Asthamudi

Asthamudi is a huge lake near quilon. The lake is connected to the Arabian Sea by waterways and canals. It also has connections with the backwaters criss-crossing the region between Kollam and Kochi.

The eponymous Club Mahindra property where I stayed is a long stretch of palm-lined flat land on the banks of the lake. From my room, which has a nice sit out, I could see the waters of the lake glistening in the early morning sun. Small wavelets surge and subside on the surface of the lake which stretchews out in all directions right up to the distant horizon.

It was literally like spending a few days in paradise. The weather was cool with occasional heat. I spent the time catching up with my reading while sprawling on one of the hammocks lining the waterfronmt! Sometimes we went for boat rides out to the Arabian sea or on the canals and waterways running through the villages.

Thiruananthapuram--New Year 2011--First Visit

It is my usual practice to take a week off at the end of every year and use the opportunity to review the past 365 days as also plan how I would optimize the forthcoming year.... I invariably leave Chennai and spend the week in a remote location, ideally near nature and temples...This time, I spent the New Year 2011 in Kerala...with my family.

I spent some time at Kovalam near Thiruananthapuram...

• We stayed on the Vilinjam Beach in Sagara Resort. The sickle shaped beach curves beautifully with a walk way and glittering shops and hotels serving freshly caught fish. As the sun went down into the Arabian Sea, the place was a colorful sight with neon bulbs and signboards everywhere. The foreign tourists wandering all over the place gave the feel of Pattaya Beach, Thailand. The only thing missing was "Walking Street"! :-)
• The mornings were spent bathing in the sea. The waves are gentle here and just standing in the middle of the rolling smaller waves with water up-to one's hip and then rising with a larger wave moving towards the shore is a delightful experience. The coastline forms a nice inlet or cove at Vilinjam with rocky promontories on either side holding a huge body of water between them. It is upon the southern promontory that the Lighthouse stands.
• On the afternoon of the second day I climbed the Vilinjam lighthouse with my children. The tedious climb up the winding staircase was worth it because the view was great. From the circular turret we got a glorious view of the beach and surrounding areas in the east and the large expanse of sea on the west. Fropm atop the ligyhthose we saw a kite circling the ocean. As we were above the Kite, we got a Birds Eye View of the Bird!
• Later in the evening we went to Attukkal Bhagavathy Temple and then Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple. In the outer corridor of the Attukkal Bhagawathy temple, which holds the Guinness record for the Largest assembly of women in a singkle place for Pongala, there is a concrete image of Hanuman on one of the pillars. I was truly facinated by the image. The Deity is depicted majestically upright with tail raised above the head and legs apart. The right hand holds the lowered mace or Gadhayudham and the left is on his hip. The head is lowered as if looking down at the devotee paying obeiscance to him. It is a great and unique figure.

Maruthamalai

I was in Coimbatore on 13^th January. I visited the Temple of Lord Muruga on Marutha Malai. AS the temple was almost empty we had a lot of space to move around and enjoy the divine experience. My earlier trips to this shrine had been quick on-the-way to Ooty visits when I had no opportunities to savour the ambience. Moreover I could see huge improvements in the place. The rough-hewn steps leading up to the main shrine have been replaced by broad granite ones. The view of the main Gopuram Structure (Raja Gopuram - which is still under construction) from the car park is superb as the elevation rears up majestically with the mountain ranges towering up and above in the backdrop.

There is a separate shrine for Shiva and one for the divine mother Parvathi too! Apparently Murugan is a dutiful son here sincerely taking care off his parents. Ganesha the Big Brother is as usual ubiquitous. There is huge Ganesha idol just next to the sanctum and a beautiful Valampuri Vinayagar with trunk twisted to the right near the Dvajasthambam. As we get down from the main shrine, we can see the Pancha Vrksha Vinayagar at the base of five intertwined trees with dendritic profusions all around. Nera the Pancha Vrksha Ganapathi is a stone slab with an image of Murugan in bas relief. The sculpture depicts the Warlord sitting on a peacock with its tail feathers spread out like a fan behind the Lord. The Vel or spear in his hand is directed downward as idf piercing our ignorance (maya) and Ego (ahamkara)!

This sculpture reminded me of the pillar sculpture at Perur where Arumuga Nayanar or Murugan is depicted in three dimensional splendor seated on a peacock. The craftsmanship is so exquisite that the sixth head is carved on the reverse side and can be seen from behind the pillar! The Perur temple has been recently renovated.

A little down is the Adhi Moolasthaanam where the swayambhu idols or stones representing Muruga, Valli and Devayanai are enshrined.

About sixty steps or so further down is a shrine to Pambatti Siddhar, one of the Eighteen Seers who are renowned in the Sidhha Lineage. Due to lack of time (!) we couldn’t go there. I made up my mind to visit this shrine as well as the Shiva temple at Perur on my next visit to Coimbatore.

The Flute and the Football

This is a nice story related by Mr. T R Pachamuthu, Chancellor, SRM University in his acceptance speech on receiving the For The Sake of Honor Award from my Rotary Club:

The flute and the football went to God. The football complained that although both of them were essentially filled with air in order to perform their duties, the flute was kissed while it was kicked. God smiled and said, “ You take in all the air and keep it inside, while flute gives out everything that it gets. No wonder that you are kicked and it is kissed!”

I liked this story and related it at a seminar on the Seven Habits at Chennai. I was giving the participants who were senior Chartered Accountants an overview of the Seven Habits and my own experiences in internalizing them. I repeated this story in the context of Being Proactive. One of the participants Mr. Sekhar a Chartered Accountant gave a different take on this story. He made the point that the football could never follow God’s advice because its role demanded that it retained the air. The role of the flute as a corollary precludes retaining even an mg. of air that it gets. He brought out clearly the need for role clarity without unnecessary emotional overtones.

I continue to marvel at how different people view the same thing so differently!