Thirumurthi Hills

Coimbatore is surrounded by number of picnic spots. Tirumurthi Falls is one such place. It is situated at 25 k.m from Udumalpet which is again 75 k.m. from coimbatore.



Water Falls are always exhilarating sight. Water that comes down from rocky hills or mountains never fail to facinate us.

Thirumurthi Falls is not as spectcular as Hogenekkal. Hogenekkal is spectacular sight to look at when water is in full spate. Bathing in Courtallam falls is a refreshing experience. Both in Courtallam and Hogenekkal adequate safety precautions have been taken by the authorities. But no one is here to detest the unwary tourists to aware of the un expected hazard that await them when sudden flood is rushing in. I heard that some five unfornuate tourists were washed away in such a sudden floods at the falls recently.

Myself near the falls

Water Falls viewed from highier spot.

The path that lead to Panchalingam Temple

Beautiful scenery

Hills view

Sun rise at Marina

I have a fascination for sunrise and sunset. The sun rise at the beach or at hills would definately a spectacular sight. I have decided to watch a sunrise at Marina in Chennai. I watched for the probable time of sunrise in chennai in The Hindu. The time for sunrise is 5.58 A.M. Hence I started for Marina on the morning of 14/10/2006 with my cousion Rajesh and Cannon at 5.15 A.M. and patiently waited for the glorious occassion. The photos are clicked as Sun rose.

Until the First Light of Dawn Awakens


I will tell you the Sunrise,
A ribbon at a time- Emily Dickenson



Waves and sunrise


The glorious sunrise
Tracking a Golden Trail
( A poem in the net )


Every sunrise is a present, a gift from the above


One boat alone beyond the bar
Is sailing outward blithe and free
( Montgomery .L.M. )




Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot; others transform a yellow spotinto the sun.
- Pablo Picasso

Chengee

Snow clad mountains or sunny beaches or green valleys and similiar places attract sight seeing tourists who seek visual delight and relaxation.But historical monuments and archiological tresures are of different genere. When you visit these places you are visiting time. You are transported back to time. If you visit Acropolis you travelled back to 4th centuary. If you stand on the ruins of Humbi you stepped back in the vijayanagara kingdom. Visions of Krishnadevaraya and his successors and their pitched battle with Bijapur sultan came to you.Similarly when I visited Brahadeswarar temple in Tanjavur King Raja Raja chola and his Royal court came to my mind. Such is the power of visiting historical monuments. I had similiar experience when I visited Chengee recently.

Chengee is near Thiruvannamalai which is in Tamilnadu. It is 25 k.m from Tindivanam which is again situated on N.H 47 and 65 k.m. from Chennai state capitol. The place is barren without much vegetation and full of granite rocks. The fort is nestled among three hills- Rajagiri, Krishnagiri and Chakkildrug.It is built by chola king during 13th centuary.Then the fort changed hands between Nayak. Muslim rulars, marathas, French and finally British. But when you mention Chengee the name came to your mind is Raja Desingu. The brave Rajput warrior who when surrounded by trecherous moghul army committed harakari instead of surrendered to enemy. His beautiful and young wife commited sathi along with him. There are number of moving ballads about his brave deeds and valour.The desolate and lonly place was photographed once again my cousion Rajesh and given below.

Trichy-III Kallanai The oldest Dam in the world

Kallanai is the concluding part of my journey of Trichy visit. It is a greatest engineering marvel of India built by King Karikalan chola in the 2nd centuary A.D to harness the waters of River Caveri. It is still in its oldest form. The British rulars have made only additions to it in 1929. I don't think there is any another older dam built as old as Kallanai in the world. Hats of to Karikal chola.

Enterance to the Dam

A crocodile in the waters



An overall view of the Dam




A view of the Dam



Another view of the Dam

Trichy-II Rock Fort temple

The Rock Fort temple is one of the important place in Trichy.The Rock is 83m high out crop.The temple built at the top is the main attraction.At the top of the rock is the Uchipilliyar koil. It is dedicated to Lord Vinayakar. It is a great thrill to reach the top.But you have to over come 344 steps to reach there.Once you reach there,you have an enchanting birds eye view of the Trichy town.Below the Vinayakar temple you come across another temple dedicated to Lord Siva known as Mathrubutheswarar temple where Lingam is projected from the rock itself. The Rock Fort temple is a must see spot to visit while in Trichy. Here are some breath taking photos taken by my cousion Natesan from the top.

View of bridge across River Caveri

View of River Caveri



Another view of River Caveri



View of Srirangam temple



The path leading to Rock Fort temple

Trichy-I

I went to trichy for two days trip of sight seeing. Trichy is the fourth biggest town in Tamilnadu.During my stay I visited Srirangam, Rockfort temple and Kallanai. I wanted to share some of my thoughts of Trichy visit.

Srirangam:

Srirangam is surrounded by river Caveri and river Kollidam.It is one among the 108 vaishnava divyadesas. It is a gigantic temple dedicated to Lord Sriranganathaswamy.The temple dated back to 14th century. Many rulers like Cheras,Pandyas,Cholas,Hoysalas and rulers from Vijayanagar have contibuted for the constrution of the temple For brief history of the temple visit www.ramanuja.org.

The photos were taken by my cousin Natesen

Salem Trip-II

On our second day we have arranged a van and proceeded to Hogenakkal which is about 120 k.m from Salem. But unfortunately we selected a wrong time to visit Hogenakkal. The water was released from Kabini reservoir in excess of 70,000 cubic feet/sec. We have no chance of bathing in the falls which is the main attraction. We were not allowed to enter the bridge that stood across the falls. Hence we could not have the glimpses of the magnificent sight of the falls that drops as smoke in the rocky hills. The name Hogenakkal is derived from kannada. In kannada Hoge means smoke.Here are some wonderful pictures taken by Rajesh.

