Palani – cityscape and sky watch

Palani is a temple town in Dindigul district of TN, deriving its name from two Tamil words ‘Pazham and Nee’ which means ‘fruit you’ is renowned for Lord Murugan shrine on hillock and having it amid grows the town. Apart the arrival of devotees that keep busy this town with annual festivals around the years, Palani is surrounded by natural resources and agriculture and vegetation is a great to be sighted if went around its suburb.

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Holding the Western Ghats to its southeast, Palani is a picturesque town with frequent sight of mist capping the mountains and green slopes to its backdrop enhances with vast green landscapes of many coconut and mango groves. The main source of water to the town is the spring water that kept flowing throughout the year from Varathamanathi Dam on the foothills of the Western Ghats that lead to the cold paradise Kodaikanal.

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The Varathamanathi Dam is built on the rocks and it’s a wonderful picnic spot with a small park and cool breeze blow down from the mountain slopes. The Shanmughanadi, a tributary of Amaravathii River runs not far from the town and the town itself has a charming tank called Vaiyapuri and if it was maintained neatly would be an invite to the town, which can be seen in the first image above.

The Palani hillock is 137.16m height and has a flight of 697 steps to climb and there are also alternative sources like cable car and rope winch to reach the top. From the hillock one can get a panoramic of 360 degree of vast plains and cityscape beneath; and the cold Kodaikanal mountains at back which is 60km by road from here.

The last two pictures above are shots on sky along with the temple and bell towers, and all the amazing photo here were taken by my mother and edited by me. My parents were glad to check the temple at hillock through the winch which I was unable to board to left at plains to explore the beautiful suburbs of Palani.

அடுக்குமாடி அறை / Multistoried room

In a separate house

while aloof
there was a closeness;
in the multistory
while coming closer
divergence?

Footnote:

The photo captured the multistory building near the Muttukadu river bank beside the OMR, Chennai. It’s obvious that today’s multistory or multiplex complex culture has kept away people’s interaction unlike before living at independent house people shared a lot with neighbors and treat each other as family members... We miss the sharing and interaction a lot after transfer into apartments 6 years’ back... where smiling is also a rare exchange!

Aravaan – an epic unveiled

Derived from a chapter on Su.Venkatesan’s Award winning novel Kaaval Kottam, the movie Aravaan reveals the epic of ever known inhabitants of 18th century lived in southern Tamil Nadu and the practice of men sacrifice. The Aravaan is a small character appears in Indian epic Mahabharata, who scarifies himself to goddess to make, won Pandava’s on war for which he received the boon of heredity worship of Koothandavar priced by lord Krishna, who also married him to fulfill his desire by taking a women form before he killed.
The Aravaan, who was presented by another boon to watch the 18 days war of Mahabharata through his cutoff head’s eyes, has been vitally followed as heredity worships of Draupadi and to watch the custom of war, his head had been hanged at a taller post. Thus commemorating this custom, in a part of Tamil Nadu called Kuvakam, holds an 18 day festival where the transgender are married to men as Aravaan whose sacrifice hold stage to leave transgendered window.

But from this epic and custom, the movie Aravaan is quite different in depicting the story where the director’s touch has been a lot on this commercial period. Taking just 10 page facts from the novel, director Vasanthabalan has modified the picture into perfect period setting and selecting best ones for the role to enhance, but somehow lack to create feeling at back in emotion which are similar to epic television serials.

Pasupathi for his expression of reality, the role has feed him as thieving Kombuthi and Aadi at another hand has well drawn into the niches whose attitude and body language thrive. The simple action and adventure doesn’t curious but the setting was… and having a beautiful heroin, the romance and love is missing.

The detail background setting and location selection and edition are all weld well to create the period of different generation. Singer Karthik as debuted music director scores average, except Nila song nothing shines like moon. The ending was indifferent and seems like forced to end to say no need scarifies… the flashback is a great drawback to the vigorous pre-interval.

Bottom line:
Aravaan amaze with incredible period setting and costumes, location and uniform of total ingredients... don’t expect much.

பாடம் பட்டம் / Lesson kite

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The encircled kite on the sky
is only on the textbook now;
the kids who left the kites
graduated
how to earn money?

The ship floating in the sea
and the kite flowing in the wind
are both basically on force
even an ignorant knows
the wind direction.

Footnote:

Few kids in our neighborhood left kite late evening… which has turn into rare sight in Chennai these days due to restrictions, I enjoyed watching them leaving kite against the open ground in front of our house from their home terrace. It’s quite nostalgia and as a kite enthusiastic I had been once in their life time... we even left kites on mid summer heat from our terrace.

Along the wind, the kite floats me back in air and inspired to write this poem.

Pony ride by a little tom

The little tom seems like an ardent horse rider who enjoys sitting on the horse back. We saw him taking the horse ride enthusiastically following the couple of day’s constant visit to Kodaikanal Lake in evening while staying over there.

Those in India would no need an intro on Kodaikanal which is a wonderful hill station and natural paradise in South India lying in the Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu. Kodaikanal, called as princess of hills never fails to fascinate me with its pristine, cold and misty environment. However I visit, the hunger for this summer holiday terrace treats me like never seems to end and not only as a retreat from heat, but always being best in climate and natural environment... and there’s a lot need to discover yet.

Back to the little tom, he’s obviously seems to come from north India and his cute expressions and smiling face induce to shoot him while on horseback and within a hour he drew back another horse to fulfill his as much desire for horse ride. These photos were taken on the second day… and while leaving we said bye to him who shyly smiled sitting on his mother’s lap accompanied by his sister and father on the pavement aside the lake.

PS. The header Pic is also a shot from Kodaikanal.