[vittal]

Venkat alias Kannu

Swamiye Saranam Aiyappa.

With the grace of Lord Aiyappa, your devotion, commitment, blessings of elders and well wishers we had a memorable trip.

If we have to look back, the whole trip appears to be a dream.

Requesting all of you to shout out for Rajkumar and Shankar for their tireless efforts in organising this trip from ticket booking to all the arrangements for the pooja, Bhajan and irrumudi pooja.

Also please shout out to all the members of Group Awesome for cheering and supporting this trip.

To the members of this group who were part of this wonderful divine trip for active involvement and keeping up with the hectic schedule.

Though the trip was hectic I feel it was very satisfying.

The credit for the success of this trip should go to each of us for the active involvement, cooperation which enabled to execute our plan.
It has been a team effort.

We all should thank God for this opportunity.
Eagerly looking forward to the next trip
Ella Pughazum Iraivannukke

Swamy Saranam

[vittal]

Rajkumar

SWAMY SARANAM AIYYAPPA SARANAM

To summarise this particular pilgrimage, with Aiyappa's blessings the pilgrimage was organized by our dedicated, determined and most devoted, Venkat guruswamy. He has worked so cautiously and tirelessly to keep all the things in check. From ensuring the number of people making it to the pilgrimage to making progress towards all aspects of pilgrimage demands, he was able to execute and distribute work among the right people at the right time. I can't describe his dedication with just mere words. Though I have travelled with him for almost 25+ long years to Sabarimala, he showed different respect and devotion towards this trip. He had the extraordinary responsibility of taking 10 kanni swamies of which 8 were maaligaipuram. He is blessed to carry out such exceptional tasks. I would like to specially highlight guruswamy's family members, the kind of devotion and involvement they exhibit is phenomenal. Big kudos to the family.

Coming to the members of the pilgrimage, the collective achievement by one and all in different aspects of work assigned to the individual is highly commendable. On the personal front, my wife and sister in law had the privilege of being part of the group. They had a fantastic first-time pilgrimage experience to share with our family members and it brought out roaring appreciation from our family circle.

I, from the bottom of my heart, would like to thank all the members who helped and supported me with the responsibilities I was bestowed with.

Finally, a big thank you to all the members who joined hands in making this trip wonderful and a memorable one.

SARANAM AIYYAPPA

[vittal]

Suryanarayan

Kannu wholeheartedly deserves total appreciation for the meticulous way in which the whole pilgrimage to Sabarimala and other temples was executed. Commencing the journey at Jalahalli Ayyappa Temple, the IRUMUDI and bhajan functions were held with full participation by friends and relatives. The bhajans were a treat to the eye, in that those who sang were encouraged to sing more and more to make the event delightful. The Valakku Pooja which preceded was extraordinary. Kannu and his team had arranged excellent food for all the participants. Much more, the poor and those who were working were also given sumptuous food. The journey to the railway station at KR Puram is immemorable due to traffic jams, but due to the grace of Lord Ayyappa, everyone reached the platform at the appropriate time to board the train. The train journey was very pleasant. Immediately upon deboarding at Trichur Railway Station, a tempo traveller was waiting to take all of us to a hotel arranged by Murugan. After having a bath, we all had a nice breakfast and proceeded to Vadakkunathan Temple, where all of us got a good darshan of Lord Siva. We could not make it to Parmakev Baghavathy Temple due to a paucity of time. Kannu had arranged an online darshan for all of us at Guruvayoor temple. Thousands of people had gathered in the temple premises to obtain the darshan of Lord Guruvaruppan. However, Kannu's contacts helped us to enter the temple with ease. After darshan at Guruvayoor, we proceeded to Kodunganallur. However, we could not have darshan in the Bhagavathi Temple as it was closed by then. We all had sumptuous lunch under a banyan tree, took some rest and then proceeded to Chottanikara Bhagavathi Temple, where we had a good darshan of the Bhagavathi. We then proceeded to Vaikkam and had a good darshan of Lord Shiva in the temple. We then proceeded to Ettumanoor Temple. However, as we reached late, we could not have the darshan of the Lord. Nevertheless, we went inside the temple and had lunch there. We gave the remaining lunch to the poor. After taking a rest for some time, we proceeded to Erumali and Pampa. All of us had a bath in the facilities provided in the temple premises and then proceeded to Pampa. Out of the 16 members, 12 opted to walk to Sabarimala and four opted to go by Dholi. Kannu had arranged an excellent darshan for all of us at Lord Ayyappa's temple. Many of us could have darshan at least four times. As there was not much rush on that day, we were allowed to stand and pray for an indefinite period. After darshan, we took a rest in the Ayyappa Seva Sangh's hall for some time. We also had an excellent breakfast in the Ayyappa Sangh's premises - Pongu with Gojju. After taking a rest for some time, we returned to Pampa and boarded the van, which took us to Palani. Enroute, we had a good breakfast in a hotel. At Palani, we checked into Pattayya Naidu Hotel arranged by Kannu. After taking bath, we proceeded to Palani Temple. Some went by winch. This was also arranged by Kannu. All of us had good darshan of Lord Muruga in the temple for a long time and returned to the foothills. We had a good breakfast in a good hotel and proceeded to the hotel, where we took a rest for some time and proceeded to Tirupur Railway Station. Raja and Sumathy had arranged an excellent lunch for all of us. As soon as we boarded the train, we started eating lunch, which was delicious. En route, we had snacks, coffee and tea. We reached Bangalore in the night. The whole trip was so meticulously planned and organised. The entire credit goes to Kannu and his team. We can never forget the moments we spent with each other during our journey

