The Descent
By the time Alarm struck , other group was getting ready and we slowly got our senses back. My systems started working after a cup of good coffee ( Restaurant above MN Nambiyar's Guest House) . We went to the Temple before 6 AM in search of our priest for Neyyabhiskeham. It was a great Saturday morning , misty and cold and Devotees milling and Saranams echoing the air . The hill is thickly canopied with green top and virgin forest .Truly he kept to his word , before that he asked to pay the Dakshinai in Advance .
We got our own Ghee back in no time after offer to the Good( Queue would have taken easily few hours) and requested for Darshan , beating the queue . So a policeman was informed , he offered to take us in batches . After some delicate movements, crowd surge &mild curses and in-action from controlling Policemen , we managed to reach the outer Sannidhanam and managed to get a very satisfying Darshan .. This time managed to get a glimpse of Him having his favoutie offering 'Ghee' and managed to wrestle myself from the pushing crowd , standing firm and had intimate conversation with Him . It was all gratifying and brought some instant peace and comfort ,truly developing the sense that He is going to with you in hard times . Had a mini-breakfast at the morning cafe ( very good food , recommended ) .
Sathish and Hari distributed the Holy Ghee to individuals in small containers ( we used that opportunity to click a few shots 1, 2, 3)and after offering our prayers to other Gods and purchased prasadam (Appam and Payasam in sealed cans ) we started down , surprised to find Padinettam Padi was litereally empty.
When we started our descent , sky opened up and we bought plastic covers for Rs.10 to cover ourselves and trekked down gingerly . Ramesh wisely bought a chappal and decided to walk instead of using a Dholi . Walking down in the rain was hard as feet becomes soft and every pebble and stone started probing our delicate skin, used to confines to cushy shoes. Steep declines with paved stones testing our stability and had to walk gingerly and slowly , seemingly never ending descent .. Felt Descent was harder , given my knees fallibility and my weight .. Heaved a big sigh of relief , once i reached the bottom of the Hill .
Slowly reached the Car and finally started off our return leg at 11.30 AM in pampa , taking the shorter route to Erumeli. We unanimously decided to have a go at the remaining food and fruits and managed to feed ourselves with healthy snacks before unsettled stomach threatened to strike with a Headache around 3 PM . This time we managed to locate a decent restaurant quickly , which was ( Ananda Bhavan )in Angalmali . Refill raised our spirits and we started discussing the plans for our next trip to Cochin and our Gurusamy's different avatharams in the past .. நான் அவன் இல்லை would be the to the topic of discussion for our forthcoming trip in December
By the time , got down from the Car at my house in Coimbatore , ankles were aching badly . Had a foot massage and boarded the train back to Chennai . Removed the Maalai at the Temple and warily climbed stairs to my house on the 1st floor with feet ankle suburbs swollen .
Decided to do something to quell the pain , wife applied 'Myoxil' Ayurvedic oil and tuned myself to Harivarasanam on my Mobile .. Inexplicably, i had incredible pain relief and swelling reduced significantly in less than an hour .. At that very instant , decided i should make the trip again next year .. Swamiye Saranam..
Thanks a ton for reading despite testing your patience at times..
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