Tiruvandhipuram - 108 Divya Desham

Tiruvandhipuram is at a distance of 36 km from Pondicherry. It is a very special temple. Its small but very powerful. If you happen to visit the temple on any wedding dates, you wouldnt have a place to stand. The number of marriages happen in this temple is huge. If your children have marriage obstacles, pray to lord devanatha swamy here. There is also a hyagriva shrine on a small hill. Its one of the 108 divya desham. If just in case you had made prayers to do offerings in Tirupathi and couldnt go to Tirupathi, you can very well do it in Tiruvandhipuram.

Picture courtesy : Dinamalar

Link to directions to Tiruvandhipuram from Pondy:

https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr=Pondicherry&daddr=Thiruvandipuram+temple,+Padrikuppam,+Tamil+Nadu&hl=en&sll=11.834175,79.735805&sspn=0.239922,0.438766&geocode=FVQNtgAd3mzBBCnPz0mOq2FTOjFOsPDSJtNrzA%3BFYsZswAdfN-_BCE20O6Et4KhsSkrfbiMD6NUOjE20O6Et4KhsQ&mra=ltm&t=m&z=11

Pondicherry special adakari!

Another Puducherry Special Item on your way!

Its called adakari!

Ingredients:

Green Gram - 250 gm

Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tablespoons

Fennel Seed (Perumjeeragam) - 1 tablespoon

Crushed Onion - 2 medium size onions

Green Chilli - 4 chillies

Coriander leaves - few

Curry Leaves - few

Salt - 2 tablespoons

Steps:

- Fry the  green gram without oil in tawa 2-3 mins lightly until it becomes light golden color

- Immerse the fried green gram in water for 2 hours

- Filter out the water and grind it in mixie, until it becomes a paste. Paste should NOT be watery, it should be a tight paste. So dont put water while grinding it.

- After you get the paste, add the rest of the ingredients listed above. While adding chilli, grind it once in mixie along with ginger/garlic paste, fennel seeds an chilli together and the masala paste to the green gram paste.

-Add salt, onion to the mix

- Add curry leaves and coriander leaves

- Make this paste into small cakes , boil it in water vapour like you do for idly

- After its boiled, take it out and leave it cool down for sometime like 5-7 mins

- If needed cut the cakes into further small pieces

- Then deep fry the cakes, in 500 ml of oil until it becomes golden color

Adakari is ready!!!

Siddhars of Pondicherry - Guru Siddhananda

Pondicherry is a place of fun to many, but inherently it had been a place of salvation since ancient times. Not many people know or realize that all in all there are 30 siddhars who attained jeeva samadhi in and around Pondicherry. I seek the support and blessings of all the siddhars to help me write about them, in this blog. The first and foremost among them is Guru Siddhananda. Siddhars are not Gods. But these are people who actually lived in this world and performed miracles. Guru Siddhananada lived 175 years ago. He is said to have possessed powers to convert water to gold. But please don't go here for Gold. You land here for inner peace.

The temple is right at the entrance of Pondicherry when one comes from Chennai. The first stop (if the buses go via bye pass) is Sivaji Silai/Siddhananda koil. When one enters the temple, on the left there are two trees intermingled on to one another. One is the neem tree and the other banyan. Its very rare for these two trees intermingle and it stands testimony to divinity of the site. The trees stood the thane cyclone. There were lot of trees in the Siddhananda temple which got uprooted in the Thane cyclone but they stayed there strong. Its said that the roots of these trees actually go right below the jeeva samadhi of Guru Siddhananda.

The temple has a lingam inside the sanctum sanctorum which is on the samadhi of Guru Siddhananda. The temple has a beautiful pond (please dont pollute it, for God's sake). Since people come here in search of inner peace, there is a meditation hall in the temple. Please maintain silence and reflect on your inner self.

Poet Bharathi composed the Kuyil Pattu within the farms of this temple though a small extent of is what is left out now. He has a small statue erected in memory of him.

I could find only one picture of Guru Siddhanada over the web. Om nama sivaya!

Courtesy: Agasthiyar.org

Temples of the town - Vedhapureeswarar temple

The town of Pondicherry  is blessed with many temples. The natives built temples that stand testimony to their love of God even today. I will be writing about some of the key temples within the town of Pondicherry. Every town in Tamil Nadu will have one main temple around which the town's religious activities are centered. Sri Tirupurasundari sametha Vedhapureeswarar temple is the main temple of Pondicherry.

