Kumbakonam a divine travel experience

it was more convenient to travel by bus in southern   part   of  India   We      reached Kumbakonam   by  bus from   Thiruvanna-malai  is 180 km. After spending two days there at kumbakonam we have to move for our next destination by train so we booked our tickets and retiring room well in advance. We stay at Railway Retiring room for three days(2nights) of our visit.

Railway  retiring   rooms are  very  specious, is  the  best option to  staying  at the  railway station traveler like us with a nominal cost, it is safe and best. The IRCTC restaurants are available at  station apart from that  the station surrounded by many more food joints & budget hotels restaurants and always well connected  with many  mode of  transport.

Kumbakonam is a  traditional place, full of  mythology, great orthodox and ancient town . The town is with gorgeous temple  town in the heart of the city. Kumbakonam is full of temples. Every street, road, locality has a prominent temple it is also a best known for its historic beauty and architectural importance.
It has moderate population. We know some renowned scholars and intellectuals hail from Kumbakonam including the genius mathematician Ramanujam. 

Men are  dressed in lungi and shirt, however, younger men nowadays prefer to go around in shirts and trousers.  Most ladies and girls of Kumbakonam wearing saree and lehenga choli with flowers in their hair,  as an old tradition. I also buy one small Jasmine flower garland for my wife and give her to wear this in a traditional south Indian style.

In this area the women will be the first person to get up early in the morning and take a bath  soon as they are ready to start her day , the first thing she does is clean the entrance of the house sweeping and spraying water , some women does mix cow dung with the water and wax the floor then designed by rice powder called jhoti of chita and after this routine procedure she enters the kitchen to start the day in almost all part of South India and it is widely practiced by female Hindu family members.

Kumbakonam was originally a religious town which off late becoming a commercial hub. Many women have been running a small quantity of vegetable shop in busy streets,

We observe that, buses are very frequent service for wherever we want to go so we feel transportation are not a problem for us. This is the  cheapest mode best way to travel in kumbakonam .Auto Rickshaws are available on  negotiate the price for half-day or full day rates for the nearby places and temples within Kumbakonam but we prefer to travel by bus only.

Wherever you go we choose the local food . We went to a restaurant located just in front of railway  station,  Kumbakonam  always  serving the  best  Tamil  food. Idly, bada, rava dosa, upma, uttapam, puri vagi  sambar and  coconut chutney on the side.Most of the restaurants served on the banana leaves is a custom in Kumbakonam, the service and the hospitality shown by the staff were great. 

dosas, idlis and sambhars,chatni the cheapest food readily available for all classes of people  at every street corner. Most people in India eat with their right hand use the tips of the fingers. 

Kumbakonam is very famous for its degree coffee is quite popular in both Kumbakonam and other parts of Tamil Nadu.  Most of the restaurants display their board showing “Meals Ready” very interesting during the time of lunch and dinner.  

For lunch we preferred the local south Indian thali for Rs.70 Per head mainly consists of rice, poori, vegetable curry, sambhar, rasam, chutney, payasam and papad and we enjoy paratha with veg korma on our  dinner. it is so tasty to eat which we had never before. 

most common local food is strictly consists of vegetarian dishes, although non-vegetarian food is available in the town.

This town  has   a rich history and heritage with lot of tales  from the mythology. We visited some important  temples in  morning   time. Morning  is really  good,  had  good  dharshan ,comfortably visit all the main shrines   where we feel the vibration and, perform puja to our satisfaction.  We feel, no rush in week days.

First we visited Adi Kumbeshwara Temple in morning time, is one of the oldest and largest temple with a height of 128 ft at Kumbakonam  constructed in the 7th century has a magnificent architecture and  typical Dravidian style. by the kingdom of Cholas. It is a Shiva temple, the Shiva Linga here is broad at the bottom and sharp narrow at the top.

 Our next visit is Ramswami temple is located right in the centre of Kumbakonam  dedicated to Lord Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. This temple is called South Ayodhya,  This is the only temple where idols of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana along with Bharatha, . Shatrughna, Hanuman are worship. This temple specialties is Lord SriI Rama was seen with all his  brothers are in one place and Hanuman is seen with veena.

The temple has some of the famous stone carvings constructed during the 16th century and 219 wall paintings, which explain the series of incidents from the great epic Ramayana on three long walls of parikrama. it is a opportunity for us  getting full Ramayana story in picture form, wonderful art work in a single place

Lots of idols of other Gods as well inside the temple premises. We feel very powerful vibes and quite peaceful too.

Sarangapani Temple, We went in early at   around 8am to Sarangapani Temple   dedicated to Lord Vishnu and there was hardly any crowd .the Temple is clean and well maintained.

Sarangapani an ancient temple It is 173 feet tall with eleven tiers and is the tallest temple and tallest tower in Kumbakonam.  the statue of Lord Vishnu in reclining pose along with Bhoodevi and Sridevi got to see the grand darshan of a reclining Sarangapani idol. the temple is in the form of a chariot drawn by horses and elephants, 

All the temples of Kumbakonam  is a symbol of Dravidian architecture, known for its enormous size towers at  main entrances with thousands of vibrantly painted stone statues. Every 12 years they carry out the necessary repairs and repainted the towers as close as possible to the original position.

with openings on both side. Huge structures of rock have used in temple. The construction is amazing and great craftsmanship, It is quite surprised for me that thousands of years back how they would have managed to move the huge rocks especially how such rock was shaped into wheel with such perfection without any machinery support on. Local people say it has tremendous importance during the reign of the Chola Dynasty.

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we found that one person playing music  of nadhaswaram at one corner of the temple premises. we stood there for few minutes to listen the traditional music of this temple and feel blessed. it is a very auspicious musical instrument played in almost all temples of the South India as a  tradition

Then we visited 9^th century is one of the oldest and most prominent Nageswaran Temple of lord shiva It was believe that the Rahu Dhosa relived from life after this darshan, it is in the heart of the city a distance of 2 km from railway station. The temple consists of three gopurams in the eastern, western and southern directions. We feel the clam and peace after entering the temple. It was built in such a way that it allows sunlight to fall on the idol only during the months of “chithira “April-,May.
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Mahamaham Tank a very big tank located in the heart city a walk able distance from bus stand and railway station.We  Always prefer to walk during our visit to any location,  for us it’s actually getting to see and experience every single place  rather than just getting there.

There are 16 forms of shivalinga seen on the banks of  Mahamaham tank the water is very clear and people to take bath but soaps and washing of cloths are not permitted in the tank. Water steps are too slippery and needed very careful

around the tank there is a clean concrete road, hence we enjoying to walk. It is interesting for us that  children were took a high dive into the tank from a middle spot.  the evenings, very pleasant  we enjoyed sitting on the tank steps with view of Kasi vishwanathar temple 

We met many friends during our journey, it is wonderful and felling of heart touching experience for us. We travel with aim of connecting with the local people, local food,  local culture and how other people exactly live . for us every day we exposure to the new unexpected. While travelling we meet the most amazing, interesting, inspiring people for one day and never see them again.

It was opportunities for us to know more about the ancient Dravidian architecture their own customs and ways of life. The journey of Kumbakonam, really  it was a very brilliant and unforgettable experience for us..

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We learned many things about traditional Dravidian art and architecture from Kumbakonam. We both are at our very best and fully enjoyed our journey. It makes everything so wonderful, so worthwhile. Now we’re ready for our next dream destination.

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Durga Charan Mishra
dcmishradc@gmail.com