Allapula or Allepey is so beautiful. That in itself is an understatement. The backwaters of Kerala is heavenly. No wonder Kerala is called "God's Own Country". We spent one whole day in the beautiful boat house surrounded by nature. We ate fresh fish and crabs cooked to perfection by our own chef! Such comfort and relaxation. The thousands of boat houses we passed were all different and unique. The people on board were all so friendly and waving. Vinay Thaandi Varuvaya written all over Allepey.... The scene and the beauty :) Breath-taking!
Next is Thekkady. A beautiful hilltop area and it was filled with such lush greenery and i was completely immersed with nature. Bajji and hot chaya at a foggy hilltop station.... "heavenly". Spice gardens and tea gardens everywhere with beautiful and clean waterfalls. We walked the streets of Thekkady and took the elephant ride. Watched the Kathakali and Kalari martial arts form... Just spectacular. Then we left for Madurai. A city which looked as brutal and as busy as their spoken accent. Madurai was beautiful. Visited the Madurai Meenakshi Temple. I have never seen anything like it before. It was so huge...each "Gopuram" (monumental tower-entrance of a temple) outdid the other. Who created these beauty? Miracle. And such was the love of Meenakshi who stood there with such poise and beauty. Her "mookuthi"(nose ring) shone through our souls as the "aarathi" was shown.
Then we left Madurai for Trichy. A state that i was familiar with. The streets of Trichy was so beautiful, highways and roadways were so clean. We visited Sri Rangam and Renganathar. Oh what beauty...each temple holds your heart captive. Each idol...showed themselves off in such pride. They were Majestic. Then it was Uchi Pillayar... beautiful Hilltop...Fort. Amazing view of the whole of Trichy!! And the wind was soo powerful. We also visited the Samayapuram Ambal...i saw her for the second time and she looks ever so beautiful. Amazing Darshan (sight/vision).
After Trichy...it was Chennai. This is where the true presence of God is felt :) I will tell you why. We were in Chennai on the 2/9 and were supposed to drive to Thirupathi on the 3/9 and visit the Lord first thing in the morning of 4/9. We were tempted to stay longer in Chennai. We told our driver. Please tell the agency that we will prolong our stay at Chennai for one more night and so please inform the hotel. One extra day and so we were going to see Thirupathi on the 5/9. However, suddenly, our driver told us....no problem. You all stay an extra night here. But 4th we leave Chennai and go to Thirumala after checking out on the 4/9. We do the shaving of the head and see the Lord. There was chaos in our tempo. I was like...no i have been there, i know how it is. It will be packed. And then a sudden realisation, and there was complete silence in our tempo. I looked at my driver and said...ok "chalo". Lets just do it your way. I told my dad and mum, "acha, He wants to see us on the 4/9. There is no our way, IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN HIS WAY OR NO WAY. YOU DON'T PLAN. HE PLANS. That realisation itself made me think of His love. There must be a reason why He wants us to be there on the 4/9, a Thursday.
And we stepped into the Thirumala Hills and i had goose bumps. Tears rolled. I felt the love. Our guide actually said, today, the crowd is going to be massive because the Lord's eyes which is usually closed with the large tilak like "V" was half open and he wouldn't have his usual gold and diamond ornaments on. He would just be bare with garlands and his "vesti". That in itself made me smile in acknowledgement of His blessings. We went with little distraction and we didn't have it difficult at all. We also had the blessing to stand in front of HIM for a good 20 seconds which in HIS language is looooonggg!!! I cried... Such is HIS love. Standing in front of HIM...i felt so small. What is my love compared to HIS? I saw him in awe... in tears...through my blurred vision...HE stood so clear and tall. Then we came out and i held and traced the walls of my LORD with so much of love. We sat and i absorbed whatever love i could. And gave away everything i had. My kids walked the floors of HIS lotus feet... Yookthana slept in that crowd and when i placed her on the floor, to take blessings at HIS lotus feet, she slept as if she was on a bed of roses which made everyone look in amusement. They chanted "Govinda Govinda". Not only that HE even showed Himself in the little oorvalam that HE was going on. Now, a love so pure...My family and I, must be extremely blessed.
The next day, we were scheduled for Thiruannamalai. Along the way, we were to stop at Vellore. I missed Lord Shiva. My husband and I loved the Kailasanathar temple in Kancheepuram. We asked our driver if we could pass Kancheepuram and he said it is out of the way. And with a heavy heart we said it's ok...you just follow your route. And again, he turned and said, you asked already, no problem. I will take you, of course there is a risk that the temple will be closed. I said, you drive, HE wants to see us. And our driver, who had been seeing all the miracles smiled knowingly. True to my words, the temple was open and we saw HIM again. I was so pleased and we prayed to our hearts content. The priest actually recognised me and said why don't you go through the passage (tunnel) and that made everyone eligible to do it which was otherwise closed. The priest told me, because of you, everyone is getting this blessings :) I was dumb founded.
Then we went to Vellore Golden Temple and it was breath-taking at night. What a sight... Amazing. I felt happy for my parents. I was taking them to the most amazing temples and i was so happy! The next day was another miracle. It was Sani Pradosham and we were at Thiruannamalai!! The Lord is truly loving. And we were ushered to the "Moolastanam" or "Grapagraham"...the center where the main idol is!!!!! I am not saying that if you stand further you don't get HIS blessings...You get HIS blessings from wherever you are standing if you call HIM with pure love and devotion. But I'm saying i didn't pay to be in there as most foreigners do. HE sent someone and that man brought us in and he didn't ask money. I felt so loved and that gave me a compulsion to give him some 250rupees which is soooo less. People pay thousands of rupees!! Oh i love God. And my father and mother was so overwhelmed by the love :) They were speechless and my dad instantaneously knew that my Tampoi Muniswara was behind all the blessings that we got throughout the trip.
Then it was Coimbatore and back to Cochin. We stayed at our "friend uncle's" in laws place and that was on Onam. And we had Kerala food and experienced Kerala that whole day. We left the next day, carrying all those blessings and breath-taking moments in our hearts. We started missing Kerala and India even before we left... That was just a summary of our time there. Words sometimes fail me when the only thing i can do is actually feel those moments.
The first thing my dad said when he came back was, "tonight at dinner we plan our next trip to India... :) I'm going again."
Such was the love that we felt. All i can say is, God's love is out there for the taking. Love and love truly. Do not expect anything. Trust HIM. Believe HIM. And love HIS creation, love others and help others to love others. That is the true essence of life. It is very simple. Life is beautiful <3 God bless!
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