On a rainy day we moved out of our home town of Thrissur to visit Palani and Madurai. The national highway nr 47 had lost all its worthiness as it was full of potholes. The driver maneuvered the car swerving it left and right adding to our discomfort. The scenic excellence on both sides of the road gave some solace to this ordeal. We passed Nemmara where my ancestral house is situated. I reminisced our previous journey to that place when I had chance of visiting my father’s house. Rain was incessant and the view to our right was breathtaking. The Anamala ranges played hide and seek with the monsoon clouds. The sight of the silver streaks of waterfalls from the mountains and the cool breeze lifted our spirits and we forgot the bumps of the car with the unkind road.

We crossed the Kerala border and the car entered Tamilnadu. The road was comparatively better. The intensity of the rain reduced as we moved along. Tamilnadu had always a special place in our hearts and we enjoyed every sight on both sides of the road. The horizon of Pollachi, the next town, was yonder and it gave a mixed picture of clouds and blue sky.

Pollachi is a small town with narrow roads. It had all the looks of an erstwhile colonial town of the British Raj. It was humming with business activities for which it is famous for. The car sped on smoother roads. Coconut palm groves were visible on both sides of the roads, contrary to our expectations. We could see windmill generators on both sides of the road at the outskirts of Udumalaipet, a small town, which has improved a lot since our last visit in 1987. The wheels of the windmills were turning systematically as the wind blew from the other direction. It was an awesome sight, many wheels turning at the same time.

The wheels of the car turned and turned as we reached Palani at about 12-30 P.M. The town looked very ancient.

The atmosphere was very religious with songs, flowers and pilgrims all around. We booked our rooms in the New Tirupur Lodge, near the temple. We refreshed ourselves with a bath and walked to the temple after buying flowers and other pooja materials. On all my previous visits, I had climbed the steps to reach the worshipping place. But this time, we chose the trolley to go up. The trolley moved up at a snail’s pace and soon we reached the temple premises. It took about forty five minutes for the pooja.

 The chanting of “Hara Haro Hara” and the aroma of the burning lamps and the incense drew me back to the yesteryears. It was the day of the marriage of my mother’s sister at this altar of MURUGA. Clad in beautiful sari and with jasmine flowers on her hair and vibhuti and sandal paste on her forehead, she was looking lovely. A tear drop rolled out of my eyes as she was with Lord Muruga in eternal bliss and God Realization. I looked around among the senior devotees for a bald headed face, perhaps my late grandfather might have stood there watching us offering our prayers and showering his affection.

The day broke the next morning at Palani. Moderate rain showers were falling and we were excited. A delicious breakfast at the restaurant of New Tirupur Lodge boosted our spirits. An artist was drawing the figure of peacock on the windscreen of our car. It was a good piece of art. We looked at the looming hilltop where Lord Muruga is blessing all. The car drove away on the Palani – Madurai road.

Picturesque surroundings continued all along the road to Madurai. One worth mentioning sight was a field of sunflowers. We stopped the car and took a photograph of the same. The yellow flowers were dancing in the breeze and it was a feast to our eyes.

 As we advanced towards Madurai, the weather warmed up. The city looked crowded and we arranged our rooms in a lodge adjacent to the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple.

At about 4-00P.M, we parked our car near the temple compound and proceeded to the temple. The sight of the mammoth Gopurams on all the sides is breathtaking.

We entered the temple premises. The ancient architecture of the temple clearly explained how farsighted the ancient kings were. The sculptures on the Gopurams are par excellence. Devotional songs echoed from all sides. We prayed at the altar of MEENAKSHI Amman and proceeded to look around. The carvings in stone of different figures are immaculate and took us back to those days of the benevolent and art loving kings. The 1000 pillar Mandapam (the aayiram kaal mandapam) is an awe-inspiring place. It is definitely impossible to reproduce another mandapam like that in the modern days. We moved around many other architectural marvels, carved out of stone.

A middle aged man was singing a Carnatic keerthan, which I could not recognize. I thought if Sasi, my youngest brother, would have been with us, he would have easily found out the raga and explained it to us. He is a good musician, the follower of our mother. The thoughts of our mother flashed a glow on our faces and it was apparent that she was following us wherever we went, her Godly presence protecting us perpetually.

The sky became overcast, but it did not rain in Madurai. Instead we felt we had been in a shower, a shower of blessings from above, in that sacred place.

  Cheers!!!................