[airguitar]

Of what use is that travel where you have to compete ( again ) with your fellowmen for resources ? Travel should be liberating, an escape from the rigmarole of life. If you find yourself fighting for that good position in a toll lane, for a good seat ( or even just any seat ) in a restaurant ( and I don't have to remind you of those situations when you can't even enjoy your meal, what with 'others' hanging around your table hoping that you will vacate your seat the next minute) , for a good room in a good hotel etc etc. Competition kills fun. For the same reason, we have stopped traveling on long weekends ( and even on regular weekends ). This is not to blame others or take a high perch, but it's just a practical way of staying out of stress.

Next, haven't written a travelogue on these forums in a long while. Good travelogue-writing needs a high level of commitment ( time and emotions ). Finally I summon enough of that to write one, because the place I went to had a lasting effect on me. Nope - not hills, not scenery, not greenery. It's the people. It's the crowd. Ironical, as generally I stay away from crowd. But this one is a special congregation. One that holds a record now - most visited festival in all of Tamil Nadu - the festival of Dussehra at Kulasekarapatnam, Thoothukudi Dist.

Let's start with a picture of the record ( this one pic is not mine, and is courtesy the page of Mutharamman temple on Facebook )



Kulasekarapatnam is a small temple town ( more a village ) that comes alive when lakhs of people from neighbouring villages and towns descend on the Mutharamman temple here to celebrate the Dussehra. People dress up as Gods and Godesses - this is not a street play or something but something that needs a lot of commitment. Folks dressing up are usually on a 'Vrat' of 41 days, seek alms and dress up only with the money got from seeking alms. Excess money is put back into the temple hundis ( barrels placed at the temple by dozens on the Vijaya Dashami day ). Villagers do this with a belief that it will bring them good things or things that they have been longing for ( e.g. a baby in the family and so on ).

Some teaser pictures

[airguitar]

For logical end/starts of posts, I'll write a new post, though I can edit the previous one at this point. We first heard of the grand celebrations at Kulasekarapatnam in 2011. For whatever reason, it took a long 7 years for a visit to materialize. It has to be done during the Dussehra. The last 2-3 days. Tiruchendur is the nearest town with good facilities.

Tiruchendur needs no introduction ( Kulasekarapatnam doesn't either for many ). It was decided that we need to spend 2 full days at Kulasekarapatnam. Add to it, 1 day for each of the legs of the journey, so 4 days was a bare-minimum. Taking family along was out of question, what with young kids and a tough environment to manage them in. So, a friend and I set out. Skoda Fabia was the ride. About 1700 kms over 4 days, most of it over the first and the last day was the plan.

Day 1
Bangalore to Tiruchendur was the plan. But that's easy. Didnt' want to miss out on a number of things we could do the same day en route to Tiruchendur. As long as we got to Tiruchendur by 7 PM, we were fine. Start at 5.15 AM. Breakfast at Saravana Bhavan, Krishnagiri after the Chennai-Salem fork. This is a regular place for us. No more stoppage until just before Kovilapatti for a coffee. The plan was to utilize some time to visit some historical places in Tuticorin Dist. First was Ettaiyapuram. Known for multiple famous people - Subramanya Bharathi, the greate Tamil poet and reformer; Muthuswamy Dikshitar, the famous poet and classical composer; Ettappa, the regional naik that ratted on Veerapandiya Kattabomman to the British.

The first place was Ettaiyapuram Palace where Ettappa lived. Currently it is the property of the zamindar descendants of Ettappa. The place is not inhabited now ( well, only by an ostentation of peacocks), it's also quite a bit dilapidated. It's a private property that you are not supposed to trespass. You can ask for the permission at the gate and you may get ( or you may not ). We decided against asking, but the palace is supposed to have some most beautiful murals.

The Ettaiyapuram palace and it's current inhabitants (backside. The main entrance is on the other side )



Because Ettappa ratted on Kattabomman, even today in Tamil, we colloquially refer to people that rat on others as Ettappa.Next up was Sri Subramanya Bharathi's home. The great Tamil poet. His house has been converted into a museum and the street is called Bharathi Street. This is where he was born ( for reference, there is also another Bharatiyar house in Triplicane, Chennai where he lived for a few years - that is also worth visiting ). Some pictures.

