I have always had a very strong pull towards temples in Tamil Nadu from my childhood. Having taken to school trips two times to the temples over there and that trip being one of the reasons to learn Tamil and also read and write constitutes my fantasy about the temples. Let me jot down the experiences of my trip.
Day 1: On the 19th of Feb 2021, we started from Bangalore straight to Madurai. We started at 7 am and we reached Madurai by 3pm. Distance from Bangalore to Madurai is 440 Kms. The roads being top-notch, I enjoyed driving to the fullest. I could hit 140Kmph in my Ritz car without much of a hassle. We had our Breakfast at A2B and Lunch at some highway hotel near Madurai.
We booked a hotel close to the temple(1Km) and took a walk to the temple. The roads were dug up due to the smart city project in Madurai. Darshan was good with a 50 rupees ticket. A couple of things to watch out for is the holographic painting of ShivaLinga on the ceiling. The specialty of this painting is, it points towards you from wherever you look at it. There is also a Sundareshwar temple on the premises to who Meenakshi Amman is married.
Day 2: We wanted to visit the temple again to get the blessings of the Goddess Madurai Meenakshi Amman. We did watch a couple of documentaries about the temple to get more curious about the temples. We reached the temple by 730 am and getting a car parking space near the temple is a herculean task. Since the surroundings of the temple are like Avenue Road in Bangalore. This time darshan was very good since the temple wasn't crowded much. We checked out from the hotel of Madurai and started to our next destination which is the Holiest place for ShriVaishnavas i.e Shrirangam aka Trichy.
We stayed at Scarlet Shrirangam a hotel close to the temple(2.5 km). I could not stay at the hotel without seeing my dearest God Shriranga. The Tower of the temple is the tallest in India, this temple is also the biggest functioning temple(Nitya Pooja) in the world. The temple timings are slot-based. You need to check the timings before you visit the temple. Prasadams of the temple are very yummy and you could buy as many to actually fill in your tummy. 50 rupees ticket can get you faster access to the divine Darshan.
Day 3: Since we had already driven 600 kilometers and were tired we decided to stay over at Shrirangam for a day more. Not just driving was taking a toll, it was also walking in the premises of temple aka prangana was weakening my legs. So we just rested well. There is also a very famous Shiva Lingam Temple in Srirangam called Jambukeshwara Temple.
The specialty of the temple is Linga represents the element of water (One of Panchabhoota).
Day 4: We wanted to have another Darshan of Shri RanganathaSwamy. We reached the temple at 545 am and we were surprised to see a lot of people in the queue already. Took 50 rupees Darshan ticket and we had a beautiful darshan. I got greedy and took another 50 rupees ticket after I got out of the first darshan. I was so elated to see my dearest Shri Ranganatha Perumal Twice. Our breakfasts were the prasadams at the temple. We checked out and started our next destination to Kumbakonam. On the way was one of my favorite temples all-time in Tanjore waiting for me :)
Brihadeeshwara temple is an architectural wonder and engineering marvel India has ever seen. Had a quick stop by to visit the wonder. We reached Kumbakonam by evening after visiting a couple of other temples on the way. I was taken aback by going through the booklet given by hotel staff which had the list of temples to visit in Kumbakonam. Kumbakonam city is built between the temple premises :) The city is flocked by the temples. This city has temples for every objective of your life. To get promoted, To get a good spouse, To be good with the spouse, For getting a child, For Fetus protection, For family unity, For real estate growth ...... The list goes on. Sarangapani temple was one of the best here.
Day 5: I managed to visit some temples(Ramaswamy Perumal, Chakrapani Temple, Adi Kumbakeshwara, Brahman, Karuvlarcheri) matching my objectives and proximity. We started to our next destination which was Chidambaram. The road wasn't great. We had to wait for 2 hours before the temple could open in the evening.
Chidambaram temple has the Nataraja Swamy aka a dancing form of Lord Shiva. My perspective towards Lord Shiva changed entirely in the trip since I was a hardcore ShriVaishnavite. I realized that it is not any more acceptable in my life to detest Lord Shiva. Thanks to the temples in here. We started to our destination Pondicherry. The roads were pathetic and it was a bad drive experience. We could only just hit the bed after we reached there.
Day 6: This was our first Pondicherry visit and we had quite a list of places to visit from family and friends.
We managed to visit the Indian Cofee House, A2B, Auroville, Tanto, Serenity Beach, Rock Beach, White Town, and Aurobindo Ashram for Meditation. Auroville visit was Outstanding and I cursed myself for not knowing about this all the while.
Day 7: We wanted to witness sunrise at rock beach and we reached the seashore by 545 am. It was a bit cloudy and it took around 45 mins to get a glimpse of Sun. Yet it was a fantastic experience to be at the beach in the dawn. We started to Kanchipuram and the drive was decent. Had a blissful Darshan of Kanchi Kamakshi Amman. Again my first visit. I drove 204 kilometers in the next 3 hours to reach Kolar to end my trip.
This trip was very special to me since it gave me the opportunity to visit my favorite temples and amazing darshans. We also ensured that we watched enough documentaries before we visit any temple so that we could appreciate more. This trip also opened up a new perspective towards spirituality which took a long pause in my life.