It is said Pondicherry was known as Vedhapuri during ancient times. It was a seat of Vedic studies and hence the name Vedhapuri. The Siva derives the name Vedhapureeswarar from the town's name. His consort is known as Thirupurasundari. Goddess Thirupurasundari is in standing position and shes quite tall and explicitly carved. Shri Vedhapureeuswarar is said to be Swaymbhu Lingam.

This temple was built during the French occupation. There used to be another ancient temple called  the "Sambha" temple. The "Sambha" temple was destroyed by the French and the natives had to carry the idols and rebuild a new temple. It is said the main Lingam of "Sambha" temple was installed in a separate shrine in the new temple, called "Bhakthapureeswarar"

Hundreds of devotees throng the temple on Pradosham, Shivarathri, Karthigai and so on. The temple has a beautiful rajagopuram more than 70 feet tall. The sculptures on the rajagopuram are intricate.

When you plan to visit Vedhapureeswarar temple, one should also visit the nearby temples in one go. Each street in this part of the town is named after one temple. The temples are Vedhapureeswar Temple, Vardaraja Perumal Temple, MuthuMarriAmman Temple and Kamatchi Amman temple. We have each one street named after each of these temples.

More detail about the temple at dinamalar site : http://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=640

Picture Courtsey: Dinamalar.

More pictures at : http://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=640

Names of Pondicherrians

One of the traits that outsiders easily come across when they get to know the the names of Pondicherrians is the spelling we use! To many its peculiar! They come up with question, are you sure your spelling it correct? Well, its quite right!  The gap is in the fact that we use to write our names in French and not in English. Though the number of French speakers is dwindling in Pondicherry, this is something the natives have hooked on to. Here are some samples:

Kathirvel  written as Cadirvel

Kumaravel written as Coumaravel

Sathyanaryanan written as Sathyanarayanae

Velmurugan written as Velmourougane

Some people think these names are spelt in a different way due to numerology. But its just plain FRENCH! Remants of the French past!

Pondy Special Sundal!

One of the best outing for us in Pondicherry was to visit the beach during holidays. Of course, this was long before all the tourists started coming in! Its very crowded nowadays. We used to live in a quiet little town, with hardly people on the streets during Sundays. As a child used to remember the sundal we used to get from a old man in beach. It used to be awesome! Very tasty! He passed away and later for some time his son was doing the same business. But we don't find it nowadays. Mom did it today!!. So here is the recipe with a decent little pic!

 

Ingredients:

Curry Leaves

250 gm Peas

Coriander Leaves

1 slice of 250 gm Mango for garnishing

1 small piece of Ginger

2 Green Chilly

Oil

Garam Masala (One can use asafoeteda instead of garam masala as well)

Salt

 

Steps:

 

• Bake the peas in cooker in one  tumbler of water. Make sure to add salt.
• Make sure the peas becomes soft. 4 whistles would be decent enough . But depends on your cooker.
• Pour 3 teaspoons of oil in kadai and add 1 teaspoon of garam masala once the oil gets hot
• Cut the green chilly into small pieces and ginger into small pieces and add it to the oil
• Fry them for some seconds and then add the boiled peas along with small pieces of mango slice
• Mix it well and stir it for 2 - 3 minutes
• Add curry leaves, coriander leaves and mix it for some seconds

 

Its ready!!!

 

Have a taste of pondy special sundal!

 

 

 

 

Manakula Vinayagar Temple Pondicherry

Probably, the first tourist site am updating here. The number of sacred places in TN for Ganapathi is very less when compared to Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu, Amman or Murugan. Manakula Vinayagar in Pondicherry is one of the rare temples for Ganapathi. Please do not underestimate the power of Manakula Vinayagar by the small size of the temple. The golden vimanam and the golden chariot are testimony to his power. Its probably the first place you visit in Pondicherry when you start your day over your weekend trip.

Lot of local mythology surrounds Lord Vinayagar over here. Lord Vinayagar is actually said to be on the samadhi of "Tholla Kathu Sitthar" (Saint with a hole in his ear). The sculpture of Tholla Kathu Sithar is by the side of the Lord Murugan shrine. This sculpture was a recent addition. I will later write about the temple where "Tholla Kathu Sithar" worshipped and stayed.

