Cauvery Special–The beginning and the end of her journey

One of my dream journeys is to follow the River Cauvery along her course and visit some of the known and unknown towns where she flows and listen to their lores.  I have visited a few cities and villages but my favourites are Talacauvery, where the river begins her journey as a little spring and ends as a little stream at Poompuhar where she joins the sea . The origin is in Karnataka and her final destiny ends in Tamil Nadu. It was a misty day when I was in Coorg, but a very warm day in the Poompuhar coast. Personally, I feel that rivers are symbols of freedom as they follow their own course and no one really has any control over them, except maybe the weather Gods. However, some day I hope I will make the journey at one go – all the way from Talacauvery to Poompuhar.

Here are the stories on Talacauvery  and Poompuhar that was published in The Hindu, in my column, The Inside Story

Talacauvery

A visit to Coorg is never complete if one does not go to Bhagamandala and Talacauvery, the origin of the river Cauvery. We went to Bhagamandala first which is the confluence or  kudla or sangama of the three rivers, Cauvery and its tributaries  Kanika andSujyoti . Interestingly Sujyoti is largely mythical as its meant to be flowing underground and joining the main river as she spreads herself and flows along .

Bhagamandala comes from the name Sri Bhagandeshwara temple, which houses the deities Bhagandeshwara (Lord Shiva), Subramanya , Vishnu and Ganapathi . Known as Bhagundeshwara Kshetra .the temples are built in kerala style and each sculpture tells a different story. A customary dip in these waters is said to purge you from all negative influences. An inscription here talks about how Bhagamandala was captured by Tipu Sultan who renamed it as Afesalabad and it was retrieved by Doddaveeraja after a fierce battle which lasted for about a week.

We move  on to the Brahmagiri hills to Talacauvery where the river originates and flows down 800 kms down to Poompuhar in Tamil Nadu. .The weather changes as the sun retreats as the mist takes over.The entire mountains are enveloped .

 

An enclosure around the spring called Gundige is connected to a small pond .which flows underground and emerges after about a kilometer down the hill. There are shrines above the spring and temples dedicated to Agasthyeshwara and Ganesha. It is believed that the Saptha Rishis had performed a penance here to get immortality. The priest inform us that the Agni Kundas can be seen there.

A plethora of legends flow down the Cauvery, but the most interesting that we heard is the legend of the river itself. Cauvery prayed to Lord Vishnu that she should become the most sacred of rivers and Vishnu granted her the wish saying that the while Ganga originates from the Lord’s feet, Cauvery will be worn as a garland by the God. It is believed that Ganga flows underground and even cleanses herself in the Cauvery and remains here for a month .

Pilgrims flock to Talacauvery in mid October where the river  gives darshan to her devotees.The water from the spring overflows and it is called Tula Sankramana .It is believed to be the rebirth of the river itself and the priests tell us that Goddess Parvati comes down to earth on that day. The holy water is taken home by all pilgrims after a dip in the river .

We see a lot of trekkers climbing down the Brahmagiri Hills to see the panoramic view of  Karnataka and the coast as well. As we prayed to the river, the mist suddenly touched our cheeks and before we knew it, we were wrapped in it .We were lost to the world as a thin white layer took us in its fold and gently lulled us to sleep.

Poompuhar

It is a hot and a humid afternoon and I am hardly surprised with the weather . I have been driving down coastal Tamil Nadu over the last few days and the sun has been rather merciless, with an occasional breeze attempting to lower the temperatures. Fishing hamlets, forgotten ports, erstwhile colonies and temple towns fill my travel diary as I head towards a sea side town, that was believed to have been swallowed by a tsunami several centuries ago.

My destination is a port that finds mention in the ancient Tamil and Buddhist literature and in the works of international travelers and historians like Ptolemy and Pliny. Mystery shrouds this old forgotten port as it is surrounded by legends .Discovering its history is like putting together the pieces of a jig saw puzzle together .The clues are largely the hyperbolic descriptions of the town from ancient poems like Pattinappalai and epics like Silappadikaram , inscriptions from temples and from excavations held under water and on land.

