LIFE IN LOCKDOWN – Covid -19 Syndrome

Since March 25^th the whole country has been in lockdown due to Covid-19 Pandemic. Though necessary the lockdown to control corona has thrown normal life in disarray. Most of us have been feeling anxious and stressed due to frustration and depression. There has been no socialising and since the enforcement of the new norms of wearing mask and social distancing, normal life has gone out of gear. Buying essentials itself has been a herculean task and very painful.

Initially I tried to call up a few friends and relatives to relieve my stress but that only added to my depression and anxiety. In order to cope up with stress and anxiety I started thinking of activities that interest me and the first one I chose was to spend more time in our small garden. My wife was working from home, but she supported me whenever she could spare some time from office work and household chores. The result was amazing. Our lemon tree, Banana plant, Custard apple and passion fruit started blooming and have started yielding abundant number of fruits.

Since gardening does not take up all my time I looked into other activities and unsuccessfully tried reading books on Kindle which I could not focus on. So I turned to music. I started listening to old songs which kept me going for the day. My nephew who is in USA also chipped in by sending songs sung and recorded by him to bolster my spirits. In the evenings my wife would be free, so we started watching English serials which both of us enjoy. It has been a difficult time even with Unlock one and cases shooting up in my home state Karnataka.

It is not to say that this lockdown has been without some positives. Being from the generation where we did our banking transactions with passbook and cheque book and using cash for payments, since it became nearly impossible to go to banks or ATM’s we had to adapt to Digital payments. Thanks to the help from my friend we changed to make all payments in digital mode using apps. Today we buy everything including groceries, milk, vegetables & fruits, through digital payments. Our Utility bills such as electricity, water, DTH bills, and phone bills are also settled digitally. We also pay for our domestic help and daily newspaper digitally and hardly visit ATM’s for cash. Another benefit was that our fuel bills were almost zero since all movements were restricted.

All said and done the pandemic effect is still stressful and depressing as no one knows when this will end. I used to travel a lot earlier to various countries and places and being cooped up at home is truly frustrating. I hope that in the coming days the situation will improve when we can get back to our normal life. Till then it is mask, hand washing, sanitising social distancing and “stay home stay safe” for one and all.

THANJAVUR -PART -3

PUNNAINALLUR MARIAMMAN TEMPLE

Punnainallur Mariamman temple is about 7 Kms from Brihadeeswara temple. This temple was built by the first Maratha king of Thanjavur Venkoji in the year 1680.

It is said that the Goddess Muthu Mari Amman appeared in the dreams of the King and instructed him to search for her idol in the forest. During his search the King found the idol of Mari Amman under a Punnai tree. He then built a temple over this ground which became very famous.

The main deity is made of earth (putruman), which is Muthumari Amman. Devotees believe that small pox is cured by drinking Abisheka milk in this temple.

THE SWARTZ CHURCH

This church is located near Brihadeeswara temple and is adjacent to Sivaganga park. It is said that this church was built in by Rev. Father Swartz and Major Stevens for the benefit of Christians both Indian and European. Later it was renovated by King Serfoji II as a token of affection and esteem for Father Swartz in 1779. Currently, the church is said to be maintained by ASI.

The church is actually quite small in size and inside the church, the main highlight is the white marble tablet at the back of the church, which shows Christian Friedrich Schwarz on his deathbed surrounded by Serfoji II and others.

SIVAGANGAI GARDENS

Adjacent to Swartz church is the Sivagangai gardens. It is badly maintained and not an interesting place to visit as you can see from few of the photos below:

KUMBAKONAM PART-2

AADHIKUMBESWARAR TEMPLE

Aadhi Kumbeswarar temple is located near Kumbakonam about 2 Kms from the city center. It is spread over a vast area and is said to be built about 1300 years ago by Chola Kings. Aadhi Kumbeswara is the main deity in the temple with his consort Goddess Mangalambika. The shape of the lingam is conical.

The city name Kumbakonam itself is derived from the name of God – Kumba and the slight angle of the Linga and hence the name “Kumbakonam”.

The temple has four gateway towers and has numerous shrines, Kumbeswar and Mangalmbika being prominent.The temple complex has many halls; the most interesting one being the 16 pillar hall that has all the 27 stars and 12 zodiacs sculpted in a single stone.The Pottamarai tank is in front of the temple.

SARANGAPANI TEMPLE

The main deity of this temple is Sarangapani Swamy with Komalavalli Thayar. This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and is said to be one of the oldest temples in Tamilnadu.

In this temple you find Lord Sarangapani in Ananthasayanam posture with his head resting on his hand like Anantha Padmanabha swamy temple in Trivandrum. As per legend Goddess Lakshmi was born out of lotus in Pottamarai tank and was named Komalavalli. Lord Vishnu comes to earth as Sarangapani to marry Komalavalli. Hence the temple tank is considered very sacred

The temple has 11 tiered rajagopuram.The temple faces east and the temple tank is located outside the western entrance. The temple has the influence of three major kingdoms in its architecture viz: Cholas, Vijayanagar empire, and Nayaks.

