A Journey back in Time

Indian Railways; as a part of gauge unification programme is on a drive to convert all the Meter Gauge Lines to Broad Gauge. While this move may make sense to some; it is actually a cardinal sin for Train Lovers like me; especially all of those who just love the way the meter gauge trains sway and dance down the tracks.
My earliest tryst with a meter gauge train happened when I was very young and this experience served to be the start of a romance that has lasted to this day; to a point where colleagues and friends find it hard to believe that a middle aged bozo like me can find the metal serpents fascinating.

This is an account of my last journey on a meter gauge train; which actually happened a few years ago. This journey can no longer be repeated as the Railways have shut down the line for gauge conversion.




This was a trip to my birth place; Cheranmahadevi, down deep south in Nellai (Tirunelveli to the old timers) district. We boarded the 6723 Chennai  - Tiruvananthapuram Ananthapuri Express at Chennai Egmore and we were off. Led by Ernakulam WDM 2 16877 we raced towards Tirunelveli Town.

The scenery enroute was excellent especially the sunrise which was magical. Think the pictures will tell their own story much better.





We reached the next morning at 06:55 and then headed towards Cheranmahadevi by road. Spent the day at my place of birth (infact the house where I was born) and we were scheduled to travel to a place called Tenkasi. After some begging, cajoling and potent arguments it was decided that we will travel by rail.This my friends was heaven. Here at last was an opportunity to travel by meter gauge.

So we reached the quaint little Cheranmahadevi Railway Station. My
previous memories of this journey are travelling by Bullock Cart to the station, rest assured that I would get bumped on the head atleast twice on the journey :).   The station appears the same as it did decades ago; almost like it is a timeless monument.

The advent of broad-gauge though may change all that. The old world charm, the serenity and the peace would give way to business like bustle and emotionless efficiency. We bought tickets for Tenkasi (Computerization had arrived, so there were no card tickets!!) After a short wait; the Tirunelveli - Kollam - Shencotta passenger pulled up behind the diminutive YDM4,  6314 from the Golden Rock Shed.  For a train line on its last legs, the train itself was well kept and the coaches extremely clean.

   

We sat down on the wooden benches and after being accustomed to the foam and cushion, the benches actually seemed more more comfortable. (Ofcourse it could always be that I was dreaming 'cause it was potentially my last meter gauge train journey). The journey to Tenkasi is approximately two hours and the train made it with brisk efficiency, ofcourse with the trademark sways and sounds.

I was almost hoping that the journey would not end, but then the sight of the meter gauge and broad gauge lines converging heralded the arrival of Tenkasi Junction and it was time for us to get off.


It was also perhaps symbolic that the sun was setting signifying the end of a glorious era of meter gauge lines. Soon the trademark metal sleepers, the girder bridges and YDM 4s would make way for the WDMs, possibly WDPs and WAP who knows!! But till then, this short journey remains fresh in my memory over all those journeys undertaken on the broad gauge expresses over the years. But for a rail fan in the end all that
matters is the Train Journey itself. All other things are incidental. Sometimes
its not even the journey but the sheer pleasure of the metal monsters whizzing past as we Rail fans stand by the tracks; cameras in hand and a trainload of people wondering who these fools are standing in the middle of nowhere. Trust me; it takes a railfan to understand that feeling.

Thanks for reading.

Wildlife at Koorathangudi

Historical significance notwithstanding; the village has plenty more to offer the Nature Lover. Huge open vistas of the skies remind you that there is a world beyond our skycrapers, computers and automobiles.

What strikes you first is the silence... utter, absolute silence. So much so that a normal conversation between two people can be heard a few hundred meters away (No! I'm not exaggerating!) What this also means is that it is that much more difficult to get closer to wildlife in order to get a better picture.

Here are some of the wildlife that I did manage to snap at the Village.

Guinea Fowl:

Drongo:

White-throated Kingfisher:

Jungle Babbler:

Ashy woodswallow:

Golden Oriole:

Dragon fly:

Common Myna:

Brahminy Myna:

Magpie Robin:

Rufous Treepie:

Kirby's Dropwing

Koorathangudi Kalasamhareshwara Temple

Koorathangudi Village, Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, India (Coordinates: Koorathangudi Temple @10.690769,79.700221)

The very thought of the place evokes pleasant memories despite the short time spent there. I'm referring to a small hamlet called Koorathangudi; home to all of 350 people. Koorathangudi is located in Nagapattinam District of Tamil Nadu, in deep Southern India. Part of the famed rice belt before the Thanjavur district as the area was then known was split to make way for the Nagapattinam District. Don't try looking up the Google Maps yet...

We were there to gather help in getting our Centuries Old Temple which lay in ruins due to age. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva at his tempestuous best as the Slayer of Yama. Legend has it that Markandeya; the son of Sage Mrikandu was born after severe penance. The condition was that the sage was to choose between a long lived dunce or a shortlived brilliant child. The sage chose the second and thus Markandeya was born with an assured life span of 16 years.

