A blessed trip to srikalahasti (india)

Have you ever been in situations when you just go ahead and do something just because you were told to do it.. no questions asked.. not having any idea why you are doing that, or for what!?

It's even weird when you do it because some astrologer asked u to.. ok, the fact of the matter is that:
I do believe that astrology is a science.. but then I'm not too enlightened about dat science, so I end up believing the astrologers blindly and go ahead to do wotever is being suggested.. dat includes endless pujas and trips to temples which I have never heard of.. now, the second part is like a blessing in disguise to me.. I love visting temples..

This trip to Srikalahasti was something like dat.. I was adviced to do a rahu-ketu puja to ward off the ill-effects.. ok dude, so lets go do that as well! :)

The trip was wonderful .more so when it is a pilgrimage) and so was this temple which actually surprised me as I've never heard of it earlier. I have to admit, Google Uncle helped me Though comparatively speaking, info was abundantly available about this old temple town's more famous neighbour, Tirupati. And that lack of info is what prompted me to make this post which I hope would be of some help to people planning to visit this historic temple known as the Kailasa of the South (dakshinakailasa).

where is it?
On the banks of river Swarnamukhi in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India
about 30kms North of Tirupati, through Renigunta. (around an hour's drive by road)

how to reach there?
Nearest Airport: Tirupati
Nearest Railway Station: Kalahasti [KHT]. All trains from Vijayawada to Tirupati halt at Kalahasti.
Nearest Bus Stand: Kalahasti
The best option from Banglore is to go via-Tirupati: it takes around 5 hrs by bus to reach Tirupati(KSTRC/APSRTC do have their express/volvo options- though the Volvo bus service is not as frequent as the Express bus service), from where you can board an APSTRC bus shuttle (every half an hour) to reach Kalahasti in an hour's time.

options to stay?
The temple town is around 2-3 kms from the Rly statin and around 1-2 km from the Bus Stand.
there are some decent hotels around. One run by Saravanabhavan, which I found pretty good.

food?
The best option from what I could see is the Saravanabhavan Restaurant. Their gigantic paper dosas were a delight as always. n the pulao they serve there is the bestest!

locker facilities?
As I could see, most of the pilgrims were accomodating this temple visit in their pilgrimage itinerary because of it's close proximity to Tirupati. I felt most of them must b putting up in Tirupati and hiring a cab/bus to visit Srikalahasti. I could see a lot of (private) places providing locker facilities in the temple vicinity. There is said to be a temple run cloak room facility available, though I could not find it.
Cameras are not allowed inside.

what can I look forward to, in the temple?
Once inside the premises, I felt it is more of a puja mode with chants filling the air as compared to most of the other famous shrines where most of the devotees come in for darshans. Over here, most of the people seemed to have come to do some specific puja or the other. (it could have something to do with the fact that it was a saturday and also during the rahukalam) the puja ticket queues are pretty long and one finds every other family searching for the ticket counters.. in addition to the confusion caused by the options for the varied range of pujas conducted in the temple. (they have seperate counters for specific pujas, one needs time to figure out things there, so it's advisable to reach there much before your planned time for the puja) The longest of these was the queue for their trademark Rahu Ketu Sarpadosha Nivarana Puja

One needs to take tickets for the darshan too.. but then they have different rows for pradakshina and darshan depending on the cost of the ticket you have taken.. the costlier ones fetch you 5 star treatment and let you take the row nearer to the sanctum sanctorum while the others have to struggle their way through the row next to it. (yeah, money talks everywhere, baby!)

