Kanyakumari – The Beauty Lies here

The memories of my visit to Kanyakumari will always be fresh in my memory. The pleasant people, scenic sights and holy destinations there represents what a co-existing community looks like. There I came to know why this southernmost coastal town is known as the ‘god’s own district’. The water of the clear seas combined with the blend of deep spirituality and magnificent views, Kanyakumari surprised me with its grandeur and elegance. My visit to this place was humbling experience where I visited numerous churches, temples, statues etc. and so much more! I realised that my visit duration was not much since there was still so much for me to see there.

The thin covering on top of the wedding card, was so finely designed that the golden patterns in it, seemed to dance when I lifted the cover – Priyanka weds Satyajit. Priyanka? Priyanka – Daughter of Smt. & Sri. R. Padmanabhan. Priyanka! Kuttymol! That small toddler with chocolate all over her face and who had the cheek to drum her fingers on my bald head. Good Lord! She was getting married ! How time flies. I checked the venue. Madurai. I just checked the Tamil Nadu Map and saw where Madurai was. It was very near Kanyakumari – the southernmost tip of India.

“So Rossy boy, you going to Kanyakumari, huh? I asked myself and with a happy grin planned my trip to Kanyakumari. Very soon the New Delhi Janshatabdi Express took me from Mussoorie at 5 in the morning and I reached Delhi by 12 noon. A good lunch at the railway station and I was ready to board the next train to Kanyakumari – The Himsagar Express which was scheduled to leave at 2 in the afternoon. The long journey of 55 hours seemed endless and I was exhausted, but I did enjoy the dal vadas, the idlis, the coffee and tea at the stations, the smell of the mogra flowers on the vendor’s heads, the lovely bhajiyas I got on my way from Delhi. So it was a very happy me who rested overnight at a local lodge.

“Paddy, I am here at Kanyakumari.” I had informed Padmanabhan. Paddy and I were in the same department and today time has flown and he is going to be a father in law. The next morning over breakfast, I got a tour guide and asked him to take me around. Sundar, with his curly hair and his white teeth sparkling from his black visage, was every bit looking like a roadside hero with his red shirt and cobalt blue pant. “I take you everywhere, you follow me saar.” He said. I wished to God I could understand what he said, but nevertheless he was full of information and knew his way around. I preferred going by car as it gave me the comfort and freedom of space.

Soon we sped past, the stretches of greenery which seemed endless, and the terrain looking like disappearing into the horizon with some groups of huts and dwellings breaking the monotony. It was just after rainy season and the fresh smell of ‘Mitti” or mud in Hindi, was really tempting me to go out and dance in the fields. The green hills with the fog surrounding them, made this place look every bit a dream tour.

The drive was a combination of enjoying the plantain trees and gazing at the coconut leaves swaying up there in the sky. Coconut and sea coasts are synonymous for me and I just wished to see the sea very soon. As we proceeded along the road, I suddenly realized that all the while Sundar had been ranting away to glory and I hadn’t heard him at all. I saw the small town of Kanyakumari with all its activity and tourism industry flourishing here. It was a combination of tourists and Pilgrims that dominated the place. Sundar told me that the eastern side has more hotels that faced the sea and people used to book these hotels for the scenic view. The cuisine available here served the taste of all kinds of Indian food- from Gujarati to South Indian, Kashmiri to Marwari.

“Rossy boy, where is the southern tip.” I asked myself. As if Sundar read my mind, he said “The south has Kanyakumari temple, the west is quiet place. There is catamarans and fishing villages, also so it is tourist area” in his smattering English.

I was almost in the border of the state of Kerala. Paddy had told it was the place where the Kings of Travancore used to live. We reached a placed called Suchindram on the way, where I went to see a temple of Lord Shiva. It also had the house of pillars which let out the octaves. But I decided to go to see that later. We reached a place called Thuckalay and then finally reached the Padmanabhapuram Palace. This is a nature lover’s arena with its fresh greenery and lovely smell of the earthen mud. The road had a canal running along it with water gurgling and dancing. The paddy fields in the state of Tamil Nadu are a treat to the voyeur. Sundar told me “Those Hills of Travancore, saar.” I loved the palace area as it was ensconced in a verdant ambience. The coconut trees and the ornate wood carvings of the palace seemed to complement each other. The palace had majestic windows with old fashioned grills made of wood. The roof was like any place in Kerala made of tiles. The dining hall in the interiors of the palace took me to a scene where many Brahmins would have had a feast.

