Ok , let us get back to the function and the short trips we made in the due course. As usual a fully packed trip it was. Started from Coimbatore in a Matador Van (only 8 of us :).... went so relaxedly... each one had enough space in the van to stretch their legs.. and we could watch Movie too...). First stop was to Pallasena (this is the first temple which, anyone new in our family is supposed to visit and then only to any other temple.. because it is our Kula Deivam, as people call it.. The goddess Bhagavathy is oh so beautiful and the place is near Palghat). We had our darshan and then to Pallavoor (Shiva temple .. much older than Pallasena). These two are the frequently visited temples by us.. For every function, we visit these temples. After our prayers in here, we headed for Guruvayoor... On the way we saw Singam tamil movie (Average and one time watch movie.. Surya was cute even though I didnt like the moustache much .. especially in the song Kadhal Vandhale... I didnt know that Surya could dance like this ...am not writing any review on this movie.. nothing much to write except that it is a mass entertainer and typical Hari movie...racy screenplay, good songs).
Kerala is a very nice place to visit when it rains.. On the way, the heavy downpour slowed us down otherwise it would take only 1.5 hrs from pallavoor to reach Guruvayoor via Thrissur....We reached around 2 or so, had our lunch in the nearby hotel. We were put up in a hotel in East Nada very near to the temple. (Courtesy: my bro's friend). We relaxed a while after the lunch and started getting restless coz we wanted to go to any other nearby place, because the next darshan was after 8 pm and we had Chavakkad beach nearby.... Everyone wanted to go but they were tired.. so after much persuasion and coaxing everyone except my Dad and his friend, got ready.... my Dad offered to take care of my niece and there we were ready in the van around 4.30 willing to explore the beach (not a very famous one..but a beach is a beach...) And after we were ready to start...voila .. the van didnt start :( Battery down (aarambame kanna katudheda saamy ...ssssss).... But thank God for my bro (who kept himself in shape) and our family friend's son (who is in his 9th), who gave the van a 'slight' push and we made it.... Ok.. here I come Chavakkad Beach... It was supposed to be only a 20 mins travel from the hotel..But we were travelling for long and suddenly it dawned on the driver that we might have taken the wrong road (marupadiyumaaa.....) and when enquired seems like we had been travelling the wrong route within 10 mins of the travel it self and it was already 30 mins since we left the hotel...OMG.....(evalavu thadangal daa paa..mudiyala).. Sari route maathu.. .and then came all the way back and retraced the correct road... [Detour: One thing I noticed was that Kerala is a state which loves Football more than Cricket.. Even in this small town and other small towns that we crossed earlier, we could see posters and flags of Argentina, Brazil and Spain everywhere and all kutty theatres are telecasting the football live with commentary.. eppadi... kalakaraanga paa... I guess all Communist oriented states love football (I make this statement because I read somewhere that even WB has more football fans)]
At last we came to the Chavakkad beach.. Well it is not a very famous one..so you dont see a crowd there.. and since it is not a tourist spot you dont find any stalls there.....and everyone said that it smelled of fish badly.. I wouldnt know it anyway. The entrance wasnt maintained well I would say.. it has just a small road going to it. The beach is not a very long one..but long enough to enjoy a calm evening.. I love beaches...I love the sea...clear water..splashing waves...varying tides....I missed my sister there..she loves playing in the beaches a lot... There is game we always play in the beach...
If we write "Ramanidam thotra kadal" [which means, the sea that lost to Lord Ram] anywhere in the sand, they say that the sea will come and erase it. We did that in Poompuhar where my dad wrote it very close to the rocks which they have placed after the Tsunami attack and it was much far away into the land..But you have to see it to believe it , coz the words did get erased by the water. We tried in three places and all three were erased by the Sea...(too egoistic man!!)... my SIL wanted to try that here...since she firmly believed that this being a Malayali beach might not understand Tamizh letters she wrote the word 'Kadalamma' meaning Sea Goddess and we waited bated breath. Nature is so full of mysteries..It kept slowly increasing the length of the waves till it came very near to the letters and then it nearly touched a few letters, then next wave...whoooshhhhh...it erased it.... It was as if the Sea was measuring how much it should be extending its arms to really win the challenge that we posed it to....I love the Sea !!!
You can see it for yourselves..
We played, played and played..till my mom and aunty got really tired of us and asked us to retreat because we need to go for night Darshan...Varadhuku manase illa .....Wanted to play more..and if possible wanted to see the sunset..but atleast after the initial hiccups we did manage to come and play..so rombha aasai padaamaa we started back. We reached much earlier than we thought and got ready for the temple. Did a night Darshan @ 8 and then dinner and sleep... Morning my dad wanted to see the first look of Guruvayoorappan (they have a name for it..which I dont remember) ... we have to go there by 4 am...and except for my dad , mom, uncle , aunty and their son (our family friends) every one was so asleep that we didnt hear the heavy downpour or the sound of our parents leaving to the temple. Later we got ready around 6 and along with our little star of the day , my niece, left to the temple.
We are not allowed to take any camera or electronic items (even cellphones) inside the temple... Very strict checking and as usual, we have the kerala temple dress codes.. But atleast they have started allowing Churidhars nowadays (but still not in all temples). Around 7 or so or so we completed the function. They have a very neat way of arranging things and keep the food ready (payasam, pongal and papad etc) for the kid and along with the parents everyone who attend the function can give the kid the taste of the new food. There they call it Annaprasnam, it is when the baby is given first solid food. This is also called "Chorunnal" meaning Choru - Rice(food) Unnal - eating. Then doors were closed for the next pooja and it was opened only around 9.30 for the devotees. The way you go inside is just like Tirupati. You have so many lines which you have to cross, go up and come down and then you enter the sanctum sanctorum. They dont let you see the God for more than 2 secs...just like Tirupathi....but you can anyway see the Kunju Krishnan right from the entrance...so no complaints.... But kids get too suffocated in there.. they might as well have some fans inside ... all the kutties started crying because of the rush and suffocation inside...After that we got our prasadams and went out and had our breakfast and a little shopping..The actual function was only for a few mins..and they have their own photographers inside the temple, who would take photos (Rs 500 for 36 photos) and they take only photos of the function..You are not supposed to photograph anywhere inside the temple. And we missed out taking outside photos too..because we werent supposed to carry the camera or cellphones...
After that we started off without much delay to Mammiyur Shiva temple and then to Parthasarathy temple. In Mammiyur they still dont allow Churidhars inside (Thank God, like a good Athai.. I was in a saree that day :D ). Once we finished Parthasarathy temple, we desperately wanted to go to the Elephant Sanctuary maintained by the Guruvayoor temple. So made a detour and found the place.. It stinked very badly (even for me!!!). But man....there were almost 40-50 elephants..captives, which served the temple etc all together....
This Elephant had gone mad and seems like they pierce the place where it might got ill and a liquid keeps oozing out of it always.. we saw the once-mad elephants (the above one)...They come in all sizes....There was this very old Elephant and there was one which was very young and kept dancing all the time :D and there was one which threw the leaves at us ;) and a few more variations. Had some funny moments there...:D and then we started to our hotel , packed , had lunch and were back on road to Cbe. Started around 3 pm from there and reached home by 6.30 pm. Unpacked and repacked and started by the night bus to Blr....
Short and sweet trip...as usual...
A word about my niece... She was a very very cooperative kid.. she didnt cause any hassles or any trouble for us...May be she was a little uncomfortable because she wasn't in her bed where she can keep rolling around..But she didnt throw a tantrum at all.. She behaved so well and cooperated so beautifully. I am proud of you dear one..