Keep lots of loose change with you.. (Read in multiples of Rs.10.. which I felt was the standard range in here)
Tipping/dakshina is inevitable in this place. It is a beautiful stone temple, and a pretty big one.. though not too big that you could get lost in there. There are many dieties placed around the pradakshina path, again with lone tantris/ priests doing arti. some of them had boards nearby displaying the dakshina rate from Rs.10 to 100. (Somehow it reminded me of the trips to some amusement parks, which charge you an entry fee and then once inside, you have to shell out more for taking the rides of your choice.. talk about commercialization.. it's like 'on your face', everywhere!) And at one place, a bunch of cleaners approached us demanding 'something' as they are the ones who clean the place. mind you, not just asking, but following you for 5 to 10 steps bugging you till you give them the money! (me thinks the Temple authorities should pay them over-time or something for working on Saturdays?)

main diety: Srikalahasteeswara (Lord Siva)
Other dieties in the temple:
'Sri Pathala Vinayaka', 'Sri Balambika', 'Sri Kalimatha' outside the shrine and 'Lord Saneeswara', 'Bezawada Kanakadurga', 'Lord Venkateswara', 'Lord Subrahmanya', 'Sri Kasi Visweswara', 'Sri Ramalingeswara' & 'Sri Dakshinamurthy'.

The story behind the name of the temple:
SriKalahasti got its name because in days of yore a spider (sri), serpent (kala) and elephant (hasti) elephant worshipped Shiva with great devotion. A spider lived in the inner sanctum and worshipped the Lord by weaving elaborate temples and images of Shiva. One day a breeze came up and caused the altar fire to destroy the spider’s offerings. It became angry and was about to gulp down the flame, (realize the Self) endangering its (ego’s) life. Appreciative of its devotion, Shiva appeared and granted the spider a boon. The spider requested moksha, release from the cycle of births and deaths. Accordingly it became one with Shiva, the Self.

A cobra worshipped Lord Shiva by offering rare gems, pearls and rubies that it brought from Nagaland, a mythical place where Nagas (serpents) dwell. Serpents are one of India’s most visible symbols of the spiritual power of the Self. The spiritual power of the Self, called Kundalini, the latent electricity of Consciousness, is hidden in the dark recesses of the unconscious like a snake hidden deep within the earth. After the snake had worshipped, an elephant, fresh from its purifying bath in the nearby river, came to worship. In preparation it sprayed the altar with water from its trunk, scattering the gems. It then proceeded to decorate the altar with leaves from a holy tree. When the cobra returned it was angered to see its offerings disrespected and replaced by mere leaves. So it replaced the leaves with gems. This charade repeated itself every day until the cobra became fed up and decided to punish whomever was destroying its offerings. When the elephant returned to worship with its leaves the cobra slithered up its trunk and injected its venom. In agony the elephant dashed its head on the stone altar in an attempt to kill the snake. The snake fell out of the trunk and died from its wounds and the elephant succumbed to the poison. Understanding that both had sacrificed their lives for the sake of their love of the Lord, Shiva resurrected them, gave them liberation and took them into his own body. At the foot of the linga one can see a spider, two elephant tusks and a five-headed (the five elements) serpent to remind the devotee of these acts of supreme devotion. [ quoted from here]

More about the Rahu Ketu Sarpadosha Nivarana Puja- which is basically done to appease the grahas to pacify malefic effects of the planet & neutralize its negative effects.

fee: the options are>
#1: the ticket for Rs.600> they do a mass puja in a hall (outside the temple)within the temple premises.
#2: the ticket for Rs.1500> this is apparently the same puja, but done inside the temple, near the sanctum sanctorum. This is also a mass puja, but the headcount will be comparatively less. Upto 4 family members can accompany the person to the pujawith this ticket.
Note: * Most of the online info refers to the ticket charge as 500/1000. I'm not sure whether they have ramped up weekend rates as in the multiplexes(i told you, it's the commercialization story, again!) or if it is a plain hike in the puja charges.
* There is said to be another option which costs Rs.250, for the same puja. But I could not find much info about it.

The fee(I'm talking abt the Rs.1500 option, here) is inclusive of the puja samagri (which consists of 2 metal representations of Rahu and Ketu, along with the prasadam of Laddu and Vada. make sure you ask the people for guidance/clarifications, as in addition to what you are given at the counter, you need to go around and get the flowers n leaves from others counters (at a nominal extra charge- which is very much required during the puja). make sure you carry your ticket around.. (very, very important.. u'll need it everywhere till the exit.)

from whatever little i know about the Puja, it is said to give better results if you do it during the Rahukalam.. and some astrologers even suggest the day on which you should be doing it. apparently Saturday is the most prefered day for it..