The street where his house is


The house itself


The place where he was born inside the house


The next stop was the Kali temple that he so frequently refers to in his songs, as short drive from there


The next stop was the Bharatiyar memorial close by


The next stop was the Muthuswamy Dikshitar memorial next to the bus stand. Famous classical composer. The gates were closed, but you can talk to a telephone booth guy opposite the memorial to open it - he manages it.


With that, we were done with Ettaiyapuram. The next stop was the historic town of Panchalankurichi, the birth place of the famous, brave king, Veerapandia Kattabomman who fought the British for the fact that they asked him to pay taxes ( and he didn't think the East India Company had any right on it ).

Somewhere in between on the highway near Kurukkusalai is the Retta Panamaram - the dual palm tree set.


Back to Kattabomman : Through various interesting sequences he was finally captured and hung ( more on that later ) to death. His fort was razed. A few years later, his brother built a new fort at the same place in flat 5 days, which was again razed down by the East India Company officials. Worse, Castor and Kalli plant seeds were sown ( these grow fast and thick and in the absence of machinery it will be impossible to remove them ) so as to prevent another fort from coming up in the place. This town is called 'Veeram Velanja Mannu' or the place where bravery was born.

There is a memorial at this place now ( where the original fort once stood ). There is also the Jakkamma temple which was the deity of the king. The entry fee to the memorial is a paltry Rs.2 for adults. Inside are paintings that tell us the story of the great king and his eventual fate. A guide will narrate the story to you.





Indian History is full of such Ettappas that helped defeat such Kattabommans. As you exit Panchalankurichi, there is a colony for descendants of the great king - they live there. The next stop was Ottapidaram, where the famous freedom fighter VO Chidambaram Pillai's house exists. It's a museum now.


Thanks so far reading through some pieces of the history of TN and India. If you are not enthused, I don't blame you. My travel companion didn't either. But it's part of the story. If you are interested, there is a graveyard between Panchalankurichi and Ottapidaram ( 2 kms from Panchalankurichi ) where there exists a tomb of Kattabomman's dead soldiers. It's a spooky place ( used by citizens of the villages for burial ) - so your call to visit. From here, we head to Kurukkusalai, a point on Madurai - Tuticorin highway to travel towards Tuticorin. Uneventful, except for the huge salt-pans. Then the hustle and bustle of old Tuticorin. And then the port area of Tuticorin which is very clean as is typical of Defence/Port establishments. A quick stop over at the Harbour beach.



By then we had seen our fair share of 'dressed up' people - dressed up as Kali, as beggars, as parrots etc. The last stop was at Vadakku Authoor, a place where the Tamiraparani river flows. And it was the Tamiraparani Mahapushkaram, an event that happens once in 144 years. So we had to visit. It was sunset at the time we reached and it made for a good picture. There was very little crowd as compared to other Pushkaram sites in Tirunelveli.


Post that we headed to Tiruchendur. The bus-stand here is called Bhagat Singh Bus-stand, which I thought was a little unusual for a far flung town. But then again, this is India, we respect all those that ever stood up for India. We plonked at Alakan Residency which is close to the temple. It was around 5.30 PM. Good location, decent hotel, especially for 2 friends. If you prefer something grand, go for Udhayam. I would myself opt for Udhayam if I go with family. Felt like we had seen quite a bit in 12 hours. Total distance traveled that day was 715 kms.

Given that the next day was Navami, we didn't want to take a chance with the crowd at the temple. We visited the temple the same evening and had the darshan. The temple has Veerapandia Kattabomman's artifacts ( the murthys he did puja etc) - don't miss this. His death-will stated that these valuable things should be donated to the temple. The utsava murthy of lord subramanya and the natarajar statue were taken away by the Dutch on their ship at one point in time - the ship however was faced with various perils that made the Dutch abandon the murthys mid-sea, which was later retrieved by a local leader and reinstalled. To this day, you can see the cheeks of the bronze idol corroded due to it's time in the sea.

