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Poondi Madha Basilica
Standing outside the Poondi Madha BasilicaI had the grace of visiting the Poondi Madha Basilica near Thanjavur recently. It was a totally unplanned visit. We were passing by the highway when we saw the...
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Why this Kolaveri?
OK, with everybody on the Kolaveri bandwagon, can I be far behind? The flop song, the soup song, is so apt for the situation I venture to describe. Some time ago, I was taking a few friends to the...
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God's Own Footwear!
God's Own Footwear? Sounds puzzling, does it? To understand better, you must travel back with me to late 7th Century. Puthur Village, in Tamilnadu, wore a festive look. People were seen dressed in...
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Kamban's Kali!
The Goddess Kali worshipped by Tamil Poet KambarA small tin sheet board with fading letters, used to catch my attention while travelling from Thiruvennainallur , to Sirumadurai where my in-laws live....
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Where Hanuman Stands Alone
Sanjeevi Raya Hanuman Temple, Ayyangarkulam It is quite common to find Hanuman in Vishnu/Ramar temples facing the Sanctum Sanctorum or in a seperate shrine. There are even Shiva temples where we can...
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Avva!
Avva! It was the summer of 2008 when I first saw Avva. We were on a trip to Anegundi and Navabrindavan. On the way back, our boatman told us about Chintamani and the cave where Rama met Sugreeva for...
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Where the short hands grew!
The entrance of Sri Brahmapureeswarar Temple, KilakurukkaiThe first time I heard about Kilakurukkai was through an article in Sakthi Vikatan under the "Aalayam Theduvom" section. Little did I...
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Guruvae Saranam!
The entrance of Sri Raghavendra Swamy Temple, Thirumullaivoyal The month of March was extremely hectic, and much that I wanted to, it was difficult to travel out to the various temples I had on my...
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A Hanuman like never before!
Ashtamsa Varada Anjaneya Swamy, in Raja Alankaram There are several hundreds of temples for Hanuman all over India where the Ramadhootha is seen in different forms and sizes. Whatever be the location,...
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King Sibi and the pound of flesh!
Entrance of the Netra Utharaneshwarar Temple at PanayapuramKing Sibi's sacrifice: Many of us would know the story of King Sibi - a kind hearted and generous king. One day, Indra and Agni wanted to test...
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Ramayana Miniatures of Nageshwara!
The Rajagopuram at the entrance of Nageshwara Temple Nageshwaraswamy temple (not to be confused with Thirunageshwaram) in Kumbakonam, referred to as Kudanthai Keezhkottam by Thirunavukkarasar in his...
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The legend of Nageshwara!
The Second Gopuram inside the Nageswaraswamy Temple This is the second of the two part series on Nageswaraswamy Temple, Kumbakonam. In the first part, we focused upon the Ramayana Miniatures, placed...
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Hanuman with his parents!
Ever since I started the Aalayam Kanden blog, there have been several occasions to remind me that I do not get to decide what to write about - it happens ! The last couple of months have been...
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World's largest Sri Chakra Mahameru!
"Yeri Kaadu" - forest around the lake, today popularly known as Yercaud, is one of the popular hill stations of Tamilnadu. Located in the Shervarayan range of the Eastern Ghats, this popular tourist...
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A treasure trove waiting to be explored!
Tiruparkadal has been closely linked with Aalayam Kanden for a long time now. When I visited the Prasanna Venkatesaperumal Temple at Tiruparkadal recently, the Bhattar Mr.Vengatrangan wanted me to...
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Kalapani!
I first met Dipa in the lobby of my hotel in Port Blair. She was in the Andamans volunteering with an NGO, teaching young children English. She was bubbly, cheerful and full of life. In fact, it took...
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Yashoda Ka Nandlala!
Sri Santhana Venugopalaswamy Temple, Poondi Our car turns left just before the Wallajah Toll Gate at Chennasamudram on the Chennai-Bangalore Highway. " This place is also called Malaimedu", says...
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Young Again!
The Gopuram and the Gurukkal of Elamai Aakinar Temple, Chidambaram Thiruneelakanda Kuyavanaar was a resident of the temple town of Chidambaram. No one really knew what his real name was. This potter...
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Tamil Newspaper Dinathanthi allows article with copied content from Aalayam...
This morning, I started reading the newspaper as usual. When I started glancing into the Aanmeegam Supplement, I was shocked to find that the article on Dhatriswarar Temple,Sithukadu had content and...
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Durga Betta and Vali Gufa!
The steps up to the Durga Temple start hereAnegundi - The Land of the Vijayanagara Kings, the Kishkinda of yore, the land that becons me again and again to it. Navabrindavanam, Chintamani and Pampa...
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