Timings 6 am to 12 pm and  4.30 to 9.30 pm

CHAKRAPANI TEMPLE

This temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. Here Lord Chakrapani can be seen with eight arms. The goddess is Sudarshanavalii Thayar.

In this temple, Lord Chakrapani is seen with a third eye on his forehead like Lord Shiva. Lord Bramaha, Surya and Agni are shown as worshipping the lord. The temple is known for its beautiful pillars.

The temple attracts devotees with various ailments. They perform pujas like Sudarshana Homam, Thirumanjanam, and sahasranama archana.

There is a bronze statue of King Serfoji II worshipping God can be seen here.

Timings 6 am to 12 pm and 4 pm to 8 pm.

MAHAMAHAM TANK

Mahamaham Tank is a huge temple tank located in the heart of Kumbakonam town. It is considered to be one of the largest temple tanks in Tamil Nadu. Once in twelve years  the Mahamaham festival is celebrated at Mahamaham tank which is similar to Kumbhamela.

12 Shiva temples and 5 Vishnu temples are connected with this festival. They are Kasi Viswanathar Temple, Kumbeswarar Temple, Nageswara Temple, Someswarar Temple, Koteeswarar Temple, Kalahasteeswarar Temple, Gowthameswarar Temple, Amirthakalasanathar Temple, Banapuriswarar Temple, Abimukeswarar Temple, Kambatta Visvanathar Temple and Ekambareswarar Temple which all are Shiva temples. The Vishnu temples are Sarangapani Temple, Chakrapani Temple, Ramaswamy Temple, Rajagopalaswamy Temple, and Varahaperumal Temple.

During this festival, thousands of Hindu devotees come to Kumbakonam and take bath in Mahamaham tank.

KUMBAKONAM TEMPLES - PART-1

KUMBAKONAM TEMPLES

PATTESWARAM TEMPLE

Patteswaram temple is about 10 Kms from Kumbakonam.The presiding deity of the temple is Dhenupureeswarar (Shiva) and his consort Gyanambika (Parvathy).This is a fairly big temple.Though this is a Shiva temple it is more known for the Durga here. Durga is seen with eight hands each holding a conch, a chakra,a bow, an arrow, a shield and a parrot.

The legend is that the divine cow's daughter Patti worshipped Lord Shiva here and hence the name Patteswaram. There is also a well known as Koti Theertham which is supposed to be created by Lord Rama.

The Durga here is seen seated on her vahana Lion with her foot on Mahishasura. An unusual aspect  

is that Durga's vehicle Lion is seen facing left instead of right. Durga in this temple is shantha swaroopi i.e. she has a peaceful appearance.

It is believed that Sri Rama did penance here after killing Vali to get over Sayagathi dosham. Sage Viswamitra became Brahma Rishi here. Ganesha is worshipped in three locations inside this temple as Anugai Pilliar, Madhuvarna Pillayar and Swarna Pillayar.

Right from the Chola period this temple is popular since it is believed that goddess Durga solves the problems of devotees and hence this temple has come to be referred as Patteswaram Durga temple.
People offer garlands made of lemon to please Durga amman.

Timings 6 am - 1 pm and 4 pm to 9 pm

 UPPILIAPPAN TEMPLE

Uppiliappan temple also known as Thiruvinnagar is about 4 Kms from Kumbakonam and the temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. This temple  is near Thirunageswaram. Lord Vishnu is worshipped as Uppiliappan and his consort Goddess Laksmi as Bhumi Devi. Here Lord Vishnu is called Uppiliappan (Uppu Illa Appan) since he does not eat salt. The temple has no salt in prasadam offered to Gods.

The temple has a five-tiered gopuram. Lord vishnu can be seen here with Bhoomi Devi on the right and Markendeya  Maharishi on the left. Markendeya did a penance here to have lord Vishnu as his son in law. Lakshmi Devi in the form of an infant is found by Markendeya Rishi here.The Lord here is present in five forms viz: Ponnappan, Maniappan, Mutthappan,Vinnagarappan and Ennappan.The temple tank is called Ahorathra Pushkarani. Unlike other Theerthams, devotees can take bath during day or night.

The Lord here is known as Lord Venkatachalapathy's brother and devotees who are unable to visit

Tirupathy to fulfill their promises can do so here.

The temple construction is said to have been initiated by the Chola Kings of late 8th century with contributions from Thanjavur Nayaks.