I am referring to the port capital of the Cholas - Puhar or Kaveripoompattinam, known today as Poompuhar, associated largely with the reign of Karaikal Chola and which comes alive in the verses of Pattinappalai , a literary work of the Sangam Age. Images of huge ships docking in the sea bringing in merchandise from distant shores to mansions built by foreign merchants are painted vividly in this poem. The epic, Silappadikaram recreates the ancient town with its markets , mansions, gardens and palaces. The port was called Maruvurpakkam , inhabited by traders, fishermen and foreign merchants while Pattinapakkam , with its palaces and gardens was the home of the royalty.

And yet as you drive through the chaos and clutter of the new town Poompuhar, you can hardly see any trace of the ancient capital We cross the excavations of Pallaveshwaram, where we are told that the ruins of an old Buddhist monastery was said to have been unearthed. The Buddhist literary work, Manimekalai speaks of the Buddhist influence in the town, while records its destruction by a tsunami.

“There is nothing really here, can we go back ? “ asks my hungry driver as I tell him to head towards the sea. There is one site that still remains till date . Puhar am told refers to the mouth of the river and the ancient town was apparently located at the estuary of the River Cauvery where it joins the Bay of Bengal. I walk in the heat to see the magical moment.

An old lighthouse watches over the sea . Running parallel to the sea and separated by a patch of black sands is the river Cauvery curving towards the sea . A small stream that gets narrower as it meanders its way to its destination. A couple of fishermen are washing their boats. The sands meanwhile dramatically changes colour from black to almost white as the waves of the sea welcomes the river into its folds . It is a surreal setting . The sea curves and the river arches and they embrace as the waters flow . A small temple overlooks the estuary. An old lady walks away, as a lone fisherman wades through the estuary and crosses over to the shore. “ Super stills madam “he says and smiles at me as I photograph the confluence .

It is hard to imagine that the tame sea would have ruthlessly devoured a town centuries ago. It is even harder to imagine the busy port painted by the literary works with merchants, weavers, jewelers ,potters all hosting day and night markets lies somewhere in the ocean depths. As I leave, I take a last look at the river and sea merging quietly, wondering if they have written a watery epitaph for Puhar.

Hotels of Malaysia

Hotels in Malaysia consider as world class hotels for traditional heritage of hospitality to be experience where friendly service and respectful employees can be found. A huge accommodation selection is currently available especially in big cities. Beautiful and nice resorts of smaller islands in South China Sea and hill like the genting highland hotel are also found. Malaysia entails extensive wide range of accommodation in a reasonable charge. This include the international standard, budget, and medium style hotels. Each of these hotel types allows visitors to experience traditional heritage of hospitality particularly friendliness and well mannered room service. 

Vigorous tourist area of Kuala Lumpur are available. The well known luxury venue to stay in Kuala Lumpur is on Jalan Bukit Bintang. The place of Bukit Bintang solely describe as an Orchard Road of Singapore. The best venue to taste the delicious Malaysian delicacies will be at Jalan Alo. Currently, the Kuala Lumpur Sentral, Mid Valley Spot, Golden Triangle, Petronas Tower or the KLCC serve as well known five star hotel spot of Kuala Lumpur accommodation based on its personal choicce.  

Malaysian nation consider as Asia’s best popular tourist attraction site, the tourist industry of Malaysia fastly move that turns to become one best tourist destination globally in the year 2020. Kuala Lumpur refers as Southeast Asia’s new capital but now known as most economical progressive nation after the neighbooring nation of Singapore. Currently, from the tin mines area; this gradually become the Malaysian Capital. Though; Kuala Lumpur mainly feature the mere combination of Malay, Moorish, Moghul, and Victorian architecture, visibility of sufficient architectural attention is available upon keeping the visitor busy while staying a longer period in Malaysia. Wider selection of accommodation option is mainly available in city centre both affordable and luxurious hotel accommodation.