[vittal]

Sukanya Ravi

Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa

* Sabarimala Yatra, it was my aim to go to Sabarimala at least once in my lifetime. When my sister called and asked me are you interested to come to Sabarimala, immediately I told yes, with the grace of Lord Aiyappa. The journey started so beautifully by visiting Jalahalli temple, then bhajan and Irumudi Pooja it was an amazing experience.

The trip was organised so nicely taking care of every small thing like transport, booking tickets, virtual entries, permissions for special entries for comfortable Dharshan, arrangements for food and stay was utmost care and comfort.

The devotional songs sung by Dr Vidya Raja was the best of hearing to our ears.
When we reached Sabarimala Climbing the 18 padi, it was amazing and my dream came true, after seeing Lord Ayyappa, emotional tears of joy.

I would like to thank Mr Venkat, Mr Raj Kumar and Mr Shankar for bringing this trip a colour full, meaningful and unforgettable memories, thanks to my sister and my BIL who was with me till the end of the whole trip ad gave me the courage to climb to Sabarimala and Palani.

It’s not at all possible to achieve all this without a proper plan and experience teamwork and his grace.
I will pray to God to give more strength, blessings and support to our Guruswamy Venkat.

Swamy Saranam.

[vittal]

Rema

Swamiye Saranam

Malai podal, Vrutham, yirumudi, Yerimeli petta thullal, Pampa Snanam, kannimoola Ganapathy, Padhinettu Padi, Sannidhanam , Neyyabhishegam, Maligapuram thenga uruttu and many Ayyappan related words have been heard by me because my connect with Ayyappan started from my childhood. But when I reached the Sabarimala I was not able to believe that I am in a place where crores of devotees had stepped on. When I climbed the padhinettu padi in ecstacy, I understood why people throng this place. When I stood right in front of the deity screaming, shouting, crying calling out his Sharana ghosham, Swamiya kanda Moksham Kittum, whoever started this ghosham is right, there is no other sorgam. Moksham Kitti.

All Credits go to guruswami who filled confidence and divinity in all of us. Kudos for his meticulous planning, cool and composed disposition, shouldering such a big responsibility of accompanying 8 kanni swami, especially ladies. I admire your dedication and commitment. Proud to be your sister. Was very much excited to get the Malai podal at Thippasandra temple by Our Nambiar Swamy who was my father's guruswami. The Ayyappa bhajan by Ramakrishna bhajan Sabha members accelerated the intensity of our penance. Everyday morning we woke up to divine bhajans on our Whatsapp. Thanks to Ravi, Kannu and Raj. Everyday Sharanam Vili purified the whole house.

A few thoughts about each one who travelled with us.

Malathy... She is the main reason for Venkat to arrange this trip. Every puja, she used to persuade (pester) Kannu to organise a trip for ladies. Thank you Malathy. You are an innocent, joyful person.

Raj Kumar_ The man who was Guruswamys right hand. Always ready to help. Ask him anything Irumudi Kattu, Maalai puja items, he was there to provide promptly. Admired the way the prasadam was distributed with much care.

Arul and Sukhanya_ WoW .. at your silent service. Always behind the screen assisting Raj Kumar. May God bless you girls.