The one other thing to not miss in the temple is the "Mani mandapam", a little bellhouse with a huge bell just adjoining the temple. During the time of Kattabomman, there were many such bellhouses from Tiruchendur to Panchalankurichi. They served the purpose of being a rest house and a signal point ( bell rings ). Most of them have been lost due to road widening ( talk about us Indians and our respect towards our own heritage ). The only other bellhouse (other than the one at the temple ) is somewhere in Vadakku Authoor ( between Tuticorin and Tiruchendur ). I spent some fruitless minutes trying to locate it/speaking to elders of the village - but no sign of it. Pls someone let me know if you know about it.


After a good dinner at Ramesh Iyer hotel near the temple and some quiet moments at the temple seashore and a Jigarthanda later, we were back in the hotel and slept like logs.

PS : For those that are interested in more history, there is a place called Maniyachi near Kovilpatti, again known for freed movement.. Lookup 'Vanchinathan'.
PPS : Mods let the posts be here, don't move it to the assembly line.

[airguitar]

Day 2 Mahanavami and Day 3 Vijayadashami

What to expect as a first-timer at Kulasekarapatnam

1. The Mutharamman temple courtyard is the center of all celebrations, it's small, but people are organized enough to use the space well.
2. While the celebrations happen all days on the Navaratri, the Navami and Dashami are the peak celebration days.
3. The crowd slowly starts building on the Navami morning. This is a good day to be there at the temple. Be there around 9 AM. There is enough light for good photos. And it is not crowded.
4. Every few minutes a troupe descends in the courtyard.
5. Each troupe typically consists of a man ( or an aged woman sometimes ) dressed up as a Kali, a woman dressed up as Parvati, a few dressed up as Hindu epic characters, one dressed up as a policeman, one or two transgenders or crossdressers, a bunch of talented drummers, a few dressed as Koravan/Korathi and lastly, one dressed up as a beggar and occasionally a couple of young men and women from the city or towns for modern-dancing.
6. The intensity of dress ups or beats or dances vary from troupe to troupe. Some are extra-ordinary.
7. The dancers dance, the Kali performs a quick dance and stops to do some soothsaying to common people that need help/are in trouble. Occasionaly, some parents hand their babies to be blessed by the Kali. The Kali may sometimes perform a dance with the bewildered baby in her(=his) arms. People seek blessings from the Kali.
8. Some of the performers light up camphor on their tongues, while some, get themselves pierced. Most of these scenes are spellbinding.
9. Each troupe's performance lasts a few minutes and then they make way for the next troupe
10. The dressed up people seek alms a few days before and only that money is used for dressing up. They observe a vrat of 40 days or so leading to the navaratri days. Excess alms obtained / unutilized is given back to the temple.
11. Around 1 PM on the Navami day, the crowd slows down a bit. It's rest time. The celebrations resume again in the evening around 5 PM and go all the way into the wee hours of the next day.
12. Dressed up people willingly pose for photos themselves without us asking them to. They will not take offense if you click pictures, but do ask once as a courtesy before clicking. You will see photographers in dozens, some of them come every year. You can speak to them for more tips on the event itself or on photography.
13. Performers, especially kids may ask for alms. Keep Rs.10 notes or coins handy. All such money will eventually go to the temple. Don't create a moral dilemma for yourself by asking to pose and then when they ask for alms, you hesitate. Click those you want to. Give alms to those you want to. Let them be the same. Or separate. Just keep basic humanity around. If you have given enough, say so. It's ok.
14. While the people performing are all good natured and kind, many of them are in a state of trance. They carry sharp weapons ( in their originals ) and fire ( poochetti ) - so maintain a safe distance as they may not realize all the time as to what is happening to them.
15. Keep a couple of bottles of drinking water handy. There are small shops that sell sodas and juices, so it's still ok. Preferably don't take young kids to the event.
16. Around 4-5 PM on the Navami day, the action gets more frenetic. The beats increase in frequency and volume while the dancing gets more frenzied.
17. Decent light is present even after dusk due to tubelights etc, plus the flames etc make for some magical pictures.
18. Don't forget to take in the experience. It's not just about photography.
19. Start back to Tiruchendur late evening on the Navami day. Buses ply from the mainroad to Tiruchendur until 10 PM. If you bring your own car, be aware of the severe traffic restrictions. The TN Police and traffic police do an excellent job of keeping the order. There are dedicated parking places on the main road, from where you have to walk to the temple which is about 0.5 kms. The walk itself is pretty vibrant with the troupes walking to the temple making for a great sight. Be aware of traffic diversions etc, it might get frustrating, but the policemen are helpful.
20. The areas in and around the temple usually have mobile toilets.
21. Return to the temple on the Dashami day. This is the climax. You will see that the crowd has swelled. Reach the temple in the morning - the action climaxes towards late night. You will see more frenzied performers. Celebrations last till the wee hours of the day after Dashami.
22. This day sees a lot of Annadanam to devotees
23. A post-trouping-in ritual is that the troupe ( Kali et al ) head to the Kulasekara seashore where someof the soothsaying etc continues.
24. Finally the participants remove their vesham and burn it on the seashore. They take bath in the sea and that formally completes their ritual.
25. Do follow one or two troupes to experience the sea-shore events
26. The seashore can get so crowded that you can see the gathering from the far-off Manapad beach which is 3 kms away
27. It can be a good experience to walk from Kulasekara seashore to Manapad beach and back during early morning - it should take about 45 minutes for the entire roundtrip
28. Participants dropoff unutilized alms into barrels kept in the temples. They don't take back even a rupee.
29. While Kulasekarapatnam is the hub of activities, there are other villages and towns nearby that have their own unique celebrations. Thandavankadu, Paramankurichi, Thandabaddu, Udangudi and Tiruchendur itself are some of the other places where you can witness/experience such celebrations. Don't be surprised if you see a troupe in front of your hotel in Tiruchendur. Kuttam on the Tiruchendur - Kanyakumari highway ( a little far ) also witnesses grand celebrations.
30. Keep 3 full days for Kulasekara - Navami, Dashami and the recoup day after Dashami. If you get bored or have had your fill, you can always visit quite a few good places/beaches around or head to Kanyakumari. Add extra days for commuting from your city to Kulasekara and back.

