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| Kanyakumari |
We left Kovalam on the 24th of March, 2011 and headed south, to the southern most tip of the Subcontinent of India. Our destination was Kanyakumari, where 3 oceans meet, the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. It is a very sacred place, where devotes of Kanya Devi and religious pilgrims of all kinds flock by the tens of thousands to visit the Vivekananda Memorial and the Kumari Amman Temple.
It was a different feeling, coming to the end of something as significant as a Subcontinent. I've never been to Key West, or Cape Horn or the Horn of Africa, but I would imagine the feeling would be the same. And to stand where 3 oceans converge is also something to boast about.
Ptolemy wrote of the relationship between Kanyakumari and Alexandria, and this relationship would have been forged many years prior to Ptolemy and for many years after. Trading in pearls and being an important route point for sailors at the time, meant that Kanyakumari would always be a hub of activity.
Today, Kanyakumari, aside from being a pilgrimage spot, is also an active tourist destination not only for India, but for the entire world. There are plenty of hotels and restaurants between the main roads and the tip of the land, as well as a plethora of souvenir shops that really crank up in the evening.
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| Looking at the entrance to the Kumari Amman Temple, with the Vivekananda monument in the far background. In between, is the Thiruvalluvar Statue. It is a 133 feet (40.6 m) tall stone sculpture of the Tamil poet and saint Tiruvalluvar, author of the Thirukkural. |
We woke at 3:30am in order to wind our way to the Kumari Amman Temple, which is dedicated to the virgin goddess Kanya Devi. We were not a lone of course, but the crowds were definitely smaller at this hour, at which only the truly devoted dare to venture.
After experiencing a wonderful puja, we left the temple to go back to our hotel. The streets were very empty, just my wife and myself and a handful of worshipers leaving the same temple. Walking ahead of us was an elderly gentleman, wrapped only in his dhoti, walking with a staff and singing. It was mesmerizing. His voice, weakened due to age and the fact that he was slumped over, still wafted through the empty streets and filled my wife and me with joy. it was haunting, but in a good way. It is times like these that make it wonderful to be a traveler.
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| very early sunrise |
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| about an hour after sunrise |
A popular event is the sunrise viewing from the rooftops. We had been getting up quite early anyway along the journey, to view the magnificent sunrises, so doing it here was not anything out of the ordinary. We got up early and headed for the roof were about two dozen sleepy-eyed hotel patrons had the same idea! As I looked out over the city I saw many of the rooftops in a similar state, loaded full of people hoping to capture a glimpse of what would hope to be a spectacular sight. It did not disappoint.
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| Suchindram Thanumalayan Temple |
We also took a side trip a few kilometers away to the Suchindram Thanumalayan Temple. This was one of my favorite temples on the whole trip. I love architecture and I love history, and this temple had both. It has a huge Hanuman statue carved out a single block of granite. It was buried in 1740 to prevent it from being damaged in an attack from the Tipu Sultan, better known as the Tiger of Mysore. It was forgotten until it was rediscovered in 1930.
The temple Brahmins, aids and priests were very nice to me, giving me the full "treatment" of a VIP. They were patient and supportive and showed me how to do things properly. There are many rituals that are performed in a specific order and you need someone with you that knows them or get someone to help you. I wanted to be immersed in it, to experience everything like I had done it all my life. We were escorted into the inner sanctum, which was a treat. These temples are unlike religious buildings in the west. They are made from large solid blocks of granite, moved into place in a way that time has forgotten, and are carved so precisely that there is no need of mortar. It smells of centuries of incense, oils and flowers and is very unique.
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| Swami Vivekananda Memorial |
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| Carving detail |
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| For some, this is a lifelong journey |
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| Looking from the steps of the memorial back towards land |
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| Looking dead south from the tip of India |
A few hundred yards off the tip of land is the Vivekananda Rock Memorial. Only accessible by ferry, this large rock outcrop is said to have been the place Swami Vivekananda swam out to and meditated and actually attained enlightenment. There are several attractions on the rock, one of which is a compass rose set into the stone that points due south. The temple building is quite nice and has elaborate carvings. It was built in 1970.
We also visited the Vivekananda Kendra or the ashram of Swami Vivekananda. There is a nice museum that shows a great timeline of his influential work. There is also a Memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, but I was very disappointed with that and thought it was lacking in anything substantial and does not do the great Gandhiji justice. It it situated on the spot where his ashes rested before being scattered into the sea a few yards away.
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