In fact, if I’m not wrong, I think there are laws against both offering and demanding dowry. Besides, Indian women are approaching their career and their identity in the society so much so, that they are regarded as almost equal to men. Evidently, the need for dowry doesn’t arise. Or at least *I* think so!

What about if you are out & abouts in the evening say at 9pm, is it safe to come home on your own?

Again, yes and no. I presume I don’t have explain why.


Regardless, it is pretty evident from your email that these questions were only case-scenarios for you to get an idea of what we are now or where we are heading to. Clearly, these answers would prove futile in attempting to resolve those apprehensions.

What is India like today and where are we heading to? I can assure you, we are definitely not a lost country! We never were. What with the Americans losing their jobs to Indians and the cash flow into our country gaining its momentum in geometric ratios every single fiscal year, it sure is going somewhere. Although I know very little about economics or about how a country is gauged on its economic stability, I certainly know it isn’t going down the drain at least.

And what’s more, IMHO, I really think that with a perfect blend of culture thrown in along with the current style of living, I do hope there’s light at the end of the tunnel for us Indians!

I’m not sure if I made any sense AT ALL in all this long rant, but I’d surely love for you to visit India sometime. And I hope that we will change your idea about us then.

Also, I’d like to know more about you, your parents and your family. How life there is; where you spent your childhood etc. Basically, eager to know some background! :)

Furthermore, with your permission, I’d like to post your email and my reply on my webblog (of course I’ll conceal your identity if you want me to). My frequent visitors may have an opinion or two to give you (and me) in the process. I completely understand though, if you wish me not to post it.

Cheers
Miss Iyer

PS: Interesting name you’ve got there. What does it mean?

------------------------------------------------

She replied almost instantly and as you can see has let me post her letter in my space. For the most part, my reply could have been wrong. I’d like for you guys to go ahead and address either Mush or me and enter comments/suggestions for either one of us; where we went wrong, what isn’t true et al.

I’m yet to reply to her email, I’m THAT busy. ;)

10 things

I've been tagged! 10 things that define me?

When I wanted to come up with 10 things that would define me, it typically included
“I hate creepy crawlies”
“I love yapping”
“love to stand in the beach and watch the sea for hours”
"love the first rain of the season"
“strangely, I like the way fevicol feels between my fingers after it has dried”
“I emphasize my ideas and opinions with ALL CAPS (which I do almost always”
“I listen to Evanescence”
“I dream a lot”
“blah blah blah” stuff like that. Obviously, it took me less than 2 minutes to come up with that list.

But then I figured that it didn’t make sense; I mean, don’t practically everyone like the sea, or listen to music, or freak out when they see bugs (at least the women folk out there)?!?

Well, here are some of them that define me, or at least *I* think so. I can assure you though that this is not a comprehensive list. Minutes after posting this entry, I can come up with as much as 10 or 15 more...

----------------------------------------------

1. Highly unpredictable, I can have 3 zillion moods in a span of 3 minutes. AND, it’s hard to tell where one ends and where the other begins! They kinda blend with each other. My friends can vouch for that. :-D



2. I waste food! :( However little I eat, somehow I’ll be full at the end of the meal with at least two spoonfuls left on the plate. Interestingly, I won’t have a teeny bit of space in my stomach to accommodate the left-over food.



3. I love reading; I have to read at least an hour before I get into bed every night. This is aside from the reading I do on the internet – at least 3 books at any given point in time. Also, I have this nasty habit of reading the last page first AND ship back and forth in a book simply because I get bored half way through it. That displays yet another one of my traits, doesn’t it? Doesn’t it say I’m impatient? <grin>
   
   
4. I can handle wits or talk to anyone about any subject under the sun. I love to acquire knowledge, but only as much as I want to. You won’t find me pursuing the topic any longer if I don’t know anymore about it. I’ll surreptitiously drop the conversation just as fast as I started it and dart to a more comfortable subject to talk on!



5. I can’t rest my eyes on one object for more than a few seconds. Needless to say, I have plenty of crushes. In fact, sometimes, I have more than one crush on the same day... foxy eh? Or shameless? ;)



6. Usually honest, friendly, and mostly eager to please people; I don’t know why though. In fact, I surprise myself (and others) sometimes with the things I do.



7. I hate writing letters, answering emails and calling back. I procrastinate! I can thank people in my mind, can’t I? Why should I write a Thank You note? It's a surprise I'm still blogging!



8. I’ll pick up that laundry while on my way home…
   I’ll make you a yummy pie on your birthday night…
   I promise I’ll be good…
   
   Which may all turn out to be…
   
   The laundry? Its not en-route!!!
   We should just go OUT to dinner tonight, don’t you think?
   Good? Yeah-haan!
   What I believe in today, I may not believe in tomorrow. So beware of all those promises I make. They won’t even last the next minute!



9. And of course, I love my friends, especially the ones with a funny bone. I love spending time with people who can see things the different way and find humor in almost everything they see or hear.



