MY ONAM 2011

Onam:

             Onam, the national festival of Kerala has always been a sweet memoire to me. This year’s Onam was really awesome because it was a dream come true. This year I celebrated Onam at Mookambikai Temple, Kollur.

Transportation:

                           Initially we decided to go by train but on the day of journey my parents were unable to leave office at the right time. They had to extend their shift time. So we cancelled our train ticket and finalized  to go in our car, Ford Fiesta 1.4l DURATORQ, for the mission. We started the journey from Thiruvananthapuram  to Kozhikode  at 11.11pm. Wow,As a car enthusiast,its a dream run for me. My car wroomed at almost 150 kmph and covered a lengthy, nasty 400kms in less than 7 hours.

                             From Kozhikode, my uncle’s family joined with us and so we had to hire a bigger car and we zeroed in TATA WINGER. Now, he’s a big man ready to carry anyone. Kozhikode-Kannur-Kasargod-Mangalore-Udupi-Kundapura-Kollur, that’s the route map. Its less than 350 kms, but it took more than 13hrs to reach the destination and the journey was similar to hell. Road was brutally ruined and  I must quote that the potholes could literally provide u water for an year,but thanks to Winger for carrying us safely as if like a mother carrying her baby in her womb. Sometimes even the mighty  Winger was showing signs of tiredness and hesitancy. Those were the time, when hatred started flowing all over my veins. I should browse to find out some unparliamentary words to blame our Government for not maintaining the road properly. I don’t know the agenda behind this  “back-bone breaking roads” and  it’s hell lotta mess and a horrible experience..

                                       

                              

Mookambikai Temple:

                                        We reached Mookambikai at night, but we were late and was unable to get the “Darshanam”.  That was a sad thing, but was still happy as we were able to reach there safely.  Next day, Early morning,  we woke up despite we were really tired due to the tedious journey.  After “Darshanam” we started our journey to Murudeshwara aka Moordeshwar and that was something which excited me a lot!!!.

                                         It was the first time I was going to Murudeshwara, I had seen its pictures but never had an opportunity to visit it. Thinking of  Lord Shiva’s gigantic monument  and the mind blowing scenery my mind was beating at a fast rate. It is located in RNS puram. Our Winger was smoothly moving and  inexplicable greeneries at roadside was an eye freshner .. Mind was never  so refreshed and so exciting in a journey before.  Finally, I reached  the destination point.

                                          

 Murudeshwara Temple is  built on the Kanduka Hill which is surrounded on three sides by Arabian Sea.It is a temple dedicated to the Lord Shiva and a 20 storied Gopura is constructed at the temple.
The 237.5 feet tall Raj Gopura is one among the tallest and was constructed to its present  form by businessman and philanthropist Mr. R.N.Shetty. The main deity is Sri Mridesa Linga, also called Murudeshwara. The linga is believed to be a piece of the original Atma Linga and is about 2 feet below ground level. The lingam is essentially a rough rock inside a hollowed spot in the ground. Entry into the Sanctum is banned for all devotees.

Statue of Lord Shiva is visible from great distance. It is the 2nd tallest statue of Lord Shiva in the world which is 123 feet tall. The tallest Shiva statue is located in Nepal which is 143 feet tall and is called Kailashnath Mahadev.

                        Fiery sun,,Salty air, Starving stomach yet the desire to be at a beautiful place pushed me to the top of the hill.. It was worth waiting as the idols and sculptures  were mind blowing and picturesque. We spent an hour there and then returned back to Kozhikode in our Winger. Yet another “hell” journey and was back to my uncle’s home. Took rest for a day and then returned back to Thiruvananthapuram in my Ford Fiesta. There came an end to my Onam-2011

                                I hope I will be able to get such Onam celebrations going forward. Thank you friends for reading this blog. Hope you have enjoyed this journey. See you soon..