Manju's Blog

We had a trip to Mahabalipuram in January along with our friends and families. Had a nice time there. We reached Mahabalipuram by 12 in the noon and it was drizzling unexpectedly, had to buy caps to save us from the rain.

But it was nice to walk through the World Heritage site in a cloudy atmosphere. The rain saved us from the hot sun and the trip was a pleasant one.

We visited all those famous Mandapas at Mahabalipuram, viz, Ramanuja Mandapam which is the most completed structure at this heritage site, but was vandalized later. Then we visited Mahishasura mardini mandapam, Krishna mandapam, Rayar gopuram, etc.

View from the old and new light houses was also thrilling. The beach view from the towers was a good experience.

Arjuna’s Penance next to the Krishna Mandapam is an amazing piece of art. The skill and the talent of the artists of the ancient age are brilliant. This is one of the exotic scene at this centuries old city.

The important location one should visit at Mamallapuram is the five Rathas considered as Pancha Pandavas. These are very beautiful structures.

Any one who loves nature at its best should visit Mahabalipuram. It is one of the best places in this part of Tamilnadu, near to Chennai and the Silk City of Kanchipuram.

A lot of tourists visit Mahabalipuram daily. It is believed that Mahabalipuram is still not found fully. Many believe that some part of the city is still under the sea.

Tyagaraja Temple is at Thiruvotriyur in North Chennai. The temple is said to be over 1300 years old. Lord Shiva is worshipped as Tyagarajar, Adipureeswarar and and Padampakka Nathar here. The Moolavar here (Aadipureeswarar) is a Lingam of earth, covered with a kavacam, removed only on the occasion of Kartikai Full Moon. The shrine of Goddess Vadivudai Amman attracts a large gathering of devotees on Fridays and full moon days.

Adi Sankaracharya the great religious leader is said to have visited this shrine. Ancient Pallava inscriptions are found in this temple. The temple main tower (Rajagopuram) is 120 feet height. This is a big temple with vast corridoors. A large number of people visit this temple.

According to mythology, this shivasthalam is considred as the first shivasthalam after the great deluge (pralayam). The pillars in this temple mandapam have inscriptions from the period of Chola Kings Parakrama Chola I and Uttama Chola. There are 108 sivalingams in this temple. The festival conducted during the Tamil month of Masi (February 15th to March 15th) is the main attraction of this temple.

Lord Siva forms a row a 27 lingas representing the 27 stars in this temple. Goddess Vadivudai Amman represents Gnana Shakti, the goddess who bestows knowledge and wisdom. Vadivudai Amman is also known as the Beautiful Goddess. Her Blessings will bestow one with knowledge, wisdom and divine beauty.

Guindy National Park is considered as the breathing lung of the cosmopolitan city of Chennai. The park is the prime visiting location of more than three lakhs tourists during a season. Entire family can spend time in this park on a vacation.

The Guindy National Park covers an area of 2.82 square kilometers. This park is the smallest National Park in India and one of the very few which is located inside a city. The park is an extension of the grounds surrounding Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Governor of Tamilnadu. The Guindy National Park is situated behind Gandhi Mandapam, Kamaraj Memorial and Rajaji Memorial on Sardar Patel road on the southern outskirts of Chennai. The rear southeast edge of the park ajoins the campus of Indian Institute of Technology.

The park boasts of 24 varieties of trees, 14 varieties of shrubs and over 14 types of mammals like elephant, antilope, spotted dear, jungle cat, toddy cat, Indian civet, etc. The park also has over 37 varieties of birds, like black chested, black winged kite, honey buzzard, pariah kite, and so on. There are also many kinds of amphibians and snakes in the park. Some species of tortoise and turtles, especially the endangered star turtle, lizards, geckos, chameleons as well as a large variety of insects and butterflies are available here for tourist attraction.

Guindy Snake Park and the children’s park are also very attractive to the visitors. The snake park has a huge variety of snakes, venomous and non-venomous, small and huge turtles and tortoises, various species of crocodiles, caimans and gharials. The Snake park and Children’s park have separate entrances and independent entry fees. There is a seperate entry fees for Cameras.

Directory of Chennai based hotels. Five star four star and three start hotels in capital city of Tamil Nadu.

Information and web site links of major Chennai hotels like Le Royal Meridian, Taj Coromandel,Chola Sheraton, Ambassador Pallava, Trident Hilton, Savera,GRT Grand, Ashok Residency, Fisherman’s Cove etc

St. Thomas Mount is a small hill located near Guindy, Chennai associated with St. Thomas, the apostle of Jesus Christ. Chennai suburban rail network has a small station in St. Thomas Mount.

St. Thomas is believed to have been martyred here. He was one of the first Christian reached in India to preach Chirstianity. He spent his last years in St. Thomas Mount and was assasinated by persons hostile to him in AD72.

Chennai Domestic and International Airport and Guindy Race Course are very near to St. Thomas Mount.