A view on the way to Hogenakkal



A view of the of the concrete path that leads to bathing ghat in the falls overflown by water



From Hogenakkal we returned to Salem with disappontment via Mettur Dam. It is one of the major dam of the state across the river cavery. It caters to the irrigation needs of the Trichy,Thanjavur,and Thiruvarur.



Water level is in full capacity 120 feet


Sunset in Mettur Dam

Salem Trip

Lake View




A View from Ladies seat

Recently I had a chance to visit Salem. Salem is surrounded by many interesting places.Yarkadu, Hogenakkal and Mettur dam were among them.
Yarkadu is just 33k.m. from Salem.It takes an hour travel from Salem.It is situated at 1515 meters from sea-level.



A panoramic view from the bus on our way to Yarkadu

Photos were taken by my cousin Rajesh Rajendran

During June 2005 I suddenly decided to visit Kodaikanal during a weekend. Fornutely I was able to get a reservation for the onward journey. I boarded the Pandiyan Express from Chennai and alighted at Kodai Road Kodai Road is the nearest Railway station for Kodaikanal. We reached Kodai Road early morning. Lots of buses and private Taxis await passengers who alight at Kodai Road for the journey for Kodaikanal.It took nearly four hours to reach Kodaikanal. I had not made any advance reservation for stay. Hence I got down at the lake itself. I had no idea about lodges at Kodai. My friend told me about lodges at Kodai near the lake. Hence I took the decision. Season had just been ended. Southwest Monsoon had already started at Western Ghats. I was of the opinion that I would able to get accommodation easily. Contrary to my expectation I could not get accommodation at Hotel Hill town. However I was able to get a room at a lodge called Murgan Lodge. Rooms were really cozy and neat. One reason I choose to visit Kodai during off-season rates of room rent was affordable. Rates of rent are really exorbitant during season. Hotel Hill town was a bit higher side on my budget. Having retired I was on the lookout for bit lowerside. Murgan lodge suited me very well. But we didn’t have good hillside view like we had when I stayed at Madikeri

As we had arrived at Kodai by 11.00 A.M. we could not undertake sight seeing trip on that day. We had our lunch at a restaurant nearer to our stay. We took some rest and went to the lake, which is nearer to our hangout.

Lake:
It is a man made lake. There are boat clubs available for hiring boats.
We had not opted for boat ride. Instead we took a long walk along the banks of the lake. Cool afternoon breeze swept our faces intoxicating our senses.

Second Day:

On the second day we arranged for a sight seeing trip conducted by local tourist operators. The sight seeing trips arranged by these tour operators sometimes are really a boon to travelers who have no vehicle of their own. Fornutely the vehicle arranged by our Tour operator was a jeep that accommodated six persons. Though not really comfortable but not uncomfortable

Our First stop was Chettiar Park. It is a calm place on the way to Kurinji Andavar Temple. Chettiar Park is not a park that could be compared to SIMS PARK. But any park in a hill is a delight where you can see variety of plants particularly Roses. The Roses are giant varieties. From Chettiar Park we then proceeded to Kurinji Andavar Temple. A European Lady who later converted to Hinduism had built Kurinji Andavar Temple. Kurinji is the name of the flower that blossomed once in twelve years. During the Kuriji Flower season entire Western Ghats would be dotted with Kurinji Flower, which is blue in color. Last time Kurinji had blossomed in 1994. It is expected again in 2006. Kurinji Andavar Temple has a scintillating viewpoint. On a clear day you can have a glimpses of Palani Andavar Murugan Temple. Kodaikanal physical observatory is adjacent to the temple. As it was Sunday we could not visit the observatory. Next we proceeded to Dolphin nose. Dolphin nose is a flat projection of rock, which gradually descended. The rocks are slippery. The drop then would descend to some 1000 feet On a clear day you can have some breathtaking views. From dolphin nose we went to place called pine forest.

Pine Forest: Pine trees were everywhere. Birds chirping, eerie feeling and misty clouds descending – you are reminded of films like Bees saal baad and Madhumathi.Pine tree were introduced to Kodaikanal only recently. Some environmentalists are of the opinion that pine trees were ecological disaster.

Guna caves;

Guna cave also known as Devil’s kitchen is another interesting place. . It has got its name because climax of the film “ Guna “ was entirely shot in this place. Who could forget ‘Abirami’ of Guna. We were not allowed to enter the cave. The entry was blocked. Many people have died in this cave. One such person was Zamindar of Chenbaghanur. A small stone inscription was laid there in his memory.

Green Valley
On return from Guna caves we then proceeded to Green Valley. It was heavily crowded. Green Valley is a viewpoint where you can have glimpses of Periyakulam town in the plains and Vaigai Dam provided there is no cloud cover. When we reached there it was full of mist, which obscure our views. It was also fenced. It was formerly known as Suicide point. Many tragic lovers had ended their lives. That is why it was heavily fenced. During my previous visit it was not so. We stood at the edge of point and had a clear view. Green valley dotted with lot of vendors selling all the fancy things you want.
From Green Valley we went to a restaurant to have our lunch. In the afternoon we went to another interesting place called Pillar rocks. Pillar rocks are huge granite formation. Beyond Pillar rocks there is a huge drop. Clouds had filled the abyssal beyond the Pillar rocks. Suddenly clouds lifted. What a panoramic view! Mounted Telescopes are available for valley views. A small garden is maintained there.