An important observation was how happy all the people were. They may not be well off ( most of them ), but they are happy. We city dwellers seek happiness but earn only comfort - the distinction between happiness and comfort is important.


We left Kulasekara on Dashami afternoon to visit Manapad and Kanyakumari and Thuckalay. Here are the pictures from Navami and Dashami. Hope you like them

[airguitar]

Remaining pictures in this post due to 30 photos per post limit.























After exiting Kulasekarapatnam, we visited Manapad beach ( which is on a small hillock ) from where you can see the Kulasekara seashore.

Kulasekara beach from Manapad beach


Manapad beach


Tiruchendur beach


Thandavankadu celebrations


After Manapad, we headed to Kanyakumari hoping to finish the Vivekananda Rock memorial boating. However got to know that due to Dashami celebrations, boating was suspend for the entire day. This didn't augur well as it meant that thousands of other tourists were also waiting for the next day's boating.



We checked into Rajam Hotel - decent, but with no sea views ( would prefer one with the sea views when I go the next time ). Had lunch at the Sea-view restaurant opposite ( long wait for the food ). Then decided to head to Padmanabhapuram Palace / Museum. It closes by 4.30 PM, we had to really rush. We reached by 3.30 PM. It has 3 sections, the palace, the kottara museum and the weapons museum. The one thing that caught my attention was the "Chitravadha Koodu" or cage where hardened criminals were put into and hung in public places and killed by the vagaries of the weather and vultures during the times of Travancore Raja.







We had enough time to get back to KK to catch a cloudy sunset at 6.05 PM. A little bit of a rest, and then we visited the Bhagavathy Amman temple and completed the Darshan. Then the first expensive dinner of the trip at Hotel Saravana near the temple and then a long walk to the Railway station to get some fresh Nendram chips from the shop opposite to the station. A quick icecream at Triveni Cafe and then we are back at the hotel room.

