Know What I Did This Summer ? Part 2

April 21, 2008
Monday, after a hearty breakfast at Sangam, we drove to Madurai. Normally I take the Dindukkal route. But I read in the Net that the Trichy - Viralimalai – Melur – Madurai road was upgraded to a National Highway (NH 45B) and four-laning was in progress. This was also a shorter route. Moreover we wanted to visit Azhagarkovil, near Madurai for which NH 45B was the most convenient route. Traffic was light in this road and the road was decent. We stopped at some of the Sunflower gardens that line this road for photo ops. The majestic, tall, sunflower stalks never cease to amaze me. The intricate geometrical patterns in the flower makes you wonder about Nature’s play.

We went up to Madurai and turned to the Azhagarkovil road and drove down, only to realize that we could have taken the diversion at Melur or Nattam itself to this place and saved a lot of time. However we did not see any signpost at Melur or Nattam indicating a route to Azhagarkovil.

Azhagarkovil
Azhagar was in Vandiyur, Madurai, having entered the Vaigai river at Madurai on Sunday. But the temple was open and we had an excellent darshan of Sundararaja Perumal. True to the name, the Lord was extremely beautiful and we lost ourselves in His divine presence.

It was close to temple closing time and we could not make it to Pazhamudir Cholai, one of the six sacred abodes of Murugan. Azhagar Kovil is at the foot hills of Pazhamudir Cholai. We have read that the road up the hill is extremely scenic and green. Perhaps we would make it the next time.

We re-entered Madurai. I had taken driving directions and road map from Yahoo Maps for the route to Taj Garden Retreat. But I did not take into account the frequently volatile atmosphere in Madurai. Just that morning some miscreants had allegedly insulted the statue of Devar and the situation was tense everywhere with police creating road blocks and diverting traffic. So I had to throw away the map and revert to the time-tested method of asking for directions from Auto-rickshaw drivers. Driving through several narrow streets we emerged near the railway station road from where I was familiar with the road to Thiruparankundram Road.

Taj Garden Retreat
Taj Garden Retreat is on Pasumalai Hill, just before the Welcome Arch to Madurai City from South. Taj Group bought the property in 1987 and converted it into a luxury hotel in 1989. It was the former residence of the owner of Madura Coats. The founders of the company, Britishers, obviously had a taste for fine living and had built a lovely mansion. The easy 1.4 km drive from the Highway up the hill is lined with trees.

The sounds of Peacock calls welcomed us at the top.  Check-in was very somooth and after a welcome cold-coffee at the lounge, we trooped to our room set in the Madura Block, near the Swimming Pool.

There were scores of Peacocks and Pen Hens through out the property and Mr. Rajoo of Taj mentioned that there were more than 100 Peacocks at the resort. They were quite tame and are least bothered by the presence of humans. We saw dancing, preening peacocks with fully stretched feathers – a grand sight indeed.

One of the peacocks appeared fascinated by its reflection in my car and was exploring it for a while. I was watching with bated breath, hoping that the peacock liked its face and decided not to fight its reflection, like the Lion jumping into the well to fight its reflection in the story we have heard so many times during our childhood. In the story, the lion died, but here, it would be my car that would get the pokes and I would have to spend a pile in getting a paint job done. Luckily the peacock approved of its reflection and walked away.

The view of Madurai from the hotel is sweeping. The imposing towers of the Meenakshi Amman Temple, the hill in the shape of an elephant lying down, the dense, congested buildings of Madurai city, all give you an idea of the constant activity of this "city that never sleeps."

The weather was so hot that we did not feel like moving out of the hotel after lunch. Moreover the simmering tension in Madurai made us decide against going into the city again to visit Meenakshi Amman Temple. Instead we decided to go to Thiruparankundram Murugan Temple, which was just 3 kms from the hotel. This is an awesome temple, carved out of the hill, where Lord Murugan married Deivanai, his consort. There was very light crowd and the chief priest took special care of us and explained in detail the various aspects of the temple.

We dined at the Aarthi Drive-in Restaurant which also had AC dining rooms. This is on the Highway, very close to the Arch and provided very decent, tasty, inexpensive food.