The Shenbaga Devi Falls trail in Tenkasi is one of few very pristine areas in Tamil Nadu. Thanks to the entry being restricted by (if I remember correctly) the Ecological Survey of India, the area is very rich in its biodiversity (plants, insects, birds, that you don’t get a chance to see outside, all within [...]
Site: Velapar Murugan (வேலப்பர் முருகன்) Map: +9° 51′ 2.40″ N, +77° 35′ 54.00″ E, 500m. This is located en-route to Theni from Madurai city, past a township called Aandipatti. There is also a small road side rest-stop/temple – DharmaSastha (தர்மசாஸ்தா) located here along the way, at 339m. We got a generous helping of piping hot [...]
I caught this procession of folks in the distance, on the way back from a visiting a remote rural temple. They are going to the local Kali temple. Usually this is done on every powarnami (full moon day). But this one is special, as it comes right after Navaratri celebrations. They’re carrying mulai-paari (முளை பாரி; [...]
Mahavira means the “Great Warrior”. That is the name given by the Samanars to the accomplished ones. Samanars were one of the many precursor aboriginal cultures that later contributed significantly to Jainism in Tamil Nadu around 1st century AD; see article on Samanars. While common society endows the title of “great warrior” on war heroes, [...]
About a year ago, while we were walking back to our car my dad had casually pointed in a direction along a dirt path and said that there is supposedly a bat cave somewhere beyond that. Never passing up an opportunity to visit caves and ancient relics I took up a little trek through an [...]
Map: 9° 56′ 44.93″ N, 77° 59′ 17.94″ E, 168m Location: Oothukulli (ஊத்துக்குழி), 12km east of Madurai city, Tamil Nadu, India +9° 56′ 45.00″, +77° 59′ 15.60″, 187m +9° 56′ 45.60″, +77° 59′ 17.40″, 222m
Map: 9° 55′ 19.20″ N, 78° 2′ 47.40″ E, 152m Location: Keellakuyilakudi (கீழக்குயிலக்குடி), 8km east of Madurai city, Tamil Nadu, India Slightly hidden away on the side of the hill of Site 2. It’s about 10min walk from the lotus pond. To get to it, walk past the lotus pond, past the Hindu temple, past [...]
Map: 9° 55′ 21.00″ N, 78° 2′ 50.40″ E, 200m Location: Keellakuyilakudi (கீழக்குயிலக்குடி), 8km east of Madurai city, Tamil Nadu, India +9° 55′ 21.00″, +78° 2′ 50.40″, 200m +9° 55′ 24.00″, +78° 2′ 41.40″, 265m –
Map: 9° 55′ 49.80″ N, 78° 1′ 22.20″ E, 180m Location: Vadapallanji (வடப்பழஞ்ஜி), 10km east of Madurai city, Tamil Nadu, India
I always find it strange that when non-Hindus (Christians in particular) holding a 100 candle vigil for peace gets regular coverage on just about every major news channel in India, but something like Hindus lighting over 10,000 lamps for world peace seem to be less worthy of mention and hardly gets a mention even in [...]