THIRUVALANCHUZHI TEMPLE

The main deity in this temple is Sadaimudi Nathar (Shiva) and Ambal - Periyanayaki.The other deities in this temple are Swetha Vinayakar,Valanchuzhi Vinayakar, Saneeswaran, Murugan and Bhairava Moorthy.

The Lord Ganesha here is said to be Valanchuzhi Vinyakar..The white Pillayar (Lord Ganesha) is the speciality of this temple. The idol is small and is said to be made up of sea foam and hence the Vinayakar is also known as Norai Pillyar.

The story behind the temple is that the Devas started churning the ocean (Palkadal) with Mandara mountain as the churning stick and snake Vasuki as the rope. During the churning, snake Vasuki spat venom  into the ocean threatening the destruction of the world. The Devas sought the help of Lord Shiva to avert the calamity and were advised by Lord Shiva to worship Lord Vinayaka. The Devas returned to Plakadal and made an idol of Lord Vinayaka from sea foam and worshipped him. They succeeded in getting 'amruth' from the palkadal. Lord Vinayaga thus made from sea foam is worshipped as Lord Swetha Vinayakar.

Swamimalai temple is near to this place. It is important to visit this temple before proceeding to Swami Malai.

Temple Timings 6 am -12 pm and 4 pm to 8 pm..

SWAMIMALAI  MURURGAN TEMPLE

Swamimalai Murugan temple is located about 5 Kms from Kumbakonam.

The presiding deity is Lord Murugan who sits atop a 60 feet hillock. The temples of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi are located downhill. This place is also called Tiruveragam.

As we enter, there is a temple for Lord Vinayakar (Ganesha). There are 60 steps to climb and each step is named after 60 Tamil years.

Swamimalai Murugan is also known as Swaminatha Swamy and the idol of the deity is 6 feet high. There are golden armours, a golden crown, and a diamond lance for Swaminatha Swamy. Swamymalai is the fourth of the Aarupadai Veedu or six abodes of Lord Murugan. It is said that Lord Murugan has explained the meaning of Pranava Mantra "OM" to his father Lord Shiva here.The same is seen on the gopuram depicting Murugan as Guru and Lord Shiva as his disciple.

The temple has a golden chariot made of gold, silver and metals like copper, and beautifully illuminated with electric bulbs for festivals.

The temple is an ancient one and is said to be built by Parantaka Chola -1

Timings 6 am to 12 pm and 4 pm to 10 pm

THANJAVUR PALACE - THANJAVUR PART-2

THANJAVUR PALACE

THANJAVUR PALACE COMPLEX

MAIN ATTRACTIONS INSIDE THE PALACE

The Main attractions to visit in the Palace are Saraswathi Mahal Library, Royal Palace Museum, Serfoji Memorial Hall, Durbar hall, Art Gallery, Bell Tower, Sangeeth Mahal and Sarjah Madi.

At the main ticket counter we can buy the tickets for entry and also camera fee excluding the Royal Palace Museum and Serfoji Memorial Hall for which the tickets are sold at the entrance of these two places.The entry tickets and camera tickets are checked at all entry points and stamped.

Saraswati Mahal Library.

This building is easily identifiable with a very colourful frontage. There are many books and palm leaf manuscripts in this well-maintained library. There are also atlases, dictionaries and rare old books. Originally started by the Nayaks during their rule, this library got most of its patronage under the Marathas, especially under Serfoji II.The most important collection of the library are the palm leaf manuscripts written in various scripts.

Photography is not allowed inside the library.

There is an audio-visual center next to the Saraswathi Mahal Library where a presentation of important places to visit in and around Thanjavur, which is well narrated and presented.

DARBAR HALL

This large hall has the ceiling painted beautifully similar to which we had seen in Nandi Mandapam at Brihadeeswara Temple - a type of art form very common to the Maratha rule. At the centre is the portrait of the maharaja. The art work and painting on the ceiling are beautiful.

The Durbar hall is the place where the Maratha Kings used to meet their Ministers and common citizens. This is quite large and is full of colorful paintings. At the center is the portrait of Maharaja. At the outside of Durbar hall is a courtyard with Nandi.

ART GALLERY

This place was basically the Nayak Palace, originally built by the Nayaks who ruled before the Marathas. The rooms have now been converted into a museum where there is a good collection of beautiful statues & sculptures.

On the south side of the courtyard is the Arsenal Tower. This, as the name suggests, is an eight-storied structure which was used as a storage place for weapons and ammunitions by the Marathas built in the year 1885. 

BELL TOWER

Right next to the Art Gallery is the Bell Tower. This seven-storied structure was built by the Nayaks and is said to be used for offering prayers.

SANGEET MAHAL

Right opposite to the Art Gallery is Sangeet Mahal, built in the year 1600 by Sevappa Nayak. Due to shortage of time we could not visit Sangeet Mahal.

The Thanjavur Palace is a must-visit place, especially the Art gallery and Saraswathi Mahal.