Effective Planning for a religious tour of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is an ideal destination to become very religious, and to worship God in a very peaceful atmosphere. Better still, it does not take a huge amount of money to visit various temples, and with a little bit of planning, it is indeed possible, to cover as many temples as possible.
This article is aimed at providing some insights to readers in planning only a tour, only of religious. Please do note that it is not possible to combine a laidback tour to famous tourist destinations like Ooty and Kodaikanal, as the mood in these places is totally different. There is also the cost factor -- even for two people, a two-day tour will set one back by at least six thousand rupees in these places.
A religious tour is far more cheaper, if planned well. For instance, the best metro to land in Tamil Nadu is Chennai. There is another mini metro, that is Coimbatore. However, this is five hundred kilometers away and it is not the ideal place to start a religious tour.
Even within Chennai city, there are two beautiful temples -- the Kapaleeswarar temple at Mylapore, which is superbly connected by city buses. One has to stay in any one of the lodges near the Central Station or at Parry Corner, which is very near the final destination of most buses that pass through Chennai Central. This place is called Broadway, and those who know English will find it far more easy to obtain directions and help.
Hindi is now spoken, but its use is still very low. English is widely spoken. So, if you are a hindiwallah from any of the Hindi states, try to speak even in broken English, and you can find help. Try Hindi, and the response may not be good.
Near Broadway, there are many lodges, for as low as Rs.550/- or Rs.600/- per day. Remember to take your ATM card and all valuables. Keep the clothes in the lodge. There are daily passes available for just Rs.50/-, and you can board any bus and alight at any station, but any single tourist has to pay just Rs.50/-, which ticket is valid till midnight of the same day. This is the best way to cover as many temples in Tamil Nadu.
There is a lovely Lord Muruga temple at Vadapalani, and this is a huge residential area with very good vegetarian and non-vegetarian hotels, where food can be found at very reasonable rates. For one full day, one can manage with just Rs.200/-,. if one is a vegetarian. For non-vegetarian food, it will vary between Rs.300 to Rs. 400/-.
Or one can also ask in these temples, and you will be guided to small temples in and around Chennai city. Contrary to public perception, Chennai is no more a conservative city. It is a huge melting point of different cultures and now, food, as well.
Make inquiries at Broadway, and you will be directed to restaurants that serve Gujarathi food or even Rajasthani food. Even Bengali food is now available at some places.
The next central place to ideally cover a number of temples and also have a nice time, is Tiruchirapalli, that is connected with thousands of buses, by two day trains, and at least six overnight trains. The most famous train is the Pallavan Express, and this will take you to Tiruchirapalli, around 9 PM. There are reasonable lodges for around Rs.600/-, for a double room,which is not air conditioned. Since you will be out of the lodge for most of the most of the day, even if it is not air-conditioned it does not matter.
In Tiruchirapalli, there is the world-famous Rockfort temple, situated on top of a small hillock, and one has to climb around two hundred steps to reach this place. Once you reach the top, you can worship Lord Ganapathi. It is a great time to spend in the evenings, and the most ideal time, is the end of December and the first week of January since there will be huge dew, and a fairly good winter, which is quite mild, and pleasant. The heat will be normal.
At Vayalur, which is very well connected by town buses, one can see the Lord Muruga temple. This is a superb temple. One this is over, from the Central Bus Stand, please go over to Chattram bus stand ( there are buses every twenty seconds to this place) and from there, you can visit the Amman temple at a place called Samayapuram, which is around 12 kilometers from the city. Please be careful with your purse. Hundreds of vendors will simply appear from nowhere, and it will be very difficult to manage them.
Please be extra careful, and worship the Lord, but without buying anything from the vendors. The religious offerings are sold for huge amounts to tourists from North India, and to foreigners. So, be careful.
This temple is always crowded, and one must be careful to avoid to avoid the long waiting period, by going to the temple right at around 6.30AM in the morning.
There are a few other temples in Tiruchrapalli, and it is wise to ask the lodge Managers. One should avoid asking auto drivers, who are often driven by greed. However, the three main temples have already been listed above.
Quite apart from Tiruchirapalli, is a big city called Madurai, the third largest city of Tamil Nadu. This city is best known for the gigantic and awesome Lord Meenakshi temple. Madurai is also the abode of two more very famous temples -- Tirupurankundram and Pazhamuthircholai, both of which are two of the six abodes of Lord Muruga. It is wise to visit all these six places.
Madurai is superbly connected by road from Tiruchirapalli, and there is a bus every ten minutes up to around 11PM in the night. However, it is wise to travel at around 6PM, reach Madurai at around 9PM, and lodge yourself in one of the lodges near the Railway Station.
All the temples can be reached by bus, and it is always wise to ask the nearest tourist office, or ask the lodge Manager. Once you visit three places, take a bus to Tiruchuchendur, the other abode of Lord Muruga. Tiruchendur is around four hours from Madurai. One can take a bus in the morning and be back in the evening, or at best, by around 9PM.
From Madurai, take a bus via a district headquarters town called Pudukottai, and reach Tanjore, which is the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu. It has a huge temple called the Bragadeshwarer temple.
Take another bus from Tanjore and reach Kumbakonam, and it is possible to find many lodges for just around Rs.600/- for a day at Kumbakonam. Food is also available at cheap prices.
Kumbakonam is a city of temples. There are both Shiva and Vishnu temples. One actually would loose count of the number of temples here. It is wise to plan a trip to at least six temples in a day. It is wise to ask the lodge owners, most of whom speak English. Around just one hour, is another very famous temple called the Vaitheeswaran temple, and this temple is famous for one purpose -- those who worship here, are said to suffer less or even get completely cured of ailments.
Many poor patients affected by cancer, for example, pray in this temple. There are quite of people who get miraculously cured after praying in these temple.
From Kumbakonam, it is very easy to find buses to Swamimalai, the fourth abode Lord Muruga. The other three, as already mentioned, are in Madurai and Tiruchendur. This small town is simply beautiful for its natural beauty as you can find natural beauty. Thousands of coconut and banana trees stand side buy side of lush green fields for as long as you can see. The temple is a real visual delight, and one can enjoy the beauty of this place as well.
After quite a lot of visits to these temples -- which will take up to six full days -- one can go a little further and reach a place called Chidambaram. This is the birthplace of the world-famous Annamalai University, and also the superb Lord Nataraja temple.
From Chidambaram, one can take a train and reach Tiruchirapalli. There are so many buses too. From Tiruchirapalli, if one is interested, one can go towards Rameshwaram, the extreme end of Tamil Nadu. It is here that after vising the temples, many pilgrims pray to God by offering special prayers, done with qualified and extremely pious pundits. It is believed that those who do such prayers can wash off all their sins, by praying at this temple town called Rameshwaram. Please note that the sea if the place for most of the prayers.
Visits to each of the places, would take around ten to eleven days, and is likely to cost around seven thousand for two people, depending on the amount one spends on staying at lodges. There are "chatrams" at many places, and these are basically dormitories, which offer accommodation at very reasonable prices, for as low as one hundred rupees per day. However, safety of one's belongings are not assured in these places, which may please be noted.
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