A Wandering Mind

Have you played the game ‘Temple Run’? I haven’t. I only know of it thanks to my son. However, it was the name which struck me, when I began writing about all the temples I visited during our #summertrip to Tirunelveli. Over a period of three days, we visited almost 40 temples, and the planning, organization and execution of the feat involved a whole lot of research work, and timing it just right. It was way more adventurous, and fun, than the game can ever be, at least for me!

It was cloudy when we set out from Kanyakumari for Nagercoil, but in the short time it took us to reach, the rain gods decided to come down with a vengeance! It was pouring cats and dogs at Nagercoil, and the roads were flooded. We were all set to give up, but our auto driver was a resourceful man. “There are many roads to the temple” he said, and though we knew he meant it literally, we wondered at the philosophical phrasing.

Moving on from Kanyakumari, let me take you to one of the most beautiful temples we visited on our Southern Jaunt - Suchindram. This is a special post for me, since its about what I love the most - a temple and its stories. However, even more importantly, this is the 1000th post on the blog! Besides, I have now been blogging for over 8 years, and it has so far been a fantastic journey, with too many highlights to mention here. As I pen this thousandth post, I would like to thank all of you, my readers, for it is you who have made this journey memorable. Meanwhile, I hope and pray for many more journeys, and stories to share with all of you..... Vishnu (left), Shiva (center) and Brahma (right) on the gopuram of the Suchindram Temple

This was the view from the Vivekananda Rock Memorial at Kanyakumari. On one side was the ocean, and on the other, the city. We call this land's end, but if you arrive from the ocean, this would be your first view of India. And how beautiful it is, isn't it, especially with the clouds over the mountains in the background?  This was in May, when summer was supposed to be at its peak. However, unseasonal rains changed everything for us, showing us views like these, and obscuring the sun for almost our entire trip!  For more beautiful skies from around the world, visit the Skywatch Page.  Related Posts: Kanyakumari Crabs at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial The Southern Jaunt - At our Land's end - Kanyakumari The Story of my Summer Trip The Rishikesh series Moving on... From Dharamsala to Amritsar to Rishikesh The Himachal Series The Tadoba series

Returning from the Vivekananda Rock Memorial , as we waited for our boat, I noticed some movement on the rocks near the water. Zooming in with my camera helped, and I saw these crabs busy clambering all over. It was Samhith I thought about, since it was he was so fascinated by crabs and spiders. Since he wasn't with me, the least I could do was click some photos! So, this post is dedicated to Samhith! 

I was, but a child when my mom first told me the story of the bride who waited for her groom to arrive, and when the sun rose, but there was no sign of him, she turned the food prepared into sand, herself to stone, and stood forever, looking out into the sea. As I grew older, I heard different versions of this story – of the demon only she, an unmarried girl could kill, and of her nose ring, which shone so brightly, that ships, mistaking it for a lighthouse, steered this way, and were dashed against the rocks – but it remained just as poignant as ever. The stories fired my imagination, and my mom’s descriptions fascinated me. “How fantastic it would be, to see sands of different colours, or to see the merging of two great seas!” I thought, and waited eagerly for the day I would travel to Kanyakumari! The most recognizable landmarks at Kanyakumari today