Weekend-Chennai

Tranquebar

By

Tharangambadi (or Tranquebar) is a panchayat town in Nagapattinam district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, 15 km north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary of the Kaveri River. Tharangambadi is the headquarters of Tharangambadi taluk. Its name means “place of the singing waves”. It was a Danish colony from 1620 to 1845, and in Danish and some other European languages it is known as “Trankebar” or “Tranquebar”.

Read More

AN ANNUAL DATE WITH OOTY

By

We stuck to our usual route of  Tiruppur-Mettupalayam-Kotagiri route for the onward journey to Ooty  and the Ooty-Coonoor-Mettupalayam-Tiruppur route for the return journey. The Kotagiri route has very little traffic, even in peak season and hence a much more enjoyable drive.

Read More

Bamboo Rafting in Tiger Country.

By

…Then the trek started in dead earnest, and soon we were walking through some shoulder height elephant grass. The guides showed us some exotic butterflies flitting about in the grass. At one place they pointed out to some Niligiri langurs peering down at us from the high trees. That really made us feel that now we were being stalked and hunted rather than the other way around…

Read More
Rain Scene Kerala

Chasing the Monsoon

By

The appam and stew breakfast of West End Hotel in Talassery, will be talked about for time immemorial. You can see a newly built exotic looking resort, commune just after Talaserry station, on the East side , among backwaters, full of birds. The train reaches Kannur at 3.30 p.m. in time for a nice cup of tea and paruppu vada ( do you get anything else in Kerala trains?). KVR Veg Restaurant in Kannur station is fully managed by smiling women (one of them Shamima) and masala dosa is heaveanly.

Read More

The Big Nataraja of Konerirajapuram

By

Kumbakonam is well known as a pilgrimage centre, in particular for those on the Navagraha circuit. Once in every twelve years, the Mahamaham Kumbh is held around the tank of the same name, attracting millions of pilgrims from far and wide. Kumbakonam is also called Temple City with literally hundreds of temples of its own, most of them ancient. The big two are the Kumbeswarar Siva Temple and Sarangapani Vishnu Temple. Swamimalai, one of the six abodes of Lord Murugan is a mere 6 km away. The World Heritage Site of Darasuram is just outside the city. The Cauvery Delta is a must visit for those who enjoy ancient living monuments and stepping back in time.

Read More

Tranquil Tranquebar

By

This is about our visit in July to Tranquebar, a beautiful beach on the Bay of Bengal. Our vacation was primarily to the ancient temple towns of the Cauvery Delta. The short distance from Chidambaram to Tranquebar was too good an opportunity to pass up.

Read More

The Temple Bay

By

One of the most photographed temple because of it’s location is actually a set of two temples set next to each other with a slight angle. The temple premise is walled with carvings of bulls(‘nandi’) sitting atop. The two temples are medium sized with typical Dravid architecture.

Read More