In the Streets of Srirangam...contd

It was a cloudy day which brought huge smiles on my face and i was chirpy, getting ready to visit a place named "Thiruvellarai" which was located near Srirangam at a distance of half an hour's drive. I got so involved in the scenic beauty during the ride that i hardly spoke to Bashu which got him worried (why is the FM not tuned...ha ha!!). Now, our specific choice on visiting this temple was because Bashu's college time friend was a priest there and this temple was older than Srirangam - approximately 6000 years. I felt the count was too far beyond to calculate, by then i was used to 1000's..every temple there seemed to be so old!

 

When we landed at the sight of a very old temple majestically located amidst profound greens and browns...i stood there shocked for a minute, observing the excellent maintenance of the whole place. There were huge streets diagonal to the temple in the "Agraharam" style (name of the locality for a specific community of people with a row of houses) and the atmosphere was very silent, but for the laughter of kids around. Bashu's friend was the smartest looking priest ever, i had come across and he sounded so friendly as if he knew me before. His mom served us with fresh filter coffee of rich aroma which helped me subside my hunger for a while from then. The smart priest gave us a quick intro about the temple and its origin and suggested we could do a photo walk before actually getting into worships and usual prayers.

I couldn't stop my conflicting thoughts about the place, it all appeared like a neat execution of clear pathways with flowers all around, a very old antique styled mantap leading to a huge rock with the view of the main temple. The mysterious mood was due to the inherent refreshing cleanliness, dark shades of green as if it would rain there all the year. The rocky road along the pillars, from the huge rock had some kind of charm, anything we utter would echo in a rhythmic manner and i didn't move from there for sometime, trying to shout and sing what ever flashed through my mind then. Finally Bashu had to drag me along to reach the other side of the temple.

Bashu's friend cum the smart priest was busy attending the temple crowd and elaborating them on the history of the temple and gods in a peculiar flow and style of  Tamil. I sat on the steps wondering about the difference of sculptures and stories between here and Srirangam, there were too many of them and only few manged to stick inside my confused little mind.For my understanding, it was all artistically constructed during the Chola, Pandiya... period of kingdom, strongly based on their taste for fine arts, devotion for epics and belief on spirituality.

I clicked pictures of the place and the guys whilst they were laughing about old memories and  planning on when to meet up with friends next. Back at the priest friend'ss home, we were served with authentic "Ayyangar" food and i spent a while with his mom to listen to her simple stories and she startled me with the fact that the priest had completed his MBA and MFA, and still wanted to work in the temple as a promise for tradition, though his wife was not too happy about it...Must say i was impressed not by his goatee alone.... :)

His mom and the kids around there got close to me quickly, and there were sad bye-bye's from that place with invitations for them to visit me in Bangalore. I was more excited on our way back, remembered to have the camera in my hand to click a few candid shots of  random kids and people on the way, they were more than happy to smile for me naturally.





I insisted we halt near a lotus pond which was a visual treat for eyes...the interesting part were a few localities fishing there. They got all excited thinking i am a photographer from the daily....but nothing changed even when i said i am just a photographer by myself...took a few pictures and they gifted us with a few lotus flowers too - i came home to leave them in water, waiting to watch the pink beauty bloom.

  Evening, Bashu's younger bro Pras took us to his favorite temple and we almost had a running race(becoming a live comedy scene for people at the temple) since we were already late and i couldn't walk up to his speed.On our way back, i reminded about the ice cream treat (as if i could ever forget) and we landed up at a nostalgic outlet - Michael's...it was an authentic hang out which existed there from around 1950's...and the taste was like home made, each cup at Rs.4 - i wouldn't even get a simple stick in Bangalore at that cost :(

Now, Pras tempted on an ice cream bet and after our fights, quick gulps, more orders...i couldn't go beyond 7 or 8 when he had finished up with 11 cups ;) Cursing him, i ended up losing and paying the bill. He also gave wrong ideas to lie to mom at home...and later deceived me by telling her, by then i had sadly consumed 3 dosas with the best of my abilities...Even with my eye shutters waiting to close, i had to walk, run...sit..stand to feel better and fall asleep far later, planning a better trap for him to execute during our next meet. I had to work from home the next day, a re visit to Cauvery to feel the breeze again, some shopping at the temple, thank you notes to bashu, his mom and dad to have bared with me and a rush to the station to catch my train back to Bangalore...the break i had was indeed short and i had already was pondering on taking my next colorful break......... :)