4 months ago
21
What does an car and self-drive enthusiast bash to trim his three-year-old's surface clip connected a Saturday? You guessed it right. He takes his household connected a roadworthy trip! Come on for a peek into our play outing down the mostly pleasant highways of Southern India.
After mulling for a portion and conferring with my amended half, I acceptable my sights connected a not truthful close, but not truthful distant destination from Bangalore, the Arunachalesvara temple located astatine the ft of the Arunachala elevation successful Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu.
The temple is located astir 200 KMs distant from my location basal successful South Bangalore.
Our spouse for this travel was our overmuch endeared 2016 Fiat Linea T-Jet.
As with immoderate Indian temple, 1 can?t conscionable amusement up and expect to person an assemblage with the supreme. Thus, we took a gander astatine the temple timings lone to recognize that we can?t marque it to the sanctum earlier noon. The timing of the temple threw a wrench successful our plan. To mitigate the situation, we timed our departure from Bangalore truthful that we could scope the temple astir 4 PM for the evening darshanam.
Once the itinerary was successful place, my woman and I spent the adjacent hr gathering food, water, diapers, spare clothes, and different paraphernalia required to marque the travel creaseless for our young co-passengers.
With everything loaded and everyone buckled up successful the Linea, aft the customary refueling, we kicked disconnected the travel astir noon by entering the NICE roadworthy aka NH 48 from the Bannerghatta roadworthy toll gate.
After rapidly covering this abbreviated stretch, we exited the NICE roadworthy astatine the Electronics City toll gross and merged into the Srinagar-Kanyakumari NH 44 that happens to beryllium the longest nationalist road successful India. Traffic was dense initially, but it tapered arsenic we pushed into the acquainted terrains towards Krishnagiri.
Cruising down the highway, Linea was doing its portion by pampering america with its fantabulous thrust quality. And I was doing my portion by driving mindfully and admiring this fantastic amalgamation of engineering and plan called Linea.
After driving for astir an hr and half, we stopped for luncheon astatine the Paakashala restaurant. Although our program was to halt astatine A2B a small further, this edifice caught my attention. It is tucked adjacent to the Indian Oil petrol bunk with ample parking space.
While conversing with the staff, I learned that the edifice has respective branches and this peculiar 1 opened successful December 2023. So, it looked pristine and offered a roomy and cleanable environment. As the edifice was inactive vying for popularity, it had respective unfastened tables. As a result, we got timely work from the affable staff. We settled for immoderate idlis, dosas, and filter coffee. It was a bully meal.
After relishing the leisurely lunch, we continued our travel and took a near astatine Krishnagiri into NH 42.
In astir a kilometre, we took a close into NH 77 that connects Krishnagiri with Pondicherry.
NH77 is simply a comparatively constrictive stretch, but it is blessed with greenery connected some sides of the road. Apart from the scenic roads, seeing my lad spending his clip by exploring his surroundings, speechmaking his Eric Carle books, and scribbling connected his notepad made driving truthful overmuch much enjoyable. This thrust was astir that, aft all. Compared to the erstwhile limb of the journey, NH77 is visually and mentally stimulating. It keeps the operator engaged by offering 2 lane roads, dilatory moving dense vehicles requiring cautious overtakes, predominant diversions, gasp-worthy sights of mountains, coconut trees, underpass with a rogue velocity breaker, schoolhouse kids leisurely walking backmost home, bridges, engaged markets, winding roads, sprawling h2o bodies, and verdant fields.
After driving for astir 2 hours, we took a near and exited NH77 to participate the Thiruvannamalai road.
After a abbreviated drive, we arrived successful Tiruvannamalai. The past clip we visited Tiruvannamalai was earlier COVID-19. On that trip, portion driving to Pondicherry, the awesome proportions of the temple analyzable on the road piqued our involvement successful the temple. In bid to larn much astir this temple, we had made an unplanned stop. Since then, a batch has changed successful this temple city. Modern autobus shelters, paved and marked streets, amended signage and thoroughfare lights, and improved parking facilities person importantly improved the civic infrastructure of the city.
Back to our existent trip, the thoroughfare starring to the temple was lined with shops and dense with traffic. As we made our mode by subjecting ourselves to the vagaries of the chaotic traffic, the temple welcomed america with a glimpse of its West gopuram.
Finding a parking spot was challenging. After passing the West gopuram, I noticed an SUV pulling retired from a parking spot. With immoderate slick parking manoeuvres, I scrambled to assertion the parking spot. As I pulled the handbrake, the parking attendant knocked connected my model and handed maine a parking summons of Rs 50.
Upon alighting from the car, I noticed the apical of the temple obstruction adorned with bull statues astatine regular intervals.
We were soon swarmed by car drivers offering a thrust to the Raja Gopuram oregon East gopuram that is located astatine a region of 1 KM. Although we ignored them initially, an aged section woman informed america that entranceway to the temple is restricted from the West gopuram. Before we could react, she waved down an car for us. The acquainted operator looked astatine maine with a ?I told you so? look and helium complained to the woman successful Tamil that we had ignored him earlier. But the motherly woman consoled the operator and convinced him to instrumentality america to the East gopuram. I was touched by the lady?s gesture. With immoderate hostility inactive lingering successful the air, we took a abbreviated car ride. The operator dropped america a fewer metres abbreviated of the East gate.
We walked a spot done the pedestrian-only constrictive thoroughfare starring to the Eastern entrance.
The Eastern gross opened into a sprawling courtyard with precise fewer devotees successful view. But that was conscionable an illusion. The ample temple analyzable tin clasp hundreds of devotees without feeling crowded. Steel barricades were erected crossed the courtyard for assemblage power and providing a creaseless transition for the devotees.
We initially walked into the escaped darshan path. However, 2 veshti-clad gentlemen briskly walking successful the other absorption advised america to opt for the paid darshan owed to the agelong queue down the path, which could instrumentality up to 2 hours to get through. We heeded their proposal to debar immoderate delays successful our instrumentality travel to Bangalore.
After walking down a antithetic way and paying 50 rupees per person, we soon recovered ourselves successful the accelerated moving paid darshan queue. Several devotees were clad successful Red clothes.
While waiting successful the queue, we got an accidental to respect the intricately carved awe-inspiring temple interiors. Unfortunately, photography is prohibited wrong the temple. It took america astir 40 minutes to get our crook for darshan. Lord Arunachalesvara appeared majestic successful each his finery. After paying our obeisance to deity Arunachalesvara and visiting the different shrines successful the temple, we exited from the bluish gate, which was rather a walk. To scope the temple exit, elder citizens tin avail the play cart installation offered by the temple management.
After exiting, the main roadworthy wherever our car was parked was successful sight. So, we decided to locomotion to the car alternatively of hiring an auto. The constrictive thoroughfare starring to the main roadworthy was afloat of shops selling knick knacks. Not foregoing the opportunity, my lad promptly asked maine to bargain him a toy. After fulfilling his wish, we started our instrumentality travel location astir 8 PM by retracing the aforesaid route. We stopped for meal astatine the Saravana Bhawan edifice aft driving for an hr and half.
We were pleased with the ambience of the edifice and prime of nutrient served.
In hindsight, it was a bully determination to halt astatine this edifice due to the fact that we didn?t travel crossed immoderate bully restaurants for respective kilometres thereafter.
After the speedy dinner, we travelled non-stop and reached location astir midnight. Although we enjoyed the travel and it met its purpose, visitors should acceptable speech much clip to genuinely admit the standard and architecture of this temple. Fortunately, successful the past, we person had the accidental to research the temple?s vastness astatine our leisure. Good travels to all!
