Indian Columbus

As per the legend, when Tirumangai Alwar came to this site, the hill was surrounded by water. He waited six months for the water to drain and then visited this temple. Hence, the site is called Tiruneer Malai or Thoyagiri Kshetram. The word Neer and Thoya mean water. The words Malai and Giri mean mount. Today, we do not have the hill surrounded by water. There is hardly a tiny temple tank, which looks picturesque in the aerial view from the hilltop temple. This is one of those few temple tanks in Chennai suburbs with water for the entire year. This single tank serves the purpose of all four deities of this famous temple of Tiruneermalai near Tambaram, the southern outskirts of Chennai. Shri Pushkarani for Ranganatha, Karunya Pushkarani for Neervanna, Sidha Pushkarani for Tri Vikrama, and Swarna Pushkarani for Narasimha, all these holy waters are part of this single tank. I presume there must have been separate tanks in those days, and the other ones would have been lost. A beautiful N...

Calm be her sleep! may the tall grass wave lightly Above the meek bosom that bless'd us of yore; Like a bird; it has found out a region more brightly To nestle its pinion, - but glad us no more! The above lines from William Jones are engraved on the tomb of Acnes Eliza, daughter of Robert James Thomson. The inscription says that she died on 12th February 1866 CE at the age of 21 years. It also reads, "She was too like a dream of heaven for earthly love to merit her". This is one of the tombs which is easily accessible and also readable among hundreds of tombstones scattered across St. Mary's Cemetery. This is perhaps the biggest graveyard in Chennai city. The cemetery, formerly called "The English Burial Ground," has a lot of dilapidated but interesting tombstones in various shapes, sizes, and styles. Most of them belong to the 1800s and early 1900s. Unfortunately, this vast area is poorly maintained. Trespassing by criminal elements, the presence...

If I say "Nava Narasimha Temple", you would immediately think about Ahobilam. Few of you might even think about Avaniyapuram. But, I will not talk about those Nava Narasimha Temples but the one located right within Chennai. Thanks to the IT industry, some of the unknown localities of the city's suburbs came into the limelight in the last two decades. Navalur is one such locality. All of us could easily list the IT companies located in this locality. However, not many of us know that there is a temple for Nava Narasimha here. This small temple, run by a private entity, is located in a lane behind AGS Cinemas. This temple becomes unique not only because it has Nine Narasimha Murtis but also because each of the Murtis is in unusual forms/postures. The east-facing temple has a modern-day structure as it was built 2-3 years ago (I am writing this post in 2018 CE). There is no tower, and the vimana is not artistic. The sanctum enshrines Narasimha along with his two conso...

This is one of the best-kept secrets of Chennai suburbs. Covering an area of about 1.5 acres, this vast tank is located in Kolathur village, around 23 km from Tambaram. The tank belongs to the nearby ancient temple of Kalyana Ranganathar. It is surrounded by giant trees, a few village temples, and a four-pillared mandap. It gives us a perfect fertile village atmosphere. The best part of this well-maintained tank is that it has water at brim level even in the hot summer of Chennai. Happy travelling. Note:  As per a report, there were about 650+ waterbodies in the Chennai region till the 1980s. Today, only a fraction of them exist. Most of those surviving waterbodies hardly have water, and even some of them that have water had been shrunk badly. In Chennai, there are tank roads without tanks nearby, and lake view roads without any lake in the vicinity. There is a high possibility that even the few water bodies that we have today might vanish in the near future. I t...

Among various festivals celebrated across Chennai city, Arubathumoovar Procession of Mylapore Kapaleeswara Temple is the most popular and crowd-pulling festival. During the Tamil Month of Panguni (March/April), the annual festival of Kapaleesvara Temple is celebrated. The most important event among the ten-day celebrations is the procession of 63 Nayanmars (the legendary devotees of Lord Shiva). As there are 63 Nayanmars, they are referred to as Arubathumoovar in Tamil, which denotes the number 63. Photo Courtesy: Mr. Venkateswaran Radhaswamy During the Arubathumoovar Procession, along with Kapaleesvara and Karpagambal, the bronze images of all 63 Nayanmars are taken in palanquins. The palanquins of Nayanmars face Kapaleeswara, and hence they move backward during the procession. It is a colorful gala event of the city, witnessed by thousands of devotees every year. Photo Courtesy: Mr. Venkateswaran Radhaswamy The other deities such as Ganesha, Singara Vela and Chandikeswa...