It was at short notice we decided to go to Tirivannamalai. We left here on Saturday 20th November at around 10pm, after filling our Omni with gas . No sooner we reached Hosur, heavy rains welcomed us and lasted throughout the journey. The road upto Krishnagiri wax excellent, we took the right turn towards Chennai and then the right turn towards Pondicherry. The movement of heavy trucks has spoilt the road which gets worst from Matoor.

After about 10kms our drive became slow and almost halted with many vehicles lining up the road ahead of Matoor. The journey of about 40kms took more than four hours. The combination of rain, road and traffic had its toll on the mileage and our energy.

By 5.40, we were in a huge field, many vehicles were being parked there and thousands of them were pouring in. We got down with our luggages and started walking. Amazed at the crowd walking towards us, I asked what was happening, Madhu, who is a seasoned driver and has visited this place earlier answered, the crowd was proceeding to ‘GIRIVALAM’, Only little I understood of what he said, but started imagining how the day ahead would be for us.

Just behind the temple we managed to find a free-to-use toilet. The Guys there were charging a whooping Rs.20/- per head for a toilet and bath. We managed to finish our job rushing through the already crowded place. By 7.15, we reached the main door of this great temple of sri Arunachaleshwara, and My My! I could see only heads around here and more than 500 police staff were taking guard. We showed our credentials and they were obliging to allow us in. Even as we proceeded, Mahesh, Madhu and Santosh went missing in the melee. The police officer guided me to the main sanctum sanctorum and was allowed inside with no much of difficulty.

What a scene to behold, lord Arunachaleshwara sat in all his grandeur bedecked with flowers of many varieties. A comfortable darshan, then a visit to the Utsava Murthy’s. I Went to goddess Apithakuchambaal. People thronged the place here also and still darshan was excellent. Thanking her for blessing me, I made my way out. Only then did I have the breath and visualize the environment. The place was fully decorated with varieties of kadambams and the fragrance filled the air. The festive look was at its best.

A look from there, towards the west I saw the magnificent Arunachala hill, a cloud of fog and a mild sun, added to its beauty. From this distance, I could see thousands of people climbing the hill, like ants making many lines up a wall.

The outer parakrama was having a huge crowd and good music was lilting the environment. On approaching it, I could see musician Mr.Shivamani and his team performing, on a stage. The tunes were mesmerizing and the crowd were enthralled. I sat through the programme, and at the end approached Mr.Shivamani. I renewed our acquaintance of our meet at Sri.Rajarajeshwari temple on the 7th November, when he performed here for the temple festival, he was happy that his fans visited him from far off.

Our team reassembled by 3pm and we left behind Santosh in the Omni. We left for “GirivaLam” or the tour around the hill. It was about 15kms of trekking of bare feet. I must say it was 15,000mts of moving human heads! Not an inch of space in between and the ocean of people trying to surpass each other in their walk. The police had fortified the entire town, and many shops lined it offering various services. There were numerous pandals offering prasadam like Puliygare, Pongal, Pulav etc., besides free water. This path takes us to the nine Lingas commencing with Indira, Agni, Yama, Niruruthi, Varuna, Vayu, Kumbera, Ishanya, at the end. At 5.50 we were at Kubera linga, a ten minute break was refreshing. We looked towards our left, and waited in anxious silence. Ten minutes was too long a wait. Exactly by 6pm, a light arose on the summit of the Arunachala. People all around chanted “HARO HARA”, lit lamps and clasped their hands in absolute surrender to lord Shiva.

Filling our hearts with that scene, we proceeded to the last Shiva linga, which is located in a grave yard. (Everything in life ends in a grave yard, and HE is the lord who lives there!) The darshan ended at around 7.15, and the lakhs of people around had almost slowed down even to keep the next step. Managing to reach the main temple, we bowed in thanks to Arunachaleshwara and Apitakuchamambal for giving us a chance to witness such a great event.

Inching towards our Omni, which was parked a good 3kms from the temple, by 9pm, we started immediately towards Bangalore, though tired to the hilt but fresh with the blessings of the almighty, even as the Jyothi at the summit getting engulfed by the fog of night…


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