The puja is not a fire ceremony(homa/havan). It's mostly about praying to the two (snake like) metal representations of Rahu and Ketu and doing offerings with kumkum(vermilion) and haldi(turmeric) powders and flowers while repeating the mantras which the Priest recites.(now poor me had no idea whether i was speaking telugu or sanskrit or wotever.. but i was trying my level best to repeat something like what i interpreted he was saying.. n I found myself praying to God to forgive me if um actually saying something stupid!)

You'll be asked to tell the priest your name and gotra (now I thought he must be refering to the janmanakshatra..

The process takes not more than 20 - 30 minutes.

Dakshina (This tradition is one of acknowledgment, respect, and thanks):
Dont be surprised when the priest murmurs something in your ears like a mantra, after the puja.. and you hear something like 200 rs.! yeah, he's refering to the dakshina! you are required to keep 2 crisp 100rs notes on the betel leaf and hand it over to him. I told you, its inevitable! c'mon, someone who spends 1500 per head for a puja shouldnt be bothered abt shelling out aother 200 bucks, eh?

I've been told that after the puja, one should take bath and discard the clothes / ornaments that were worn at the time of the puja (which is symoblic of washing away all the ill-effects). But I could not find it from my online researches.. and I did notice that most of the devotees there, were wearing diamond/ navaratna rings and Rado watches and brand new Lee jeans and i seriously doubt whether they were planning to discard them!? ;)

Another free advice which I was given is that it's better if one doesnt go to any other temples on the way to /back from the temple. I'm not too sure if it is just a myth, 'coz as I said earlier I could see many people coming here after their Tirupati Balaji darshan.

about the Temple town: Beautiful place. helpful people. not too many hawkers around. Guess it has got to do with the saying that when you get that bulaava to visit places of worship like this, the Gods make sure that you steer clear of all the hindrances for the darshan.

I'd say that this chance to visit the Dakshinakailasa has been a blessing and would recommend it to everyone to visit the place atleast once in your lifetime.

Majestic kullu manali

Since my childhood I had heard about this Kullu-Manali package tours which honeymooners take ... as i heard and read in magazines ... since then I wanted to go to Kullu-Manali! Now was the time to explore the beautiful Himachal! I took a shared ride in a mini-van from Dharmashala to Manali. The drive in the night was a wonderful experience. It was dark, from the front seat only thing I could see in the headlights was the narrow road with pits and pot holes, blind curves, steep gradients, no street lights in most of the forest area! I reached Manali safe and sound early in the morning. After dealing with the agents I checked in to a hotel for 2N/3D package with food and 2.5 days shared tours for Rs.4000. For the quality of food, room and the tours it doesn't look expensive.
The best thing to do in Manali is visiting Rothang Pass. The drive is fantastic, the destination is fantastic! I started with a shared tour arranged by the hotel. There was a very funny honeymoon couple with me! They both provided a real comedy all the way. They wanted to experience snow up in the hills. The scenery through the valleys is majestic. On the way our driver asked us to rent the ski-suits telling that it would be extremely cold up in the pass. Each costed Rs.250 which I never used. The suite was really smelling of sweat and looked very dirty, it wasn't so cold to wear a ski-suite.

Rothang Pass is a natural divide between the Kullu Valley in the south and the Spiti Valley in the north. It is an ancient trade route between two areas and is open from May to November.

Once up in the mountains, that is at 13,051ft, the view of the surrounding Himalayan mountains is wonderful. The view of Hanuman Tibba is unparalleled. I saw a line of horses and horse-riders. They were charging Rs.600 for 1Km ride up to the snow line on the nearby peak to see the snow or that day few snow flakes!! Alas! Anyways, I didn't take a ride, opted to hike up instead. Initially I felt the altitude but then few stops for few sips of water did the trick. I went up much more than the horses could take. The powdery snow, almost nothing, was around and people were crazy about taking picture in that snow. What would they do if they had seen snow in Alaska? They would take few more pictures! huh? :) When I returned from my hike, the honeymoon couple had finished another round of breakfast and tea. They didn't see the snow!