Shivakumar_ Vallavanukku Pullum Ayudham. Thanks for playing rhythemic beats with the thookku Paathiram at yermeli for our petta thullal

Maami_ Everytime she made us awestruck with her strength and dedication proving age is only a number. Very positive person. Mami... chuthi podanum unga familkku.

Balu Chithappa_felt so honoured to climb the Palani hills with you. Had the feeling of climbing with my father. Thanks for bringing out nostalgic memories of our thatha and his miracles.

Ganesh Chithappa_ spread confidence in everyone, that it is possible to reach by foot while at Sabarimala or at Pazhani. and he did it himself. He is a child in disguise of my chithappa. It was a pleasure travelling with him with his online Kadies.

Jaya Chithi_ can't forget her nonstop Muruga Chanting while we were stuck in the traffic jam and her faith helped us board the train. Always love to be your travel partner.

Hari_ Though he was fit enough to be the first one to climb both the malais he preferred to be the last in the group to see that others are at safety. I could see his admiration for his brother leading the group as guruswami. He was with his suggestions with almost humility. Salute you, my brother.

Raja and Vidhya_ The energy boosters of the group who brought life to the group. Appreciate your great service right from arranging the luggage in the van or on the train, serving food, cleaning the used up vessels. Stunned at their humility when they picked up everyone's used up plates to put in the bin. You both deserve a lot of happiness and joy forever.

Suryanarayan__ having hurt himself first he was meticulously warning everyone. Absolutely adored his "Thalabhadhram", not missing even one time. Head saver !!!! He was also taking care of the cashier's bag so carefully.

Chithra Suryanarayan_ The responsible, careful cashier. I would have missed you a lot if you had not joined this trip.

Our driver Kavi_Thanks to our Sarathy who never lost his cool, well behaved, punctual, a pleasant boy who understood his responsibility.

The nonstop annadhanam with hot hot pongal and sambars taste still lingers in my mouth. Special mention about the policemen at Sabarimala. So fit, courteous and helpful

Kerala, the Gods own Country _ the temples maintain their grandeur with umpteen oil lamps, gold plated structures, elephants, Pancha vadhyam. This trip has created divine, unforgettable memories. Thanks to Ayyappa for making this possible.

Only one problem was getting a vegetarian hotel on our way from Palani to Sabarimala
Not to forget Babu who could drive through the traffic jam to reach the station on time. Thanks for also providing us pain killers which were really helpful.

Swamiye Saranam

[vittal]

The trip left us cleansed in a long-lasting aura of celestial bliss

We are ever grateful to the almighty for having put us in the company of our guruswamy Venkat and all those who were part and parcel of this pilgrimage.



Links

Virtual Queue booking for Sabarimala - https://sabarimalaonline.org/#/login
Guruvayur Devaswom online services - https://guruvayurdevaswom.in/
Chanting of 108 Ayyappan - https://temple.dinamalar.com/news_detail.php?id=45050

[sukhbirST]

A very off-track travelogue with lot of important details containing route, rituals etc which may not be to everybody's liking. Many thanks for putting so much effort ,which will be of great help to all of us, who desire to pursue such trips. Many young readers may not be willing to partake such journeys now. Faith and devotion can move mountains and this is true in your trip. History is full of long journeys/voyages which started keeping religion in mind. Some returned while others made new places as their final homes. Some journeys are life threatening like Mansarovar yatra. One of the Himalayan glaciers/lakes post melting showed up many skeletons which were as a result of a trek turned tragic. However, I have personally experienced a strong overwhelming feeling during my VIP darshan at Tirumala(Tirupati) and therefore fully understand the satisfaction all of you experienced. Thanks again for the other links you shared.

[deathwalkr]

How is the temple these days? It's been years since i undertook a pilgrimage to Sabarimala.

Started when i was in LKG. My grandfather used to take all his grandchildren every December holidays.

Think i stopped at some 20-25 odd pilgrimages. Been lost once when i was probably 10 or 12 i think.

Towards the end, i started getting disenchanted with the place but not the lord's ultimate abode though. The sannidhanam was always awe inspiring and fills one with blissful joy.

Remember one time when a huge group of students from Mata Amritanandamayi College including several foreigners were doing a cleaning drive at the base of the hill including the sides of the Pamba river. Not just an eyewash cleaning mind you, they were going all out.

But some miscreants who wore the dress of an Ayyappa devotee started throwing garbage in places where the students just finished cleaning and were laughing at their antics!