“Come saar, come to see the third story of the palace,” Sundar urged me on. As I looked at the stone temple and the lovely courtyards for the women in the palace my cell phone rang and I saw it was Paddy who was calling.

“Enna da, come here soon, instead of roaming around there.” He said. I said “ Paddy, left to me, only Kuttymol would be the reason I am coming there. Otherwise I wish to live here in this palace  to eternity.”

“Ha, Ha, “laughed Paddy and said, “Did you see the lovely frescoes in the upper floor of the living room of the king? You won’t be able to, as today all we can see is their copies displayed in the museum. There was time, I have seen this in the upper floor.”

“Hmm,” I mused and wondered why Sundar didn’t tell me this and told Paddy how I felt being in a palace built 400 years ago.

With fresh memories of the palace, I returned back and sat with my laptop and shared all that I had seen.

I planned to see the famous sunrise at Kanyakumari the next morning, so I retired early and set and alarm for 3 in the morning. Pompously I stepped out the next morning, thinking I would be the first to be there. And to my disappointment, I saw there were so many of them already near the confluence of the three big water bodies of India – The Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.

My nephew often read out from his text book. India is a country of Unity in Diversity. I saw it here, with the myriad Indians from all parts dressed in all forms, watching the one single spectacle – the sun rise.

Yes, the sun came out, like a princess in glory, as if it had nothing to do with the morning sky and just sneering at the cold night disappearing in its power. That’s it. That moment is the best, and I wished I could capture it on video and actually feel it. Isn’t there any technology that would give us the chance to feel what we see? Then the video of sunrise here has some value. The slow spreading of the sunrise across the land, is seen to be understood and one should surely experience this at least once in life.

My background of looking like a foreigner was attracting everyone nearby and people thought I wouldn’t know the local language. But Paddy had ensured I knew to understand Tamil and Malayalam. So when I told Sundar, “ Vivekanda Rock Memorial poonam.” Meaning I want to go to Vivekananda Rock Memorial, he was stunned and taken aback. “Enna Saar idu, neengatamilpezuvenghala? “Meaning “Mister, this isn’t fair. You speak Tamil.” I laughed loudly and nodded and told him I wanted to go to Vivekananda Rock Memorial.

Climbing the Mt. Everest would have been an easier affair I felt. “Rossy boy, there are queues and queues to endure.” I told myself.

First queue to buy the boat tickets, another queue to enter the boat and the third to get to the island. Suddenly I felt I was Dantes in The Count of Monte Christo as we were all packed tightly into one boat. It was like we were all being carted off to some prison or something. Yet it was adventurous to compare the ride to the Rock with all these similes and I was enjoying it nevertheless. “Rossy boy, what would you do in an emergency?” I asked myself looking at the tin roof of the boat and the crowd jostling within.

We finally reached the mainland and it was like a small city packed tight with people. I went to the rock memorial to avoid the crowd. I saw the smooth curve of the rock and also the unusually jutting out statue of Thiruvalluvar. Sundar said , “Eknath Ranade planned this saar.” Sundar! Why do I keep forgetting he is around. He just appears out of nowhere and gives some tit bit. I told him, “Yes Sundar, I know, also this is the place where Swami Vivekananda meditated in the 19th century aintit?” I asked him. He nodded in total agreement. The memorial ,Sundar added was built for the monk and it was a major pilgrim spot.

I then proceeded to enjoy the lovely ambience of the 100 acres expanse of the Vivekananda Kendra. The sights of the peacocks running around and the beach here calmed my frayed mind after all the busy afternoon. I also saw the life and works of Swami Vivekananda displayed here and felt calm as I read through them.

I had seen sunrise at the confluence and I saw sunset at the Kendra. The sky was like a red canvas. There were many who went to a tower to see the sunset, but I preferred to sit on the rocky shore and watch it. I loved the scene complete with the beating retreat of the fisherman after a tired day, the catamarans receding in the shore and the waves looking even more beautiful with their roar and timid tapering down towards the shore.

The whole noise of the morning suddenly seemed to ebb as the tourist vehicles began to drive away and the people started retiring to their place of stay.

I retired for the night, and just typed away to happiness whatever I knew of Kanyakumari, the southernmost Indian point. I knew I had just visited a place that is more than 1000 years old and I was eager to share it on my blog.

“Rossy boy, you did good coming here”- I said to myself and proceeded to Madurai the next day to attend Kuttymol’s wedding.