Markandeya grew up to be a devotee of Lord Shiva and worshipped the lord every day with great devotion and unconditional love.

16 years hence; on his tryst with death; he continued to worship the lord Shiva as usual; when the messenger of death Lord Yama and his messengers came up to take Markandeya's life. Lord Yama according to the legend; threw his noose (pāśa) around Markandeya's neck. By virtue of the fact that Markandeya was close to Lord Shiva; the pāśa looped around the Shiva Linga as well. This angers Lord Shiva who in all his fury; emerges and kicks Lord Yama and kills him. As a result Lord Shiva is also called "Kalasamhareshwara" or "Yamasamhareshwara"

This act of slaying the Lord of Death causes all Life on Earth to live in perpetuity creating severe problems of over population and strain on the resources. As a result; the Earth Goddess (Bhoomadevi) and other gods reached out to Lord Shiva and request him to reverse the punishment meted out to Lord Yama and revive him so the cycle of Life could continue as usual.

The Lord revives Yama on the condition that Markandeya would be spared death and that Yama would build temples for Lord Shiva at several places. The Lord himself would emerge at one of the temples built by Yama and release him from the punishment meted out earlier. Yama built several temples dedicated to Lord Shiva; one of them being the temple at Koorathangudi.

It is said that the act of absolving Yama happened at Koorathangudi; while the Shiva Lingam which was consecreated at this place by Yama was later carried by Yama himself to Srivanjiyam where it is to this day. All traces of Koorathangudi as a significant place vanished with time while Srivanjiyam and Tirukkadayur gained prominence.

The temple at Koorathangudi is dedicated to Lord Shiva (Yamasamhareshwara) and his consort Kumkumavalli. Shrines for Lord Vigneshwara (Ganapathy/ Vinayaka), Lord Murugan (Subramanya/ Karthikeya) were built later. The oldtimers in the village say that those who worship at the Lord at this temple are freed from the fear of death (Lord Yama)

Lord Vishnu; had a separate temple to the South West of this temple; this temple was lost to the nature's fury and it was only as recently as two decades ago that the idol was found in the nearby pond and resurrected. The idol is currently housed in the shrine of Goddess Kumkumavalli.

Similarly stone images of Nagaraja (Snake God) housed below the Pipal tree(Arasa Maram) which was also uprooted in a storm are also housed in the temple. Under the renovation programme; it is proposed that separate shrines be built for Goddess Durga, Lord Vishnu and the Navagrahas (Surya, Chandra, Mangal, Budha, Brihaspathi, Shukra, Shani, Rahu and Ketu)

The temple renovation has commenced and the Kumbhabhishekam/ Consecration of the temple is expected to be performed in an year’s time. Support in any form is welcome and would help with the renovation process.

Folks interested in lending a hand can send a mail to my id available on my profile. We will get in touch with you and provide the necessary information to answer any questions you may have.

As I write this blog, the idols of the gods have been relocated in order to commence work after completion of the ground breaking ceremony which took place on 23rd May 2010.

The Village can be reached by bus or by Taxi. The nearest town being Tiruvarur. Tiruvarur town is the capital of Tiruvarur district and is approximately 33o km from Chennai city and is accessible by Rail/ Road. From Tiruvarur, one can take a bus towards Nagaloor. From Nagaloor, Koorathangudi is 2.5km further to the east. (There are no bus services to the village)

Trip to Hebbal Lake

Hebbal Lake is located in the north of Bangalore at the mouth of National Highway 7, along the junction of Bellary Road and the Outer Ring Road(ORR). It was one of the three lakes created in 1537 by Kempe Gowda. Like most lakes or "tanks" in the Bangalore region it was formed by the damming natural valley systems by the construction of bunds.


Having heard and ready plenty about the photo ops this location offers; I decided to do an exploratory visit. It was a lazy Sunday on the 11th July when we decided to take a drive down to the lake for a picnic of sorts. We left home at 11:00am and reached the lake 40 minutes later.

The lake is an excellent place for birding and the ideal time to visit would be in the early morning.

The more adventurous folks could even have a deal stuck with the local fishermen to take you on one of the Coracles/ boats that they use to fish in the lake. This offers an even better opportunity to get closer to the birds.


Coming back to our trip; the one thing we had to constantly watch out for was the presence of couples of various age groups in various stages of....ahem.... having a camera in hand makes things that much more difficult. The other big nuisance is having folks come up behind you and ask in a loud voice which TV channel are we from... This is very irritating 'cause it not only throws you off but also scares the birds away.

So the lessons learnt are:
1. Reach the lake early in the morning well before the couples reach the spot.
2. Have someone watch your back (Standing at the edge of the lake it does not take too much for someone to scare you and as a result you and your camera take a dip in the water)
3. Carry a notepad to note down the sightings for later reference.

Having said this....take a look at some of the pictures taken on the day when the couples and kids permitted me to shoot in peace. Looking forward to going back soon... and very early in the morning. Thanks for reading!!!