Can never forget the scene...

[vittal]

Originally Posted by anand.shankar

Great log, haven't seen too many accounts of Sabari Mala trips. Hailing from KL and with many 'Guruswamys' in the family i haven't been able to make this trip, like many say, it's a calling I guess

I still remember the rush I experienced as a kid in the 90s while taking the Trivandrum Mail from Chennai till Changanacheri, Kottayam, Chenganur.. Flowers, Garlands, Crowds, Songs!

Thank you, Anand Shankar, It was my first trip to Sabarimala and had a unique experience, right from wearing the mala to following rituals, daily temple visits and eventually climbing the 18-steps at Sabarimala.

[NPV]

@vittal sir thank you for this wonderful travelogue

I would like to share my experience here instead of creating a new thread for the same. This was truly an experience to cherish for a lifetime! It teaches one to be austere, live a simple life (we take too many things for granted in today's world and our lifestyle has way too many luxuries that go unnoticed) and to be helpful and respectful to everyone around us and last but not least be grateful for everything in our lives, there are way too many people who don't have most of the privileges we have. For me, the last few years have all been about getting out of my comfort zone, partaking in new experiences doing things that I'd wanted to but pushed to the back burner for various reasons over the years.

I must have been about 5 years old when my dad visited Sabarimala the first time. I still remember pleading with him to take me along for that visit but he insisted that it is not for small children, and rightly so since this was 4+ decades ago when the trekking paths were very treacherous unlike the options we have today.

Years passed by and I wasn’t able to visit (I must say my priorities had changed and I was probably not too keen as well). Cut to 2019, a tumultuous year for me on all fronts. During this time, a friend advised us to visit a nearby Ayyappan temple every Saturday and our woes would be taken care of. We then started visiting the temple regularly on Saturdays and within a few months most of our problems were taken care of. That year I had this wish to visit the abode of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala whenever possible in the near future. I usually avoid making vows because it can add more pressure and stress in trying to timebox and target such visits. Around the same time, I met my wife’s cousin who along with a small group of people were regular with their yearly Sabarimala yatra during the Mandala Kalam. I requested if I could join his group the next year, but then due to Covid they also didn’t travel for 3 years.

My wife’s cousin called me in August this year to say their group will be taking up the Sabarimala Yatra this year and I immediately signed up. He clearly told me that it won't be easy and we will have to be sincere and follow all the Do's and Don'ts and rituals and they insist that anyone joining their group agrees fully before signing up. I was totally fine with this and had planned to do the complete 41 day Mandala Vratham before embarking on the actual journey. Sabarimala Rituals

During couple of meets with close friends in the last year, I had mentioned about my wish to visit Sabarimala and some of my friends had also expressed their desire to join me. Soon, we were 4 friends who joined the main group which also had several referrals this year from the regulars and pretty soon we were a group of 65 people with about 12 Kanni Swamis (first timers).

A WhatsApp group was formed, train tickets and virtual queue bookings were done few days later. One of my friends and I were able to follow the 41 day Mandala Vrutham fully after wearing the maala (chain of beads) with daily visits to a nearby Ayyappa temple. I'm grateful to god for blessing me with the opportunity to visit Ayyappa temples every day (sometimes twice each day) for 41 days along with chanting of the Sharana Gosham 108 times twice a day. During weekends, I was also able to visit some Ayyappa temples that were further away from my home in Bangalore. My day would typically start at 4am and I would be fast asleep by 10pm. We also managed to avoid using any footwear during this period and were in black clothing of dhoti and shirt/T-shirt right through, it also helped that I worked from home during this period.

Quickly, 2 months just flew by before the week of our travel. Ayyappa Puja and Bhajan was organised very well followed by the Irumudi on the day of travel. We travelled by the Kochuveli Garib Rath train from Yeshwantpur and alighted at Kottayam the next day around 10am. While in the train, my friends and I took up the responsibilities for what we jokingly named IGM (Integrated Garbage Management) - imagine an entire coach of people all in our group and then we have 2 meals - dinner that evening and breakfast the next morning and all of a sudden you realize there is so much of garbage (packaging material and some food leftovers) to be disposed of safely. We quickly found out that the trash bins in the coach are too small in capacity and even the mouth of the bin is way too small to handle the size and volume of stuff we had to dispose. We collected all the garbage in bags, alighted at a station when the train stopped and disposed the trash in the bins available on the platform. Glad we did our little part towards keeping our environment clean.

