There is something magical about Kumbakonam-Tanjore for me and my husband. It is not just about the old temples, the intriguing names of the gods and goddesses and the great architecture the temples boast of - It is the small villages that we pass through and the thousand images that it brings to your mind about what the name holds: Semmangudi, Thiruvavaduthurai, Maharajapuram , Oothukkadu, Sikkal..; the culinary experience this region offers to seasoned south-indian tastebuds ; the perfect backdrop to talk endlessly about names , places and events our all time favorite Tamil literary works. When I spotted Thukkampalayam Street in a Kumbakonam route map my joy knew no bounds. To me that is where Yamuna (T Janakiraman’s Mogamul) lives on. Passing through the dusty roads in Papanasam , we were debating which of the low-roofed houses fit the description of Babu’s (Mogamul again) house. Sikkal brought to mind Kothamangalam Subbu’s characterization of the Nadaswara Vidwan Shanmugasundaram. Devasiriya mandapam in Tiruvaroor reminded us of Mohanambal’s Thillana and Shanmugasundaram ‘s experiments with the Pari Nayanam.
We visited Kumbakonam to offer few long pending prayers. I would advise to have Kumbakonam as your base and travel around. We stayed at the Le garden on Naal Road. Clean, functional hotel. Served our need as we were out during the day on all the 3 days we stayed there. Almost every temple has detailed information boards with Sthala puranams, compositions, and festivals of the town. And to my delight every temple has the name of the God and goddess in Tamil and Sanskrit – ringing equally beautiful and poetic.
We started with Darasuram. Archaelogical Survey of India has done a commendable job maintaining the site. Darasuram has one of the four temples of the Chola era with Vimanagopurams. Others are at Tirubhuvanam, Gangai Konda Cholapuram and Tanjavur. Statues and stones excavated from the site are preserved in an enclosure. As is the case always, there was a ‘friendly’ guide who was willing to show us around. The Kubera statue with Sanganidhi and Padumanidhi was interesting. We then proceeded to Thiruvalanchuzhi (Shweta Ganapathi, ‘Karungal palagani’ - Stone window) and visited Swamimalai. After Tirukkarugavur we drove to Papanasam , Tanjavur (Punnainallur, Palace, Library and the periya koil). Conservation work is underway at the periya koil.
We stopped at a small village ‘Palli Agraharamm’ (Lakshmi Narasimhar) enroute to Tiruvaiyaru. Paid homage at the Saint Tyagaraja’s Samadhi and went to Panchanadhiswarar temple (Lord of five rivers). We could not visit Thyagaraja swamigal’s house at Tirumanjana veedi as there was a funeral starting in a nearby house and the road was blocked. We missed the special delicacy famous here – ‘Ashoka’. Next time!
Then covered Kabhisthalam (Gajendra moksha kshetram) and Innambur. God here is named ‘Aksharapuriswarar’ or ‘Ezhutharinathar’. Popular with students as praying here improves memory power, verbal language abilities. Ended the day with Thiruppurambiam (Pralayam kattha vinayagar). It is kind of charming that the Archarkar(priest) in many temples who typically stays next to the temples, comes running to open the temple when he sees a car/taxi stopping by.
When you are in Kumbakonam next time, do not miss a visit to the famous Venkataramana hotel. Crispy rava dosas, malligaippoo idlis and getti (Thick) chutney. Wash it down with filter coffee. The smell of ghee in your hands and the bitterness of the coffee in your tongue will stay on for some time.
We set out early next day and had a long itinerary planned. We decided to go in search of the celebrated delicacies of this regions. Saapattu Puranam was our guidebook. After Valangaiman, we found our way to the Milk society at Needamangalam for the Thirattuppal. Our luck, there was a milk union strike that day! Greenery all around, the Rajagopalaswamy temple tank at Mannarkudi is the 2nd biggest next to Tiruvaroor. We then went to Kunjanchetty Mittaikadai . A small window shop with dark walls typical of this side selling onion pakkodas , mannarkudi halwa and inippu sevu packed in newspaper packets!
On the way to Tiruvaroor there’s a little village named Koothanallor. Not famous for any temples here. It is a prosperous village with big bungalows on either side of the road, mostly inhabited by families of Muslims working in Gulf countries. We braved the bumpy, dusty winding roads and made it to ‘Moulana bakery’ for their signature special Damrood . It is a cake/pastry made of rava, ghee, powdered sugar, cashew, almonds and egg. In neat packaging, it is a exported item outside India as well. I am not exaggerating - the taste is out-of-the world and I am contemplating writing to them to deliver some to Bangalore. Another find there was the butter biscuits – with a tongue twister for a name in tamil ‘Gnanagatthan’. It definitely brought culinary wisdom – melt-in-your-mouth freshness!
Tiruvaroor has an immense visual impact on you - the sprawling temple complex, beauty of the sannidhis, Rajagopurams, Kamalalayakkulam, Stone chariot, streets broad enough for the processions (Ratha veedhis). The kritis of Dikshitar on Vathapi Ganapathi and Tyagesar reflect the and grandeur of the temple; Kamalambal navavarnam mirrors the beauty of the goddess. The famous chariot is dismantled as the build and wood is getting weaker. A renovation work is in progress and we made a silent promise to return after the Kumbabishekam in next 2 years.
Lemon rice, Tomato rice and Thayir sadam – Essential accompaniments for long road journeys! We stopped at SRR café enroute to Velankanni (famous for their kattu sadam packets). We had to wait in a long queue – service starts exactly at 12 noon only! Let me just say – it was worth the wait. We experienced the trade of prayer at Nagur durgah and Tirunallar – highly avoidable unless you have a mandate offering to complete there. At Thirukkadayur atleast a dozen senior couples were celebrating their Sashtiapdapurthi / Sadabhishekam at the Praharams. The temple elephant and cows were busy switching from one family to the other for the Gowpujai and Gajapujai’s. Marriage business is indeed lucrative whether it is at Iruvadhu (Twenty) or Aruvadhu (Sixty)!
Vaidheeswaran koil was the last stop for the day. There is something peaceful about waiting for the sannadhi screens to open for the evening aarti. At the Thaiyal Nayagi sannidhi the quiet crowd was waiting. A mother and her two daughters started singing ‘Karpagavalli Nin porpadhangal’ . Anandabhairavi added to the serene ambience and few of us joined in. Finished dinner at a famous restaurant named what-else-but ‘Sadabhishekam’.
Started with Koothanur (temple for Saraswati) on Day 3. Students were the target audience for the Vidya homams as exams are approaching. They queued up in large numbers to place their exam hall tickets, pens and pencils for that extra edge over the others. Visited Tiruvidaimarudur, Tirubhuvanam, Nachiyar koil and few local temples and boarded the train back to Bangalore. But not before savoring the Basundi at Kumbakonam Murari Sweets!
As streets and sights of Kumbakonam faded by we started our planning for our next trip back. There is indeed something about Kumbakonam!
