Tamil Nadu with Quilley - 9 March 2012 - Palani

My friend, Quilley, arrived the evening of 7 March on her way home from her Buddhist pilgrimage to India.  She scheduled two weeks with us, for which I am deeply grateful.  We dragged her off the morning of the 9th for a tour of the state of Tamil Nadu.

We travelled in a Toyota Innova with a great driver, Chandran.

Our friends John and Davina joined us, since they had not been to Kanyakumari yet.
(Gopal, John, Quilley, Davina, and Chandran)

PALANI

'Palani is a city and a municipality in the Dindigul district of the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. 



'Palani is pronounced using the special 'L' used in Tamil and is also spelt as "Pazhini" in English.

'It is a famous pilgrimage town and evey year more than 7 million devotees visit the Palani Murugan Temple and offer their prayers to the Lord Muruga.  This temple draws the largest number of devotees in Tamil Nadu.

'Palani is a centre of a form of traditional Indian medicine known as Siddha Vaidyam, said to have been developed by the ascetics resident in prehistoric times in the hills about the modern-day town.

'Further, the town is also the centre for production of Vibhuthi (sacred ash) and Pacha-amritham (literally, 'the five nectars' - a traditional preparation of fruit pulp and molasses), both of which are considered holy and distributed to devotees after being offered to the Lord Subrahmanyan in the hill temple.'

from Madurai Welcome, 49th Edition

This elephant was giving blessings outside Quilley's bedroom window.  We stayed at the Hotel Subam, which we found very comfortable and very conveniently located for going to the Palani temple.



Palani Hill Temple

'Palani Hill Temple and the Idol "Lord Murugan" is the deity of the Tamil Land.  Palani (Tiru Avinankudi) is the third Padai Veedu.  The temple at Palani is an ancient one, situated at an elevation of 1500 feet above sea level.

Palani Muruga

'The deity of Palani is known as Dandayudhapani Swami, the Lord having the Staff in his Hand.  The deity at the sanctum sanctorum is made out of an amalgam of nine minerals popularly called Navabashana.

'Palani has been mentioned in the Tamil Sangam Literature as "Podhini," which came to be called as "Palani" later, according to the historians.  In "Thirumurukatruppadai" (a Sangam Literature) Palani has been mentioned as the 3rd "PadaiVeedu."  This was the southern end of the Kongu Nadu and edicts refer to this place as "Vayapuri Nadu," which was ruled by king "Vaiyapuri Kopperumbaegan."'

from Madurai Welcome, 49th Edition

The temple on top of the hill.

We decided against the 923 steps up the hill and took this cable car trip.

John and Gopal

The view as you get off the cable car (still some stairs to climb, though)

No pictures allowed inside the temple, but outside you see many newly shaved heads plastered with sandalood paste.

It was a great first day.  To get to Palani, we had to drive down the mountain from Coonoor, past Coimbatore and on to Palani.

Hanuman Temple - 5 February 2012

Our friend Sara is getting married and leaving Coonoor next week.  One of the things she really wanted to do before she left was visit this Hanuman temple on the road to Ooty.

"Hanuman, the mighty ape that aided Lord Rama in his expedition against evil forces, is one of the most popular idols in the Hindu pantheon. Believed to be an avatar of Lord Shiva, Hanuman is worshiped as a symbol of physical strength, perseverance and devotion. Hanuman's tale in the epic Ramayana - where he is assigned the responsibility to locate Rama's wife Sita abducted by Ravana, the demon king of Lanka — is known for its astounding ability to inspire and equip a reader with all the ingredients needed to face ordeals and conquer obstructions in the way of the world."  (from about.com/hinduism)



The temple is at the top of this mountain, but all you can see from the street is this yellow building.



After you pass through the yellow building, you come to this statue of Hanuman.

Behind these statues and under the rocks is this natural pool of water that you bless yourself with before proceeding.  Sara sprinkled us with the holy water.

Needless to say, there were many Hanuman statues en route to the temple, probably a kilometer.

The further up we climbed, the more vast the vistas.

At last, the cave that is the temple.

The little squares are places to place your foot as you walk.  With each stap you chant "Shri Ram."

After the walking "Shri Ram" mantra, at this station you pour oil on the black Hanuman statue and milk on the brass Hanuman.

We paid 20 rupees each for a special puja.  (Did I say that Sara is Muslim?)

After puja, we went down these stairs to the bowels of the temple.  At least Sara did.  The stairs were made of large gravel, roughly plastered with cement, and my feet couldn't continue.

This is what Sara saw below.  Stepping, chanting stones and .....

It was such a truly beautiful hike up, and then the temple itself was moving in its natural massiveness.  (I love the rocks and mountains.)  I am deeply grateful to the Shri Jay Hanuman Kugai Koil Trust for creating such a sacred space in this gorgeous natural place.  It was a great experience.

January 2012

Clouds over Mettapalayam, on our morning walk 4 January.

Our friends, Atul and Shriya, with Gopal on our 8 January visit.

Sun going down behind the clouds, evening walk

We named this street dog Ganzhu

On our walks through Singara, this is the sign on the first tea stand we pass.  It makes us laugh.

The building on the right is The Clinic for the Poor where I volunteer.  On 11 January, as we were closing up for the day, the little old woman in the picture came for pain medication.  She was so frail, she couldn't sit down to rest.  So much pain.  She lives down the hill straight ahead in this picture.  The road is steep, with terrible holes and rough pavement.  Not knowing she couldn't sit down, I pulled my car up and tried to put her in my car so I could drive her home.  But, no.  After she left, I cried for her and her life.  She was also malnourished.  It makes me cry while I type this.

29 January was my friend Sheila's youngest son's wedding.  The picture doesn't do justice to the beauty of my new saree for the occasion.  The wedding was beautiful and so were the bride and groom.  The food was good, and I think I saw every person I know.  Fun.

Beautiful Sara came to help me into my saree.  She's wearing a saree her new husband gave her which is really gorgeous.