Then it was time for some adventure, for some adrenaline rush! Yeah! Paragliding down. yey! The valley looks so very beautiful from top! I envy the birds! I wish they understood the gift of God! Fhew ... I felt so light flying ...Adventure doesn't come for free huh? ...

By that time the couple had finished another round of eating out! We went to Solang Valley just to stroll ... I didn't have budget for another glide and the couple didn't have the enthusiasm. We returned after sunset all tired ... All the way River Beas looked beautiful and I thought it would be nice to go for a white-water rafting adventure some day!

Next day, it was time for local sightseeing ... that included few temples and monasteries. Major being Hidimba Devi temple, Shiva temple in Manali and Vasishta Temple in Vasisht. The Vashisht temple has a black stone idol of Vashishta Muni. Near Vasistha Muni temple, there is a hot water sulphur springs. There are separate bathrooms for men and women. There is a Lord Rama temple nearby. The temples are built with extensively carved stones and wood. There were people playing traditional music when the arti was being performed.

The Manali market is a nice place for shopping. I spent more money here shopping and then on I had to tighten the budget for my travel a bit! It is a good place for eating out too! Good restaurants are all around.

Visited a monastery very near to the market. The place is beautiful and has few shops which sell Tibetan traditional items.

On the third day I went to Manikaran, a holy hot spring. The place is boiling hot ... feels like the river is boiling!

In my next visit to Manali I plan to camp and hike in the Great Himalayan National Park. Hope it happens some time soon! I will look forward to it!

Kerala a beautiful paradise

During the last 3 years of my stay in south india, i visited several famous tourist destinations around it. But i prefer kerala everytime when i become sad,alone but this is a good place for selfexploration indeed.after all, it's the God's own country, Kerala.
  The vastness and diversity of the landscape and life in Kerala is so huge, that you need to time everything perfectly. There are famous wildlife sanctuaries that needs a touch of the summer to churn out life. The hill stations look misty and heavenly during the winter.i went munnar Well, the beaches, don't really need any specific season; but winter is more enjoyable around the beaches.
       I went kerala 3 month before.my trip to Kerala was amazing, out of this world, breathtaking and memorable. To express about kerala i writing this blog.

Bangkok krabi and back

It's going to be a post consisting of some random observations/thoughts from the recent trip to Bangkok & Krabi. Randomness of these is a testimony of the amazing time I've spent in last one week.

1. Iphone iphone all along, no Nokia to be seen - they are using iphones, in all possible colors and forms (actually more than what apple has designed and dreamt of designing). Samsung must be the close second. They are using it continuously, chatting, playing games, taking pictures and occasionally talking. Where is Nokia? Well it's sold, and good number for sure. Most of the drivers, tour operators I met were using it. No Lumia, no asha - I wonder where is Nokia heading!

2. Ipads and Tabs are the way to go - people are using them in restaurants, trains, hotel lobby, on the beach, near the swimming pool and any other place you can imagine. They are taking photos using it at every tourist spot. Who says 42 MP cameras are the way to go! Give them just a couple of megapixels and people are just going crazy clicking photos.

3. Local markets are the places to go - they are lively, fun and cheap. You will meet crazy people, see and eat wild things and ofcourse shop for quirky stuff. Most importantly, you will see the life in as real as it can get. We had superb time in Krabi walk street. I wonder why we have forgotten all our local markets and resolved to have Mall as tourist attraction. 

4. I me myself - People in thailand like to click themselves a lot and I'm sure self-portraits in all possible poses must be filling the GBs of memory their mobile phones/ipads offer.

5. A city is a city after all - BKK is a metropolitan. It's building itself for the tourism and has accomplished good enough in doing so. Still it's a city in the end. So if you are on a short trip, better have your days planned well. A crazy weather, the distances and all the crowd will kill lot of your enthusiasm otherwise.

6. A good meal is worth all the pain - as long as you are able to eat one good meal in the day, you are guaranteed to get a fun-filled day. An empty stomach can become a spoilsport in no time.

7. Souvenir shopping is about getting the best experience and not the best deal - if you like it, if you feel you want to preserve some memory - just go for it. You might get a better deal later but then there are chances that you might not get it at all later. Don't bother much in saving those couple of Rupees.

more to be added soon...