East Coast Diaries: Tranquebar

(Continuation Of the East Coast Diaries)

The travel from Chidambaram to Kumbakonam was a complete road maze. We were traversing the same set of roads to and fro in search of the Navagraha temples( read in the later part of the blog). En-route we heard about this coastal Sea-side town from a local and decided to make it, hoping it will be wonderful outing on a beach side.

Tranquebar or Tharangambadi as it is locally known lies 50 km South East of Chidambaram. Found by the Dutch East India Company, it was a thriving port during the 1600s under the Dutch rule. The main tourist attractions in Tranquebar are the Dutch Fort, Fort Dansborg built during the Dutch rule in India and Masilamani Temple on the coast of Tharangambadi. Tranquebar also boasts of a very beautiful and pristine coastline devoid of lot of tourists. Fort Dansborg is now converted into a museum housing the personal collections of few Dutch Travelers who made it to this port town during the 1600s. The entry fee into this dutch fort was a bit expensive, but, i guess it was for the renovation effort underway to restore the fort. You may as well find lot of Dutch Travelers rather than Indian tourists . Dutch backpackers trying to find the roots of their ancestors. After a customary exchange of a few "Hello's" and "namasthe" with few Dutch Tourists, it was time to bid farewell to this port town and leave for our final Destination, Kumbakonam.

Fort Dansborg on Tranquebar beach

Coast of Tranquebar

Staying options in Tranquebar is limited only to a high end resort. Neemrana groups runs a Bungalow on the Beach resort with prices starting from Rs4000/-. Other than that there are no options of staying back in Tranquebar.

Pichavaram: A quiet getaway tucked away from Town

(In Continuation of the East Coast Diaries Trip)

This was an accidental visit, Outlook Traveler weekend getaways recommended this place but with very less info on the place and the whereabouts. We asked a local person the route to this place. He defined it as good and we were out moving towards the destination. Almost making through the villages and the backdrop of the countryside with paddy plantations, we made it finally to Pichavaram entrance after a 15 km drive. This place looked very similar to a huge lake but in fact was a mangrove swamp filled up by the rising tides. This place was one of its kind in India very rich in bird life. Was able to recognize few birds after we set out for boating. A must visit place if we are visting Chidambaram.

Mangrove Forests Of Pichavaram

Boat house at Pichavaram

Chidambaram

(In Continuation of the East Coast Diaries Trip)

Chidambaram is one holiest shrines in South India. The temple town of Chidambaram is just around 350 kms from Bangalore. Chidambaram is famous for the Lord Nataraja Temple ( shiva performing the ananda thandava dance) . The temple of chidambaram is believed to be around 1200 years old and is very huge. The legend is the "ananda thandava " cosmic dance was a duel between lord shiva and Kaali (Godess Durga) , Shiva had lifted his left foot towards the sky in the Urdhuva Tandava posture, a definite male gesture, and Kaali could not reciprocate, thereby causing Shiva to emerge victorious.

Chidambaram East Gopuram Entrance

The Nataraja Temple is dotted by four large gopurams on each directions of the town. We had settled ourselves to a hotel room nearby to the main West Gopuram entrance and we had a nice balcony from where we had a bird's eye view of the West Gopuram entrance of the temple. As time slowly ticked by, sharp around 7pm we made to the temple. We had a glimpse of Lord Shiva dancing in his divine form. people had gathered around the base to have a glimpse of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva resides in Chith-sabhai , an elevated platform where the lord Shiva, nobody accept the priests(or the guardians) of the temple are allowed in chith -sabhai, however one is allowed to enter the kanaka-sabhai. Final pooja was being performed, Lord was getting decorated as he would be carried in a palanquin to the sleeping quarters where the Lord would rest for the night. This pooja is very special and cannot be missed.

Early morning we woke up around 6 and we left to have the final darshan of the Lord. Again a special pooja is performed to bring the Lord from his sleeping quarters. The Lord is carried around the inner most sanctum and a special pooja is performed. We were later allowed to enter the kanaka-sabhai and have the darshan of the Lord and also allowed to witness the the "Chidambaram rahasyam" . What was this Chidambaram rahasyam? As far as we came to know from the priest, worshiping Shiva in the divine form of space is the Chidambaram rahasyam. We were shown where Shiva will be worshiped in the form of space, curtains were pulled, and before the lights fade out in the background with the priest holding a aarthi, the curtains are pulled back again and the rahasyam is never revealed.

We slowly moved out from the inner sanctum, took the blessings of Lord Shiva and moved out slowly gazing at the temple architecture. So marvelous was the design of the temple that it is simply too astounding to describe. We moved at almost tortoise pace around the temple and we moved out of the inner sanctum.

Outer Parakramas of Chidambaram

Once we were outside the temple of Chidambaram, we visited the large Ganesha statue near the west entrance. We moved on towards the North entrance and was fascinated by a nandi statue nearby the tank and I stood there gazing at the gopuram of the temple. It was just incredible. This temple was indeed very huge. Slowly we moved out of the temple thinking of the lord and made our way to the next destination, Pichavaram.

Outer Parakramas Of Chidambaram

Nandi statue near Chidambaram Tank