[airguitar]

The next morning we headed for the sunrise. On one side was the sea and on the other another sea - sea of heads. Thousands of people already lined up to witness the sunrise. We decided to walk a few steps into the sea to seat ourselves on the boulder. A cloudy sunrise later, we visited the triveni sangam and then we headed to the Saravana hotel for breakfast. By 6.30 AM there must have been a few hundred people standing in the line for boating tickets. As a kid I have been to the Vivekananda memorial. It looked like the line would take forever to move. We abandoned the idea of boating.



Back to hotel room, we contemplated visiting the colourful soil of the Sothavilai beach, but decided not to. Started at 8.30. As you head out of Kanyakumari, a few kms later, there is a diversion to a place called Aralvaimozhi. It's about 5 kms from the highway. Get into to feel a wind-tunnel like area with very high wind pressure. There is a quaint tea shop called "Otta Panai Teashop" that is worth a visit.

Then visited some friends on the way and reached Kayattar bypass. Let's conclude the Kattabomman story here - this is the place where he was hung on a tamarind tree to death. There is a pillar at the place where the tree stood ( the tree died in 1969 ) in a park and small memorial beside it. It so happened that only a couple of days back it was his death anniversary. Flowers that were laid on that day still remained on the pedestal. Actor Shivaji Ganesan who played Veerapandiya Kattabomman in a movie bought the place to ensure that the great king got the memorial he so deserved.



Post this, we had a quick tea break at Hotel Sree Saravana Bhavan a few kms before Kovilpatti. This is a placet where you can buy a lot of packaged snacks. After blowing up some money on Tuticorin macroons, Sattur Karasev, Kovilpatti Kadalamittai, Iruttukadai Halwa, Srivilliputtur palkova ( we got a sackful of these things back home) and some Panneer soda and Bovonto, we started back from here around 1145 AM. Plans of visiting Vettuvankoil which is a rockcut temple at a short diversion from near Kovilpatti were dissolved so as to reach early. 515 PM Krishnagiri, break at the regular Saravana Bhavan for a late lunch. Head back/reach Bangalore by 715 PM. Good roads, less stress, great trip.

That was it. Hail Kattabomman.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[ampere]

Very nice! Truly one of treasures of the unknowns about our country. And also a salute to your true wandering spirit to actually research about them and visit them!

[gigatech2006]

This is one of the best travelogues that I've come across over here. Loved the bit of history peppered into it to add the local flavor. Got goosebumps seeing Bharathi's birth place and Kattabomman's famous dialogue against the British.



Also, I concur with your opening paragraph. Last weekend, I made the mistake of going to Coorg. Bloody crowded - fight for restaurants, fight for parking spots, and the list was endless. Cut short the visit and drove back to Bangalore. I generally visit historical places - however, not good at documenting them. Maybe I should start this from my next trip.


Also, a rare travelogue where we didn't get to see the pics of your mode of transport

[sjain2054]

This is a truly beautiful thread/post!

Also, I'd like to thank all the Tamils who formed a strong and efficient army that defeated Ravan all those years back. Thanks for if it wasn't for you folks, we wouldn't be celebrating this awesome success in the history of India! Thanks for helping out a fellow North Indian rescue his queen!

[nakulreddy]

I absolutely enjoyed reading this. It felt like I made the journey myself.
Looking forward to more such Travelogues.

[srini1785]

Great Travelogue!!. I absolutely loved reading ( Glancing , actually ) through it. Being a tamil , I can relate to each and every person ( Bharathi, VOC and Kattabomman ). Great work. I hope the fierce southern sun did not bother you.

[prithm]

Thanks for this wonderful travelogue. I will retrace your footsteps to every monument you visited since my dad is a big fan of every freedom fighter you mentioned.

Best regards.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Very nice. The photos are all good, but those of the people rank as portraits: they are really superb. Especially as this is action photography where you just had to take each moment as you saw it.

[DigitalOne]

This is truly a unique travelogue. Got to know of so many new things.

[Thermodynamics]

Excellent find. When we think of make up laden art forms, we generally think of Kathakali from Kerala. After reading your log i think similar ancient art forms might still be surviving perhaps in small pockets of lesser known regions. Thanks for sharing.