Almost in front of the imposing colonial building of the Chennai station is this cute building that is a hotel of the tourism department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.
I had free time from morning till late afternoon. I siezed the opportunity to have a train ride. I purchased ticket to the last station on the local route. The ticket clerk told "no return ticket" when I requested a return ticket - a habit of Mumbaiite. From the platform of a station was visible the inviting gate of SRM university.
The local I boarded from Park station terminated at Tambaram; I had to wait for 40 minutes for the local to the last station, chengalpattu. Finally, I reached the chengalpattu junction. The 'town' was on the shore of a lake. The west coast highway ran on the farther side of the lake. I came out of the station and found hardly anything. So, I decided to take the same train back to Tambaram and have my lunch there.
A route map of the line.
An institution in Mylapore, close to the venue of wedding.
A view of the Temple from the road (just outside the ornate main gate).
This is as close I could get as far as photography is concerned; photography and mobile phones are not permitted inside the payer hall - for good reasons. Several devotees were sitting on the floor and meditating. Just below the staircase was a place to keep the slippers. Below the huge meditation hall were rooms. In one such room, a sermon was being delivered ; I could also hear 'bhajans' being sung. I quitely withdrew to the library.
The logo of Sri Rama Krishna Math above the library main door. I saw quite a few boys and girls browsing through books.
A final 'jhalak'
A little further down the road was the famous Kabili temple. In front of the temple was a large lake; there were many large fish; devotees were feeding puffed rice to the fishes. On the fence around the lake was this board. It drew my special attention because the name of the 'maharaj' was 'vittal das'; the photo of Lord Vittal (notice his pose) from Pandharpur and his cohort is on the top left of the board. A guru from Pandharpur, Maharashtra giving sermon at Teynampet, chennai! That was interesting. Note that the hall is air conditioned.
The temple gopuram and the 'pushkarni' (temple tank). A 'mandapam' is at the centre of the lake (mid right of the picture).
The wedding hall (<shreesubhammandapam.com/marriage.html>). The formal engagement ceremony was to take place at 'godhooli' lagna (sunset). The wedding will take place the next day morning. I saw a posse of policeman and a police car. Well, the father of the groom is a former chief secretary of the state - the highest beauracrat at the state level.
An elderly couple is climbing up the stairs to the wedding hall on the first floor. They did not utilise the lift facility; preferred to walk up the stairs. A statue of Lord Ganapati and the reflection in the mirror.
Balaji and his cohort on the stage.
Musicians were busy entertaining the guests. Lord Saraswathi, seated on a lotus flower, looks on benignly.
The bride and the groom are seated in front of each other. The elders have collected to grace the occasion and bless the couple.
A post engagement photo of the author with the couple.
The next day morning: one of the memorable functions is held outside-in the courtyard. The couple are seated on an old fashioned swing. The bride is radiant.
A function that involves only the bride. A team of priests is on the stage to take care of all rituals.
Notice that the abbreviations "Sow" and "Chi" have been expanded after the engagement ceremony. Yesterday, "sow" stood for 'sowbagyakankshi'.
A series of functions followed. Dignitaries blessed the couple and went to the wedding hall. I wanted to take it easy and have lunch with the couple. So, I moved out of the A/C hall. There were two temples in front of the hall.
One temple is visible here.
A closer look at the temple.
A devotee (left) is receiving blessings from the priest - the ambassador of God. A lamp camphor) is lit in front of the temple.
The second temple had an array of Gods. Lord hanuman appeared to be the main deity; he is seeking the blessing of other Gods: Lord Shiva and Parvati (sitting on the bull) and their elder son, kartikeya riding his vehicle - a tiger. Their second son, Ganapati, is on extreme left. Lord vishnu is relaxing, as usual, on his 'vaahan (vehicle) ,vasuki - the snake. Lord Brahma and Saraswati are also present.
The caterers gave a card, in addition to an empty plate. I thought that that was their visiting card. Later I realised that it was a menu card! The price on the left is not that of the lunch (well, it could be if we remove the dash between 3 and double zeros!). I had taken public transport from the city to mylapore. That was the bus ticket. In Mumbai, a similar journey ticket would have cost double. The Mumbai bus conductor punches a hole on the stage number where the passenger boarded. In chennai, the conducter did away with the punching machine (all his fingers were busy holding on to longitudinally folded notes of various denominations); instead, he simply tore, by hand, the ticket at the stage number!
The couple are being shown various gifts they received - a leisurly moment after all ceremonies were over. A book on scuba diving was amongst the gifts. A friend, knowledgeable about the interest of the groom, has thoughtfully bought the book!
The couple finally got time for the lunch.
Is that a mini-sermon on the 5 points to remember before a meal?
Husband feeding wife; elders look on with contentment.
Watch her glee ;-)
How was the food? Was it okay? 'saapat nalle irkaa?'
