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The journey by car from Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu to Tirupathi in Andhra Pradesh was a most interesting and beautiful journey.
We left very early in the morning while it was still dark, this meant that we would be able to watch the sun rise over the landscape.
I was simply glued to the window of the taxi, this was a large comfortable Indian taxi, in front the driver and our friend Ramesh and beside me my friend Rosmarie.
We travelled fast at first, there were many signs of people, of life starting to happen in the little hamlets which we passed, though I saw far less people than I had seen in Tiruvannamalai the last few weeks. I saw the sun rise over people already working on the land, early, in the cool of the morning.
The landscape started to change, the mountains became quite different in shape, edges more sharp and irregular. The vegetation and the trees became very lush. In the hamlets along the roadside we passed women getting their children ready for school, we saw them carrying colourful water containers on their head. We passed men herding large flocks of goats.
Many of the houses and huts, some of them round, were made of woven materials, making full use of locally produced building materials, the roofs becoming a bit higher as we got nearer to Andhra Pradesh, but we also passed many of the cement houses, they have flat roofs with railings and stairs leading up to the roof, roofs are made use of in India, these houses too were changing in appearance becoming more elaborate in their decorations, often with iron and stone trellises.
Many farmsteads have chickens running around. These hamlets and roadside villages are centres of commercial activity, shops, teashops, workshops, craft shop were people were working at making the crafts such as basketry,etc... along the road there were also many brick making places where people would be making the bricks and they would all be piled up and then baked either in the sun or in a special system of piling them and firing them.
Lots of basket weaving places near to Vellore also. Vellore is a large town with lots of colourful shrines and temples along the road, the use of colours reminding me of the choice of colour used in Celtic art, very vivid and bright.
As the day wore on it was very hot in the taxi, we were drinking some water to keep going.
There was so much to see along the way. we passed many, very many men and women dressed in yellow and or orange, these people were on a pilgrimage to Tirupathi to the big temple there.
I noticed two high Termite heaps which really impressed me.
The journey now takes you into a much more agriculture land, with lots of crops tended along the roadside, crops such as peanuts and rice abound. Wonderful trees also, and banana plantations. In Kanumolapati we came across a very ancient Hindu temple, but the closer we came to Tirupathi the fewer the Hindu temples became, I was now seeing the equally lovely and interesting minarets of the mosques, some of them very beautiful. In Kadapa town we had a bit to eat at the AP Tourism restaurant which had very good value for money, lovely food and good restroom facilities.
This journey took 12 hours, we stopped off at Agaral about 20km outside Tirupathi at the Park Avenue Hotel Gardens to have some excellent Tjai.
While I found this journey from Tamil Nadu to Andhra Pradesh fascinating, the whole journey is very vivid in my memory.
I must also say that one of the outstanding places which I visited in Andhra Pradesh was the beautiful village of Satyavedu of which I have information elsewhere in my travellogues.
And of course my stay in Mylavaram where I was working for a few weeks in an orphanage is one of my most outstanding memories and is one of the reasons why I will also be back to Andhra Pradesh. Leave a Comment
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 Kalahasi Temple by dsantosh
The main linga is untouched by human hands, including the priests’. Abhisheka (bathing) is done by pouring a mixture of water, milk, camphor, and panchamrita. Sandal paste, flowers, and the sacred thread are offered to the utsava-murti, not the main linga. temple has an enormous, ancient gopuram over the main gate. The tower is 36.5m (120 feet) high. The entire temple is carved out of the side of a huge stone hill. King Krishnadeva Raya built it in 1516. Inside the temple you will find the tremendously ornate and splendid architecture for which South India is famous. Elaborately designed pillars, altars, and paraphernalia abound.
The temple’s main entrance faces south, although the deity faces west. There is an interesting underground temple dedicated to Ganesh (Ganapati) named Patala Vinayaka, which is 10m (33 ft) beneath the ground. The goddess here is said to be the sister of Lord Venkateswara at the Tirumala temple. She is said to give supreme knowledge (jnana) to those who worship her.
The Suvarnamukhi River is a sacred river, said to have been brought to earth by Agastya Muni. It is also called Uttara Vahini, because at this place it flows south to north, which is unusual. It is dry most of the year. You can climb to the top of the nearby Nagor Hill (1040 m) and get a good view of the area.
Temple Story
The main linga is in the shape of an elephant trunk, with tusks on each side and a figure of a spider at the bottom. If you look at the linga from the top, it resembles a snake with five hoods. The spider is call “Sri,” the snake “Kala,” and the elephant “Hasti.” The three names combine together to form the name “Srikalahasti.”
It is said that the spider wove a web above the linga to protect it from the sun and rain. The elephant would get water with its trunk and bath the linga (perform abhishek) and the snake would also worship the Lord. The snake was not aware that the elephant and spider were also worshiping the Lord. One day the snake found bilva leaves and water near the Lord. He thought that someone was trying to harm the Lord, so he surrounded the Lord to protect him. When the elephant came the next day to worship the Lord, the snake thought he was trying to harm the Lord, so he entered his trunk. Unable to handle the pain, the elephant dashed his trunk against the linga, killing both the snake and the spider. Then the elephant himself died. Lord Siva was satisfied with the devotion of all three and offered them all liberation..
Nearby
Kalahasti is surrounded by two sacred hills. The Durgamba Temple is on the northern hill. On the southern hill is the shrine of Kannabeswara, a memorial to the sage Kannappa, who offered Lord Siva one of his eyes. When he tried to offer his other eye as well, the Lord mercifully stopped him. There is also a temple dedicated to Subrahmanya on one of the surrounding hills.
Practicalities
There are basic rooms at the Devasthanam Guest House and the Hotel Madhu.
You can visit Kalahasti along with the organized tour that visits the temples in the Tirupati area.
There is a train station at Gudur on the Chennai–Vijayawada line. There are regular buses to and from Tirupati. From Tirupati you Leave a Comment
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 ladies selling marygold
garlands by 6aruna
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through out puttapparthy i have seen these shrubs with weird bulges in their leaves.
are they infected with fungi or are they seeds.once these are found the leaves crumble.
any botanists like to comment
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