10. I’ve BIG dreams... HIGH hopes... BELIVE in luck... BABBLE a lot... and won’t take things SERIOUSly when they ought to be... more-or-less the typical me I'd say. :)

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Woah! That took me a day and a half! I should mention that at first when I started off I couldn’t think of a single damn thing about myself. Then, I just let go and started observing myself (yes, you heard it right). I’ve never looked at myself the way I did these past few days in order to come up with the above list. Blame it on my versatile, agile self—all along, I hadn’t had the time to stop and think about ME.

I tag Supernova and Big B.

Gimme a break... will 'ya?

I'm mighty angry. In fact I'm furious — especially when my parents think that they can decide where I should hang out over the weekend. Helloooo, I'm 25, not freaking 15!

Come to think of it, I guess I'll be 40 by the time I start making decisions for myself
Needless to say, when I'm 41, my 12-year old might start making my decisions :-/

What a scary thought!

Ping it!

After an entry, letting the world know that you have just spoken can be a bit time consuming (and for people like me, a lot frustrating). PingGoat is a free pinging tool that scans your blog on a regular basis for updates and acts as a utility to notify all services that keep tracks of wedblogs.

And what’s more, you can also find our how much your blog is worth. PingGoat values my blog at $3.01 while Technorati thinks its worth $564.54.

So go on, Ping it! :)


PS: I stumbled upon Shankari's blog and could'nt resist reading her posts about one of the books she'd read. And after those exhaustive reviews, my next one has GOT TO BE Rebecca.

The Dance of Siva

Somehow, I seem to like Lord Siva the best, as opposed to any other God or Goddess. I don’t know why, but I don’t think I want to know! And don’t be surprised if there’s gonna be a long rant about Nataraja, Nataraja, and more Nataraja on this post :)

Two full days on the road, more than 14 hours inside a car and save for the seven hours of sleep in between, the remaining hours were spent on foot. This was how I spent my trip to Chidambaram on Saturday and Sunday last. I had a big list on me on the number of temples I wanted to visit, but couldn’t visit most of them; still I can’t say I was disappointed.

We started from Anna Nagar at 11:30 on Saturday and by 2:00 we were at Panchavatee near Pondicherry. We were lucky enough to see the deity this time of the year, since there was a kumba-abhishekam scheduled for the massive 36-feet tall Panchamukha Anjaneya on the 31st of this month; the entire temple was all decorated and colorful for the event.

Our next stop was at Sri Lakshmi Hayagreeva temple, the God of Knowledge, believed to bless students with the triumph of knowledge. It was 4:30 by the time we got out of this temple and we headed directly to Chidambaram, not wanting to miss visiting Lord Nataraja the same evening. We stopped by at my friend’s aunt’s place (who was considered to be pretty influential inside the temple).



We didn’t want to lose one precious minute and headed straight to the temple. Apparently, this time around there was a kumba-abhishekam at this temple as well. They were performing it for the four entrances (gopurams) separately. All four gopurams were painted in bright blue and red paints. The kumba-abhishekam for the South (and most important) gopuram was scheduled for the day after we reached.

The gold plated sanctum has about 26,700 golden leaves, said to be the average number of times we breathe in a day and is woven together with 72,000 nuts and bolts, said to be the number of nerves in the human body. I am not sure about the significance (if any) or the authenticity of the information but just happened to learn it this time. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong!



Though the temple was crowded, we did get a chance to see Lord Nataraja, Sivagama Sundari ambal, and a special darsham of the Chidambara Rahasyam (the concept of nothingness). Something mystic about the aakasha lingam which though even to this day, I didn’t understand the concept, I love gazing deep into the nothingness of those golden leaves when that faint light from the dheep-aaradhana illuminates them.

Aaah! The feeling of walking the loooong corridors of the temple was awesome; we were almost three hours inside the temple which by itself seemed like we were rushing through each sanidhi. Anyway, we were out by 8 in the evening and headed for the wedding reception (which was the primary reason of the trip btw).

Day 2 started with the much needed hospitality from the family we were staying at, and we started off for the marriage. As soon as we had breakfast, our next stop was at Vaidheeshwaran kovil. Another crowded temple where I met four ex-collogues, each trying to fight to get a glimpse of the Lord. The only temple that got me exhausted was this one and by the time we were out, I was gasping for breath and feeling glad that I got out. On our way back, we saw the kumbha’s of the South gopuram of Nataraja temple for which the kumba-abhishekam was over a couple of hours earlier.

We started from there at 12:30 and I was home at 4:30 that evening. By the time I was home, I felt washed out and dog-tired! Although I can’t complain, the packed schedule and the road trip was the only thing that wasn’t a good idea.

All in all it was a great trip. I’m immensely happy I did this. I really want to do more of these, and actually want to visit the Chidambaram temple more often; and next time I’m NOT spending less that a whole day inside the walls of this temple. :-D