I was all excited when Jim called up and invited me for his wedding. 2 reasons.
1. Jim was getting married and
2. it was happening in Kerala, which meant that I had a chance to go to Kerala. I had been planning kerala tour for quite some time, but never happened due to one reason or other. Here was one more chance and I was determined not to let go of it.
A brief about Tiruvalla
Tiruvalla is a small (in terms of area) town close to Kottayam.. This is a rich city in the sense that there are lots of NRI influence here. One can find almost all banks here. Next in number to the banks are the Jewellery shops (famous brands like Alukkas etc). So, that would give an idea of how the place is ?
Tiruvalla also is a place of religious importance.
How to get there
Tiruvalla (Station code : TRVL) has a railway station where all trains have a stoppage. Trains from New Delhi, Mumbai ,Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Howrah etc going towards Trivandrum has to pass through this small station.
From Bangalore there is only one train (6525 – Kanyakumari exp) that gets you directly to Tiruvalla, This train leaves Bangalore at 9.45 PM and reaches Tiruvalla at 12 Noon next day.
Planning well in advance is advised to ensure seat availability ?
Ofcourse there are buses (Govt and Private). From Banglaore, the bus journey would take around 14 hrs. Private (Sharma,Kallada) Volvo buses take as much as 13-14 hrs to reach.
The nearest airport is Cochin (2hrs from Tiruvalla). All major airlines have service to Kochi. A cab from Kochi to Tiruvalla would cost 1500 (INR)
If you don’t want to spend 1500 (or more) on a cab, then the best bet is to take a cab from the Kochi aiport to the nearest railway station , which is Aluva (formerly known as Alwaye). From Aluva, there are trains available at regular intervals. Get an “open ticket” for “reserved coach” and get into the train.
I personally loved the train journey for 2 reasons
• lots of natural scenery all along
• and ofcourse I love “travel by train”
It’s a delight (atleast for me) to watch the train as it takes a sharp turn. Here are few pictures that I managed to shoot from the speeding train
Coming to think of it, I was travelling a long journey by train after almost 5 years. I used to travel 2-3 times a year from Delhi to Chennai (38 hrs). Most of the train journey of late had been limited to 5-7 hrs.
The initial hours (7 hrs) are covered in the night. Coimbatore is the last big station before the train steps into Kerala. Once in Kerala , the train makes close to 30 stops in Kerala before it chugs backinto TamilNadu. I woke up from my slumber (so to say) as the train was pulling out of the Palakkad. The weather was perfect. Cloudy, cool breeze blowing across and greenery all around. I took out my camera and started shooting pictures.
After every 20-30 minutes the train had a stop and it was a “open for all”seating :-) . Not many may like this fact (what say Mukhi? :-)). Luckily, I had ample space around me to move around and click pictures.
One pleasant surprise I had was when the train was crossing this place called “Angamali”, when I caught a glimpse of what looked like a tail of an aircraft. As we got closer, I could see 6-7 aircrafts lined up in the parking bay. Later, I came to know that it was the Cochin airport. As the train was crossing, I could see a flight line up for landing. Pretty neat sight.
The airport at Cochin is worth a mention. The structure of the airport reflects the kerala style. Here are some pictures of it.
It was 12.30 PM by the time I set foot on the platform of Tiruvalla station. The station at Tiruvalla resembles a station that one would see in RKN’s ‘Malgudi Days’ :-). But this is no way behind any big station in terms of the facility. (Am not talking abt internet connectivity here, pls)
Since the major agenda in Tiruvalla was Jim’s wedding, there was nothing planned in terms of “tourist”. However, I did get to see things inside the town and also drive around the town.
Some of the places that I visited
St. Thomas Cathedral :Supposedly a old cathedral dating back to 1926. One can find a mix of Christian and Hindu influence here in the structure of the cathedral.
The long golden pole outside the cathedral is very similar to the “dvajasthambam” or the flag-pole that is seen in the hindu temples. Also, the lamps that hang on the doors resembles the hindu tradition.
Yet another known place in Tiruvalla is the Vallabha swamy temple. This apparently is a well-known one among the hindu devotees. If you are looking for directions to this place, you need to ask for “Tiruvalla Ambalam” to any auto driver. (Ambalam in Malayalam means “Temple”). Needless to say, this temple is built in authentic Kerala style
The large tank outside the temple is believed to have formed naturally. A granite pillar (see Pic on left) carved out of single piece with an image of Garuda on its top stands in front of the temple. It is believed that its bottom touches the water table This is perhaps the only one place in Kerala where Kathakali is performed as a ritual offering everyday. The temple is a huge one. To complete one full circumbulation , it takes close to 10 mins. The rules of Kerala temples apply here. Men have to take off the shirt before entering the sanctum sanctorum.
There are lots of other place around Tiruvalla which are within short distances and that are worth a visit. Maybe next time, when there’s no other agenda, I will make it.