Skywatch Friday–The Roman Aqueduct in Segovia

Everywhere you go in Segovia in Spain, you cannot miss this imposing Roman aqueduct built around the 1st-2nd centuries. The Romans had a military base here and they built this aqueduct to source water from the mountains to their base. Restored and reconstructed, this aqueduct is the symbol of the city. More on it soon.

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Adios Spain

Its 7.40 pm now and I am sitting in my room in the Parodores Hotel in Alcala De Henares with all my luggage strewn around me . In a few hours post dinner, I will be packing again for my marathon journey back to India. My last night in Spain and am lost in the castles and churches of this country. The hotel which sports a contemporary design was once a monastery and later on a prison . Alcala De Henares is rather charming and is an University town.

I was invited to Spain by the Tourism Board and the flights were sponsored by Turkish Airlines who upgraded us in the last sectors. We landed almost a week ago in a wet Madrid and it was rather cold and damp when we reached Avila, but the blue skies soon greeted us. We went to Segovia and finally landed in Alcala De Henares today . My favourite destination this time around was Avila, an extremely quaint charming town which is also a World Heritage Site. Tomorrow, we will be boarding the Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul from Madrid and from there to Mumbai and finally Bangalore. I do secretly wish for an upgrade now as well.. And three flights and about 36 hours from now, I will soon be with you again...Meanwhile, here is a snapshot of Avila

Monday Morning blues

 

What if Monday morning blues looked something like this ?

Pangong tso – Ladakh

Journey of a different kind

Two decades ago, I started my stint in media as a gawky teenager working after college hours in one of the first community newspapers started in Madras. I got a mail from the paper today asking me to write something for their 20th anniversary. Thank you Anna Nagar Times, Mr. Ramakrishnan and of course, my first boss Vincent D Souza all I can say is thank you.. Here is the article that was published in the community newspaper last week.
It was the summer of 1992 and I remember a college professor asking me if I was interested in working for a community newspaper that was going to start soon in Annanagar. I was a gawky teenager, looking for an experience outside academics . I nodded my head vigorously without even knowing where Anna Nagar featured in the map of Madras, now Chennai. Little did I know that my decision would take me on a roller coaster journey into media . I had no formal education in journalism and everything I learnt was on the roads of Annanagar, through Vincent and Mr. Ramakrishnan. I was called a cub reporter and then a founder reporter, but it was the first start up experience of my life that laid the foundation of my media career .
One of my earliest memories of working in ANT (as we fondly call it) was a visit to the police station. I was on the crime beat and it was the first time I walked into a police station. I was hardly nervous (I don’t know if that was my youth or the power of the press) while the police were amused to see a young teenager asking questions . It was a case regarding a thief who was stealing dogs from the city and a few dogs had gone missing from Annanagar as well. The inspector was happy that we were featuring cases and stories that were not written about in the mainline newspapers. A few days later, he called me to tell me that the thief had been arrested and he asked me to come over to the station. For the first time I saw the thief in custody , who was pleading with the cops, besides confessing to them. The inspector told me that it was a huge racket and he was happy that we were following the case.
Besides journalism , ANT taught me the meaning of the word “ community”. It was not just news, for the paper stood for the emotions of the community. The smiles of the students who did well in the exams , the relief on the faces of the residents whose civic issues were highlighted, local government officers from Metro water ,the police who were lauded for their efforts – all these men and women were our local heroes who were featured on the newspaper. Many a time, my civic stories were picked up by main stream newspapers after reading my articles from ANT. That used to give me immense satisfaction besides the by-line and the modest pay-check at the end of the month. For years to come, ANT became my learning ground and AD 79 was not an office, but an institution.

Skywatch Friday

I would probably be in Madrid, Spain when you read this post. And a month ago, I was in Barcelona , going gaga over Gaudi.. Here is his Sagrada Familia .

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