One obvious question which comes to any one's mind is how Lord Mankula Vinaygar survived in the old town where the French stayed. It is said that the French actually tried removing him by throwing his idol into the sea not once but three times. But apparently each time the French threw him into the sea he was washed back ashore. The French obviously tired of removing him, reinstalled the deity.

One should also know that the temple was much smaller and suffered from space constraints. Apparently, there was lot of effort to get the nearby buildings but the Ashram people resisted a lot. But one day, Lord Manakula Vinaygar himself appeared in the dreams of the owner  of the nearby building and asked him to part away, that's how the temple grew in size.

These are the stories that surround the temple. But to people in Pondy he is always close to heart, its custom to get the new year calendar issued by the temple and any new vehicle we buy , we make sure we go to Lord Manakula Vinayagar and perform vehicle pooja over there. Before we start travel, we visit Lord Manakula Vinayagar and start our journey. So he is so auspicious and poweful and he gives you Lakshmi Gatacham.

A recent attraction to the temple, is the temple elephant "Lakshmi". She used to be a kid when she came over, now she is really grown up. So make sure to get a snapshot with "Lakshmi"

There are quite good number of handicrafts around Manakula Vinayagar Temple. So you can get nice memorabilia.

More details from the site : http://manakulavinayagartemple.com/

Out of the box Idea for Greece to come out of its financial crisis!

I have been reading a lot about the financial crisis in Greece. Many economists argue that Greece should come out of Euro to get control over the currency. It is currently not in a position to devalue the currency because its part of the union. While the other side of the coin, if Greece exits Euro and re introduce drachma, then the Greeks will go bust and have to start from scratch. Now how do we get out of it??? Simple, the Greeks have to carve out a new nation out of their existing homeland. The new nation could even be a city state, re-introduce the currency drachma in the new nation and provide a kick start to it. Major portions old Greece can remain within the new Euro. The old Greece can be  lend out to the new Greece, while the growth comes into the new Greece slowly, they can be transferred to the old Greece. The Greeks can be at two places at the same time. The new Greece will have the sovereignty which they have obviously lost now and breathe some free air!! All it needs a constitution to be written that in appropriate time they have to be merged back. Whether they merge into EU or out of EU, time will decide!! Hows it?

Naturals Salon, SVP Avenue

Last December I once decided to visit the new Naturals Salon on SVP Avenue. I think they got their location spot on. The Cafe Day below Naturals adds to their business. The moment I entered Naturals I was pleasantly surprised . The white - violet interiors were so pleasing. They have excellent service. I took a membership and brought one for my mother. I am now a regular visitor. I am also able to see their userbase building up. Visiting the local saloon, is now history. Welcome to the new world of grooming. I seriously recommend taking the membership as it works out much cheaper. Tourists visiting Pondicherry and staying near the beach can always pamper themselves at Naturals Unisex Salon. Give time a break in Pondicherry! Ironically lot of men seem to be visiting this place! Explaing why top FMCG goods are working overtime on men fairness creams!

Tresor Nursing Home

Tresor Nursing Home

Adding this information, for the benefit of tourists, Tresor Nursing Home is very close to the beach. Its ambience is excellent. It functions from one of the old french houses in White Town. Lot of Ashramites, Foreigners visit this place. Many of the doctors here looks like are from north/east of the country. So they do speak good Hindi/Bengali. So if you are a tourist stuck in the middle of some basic illness and want to run down to a place close to the White Town, Tresor is the place for you. The skin specialist in the nursing home draws lot of people.

Details:

No 6, ST Louis Street, pondicherry h o, Pondicherry - 605001

Tresor Nursing Home 2336671

Prometric Testing in Pondicherry

When I wanted to take my Microsoft MCPD exams, I was wondering if there is any center in Pondicherry for the same. Luckily, we have one Prometric testing center in Pondicherry. Makes life much better. I travel to Pondicherry every weekend and I could successfully give my exams in weekends. Seems like people in and around Pondicherry give exams regularly.  This is bit of local knowledge. Providing the center's details:

Everonn Education Limited - Pondicherry Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu 605005 Phone: 4205920 Site Code: ii841

No.4, 100 Feet Road Natesan Nagar Near IGS