Kadambur
Day 1 saw us starting on the trip from Maayavaram at 7.30 AM (with a wake-up call at 6 AM that got us tumbling out of beds). I'd like to express my thanks to Mr. Seetharaman, the GM of Hotel Prince Towers, Maayavaram, on behalf of all the people who participated in the trip, and those of the e-group. He was a great guide, and he provided us with excellent accommodation at a discount. Thanks Mr. SR!
| We bundled ourselves into the van again and started out on the real journey through Chozha Naadu. The countryside was waking up as we drove through it. Soon we'd left 'civilization' behind, and were driving through shrubbery, canals with water and sand alternating, and huge stacks of hay dotting the roads. The breeze was fresh, the sky was a sparkling blue. Lavanya had brought along an apt tape- a tape of songs Kalki had written-both on-screen and off-screen. Favorites were "Maalaip pozhuthinile..." and "Kaatrinile varum geetham..." Listening to his songs, driving through the lush fields and groves was an extremely pleasant experience. Kalki would have been pleased, I think. :-)
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SR informed us that it would take us 45 minutes to reach Kadambur- our first stop. (yes, yes, the same place where the 'Sathi thittam' takes place at midnight right at the beginning of the 1st paagam).
Abruptly, we left the 'tar' roads, and turned onto a muddy track that seemed to wind endlessly along the banks of a wide canal. There were deep cart-tracks etched onto the surface, that reminded one forcibly of the tracks of a huge 'ratham', driven a 1000 years ago:-)- and we promptly converted our tempo-traveler into a huge 'ther', with our driver Murugan as the 'Therotti'(He didn't seem to enjoy the designation- wrestling with the wheel took up most of his attention). After a few minutes of meandering through ruts and potholes that shook us all up terribly (Mr. Sharma kept commenting that if we'd had breakfast, it'd have been digested in double-quick time)- we came to a cross-roads -one track led over the canal, the other vanished into the shrubbery. We asked for directions, and one villager told us helpfully that we'd come on the wrong road to Kadambur, that we should have driven into another road before this cart-track, so would we reverse?
There were groans all around, and the therotti turned the van around (a difficult task, but nothing compared to what happened later, at the Viranam Eri:-), and we bumped our way towards an intersection we'd missed earlier. Another villager pointed out that this road was a 'nalla rodu'- and we found it a nalla rodu too- it was filled to the brim with good, fresh hay. The van plunged through bundle hay, towards Mel Kadambur- the first of the two villages into which the once-prosperous original county has now degenerated. It's about 30 kilometers from Chidambaram. We came from Maayavaram, passing through Panthanallur, Manalmedu, etc. It had taken us more than two hours totally (it was close to 10 AM when we arrived)- and according to the van, we had traveled 62 kms.
Mel Kadambur
| A blue board placed at a turning to the temple sported the words 'Ponniyin Selvanin Nigazhkalam'- that was the first thing that caught our attention. It went on to list the temple's name, where it was located etc.. When we came to a stop, the temple arose before us- a rather dilapidated structure, painted in recent years, with an agraharam of sorts lining the street- elaborate, empty and lifeless. No living being seemed to be in the general vicinity except us. Kamal started with his handy cam, and all of us 'armed' our cameras:-). Mel Kadambur had a good-sized temple (nothing huge)- with pragaarams and a few sculptures- but on the whole, it was a rather simple structure. The garba griham was not open- a localite appeared and told us that poojai was over by 10 AM. He then favored us with a 'thala varalaaru' of ‘Amirthakadeswarar' and 'Vithyu Jothi Nayaki', and about the 'Kadamba maram' -the 'thala virutcham'. We took a few snaps, and made our way back to the van, on our way to Keezh Kadambur, about a km from Mel Kadambur. |
| Keezh Kadambur We stopped at an intersection that was little more than an 'othaiyadi pathai'- the van could go no further. We walked along the shrubbery (with curious villagers peeping out of their huts). The road suddenly widened out into a clearing. A gatepost stood in a corner, devoid of any gates- and there, standing forlornly in the middle of the clearing, were the ruins of what must have been a fair-sized temple- the "Rudrakodeeshwarar" temple of Keezh Kadambur. |
Fields and thorny fences dotted the area. Localites informed us that a few people had come there a couple of days ago and done a general cleaning up because someone was visiting there- whom, we didn’t know.
The lingam was standing right in front of the temple- the garba griham (which was all that was left of the temple) had fallen in. Stones and pillars had fallen all around the places, and the area had a look of destruction. One got the feeling that something had ‘gone wrong’ there…there was a distinct aura of destruction - and yes, something like…sorrow. (“Mayaana boomi maathiri irukku...- Sathya) A lot of discussion went on about what part this place could have played in the Aditha Karikalan murder.
We gave a last glance at the clearing and retraced our steps back to the van.