A bus and Force traveller had been arranged for our travel. After a small puja for the bus and Traveller en route, we were soon on our way to Erumeli. We visited both the Dharma Sastha temples and the Vaavar Mosque as is the tradition followed by the Kanni swamis. We also participated in Petta Thullal and were all in the groove soon. From Erumeli, one can take the longer trekking route through the forest which is about 40km or so, though we planned to take the shorter one from Pampa. Due to traffic control measures, the Bus and Force Traveller had to take different routes to reach Nilakkal, beyond which private vehicles are not allowed and we must take the buses operated by the Kerala government to reach Pampa. There was some heavy rain at Nilakkal for about 30 minutes and we thanked our stars when it stopped. Rain would have added another dimension to our trek, but we were luckily spared. We reached Pampa around 5pm and by 6pm, after a dip in the river, we were on our way up towards Sannidhanam carrying the Irumudi on our heads. About 10 days prior to our travel, I sprained my left leg and it started acting up during the trek. My friends slowed down and encouraged me all the way and I could make it to the top with the Lord's blessings. By 10pm, we had reached the queue complex that was being used more as a resting place by the pilgrims. Crowds had started swelling that day and the line stopped moving. By 11pm, the temple closed for Darshan after the customary Harivarasanam song by Dr. K J Yesudas was played. The queue moved a little more and at one place when it stopped, it was an incline and most people sat down or were lying down to get some rest. Here, I stood for almost 2 hours since I feared I may suffer cramps and may not be able to get up and continue if I sat down. Around 1.15am, we moved a bit more and finally stopped under the sheltered stairs that eventually lead to the Sannidhanam's queue for the holy 18 steps. We rested on the steps, and also quickly freshened up using the Bio toilets. At 2:15am we could hear the Ayyappa Suprabatham being played when the temple was being readied with the morning pujas and rituals. At 3am, the temple opened for Darshan and the queue started moving albeit quite slowly. By the time we were near the holy 18 steps, it was 6am, about 12 hours we started the trek from Pampa. Despite the crowd, we managed to get a quick glimpse of the Lord (only those pilgrims carrying the Irumudi on their head are allowed to walk up the holy 18 steps). Couple of folks from our group had managed to reach the Sannidhanam and have their Darshan by 10:45pm the previous night and they were also allotted a dormitory, they had shared the location with us on the WhatsApp group. We headed to the dorm and the ones who had reached earlier and freshened up got started on the task of breaking the coconuts and collecting the ghee that was to be given at the temple for abhishekam (anointing the deity).

There was a decent toilet facility available and all of us quickly freshened up and then had breakfast at a nearby hotel, our first meal after lunch on the way to Pampa the previous afternoon. Four of us first timers carried the 200+ broken coconuts of our group to offer them at the Aazhi (holy fire) outside the temple. We also visited the temple again (this is called Civil Darshan and has a separate queue from the north side of the temple that merges with the main queue of people climbing up via the holy 18 steps) and had a very good Darshan. We also visited the shrines around the main temple, dropped the cash offerings from friends and relatives int o the Hundi. Before we realized, it was past noon and we started our trek down to Pampa. The return route is slightly different and is the one used by tractors for various services and utilities. The afternoon sun and heat made the trek down quite tiring and we eventually reached Pampa around 3pm. Another walk to the bus stand ensued before we boarded a bus to Ernakulam. We had to drop our plan to visit the Chotanikkara temple that evening since the temple closes by 8:30pm. We headed to the Railway station, bought tickets and boarded the 9:50pm train to Guruvayoor which was delayed and arrived only by 10:15pm that day.

We were blessed to get a good Darshan at Guruvayoor and the blessings of the almighty were with us right through as we found out when my friend lost his sling bag/pouch with valuables and found it few hours later at the Station Master's office - read more here (Unusual / funny / heartwarming experiences on the road). On our way back from the Railway station, we saw the Parthasarathy temple and paid a visit.

After a sumptuous breakfast at Ramakrishna Lunch home in the East nada (don't miss a visit if you're in Guruvayoor), we visited the Mamiyur Mahadeva temple and then rested for a bit. That afternoon we had lunch, did some shopping and headed to Thrissur by bus to board our train that night to Bangalore. This was truly an amazing and divine experience full of life lessons and experiences to cherish for a lifetime - Swamiye Sharanam Ayyappa!